Colleagues, friends to hold memorial for Astrid Schlaps
In honor of Astrid Schlaps, a retired professor who died at the beginning of September, family and faculty members from Portland State’s social work, psychology and women’s studies programs will hold a memorial this Sunday, Oct. 31
Colleagues, friends to hold memorial for Astrid Schlaps
In honor of Astrid Schlaps, a retired professor who died at the beginning of September, family and faculty members from Portland State’s social work, psychology and women’s studies programs will hold a memorial this Sunday, Oct. 31. It will take place in Hoffman Hall from 1 to 3 p.m.
Schlaps began teaching at the School of Social Work in 1993, and later became a full-time faculty member, according to the school’s blog. Though she retired in 2007, she continued to maintain her private practice, working with adults, children and families affected by abuse.
Schlaps’ husband, Richard Hunter, was also a long-time faculty member in the School of Social Work. In addition, he helped found the Child Welfare Partnership and was the director of the Child Welfare Education Program.
Hunter allegedly shot Schlaps before taking his own life at their Manzanita home in September. According to police reports, the murder was motivated by financial troubles.
Corie Charnley
Portland State-based organization receives transportation grant
The researchers at the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium (OTREC) have been given $3,243,400 in grant money to spend another fiscal year making Oregon’s transportation system more safe and sustainable.
OTREC is a partnership between Portland State University, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University and the Oregon Institute of Technology.
The company, based on PSU’s campus, is designed to “address the transportation needs of Oregon,” according to its website. It addresses issues such as safety, mobility, environmental stewardship and congestion relief.
In 2005, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users bill was passed, becoming one of the largest surface transportation investments in the U.S. to date.
This bill led to a yearly grant dispersed by the U.S. Department of Transportation that allows research associations, such as OTREC, to continue its work, according to Jane Mellow, director of governmental, international and public affairs at the Department of Transportation.
According to Jennifer Dill, OTREC director, this is the fifth year this grant has funded OTREC. Dill said that it will be a six year grant in total.
With this annual disbursement, totaling $3,243,400, OTREC plans to continue to move towards transportation innovation.
OTREC at a glance
According to its website, the OTREC has:
Total value of projects funded: $9.1 million
Catrice Stanley
Multnomah County bans sale of bottled water at public functions
On Oct. 14, Multnomah County became the first county in Oregon to ban the sale of bottled water at public functions. The decision came after a unanimous vote by Multnomah County Commissioners.
The initiative to ban the sale of bottled water from public events was introduced by 2nd District Commissioner Barbara Willer. The motivating factors for the initiative are varied, including financial issues, sustainability and water quality, according to Willer’s staff assistant, Sarah Brownstein.
According Brownstein, the county spent $20,000 on bottled water last year. The passage of this recent measure is predicted to save the entire Multnomah County $20,000 to $30,000 annually.
The quality of water is also at stake, Brownstein said. Whereas bottled water is under the auspices of the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency administers and oversees tap water. The FDA requires the bottled water industry to test water six times a month, while the EPA requires testing 300 times a month.
According to Food & Water Watch, a sustainability conservation watchdog organization, bottled water is thousands of times more expensive than tap water, and is no safer.
Calls to extend the ban to the sale of bottled water in the city of Portland have been rejected, according to Portland Water Bureau Director David Shaff.
“What we do is encourage people to make good choices,” Shaff said. “We’re trying not to get into prohibition.” The measure is part of the nationwide Take Back the Tap campaign, which serves to support policies that promote affordable and clean tap water to the public, according to the organization’s website.
“Water is a human right,” Brownstein said. “We need to ensure that we all have equal access.” According to Brownstein, this was Willer’s personal motivation in pursuing this piece of legislation.
This attitude toward the issue has arisen at the University of Portland as well, whose administrators have made the decision to ban the sale of bottled water on campus. Catherine Howells, a professor at Portland State, hopes the PSU administration might soon follow suit.
Portland is one of six large cities in the U.S. that has unfiltered water systems, according to Howells. Along with Seattle, Tacoma, San Francisco, Boston and New York City, Portland does not filter its tap water. Instead, it relies on purifying chemicals, such as chlorine.
Joe Mantecon
