A Walk in Washington Park - Portland Photo Diary

by: JayinPortland

Sun Aug 01, 2010 at 03:13:35 AM PDT

Oregon Senate Committee Moves BPA Bill Forward

by: JayinPortland

Fri Feb 12, 2010 at 04:29:29 AM PST

The Senate environment committee voted 3-2, with Democrats in favor and Republicans against, to refer Senate Bill 1032 to the Senate floor.

The bill would ban bisphenol-A, or BPA, from baby bottles and sippy cups beginning July 1, 2011. Major bottle manufacturers, Walmart and other retailers are already backing away from the ubiquitous chemical when it comes to bottles and cups for young children.

Washington's Legislature easily passed bills with similar bans recently with large, bipartisan margins.

Oregon will pass the bill as well, since Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1 in both the Oregon House and the Oregon Senate.  But still, I have to wonder what Oregon Republicans are thinking by voting in favor of continuing to expose our children to BPA?  Shame on Brian Boquist and Jason Atkinson.  Someone should tell them that even WalMart has abandoned products containing the dangerous, hormone-disrupting toxicant.  Are Oregon Republicans that beholden to out-of-state chemical manufacturers?  Let's hope at least a few of their fellow Republicans show some sense in their final votes on the bill.

Oregon Legislature Convenes; BPA, Plastic Bag Bans To Be Considered

by: JayinPortland

Mon Feb 01, 2010 at 09:02:34 AM PST

Other issues under consideration include extension of state unemployment benefits, [PDF] SB 1009, which would prohibit grocery and other stores in Oregon from using plastic bags, SB 1032, which would ban the sale of BPA-containing reusable food and beverage containers for children under 3, and a permanent extension of Oregon's offshore oil and gas drilling ban, which expired last month.  

Governor Ted Kulongoski is also going to ask the legislature to put kicker reform to a statewide vote in November, in order to create a financial emergency cushion for the state in the case of any further future massive budget shortfalls, like the one we just saw which was mostly fixed by last week's passage of Measures 66 and 67.  Sadly, it looks like the legislature probably won't act on that, though.  As for the BPA bill, it seems relatively weak and uninspired, but I guess it's a start.  If you're in Oregon, you can contact your state legislators here and share your thoughts.

The current composition of the Oregon House is 36 D, 24 R; and the makeup of the Oregon Senate is 18 D, 12 R.  Democrats hold 'supermajorities' in both chambers, and Governor Ted Kulongoski is also a Democrat.  February 11 is the day to watch for what will and what won't receive a vote during this special session -

Legislative leaders have set rigid deadlines to ensure adjournment by the end of February. That means the pace will be like a regular session on steroids. Of the approximately 200 bills drafted so far, those that don't get a hearing by Feb. 11 are likely dead.

Oregon Measures 66 & 67: The Lies In Our Mailboxes

by: JayinPortland

Sat Dec 05, 2009 at 13:29:42 PM PST

Do I know of the tax measures that will be on our ballots next month, she asks?  Why, sure I do.  But what I didn't know was - they'll kill my job!  Oh, that's right.  I don't have one at the moment.  But still, this sounds really scary!  Let's see, who is this person anyways?  Maybe I owe her a debt of gratitude!

Will Measures 66 & 67 kill Oregon jobs and farms, as Mrs. Leuthold claims?  Or is this yet another example of astroturf groups trying to trick voters?

I went on to look up who Carol is, since she's apparently so sincerely concerned about my neighbors and I.  Maybe she can be my friend, and we can meet up for a drink here in my SE Portland 'hood, probably at Hopworks down the street from my apartment one of these days!  But hey, wait...

Something seemed off though, just a little bit at first.  The first thing about the letter I noticed was the return address.  I says to myself, I says - "Self?  Small Tillamook dairy farmers don't graze cows in industrial sections of the City of Salem.  Let's see what this person is really about".

More below the fold...

A Lesson on Farming from Valentine the Androgynous Goat

by: Jill Richardson

Fri Sep 11, 2009 at 10:52:41 AM PDT

As the vat of milk slowly rose in temperature, she offered us some goat cheese samples while we waited. Of course we said yes. She disappeared into the aging room and came out with three different types of cheese. They were not your standard chevre, what we all think of as goat cheese. Honestly, I don't know what they were. One of them was a new creation of hers, and she wanted our opinion on whether it was bitter or not. I thought they were all delicious. FYI, these cheeses are available through Joanne or at New Seasons, if you live in Portland or nearby.

