theroadlive podcast

Welcome to DI Squared….a ten-part weekly feature of KBOO News ….

DI Squared stands for “Dream it, Do it.”  Today we present Episode 10, the final episode in the series.

 We’ve been asking this question every week for over two months:  Have you ever thought about starting your own business? Have you wondered, Could I make a living….doing something I really like doing?

 This is the last episode in a series that’s designed to help you understand the basics of starting a business, and whether you might want to think about doing that.  Each week we’ve told another local success story and we’ve tried to give you some of the tools you need to start a business of your own. 

 We’ve been focusing on minority businesses, mostly people of color.  Last week we visited the Mercado on Foster Road in Southeast Portland.  We met a man whose family came from Oaxaca in the mid-1980’s and now operates the Mixteca food cart at the Mercado and sells fresh food at five City markets. 

 Today we meet a successful woman with native American roots, Loretta Guzman. Loretta had a vision, and it came to her in a dream in the form of a bison, and now she operates a coffee shop on Cully in Northeast where you can feel that spirit while enjoying a cup of coffee and a snack…  Then, to wrap things up, we’ll briefly revisit a few of our earlier episodes and sum up some lessons learned along the way from Portland’s entrepreneurs and business advisors.

 Here’s Loretta, talking about her roots and her business and the dream that got her started:

That was Loretta Guzman. 

 Music---briefly

 Now we go back and sample a few memorable DI Squared guests over the past two months:

Bertony Faustin talked about how his business changed his life…

 Here’s Christian Kofi, Portland Moving Company, talking about what guides him….

 Eric Ufer is a Pest Control fanatic.  Keep your day job, Eric suggests…

 Sam Brooks of OAME is a legend in Oregon’s Business world.  This is Sam talking about his five crucial points of success…

 It was a treat to meet Julie Derrick, J.D. Shoe Repair, and here’s a point she made…

 Nita Shah of MESO offered this advice for those who have poor credit…

 It’s nice to hear of success.  Michelle Sanders and her husband Miguel Salinas have come a long way….

 And Laura Locker of Northwest Mercy Corps told us about the IDA program…

 MUSIC ---- ---continue through this outro---yes, start high, then low and build to sign-out

  Thanks for listening. If you want to review what you’ve just heard, go to KBOO.FM and look under evening news for today’s date---or look in KBOO”s podcast section for all ten episodes.

 That’s it for DI Squared.  We’ve run our course, and it’s been fun. Like everything else, it has to end sometime.  We hope you’ve enjoyed hearing these stories and perhaps making a decision on whether you….should….Dream It, Do It….

 For KBOO News, I’m Tom Flynn

Welcome to DI Squared….a weekly feature of KBOO News….

This ninth show features Gaudencia Felipe of Mixteca Catering.

Our expert guest of the week is Chris Bailey from the Hacienda Community Development Corporation..

Is there ANYONEworking in a business, large or small, maybe a factory, or a store, or in the government, or in a school,…ANYONE…who hasn’t thought, and maybe even dreamed, of starting their own business, and working for themselves?  ANYONE?

 At one time or another most of us want to work for ourselves, not for someone else.  Have you ever had a moment at work when you thought of that Johnny Paycheck song, “Take this job and shove it…”

In those moments we’re all eager to take the risks of running our own business in order to reap the benefits of working for ourselves….Uhhhhhh, wait.. What about those risks?  Who said we’re ready to take risks?

 That’s the starting point for this KBOO news feature, “DREAM IT, DO IT.”  We’re calling it “DI SQUARED.”  Dream it, do it.  Our goal is to wake you up, and get you thinking, about starting a business of your own.   Maybe you’re a person who should start your own business, take the risks.  Dream it, do it.  Or maybe not…

Here's Gaudencia, who comes from Oaxaca, Mexico.

And next we speak with Chris Bailey, a consultant on the development of small food businesses and a food maker in his own right.

There is no one "right" set of characteristics for being a successful entrepreneur but  certain general traits and practical skills will help you succeed.

That’s it for DI Squared for today.

Thanks for listening. If you want to review what you’ve heard, go to the KBOO web site and look under evening news for today’s date.

 And send your questions to theroadlive@gmail.com.  We’d like to make your questionthe featured questionfor one of our shows.

 We’’ll be back in a week with a final episode, and you can find out the difference between a bison and a buffalo! Tune in then for the next episode of DI Squared.

 From KBOO News, I’m Tom…

Welcome to DI Squared….a weekly feature of KBOO News….This eighth show features Yvette Penson of Sweet Temptations.

Our expert guest of the week is Ruth Miles from the Oregon Office of Secretary of State.

At one time or another most of us want to work for ourselves, not for someone else.  Have you ever had a moment at work when you thought of that Johnny Paycheck song, “Take this job and shove it…”

 In those moments we’re all eager to take the risks of running our own business in order to reap the benefits of working for ourselves….Uhhhhhh, wait.. What about those risks?  Who said we’re ready to take risks?

 That’s the starting point for this KBOO news feature, “DREAM IT, DO IT.”  We’re calling it “DI SQUARED.”  Dream it, do it.  Our goal is to wake you up, and get you thinking, about starting a business of your own.   Maybe you’re a person who should start your own business, take the risks.  Dream it, do it.  Or maybe not…

The entrepreneurs we plan to cover are all people of color in the Portland area, and people who have created businesses that range from… asbestos removal to…. wine-making.

You’ll hear their stories and maybe you’ll be inspired.  Or maybe not. No matter, you’ll find the best examples in the Portland region of what people can do if they want to work for themselves and they set their minds to it….They dreamed it, and they did it. And that’s what DI Squared is all about.

Here's Yvette Penson, a woman who grew up in Portland and now has her own catering business. 

