Monday Mailing
Year 26 • Issue 22 10 February 2020 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
The Workers, Farmers And Researchers Left In The Wake Of NORPAC's Sale (Tia Hatton) Milwaukie Is First City In Oregon To Declare Climate Emergency (Michael Hoch) Oregon Lawmakers Look To Supersize Firefighting And Forest Cleanups; Critics Say It Could Be Counterproductive (Katie McFall) States Invest in the Outdoor Recreation by Opening Offices Dedicated to the Sector’s Growth Youth From Across Oregon Declare A Climate Emergency (Michael Hoch) Oregon Rural School Network Helps Leverage Resources Are Rural Communities (Untapped) Hotbeds Of Innovation? Meet The Woman Behind Harney County's Bus System GRANT – 2020 AARP Community Challenge WEBINAR - Land Banks 101: The Fundamentals of Land Banking and Equitable Development
1. The Workers, Farmers And Researchers Left In The Wake Of NORPAC's Sale Farmer Gary Cook used to feel such pride in NORPAC.
Quote of the Week:
“Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.” —Wilma Rudolph
Oregon Fast Fact #22
Darlingtonia Wayside is Oregon's only rare plant sanctuary.
He’d been growing for the farmer-owned cooperative since 1982. Served for years on its board. He loved walking into the store, buying bags of his own frozen corn or green beans. Telling other people to buy them too. “We had pride in the quality of the products, the labels, our reputation,” he said. “You loved driving down the freeway and seeing the signs. And so, to see it all fall apart, it’s heartbreaking.” Today, NORPAC is gone. Until recently, it was the largest fruit and vegetable processor in Oregon. But in August, the nearly century-old cooperative declared bankruptcy and sold itself off in pieces. Sold: its facility in Quincy, Washington. Sold: its inventory, trademarks and even the NORPAC name. The $49 million sale of the last big piece — three processing and packing plants in Salem, Brooks and Stayton — was finalized Friday. The announcement of a further sale of the Brooks plant was expected momentarily. To access the full story, click here. Page 1 of 6
2. Milwaukie Is First City In Oregon To Declare Climate Emergency The mayor of Milwaukie tells KATU he hopes the city is setting an example, by becoming the first in Oregon to declare a climate emergency. "We’ve been told by the best scientists in the world that we have 10 years. That seems like a long time, but when all the things we have to change are so intrinsic to our society, it’s not a long time. It’s a very short time," Mayor Mark Gamba said. Over the next 10 years, the city intends to plant almost 25,000 trees. They will also be speaking with local companies like PGE and Precision Castparts, with the goal of finding renewable energy options. "The point of declaring a climate state of emergency is to sort of make the statement that we need to engage in this like we engaged in World War II," Gamba said. Over the next 10 years, the city intends to plant almost 25,000 trees. To access the full story, click here.
3. Oregon Lawmakers Look To Supersize Firefighting And Forest Cleanups; Critics Say It Could Be Counterproductive Legislators will consider several bills in the upcoming short session that could expand and overhaul the way Oregon works to fight – and prevent – wildfires.
The plans include an unprecedented effort to restore forest health through thinning, removing brush and small trees, and increasing prescribed burns. Over the next 20 years, supporters aim to do that work on 5.6 million acres of forest and rangelands -- an area equivalent to the state of New Jersey, or nearly 10 percent of Oregon’s entire land base. The proposals also call for expanding firefighting resources at the Oregon Department of Forestry, putting more boots on the ground and modernizing equipment to put fires out when they’re small, thereby keeping costs low. And they would add administrative staff to make sure the state is promptly invoicing and collecting its firefighting costs – a problem that drove the Department of Forestry to the brink of insolvency last fall. These were among the recommendations from a task force that Gov. Kate Brown empaneled last year to look at the state’s wildfire preparedness. They come against a backdrop of massively destructive and deadly fires in Australia and California and at a time when global warming, drought and more than a century of past firefighting policies are conspiring to extend the state’s fire season, increase its severity, choke big portions of the state with smoke, and drive firefighting costs ever higher. To access the full story, click here.
