community

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said, “A country that out-educates us today will out-compete us tomorrow.” But boosting educational outcomes and achieving lasting gains, particularly for low-income students, may require significantly broader collaboration between schools and communities.

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FF Audio 2011-11-04 Schools and Communities.mp3

How would our region be different if we:

• had a way of measuring progress in areas ranging from education, environment and the economy to health, housing and the arts?
• used those measures to discuss the region’s priorities and coordi¬nate actions among jurisdictions, agencies, and sectors?
• measured those things over time in order to stay focused on what is important?

Greater Portland Pulse (GPP) is a partnership between Portland State University, Metro and more than 100 organizations. GPP created measures for issues that are important to everyone in the region. The resulting report, The Path to Economic Prosperity: Education and the Equity Imperative, serves as a first-ever regional report card, against which future progress can be measured.

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FF Audio 2011-10-28 PDX Pulse MP3.mp3

Animals play a central role in the human story, and how we interact with them – from our first bare-footed steps as hunters and gatherers, through the age of domestication and animal sacrifice, to the modern era of pampered pets and industrialized agriculture – is one of the great themes.

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FF Audio 2011-04-29 Humane Soc MP3.mp3

In 2010, following two highly publicized fatal police shootings, Mayor Sam Adams — who had only recently taken over the Police Bureau from City Commissioner Dan Saltzman — dismissed Police Chief Rosie Sizer and instated Michael Reese as the new chief of police. Additional officer-involved shootings since then have shaken the trust between sectors of Portland and its police.

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FF Audio 2011-04-15 Police MP3.mp3

On July 23, City Club hosts a discussion about tribal environmental stewardship with two representatives from the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. Cheryle Kennedy, the Tribes’ Chairwoman, will provide an overview of the ways that treaty rights and federal recognition and laws impact the region’s Native Americans, while focusing her attention on what the Grand Ronde are doing to promote culturally informed land and forestry management.

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FF Audio 2010-07-23 Tribal Environmental Stewardship copy.mp3

Three years ago, pollster Adam Davis described public opinion in Oregon as a “perfect storm,” in which an uninformed and disconnected public was unable to hold politicians accountable in any meaningful way for campaign promises. Today, with a weakened economy and government budget problems, has anything changed?

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2009.12.11 What Really Matters to ORians.mp3

Since 2004, the Skidmore Prizes have honored exceptional leaders under 35 who work in nonprofits and make under $35,000 a year. On November 20, City Club will host the 2009 Skidmore Prizes, which will be presented by City Commissioner Nick Fish.

This year's winners are Fowzia Abdulle of Bradley Angle House's Healing Roots Center, which provides emergency shelter and healing options for African and African-American women and children escaping domestic violence; lawyer Jennifer Gilmore of Child Centered Solutions, which gives a voice to children in divorce and custody cases; the Pixie Project's Executive Director Amy Sacks, whose organization provides animal adoption and affordable spay and neutering services; and Brandi Tuck, Executive Director of Goose Hollow Family Shelter, a winter emergency shelter that allows homeless families to stay together.

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2009-11-20 City Club edit.mp3

The Pacific Northwest is known around the world for its natural physical beauty and outdoor recreation opportunities. But it is easy to overlook "nearby nature" in our communities and its importance to the everyday health and well-being of the people who live, work, play and learn in cities. Urban greening, also known by names such as urban forestry and sustainable landscaping, offers an array of advantages that extend far beyond aesthetics and are profoundly important to quality of life.

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2009.10.16 Urban Ecology.mp3

Poverty due to illness, job loss or other changing circumstances is often temporary. Generational poverty – two or more generations living in poverty – is by definition long term and encompasses a wide set of all-too-often ignored or discounted issues. People born to poverty face physical, emotional and sociological challenges to literacy, education and employment. In addition, childhood life-lessons differ greatly from those of the prevailing middle-class and often lead to misunderstandings and missed opportunities in professional relationships later in life.

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2009.06.12. CC Copy.mp3

An urban university serves a unique function. It educates the citizens of its city, but also generates progress within that city by conducting useful research, encouraging student engagement and promoting sustainability.

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Dec 12 2008 CCOP Copy.MP3