Want to be on the Citizen Patrol?

Interesting offer from the Salem Police Dept. If you want to make a contribution, get to know your city better, and maybe get some regular exercise, consider:

CITIZEN PATROL

The Salem Police Department is recruiting volunteers to be a part of the Citizen Patrol. Volunteers in this position work in teams of two during various times of the day and night. They focus on areas experiencing high rates of crime, serving as extra eyes and ears for patrol officers. Citizen Patrol teams provide a presence in neighborhoods throughout Salem and report suspicious activity as needed.

Citizen Patrol volunteers will be required to complete a 30-hour training course prior to [before] their first scheduled shift in order to better equip and educate them for this assignment; volunteers also are expected to attend ongoing training.

The next series of training is set to begin in July. To learn more about this position or any of the other areas where volunteers serve the Salem Police Department, visit www.cityofsalem.net/police or call Jennifer Graber at 503-588-6499, ext. 1.

[Actually, the link given goes nowhere. You probably want to go here if you actually want to connect with SPD. Here's the SPD volunteer page.]

Have your say on Salem budget -- it's bloody, and going to get bloodier

(from the February 2009 "Community Connections" newsletter)

SHAPE THE FUTURE OF YOUR CITY GOVERNMENT

The City of Salem is facing an estimated $5 million in General Fund budget reductions for this coming fiscal year, beginning July 1, 2009. Despite layoffs, a hiring freeze, and last year’s service cuts, the City cannot continue to provide all current services with anticipated revenues.

Be a part of the solution! Join us in conversation:

• Monday, February 16, at 7:00 p.m., West Salem Roth’s

• Wednesday, February 18, at 6:00 p.m., North Salem High School Auditorium

• Saturday, February 21, at 10:00 a.m., South Salem High School Library

• Tuesday, February 24, at 6:00 p.m., McKay High School Commons (Spanish-speaking forum)

• Complete the survey on funding priorities any time at www.cityofsalem.net.

The City is asking for your help as we consider service reductions. To be a part of the solution, tell us what you think before February 25. Take the funding priorities survey online today.

Where Salem must go

This is what we must do.

The only question is whether elected and staff officials in city and county governments (and the various flavors of intergovernmental groupings) will be leaders, bystanders ... or, worse, obstacles to progress. So far, prospects look dim for enlightened leadership -- if it's present in governments so far, it's remaining covert, possibly a wise strategy to avoid the immune system rejection of new ideas.

But we need to start, wherever these officials land. There is much work to do, little time, and resources will be increasingly strained.

As one of my advisors used to say, "Uh-oh, out of money! Time to think!!"

Why Growing Food Locally is Key

In the coming tough times, food will be key -- and not just any food, but locally raised food from as close as possible, preferably grown right here in the heart of the Willamette Valley with as few industrial inputs as possible -- or else we get industrial commodity "phood" that is:

Less tasty -- and not as good for you

Industrially grown produce shows long-term nutritional decline

Posted by Tom Philpott

Talk to old-timers, and they'll often tell you that the tomatoes you find in supermarket produce sections don't taste anything like the ones they had in their childhoods in the '30s and '40s.

Turns out, they're probably not as nutritious, either.

In an article [PDF] published in the February 2009 issue of the HortScience Review, University of Texas researcher Donald R. Davis compiles evidence that points to declines in nutrition in vegetables and (to a lesser extent) fruits over the past few decades.

For example:

[T]hree recent studies of historical food composition data found apparent median declines of 5% to 40% or more in some minerals in groups of vegetables and perhaps fruits; one study also evaluated vitamins and protein with similar results.

He points to another study in which researchers planted low- and high-yielding varieties of broccoli and grain side-by-side. The high-yielding varieties showed less protein and minerals.

The principle seems to be that when plants are nudged to produce as much as possible -- whether through lots of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides or through selective breeding -- they deliver fewer nutrients. It evidently isn't just the flavor that's become diluted in those bland supermarket tomatoes.

This is a fascinating insight. We should reflect that for at least 50 years, the best-funded agricultural researchers are the ones work to maximize yield -- that is, gross output per acre. Even now, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is expending hundreds of millions of dollars in an effort to increase yields in Africa.

Rather than isolate and fetishize yield, perhaps ag researchers should learn to take a whole-systems approach: study how communities can develop robust food systems that build healthy soil and produce nutritious food.

(It should also be noted that last year the Organic Center compiled peer-reviewed studies finding that organically grown produce tends to deliver significantly higher nutrient levels than conventional.)

