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One for The Annals of Hope

So here we are:  Day 9 of a partial federal government shutdown.  5 days from a possible default on the national debt.  No solution in sight.  Plenty of finger-pointing and blame-slinging.  But no clear path forward.

Help Make Gateway Green a Reality

Gateway Green Logo

Eight years ago, Gateway Green was just a wild idea. These 38 acres between I-84 and I-205 in East Portland once housed a jail. Now, the community is on the verge of turning this unused space into a great outdoor recreational and mountain biking destination right in the city. 

Build Gateway Green

A landscape featuring a highway with cars, railway tracks, trees, and a distant hill under a partly cloudy sky.

Over the past year, we’ve tackled tough issues throughout the state with the Governor’s budget priorities and the 2013 Oregon Values and Beliefs survey.  We did our first county-wide consultation in Curry County with residents weighing in on options to address their county’s budget.  Now the Kitchen Table is set for those of you in several counties (Clackamas, Columbia, Hood, Multnomah, and Washington) to help turn an overlooked parcel of land in East Portland into a vibrant, off-road bike park in a gateway to the region.

Celebrate Independence and Self-governance with Oregon’s Kitchen Table

What better way to celebrate independence and self governance, Oregonians? We’re extending the consultation to give more Oregonians the chance to sign up for Oregon’s Kitchen Table and take the 2013 Oregon Values & Beliefs survey!

Celebrating Birthdays Around Oregon’s Kitchen Table

Two chocolate cakes with orange flowers and lit striped candles on red plates.

What better way to celebrate independence and self governance, Oregonians? We’re extending the consultation to give more Oregonians the chance to sign up for Oregon’s Kitchen Table and take the 2013 Oregon Values & Beliefs survey!

What kind of Oregon do you want to live in?

Our first consultation with you in 2013 is a big one! Oregon’s Kitchen Table is serving as the home for all Oregonians to take part in the state’s 2013 Values and Beliefs survey this spring. The Oregon Values and Beliefs Sponsors – Oregon Community Foundation, Oregon Public Broadcasting, Oregon State University, Oregon Health & Science University, and DHM Research – believe now is the time to give voice to all Oregonians.

Oregon’s Values and Beliefs Survey

We’ve teamed up with the sponsors of the Oregon’s Values and Beliefs Survey to invite all Oregonians to share their vision for the future of Oregon. The Oregon Community Foundation, Oregon Public Broadcasting, Oregon State University, Oregon Health and Sciences University and DHM Research have joined forces and resources to create a comprehensive survey to take a deep look at the values, beliefs, and opinions of Oregonians on issues as diverse as government, public services and taxation; economic development and jobs; education; health and health care; the environment; and energy.

Curry County Consultation Results

This fall we conducted our first county-wide consultation here at Oregon’s Kitchen Table, and now we’re happy to bring you the results!  In November and December, leaders and community members in Curry County invited residents of Curry County to take a seat at Oregon’s Kitchen Table and share their thoughts on county services and funding.  Over 500 folks did!  Take a look at what Curry County residents shared at the Table here.

Happy New Year

In 2012, we brought you this experiment to set a table for all Oregonians to weigh in on our most urgent public policy issues.  The premise for this experiment? That our elected officials wanted to hear from you and that we have interesting and imaginative things to tell them!  It’s been an exciting year as we’ve all begun using Oregon’s Kitchen Table and exercising our muscles as citizens.

Take your seat at the table, Curry County!

This week we’re excited that leaders and community members in Curry County are inviting residents of Curry County to take a seat at Oregon’s Kitchen Table and share their thoughts on county services and funding.  The consultation will go live Wednesday, November 8th and county residents will have until December 15th to join in on the conversation.  As always, you can take your seat and join today – once the consultation goes live, you’ll receive an email inviting you to start responding to the online survey.

More Results, Curry County, and a Fundamentally Oregonian Space

So much has happened over here at the Kitchen Table that we haven’t had a chance to catch our breath and catch up with you! First, we’ve posted the third and final set of results for the pilot consultation.  Check the results for the Economy and Jobs and Healthy Environment Outcome Areas Findings as well as comments from tablemates in response to those results.

Results, Round 2

Here is the second set of results from Oregon’s Kitchen Table!  As you recall, we are sending the results in three sections to give you a chance to digest and comment on the results. Check the results for the Healthy People Outcome Area and Revenue sections of the questionnaire.

We’re bringing the Table to Curry County

This fall, Oregon’s Kitchen Table will be inviting folks in Curry County to take a seat and join in a discussion about their county’s financial picture.  Our second consultation is all about you, Curry County!

The Results Are In!

It’s been a busy summer over here at the Table (thanks for your patience as you waited to see the results), and we are glad to finally have the results of our first consultation. A few weeks back, thousands of Oregonians participated in a survey about the Governor’s budget including four outcome areas including education, healthy people, the economy and jobs, and healthy environment issues.

A quick update from our kitchen table to yours

We hope you all are enjoying a pleasant summer and that you are getting the chance to spend time with family and friends. We’re writing to say: Don’t worry!  The results from the pilot consultation are forthcoming.  To tell the truth, we’re a pretty small staff here at the Table, so we have been a little slower getting the results out than we wanted to be!

979

As I write this, 979 Oregonians – and counting! Yes, I’m absolutely watching the ticker move! – have signed up to join Oregon’s Kitchen Table and taken part in the first consultation on state budget priorities. We have also heard from a number of you with big ideas, corrections to glitches, and honest critiques. Thanks a lot – and keep them coming! That’s why this is an experiment. We’re learning more every day and continuing to adjust and adapt.

It's Time

Good morning! Looks like the Governor stopped by Oregon’s Kitchen Table for a visit and he’s got a message for all of us.

Begin Here

Over on our Facebook page, Cathie, a fellow Oregonian, shared a poem by Joy Harjo, which we think beautifully describes our goals here.  “Perhaps the World Ends Here” opens with the lines “The world begins at a kitchen table.  No matter what, we must eat to live. ”  We’ve set up this table as a place of beginning, too.  This is a place to nourish our views and ideas so we can begin to work together to improve the state we all inhabit.

The Power of Questions

Living here in Oregon, I’m a continent away from my dad, but we manage to keep really good conversations going about the issues affecting us in our different states. And he’s always sending me clips from his local paper or links to news articles.  Then we exchange long emails or phone calls about what we’re thinking.

Exercise Your Citizen Muscles

Everywhere I look these days, that smart northern neighbor of ours, Eric Liu seems to be saying something provocative and wise, but his article in last week’s Atlantic, “Democracy is for Amateurs: Why We Need More Citizen Citizens,” was right over the plate in terms of what we are trying to achieve here at Oregon’s Kitchen Table.

We want to hear from (and see!) you at the table

Green 4-cent U.S. postage stamp featuring a covered wagon, mountain, and the text "OREGON STATEHOOD 1859 1959."

As people across the state start to gather around Oregon’s Kitchen Table, we’d like to thank you! If you sign up by May 31, you’ll have a chance to win one of four collectible, mint condition 1959 Oregon Statehood U.S. Postage Stamps, donated by an anonymous Oregonian committed to bringing us together on the issues we care about most.

Bring your kitchen table wisdom to the public square

Thanks for stopping by — pull up a chair and take a seat at the table! We want to talk over the issues and give some good advice to our decision makers.  And, guess what?  They want to hear it!