Marion County Waste Reduction Specialist Alan Pennington

Glass is fine and tin is still "in" -- but plastic is a whole new story when it comes to recycling your used household materials. The background on how we got to here, and the details on how you can still recycle everything they'll take under the new rules this year, will be explained in this week's edition of The Forum.

Two recordings combine to make this special holiday-week edition of the Forum – a 175th-anniversary observation for Marion County, and the reminiscence of a former state lawmaker who’s published her memoir titled “From Pigs to Politics.” Hear former state senator Bev Clarno talk about her path to politics, and enjoy a look at Marion County’s history, people, wildlife and more – including a surprise connection between one of the speakers and a fellow who came to hear him, all this week on The Forum.

This week on the Forum, the man who helped build Medicare talks about that single-payer health insurance program and how – and why – it works. This is the second visit here by Dr Ted Marmor in two years, and this time he’s accompanied by international health policy expert Dr Keike Okma (KEY-kuh, OKE-muh). She’s co-written books with Dr Marmor, advised the World Bank, lectured widely, and published on a broad range of issues in international health policy.

You can’t buy a ticket to fly to Salem, or to board an airliner that will take off from the Salem Airport. Hear how commercial air service might be feasible in the near future, even though it flopped a few times in recent years.  Consultant Jack Penning of Volaire Aviation has researched the cost, the demand, the price and the possibilities and in this week’s Forum, you’ll hear the presentation he delivered this month to a combined audience of Chamber of Commerce and Salem City Club members… complete with an instant opinion poll for the audience with results displayed on a jumbotron in the hall.

Ginger McCall

She's a lawyer, she's a Freedom of Information expert, and she's one of the newest "hires" in Oregon state government. Hear the state's new Public Records Advocate and she'll explain why that is a good way to ensure people and agencies of our government handle information correctly and get what they need from the state's vast archives, when she tells about her background, her new job, and the purpose of public records in this week's edition of The Forum

Local women candidates discuss the phenomenon of more women running for public office and what it may mean for future policy decisions.  The participants were: Shelawswa Crier, Marty Heyen, Selma Pierce, Deb Patterson, Kim Thatcher. The facilitator, KMUZ program host, Ivana Rakyu.

This week on the Forum, hear the voices of the people – a “Poor People’s Rally” held on the steps of the statehouse as lawmakers inside held their one-day special session to pass a tax break for some Oregon small business owners.

This week on the Forum, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum talks about the state’s position on topics from Net Neutrality to fighting for our national monuments – and what it might mean to take on some policies staked out by the new cabinet officials in Washington DC these days.

In May educators, school board members, community leaders and people of faith came together for the annual multicultural "Raising the Bar" presented by the Salem-Keizer Coalition for Equality. They shared stories of how schools are helping steer kids into fields that capture their interest, keep them in school, and improve educational outcomes and future career prospects for all students.

Born in Oregon but raised in Washington, DC, Mark O. Hatfield Junior returned to tell about his fond memories of the state -- and the path he’s taken as he grew up to step into a career in homeland security and public safety in the field of aviation. It’s a love letter to Oregon, a salute to his mother, Antoinette Hatfield, and an overview of his life growing up in the center of the nation’s politics.  He spoke and showed slides as the season’s final presentation in the Salem Chamber Luncheon series.