 And here's Ruth Miles, from the Office of the Secretary of State of Oregon.

 We’ll ask you to examine your own personal strengths and weaknesses and compare them with those of the typical entrepreneur, so that you can get a sense of how well this career will fit with your personality.

 There is no one "right" set of characteristics for being a successful entrepreneur but  certain general traits and practical skills will help you succeed.

MUSIC ----4 seconds…

That’s it for DI Squared for today.

Thanks for listening. If you want to review what you’ve heard, go to the KBOO web site and look under evening news for today’s date.

And send your questions to theroadlive@gmail.com.  We’d like to make your questionthe featured questionfor one of our shows.

We’’ll be back in a week! Tune in then for the next episode of DI Squared.

From KBOO News, I’m Tom…

Welcome to DI Squared….a weekly feature of KBOO News….This i9s the seventh in a ten-part series.  Today we feature an entrepreneurial couple, Michelle Sanders and Miguel Salinas of Attic Journals.  Our expert guest of the week is Laura Locker of Mercy Corps Northwest.

   MUSIC ----4 seconds…

 Is there ANYONEworking in a business, large or small, maybe a factory, or a store, or in the government, or in a school,…ANYONE…who hasn’t thought, and maybe even dreamed, of starting their own business, and working for themselves?  ANYONE?

 At one time or another most of us want to work for ourselves, not for someone else.  Have you ever had a moment at work when you thought of that Johnny Paycheck song, “Take this job and shove it…”

In those moments we’re all eager to take the risks of running our own business in order to reap the benefits of working for ourselves….Uhhhhhh, wait.. What about those risks?  Who said we’re ready to take risks?

That’s the starting point for this KBOO news feature, “DREAM IT, DO IT.”  We’re calling it “DI SQUARED.”  Dream it, do it.  Our goal is to wake you up, and get you thinking, about starting a business of your own.   Maybe you’re a person who should start your own business, take the risks.  Dream it, do it.  Or maybe not…

The entrepreneurs we plan to cover are all people of color in the Portland area, and people who have created businesses that range from… asbestos removal to…. wine-making.

 You’ll hear their stories and maybe you’ll be inspired.  Or maybe not. No matter, you’ll find the best examples in the Portland region of what people can do if they want to work for themselves and they set their minds to it….They dreamed it, and they did it. And that’s what DI Squared is all about.

Here's Laura: 

In the next few episodes we’ll start to explore what it it that makes a person likely to be successful as an entrepreneur. 

 We’ll ask you to examine your own personal strengths and weaknesses and compare them with those of the typical entrepreneur, so that you can get a sense of how well this career will fit with your personality.

 There is no one "right" set of characteristics for being a successful entrepreneur but  certain general traits and practical skills will help you succeed.

MUSIC ----4 seconds…

That’s it for DI Squared for today.

 Thanks for listening. If you want to review what you’ve heard, go to the KBOO web site and look under evening news for today’s date.

 And send your questions to theroadlive@gmail.com.  We’d like to make your questionthe featured questionfor one of our shows.

 We’’ll be back in a week! Tune in then for the next episode of DI Squared.

 From KBOO News, I’m Tom…

Welcome to DI Squared….a ten-part weekly feature of KBOO News.  This is the sixth in a ten-episode series. 

MUSIC ----3 seconds…

 DI Squared stands for “Dream it, Do it.”  Today we present Episode 6.

 Have you ever had an idea about a product or a service that you thought could be a big hit in the market place?  Have you wondered, Could I make a living….doing something I really like doing?

This is the sixth in our ten-part series that’s designed to help you understand the basics of starting a business, and whether you might want to think about doing that.  And in the course of telling a local success story, we want to give you some of the tools you need to start a business of your own. 

We’ve been focusing on minority businesses, mostly people of color.  Last week we talked with Dimas Diaz, who came from Cuba in 1981 and now sells commercial insurance.  Today we meet a woman who came from Idaho and now repairs shoes

Julie Derrick repairs shoes at a store in North Portland.  Julie started her business seven years ago and she’s been growing it, slow but sure, ever since.  She got some help from an organization called “MESO,” Micro-Enterprise Services of Oregon, which also has an office in North Portland.  Julie’s here at KBOO today, along with Nita Shah and Tatsonga Davis of MESO, to describe how Julie launchd her business and how MESO helped her and, maybe, could help you.

 Julie, tell us your story…

That was Julie, of J.D. Shoe Repair, who repairs shoes at her shop on North Alberta, along with Nita Shah and Tatsonga Davis of MESO, MicroEnterprise Services of Oregon .

Listeners, you can learn more about what the MESO has to offer by looking at its web site, making contact with them and asking for the help you need.  This is an organization that can help you with advice about getting started along with specific research and marketing tools that could be very valuable. All you have to do is walk through their door…The homework will come later.  And you’ll learn first hand about “this thing called projections.”

 Next week we meet a husband and wife business team who make new things out of old books.  They’re makers and recyclers who found a way to make a living while working out of the home. Their story may open a new chapter for you.

MUSIC ----4 seconds…or---continue through this outro?

That’s it for DI Squared for today.

Thanks for listening. If you want to review what you’ve heard just now, go to KBOO.FM and look under evening news for today’s date---or look in KBOO”s podcast section for episodes of DI Squared.

 And send your question to theroadlive@gmail.com.  We’d like to make your questionthe featured questionfor one of our shows.

 We’’ll be back in a week! Tune in then for the next episode of DI Squared----Dream it, Do it. 

From KBOO News, I’m Tom Flynn

Welcome to DI Squared….a ten-part weekly feature of KBOO News

DI Squared stands for “Dream it, Do it.”

 This is the fifth in our ten-part series that’s designed to help you understand what an entrepreneur is, and whether you are or could become one.  And in the course of doing that, we want to give you some of the tools you need to start a business of your own. 

