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I work for a local community college, and as a result of the economic meltdown and the subsequent budget shortfall, we are starting the 2009/2010 school year this Fall after having been forced to lay off large numbers of staff and faculty, cut operating budgets, impose a hiring freeze throughout the institution, increase class sizes, and otherwise attempt to do much more with far fewer resources. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that due to the economy and the job market, enrollment is at or near an all-time high. Everyone is thrilled that enrollment is up, but resources in every department are stretched to the breaking point. If indeed there are enough signatures gathered to bring this referendum to a vote and it passes, further cuts in personnel and services will undoubtedly have to be made.

I appreciate that nobody likes the thought of paying higher taxes, whether they are imposed on those with high incomes, corporations, or everybody across the board, but without this $733 million tax package many of the educational opportunities and retraining programs that can help us work our way out of this recession simply won't be available. Without these dollars, there won't be anybody to teach the classes, or adequate support staff to keep the schools operating at a level that can accommodate all of those students who are trying to prepare for a degree, or to enter the workforce, or are seeking retraining in a new and difficult economy.

It is easy to make a superficial argument that increasing taxes will hurt the economy. But in this case, at least when it comes to the operation of schools, the opposite is true. Without these tax dollars many fewer Oregonians will have the opportunity to achieve their goals and dreams, because the resources will not be available to support those goals and dreams. Our future economy depends on our ability to adapt to a changing social and economic landscape, and that ability to adapt requires the avilability of educational resources.

Without this tax package, it will be our future that suffers, both economically, and socially.

Thank you for the opportunity to voice my concerns.

K.D. Cline - Milwaukie, Oregon

posted 3 years, 8 months ago
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I guess I only have one position on the whole ebook reader thing, and that is;

When Amazon (or any other vendor) tells me that I can purchase the hardware and the ebooks, and then do whatever I want with them, such as let my friends borrow the books, move them from one reader to another as I upgrade, and as many times as I want, and see any file format that I want, then I will think that the industry is working to benefit readers.

If the system is locked down, proprietary, and if the terms of OWNERSHIP are unclear, or is crippled by DRM this is not a solution to, or an improvement over, books that I can actually buy and own.

KC

posted 3 years, 10 months ago
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How do we get these materials out of the forest? Well, we have a very high population of non-violent offenders in our corrections system that could probably use a little fresh air and the chance to do something productive with their time.

How about getting some of them out in the woods to collect these materials (including invasives) and get them to areas where they can more easily be transported.

Win/win. (Maybe a little tongue-in-cheek, but we have to think out of the box, no?)

posted 3 years, 11 months ago
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Hmmmmm, Biomass eh?

I wonder approximately how many metric tons of English Ivy, Scotch Broom, and Himalayan Blackberry there are in the region? Man, those invasives sure grow FAST!!

:^)

I'm just sayin'

posted 3 years, 11 months ago
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I too swam in the Willamette as a kid in the late '60s and early '70s, and as far as I know, have suffered no ill affects. I grew up in the Milwaukie area and we used to swim at the boat ramp at the bottom of Oak Grove Blvd. almost daily in the summertime.

This is purely anecdotal, as I am not a environmental scientist, but the river seems visually as clean, or cleaner as I remember it to be almost 40 years ago. I have not had occasion to swim in the Willamette lately, but I wouldn't hesitate to do so unless there was a specific warning at the time. I will admit that I would probably be more comfortable upstream from Portland though...

Good show today. Thanks,

Kent

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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