The Jefferson Exchange

Father-and-son musicians David and Jack Morris will be our featured guests on this First Friday of April, on their way to a session at the Ashland Independent Film Festival. 

Video Extra: The full version of "Gypsy Davy."

The first Friday of any month has become a day to celebrate the arts around our region.  Several communities hold First Friday art walks, and some hold similar observances on other weekend days.

Barbara Kopple is one of the featured guests at the Ashland Independent Film Festival taking place this weekend (April 3-7). 

Kopple is the winner of a pair of Oscars for her previous efforts. 

And her film on the Hemingway (as in Ernest) family, "Running From Crazy," will screen at AIFF this weekend as well. 

Generations of movie audiences have thrilled to the gory exploits of Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho." 

But many of the moviegoers may be unaware that Norman was based on Wisconsin's Ed Gein, who treated women even more poorly than the fictional Mr. Bates.

What was once lost is returning. 

Rough and Ready Lumber closed its doors near Cave Junction several months ago, shutting the last operating sawmill in Josephine County. 

The local ballot measures are the big news items in Oregon's May 20 primary election. 

That's especially true in Jackson County, where an anti-GMO crop measure is up for a vote.  And there's a measure to fund libraries as well.  And another: a measure to keep the Oregon State Extension service operating in the county. 

The iconic Barbie doll comes in for a fair amount of criticism, primarily for its nearly anatomically impossible depiction of the female form. 

Now a study from the psychology school at Oregon State University finds another issue. 

The study suggests that girls who play with Barbie dolls may think of their own career choices as more limited than those of boys. 

Being a college student is tough enough these days… did you see the recent news that accumulated student debt is now more than a trillion dollars in America? 

Then there's the issue of housing. 

Maximum penalties for drunk driving and horror stories of landlord/tenant relations are the topics of this week's VENTSday segment.

We do not schedule guests for Wednesday at 8:30, because that's the time for VENTSday, your chance to vent (politely, please) on a pair of topics in the news.  We bring the topics, you bring the opinions.

There are probably few people who look forward to April 15th.

It is, after all, the day when our income tax returns are due. 

But there are people who relish the opportunity to make a statement about where our tax money goes.

Spring is here and the flowers are blooming.  The bees can't be far behind.

Despite problems with bee populations, there are still many pollinators at work keeping our plants growing and thriving.