Rex for Metro

It’s all about building bridges in Episode 4 of “A Ride with Rex.” First, Rex crosses over the Hawthorne Bridge on the widened sidewalk that marks his first public policy victory, soon after he helped found the Bicycle Transportation Alliance. On the way back north, Rex shows a keen eye for how the natural world is woven into the Esplanade, and talks about the bridges we build between one another — and a Metro President builds with the public he or she serves. Then we ask Rex about the I-5 Columbia River Crossing, and he talks about the opportunity the project presents, but only if it’s done right:

Built right — and that’s the key, building it right — you’re replacing an existing bridge that’s old and needs to be replaced, and in a new way that gets you transit, biking and walking across, and in a way that’s more environmentally conscious … But again, the key is the right size. You gotta right-size things.

These 4-minute mini-docs are a great, quick way to introduce friends and co-workers to the Rex we know and love. Share them far and wide! To catch up on previous episodes, we’ve got them all collected for you here.

Do you like to eat? What a question! Eating, cooking, growing food is part of being human, a way we relate to each other and to the earth.

Tuesday night, I gathered a group, including farmers, restaurateurs, food activists and people who like to eat and are concerned about where their food comes from to discuss issues of food security, quality and the future of farming in the Metro region. My goal was to develop a regional agenda to ensure that everyone has access to good quality food and to support family farmers.

Here are some of their thoughts (paraphrasing from my notes):

Deborah Kane of Plate and Pitchfork and Food-Hub: What we have isn’t a food desert, but a food mirage. The good food is here—in farmers markets and on the shelves of stores like New Seasons—but many people don’t have the money or the knowledge of how to use unprocessed food. We need education and ways to lower the cost of good food.

Laura Masterson, farmer, 47th Street Farm: In this country we heavily subsidize commodity crops like corn and soybeans that are used in processed foods. Why can’t we subsidize organic farmers? Our costs are higher because we don’t ask the public to bear the costs of soil depletion, pollution of rivers with pesticides and fertilizers or low wages for farm workers.

David West, owner of Nostrana: When I have family over to eat, I say, “these beets came from Laura, and this lamb is from Bob’s farm” and they say do you know where all your food comes from? And I ask them, don’t you?

Nancy Becker, dietician and healthy food activist: What is really missing is education. Many families have grown up on fast or processed food, which is full of fats and sugars and not healthy, but is easy to prepare. We need to have home economics back in our schools and education through a renewed Extension Service focusing on healthy eating and growing of food.

Tom Maddox, Food Front Co-op: we truly live in a Garden of Eden, with an abundance of fresh foods and farmers and consumers committed to good food. But, this love of food isn’t driving policy. When we talk about urban growth boundary expansions, where are the foodies? They should be fighting to preserve farmland.

The group also talked about supporting farmers markets as community gathering spaces, using small, urban farms as teaching places for our children, the potential for food co-operatives to get affordable, good food in lower income neighborhoods (new co-ops are starting in Montavilla and Lents), having schools buy locally and thinking more about using the food we have more wisely and wasting less, in particular increasing support of the Oregon Food Bank and other organizations that keep food out of the landfill.

Thanks to all who came and shared their great ideas about how we can support our local farms and all become more conscious and healthier eaters. Now, chow down on some fresh veggies!

Episode 3 of “A Ride with Rex” is rolling!

As we re-join Rex, he’s on his way up SW Broadway to PSU, his alma mater, where he talks about the value of education, and the challenges we face with climate change — and the opportunities for job creation and sustainability, if we’re smart. Using his unique background in science, environmental activism, and creating jobs at Metro, he believes “there are some really positive things that we can do that will also be fighting climate change and helping protect our future generations.”

Find out what Rex has in mind in Episode 3 of A Ride with Rex (it’s a little less than 4 minutes long). And to catch up on previous episodes, visit Rex’s Vimeo channel.