Jackson County Democrats

 2009-11 BUDGET HEARING at

Medford School District Budget Meetings

The MSD will hold 3 informational meetings to gather public input on proposed cut scenarios for the 2009-2010 school year. The District is assuming a state wide funding level of $5.7 billion for education, which translates to around an $8 million cut for the MSD. This is the time to voice concern over keeping programs like Instructional Coaches in elementary schools versus avoiding splits and larger classes.

All Budget meetings will be held in the Washington Elementary school cafeteria.

April 28:7 to 9
April 30:7 to 9
May 2:10 to 12

The Proposed Budget will be presented on May 12 to the public and the School Board. There will be at least one additional meeting for public comment on the proposed budget on May 26, however the time for input is NOW, before they get it down on paper.

Article on JCDP Web Site

Volunteers Needed to Help Stand For Children:

Ways and Means Budget Hearing Thursday, April 30

Southern Oregon University, Ashland
Rogue River Room
Stevenson Union
1250 Siskiyou Boulevard
5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

We have 2 people who will testify. What we really need now are line sitters. You only need to give up one hour of time: 3:30 to 4:30 and 4:30 to 5:30. We need two people for each time slot. Ashland folks, it is right in your back yard at SOU!

Please email if you can help.  More info

Stand For Children also needs School Board canvassers in May

We will drop flyers on the four MSD school board candidates endorsed by Stand for Children:  Paulie Brading, Sally Killen, Tricia Prendergast and Jeff Thomas. This will be a very simple canvass, we are dropping flyers at houses in 3 select precincts (no door knocking, no address lookup).

Canvass dates and meeting place:
May 2, 3, 9,17 Hoover Elementary parking lot
May 16 Jacksonville (Doc Griffin park)

Email if you can help.  More info

"As Attorney General of Oregon I am proud to serve a state that has always been a leader in protecting the environment. Even though we are a national leader, we face serious challenges. From the Willamette to the Malheur, every major river in Oregon fails federal and state water quality standards for at least one pollutant. Toxic concentrations in Portland’s air exceed federal standards.

In recognition of Earth Day, the Oregon Department of Justice is reenergizing our commitment to protecting Oregon’s environment. In partnership with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) we are launching an online tip form for citizens to report an environmental crime.

Right now, we do not have the legal tools we need to crack down on environmental crimes. For example, we do not have a single environmental crimes prosecutor anywhere in state government.  To me, that is unacceptable. 

That’s why I propose the creation of an Environmental Crimes Enforcement Unit at the Oregon Department of Justice. This unit will partner with the Department of Environmental Quality to hold polluters accountable for the damage they cause to our air, our water, our land and our health.

If you support tougher environmental crimes enforcement in Oregon there are three things you can do to help: "  Read Full Letter

 Attorney General John Kroger's vision for Oregon:

·        Combat violent crime

·        Defend the environment

·        Protect consumers against scams and fraud

·        Reform drug prosecution and treatment

·        Promote a positive business climate

·        Ensure civil rights

Oregon Senate Votes to expand access to  life-saving clinical medical trials 

SB 316 will require insurance companies to continue providing routine care to patients

SALEM—Legislation expanding patient access to clinical trials was passed by the Oregon Senate on April 20th. SB 316 will require insurance companies to cover routine care for patients participating in FDA approved clinical trials.

“This legislation is about access,” said Senate Majority Leader Richard Devlin (D-Tualatin), sponsor of the bill. “I introduced this bill because of a constituent whose insurance company denied her basic coverage for participating in a clinical trial—a trial that had the potential to dramatically improve her quality of life.”

Clinical trials provide potential pathways towards improved care, more effective medication, and ultimately, cures, for a variety of diseases, said Devlin. However, because some health plans define clinical trials as ‘experimental’ or ‘investigational,’ some insurance policies exclude the costs of routine care a patient would normally receive whether they were enrolled in the trial or not. This routine care includes blood work, x-rays, and basic tests, even when that care is ordered by a primary physician not associated with a clinical trial.

