Editor's Take: June 06, 2008
The Opportunity Agenda, Flickr
Striving for Health Care Equality
Oregon's health care may be improving, but The Oregonian reports that the distribution of services is not equal. African Americans are 34 percent more likely to be hospitalized for preventable health issues. The good news: An Oregon health coalition and the Puget Sound Health Alliance are two of 14 in the nation to receive $1 million health care grants.
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Your editor today is Christina Claassen | View All Today's News
Equal Health Care for Oregonians
Oregonian
06/06/2008
Oregon's health care system performs near the top at preventing unnecessary hospitalizations, but a closer look at the numbers reveals some unsettling inequalities.
African Americans, for instance, are about 34 percent more likely than whites to be hospitalized for problems that can be prevented by good medical care.
Go to article.
National Funding to Green Up Schools
Los Angeles Times
06/05/2008
The House on Wednesday committed more than $20 billion over the next five years to help states build and renovate schools to make them more energy-efficient and good for the environment.
Democrats said the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act would save school districts billions in energy costs while reducing asthma and other environmentally linked health problems.
Go to article.
WIC Nutrition Program Important to Native Americans
Indian Country Today
06/06/2008
Officially known as the national Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, WIC is a well-known presence in Indian country, providing nutrition for low-income pregnant and postpartum women and their children up to the fifth birthday.
With food costs rising across the United States, the program's dollars aren't going as far anywhere. In Indian country, WIC recipients don't have a lot of alternatives.
Go to article.
Blueprint to Portland's Sustainable City Plan
Portland Tribune
06/06/2008
The importance of combating climate change will be stressed when Svend Auken, the First Vice President of the Danish Parliament, addresses the kickoff of a three-year process to draft Portland's city plan. Auken will discuss sustainable design and planning options.
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Vancouver, B.C. Needs Creativity for Affordable Housing
Vancouver Sun
06/06/2008
Vancouver is poised to become one of the creative cities of the world, but that success could be eroded if it can't find a way to provide affordable housing, says the current guru of urban planning.
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Brighter Future for Solar Panels
The Christian Science Monitor
06/05/2008
For years, the solar industry has faced a bottleneck in processing quartz into polysilicon, a principal material used in most solar panels.
Now the silicon shortage may be coming to an end, predict some solar analysts, thanks to new factories coming online.
Go to article.
Views: Thinking Long Term On Salmon Recovery
Oregonian
06/06/2008
A boom-and-bust cycle has played havoc with the West Coast's $290 million salmon industry. But helping idled fishermen with massive federal largesse, no matter how justified, treats only the symptoms of a complex problem.
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In Juneau, Firm Resistance to a Road Out of Isolation
New York Times
06/06/2008
Beyond the political and environmental fight that will determine whether the nearly $400 million Juneau Access Road will ever be built, there is a central question: What would the improved access change the most, Juneau or outsiders' perceptions of it?
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Rural Oregon Must Say Goodbye to Timber Funds
Alaska Public Radio Network
06/06/2008
A program that provides payments to rural counties and boroughs affected by reduced logging in national forests expires at the end of this month. But today, the U.S. House voted down a bill that would have continued the program.
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B.C. Forests Aching for New Trees
Toronto Globe and Mail
06/06/2008
The replanting of British Columbia's forests is falling behind because of economic woes affecting industry, and a funding lapse in the government's reforestation program that is unable to keep pace with the voracious mountain pine beetle.
Go to article.
