Editor's Take: November 06, 2009
SoulRider.222,flickr
Bridging the Recession
The recession has changed family dynamics - more women have become breadwinners, housework is being shared (for now) and young workers are struggling mightily to find work. And on the border of Washington and Oregon, groups are arguing a massive and expensive I-5 bridge project over the Columbia River should be downsized to reflect the times.
Editor's Top Picks
Your editor today is Jennifer Langston | View All Today's News
Groups push for a less expensive I-5 bridge
Portland Tribune
11/06/2009
Groups are urging WA and OR leaders to toss out the proposed massive $4 billion, 12-lane Columbia River Crossing bridge project and start over, using a new approach that starts with region's shared values of economic vitality, affordable transportation, safe and healthy neighborhoods and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Go to article.
Anxiety ebbs over Green River flooding
Seattle Times
11/06/2009
The odds of severe flooding in the Green River Valley have dropped substantially due to repairs on the Howard Hanson Dam. But that relief was followed by barely contained frustration that months of high anxiety have come at great psychic and financial expense - and that the wait for a permanent fix could sap the region further even if a flood never comes.
Go to article.
Generation recession
The Nation
11/05/2009
When David Thyme was an even younger man, his fantasies of early adulthood did not include a 9:30 pm curfew and a bed in Covenant House, a shelter for homeless youth. They also didn't include a recession so severe that his financially strapped father would ask him to help with rent - or kick him out when he couldn't find an entry-level job to do so.
Go to article.
Ready to jump off the grid?
Oregonian
11/05/2009
Researchers believe the day is coming when the electricity you use will be your own. Instead of relying on large central generating stations - hydroelectric dams, coal plants and the like - scientists say we're moving toward an era of "personalized solar energy."
Go to article.
Study: Options are key in sex ed curriculum
Washington Post
11/06/2009
Sex education programs that encourage teens to delay sexual activity but also teach them how to reduce their chances of getting pregnant or a sexually transmitted disease cut risky sexual behavior, increase condom use and lower the chances of getting the AIDS virus and other infections, an independent expert panel concluded in a report released Friday.
Go to article.
From he-cession to housework?
Toronto Globe and Mail
11/05/2009
An estimated two million wives are now the sole breadwinners in families across America as more men than women have been laid off in this recession. Experts say that unemployed husbands are probably taking on more of the housework and childcare duties - for now. But they don't expect that change to stick.
Go to article.
Canada plans inquiry into disappearance of BC sockeye
Vancouver Sun
11/06/2009
Canada will stage a judicial inquiry into the collapse of sockeye salmon runs on the Fraser River, which have been in a two-decade decline and hit a 50-year low in summer 2009. It has prompted concerns that sockeye are heading for a population failure on the scale of the collapse of Atlantic cod.
Go to article.
Rural NW could receive economic boost
Oregonian
11/05/2009
Rural and disadvantaged communities in the Northwest could receive an economic boost thanks to $30 million in new markets tax credits allocated to Portland-based Ecotrust. The nonprofit organization plans to target former timber towns struggling to recover jobs and tribes working for economic benefits by improving the health of forests.
Go to article.
Target, Kmart and Toys-R-Us settle lead claims
Los Angeles Times
11/06/2009
Three major retailers have agreed to pay nearly half a million dollars to settle a lawsuit stemming from the companies' sale of toys containing excessive amounts of lead, the California attorney general's office said Thursday.
Go to article.
Climate change: Threat or opportunity?
Washington Post
11/06/2009
A curious debate has broken out among American environmental groups, as the Senate balkily starts to focus on the threat of climate change. Is this really the time to talk about shrinking glaciers?
Go to article.