 We’ve been focusing on minority businesses, mostly people of color.  So far we’ve meet a black wine-maker, a Liberian man and his wife with a moving company, a pest control fanatic who escaped Wall Street , , and a guy who sells styling products for men…. 

Today we meet Dimas Diaz, a man who came to Portland in 1981 from Cuba and who now sells commercial insurance.  Here’s Dimas to tell you about his long journey, from Havana to Portland .  Bienvenidos, Dimos…Welcome to KBOO…

That was Dimas Diaz, a commercial insurance specialist.

Each week we introduce an organization in the Portland area that has resources to help entrepreneurs get started and succeed.  We’ve told you about OAME, a Portland-based networking organization for minority businesses, OEN, another networking group and Prosper Portland, the economic development arm of the City of Portland.   Today we take a leap into the federal bureaucracy and introduce you to the Small Business Administration, known as the SBA…

 Our featured expert today is Marty Golden, who heads up the SBA’s Portland office. Marty gave me some background on the SBA:
Oka  y, ------- here’s our Question of the Week

I’VE HEARD THAT THERE’S A LOT OF PAPERWORK ASSOCIATED WITH A LOAN FROM THE SBA.  IS THAT TRUE AND IF SO, WHY WHOULD I BOTHER TO APPL?   I FEEL LIKE I JUST DON’T HAVE TIME FOR PAPERWORK AND RED TAPE.

Listeners, you can learn more about what the SBA has to offer by looking its web site, making contact with them and asking for the help you need. There are special programs for vets, women, minority people and others.   This is a complicated organization and it may test your patience to figure out…what it can do for you…but we do have a federal government and I still believe that  you can  make it work for you…

 Next week we meet a woman who can fix your shoes.  Don’t we all need that kind of help from time to time?  I know that our listeners are the kind of people who buy good shoes and keep them for decades.  This lady will be good for your soles.

 And we’ll tell you about a door you can walk through right here in Portland where you can get specific tools, like market research and mailing lists, that could help you be successful.  It’s on North Mississipi, near the shoe repair shop, in case you want to….cool your heels.

And we’ll continue to explore what it is that makes a person likely to be successful as an entrepreneur.  We keep hearing that word, passion, and next week we’ll give you a new term to chew on, that’s “proof of concept.” It’s not enough to be passionate. You have to do the hard work of testing the viability of your idea. 

That’s it for DI Squared for today.

 Thanks for listening. If you want to review what you’ve heard just now, go to KBOO.FM and look under evening news for today’s date---or look in KBOO”s podcast section for episodes of DI Squared.

 And send your question to theroadlive@gmail.com.  We’d like to make your questionthe featured questionfor one of our shows.

 We’’ll be back in a week! Tune in then for the next episode of DI Squared----Dream it,Do it. 

From KBOO News, I’m Tom Flynn

Welcome to DI Squared….a weekly feature of KBOO News….

This fourth show features MinNefer Menakhem, owner of Dirty Bastard.

Our expert guest of the week is Sam Brooks, Director of the Oregon Assn. of Minority Entrepreneurs

Is there ANYONEworking in a business, large or small, maybe a factory, or a store, or in the government, or in a school,…ANYONE…who hasn’t thought, and maybe even dreamed, of starting their own business, and working for themselves?  ANYONE?

 At one time or another most of us want to work for ourselves, not for someone else.  Have you ever had a moment at work when you thought of that Johnny Paycheck song, “Take this job and shove it…”

In those moments we’re all eager to take the risks of running our own business in order to reap the benefits of working for ourselves….Uhhhhhh, wait.. What about those risks?  Who said we’re ready to take risks?

 That’s the starting point for this KBOO news feature, “DREAM IT, DO IT.”  We’re calling it “DI SQUARED.”  Dream it, do it.  Our goal is to wake you up, and get you thinking, about starting a business of your own.   Maybe you’re a person who should start your own business, take the risks.  Dream it, do it.  Or maybe not…

This is the fourth in a series of of ten episodes.  Each week we’ll feature these three elements:

First, a featured entrepreneur profile ofsomeone who’s done it, who’s actually set up a business of their own and is making a living from it.

Second, a featured resourcethat you can use to find funding or other types of support to get started or expand.  The resources will range from government loan pools to internet funding sources like Kickstarter.

Third, we’ll have a question of the weekfrom a listener and a response from an expert that focuses on a specific burning issue that you as an entrepreneur face in getting started.

 The entrepreneurs we plan to cover are all people of color in the Portland area, and people who have created businesses that range from… asbestos removal to…. wine-making.

 You’ll hear their stories and maybe you’ll be inspired.  Or maybe not. No matter, you’ll find the best examples in the Portland region of what people can do if they want to work for themselves and they set their minds to it….They dreamed it, and they did it. And that’s what DI Squared is all about.

 We’ll ask you to examine your own personal strengths and weaknesses and compare them with those of the typical entrepreneur, so that you can get a sense of how well this career will fit with your personality.

 There is no one "right" set of characteristics for being a successful entrepreneur but  certain general traits and practical skills will help you succeed.

 That’s it for DI Squared for today.

 Thanks for listening. If you want to review what you’ve heard, go to the KBOO web site and look under evening news for today’s date.

 And send your questions to theroadlive@gmail.com.  We’d like to make your questionthe featured questionfor one of our shows.

 We’’ll be back in a week! Tune in then for the next episode of DI Squared.

 From KBOO News, I’m Tom…

Welcome to DI Squared….a ten-part weekly feature of KBOO News  

DI Squared stands for “Dream it, Do it.” Our guests for this show are Eric Ufer, Pest Solutions, and Tony Campbell, City of Portland.

