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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 29, 2015)
OPINION 4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2015 Loving Lucy, the Christmas pup Founded in 1873 STEPHEN A. FORRESTER, Editor & Publisher SOUTHERN EXPOSURE LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager CARL EARL, Systems Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager B Y R.J. M ARX HEATHER RAMSDELL, Circulation Manager Here’s to our newcomers A New blood brings imagination, networNs and ¿nanFial resoXrFes storia’s rebirth has been so widely reported that leaders and residents of other Oregon cities wonder how it happened. One can tell them about the pivotal role of civic leadership, willing funders and unconventional lenders such as Craft 3. But at bottom, the essential ingredient of Astoria’s comeback has been new blood. Monday’s edition began a two-week series titled Our New Neighbors. It is a simple concept in which our reporters describe people who have moved into our region over the past year. We ask these people what brought them here, as well as what they do in their new hometown. In the ¿rst year we did this se- ries, some 25 years ago, our report- ers scratched to ¿nd people for their cameos. Now, of course, there are many more newcomers. Among those you will see in this series are a couple from India who settled in Warrenton and opened a store and Providence Seaside Hospital’s new chief operating of¿cer. In any organization, newcomers are essential, because they arrive without the burden of convention- al wisdom. They don’t necessarily accept time-honored barriers to change. Of younger entrepreneurs it is often said that they were too young to know you couldn’t do what they accomplished. In other words, it is all about imagination. New blood is also important because it brings experience and real-life lessons from other plac- es. These people often have con- nections with the funding world of philanthropy and grantmaking. That is essential because public and nonpro¿t proMects these days inevitably are partnerships involv- ing players in several locations. Building relationships with those partners is all about networking. Networks are what a newcomer frequently brings us. Talent and imagination are essential to running private sec- tor businesses in a time of such dramatic economic and cultural change. That is no less true for the aggregate of enterprises and fami- lies that we call community. In the words of Richard Florida, it is the creative class that makes cities vi- brant. Here’s to our new neighbors in 2015 and 2016. W e haven’t had a lot of dogs over the years. Never more than two at a time. Our last Christmas dog was Rinaldo. R.J. Marx photo/Seaside Signal It is our wont to go Christmas week Lucy found a new home and we found a new friend. to the shelter to give our donation. But there’s no such thing as “Must a last spring, they rode shotgun across We got down to the Àoor and began trip” to the shelter. Every visit can be I-90, Rinaldo in his wool doggy sweat- to play. Of course the strongest were heart-wrenching. shirts and Basil, his long coat of hair busy wrestling with their brothers and We weren’t prepared at the time to keeping him warm on a perch on a pile sisters. A larger 4-month old min pin was take in Rinaldo. We knew we couldn’t of duffel bags on the back seat. get a big dog that would intimidate our Since coming to the North Coast, herding the group and playing, greet- old, crippled Lhasa Apso, Basil, who we’ve fallen in love with the Clatsop ing guests and visitors. But the littlest was most likely overbred and as a re- County Animal Shelter. Volunteers one was holding back, sitting to the sult has a curved front from throughout the side. The runt of the litter. Sweet, sad leg that makes veter- county spend count- eyes, with wrinkly rufÀed skin. So tiny inarians take snap- ‘A Chihuahua less hours supporting you could hold her in your hand, prac- shots for their ¿les. the care and feeding tically a bird. You guessed it. We brought her We knew we couldn’t on steroids.’ of these pets, includ- get a dog that would ing Clatsop Animal home and she is now a proud resi- scare off our two cats. But we hadn’t Assistance, Susie’s Senior Dogs and dent of Gearhart. We spent 24 hours expected this sad-eyed old man. the thrift shop, bene¿ciary of the Sea- Must thinking of a name: Greta, Gretl, Gerte, Athena, Aphrodite, Lola, Lila The shelter had placed him in the side Rotary Club’s largesse this fall. cat area because he was so small, an We’ve scanned their ads and vowed … Lucy. Today Lucy hops around our up- older Chihuahua, shivering even in we would take in another older dog. his light blue wrap in the cold of New After all they do make the best pets: stairs with energy and gusto, scram- York winter. He looked up hopefully they are well-trained and loving, smart bling to great heights onto a pillow and with dark eyes, knowing that his sec- and oh so appreciative of all that we sometimes missing. She pokes around ond chances were perhaps coming can give them. Our plan was to nurture cabinets and into closets. Right now to an end. We heard his story: he had Basil and Rinaldo in their