Then I asked to see the goats...

Next Week in My Book Tour: Washington and Oregon

by: Jill Richardson

Fri Aug 28, 2009 at 10:30:13 AM PDT

• September 4 - Seattle, WA, at F.X. McRory's at 8pm-10pm
• September 5 - Tacoma, WA, Farmers market in the AM; King's Books at 3pm
• September 8 - Portland, OR, InFARMation (and Beer!) at 5:30pm-8:30pm
• September 9 - Portland, OR, Powells Books at 7:30pm (Burnside location)
• September 10 - Portland, OR, Drinking Liberally

I'll be in Seattle Sep 2-6 and in Portland from Sep 6-12 unless things change (I might stay in Seattle through the 7th to attend a Slow Food Eat-In there instead of attending one in Portland), and as you can see, I've got some free days in my schedule. Let me know if you want to meet up for coffee or if you have any ideas for things that I should do or see.

Oregon Local Foods Purchasing Law To Soon Take Effect

by: JayinPortland

Thu Aug 13, 2009 at 16:32:19 PM PDT

Last year, [Multnomah County Sustainability Manager Kat] West discovered that public agencies in Oregon had not made a great effort to buy local goods, primarily because they were not supposed to. What they were supposed to do was find and accept the lowest responsive bid. If the prison system can get apples cheaper from New Zealand than from Hood River, those were the apples prison purchasing staff were supposed to buy.

[...]

So, working with the Portland / Multnomah Food Policy Council, a citizens advisory panel, West last year decided to take on the state purchasing code. The result was House Bill 2763, which takes effect in January.

The law allows public purchasing agencies to give preference to local food products if the price difference is as much as 10%, or in some cases slightly more, over the lowest bidder from outside of Oregon.  The bill, however, does not actually require agencies to do so... and the article goes on to mention that since no extra state funds will be allocated (for now) towards these purchases, we still have a ways to go on this issue.  Hopefully we can touch it up a bit, right along with again fighting for Oregon Farm-to-School (which unfortunately failed to pass again this year) in the next legislative session.  

We've got friends in Salem, and we're close.  Rep. Brian Clem (D-Salem), who introduced HB 2800, the Oregon Farm-to-School bill, also tried earlier this year to introduce a companion bill to require local purchasing, but his attempts there met resistance from the Oregon Department of Administrative Services.

The Oregon Legislature will meet for a short session early in 2010, and one thing Salem Democrats will be pushing for is a move to annual sessions, as opposed to the current every other year (odd-numbered years) legislative sessions.  Oregon is currently one of only six states whose legislatures do not meet annually.  Here's to hoping they succeed there, for many reasons...

Portland-Area Farmers' Markets Seek to Draw in More Poor

by: JayinPortland

Mon Jul 27, 2009 at 05:24:12 AM PDT

So the Lents International Farmers' Market in Portland has commissioned a bus to offer free rides to residents of four low-income housing projects. The Forest Grove Farmers' Market is offering a class on how to shop at the market on a budget.

The manager of the Oregon City Farmers' Market goes door to door in a low-income public housing project, trying to persuade residents to give the market a try. And this fall, a "micro market" will open in Portland's Cully neighborhood, run by market officials from wealthier Hollywood.

It's a long process, and the article goes on to mention some of the early struggles and setbacks encountered thus far, but it's still encouraging to see these efforts and ideas spreading, and that those involved are maintaining their enthusiasm.  It's especially important to reach out and disabuse people of the false notion that farmers' markets are some preserve of the elite, and it's great to see that some markets are literally taking that message door-to-door.  

Despite the fact that we still have a ways to go, here's one sign that these efforts are already paying off: Oregon Trail (EBT) card usage is up over 100% from last year at many markets in the region, and the article claims that usage is up 1,000% at the Oregon City market alone this year.  I'd be interested to see how the opinions of food stamp recipients towards farmers' markets have changed since (pdf) this 2005 OFMA study, which came out just one year after the first Portland farmers' market EBT pilot program launched in 2004.  Since then almost two-thirds of Portland-area farmers' markets now have the machines required to accept the cards, and new markets are receiving them every year.

2009 Oregon Legislative Session Ends: Industrial Hemp Passes, and Other News...

by: JayinPortland

Tue Jun 30, 2009 at 07:00:00 AM PDT

With an efficiency rarely seen in Oregon politics, Democrats took advantage of supermajorities in the House and Senate to push an aggressive agenda, rolling through Republican resistance and facing down Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski.