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4. States Invest in the Outdoor Recreation by Opening Offices Dedicated to the Sector’s Growth
Sixteen state governments have created outdoor-recreation offices to help spur economic growth in rural areas by promoting activities like hiking, climbing, mountain biking, and whitewater sports. The trend underscores the belief that such sports are an economic boon for rural areas. Montana created the Office of Outdoor Recreation within the state’s Office of Economic Development in 2017. “A lot of people are surprised when I give them statistics and numbers about the outdoor recreation economy in Montana,” said Rachel VandeVoort, director of the Office of Outdoor Recreation. “Outdoor recreation represents over 5 percent of our economy and $70 billion in annual consumer spending in Montana, and creates more than 71,000 jobs.” VandeVoort, an outdoors enthusiast and Montana’s first outdoor recreation director, says an outdoor lifestyle is something most Montanans enjoy without considering their economic impact. “A lot of times, people will say to me, ‘but I don’t recreate,’ and these are people who hunt, who fish, who ride UTVs (all-terrain vehicles). These people, these traditions and ways of life are all part of the growth of the outdoor economy. It’s not just tourists from out of state.” To access the full story, click here.
5. Youth From Across Oregon Declare A Climate Emergency
Youth from around the state declared at a Portland rally Thursday that Oregon is in the midst of a climate emergency. They called on government leaders to take action now and create policies that address climate change. This comes as state legislators gather in Salem to consider a proposal aimed at reducing and regulating greenhouse gas emissions. Last June, Oregon Senate Republicans walked out and prevented a vote that would have put a cap on carbon emissions and charged polluters for their greenhouse gas emissions. A similar bill has been put forth this short session. Nearly three dozen youth and environmental activists gathered in the latest in a series of Portland rallies over the past year to say enough is enough. Students from around the state took turns addressing the gathering and sharing their concerns about climate change and how it is affecting their communities. Several also described their ideas for curbing greenhouse gas emissions. One of the event’s big themes: that the time to act is now. “My people have self-sustained by traditional foods our entire history. It hasn’t been until recently that we have had such a decline of salmon in our rivers,” said Jeidah DeZurney, president of the Siletz Tribal Youth Council. “The causes can be directly linked to climate change and pollution in our Siletz River. Our traditional way of life and culture is in danger.” Page 3 of 6
DeZurney, 21, is a student at Willamette University. She called on government leaders for a transition from carbon-emitting energy like coal and natural gas to carbon-free energy. The burning of carbon-based fuel is the biggest contribution humans are making to climate change. To access the full story, click here.
6. Oregon Rural School Network Helps Leverage Resources
The vast majority of Oregon’s school districts have only one high school. Officials at the Oregon Rural School Network believe those schools get less attention, and have different needs than urban districts. They aim to create a network of support. At Santiam Canyon High School, Superintendent Todd Miller says classical music isn’t offered. “They weren’t looking for a traditional orchestra, band type class. They really wanted pop music, current music so we do kinda run a rock, pop music program.” Miller says the biggest drawback to being a small district is lack of capacity. “We don’t have quite the resource of larger schools. A lot of times, we have to get very creative to support the kids as we need to.” Santiam Canyon has about 600 students in two buildings. It pulls from a huge geographic area in the Cascade foothills east of Salem including Mill City, Detroit and Marion Forks. “You kind of feel on an island a little bit," says Miller. "A lot of times as a school leader you don’t have those people to even just bounce ideas off of.” Enter Mike Garling. “Just getting teachers is hard, getting specialists is really difficult, and then they really don’t get access to deep, embedded professional learning opportunities,” says Garling. He's the Coordinator of the Oregon Rural School Network. He began working with stateidentified focus schools years ago. More recently, his group has partnered with Eugene-based nonprofit Inflexion to provide services to supplement Educational Service Districts. To access the full story, click here.
