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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.
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Haggling over abortion compromise in health bill
New York Times
11/04/2009
US House Democratic leaders struggled Wednesday to strike a deal that would restrict the use of federal money to pay for abortions under sweeping health care legislation headed for debate on the House floor this week.
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Views: Libby finally gets aid for asbestos
Spokesman Review
11/05/2009
Libby, Mont., is finally getting substantial help for its sick and dying residents. Triggered by the federal government's unprecedented declaration of a public health emergency, money from a $6 million health care grant will start flowing to the town this month.
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Constantine wins King County exec
Seattle Times
11/04/2009
Riding a late-breaking wave of liberal support, Dow Constantine - a pro-abortion-rights, pro-labor, pro-transit Democrat - handily defeated Susan Hutchison on Tuesday in a rancorous race for King County executive. Now he has to clean up the county's budget, which is projected to face a $110 million shortfall over the next two years.
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OR adds 10,000 children to health plan
Corvallis Gazette-Times
11/03/2009
More than 10,000 children have been added to the state health plan under a new law aimed at expanding health insurance coverage to nearly every child in Oregon, officials said Tuesday.
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Portland aims for Denmark-style bike culture
Willamette Week
11/02/2009
If city planners have their way, Copenhagen will be the model for Portland's urban transportation network. Bikes account for 55 percent of all trips in the Danish city, and 37 percent of commutes. Portland's commuting number -- near tops among large US cities and growing -- is a comparatively scanty 8 percent.
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Consumer group finds elevated BPA levels in food
Los Angeles Times
11/02/2009
A consumer advocacy group's analysis of canned goods has found measurable levels of the chemical additive bisphenol A (BPA) across a range of foods, including some that were labeled "BPA free." Children eating multiple servings of some of the tested food could get doses of BPA "near levels that have caused adverse effects in several animal studies."
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Study: Half of US kids will receive food stamps
USA Today
11/02/2009
Whether for the long term or for getting through a temporary financial crisis, half of American kids will live in households receiving food stamps before age 20, according to a study reported Monday in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
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Many workers can't afford the flu
Everett Herald
11/03/2009
For millions of Americans without paid sick leave, the rule is simple: If you don't come to work, you don't get paid. That idea drives an untold numbers of carpenters, day care workers, servers, shopkeepers and small-business owners to their jobs each day. Swine flu symptoms or not.
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Coal-friendly stream buffer rule may take another year
Seattle Times
11/02/2009
The Obama administration says reversing a last-minute Bush-era surface mining regulation criticized as too friendly to coal companies is going to take at least another year.
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Clorox to stop using, transporting chlorine in US
San Francisco Chronicle
11/02/2009
Laws already bar transporting toxic materials, including substances that can vaporize, such as chlorine, through large cities.
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How H1N1 could sideswipe Canada's economy
Toronto Globe and Mail
11/02/2009
Flu season is becoming the latest headwind for the Canadian economy, which has already been hit by a strong dollar and tepid demand.
The H1N1 flu means up to 8 million more Canadians could fall ill, the Winnipeg-based International Centre for Infectious Disease estimates, with absenteeism posing a threat to productivity just as the economy is struggling out of recession.
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Where's the birth control?
The Nation
11/01/2009
Just as the prognosis for our health-care system is beginning to look sunnier, another complication emerges: so far, reform legislation has failed to require insurers to cover some basic services for womens' health, including birth control.
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Millions without sick leave fear swine flu
Seattle Times
11/01/2009
For millions of Americans the rule is simple: If you don't come to work, you don't get paid. That idea drives an untold numbers of carpenters, day care workers, servers, and small-business owners to their jobs each day. Sniffles or not.
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In troubled Vancouver 'hood, a place to grow food
Toronto Globe and Mail
11/01/2009
Hunger is a concern in the Downtown Eastside neighborhood of Vancouver, BC. Many people there rely on food banks, and don't get the nutrients they need. Fruits and vegetables are hard to come by. A new half-acre farm could help -- plus provide needed jobs.
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Views: A chemical we can live without
Oregonian
10/29/2009
All of us carry around unwanted harmful substances in our bodies. They come from mercury in our fish, stain repellants in carpet, flame retardants in sofa cushions, phthalates in our shampoo, and bisphenol A in our children's sippy cups.
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House Dems unveil health bill, cheered on by Obama
San Francisco Chronicle
10/29/2009
Cheered by President Barack Obama, House Democrats rolled out landmark legislation to extend health care to tens of millions who lack coverage, impose sweeping new restrictions on the insurance industry, and create a government-run option to compete with private insurers.
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US census will report same-sex couples
CNN
10/28/2009
The 2010 US census is the first that will report the numbers of same-sex couples who describe themselves as married, or more specifically, who use the terms husband and wife.
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House health compromise has 'public option'
Los Angeles Times
10/28/2009
Paving the way for a critical vote on health-care legislation in the next two weeks, House Democratic leaders plan to unveil a compromise bill Thursday that would create a nationwide government-run insurance plan but omit what many liberals consider the key to cost control.
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Portland bike plan: Reverse discrimination?
Portland Oregonian
10/27/2009
Only in Portland could motorists feel like they are the victims of discrimination.
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Rural poor in 'double bind' with food
Corvallis Gazette-Times
10/27/2009
A new study by Oregon State University researchers shows that those in poverty in rural Oregon often know what kinds of foods they should be eating, but face tough choices. When times were tough and money tight, food became a flexible expense.
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Views: Maternity leave for the self-employed
The Tyee
10/28/2009
Without it, there's no level breeding field.
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'Public option' for Senate health bill
Oregonian
10/27/2009
A sleepy Monday on Capitol Hill was interrupted by serious breaking news today when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that the health care bill the chamber will soon debate will include a public option.
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Views: Public health option comes back from the dead
Oregonian
10/27/2009
The process of health care reform in this country has always been arduous, messy and discouraging. Monday, however, Reid made it encouraging with his clear message that a much-needed public option is anything but dead.
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Public option push in Senate comes with escape hatch
New York Times
10/27/2009
The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, sided with his party's liberals on Monday and announced that he would include a government-run insurance plan in health care legislation that he plans to take to the Senate floor within a few weeks.
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