By Representative David Gomberg, House District 10
Dear Neighbors and Friends,
Last week I shared excerpts from “Oregon by the Numbers”, an annual report by the Roseburg-based Ford Family Foundation (FFF). I worried that all the data and details would, as I said, “be one of my most interesting, or most boring updates….” Judging by the volume of mail I received, it was clearly the former.
By the Numbers paints a challenging picture of our district on subjects ranging from education to food insecurity and child poverty to family financial hardship. Ford works in partnership with the OSU Extension Service to collect data from the state’s 36 counties and draw comparisons between rural and urban areas. FFF funds the work, but OSU Extension has the essential responsibility of data collection and development of the product.
The impact of the OSU Extension is immeasurable across Oregon, particularly in rural areas and small towns like many of the communities I represent along the coast and coast range. I’ve worked closely with Lincoln County Extension on numerous occasions and have always been impressed by the quality of their work and their clear passion for serving the community.
Again, if you have not taken a look at the larger document, I encourage you to do so.
As part of my economic review, I reported that the state’s wood products are rebounding, largely because of mass timber. Several of you wrote to ask for more information.
Mass timber is a type of engineered wood product used to build structures, such as walls, floors, and beams. It’s made by connecting smaller pieces of wood, like veneers, dimension lumber, or strands, with adhesives, screws, dowels, or nails to create larger layered and compressed wooden beams, columns and panels strong enough, advocates say, to be used in place of concrete and steel in construction.
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Mass timber is a sustainable alternative to concrete and steel, and can be used to build a variety of structures, including high-rises. Some benefits of mass timber include:
- Carbon Removal: Mass timber can reduce the amount of carbon in buildings by displacing concrete and steel, which are more emissions-intensive.
- Strength and Stability: Mass timber is strong and stable and can be used to construct large structures.
- Efficient Construction: Prefabricated wood panels make construction and renovation efficient.
- Material Repurposing: Mass timber can be disassembled and repurposed at the end of its life, reducing waste.
Investing in the mass timber industry and mass timber housing will be transformative for Oregon. This investment will provide much-needed housing, create new good-paying jobs in urban and rural communities, and support forest restoration and climate resilience.
Looking for a good example? Check out the remarkable applications at Portland’s new and improved airport terminal. |
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October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
During Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we recognize survivors of domestic violence and raise awareness about the ongoing efforts to decrease the scourge of domestic violence in our communities.
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Together, we can help build safer futures for all families. If you or someone you know needs help, please use the resources below or reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233). Here are additional resources:
- Child Support When You Are Afraid of the Other Parent: This FAQ page provides important information to help survivors of domestic violence make informed decisions about safety while accessing child support services in Oregon.
- Domestic Violence Safety Plan: If you need help planning for your safety in an abusive relationship, the domestic violence or sexual assault program in your area can help customize a plan to help you get out safely. It provides information on safety during a domestic violence incident, when preparing to leave, and with a restraining order.
- For Survivors, the Domestic Violence Awareness Project: The Domestic Violence Awareness Project supports and promotes national, Tribal, territorial, state, and local advocacy networks in their ongoing public education efforts through awareness, strategies, materials, resources, capacity-building, and technical assistance.
- Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence Statewide Directory of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Programs: The Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence provides a list of shelters, advocacy, and legal assistance programs in your area.
- Oregon Department of Human Services: Domestic Violence Services: The Oregon Department of Human Services provides resources and support for domestic violence survivors, including financial assistance, safety planning, and access to shelters and legal services.
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| Another time change is coming and I don’t like it!
The next time shift is slowly creeping up on Americans as cooler temperatures set in and earlier sunsets take place. Starting on Sunday, November 3, American clocks will “fall back” an hour at 2 a.m. — resulting in an extra hour of sleep.
Some people want longer daylight hours in the sunny summers. Some people want the sun to come up sooner during our dark, dreary winters. Almost everyone wants us to pick one or the other and stop making time changes.
Switching the clocks back and forth is not great for our health. We suffer sleep disruptions and mood changes. There is a higher rate of car accidents, heart attacks, and strokes among other bad medical outcomes. These circumstances typically last for a week or more. From a health perspective, the right thing to do is stick to one time. |
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| Congress decides if we can have that extra hour of sleep. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 mandates the country use daylight saving time, but allows states to opt out and exempt themselves from the practice to stay on standard time year-round. It does not allow states to permanently establish daylight saving time.
In the last five years, 19 states have passed legislation or resolutions supporting year-round daylight saving time, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Here is where each state stands in the effort to move to daylight saving time all year long.
Last year, two efforts failed in Oregon aimed at ending time changes. HB 3102 sought to eliminate daylight saving time and require the state to rely on standard time for the entire year. SB 1090 sought to abolish one-hour change in time from standard time to daylight saving time and keep the state in standard time for all 12 months of the year, except in a portion of Oregon that adheres to Mountain Time Zone.
Earlier this year, Oregon lawmakers once again introduced a bill that would have kept the state on permanent standard time, if Washington and California agreed to do the same. While the Oregon Senate narrowly approved Senate Bill 1548 on a 16-14 vote five days before the end of “short” session, that made it almost impossible for the House to act before adjournment.
I’m sure the effort will be back when we convene in 2025. |
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| This past week has been a blur of Zoom meetings with groups or subjects including AFSCME, the Urban League, Lincoln County special education teachers, Oregon Consumer Justice, the Bureau of Labor and Industries, Wheelchair Right to Repair, the Women’s Foundation of Oregon, and local environmental activists.
My in-person events included the Samaritan House Donor Appreciation Reception, a CoastBusters breast cancer brewery support gathering, a farewell social at BayHouse which is moving to Monmouth, and the Halloween Pet Fashion Show benefitting the Kealy Boyd Endowed Memorial Scholarship. |
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The coming week will feature a Lincoln City Chamber lunch with Sheriff Landers, the Lincoln County Farm Bureau in Newport, and the Oregon Coast Community College Scholarship Donor Reception.
Here is a reminder that you should now have your ballots for the November 5 election. You can check if you are registered to vote, your current voting address, the status of your ballot, contact details for your county elections office, and the location of ballot drop sites at the Secretary of States My Vote web page. I can’t promise that you will like all the election results. But I can tell you that the sooner you return your ballot, the sooner people will stop calling, texting, or knocking on your door.
I noted this year that our property tax bills arrived the same day as our ballots. That’s a subtle reminder of why voting is important. Property taxes help pay for schools, police and fire protection, and fill local potholes. As US Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said in 1927, “Taxes are what you pay for a civilized society”.
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