Is there ANYONEworking in a business, large or small, maybe a factory, or a store, or in the government, or maybe a radio station,…ANYONE…who hasn’t thought, and maybe even dreamed, of starting their own business, and working for themselves?  ANYONE?

 Maybe you’ve got passion and a vision to do something, but you’re in one of those minimum wage jobs where you struggle to make ends meet.  Or maybe you’re a contractor in our gig economy where you get short-term contracts that pay okay but have no health care, no vacation, not even a desk.  Not to mention a future…

 You could be a company of your own.

 This is the third of ten episodes.  Each week we feature these three elements:

First, a profile of afeatured entrepreneur, someone who’s done it.

Second, a featured resourcethat you can use to find funding or get other types of help. 

Third, a burning question of the weekfrom a listener.

  The entrepreneurs we’re covering are all minority business people, most of them people of color, in the Portland area, and people who have created businesses that range from… asbestos removal to…. wine-making.

 Maybe their stories will inspire you.  Or maybe not. No matter, these are people who dreamed it, and then did it.  And that’s what DI Squared is all about.

 Today we’re speaking with featured entrepreneur of the week, Eric Ufer.  Eric is passionate about bedbugs, cockroaches, rats and other critters that bug us.  Six years ago Eric started Pest Solutions, Inc.   

 And a quick heads-up: if you’re a bedbug listening to this, you may want to get under the covers, there’s some bad news coming. 

Here’s Eric to tell his story:

 That was Eric Ufer, of Pest Solutions, a man who is passionate about…bedbugs.

 Our special guest this week is Tory Campbell, Director of the Office of ___________________, part of Portland Prosper, the economic development arm of the City of Portland. Besides managing the City’s program to help entrepreneurs, Tory is an entrepreneur himself, the founder of ______________, a company that makes sauces….

And that brings us to our question of the week

QUESTION

Listeners, you can learn more about what the City has to offer by looking at the Prosper Portland web site, making contact with them and asking for the help you need.  There are lots of resources out there that you can access in getting started.

 Next week we’ll continue to explore what it is that makes a person likely to be successful as an entrepreneur.  Just keep in mind that there’s no one "right" set of characteristics for being a successful entrepreneur. 

 But as we learned today, like many deep commitments, it starts with passion, what The City’s guy, Tory, called “hunger” ---even if it’s a passion whose object is the lowly bedbug.

 That’s it for DI Squared for today.

 Thanks for listening. If you want to review what you’ve heard just now, go to KBOO.com and look under evening news for today’s date.

 And send your question to theroadlive@gmail.com.  We’d like to make your questionthe featured questionfor one of our shows.

 We’’ll be back in a week! Tune in then for the next episode of DI Squared----Dream it,Do it.

 And bedbugs, watch out…don’t say we didn’t warn you…

 From KBOO News, I’m Tom Flynn

Welcome to DI Squared….a ten-part weekly feature of KBOO News….

 MUSIC ----3 seconds…

 Is there ANYONEworking in a business, large or small, maybe a factory, or a store, or in the government, or in a school,…ANYONE…who hasn’t thought, and maybe even dreamed, of starting their own business, and working for themselves?  ANYONE?

 At one time or another most of us want to work for ourselves, not for someone else.

That’s the starting point for this KBOO news feature, “DREAM IT, DO IT.”  We call it “DI SQUARED.”  Dream it, do it.  Our goal is to wake you up, and get you thinking, about starting a business of your own.   Maybe you’re a person who should start your own business, take the risks.  Dream it, do it.  Or maybe not…

This is the second of ten episodes.  Each week we’ll feature these three elements:

First, a featured entrepreneur profile ofsomeone who’s done it.

Second, a featured resourcethat you can use to find funding or get other types of support to get started or expand. 

Third, we’ll have a question of the weekfrom a listener and a response from an expert that focuses on a specific burning issue that you as an entrepreneur face in getting started.

 The entrepreneurs we are covering are all people of color in the Portland area, and people who have created businesses that range from… asbestos removal to…. wine-making.

 You’ll hear their stories and maybe you’ll be inspired.  Or maybe not. No matter, these are people who dreamed it, and then did it.  And that’s what DI Squared is all about.

shaker. 

We spoke with featured entrepreneur of the week,  Christian Kofi, at KBOO’s studio.  Eight years ago Christian and his wife, Natalya,  started Portland Movers Company LLC.  Here’s Christian to tell his story:

 That was Christian Kofi, of Portland Movers. 

 And that brings us to our question of the week, and that comes from Sam Bowman:

QUESTION

To answer Sam’s question, we invited Maggie Finnerty to KBOO.  Maggie is President and Executive Director of Oregon Entrepreneur’s Network.

 Listeners, you can learn more about what the OEN has to offer by looking at their web site, making contact with them and asking for the help you need.  There are lots of resources out there that you can access in getting started.

 Next week we’ll continue to explore what it is that makes a person likely to be successful as an entrepreneur.  Just keep in mind that there’s no one "right" set of characteristics for being a successful entrepreneur. 

 I’m quoting the winemaker we interviewed last week, Bertony Faustin:

 MUSIC ----4 seconds…

 That’s it for DI Squared for today.

 Thanks for listening. If you want to review what you’ve heard just now, go to KBOO.com and look under evening news for today’s date.

 And send your question to theroadlive@gmail.com.  We’d like to make your questionthe featured questionfor one of our shows.

 We’’ll be back in a week! Tune in then for the next episode of DI Squared----Dream it,Do it.

 From KBOO News, I’m Tom Flynn

This first show features Bertony Faustin, owner of Abbey Creek Vineyard.

Welcome to DI Squared….a weekly feature of KBOO News….

