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Monday Mailing

Year 20 • Issue 33 12 May 2014 1. An Occupy Founder Says the Next Revolution will be Rural 2. Test Drivers Take ELF -- An Electric, Solar Pedal Vehicle -- For a Spin 3. Transit Activist, Urban Scholar Benjamin Ross Says Portland is a Model for How Cities Should grow (Q&A) 4. Columbia River Gorge's Top 10 Trails for Spring, Summer Hiking 5. Showdown at the Organic Standards Board Meeting 6. How to Make the Most of Meetings 7. First Wind Turbine on Umatilla Tribal Land Dedicated 8. EPA Releases EnviroAtlas Ecosystem Mapping Tool 9. Preparing For the Boom 10. ODOT Embarks on "Big Data" Project With Purchase of Strava Dataset 11. Funding Opportunities 1. An Occupy Founder Says the Next Revolution will be Rural In a boarded-up hotel along a windy country road, a couple dozen activists are gathered for a workshop. They are mostly women, and mostly over 40. The workshop is being held by Micah White, one of the instigators of Occupy Wall Street.

Quote of the Week: “It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want—oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” ― Mark Twain Oregon Fast Fact: The nation's most photographed lighthouse is the Heceta Head Lighthouse located in Lane County.

After the dust settled from Occupy, White packed up his bags in the Bay Area and moved here to Nehalem, a small town in one of the poorest counties in rural Oregon. Nehalem sits on the Pacific Coast, in the shadows of popular vacation destination Manzanita. But White isn’t here for a vacation, and he came to town with a mission.

The demise of Occupy left everyone with one question: “Now what?” Almost three years later, White is helping the founders of Occupy, US Uncut, and others to launch The After Party, a new political party on “a mission to restore democracy” and occupy the ballot box in time for the 2016 elections. How? By organizing statewide ballot initiatives, ousting corrupt officials, and encouraging everyday people to run for local and county offices.

To access the full story, click here.

2. Test Drivers Take ELF -- An Electric, Solar Pedal Vehicle -- For a Spin Kate Davenport already had her eyes on an ELF, so when she heard she could test drive the pedal- and solar-powered vehicle in Troutdale, she was first in line Saturday.

“I've been following them online for a year,” the Portland woman said of a 150-pound vehicle that makes a Smart car look like a road hog. “I just don't drive enough to justify having a car.”

That's just the kind of potential customer that has convinced inventor Rob Cotter, founder and CEO of North Carolina-based Organic Page 1 of 9

Transit, that his company should start marketing and even assembling some of the ELFs in the Portland area.

“Wherever they're being sold is where we want to be building them,” Cotter said at a test-drive event at McMenamins Edgefield.

To access the full story, click here.

3. Transit Activist, Urban Scholar Benjamin Ross Says Portland is a Model for How Cities Should grow (Q&A) Benjamin Ross’ new book is all about the end of suburban sprawl and the rise of smart growth, so the spot at which I reached him on his cell phone the other day seemed especially ironic: He was sitting in his car, air conditioner humming, outside a McDonald’s somewhere in California’s Central Valley.

Ross, a writer, consultant and the former president of Maryland’s Action Committee on Transit, the nation’s largest grassroots transit advocacy group, is on the West Coast swing of a book tour to promote “Dead End: Suburban Sprawl and the Rebirth of American Urbanism,” an optimistic look at the United States’ tilt back toward walkable neighborhoods and urban living.

The Portland region is a major player in Ross’ book -- “a model for what cities should do,” -- so I talked to him earlier this week about what he sees in Oregon and what lessons we have for the rest of the country. Ross will appear at Powell’s Books on Hawthorne Monday at 7:30 p.m courtesy of 1,000 Friends of Oregon, Portland Transport and Oregon Walks.

To access the full story, click here.

4. Columbia River Gorge's Top 10 Trails for Spring, Summer Hiking With so many great trails, the Columbia River Gorge overwhelms hikers with choices.

Here are my favorites in spring and summer. Try these hikes out, then build your own list.

Best in spring Finding sun is the name of the game, so head east of Hood River into the rain shadow of the Cascades.

Catherine Creek: On the Washington side of the gorge, much of the land between Coyote Wall and Major Creek is part of the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area. As trails are developed, most hiking above State Route 14 follows boot and bike tire tracks. You can hike for a week across this three-mile-wide landscape that is dotted with ponderosa pines, crowned with Oregon white oak and sprinkled with grassy wildflower meadows.

Begin at Catherine Creek, between Bingen and Lyle. Drive S.R. 14 to Old Highway 8 at milepost 70.9 (as measured from the Interstate Bridge in Vancouver). Turn left, then drive north and east around Rowland Lake for 1.4 miles to the Catherine Creek trailhead. Also check out Coyote Wall/Syncline on the west edge of the public land in the Catherine Creek area.

