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It's only been about two months since Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (also known as the stimulus package), but states are already seeing an influx of federal dollars. Oregon expects to get about $2.4 billion (pdf) in stimulus money over the next three years. While they wait for federal money to flow in, many state agencies are already allocating dollars from the state's stimulus package. The Department of Corrections will spend $475,000 replacing lighting fixtures at their Central Distribution Center and the Department of Fish and Wildlife will put $100,000 towards a new elevator in their Enterprise district office. The money will go towards large-scale projects as well.
Small communities fought hard in the competitive process — some more successfully than others.
City and county representatives each had three minutes to pitch their top project ideas to the Oregon Department of Transportation in March. Scappoose got approval for $4.7 million towards road and sidewalk improvement projects. Columbia County wasn't as lucky. The county's director of public works and parks says he was denied his request of $8 million to overhall Hermo Road, which would provide greater acess to the Port of St Helens.
Transportation projects are perhaps the best "shovel ready" examples, but federal dollars are moving through almost every state agency. A clinic in Klamath Falls got funding to hire a dentist and two doctors through the Department of Health and Human Services.
Is the stimulus reaching you and your community? Is your company bidding for government contracts? Are you hoping to receive food or housing assistance? Or job re-training? Or perhaps money for home weatherization? Where do you see the gaps in stimulus funding?
Now that money is coming into Oregon, is the stimulus working?
GUESTS:
- Craig Johns: Public works director for the City of Monmouth
- Patrick Cooney: Communications director for the Oregon Department of Transportation
- Brian Shipley: Deputy chief of staff for Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski
- Bob Marsalli: Executive director of Klamath Open Door Family Practice
Tagged as: health · housing · jobs · stimulus
Photo credit: Steve Wampler/ Flickr / Creative Commons
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If you are not a PERS employee, teamster or member of some other union you can't get stimulus money in this state.
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I just hope we still have this program today as many fellow citizens will surely benefit from it.
Ewok of Haunted House Canada
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Here's a link to Oregon recovery.
http://www.oregon.gov/recovery/
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Are any Oregon citizens or corporations providing stimulus money or jobs that you are aware of?
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My husband & I are semi retired seniors with a low income. Our 40 year old trailer home desparately needs to have the aluminum windows replaced, to improve energy efficiency. How can we apply for help?
Laura
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Laura,
As Brian Shipley mentioned, you can find some detailed information here:
http://www.ohcs.oregon.gov/ohcs/sos_low_income_weatherization_assistance_oregon.shtml
Good luck,
Dave
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I commend Emily and the Think out Loud staff for another important discussion. It is good to see that areas of Oregon are receiving needed funds; as an artist-astronomer, I was dismayed to hear a college teacher from University at Southern California at the OMSI star party last night reflect on the failing Oregon education systems. I listened to her with studied intent as I see so much talk about stimulus monies or shall we call it bailout money turned away out of fear of misuse. I talked a year ago of the scene of ‘the fear of money’ syndrome will appear one day. People laughed but did not get my drift back then. What will you do with all the money you save? [Remember the joke ad line for a car company? They meant after you spent it on their product and supposedly saved.]
Forgive me for appearing as rudimentary, but doesn’t the President say that education should be first? I will be doing a lecture on my astronomy art at a local college class in a week. As I understand, there is no funding to provide lecturers, so I have agreed to do this as pro bono many times in the past several years [while I am unemployed no less] as I know that my award winning astronomy art has a profound effect on the student but where is this so called grant money and why is it not going to the people that are offering to provide community services and lectures? Why do educators seem to be so neglected here in Oregon?
A half a million alone for new lighting fixtures? Really?
Mark Seibold, Artist -Astronomer
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I agree that education, especially education like yours that incorporates art, and can be inspirational, is very important. Perhaps on some level replacing lights with energy efficient ones makes sense, but where is the piece of the pie for education?
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How do I find out which area or forest has stimulus money for tree thinning and how can I be a part of it?
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Could you please list the ways that organizations can apply for stimulus money somewhere? Access is a whole other show. How to get the funds? I believe you have touched on these things but I was unable to listen to the entire show today and there are hundreds if not thousands of people and organizations that don't know the steps necessary to getting to the money.
There are a lot of grant websites popping up on the internet that claim to be government related. How do we distinguish what ones are real? Where's the real website?
Thanks Emily you're great!!!
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The state's overarching stimulus/recovery page is here:
http://www.oregon.gov/recovery
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Although I applaud these ideas of investing in our nation, I think that it will take many years to reverse and dismantle the last thirty some years of job and small business killing by the De-Regulating Conservatives.
Think back over thirty years and remember all of the small businesses that were put out of business by deregulated huge predatory corporations, think of all of the former small business owners who now work as cheap-labor for giant corporations like Wal-Mart, Lowes, Barnes And Noble, Home Depot, Staples, Office Depot, etc. In effect the Conservatives used the government to take away their small businesses and give them to huge corporations, an astounding wealth redistribution scheme which looks very much like socialism for the wealthy and against the small business owners.
We are far better off with widely diversified ownership of small businesses than with huge Corporate monopolies.
Let's turn back the clock!
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Tom! I can't agree with you more. Part of wealth equity is leveling the playing field to allow other to compete, and a big part of those (of necessity) start out as small businesses. People working for themselves is the main incentive that makes capitalism successful.
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I don't even know where to apply for stimulus money. There have been announcements in the media that stimulus money is coming, but I have no idea how to apply for it. How do I get stimulus money for job retraining?