Is there ANYONEworking in a business, large or small, maybe a factory, or a store, or in the government, or in a school,…ANYONE…who hasn’t thought, and maybe even dreamed, of starting their own business, and working for themselves?  ANYONE?

 At one time or another most of us want to work for ourselves, not for someone else.  Have you ever had a moment at work when you thought of that Johnny Paycheck song, “Take this job and shove it…”

 In those moments we’re all eager to take the risks of running our own business in order to reap the benefits of working for ourselves….Uhhhhhh, wait.. What about those risks?  Who said we’re ready to take risks?

That’s the starting point for this KBOO news feature, “DREAM IT, DO IT.”  We’re calling it “DI SQUARED.”  Dream it, do it.  Our goal is to wake you up, and get you thinking, about starting a business of your own.   Maybe you’re a person who should start your own business, take the risks.  Dream it, do it.  Or maybe not…

 This is the first of ten episodes.  Each week we’ll feature these three elements:

First, a featured entrepreneur profile ofsomeone who’s done it, who’s actually set up a business of their own and is making a living from it.

Second, a featured resourcethat you can use to find funding or other types of support to get started or expand.  The resources will range from government loan pools to internet funding sources like Kickstarter.

Third, we’ll have a question of the weekfrom a listener and a response from an expert that focuses on a specific burning issue that you as an entrepreneur face in getting started.

 The entrepreneurs we plan to cover are all people of color in the Portland area, and people who have created businesses that range from… asbestos removal to…. wine-making.

 You’ll hear their stories and maybe you’ll be inspired.  Or maybe not. No matter, you’ll find the best examples in the Portland region of what people can do if they want to work for themselves and they set their minds to it….They dreamed it, and they did it. And that’s what DI Squared is all about.

 So let’s start with that wine-maker, our first featured entrepreneur is Bertony Faustin, an amazing guy, the first and maybe the only black winemaker in Oregon.  We spoke with Bertony at KBOO studios in Portland:

 In the next few episodes we’ll start to explore what it it that makes a person likely to be successful as an entrepreneur. 

 We’ll ask you to examine your own personal strengths and weaknesses and compare them with those of the typical entrepreneur, so that you can get a sense of how well this career will fit with your personality.

 There is no one "right" set of characteristics for being a successful entrepreneur but  certain general traits and practical skills will help you succeed.

That’s it for DI Squared for today.

 Thanks for listening. If you want to review what you’ve heard, go to the KBOO web site and look under evening news for today’s date.

 And send your questions to theroadlive@gmail.com.  We’d like to make your questionthe featured questionfor one of our shows.

 We’’ll be back in a week! Tune in then for the next episode of DI Squared.

From KBOO News, I’m Tom…

THE PEOPLE SPEAK

 MUSIC:  guitar,

 It was a nearly perfect early summer afternoon when most of Portland was starting out on a three-day holiday weekend….One of those hot, dry days that makes your eyeballs sweat ….The end of a long winter, the beginning a summer that’s here at last …for Muslims, it was the eve of Ramadan….

 Music: a few bars…

 Yet suddenly, at ------ that Friday afternoon, when the news started to come down…it was as if the whole world stopped in its orbit and the planet quit turning on its axis and the news began to make an indelible imprint…

 (Train sounds…police car sirens…ambulance sounds…)

On Friday, the eve of Ramadan, two men were murdered and another severely injured following an altercation with a white supremacist in Portland, Oregon. North Portland resident Jeremy Joseph Christian, 35, allegedly screamed Islamophobic and racist slurs at two teenage girls, one of whom was wearing a hijab, while riding a commuter train. When Taliesin Namkai-Meche, 23, Ricky John Best, 53, and Micah David-Cole Fletcher, 21, intervened, Christian attacked them with a knife — killing Best and Namkai-Meche in the process.

 Music: a few more bars, continuing from above…

It’s August now, just three months after the event, and KBOO news is back at the Hollywood Station. The story of what happened and howit happened are still unfolding and we’re trying to see how that day will fit in the history of Portland.

 In this and the next four episodes of this brief serial report, we’ll try to put the events of May 26 into a context. What do those events mean and what significance do they have for our city?

 As we were interviewing and writing this story, the national media spotlight focused on a confrontation in Charlottesville, Virginia, in which a white racist allegedly plowed into a group of demonstrators and killed one person…

 Music: a few more bars, continuing from above…

 First we’re reporting from the scene… what’s there now…what are the thoughts of station users as they pass through the station today…Let’s hear the ”Voice of the People.”

 I’m at the station now, 3:30 PM, August 8.  Here are some voices from Hollywood station users, some of them people who passed through this station on May 26 and most of the days since. 

Hi, I’m from KBOO, 90.7 FM, and we’re following up with a series on the hate crime murders that took place here on May 26:

• Did you use this station on May 26, the day of the murders?
• What was your reaction to what happened that day?
• How have you processed the emotions you’ve felt since then?
• How do we put this behind us?

  In our second episode, tomorrow, we’ll talk to community leaders about how the event fits into the City’s history and what it means in terms of race relations.  how do City leaders see the long-term impact…how about religious leaders and the Muslim community?  And what about our safety?...how can we protect ourselves on the metro and in other public places…? And, how did the suspected murderer survive his arrest?

Our third episode is about the victims and their families:  what is and will be the impact of these murders on the lives of people directly involved in the event…. What were the results of the fund-raising efforts that followed the incident?  How about the children of the victims? And will there be justice in the courts, and how satisfactory can it be? 

In our fourth episode we’ll try to find the national perspective… why has Congress failed to recognize this event?  What’s been the effect of this event on the national image of Portland ----Boston became “Boston Strong,” but what has Portland become?  Is white racism somehow winning in a conflict with democratic pluralism?  Is racism becoming… respectable, main-stream?

