Oregon House District 43 is one of the most diverse in the state.  It also faces some of the biggest challenges:  high unemployment, high rates of police misconduct, high displacement from gentrification.

This week Dave and Jo Ann talked with State Rep. Lew Frederick about what role the state can play in addressing some of these problems. 

 Host Paul Van Dyck speaks with Danielle Miller, the Program Manager for the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library, which serves the entire state of Washington.

This week on Voices from the Edge, Jo Ann and Dave ask the question "Are the good guys ahead?" Local progressive may be feeling a bit down over the direction of local and state politics lately. City Hall seems more disconnected than ever from the world in which most Portlanders live. Earlier this week, city council voted 4-1 (Commissioner Fritz abstaining) to put a new bond measure before voters for a new communications system and other equipment for the Fire Bureau. With so many city services taking hits - and at least on other proposed bond measure being put on hold because of the economy - should there have been a community discussion about whether this measure could wait? Oregon's gubernatorial race - "Doc vs.

Portland City Council voted 3-2 this morning to let police unit commanders have a vote in certain cases before the new police review board.  Does this make the new board "structurally flawed" or does it increase accountability as commissioners supporting the change claim? Voices from the Edge Hosts Dave Mazza and Jo Ann talk about this new development. 

Dave Mazza talks with Justice Betty Roberts, the first woman to serve on Oregon's supreme court, about the Kagan nominations hearings and about her newly released memoir "With Grit and By Grace."

About the program…

AMERICA SPEAKS

Guest:  Janet Bower, Policy Analyst for Oregon Center for Public Policy