To access the full story, click here.

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5. Showdown at The Organic Standards Board Meeting On April 29, a group of protesters walked into a meeting of the National Organic Standards Board in San Antonio, Texas, and began chanting, “Don’t change sunset!” Eventually the police arrived to arrest one of the protesters — Alexis Baden-Mayer, the political director of the Organic Consumers Association. It all occurred at a deliberate, almost ceremonial pace: The protesters repeating their mantra with even precision as the relaxed cops chatted with the equally calm Baden-Meyer, then handcuffed her, and carried her out.

The cryptic chant referred to an obscure bureaucratic rule that the board uses to help it determine what can be called organic and what can’t. We’ll get to the arcane details in a minute.

Ultimately, it’s that definition of organic itself that was the source of the discontent that came to a head on Tuesday.

You’ve probably noticed that things have changed in the grocery store as you walk down the aisles. Walmart has cast itself as the new organic champion, fer crissakes! There’s more food labeled organic than ever before, and even that — the label – represents a change. Once upon a time, you had to ask the guy at the farm stand if the green beans were organic; now an emblem anticipates and answers the question. On the minus side, it’s no longer a personal interaction; on the plus, the shift has allowed organic food to spread far beyond the farm stand.

To access the full story, click here.

6. How to Make the Most of Meetings

Meeting 1 – the Daily H uddle

* Duration: 5 to 15 minutes. * Purpose: Prepare operations team for the day; share last minute changes; ensure consistent execution * Key Question: What’s going to prevent perfect execution today, and how do we overcome it?

How to conduct this meeting Standing in a circle, follow this agenda: 1. Team Victory – what’s one good thing that happened yesterday, either in or because of our group? (1 minute) 2. Result Metrics from yesterday – report the same 1-3 key numbers every single day. These should be posted visibly nearby. (1 minute) 3. What are the last minute changes that will impact us today (absent coworker, late change request, supplier shortage) and how will we adjust? (2-10 minutes) 5. Is anybody stuck or needing help from the team? (1 minute) If complex, take it offline.

Ground rules * No detailed problem solving. If it’s complicated, take it into a problem solving meeting outside this huddle. * No stories. If Fred is absent, don’t give us a long story about why he’s absent. If you’re stuck, don’t give us a story about why you’re stuck, or how sorry you are, or all the things you tried.

Additional reading is here.

Meeting 2 – the Weekly Staff Meeting

* Duration: 30 to 60 minutes. * Purpose: Make decisions, get closure on last week’s assignments, and make new assignments that move the firm’s priorities forward * Key Question: Remembering our 1-2 most important priorities this quarter, how will we move them forward in the coming week?

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How to conduct this meeting Sitting facing each other, follow this agenda: 1. Personal Victories – what’s one good thing that happened in each person’s life, either work or personal, that they’d like to share? (30 seconds each) 2. Result Metrics from last week – report the same 1-3 key numbers every week, based on this quarter’s focus. These should be posted visibly in the room or handed out or displayed on a screen. (2-3 minutes) 3. Closure on last week’s action items – are they done? If not, what help do you need?

4. What problems or learning have we encountered since the last meeting? For each problem, either solve it in the room or delegate to a team to solve it and report back. For learning, summarize the lesson and show where it’s documented and which processes have been changed.

(2-10 minutes each) 5. What next steps do we need to take on this quarter’s focus areas? Who will do what by when?

(10-20 minutes) 6. What’s one thing you appreciate about a teammate – something they did (in the meeting or over the prior week) that you would like to acknowledge? (30 seconds each) 7. Adjourn early or on time.

8. After the meeting, distribute the Action Items (the list of Who will do What by When) within 24 hours.

Ground rules Use the 5 Manager Behaviors for good meetings.

Use the 5 Structural Elements of good meetings.

Consider asking an outsider to watch your weekly staff meeting and give you private advice on how to make your meeting even more effective.

Meeting 3 – the Weekly One-on-Ones

* Duration: 25 to 30 minutes. * Purpose: Build relationship with your direct reports, grow their skills, help them guide their careers * Key Question: How has your week been, how have you grown, and what coaching do I need to give you?

How to conduct this meeting The best guidance on One-on-Ones comes from the exceptional podcasts at www.managertools.com – the key pages are here and here.

Tom Cox is a Beaverton consultant, author and speaker. He coaches CEOs on how to boost performance by building workplace trust. Email comments to tom@tomonleadership.com .

7. First Wind Turbine on Umatilla Tribal Land Dedicated ENERGY TRUST OF OREGON NEWS RELEASE -- Today the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute dedicated its new 50-kilowatt Endurance E-3120 wind turbine, the latest step on Tamástslikt’s path toward creating a net-zero building. Net-zero energy is achieved when energy efficiency and onsite renewable energy generation equal a building’s energy needs over one year.