 And finally we ask the question: how do we leave this?  How do we write the history of what happened that day?  Will May 26 be seen as a turning point in the history of this city, or will it be just another mile marker on a long trail that begins with the systematic mistreatment of native people and a misguided constitution and leads to a seemingly endless series of hateful racial encounters? What permanent results if any, should we expect?  Were the victims heroes?  Will there be a permanent memorial? What, if anything, have we learned from what happened on May 26, 2017?

MUSIC:  a little more somber, … fading under the closing text… 

You’ve just heard the first in a five part series; Listen in tomorrow for the second episode:  “The Holllywood Murders:  A Time for Leadership.”

COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP

This is the second episode in a 5-part series on the Hollywood Metro Station murders that took place on May 26.

(Train sounds…police car sirens…ambulance sounds…)

 Today we talk with community leaders and others about what happened that day and how the event fits into the City’s history and what it means in terms of race relations.  how do City leaders see the long-term impact…how about religious leaders and the Muslim community?  What about our safety?...how can we protect ourselves on the metro and in other public places…? And, how did the suspected murderer survive his arrest?

 Today and in the next few episodes of this series, you’ll hear these voices:

• Micah Fletcher, the victim who survived: I was just going to work..(M-6)
• Asha Deliverance, mother of Taliesin: We all need to take the grand journey of love. (A-4)
• Linda Castillo, ONI and Portland United Against Hate: C-1 PUAH stands for Portland United Against Hate
• Randy Blazak, sociologist/criminologist: B-1 Station has become hallowed ground
• Zahir Khan, K- 2, Hate has become an acceptable part of governance….
• Shweta Moorthy, Coalition of People of Color, M-1 death by 1,000 cuts

Moorthy:  permanent impact on victims

Khan:  impact on community

On the question of how the suspect survived his arrest, this issue in some ways embodies that underlying division of opinion that separates people by race in Portland.  Here’s Linda Castillo:

            C-5 white suspects treated differently from people of color

In our third episode, tomorrow, We’ll consider the victims and their families, and the impact of these murders on the lives of people directly involved ….we’ll talk with a mother who lost a son that day. What were the results of the fund-raising efforts that followed the incident?  How about the children of the victims? And will there be justice in the courts, and how satisfactory can it be? 

MUSIC:  a little more somber, … fading under the closing text…GS: Babel?

You’ve just heard the second in our five part series; Listen in tomorrow for the third episode:  “The Holllywood Murders:  The Victims and Their Families?”

MUSIC:  guitar, light but and fun but  serious at the same time…

 That’s it for Episode 2. Listen to the whole series at our website, K-B-O-O DOT F-M and call or e-mail us with your comments.

  VICTIMS AND FAMILIES

MUSIC:  guitar, light and fun but  serious at the same time…m 

This is the third in a 5-part series of KBOO evening news, on the murders that took place on May 26 at the Hollywood Metro Station.  We decided to review the events of that day and try to answer some questions that, in our view, have never been fully answered.

Today we talk about the victims and their families:  what is and will be the impact of these murders on the lives of people directly involved in the event…. What were the results of the fund-raising efforts that followed the incident?  How about the children of the victims? And will there be justice in the courts, and how satisfactory can it be? Were the victims heroes? 

C-3:  for the two women who were the object of the abuse, it was life-changing

Micah Fletcher was one of those victims.  He almost died that day but here he is at KBOO:

M-1

M-2

M-3

M-4

 Asha Deliverance is the mother of Taliesin who died that day…Here we talk about her son and the impact of his murder:

 A-1

A-2

A-3

 You just heard Asha Deliverance and Micah Fletcher, two people who were victims in very different ways, and two people with strong cores who have very different responses to what they experienced.

MUSIC:  a little more somber, … fading under the closing text…GS: Babel?

In our fourth episode, tomorrow,  we’ll try to put the event in a national perspective:  why has Congress failed to recognize what happened here?  What’s been the effect of this event on the national image of Portland ----Boston became “Boston Strong,” but what has Portland become?.  Is white racism somehow winning a fight with democratic pluralism?  Is racism becoming… respectable, main-stream?

 That’s it for Episode 3. Listen to the whole series at our website, K-B-O-O DOT F-M and call or e-mail us with your comments.

PORTLAND IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT

MUSIC:  guitar, light and fun but  serious at the same time…m 

This is the fourth episode in a 5-part series on the Hollywood Metro Station murders that took place on May 26

(Train sounds…police car sirens…ambulance sounds…)

In this episode we’ll try to find the national perspective… why has Congress failed to recognize this event? What’s been the effect of this event on the national image of Portland ----Boston became “Boston Strong,” but what has Portland become?.  Is white racism somehow winning in a conflict with democratic pluralism?  Is racism becoming… respectable, main-stream?  What about the treatment of people who commit this type of crime---is prison the solution?

 Castillo 

Here’s Shweta Moorthy on how the national media handled the incident.  Her comment is even more interesting in light of what took place in Charlottesville on August ______

M-4 The media said it could only happen here…

Blazak made this comment about the comparison with Boston:

B-5  Boston has a history of dealing with the complex problems…

About the issue of the national environment for the discussion of racism, Here’s Blazak again:

B10-:  political center has shifted so far to the right…liberals now are communists

 What about the treatment of people who commit this type of crime? According to Zakir Khan, the mental health issue can actually distract us from a core issue:

             K-6

TF: Is there anyone who still believes that putting people in prison really solves anything?  We still do that, and no one seems to have any viable alternative.  But what price do we pay for doing that?

