Pursuant to Senate Bill 256 (2017), Oregon Solutions facilitated the Willamette Falls Locks Commission (WFLC). Senate Bill 256 established the commission to advise state, local, and regional government agencies on development and implementation of a plan for repair, reopening, operation, and maintenance of the Willamette Falls navigation canal and locks. The commission recommended formation of … Read more
South Douglas County school districts–Days Creek, Glendale, Riddle, South Umpqua, and Winston-Dillard–with assistance from the Douglas Education Service District are pursuing career and technical education (CTE) opportunities with a goal of establishing a stand-alone regional CTE center in South Douglas County to expand the districts’ existing programs. Students would remain enrolled in their area school, … Read more
Local climate and topography make the area around Oakridge, Oregon, prone to wintertime temperature inversions, low wind speeds and poor atmospheric dispersion that translate into poor air quality during the winter months, when many residents use wood stoves as their primary source of heat. Poor air quality disproportionately impacts the most vulnerable in the community … Read more
An Oregon Solutions team of PSU students and volunteers led by National Policy Consensus Center Senior Fellow Beverly Stein provided facilitation and consulting services during the early phases of the Oregon Business Council’s Poverty Reduction Task Force in cooperation with ECO Northwest. The task force developed an integrated framework to address poverty that included the … Read more
Cedar Mill Creek and its major tributary North Johnson Creek drain a forested watershed on the west side of the West Hills mostly in Washington County. Because much of the watershed has been converted to urban uses, storm water runoff has been adversely affected and flooding occurs throughout the creek corridors even during relatively small … Read more
Gilliam County, like many communities in rural Oregon, faces an interconnected housing and jobs challenge that threatens the community’s long term survival. This project addressed the lack of adequate attainable housing, especially in the cities of Arlington and Condon. One of the project goals was to find strategies and implementation tools to increase attainable housing for … Read more
The Oregon Solutions Southern Oregon Gorse Project laid the foundation for the mitigation of the highly flammable and invasive gorse plant in the Southern Oregon coast region. Gorse was responsible for fire that burned the entire city of Bandon in 1936 and notable subsequent fires in 1980, 1999, 2007, and 2015. Gorse is a … Read more
During early 2016, Oregon Solutions interviewed stakeholders from a wide spectrum of interests to explore aspirations, concerns, and opportunities to address air quality issues. A need to raise awareness around environmental health disparities stemming from exposure to air toxins, lack of walkability and accessibility in the community of the Jade District in outer southeast Portland … Read more
The Lents Stabilization and Job Creation Collaborative has built a foundation for improving community stability, equity, natural resource restoration and economic growth in flood-prone areas of the Lents and Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are composed of largely under-served communities. For over 100 years, considerable employment and residential development has occurred in Johnson Creek’s 100-year floodplain. … Read more
The 2014 Community Health Needs Assessment identified food insecurity as one of the top social and economic needs in the Columbia River Gorge region’s Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP). The Columbia Gorge Health Council (Coordinated Care Organization) and One Community Health, (the region’s federally qualified health center) conducted a survey in 2015 specific to food … Read more