Weeks after a tax increase on cigarettes, a bill is making its way through the state House that would increase the tax on a 12 oz. beer from less than a penny to around 10 cents for most major breweries. The proposed bill would raise a projected $60 million in state revenues that would be used for prevention, treatment and enforcement of drug and alcohol abuse.
Portland State’s Conflict Resolution Graduate Program is working with the Campus Public Safety Office on a new program that would have public safety refer calls that have no immediate threat to graduate students from conflict resolution. Conflict resolution and public safety signed a memorandum of understanding on Feb.
A new survey by a Portland State safety committee could alter the university’s policy about smoking on campus. The survey is designed to take a hard look at university smoking policies and is asking for the input of everyone on campus, according to Gwyn Ashcom, chair of the tobacco policy subcommittee of PSU’s university safety committee.
Suzan-Lori Parks may not be what you’d expect from a Pulitzer Prize winner. With her laid-back style and sarcastic if good natured-demeanor, Parks more resembles an English graduate student than a nationally recognized playwright. After her play Topdog/Underdog opened on Broadway in 2001, Parks said the high pressure of the famous New York stage was exciting and fun, but hard work.
A new city proposal would redevelop six blocks of Montgomery Street near Portland State into a one-way street that would increase foot traffic and expand retail and living spaces. Dubbed Green Streets, the project encompasses a six-block radius, running east from the park blocks to the Pettygrove Park on Southwest First and Montgomery.
Jon Newton, a Portland State graduate and PSU instructor in music technology, has produced musical arrangements and the production soundtrack for Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s They Came From Way Out There and produced music for the theater’s production of Why Do Fools Fall in Love? Newton received his B.
Portland State’s Disability Advocacy Cultural Association is working on a new program that would aid students with disabilities in getting jobs on campus. While on the outset the program’s aim is to teach the students with disabilities to present themselves to employers in the best possible light, it goes beyond the realm of the workplace, stressing self-empowerment through a system of support, advocacy and mentoring.
Inga Dubay could never have guessed that one handwritten letter from a friend would be the beginning of a lifelong fascination with handwriting. “The letter was written in italic handwriting,” Dubay said. “The letters were just so beautiful, I thought to myself, ‘I’m going to learn how to do this!'” Living in Ashland during the mid-’60s, Dubay’s academic career began to go down a different path after receiving the letter.
While the Portland Streetcar fare dropped to $1.70 Jan. 1, the fare for Portland’s new aerial tram is still under debate among city and transportation officials. The price of a one-way tram ticket could cost as much as $4-more than double the cost of the other city transit fares.
An Oregon sustainability program received funding from the Oregon University System (OUS) to create a research and development facility that participants say would create new jobs, foster educational programs and help the Oregon economy grow. The OUS is acting as the fiscal caregiver for Oregon Bio-Economy and Sustainable Technologies (Oregon BEST), providing an initial seed grant of $250,000 for start-up fees for a signature research center for the program.