7. Are Rural Communities (Untapped) Hotbeds Of Innovation?
Traditionally, thinking has it that innovation is something concentrated in large, urban areas. The agglomeration effect is a topic I've touched on before, and basically suggests that large populations are great for innovation not only because they bring diverse populations together to create ideas and develop them into products, but the large local market also helps in those incredibly fragile early stages as the idea is taken to market. Of course, recent years have also seen a stark social, economic and political divide between these large cities and smaller towns and rural areas, with many such places feeling left behind by both globalization and the political classes. New research from Penn State suggests that this lack of attention is perhaps unwarranted, and indeed rural places may actually be hotbeds of innovation. Page 4 of 6
The researchers argue that these hidden innovators bring a wide range of social and economic benefits to not only the local businesses and communities, but also the wider economy. As such, they urge policy makers to look again at rural communities as potential hubs for innovation. “The way we traditionally measure innovation is very narrow, and focuses primarily on new products or processes that result in a patent or involve R&D spending. This overlooks another kind of innovation—the incremental improvements that businesses make to their products and processes as a result of information they obtain from outside their firm," the researchers explain. "Our measure shows that this latent, or hidden, innovation is at least as important to local income and employment growth as patent-level innovation." To access the full story, click here.
8. Meet The Woman Behind Harney County's Bus System
Darlene Needham holds back tears when she thinks about retiring. “Because it’s my baby and I don’t want to give it up,” she said, mascara melting a little.
But when the phone rings at her desk inside the Harney County Senior Center, Needham pivots right back to business: “Dial-a-ride, this is Darlene. Who are you and where are you at?” Needham is the founder of a ride service for seniors and others who don’t drive in one of Oregon’s most sprawling counties. Some 25 years ago, she was the region’s sole public transit employee — driving, dispatching, you name it. The only vehicle at her disposal wasn’t even wheelchair accessible. Now, there’s a fleet of 10 professional buses, with drivers averaging 500 miles a day. As word got out, demand soared. “We couldn’t serve any more people with the door-to-door service. We were turning people away and it was super frustrating,” recalled Angie Lamborn, executive director for the Harney County Senior and Community Services Center. But in recent years, state and federal funding supported more fixed bus routes, and that has changed who’s riding. In January, service between Burns, Hines and Bend will improve with more regular stops at predictable times. It’s one sliver of a statewide shift in public transportation funding. To access the full story, click here.
9. GRANT – 2020 AARP Community Challenge
The AARP Community Challenge provides small grants to fund "quick-action" projects that can help communities become more livable for people of all ages. Applications are being accepted for projects to improve housing, transportation, public space, technology ("smart cities"), civic engagement and more.
Important Dates • April 1, 2020: Applications are due by 11:59 pm (ET) • May 26, 2020: Applicants will be notified of their status this week Page 5 of 6
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July 15, 2020: The selected grantees will be announced to the public — and the project work can begin — on or around this date November 9, 2020: All funded projects must be completed December 11, 2020: Deadline for after-action reports
AARP will prioritize projects that aim to achieve the following outcomes: •
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Increasing civic engagement with innovative and tangible projects that bring residents and local leaders together to address challenges and facilitate a greater sense of community inclusion and diversity. (Although this category is targeted to local governments, nonprofit organizations can apply for and receive a grant in this category provided they demonstrate that they are working with local governments to solicit and include residents’ insights about the project or to help solve a pressing challenge.) Create vibrant public places that improve open spaces, parks and access to other amenities. Deliver a range of transportation and mobility options that increase connectivity, walkability, bikeability, wayfinding, access to transportation options and roadway improvements. Support the availability of a range of housing that increases accessible and affordable housing options. Demonstrate the tangible value of “Smart Cities” with programs that engage residents in accessing, understanding and using data, and participating in decision-making to increase the quality of life for all. Other community improvements: In addition to the five areas of focus, AARP wants to hear about local needs and new, innovative ideas for addressing them.
To learn more about the grant opportunity, click here.
10. WEBINAR - Land Banks 101: The Fundamentals of Land Banking and Equitable Development (Thursday, February 27th 9 AM Pacific)
In the last decade, the number of land banks in the United States has increased exponentially, to almost 200 across more than 15 states . Attend this session to learn how one core success strategy for addressing vacancy, tax delinquency, and abandonment is helping communities drive equitable development.
In this session you’ll learn: • The history and unique powers of land banks, • How to evaluate when and if a land bank is the right community fit, • The top land banking pitfalls to avoid, and • Successful strategies for partnerships While land banks are not a silver bullet, they can serve as a powerful tool to advance community-driven goals to advance equity in your neighborhood. Register today to learn how. To register for the webinar, click here.
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