Monday Mailing
Year 24 • Issue 08 06 November 2017
12.
Quote of the Week: “Like water, be gentle and strong. Be gentle enough to follow the natural paths of the earth, and strong enough to rise up and reshape the world.” -- Brenda Peterson Oregon Fast Fact: Reportedly, Oregon has more ghost towns than any other state. Check out Hardman, Sumpter, and Shaniko.
1. Event: Gorge Women in STEM, Featuring PDX Women in Tech – November 9th @ 6pm in Hood River 2. Fire Recovery Group Sets Priorities 3. Natural Hazards Library Catalog 4. Wine Country and Cannabis 5. Wyden And Merkley Still in The dark on Plan to Shrink CascadeSiskiyou National Monument 6. Rural Broadband Capacity Pilot Program Announced – Request for Interest and Information 7. Protest and Resistance: As American As Cornbread and Biscuits 8. Resource: Community Resilience Planning Guide for Buildings and Infrastructure Systems 9. Why Autonomous Cars Will Turn Back the Clock on Sustainable Cities 10. Ten Principles for Responsible Tourism 11. Resource: Resident Engagement Guidebook - Exploring Readiness and Options 1. Event: Gorge Women in STEM, Featuring PDX Women in Tech – November 9th @ 6pm in Hood River The GTA is helping support a new initiative for women working in science, tech, engineering and math (STEM) fields in the Gorge. As a result of increasing interest in such a group, the GTA had a soft launch networking event in October and is planning a larger event for November 9. Everyone interested in learning more is welcome women and men alike, and children are allowed. The Nov. 9 event includes time for networking and a presentation from Megan Bigelow, President and Co-Founder of PDX Women in Tech. Since 2012, PDX Women in Tech has been working to "strengthen the Portland women in tech community by offering educational programs, partnerships, mentorships, resources and opportunities." Megan will share the history of the group, their work and lessons learned as foodfor-thought for the budding initiative in the Gorge. Come meet others, learn and provide thoughts on how a group in the Gorge could support our women STEM professionals. Location: Springhouse Cellar Winery, 13 Railroad Ave., Hood River For more information about this event, click here. 2. Fire Recovery Group Sets Priorities Erosion control and economic impact studies are the immediate priorities the Chetco Bar Fire Recovery Council wants addressed next month at the state Legislature, the group decided Monday morning. The council, created by Gov. Kate Brown, met for the first time to prioritize its goals for recovery from the wildfire that burned 191,125 acres in the burn scar of the Biscuit Fire in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness and Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.
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The fire came within 5 miles of Brookings, burned six homes, forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents and cost about $70 million to extinguish. “I don’t think there is any reason to delay our work,” said Alex Campbell, the Regional Solutions coordinator on the council. “The charter says we should have our recommendations to the governor by the end of December. I don’t see why we should be any later than that.” To access the full story, click here. 3. Natural Hazards Library Catalog The Natural Hazards Center Library is a singular collection of hazards resources that focus on how society copes with natural hazards and catastrophic events. Our library houses a wide spectrum of information for both researchers and practitioners. Regardless of discipline, this extensive collection will provide practical, applied, and academic support to those in need of disaster knowledge. Anyone can search the library’s online catalog, which provides bibliographic access to the collection, and direct access to hundreds of titles. In addition to this online service, for a fee, Library staff is available to conduct custom searches of the collection and answer other hazards-related questions. We are happy to guide your research or put you in touch with people or institutions that may have the answers you need. To access the Natural Hazards Center Library, click here. 4. Wine Country and Cannabis An “elephant” roams the fields of Southern Oregon, so to speak. Although many would rather ignore cannabis, everyone definitely has an opinion about it. No matter where you live in this part of the state, there’s likely a retail shop or grow site nearby, and as fall harvest continues, its skunky smell competes with the sweet, fruity scents of nearby pears and wine grapes. Although industrial hemp and medical marijuana are not new crops in Oregon, Measure 91 legalized recreational use and cultivation of cannabis in 2015, increasing legal production and challenging almost every aspect of the state’s agricultural and regulatory assumptions. As the cannabis industry grows, winegrowers and other farmers are learning how to co-exist with cannabis, adapting to the changing agricultural environment, including increased competition for resources, while welcoming new opportunities. To access the full story, click here. 5. Wyden And Merkley Still in The dark on Plan to Shrink Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument More than a month after a draft plan from the Trump administration to shrink the CascadeSiskiyou National Monument leaked, Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said they have yet to be briefed about the plan. The Democratic senators blasted the draft report from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive on Sept. 18 as inaccurate and misleading and said they were "disappointed" to still be waiting for more details. Wyden and Merkley addressed a letter to President Donald Trump's chief of staff, Gen. John Kelly, on Tuesday expressing their frustration with the process. Page 2 of 4