SB 316 will now move to the House. For more on information on the Access to Clinical Trials Coalition, click here.

Full Press Release:  http://www.leg.state.or.us/press_releases/sdo_042009.html

Action: Contact Peter Buckley and let him know that you support SB316.  Go to:  <rep.peterbuckley@state.or.us>

Oregon House Passes Bill to Audit Tax Breaks and Giveaways

HB 2067 would allow a regular examination of Oregonian tax expenditures

SALEM – April 20^th - With nearly $5 billion worth of tax credits on Oregon personal and corporate income taxes every year, the Oregon House Democrats today took steps to get greater control over tax loopholes with the passage of House Bill 2067. The bill, carried by State Rep. Jules Bailey, establishes a sunset on all new tax credits, and allows the Legislature to review these tax credits at least every six years. The bill passed with a three-fifths majority.

“Smart budgeting requires a regular examination of what Oregonians are paying for and what we are getting in return,” said Bailey (D-Portland). “We should ensure we are meeting our goals of making our tax system fairer for Oregon families and small businesses.”

HB 2067 would allow for an orderly review of certain tax credits not required under federal law or the Oregon Constitution. With 64 such credits on the books, House Democrats have called for a regular review to make sure Oregonians are getting what we pay for. As the sunset date of a tax credit approaches the House Revenue Committee will see research and hear testimony about how that particular credit has performed. The committee will then decide whether to keep the credit, expand it, modify it or end it all together.

See Press Release on JCDP Web Site or go to

Press Release:  http://www.leg.state.or.us/press_releases/hdo_042009.html

Something as simple as a cardboard box, costing about $15, is saving women's lives in Africa.

It is called a solar cooker and is making a huge difference to refugee women who fled the genocide in Darfur. Why? Having a solar cooker means women don't need to leave the refugee camp to gather firewood. Outside the camp women are vulnerable to attack and rape. Safely inside the camp, women can be taught to make and use the solar cookers, and also earn income from assembling the cookers.

The cookers can be made using two pieces of cardboard, with the addition of tinfoil and sunlight. The plentiful sunlight is converted into heat energy, which is then used for cooking. The project has health benefits too. The cookers allow women to boil water, which kills off water-borne disease-causing microbes.

To date, more than $1.6 million has been raised for the purchase of solar cookers by some 300 organizations, churches, and synagogues across the United States. To participate in the distribution of solar cookers to refugees of Darfur and others, please visit www.solarcookerproject.org.

 If you are interested in the organization supporting the Solar Cooker Project, please read on:   

Jewish World Watch - A CALL TO CONSCIENCE...
 Shocked by revelations of mass killings in Darfur, Sudan, and remembering the Holocaust and the many post-Holocaust genocides, Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis of Valley Beth Shalom challenged the Jewish people to begin to honor the promise made following the Holocaust -- that "Never Again" would we be silent in the face of genocide. With that challenge, Jewish World Watch was established in October, 2004 as a Jewish response to horrors perpetrated by human beings against others.  

This new and powerful collaboration of Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Reform synagogues throughout Southern California is dedicated to the mandate that we will never again stand idly by merely observing acts of inhumanity. Rather, we will educate and activate our community to rise up against such unspeakable acts. We will take responsibility for mobilizing the community and for helping to care for the victims of inhuman abuses.

The isolated, hungry and battered people of Darfur are the immediate business of Jewish World Watch. We have successfully sponsored critical humanitarian projects in the refugee camps. As other global crises emerge in other countries, Jewish World Watch will expand its focus, and be a call to conscience to respond to human rights abuses wherever and whenever they occur.

JWW is a member of the Save Darfur Coalition.      

Of Continuing Importance

Health Care Action on Two Fronts - JOIN ONE OF THE ACTION RESPONSE TEAMS

to write letters to editor, call your Senator

 "Let there be no doubt: Health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year." 

    … President Barack Obama

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VOLUNTEERS ALWAYS NEEDED & APPRECIATED FOR OUR STANDING COMMITTEES

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