The Jefferson Exchange

How did a guy who worked as a wildlife biologist manage to leave millions of dollars for enhancing "watchable wildlife?"

By being a savvy buyer and seller of real estate.

The late Bob Mace worked for Oregon Fish and Wildlife for years, retiring in the early 80s.

And he left money and property behind when he died, so more people over time would be able to enjoy watchable wildlife.

American readers have long devoured stories and books about our Civil War. 

Maybe it seems safe, because it was so long ago. 

But our planet is no stranger to civil conflicts, including the long battle between Tamil and Sinhalese factions in Sri Lanka; it only ended five years ago.

Joanna Luloff spent several years in Sri Lanka as a Peace Corps volunteer; her fictionalized accounts of events and people there is contained in her book The Beach at Galle Road. 

Oregon started Project Independence nearly 40 years ago, to help senior citizens stay in their homes, relatively independent. 

The aging of society will undoubtedly put new pressures on the program, but it just got an infusion of cash from the state legislature. 

State Senator Alan Bates is one of the champions of the program. 

It's a tough life for a newly hatched oyster.  Shellfish have 48 hours after hatching to form a shell, or they die. 

And current ocean conditions make it harder for the shellfish larvae to make shells. 

Ocean researchers including George Waldbusser at Oregon State just studied the factors. 

The increasing acidity of the oceans is one, but there are others to take into account. 

Remember the company that the state of Oregon is suing over the Cover Oregon failure? 

That's Oracle, and its president made $78 Million last year.  And he's not the top-paid CEO in America. 

Corporations and their boards justify high CEO salaries because of how much a good CEO is worth to a company's bottom line. 

Lawyer and professor Michael Dorff took a look at those bottom lines.  And in his book Indispensable and Other Myths, Dorff points out that the claimed connections are overblown. 

Oregon's Elliott State Forest will not be sold to timber companies, but it could very well get some new owner. 

The Oregon Land Board decided against a plan to sell the Elliott, but now a new proposal to seek another public buyer, or a public-private partnership, is in the works. 

Cascadia Wildlands and other groups strongly opposed the earlier sale idea. 

What did YOU make of the "torture report" of the Senate Intelligence Committee? 

And what do you think of Congress weakening rules on banks as part of the gigantic spending bill last weekend?  Those are the key questions on this week's VENTSday segment.

VENTSday is our weekly "opinion swarm"… we throw a pair of topics on the table, and let listeners vent--politely--on those topics. 

They can range from the global to the hyper-local, and all responsible opinions are welcome. 

The 20th century came late to much of rural Ireland. 

Electricity did not arrive in some households until the 1960s and 70s. 

So a certain rustic quaintness remained in Irish society, and in its Christmas traditions. 

The traditions are brought to life in "A Celtic Christmas," playing another Christmas season on stages across the country. 

The work doesn't change much over time, but the workers do. 

The highway signs that once said "men working" are now non-gender specific. 

And with good reason… more women now work on road construction crews. 

In fact, the Institute for Women's Policy Research just recognized Oregon and Maryland for their state laws that push for more women and minorities on the crews. 

What next for libraries in Josephine County? 

They've already been shut out of the county budget and run as a non-profit for several years. 

And a recent vote to create a library district--as Jackson County did--failed with voters. 

That leaves new efforts to raise money, or budget cuts, or both. 

Suki Kim is one of the few people who lives in the West and possesses good knowledge of North Korea. 

She's traveled there as a journalist for more than a decade, and spent time there teaching English to college students. 

Every day they sang a song about North Korea's leaders that is also the title of her new memoir: Without You, There Is No Us.

Farming in harmony with nature can take some special tools. 

Take the FarmDogg, for example.  The what? 

It's a light duty electric all-terrain vehicle designed to get farm workers around farms. 

And it is the creation of Rogue Rovers, with offices in Ashland, Oregon and Brazil. 

The terms "sexual assault" and "campus" keep showing up in news headlines. 

College leaders, police and Congress are taking notice. 

A recent Senate hearing featured testimony from Southern Oregon University about the school's program for dealing with sexual assault, called "Campus Choice."

It is a partnership with City of Ashland police and the "You Have Options" program, which puts victims in control of the investigations into their assaults. 

Somehow, we've reached a point in history when people are busier than ever, yet still bored. 

Sounds like we could use a little meaning in our lives, a little purpose. 

Psychotherapist and creativity coach Eric Maisel has a few ideas on that front. 

He offers an eight-week course called Life Purpose Boot Camp to help people get more meaning out of life. 

Not the news anybody was hoping for: this influenza season could be a bad one. 

The federal Centers for Disease Control made the announcement recently. 

Part of the issue is a potential mismatch between this year's flu strains and vaccines. 

The vaccines are prepared well in advance, and the flu making people sick is not always the flu targeted by the vaccines. 

Picture a holiday bazaar at which no money changes hands.  Having trouble? 

Such an event already exists, including an example from the Rogue Valley. 

The Abundance Swap returns to Ashland for its 13th edition this weekend (December 14th). 

Maybe it's been a long time since you played hopskotch or tiddly winks. 

And that's a problem, potentially. 

The ways of play are valuable in shaping young brains, and they can continue to help as we age. 

The book Hop, Skip, Jump: 75 Ways to Playfully Manifest a Meaningful Life suggests ways to use dreaming (hop), experimenting (skip), and taking action (jump) to make our work more play-like and joyful.

Southern Oregon University sends a speaker to the U.S. Senate, Josephine County Libraries consider the future, and CEOs make more than they are worth.  Not a bad starting list of topics for a week of the Jefferson Exchange.

And we'll continue to add to the list.

Here's the rundown for the week so far:

Bringing sensitive wildlife back from the brink is no easy task. 

Slow and steady is the approach for the people working to help coho salmon populations recover in Oregon. 

The people of the OASIS program (Oregon Adult Salmonid Inventory and Sampling) cover a lot of distance and endure some tough conditions just to get accurate fish counts. 

Get ready for a big debate over suction-dredge mining in the next session of the Oregon legislature. 

Gold miners are fond of using suction dredges in streams; conservation groups, working to protect water quality and fish, do not like them. 

And a task force recommends banning suction dredging on key streams in Western Oregon, including the Rogue River. 

Rogue Riverkeeper Program Director Forrest English helped write the task force report.