In the last couple of months, not including the committee week in Salem, I've had lots of individual meetings as well as briefings with larger groups.  Housing Alliance brought together local  organizations Square One Villages, ShelterCare, Sponsors, Food for Lane County, NEDCO, and county and city agencies to review the housing crisis, the shortage of affordable permanent housing and temporary shelter, and the relationship persons with disabilities or who need stabilization, or treatment for mental health or addictions.

Another briefing focused on Wix: a publicly owned, carrier-neutral, high speed on-ramp to the internet, available to any provider, serving the community at large.  Right now it's rolling out in downtown. Thanks, EWEB, City of Eugene, LCOG, Technology Association of Oregon, and others. We talked about internet marketplace competition, co-working spaces, and traded sector companies. Some of these big ideas take patience. As a City Councilor I worked on getting telecom and internet to be treated as an essential utility, and voters approved a charter amendment in 2000 allowing EWEB to provide advanced telecommunications services in addition to water and power.  Like highways are infrastructure for moving people and things, the internet is infrastructure for moving data. Classified as essential utilities, completing water and power infrastructure was critical for the 20th century; the internet is now critical for the 21st.

Local state reps and senators joined United Way for their annual legislative meeting with community organizations, including a couple dozen local nonprofit organizations working to improve health, fight hunger, provide youth and adult treatment, and find affordable housing for Lane County residents.

Visiting food science labs at OSU

Oregonian working on crew for movie Lean on Pete

Coos Bay harbor tour

I spent a couple of days hearing about jobs and economy at the Oregon Coast Economic Summit and had a tour at Port of Coos Bay.  While in Portland for a series of meetings I stopped in to see Oregonians at work on the movie "Lean on Pete."  That day, they were filming on location at a nonprofit facility in downtown Portland that provides shelter, a dining hall, job training, recovery and other services.  I also spent a few hours with OSU faculty and administrators learning about several proposed building projects, and the Food Science and Technology program, including a quick trip through the creamery and brewery, to see the wine-making and testing equipment.    

I'm also working with several constituents on ideas that may be presented as a bill to be considered in the next legislative session: licensing lactation consultants who provide services to new mothers, and oversight of prescription medications prescribed for older or fragile adults in long-term care; drug interactions and risk of falls are of particular concern.

On a Sunday afternoon 13 train cars derailed while going at a slow speed in the UP rail yard near Roosevelt and Garfield. I went to see clean-up work and check up on emergency response planning, preparation, and how it worked for a real event. Just 24 hours later, there was little left to see and clean up was mostly done. I was pleased to hear about the immediate action from city and county partners -- "all hands on deck" -- and about the quick and smooth communication lines between the public agencies, first responders, and the railroad.  We're fortunate that this team comes together without "turf issues" and first priority to protect the public.  There was no leak of hazardous materials.  Most of the cars were empty, a grain car was righted and sent on its way within a day, and first responders stayed on site to be sure all appropriate care was taken to minimize risk and reduce danger for the neighborhood.

The annual earthquake preparedness drill is held around the world every year on the third Thursday of October. In 2015, approximately 600,000 people in Oregon participated. Register to participate at www.shakeout.org/oregon. Oregon's Office of Emergency Management says:


"Plan for one gallon of water per person/pet per day. If you are a family of three, four or more members, that's a lot of water! You need to think about how to store it, where to put it, and making sure it's accessible when you need it. Consider large (5-gallon or more) containers, supplemented with smaller containers and what you have stored in ice cube trays and your water heater. Collapsible water containers and water purifiers are also an option..."