September has been filled with legislative committee hearings, and many meetings in Eugene, Salem and Portland.  Those meetings include discussions with the new Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, passenger rail managers for Washington and Oregon, our new Coordinated Care Organization overseeing health care transformation, and a visit to the Community Veterinary Clinic on their first anniversary. 

Our Government Efficiency Task Force has wrapped up its work to meet the October 1 reporting deadline.  We'll have another handful of concrete proposals to make things simpler and better. 

Oregon Housing and Community Services has launched a new foreclosure prevention website to help distressed homeowners facing the possibility of foreclosure.  It includes a "find-a-counselor" tool to help homeowners locate a trained counselor that can assess the ability to keep a home, review loan documents and credit history, and provide other services. There is also information about the foreclosure process and links to certified mediators that can work with homeowners and lenders to find solutions other than foreclosure.

Visiting the NWYC work crew at Dorris Ranch (Rep. Nathanson in the pink shirt)

I was pleased to have the opportunity to visit a Northwest Youth Corps job site last month at Dorris Ranch in Springfield. NWYC "offers a challenging education and job-training experience that helps youth and young adults develop the skills they need to lead full and productive lives." NWYC has residential and day programs at job sites in various locations around Oregon, training young people to work as a team on conservation and reclamation projects. They run several kinds of programs including The Conservation Corps, which combines outdoor adventure and education with paid residential environmental work experience for teens; a Garden Camp teaches the value of veggies and the fun of home farming for 7-11 year olds, and an outdoor alternative high school that combines classroom education with field study and outdoor resource management work experience. It's great to see young people taking leading roles as environmental stewards of our community.

 

Sierra Club recently recognized the University of Oregon as one of the nation's best schools for sustainability. This is the sixth annual ranking of schools, conducted by the Sierra Club, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, the Sustaintable Endowements Institute, and the Princeton Review. Of 96 schools, the UO came in at "No. 13 in the nation with especially high marks receive for planning and innovation." Other Oregon schools making the list: Lewis & Clark College (22), PSU (28), and SOU (45).  See the article.