This week on the Forum, two engineers, Kevin DeWhitt and Scott Farling, talk about the worldwide challenge of disposing of waste materials we throw away, and how there may be hope to turn plastic from trash into a new fuel source.

Candidates for Salem Keizer School Board outline their positions at the Salem Chamber's Luncheon Speaker Series.

Candidates:

Marty Heyen, incumbent for Zone 2

Raul Marquez-Guererro, Zone 2

Dr. Satya Chandragiri,  Zone 4

David Salinas, Zone 4

Danielle Bethel, Zone 6 (Keizer)

Chuck Lee, Zone 6

Knowing population trends is an important factor in most state and local decisions. This Friday on The Forum we’ll hear Charles Rynerson, a demographic expert at Portland State University’s Population Research Center, present information on Oregon’s population, the upcoming 2020 Census, and our urban-rural divide.

This week on the Forum, school and community counselors outline the challenges facing today’s youth and the task of coping with mental illness in children and adolescents.

This week on the Forum, Hydropower from our rivers came at the cost of fish populations – but now BPA says we’re saving the salmon.

This week on the Forum, District 20 representative Paul Evans gives an overview of the legislative session after a few weeks in progress and tells the Demo Forum luncheon session in Salem what big issues still lie ahead.

This week on the Forum, Hear a panel of professional, writers, teachers, and advocates talk about how we could move into the future toward a more gender-balanced society.

This week on the Forum, two programs: DeDe Montgomery talks about her book “My Music Man,” on seven generations of her family history in Oregon. Then, 13 new citizens take their Oath of Citizenship at the Oregon State Capitol.

Modern medicine’s miracles lose some of their appeals when a drug or treatment is withdrawn because it turns out not to work. Dr. Vinay Prasad talks about “Evidence-Based Medicine” and has written a book about why proving the effectiveness of medical treatment is more important than ever before.

This week on The Forum, state public-policy leaders face off to analyze taxes – where the money comes from to run all state government, its agencies, programs, and tasks – and how the process of taxation might be fixed to make it more fair and reliable.