Among the inaccuracies they cited: Zinke's 19-page draft falsely stated that the 113,000-acre protected area where the Cascade, Klamath and Siskiyou mountains converge prohibits motorized travel and remaining roads are "unpassable and unsuitable for use." To access the full story, click here. 6. Rural Broadband Capacity Pilot Program Announced – Request for Interest and Information Governor Kate Brown has announced the formation of a new Rural Broadband Capacity Pilot Program, with an allocation of up to $500,000 for grants from the state’s Strategic Reserve Fund. These grants will be awarded in support of broadband planning, engineering and/or deployment projects that target rural or underserved populations. To learn more about the program including how to participate. To access the Request for Interests and Information, click here. 7. Protest and Resistance: As American As Cornbread and Biscuits What is a pastor to do? Some church members are making posters and marching in protest. Some are irritated by the protest and questioning other’s patriotism. And these folks are often members of the same congregation! We are entering a new season of American protest and anxious reaction to it. I am not the protesting type, but I can share a story as a reminder that protesting is nothing new and is sometimes the way we learn important realities of which we had been previously unaware. On the last Sunday of October, the 29th, many Christians around the world will be marking the 500th anniversary of a small protest that became emblematic for the Protestant Reformation. On All Saints’ Eve, October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, a learned monk, nailed a statement titled “Ninety-five Theses upon Indulgences,” to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Luther objected to the lavish, wealthy leaders of Rome manipulating the poor religious German people out of their money. That moment in history was ripe for a symbolic gesture not unlike Rosa Park’s refusal to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama on December 1, 1955. To access the full story, click here. 8. Resource: Community Resilience Planning Guide for Buildings and Infrastructure Systems Natural, technological, and human-caused hazards take a high toll on communities, but the costs in lives, livelihoods and quality of life can be reduced by better managing disaster risks. Planning and implementing prioritized measures can strengthen resilience and improve a community's abilities to continue or restore vital services in a more timely way, and to build back better after damaging events. That makes them better prepared for future events and more attractive to businesses and residents alike. The NIST Community Resilience Planning Guide for Buildings and Infrastructure Systems (Guide) provides a practical and flexible approach to help all communities improve their resilience by setting priorities and allocating resources to manage risks for their prevailing hazards. Volume I of the Guide describes the six step planning process and provides a worked example to illustrate the process. Volume II is a resource that describes how to characterize the social and economic dimensions of the community, dependencies and cascading consequences, and building and infrastructure performance. Using the Guide can help communities to integrate consistent resilience goals into their comprehensive, economic development, zoning, mitigation, and other local planning activities that impact buildings, public utilities, and other infrastructure systems.
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To access the NIST Community Resilience Planning Guide for Buildings and Infrastructure Systems, click here. 9. Why Autonomous Cars Will Turn Back the Clock on Sustainable Cities Within the next 10 years autonomous cars could reverse the trend to free cities from private vehicles, instead flooding the streets with even more cars, undermining public transit, and leaving no space for other uses. During a recent conference about streetcars and public transport, former NYC Traffic Commissioner Samuel Schwartz, a.k.a. Gridlock Sam, author of “Street Smart: The Rise of Cities and the Fall of Cars�, said that the arrival of autonomous cars will increase the Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT), reverse the millennial trend eschewing driving, decimate public transport, and increase the occurrence of inactivity related illnesses. To access the full story, click here. 10. Ten Principles for Responsible Tourism Where did you go on your last vacation? Was it rewarding and satisfying? Would you recommend it to a friend? Did the destination meet your expectations, or were you disappointed? Did traffic congestion, dirty air, crowded beaches, slipshod service, or excessive commercialism leave you feeling frustrated and cheated? Tourism is big business. Americans spend more than $800 billion a year on travel and recreational pursuits away from home. Tourism is one of the three largest industries in every American state and a critical factor in the U.S. and world economies. However, tourism is also a double-edged sword. On one hand, it provides communities with many benefits: new jobs, an expanded tax base, enhanced infrastructure, improved facilities, and an expanded market for local products, art, and handicrafts. In short, it can be an important tool for community revitalization. On the other hand, it can create problems and burdens for local communities such as crowding, traffic congestion, noise, increased crime, haphazard development, cost-of-living increases for residents, and degraded resources. To access the full story, click here. 11. Resource: Resident Engagement Guidebook - Exploring Readiness and Options The Resident Engagement Guidebook is designed for community foundations interested in engaging residents more deeply in addressing pressing community challenges. It is geared primarily toward community foundation staff and board members, however the resources and tools found in this Guidebook are not exclusive to this audience. Private foundations, community-based organizations and local government may also find this Guidebook useful and are encouraged to apply it in their own work. To access the Resident Engagement Guidebook, click here.
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