Business as usual not working all that well, actually

For an important insight into many of the trends discussed in this SJ story excerpt, see "Misplaced Blame: The Roots of Population Growth" by the Sightline Institute's Alan Durning and Christopher Crowther (free pdf download at that link). Now, the local update:

Child-welfare data grim

Marion and Polk counties continue to rank worse than the state average on most indicators of child well-being, a new report from Children First for Oregon shows.

In Marion County, one in five children lived below the federal poverty level in 2007, according to the non-profit group's 2008 County Data Book, released Tuesday. One out of every 50 children was arrested, and one in 25 teenage girls became pregnant.

Alison Kelley, the director of the Marion County Commission on Children and Families, said local social service agencies, especially food banks, are seeing a dramatic rise in requests for help. . . .

In Polk County, meanwhile, the rate of child abuse and neglect doubled, to one in every 75 children. One in three children was obese. And there were only 11 child care spots per 100 children — the third lowest number statewide.

One in six children in both counties was uninsured — the second highest rate in Oregon.

Statewide, 16.9 percent of children lived below the federal poverty level in 2007, and 12.6 percent of children were uninsured, the report showed.

But the group's statistics, mostly from 2007, don't reflect the more recent economic crisis, spokeswoman Cathy Kaufmann admitted. . . .

Whad'Ya Know? (Not much, you?) -- Hurry, tickets going fast!

March 6, 2009 (Fri. night 7pm)

Salem, Oregon - Thanks to our friends at Oregon Public Broadcasting, Whad'Ya Know? makes a break for the beautiful Northwest for a Friday night show at The Elsinore in Salem, Oregon. Tickets on sale RIGHT NOW! Call 503-375-3574 or go to the Elsinore Theater website.

Your Kids' & Grandkids' future if we don't act now: Hot and Hungry

Note that we're already at 385 ppmv and increasing at 1-2 ppmv per year, and increasing at an increasing rate.

Act now -- Support Transit (DeFazio-Nadler Amendment) in Stimulus bill

Please take action now to help secure increased funding for public transit.

We've just been informed that Congressmen Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Peter DeFazio (D-OR) have introduced an amendment to the American Economic Recovery and Investment Act that will go to the floor for a vote tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon. It would add $3 billion in additional funding for public transit above and beyond the $9.5 billion in the original economic recovery bill. This is our best chance to influence the outcome of the legislation.

Congress will consider and VOTE on this amendment in the next 18 hours. Please encourage your Representative to vote YES on this important amendment. (Click here for background information.)

Please act now! Call tonight or first thing tomorrow morning. Urge them to support the Nadler/DeFazio amendment, and don't forget to thank Rep. DeFazio, particularly if you live in his district!

First District -- Congressman David Wu -- (503) 326-2901
Second District -- Congressman Greg Walden -- (541) 389-4408
Third District -- Congressman Earl Blumenauer -- (503) 231-2300
Fourth District -- Congressman Peter DeFazio -- (541) 465-6732
Fifth District -- Congressman Kurt Schrader -- (503) 588-9100

Flood Water Issues in Salem: Battle Creek Flood Plain Management.

Are you interested in keeping Salem afloat? If water is your issue, then don't miss Flood Water Issues in Salem: Battle Creek Flood Plain Management.

There will be a discussion of the City of Salem property purchase for flood and storm water quality on Battle Creek. Find out what is possible on this property. With

* Peter Fernandez, Public Works Director, City of Salem,

* Nitin Joshi, Public Works Staff,

* Professor Susan Smith, Willamette University College of Law

"Ramifications of changing a Comprehensive Plan"

WHEN: Tuesday, Feb. 10, 6 PM to 8 PM
WHERE: Salem Public Library, Anderson Room (585 Liberty Street SE)

Sponsored by Friends of Battle Creek, a nonprofit organization concerned about the Battle Creek watershed.

CO2 is more like nuclear waste than acid rain

Have you insulated your house and slashed your driving?

Greenhouse gas levels currently expected by mid-century will produce devastating long-term droughts and a sea-level rise that will persist for 1,000 years regardless of how well the world curbs future emissions of carbon dioxide, an international team of scientists reported yesterday.

Top climate researchers from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Switzerland and France said their analysis shows that carbon dioxide will remain near peak levels in the atmosphere far longer than other greenhouse gases, which dissipate relatively quickly.

"I think you have to think about this stuff as more like nuclear waste than acid rain: The more we add, the worse off we'll be," NOAA senior scientist Susan Solomon told reporters in a conference call. "The more time that we take to make decisions about carbon dioxide, the more irreversible climate change we'll be locked into."

At the moment, carbon concentrations in the atmosphere stand at 385 parts per million. Many climate scientists and the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have set a goal of stabilizing atmospheric carbon at 450 ppm, but current projections put the world on track to hit 550 ppm by 2035, rising after that point by 4.5 percent a year.