senior years, she is nibbling at my feet. Basil is kind but shy with her. been rescued from a “kill” shelter in and then to pay a visit to the shelter. At As for Rinaldo, it’s an amazing Brooklyn, N.Y., the meanest of the adoption day in Cannon Beach earlier mean streets. Who turns in a 6-pound this year we fell in love La-La, an adult transition. This little feisty, toothless Chihuahua to be euthanized? He was Chihuahua who had both the right street-dog still snarls a bit when Lucy almost toothless, about 8, though some amount of sympathy and spunk to ¿t pokes and nibbles at him. He shrugs vets thought he was already a bit older. into our house. Three dogs, though? her off when she skips at his heels. But for an old dog so blind he stands We asked to see him out of the How could we? crate. We walked around the shelter So there we were out for a Sunday in front of the wrong door to get in the property, the sound of other dogs bark- drive, back from a stroll in Cannon house, he has got a lot of spunk. He is ing and pleading. He quickly peed on Beach and an Americano at Sleepy paternal with her. He shows her where the ground and then looked up at us Monk, pulling out of Seven Dees try- to go for the food. And the water. She hopefully. ing to ¿nd the perfect holiday tree. As wants to eat out of Rinaldo’s bowl He curled up in our arms as we we drove north on Highway 101 back and he is willing to share. At night he held him that cold post-Christmas day. to Gearhart, we saw the tiny small wraps his legs around her in the bed. There was no way we were going to hand-lettered sign along the road side: They sleep side by side, spooning. He walk out of there without him. Min pin puppies. We drove past and tells her when to worry, and when ev- In the weeks and months to come Eve gulped. “A Chihuahua on ste- erything is all right. He shows her the we speculated how he could have roids,” is how one miniature pinscher wee-wee pads and how to use them. ended up with this fate. Like any Chi- owner had once described his dog to us. She is a brilliant student. She follows huahua, he was fearful and didn’t like As former New Yorkers, that ¿t our him everywhere. The old dog and the new. to be poked or disturbed. He growled personalities to a “T.” An old dog will teach you what you while wagging his tail and licking your We passed the entrance and then hand. doubled back around. “Let’s stop. need to know. A puppy will keep you young forever. Rinaldo and Basil settled in togeth- Let’s Must take a look.” R.J. Marx is The Daily Astorian’s er, two “Odd Couple” rescues, neither The pups were frolicking in an out- quite the romping dog on the beach or building behind the main house. They SoXth CoXnty reSorter and editor oI the puppy you envision in the pet food were handsome, healthy dogs. The the Seaside Signal and Cannon BeaFh commercials. But when we came West owner has been breeding for decades. Gazette. Rebuilding teacher corps starts with raises C Food fads: Make mine gluten-full aught between stagnant sala- ries, rising housing costs and blame for low test scores, the teach- ing profession is showing signs of strain in the Paci¿c Northwest. An issue that’s receiving much attention in Washington state, a mismatch between the need for teachers and ready applicants, is becoming a nationwide problem. The teaching profession was hammered in the Great Recession as federal and state agencies axed support for education. Teaching positions were cut, burdens in- creased for teachers whose Mobs survived, and salaries were frozen — in some cases for years. All this was mirrored in the private sector. But society rightly attaches enor- mous importance to making sure children are well-educated, and this goal is in the hands of teach- ers. Retaining good ones and at- tracting new ones is a prime part of national success. A survey in Washington recent- ly found “46 percent of principals from rural schools said they still had vacant classroom teaching positions. Only 40 percent, 45 percent and 53 percent of prin- cipals in elementary, middle and high schools successfully ¿lled all teaching positions, respectively,” according to the Yakima Herald. Locally, the Chinook Observer reported this week that a promis- ing program to help students reach their grade level in reading and math is being hobbled by the in- ability to ¿ll teaching Mobs. “When the economy improves and Mob prospects multiply, college students turn their attention else- where, to professions that promise more money, more independence, more respect,” a New York Times columnist noted in August. To some extent, the teacher shortage is a normal aspect of the labor market, in which new col- lege graduates are tending to take Mobs in higher-paying technology ¿elds. As the economy and gov- ernment revenue continue to im- prove, teacher compensation also will rise and again attract more interest from Mob seekers. But in other ways, we are seeing a bigger and harder-to-¿x problem. Burdened with debt from college loans and faced with historically expensive and scarce housing in the Paci¿c Northwest, many who might otherwise be attracted to teaching simply can’t afford to Moin or stay in the profession. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is proposing signi¿cant raises for teachers. This certainly is a support- able idea. Beyond this, it’s time to take a close look at providing pub- lic support for partial tuition waiv- ers, more scholarships and other measures to level the playing ¿eld for graduates who want to teach. School districts and cities may need to take a page from the distant past by helping teachers with housing. Teaching can be a good-paying career in comparison to other rural options. Jealousy among other cit- izens sometimes constrains school board options. But we need to put such small-mindedness behind us if we want our children to have the best preparation for intellectual- ly demanding Mobs that pay good wages today. temperature? In 1992, er. For 2 million years it made sure Homo erectus, three researchers bothered neanderthalensis, sapiens, to measure — and found what have you, got his that the conventional wis- daily dose without having ASHINGTON — When dom (based on an 1878 to visit a GNC store. German study was wrong. the federal government’s Sure enough, that Normal is 98.2. 1980 “Dietary Guidelines for fashion came and went. After that — 114 years Americans” warned about the of error — one is inclined But there are always new windmills to be tilted at. baleful effects of saturated fats, to embrace Woody Allen’s The latest is gluten. “Sleeper” theory that in Charles public interest activists Moined Now, if you suffer from 200 years we’ll discover Krauthammer the ¿ght and managed to per- that smoking is good for celiac disease, you need a suade maMor food companies to you, fruits are not. I still love peach- gluten-free diet. How many of us is switch to the shiny new alterna- es, but I eat them for the taste — and that? Less than 1 percent. And yet the memories — not because they supermarket shelves are groaning tive: trans fats. might add a month to my life (in the with products proclaiming their glu- Thirty-¿ve years later, the Food IC8 when I’m 90. ten-freedom. Sales are going through and Drug Administration ¿nally de- I don’t mean to be cynical, Must the roof. Another crock. Turns out, accord- termined that trans fats are not Must realistic. Take ¿sh oil. For at least ing to a massive Australian study of 10 years the National Institutes of useless but unsafe, and ordered them 3,200 products, gluten-free is use- Health has strongly recommended removed from all foods. Oops. omega-3 fatty acids and ¿sh oil for less. “The foods can be signi¿cantly So much for settled science. To the prevention of cardiovascular dis- more expensive and are very trendy tell the truth, I never paid much at- ease. to eat,” says Jason Wu, the principal tention to the fat ¿ghts in the ¿rst I held out, trusting both my gas- investigator. “But we discovered a place. From my days as a medical tronomic preMudices (more turf than negligible difference when looking student (and prodigious consumer surf and my faith that time ultimate- at their overall nutrition.” of Munk food, I’ve seen Told you so. ly undoes all of so many solemnly pro- Why then am I not agitating to life’s verites. I wait- If a claimed “¿ndings” come ed. My orneriness have this Munk taken off the shelves? and go that I decided long has not been fully Because of my other obsession: pla- placebo ago to ignore — and out- vindicated — NIH cebos. For which I have an undying live — them all. still recommends respect, acquired during my early can So far, I’m ahead. Nev- dietary ¿sh oil — years as a general-hospital psychi- alleviate but it does ¿nd atrist. If you believe in the curative er had an egg substitute in my life. I ¿gured trans supple- powers of something — often en- your pain, omega-3 fats were Must another fad ments to be useless. couraged by the authority of your waiting to be revoked and Exhibit A for physician — a sugar pill or a glass of that’s renounced. Moreover, if medical skepti- plain water can produce remarkable I was wrong, the green better than cism, however, re- symptom relief. I’ve seen it. I’ve eggs and ham would take mains vitamin C. done it. opioids. So I’d never mess with it. If a pla- so long to kill me anyway When Linus Paul- that I was more likely to ing, Nobel laureate cebo can alleviate your pain, that’s be hit by a bus ¿rst. Either way, win- in chemistry (not nutrition, began better than opioids. If going glu- win. the vitamin-C megadose fad to fend ten-free gives a spring to your step, Don’t get me wrong. I don’t ad- off all manner of disease, the whole why not? But please, let the civility vocate this kind of Maunty fatalism thing struck me as bizarre. Yes, you go both ways. Let the virtuous Fit- for everyone. This is a private affair. need some C to prevent scurvy if bit foodie, all omega-3’d and glu- I do, however, preach skepticism. you’re seven months at sea with ten-free, drop the self-congratulatory Remember that most venerable piece Capt. Cook and citrus is nowhere to smugness. And I promise not to say of received medical wisdom — 98.6 be found. Otherwise, the megadose it’s all in his head. Live and let eat. degrees as the average adult human is a crock. Evolution is pretty clev- By CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER :ashington 3ost :riters GroXS W