Looking back, the 2009 session, the shortest since 1995, will be remembered largely as a fight against the economic tornado that ripped billions of dollars and thousands of jobs from the state. Despite the hard times, lawmakers approved more than $1 billion in new taxes, vastly expanded health care programs and signed off on some of the most expensive transportation and capital construction plans in state history.

Specifically, lawmakers approved higher taxes on upper-income earners, on corporations, on hospitals and health insurance providers and on gasoline. Combining the tax increases with federal stimulus dollars, lawmakers staved off what might have been crippling cuts to public schools, prisons and programs that help the poor, elderly and disabled.

Some bills I really would have liked to have seen passed - specifically HB 2800, the Oregon Farm to School bill, and HB 2995, which would have created an Oregon Food Policy Council - stalled in Salem (again, in the farm-to-school bill's case) for now.  We may have another chance when the Oregon Legislature convenes for a brief session early in 2010.

Below the fold is a list of what will now be (or in some cases, already has been) sent on to Governor Ted Kulongoski (D) for his signature...

Farm to School in Oregon: A "Fork-Ready" Project

by: JayinPortland

Wed Jun 24, 2009 at 15:56:01 PM PDT

Deborah Kane, vice president of Ecotrust's Food and Farms program, has an opinion piece in support of HB 2800 running in papers throughout Oregon -

For every $1 we spend on Oregon products, another $.87 continues to cycle throughout the Oregon economy. Beyond supporting the agricultural sector, when we invest in school food we create jobs and support the Oregon economy overall. School food is a "fork ready" project if ever there was one; that's good news in these difficult economic times.

Equity issues have to be considered as well. In Oregon, 46 percent of the children who eat school food do so as recipients of either free or reduced price meals. As the recession deepens, this number is expected to rise as more and more economically challenged families turn to the school meal program to help keep food in their children's bellies. Don't these children deserve the very best Oregon has to offer?

My Oregon State Rep, Jules Bailey, is a co-sponsor of the bill, so I'll focus my energy on contacting the key legislators mentioned here.  If you're also here in Oregon (or hell, anywhere - this is a good thing for everybody in America), please consider taking a moment to take action as well.  We only have six days left until this year's state legislative session ends.

Tobacco Candy???

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Jun 03, 2009 at 23:49:32 PM PDT

There is no question that this tobacco candy is dangerous. It is estimated by the Indiana Poison Control that each tablet delivers 60 to 300 percent of the nicotine in a single cigarette.  The product is addictive.  The product causes cancer. And unless we pass this bill and allow the FDA to regulate soon, you will see this tobacco candy in a convenience store near you. And we'll see more displays like the one shown here in Portland. Tobacco candy advertised right next to ice cream. And once the companies master the technique of turning tobacco into a kid-friendly candy, there's no end to the variety of products that can be turned out. Already RJR (RJ Reynolds) has announced that they are planning to launch two new forms of tobacco candy: sticks, which are like toothpicks that you suck on, and strips, which are nearly identical to breath mint strips that dissolve on your tongue.

Sold in convenience stores? Advertised next to ice cream? I thought that was just rhetoric and speculation, but it appears that it is not - RJ Reynolds is test marketing tobacco candy in Portland, OR. Jesus. Because our food wasn't bad enough for us already. Now they're adding nicotine so we're actually addicted to it.

The silver lining is that the Senate HELP committee just passed a bill that would give the FDA greater regulatory power over tobacco products. The House already passed a similar bill, so all eyes are on the Senate to see if the bill passes the full Senate next month.

Oregon Leg. Passes Menu Labeling Bill Onto Governor

by: JayinPortland

Tue Jun 02, 2009 at 16:10:46 PM PDT

There is good news and bad here, though.  The good news, of course, is that restaurants will no longer be allowed to hide certain information about their food from their customers.  The bad news, however, is that this bill is more like one step forward and three-fourths of a step back.

The first problem is that the bill is modeled after the relatively weak (and now outdated) legislation passed here in Multnomah County (Portland) last year.  Multnomah County was one of the first localities in America to pass menu labeling legislation, and since then much stronger measures have passed elsewhere (specifically in Massachusetts, which was the first to include requirements for drive-thru menu board postings).  We should have looked to pass something more along the lines of the Massachusetts legislation, since the majority of fast food purchases are made at drive thru windows.  