             B-7 Radicalization in prison

            M-16  Drugs moving from Gresham---prison-related

 Tomorrow, in a final episode, we’ll ask the question: how do we leave this?  How do we write the history of what happened that day?  Will May 26, 2017 be seen as a turning point in the history of this city, or will it be just another mile marker on a long trail that begins with the systematic mistreatment of native people and a misguided constitution and leads to a seemingly endless series of hateful racial encounters? Where will this end?  What permanent results, if any, should we expect?? What have we learned from what happened on May 26, 2017?

 MUSIC:  a little more somber, … fading under the closing text…GS: Babel?

 You’ve just heard the fourth in a five part series; Listen in tomorrow for the final episode:  “The Holllywood Murders:  Where do we go from here?”

 That’s it for Episode 4. Listen to the whole series at our website, K-B-O-O DOT F-M and call or e-mail us with your comments.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

MUSIC:  guitar, light and fun but  serious at the same time…m 

 It was a nearly perfect early summer afternoon when most of Portland was starting out on a three-day holiday weekend….One of those hot, dry days that makes your eyeballs tingle (that makes your lungs sweat/ ….The end of a long winter and the beginning a very promising summer …

 Today we ask the question: how do we leave this?  How do we write the history of what happened that day?  Will May 26 be seen as a turning point in the history of this city, or will it be just another mile marker on a long trail that begins with the systematic mistreatment of native people and a misguided constitution and leads to a seemingly endless series of hateful racial encounters? What permanent results if any, should we expect?  Were the victims heroes?  Will there be a permanent memorial? What, if anything, have we learned from what happened on May 26, 2017?

 Blazak 8 (there’s been a sea change in the City)

 Shortly after the event ________ submitted a resolution to Congress:  

It seems that there is no will in Congress to affirm the significance of what happened in Portland that day.  Maybe this is part of the Trump Effect that we noted earlier…

Why did Asha write to President Trump?

 Were the victims heroes, and should there be a memorial?

             Khan 9:  one person can bring about change

Some very good quotes for the conclusion….

             Micah 17:  we have to work together for change…

            Asha 6:  will it be a turning point?...should there be a memorial?...

             Blazak 11;  the good news and the bad news

MUSIC:  a little more somber, … fading under the closing text…GS: Babel?

 You’ve just heard the first in a five part series; Listen in tomorrow for the second episode:  “The Holllywood Murders:  A Time for Leadership.”

That’s it for our series on the Hollywood murders.  Listen to the whole series at our website, K-B-O-O DOT F-M and call or e-mail us with your comments.

INTERVIEWS

Micah David-Cole Fletcher

Asha Deliverance

Linda Castillo

Dr. Shweta Moorthy (fem)

Zahir Kahn

Alan Hippolito

Randy Blazak, Chair

Eric Ward

Det. Sharp

Ron Wyden

Kevin McCarthy, Rep., Cal.

Wajdi Said, President?

Orlando Lopez

It was a nearly perfect early summer afternoon when most of Portland was starting out on a three-day holiday weekend….One of those hot, dry days that makes your eyeballs tingle (that makes your lungs sweat/ ….The end of a long winter and the beginning a very promising summer …

  Today we ask the question: how do we leave this?  How do we write the history of what happened that day?  Will May 26 be seen as a turning point in the history of this city, or will it be just another mile marker on a long trail that begins with the systematic mistreatment of native people and a misguided constitution and leads to a seemingly endless series of hateful racial encounters? What permanent results if any, should we expect?  Were the victims heroes?  Will there be a permanent memorial? What, if anything, have we learned from what happened on May 26, 2017?

 Blazak 8 (there’s been a sea change in the City)

 Shortly after the event ________ submitted a resolution to Congress:  TELL THAT STORY AND WHERE IT STANDS…

 It seems that there is no will in Congress to affirm the significance of what happened in Portland that day.  Maybe this is part of the Trump Effect that we noted earlier…

 Why did Asha write to President Trump?

 Were the victims heroes, and should there be a memorial?

            Khan 9:  one person can bring about change

Some very good quotes for the conclusion….

             Micah 17:  we have to work together for change…

             Asha 6:  will it be a turning point?...should there be a memorial?...

             Blazak 11;  the good news and the bad news

 MUSIC:  a little more somber,  

You’ve just heard the first in a five part series; Listen in tomorrow for the second episode:  “The Holllywood Murders:  A Time for Leadership.”

That’s it for our series on the Hollywood murders.  Listen to the whole series at our website, K-B-O-O DOT F-M and call or e-mail us with your comments.

INTERVIEWS

Micah David-Cole Fletcher

Asha Deliverance

Linda Castillo

Dr. Shweta Moorthy (fem)

Zahir Kahn

Alan Hippolito

Randy Blazak, Chair

Eric Ward

Det. Sharp

Ron Wyden

Kevin McCarthy, Rep., Cal.

Wajdi Said, President?

Orlando Lopez

This is the fourth episode in a 5-part series on the Hollywood Metro Station murders that took place on May 26

 (Train sounds…police car sirens…ambulance sounds…)

 In this episode we’ll try to find the national perspective… why has Congress failed to recognize this event? What’s been the effect of this event on the national image of Portland ----Boston became “Boston Strong,” but what has Portland become?.  Is white racism somehow winning in a conflict with democratic pluralism?  Is racism becoming… respectable, main-stream?  What about the treatment of people who commit this type of crime---is prison the solution?

 Castillo

 Here’s Shweta Moorthy on how the national media handled the incident.  Her comment is even more interesting in light of what took place in Charlottesville on August ______

M-4 The media said it could only happen here…

 Blazak made this comment about the comparison with Boston:

B-5  Boston has a history of dealing with the complex problems…

 About the issue of the national environment for the discussion of racism, Here’s Blazak again:

B10-:  political center has shifted so far to the right…liberals now are communists

 What about the treatment of people who commit this type of crime? According to Zakir Khan, the mental health issue can actually distract us from a core issue:

             K-6

TF: Is there anyone who still believes that putting people in prison really solves anything?  We still do that, and no one seems to have any viable alternative.  But what price do we pay for doing that?

