Abraham Lincoln was way too young to be a "founding father;" he was born ten years after George Washington died, for one example. But the thoughts, words, and actions of the country's original statesmen still reverberated for Lincoln. And their influence on him is detailed in Richard Brookhiser's book Founders' Son: A Life of Abraham Lincoln .

Springtime is a long way off, but it's always arts time in the region. For a place that can be thinly populated, we pack a lot of arts organizations onto the landscape. One of the better-known, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, returns to the stage in February. That's just one of many events happening in theatres and galleries. Our First Friday Arts segment seeks to publicize as many as possible in half an hour. Listen to the list, or make it longer by calling 800-838-3760.

Music can bind us together at a time in history when we can easily find reasons to disagree. Peace choirs sing to enhance the sense of shared humanity. The Rogue Valley Peace Choir is the host organization for a joint concert of peace choirs from both sides of the state line, coming up February 11.

Seasons may change, but the music never stops. Certainly not for Josh Gross, the music editor at the Rogue Valley Messenger . Once a month, the day BEFORE First Friday, Josh visits with news of bands coming to play at venues in the region, with a particular emphasis on the Rogue Valley. We call it "Rogue Sounds."

Norwich, Vermont. Name ring a bell? It's the town of fewer than 3,500 that has had a representative on every U.S. Winter Olympic team (except one) since 1984. How is that possible? Well, winter DOES last a long time in that part of Vermont... but there are other factors as well. Karen Crouse explores those in her book Norwich: One Tiny Vermont Town’s Secret to Happiness and Excellence .

Lane County is the most populous county JPR serves. And along with the big population, there is a large population of homeless people. Homeless advocates in the county have provided a number of innovative programs, like Opportunity Village Eugene. But there are many other entities involved in caring, or attempting to care for, the homeless population. ShelterCare is one of them. Community Sharing in Cottage Grove also plays a role.

Items that we find on the beach may not look terribly important to the casual observer, but can have critical importance to creatures beneath the surface. Case in point: kelp. It is a major food source for some sea creatures, and kelp forests on the West Coast have been decimated by a series of events. In California, there's less than 10% of the usual kelp. As a result, the abalone fishery has been shut down on both sides of the state line. Cynthia Catton is a scientist with California Fish and

Fracking for oil and gas in the United States has proven highly profitable and productive. But it's not like everyone involved is getting rich and happy. Witness the epicenter of the oil boom in the Dakotas: Williston, North Dakota. Its population exploded with oil workers, stressing the housing market and schools and many more community elements. This is the story Blaire Briody tells in The New Wild West: Black Gold, Fracking, and Life in a North Dakota Boomtown . The book tracks the people who

Baby boomers can well remember learning how to sew in home economics classes in high school. As society and education changed, skills like sewing got less emphasis and attention. But sewing know-how is still in demand, as we learn from the co-directors of the Redding Fashion Alliance . Jan Kearns and Robin Fator are looking for some people who know how to sew, and interested in getting those skills taught again.

Cap and trade. Simple phrase, but a loaded one in political circles. The idea is a cap on carbon emissions, payments by emitters going above a certain amount, and a market to trade the permits. California already has a cap and trade law; the Oregon Legislature will take up a similar concept in the legislative session starting next week, over the objections of several legislators. State Senator Michael Dembrow is one of the cap-and-trade sponsors, and he chairs a committee that will consider the