Over the last decade, Tamástslikt — a nonprofit interpretive center and museum located on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Eastern Oregon — has implemented dramatic energy-saving improvements that have reduced electricity and natural gas usage by 63 percent and 76 percent, respectively, and saved nearly $750,000 in energy costs to date.

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“Our approach has always been to do energy conservation first, then implement renewable energy projects,” said Jess Nowland, assistant facilities manager, Tamástslikt. “Reduce the use, renew the rest.”

The new turbine — the first of its kind in Oregon and the only wind turbine on a reservation in the Pacific Northwest — is expected to produce more than 94,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, or about 20 percent of the green building’s already diminished electricity demand.

Tamástslikt estimates that this will add up to approximately $480,000 in energy savings over 30 years.

To access the full story, click here.

8. EPA Releases EnviroAtlas Ecosystem Mapping Tool The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released EnviroAtlas, a web-based interactive tool that integrates over 300 separate data layers, helps decision makers understand the implications of planning and policy decisions on our fragile ecosystems and the communities who depend on goods and services from these ecosystems. EnviroAtlas is designed for people from all levels of government, professionals, researchers, educators, non-governmental organizations, and anyone interested in considering the benefits or impacts of a decision, such as siting a new road or city park.

EnviroAtlas can help people learn about ecosystems, and how they provide us with benefits such as clean air and water; opportunities for recreation; and protection from severe weather, such as hurricanes and floods. EnviroAtlas also highlights how ecosystems provide habitats for plants, fish, and wildlife as well as the materials people need to produce food, clothing, shelter, and pharmaceuticals, and provides maps on all of these topics.

EnviroAtlas integrates geospatial data from a variety of sources to allow users to visualize and analyze how decisions impact ecosystems and their ability to provide goods and services.

Communities are often faced with difficult decisions, such as trade-offs between transportation, residential or commercial development and maintaining local wetlands, urban greenspaces, or urban forests. EnviroAtlas helps communities better understand the potential benefits and drawbacks of their decisions by providing data, maps, information and tools to analyze relationships between nature, health and well-being, and the economy.

EnviroAtlas combines hundreds of data layers developed through collaboration between EPA; US Geological Survey; US Forest Service; other federal, state, and non-profit organizations; and several universities. Using powerful web application tools, it lets users generate customized maps and images that show the condition of their local community’s air, water, and landscape; as well as population density and other demographic data. Users can investigate land cover patterns, see how ecosystem services reduce pollution, and view closer to true scale data to compare them across selected communities.

EnviroAtlas is available to anybody with access to a computer and an internet connection. No special software is needed. It is currently not optimized for smartphone or tablet use, but a mobile-friendly version is planned for the future. Using tools like EnviroAtlas to make informed decisions will help ensure that people can continue to enjoy economic, social, and environmental benefits of ecosystems now and in the future.

For more information, click here.

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9. Preparing For the Boom New Short Film Shares Western Communities’ Lessons Learned on Preparing for Boom and Bust Cycles Energy development is booming in the West, bringing new jobs and economic growth. However, many communities that have seen energy booms in the past have found that those booms eventually end, leaving local and regional leaders to deal with economic, fiscal, social, and environmental challenges. “Preparing for the Boom”, a new 20-minute film from the Sonoran Institute<http://www.sonoraninstitute.org/> and Future West<http://futurewest.org/>, shares lessons learned from communities that have experienced energy-related growth and decline in the voices of local elected officials and other local and regional leaders from places like Bakken, MT; Saratoga, WY; and Garfield County, CO. The film highlights successes, missed opportunities, and recommendations in order to help today’s energy communities learn from the experiences of others so they can chart a more promising course through energy booms and beyond.

Click here to watch “Preparing for the Boom.”

10. ODOT Embarks on "Big Data" Project With Purchase of Strava Dataset The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is the first state transportation agency in the United States to ink a deal with Strava, a leading website and smartphone app used by people to track their bike rides via GPS. Last fall, the agency paid $20,000 for one-year license of a dataset that includes the activities of about 17,700 riders and 400,000 individual bicycle trips totaling 5 million BMT (bicycle miles traveled) logged on Strava in 2013. The Strava bike "traces" are mapped to OpenStreetMap. If all goes according to plan, the data could revolutionize how ODOT makes decisions about their policies, plans, and projects. At the very least, forging boldly into the realm of "big data" and pushing the boundaries of bicycle planning marks an important step for an agency that's facing a very different future and actively looking to shed its old-school, highway-first reputation.

To access the full story, click here.

11. Funding Opportunities Community Facility Loans Loans to help create and improve essential community facilities in the rural West.

Geographic Coverage: Available in 13 western states. See program website for details.

Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: Rural Community Assistance Corporation (Western RCAC) Environmental Infrastructure Loans Loans to finance water and waste facility projects in the rural West.

Geographic Coverage: Available in 13 western states. See program website for details.

Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: Rural Community Assistance Corporation (Western RCAC) Ford Family Foundation Grants Offers grants to small, rural communities for community development; technical assistance; critical needs; and programs that offer increased access to health or dental services, youth development, or child abuse prevention.

Geographic Coverage: Oregon and Siskiyou County, California

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Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: Ford Family Foundation Gannett Foundation Community Action Grants Supports local organizations with funding priority given to programs that focus on education and neighborhood improvement, economic development, youth development, community problemsolving, assistance to disadvantaged people, environmental conservation, and cultural enrichment.

Geographic Coverage: Limited to certain areas of 35 states and U.S. territories, see sponsor's website for more details.

Application Deadline: Aug 29, 2014 Sponsor: Gannett Foundation Georgia-Pacific Foundation Grants Grants for organizations projects that focus on education, the environment, community enhancement, affordable housing, arts and culture, and entrepreneurship.

Geographic Coverage: Offered in 28 states in areas where Georgia-Pacific does business.

Application Deadline: Oct 31, 2014 Sponsor: Georgia Pacific Foundation Helen K. and Arthur E. Johnson Foundation Offers grants to projects that support community and social services, youth, health, seniors, education and civic and culture.

Geographic Coverage: Colorado, Idaho, and Oregon Application Deadline: Sep 1, 2014 Kaiser Permanente Community Fund Offers funding to support community-driven efforts to address factors in the social, policy, and physical environment that impact community health.

Geographic Coverage: Washington and Oregon Letter of Intent (Required): May 14, 2014 Application Deadline: May 23, 2014 Sponsor: Northwest Health Foundation National Network of Libraries of Medicine Pacific Northwest Region Funding Provides funding for National Network of Libraries members located in the Pacific Northwest region to assist them in conducting outreach and technology projects.

Geographic Coverage: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.

Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Northwest Region Northwest Health Foundation Event Sponsorships Provides sponsorship for events that promote health or contribute to the determinants of health in Oregon or southwest Washington.

Geographic Coverage: Oregon and southwest Washington.

Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: Northwest Health Foundation Oregon J-1 Visa Waiver Program Offers a J-1 Visa waiver to foreign physicians who commit to serving for three years in an underserved area of Oregon, allowing them to remain in the United States.

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Geographic Coverage: Oregon Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: Oregon Primary Care Association Oregon Medicaid Primary Care Loan Repayment Program Provides loan repayment to primary care clinicians who serve Medicaid patients in underserved areas of Oregon.

Geographic Coverage: Oregon Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: Oregon Office of Rural Health Oregon Partnership State Loan Repayment Program Offers matching funds for loan repayment for primary care providers who serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas of Oregon.

Geographic Coverage: Oregon Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: Oregon Office of Rural Health Oregon Rural Practitioner Tax Credit Program Offers personal income tax credits to dentists, physicians, podiatrists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurse anesthetists, and optometrists who practice in eligible rural areas of Oregon.

Geographic Coverage: Oregon Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: Oregon Office of Rural Health Oregon Rural Volunteer EMS Tax Credit Offers a personal income tax credit to emergency medical services providers who volunteer their services to rural Oregon communities.

Geographic Coverage: Oregon Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: Oregon Office of Rural Health Rural Community Assistance Corporation Housing Loans Offers loans to create, improve, or expand the supply of affordable housing for communities in the rural West.

Geographic Coverage: Available in 13 western states. See program website for details.

Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: Rural Community Assistance Corporation (Western RCAC) Sojourns Pathway Program: Hospital-Based Palliative Care Innovation Grants Grants to respond to unmet, local palliative care needs through new or expanded community partnerships.

Geographic Coverage: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: Cambia Health Foundation Sojourns Program Implementation Grants Grants to start a hospital-based palliative care program or to explore palliative care partnerships between hospitals and communities.

Geographic Coverage: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah Page 8 of 9

Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: Cambia Health Foundation Sunderland Foundation Grants Supports capital improvement projects in the areas of higher education, churches, youth serving agencies, health facilities, community buildings, museums, civic projects, and housing projects.

Geographic Coverage: Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas, Iowa, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Utah, and Montana.

Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: Sunderland Foundation Wells Fargo Corporate Giving Programs Funding for nonprofit organizations in the areas of community development, education, human services, arts and culture, civic responsibility, and environmental consciousness.

Geographic Coverage: Available in 40 States.

Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: Wells Fargo Weyerhaeuser Giving Fund Funds programs that work in the areas of affordable housing and shelter; education and youth development; environmental stewardship; and human services.

Geographic Coverage: Available in 19 states and the District of Columbia.

Application Deadline: Aug 1, 2014 Sponsor: Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation

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