In Tennessee, Republican Governor Bill Haslan has refused to expand Medicaid under Obamacare. But he must acknowledge that rising health care costs are a problem, right? What’s the solution to this problem in Tennessee? ThinkProgress explains: Twice a year, Tennessee holds a “health care lottery” that gives some hope to the uninsured residents in the […]
Health
Posted inHealth
Interview with a Professional (and Legal) Burglar
This Reddit Ask Me Anything is pretty fascinating. Here’s the introduction: For work I get to break into hospitals and steal things. It’s referred to as a “Physical Penetration Test.” It’s an integral part of a risk assessment, which is required under 164.308(a)(1) of HIPAA. I routinely pick locks, steal access badges, impersonate medical personnel, […]
Posted inNews
Unanimous Vote, Loud Applause for Earned Sick Leave in Portland
Commissioner Amanda Fritz and Family Forward director Andrea Paluso smile before posing for an iPhone photo snapped by Commissioner Nick Fish. After a lengthy hearing last week—and several glowing comments from city commissioners—it was a foregone conclusion that Commissioner Amanda Fritz’s first-in-Oregon plan for paid sick leave would win approval this morning. And, as expected, […]
Posted inHealth
You Don’t Have to Be Thin to Be Healthy
Study says: The report on nearly three million people found that those whose B.M.I. ranked them as overweight had less risk of dying than people of normal weight. And while obese people had a greater mortality risk over all, those at the lowest obesity level (B.M.I. of 30 to 34.9) were not more likely to […]
Posted inCity Hall
West Hayden Island Hearing “Practically a Caricature of Self-serving Moneyed Interests Pitted Against Community Members Fighting Only for Values and Their Homes”
Last night, Portland’s Planning and Sustainability Commission took up the matter of West Hayden Island—and Mayor Sam Adams’ near-deadline-busting plan to annex the gorgeous and rare natural refuge and hand over nearly half of it to the Port of Portland for a deepwater shipping terminal that’s years away and that the region may not even […]
Posted inHealth
Free Laughs and Exercise Classes in the Pearl
Every once in a while, the universe conspires to bring us something that is so absurd but that takes itself so seriously that you can’t help but be impressed when you finally stop laughing. The new Firebrand Sports, opening soon on NW 14th, hit that on the nose. I stopped in to their open house […]
Posted inFashion
Wolf’s Apothecary
Jewelie Randall’s last name means “Wolf’s Shield” (beat that), so in keeping with the old time tradition of apothecaries named after their owners, she brings us Wolf’s Apothecary, a temporary source for locally concocted health and beauty products (Randall herself has 20 years of experience as a “city herbalist”), plus vintage and modern home goods, […]
Posted inPolitics
“I Do Not Have the Money to Pay For This!”
At around 10:30pm last night we noticed a couple of cop cars and and ambulance on our block. Didn’t seem like anything too serious, we could hear the cops talking to an agitated and possibly mentally ill man, the usual talking-him-down stuff. No lights or sirens or weapons or anything. After a few minutes, they […]
Posted inMusic
The Rapping Dentist Droppin’ the Truth in the Hizzzayospital!
So many dentists refuse to speak out against the evils of chewing tobacco. So many more refuse to do so using the medium of “rap.” And even more refuse to wear a ponytail while doing so. Those dentists are not the “Rapping Dentist.” Spit the truth, Rapping Dentist. Spit the truth.
Posted inCity Hall
City Unveils New Suicide Hotline: “We Want People to Not Call 911”
Going up on the Vista Bridge, and then every other Portland-area bridges. Get used to seeing this phone number on Portland-area bridges and billboards and other places where you can’t miss it: 503-972-3456. As the Mercury said would happen last month, city and police officials joined suicide-response nonprofit Lines for Life (formerly Oregon Partnership) in […]
Posted inTransportation
Coming to a Neighborhood Near You: 20 MPH Speed Limits!
Here’s some great news for anyone who walks and/or bicycles in Portland. At a press conference up in Northeast this morning, Mayor Sam Adams, State Senators Ginny Burdick and Jackie Dingfelder, and ex-State Representative Ben Cannon unveiled the city’s first 20 mph speed limit sign. The fanfare came two days after Portland City Council a […]
Posted inMusic
Take A Shower, Hippie: Pickathon and The Oasis
I’m not a huge camper (I’m very fond of human advances in hygiene), but I like to let my hair down and hippie it up at Pickathon once a year, “sleeping” with my neck cricked on a slant to the tunelessness of drunken improv wannabes playing to an early morning crowd of 0 on the […]