The second problem is pre-emption of local regulations, which effectively delayed implementation of an already passed public health measure here in Multnomah County for another year.  The industry lobbyists got their way on this one, unfortunately.  I'm having a hard time understanding why, if our state legislators believe the Multnomah County legislation was a good enough idea to pass at the statewide level (and remember, the bill's sponsors are also promoting it as a public health measure), why are they delaying implementation of menu labeling here in Portland at the same time?  On top of that, my concern is also that this may be it, and it will now be much harder to pass any stronger legislation in the future to provide people with more necessary information about their food choices; since as we all know, there is much more in food to think about than just calories.  Now, people may never be able to find that other information.

Menu Labeling Update: Bill Passes Oregon House, and Correction on LEAN

by: JayinPortland

Mon May 18, 2009 at 08:12:56 AM PDT

HB 2726 passed the Oregon House by a vote of 44 - 14 on Friday, and will now head on into the Oregon Senate where it will also likely pass.  The vote numbers don't actually tell the whole story though, as at least one of the opponents of the bill was against it for not being strong enough, and for overriding local regulations -

In a lively 36-minute debate on the bill, Rep. Nick Kahl, D-Portland, said he was opposing the bill because it bars local laws on menu labeling, thereby pre-empting and effectively delaying Multnomah County's recent requirements.

The law, if passed and signed, would take effect Jan. 1, 2011.  Which may actually be rendered moot, as I wrote about here a couple days ago, if the weak industry-supported LEAN Act currently in the Congress manages to become law.  LEAN would preempt any and all existing or future local, state and county regulations.

I also received a correction this morning on something I wrote about LEAN in that diary - LEAN would not even require calorie counts to be printed on menu boards; rather, it would simply require restaurants to provide the information anywhere convenient to them.  Which is basically the system we have now, and which doesn't work - posters containing nutritional information hidden near the bathrooms in fonts that require a magnifying glass to read, or on tray liners received after you order the food, etc...

I still don't understand when it became acceptable to allow restaurants to refuse to let us know what's in our food.  Let's make sure Congress doesn't give them a pass on this.

Oregon Subscription Farm Cooperative Wins Approval To Accept Food Stamps

by: JayinPortland

Fri May 08, 2009 at 17:55:08 PM PDT

The Siskiyou Sustainable Cooperative, a group of farmers who deliver fresh vegetables and other products to customers weekly on a subscription basis, has won state approval to accept Oregon Trail Cards (food stamps) starting in July.

It was apparently a long and arduous process, but now hopefully this will set a precedent for others who'd like to go down this path.  This can only benefit everybody involved.

Noting the higher cost of organic food and its image as "for the wealthy," Powell said bringing low-income consumers into the loop changes that image and economically strengthens local organic growers.

[...]

Powell said the Oregon Trail Card is helping low-income people eat well in hard economic times. "It's an excellent way for children, the elderly and at-risk families to access food that can nourish them and prevent illness and obesity."

Sampler Platter 05.08.09

by: JayinPortland

Fri May 08, 2009 at 17:07:34 PM PDT

• Tomorrow, May 9 is the National Association of Letter Carriers' annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive, the largest annual single-day food drive in the US.  I don't have much myself these days, but I'm going to leave out my little bag with a couple cans of Eden Organic kidney beans by my mailbox for tomorrow morning.  You can find out how to help here; and as always, Feeding America can use your donations or help you find a local volunteer opportunity here.

• Over at Civil Eats, Kerry Trueman interviews James Howard Kunstler.

• Deborah Lehmann takes a look at the school food bills currently in the US House and Senate.

• The Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project, a local foods project here in Oregon started up in 2008 by Harry MacCormack, a long-time Corvallis organic farmer and co-founder of Oregon Tilth, is working towards convincing conventional large-scale grass-seed growers to transition towards growing beans and grains organically for local markets.

• Not quite sure what to make of this, but Oprah's KFC promotion didn't quite seem to work out well for anybody involved...

• Wow - the Texas State Legislature has joined New York and California in banning the use of trans fats by restaurants.  Also, Minnesota today officially banned the use of BPA in plastic baby bottles and cups.

• Cognitive dissonance reigns in Ken Salazar's Interior Department, at least regarding the now-officially-listed-as-threatened polar bear.  The American Petroleum Institute is cheered by today's ruling, however...