             B-7 Radicalization in prison

            M-16  Drugs moving from Gresham---prison-related

Tomorrow, in a final episode, we’ll ask the question: how do we leave this?  How do we write the history of what happened that day?  Will May 26, 2017 be seen as a turning point in the history of this city, or will it be just another mile marker on a long trail that begins with the systematic mistreatment of native people and a misguided constitution and leads to a seemingly endless series of hateful racial encounters? Where will this end?  What permanent results, if any, should we expect?? What have we learned from what happened on May 26, 2017?

  MUSIC:  a little more somber, … fading under the closing text…

 You’ve just heard the fourth in a five part series; Listen in tomorrow for the final episode:  “The Holllywood Murders:  Where do we go from here?”

 That’s it for Episode 4. Listen to the whole series at our website, K-B-O-O DOT F-M and call or e-mail us with your comments.

This is the third in a 5-part series of KBOO evening news, on the murders that took place on May 26 at the Hollywood Metro Station.  We decided to review the events of that day and try to answer some questions that, in our view, have never been fully answered.

 Today we talk about the victims and their families:  what is and will be the impact of these murders on the lives of people directly involved in the event…. What were the results of the fund-raising efforts that followed the incident?  How about the children of the victims? And will there be justice in the courts, and how satisfactory can it be? Were the victims heroes? 

  C-3:  for the two women who were the object of the abuse, it was life-changing

 Micah Fletcher was one of those victims.  He almost died that day but here he is at KBOO:

M-1

M-2

M-3

M-4

Asha Deliverance is the mother of Taliesin who died that day…Here we talk about her son and the impact of his murder:

A-1

A-2

A-3

You just heard Asha Deliverance and Micah Fletcher, two people who were victims in very different ways, and two people with strong cores who have very different responses to what they experienced.

 MUSIC:  a little more somber

In our fourth episode, tomorrow,  we’ll try to put the event in a national perspective:  why has Congress failed to recognize what happened here?  What’s been the effect of this event on the national image of Portland ----Boston became “Boston Strong,” but what has Portland become?.  Is white racism somehow winning a fight with democratic pluralism?  Is racism becoming… respectable, main-stream?

 That’s it for Episode 3. Listen to the whole series at our website, K-B-O-O DOT F-M and call or e-mail us with your comments.

This is the second episode in a 5-part series on the Hollywood Metro Station murders that took place on May 26.

 (Train sounds…police car sirens…ambulance sounds…)

 Today we talk with community leaders and others about what happened that day and how the event fits into the City’s history and what it means in terms of race relations.  how do City leaders see the long-term impact…how about religious leaders and the Muslim community?  What about our safety?...how can we protect ourselves on the metro and in other public places…? And, how did the suspected murderer survive his arrest?

Today and in the next few episodes of this series, you’ll hear these voices:

• Micah Fletcher, the victim who survived: I was just going to work..(M-6)
• Asha Deliverance, mother of Taliesin: We all need to take the grand journey of love. (A-4)
• Linda Castillo, ONI and Portland United Against Hate: C-1 PUAH stands for Portland United Against Hate
• Randy Blazak, sociologist/criminologist: B-1 Station has become hallowed ground
• Zahir Khan, K- 2, Hate has become an acceptable part of governance….
• Shweta Moorthy, Coalition of People of Color, M-1 death by 1,000 cuts

 Moorthy:  permanent impact on victims

Khan:  impact on community

 On the question of how the suspect survived his arrest, this issue in some ways embodies that underlying division of opinion that separates people by race in Portland.  Here’s Linda Castillo:

            C-5 white suspects treated differently from people of color

In our third episode, tomorrow, We’ll consider the victims and their families, and the impact of these murders on the lives of people directly involved ….we’ll talk with a mother who lost a son that day. What were the results of the fund-raising efforts that followed the incident?  How about the children of the victims? And will there be justice in the courts, and how satisfactory can it be? 

MUSIC:  a little more somber, … fading under the closing text…

You’ve just heard the second in our five part series; Listen in tomorrow for the third episode:  “The Holllywood Murders:  The Victims and Their Families?”

MUSIC:  guitar, light but and fun but  serious at the same time…

 That’s it for Episode 2. Listen to the whole series at our website, K-B-O-O DOT F-M and call or e-mail us with your comments.

FIRST EPISODE: THE PEOPLE SPEAK

MUSIC:  guitar

 It was a nearly perfect early summer afternoon when most of Portland was starting out on a three-day holiday weekend….One of those hot, dry days that makes your eyeballs sweat ….The end of a long winter, the beginning a summer that’s here at last …for Muslims, it was the eve of Ramadan….

 Music: a few bars…

 Yet suddenly, at ------ that Friday afternoon, when the news started to come down…it was as if the whole world stopped in its orbit and the planet quit turning on its axis and the news began to make an indelible imprint…

 (Train sounds…police car sirens…ambulance sounds…)

According to the police report…

 On Friday, the eve of Ramadan, two men were murdered and another severely injured following an altercation with a white supremacist in Portland, Oregon. North Portland resident Jeremy Joseph Christian, 35, allegedly screamed Islamophobic and racist slurs at two teenage girls, one of whom was wearing a hijab, while riding a commuter train. When Taliesin Namkai-Meche, 23, Ricky John Best, 53, and Micah David-Cole Fletcher, 21, intervened, Christian attacked them with a knife — killing Best and Namkai-Meche in the process.

Music: a few more bars, continuing from above…

It’s August now, just three months after the event, and KBOO news is back at the Hollywood Station. The story of what happened and howit happened are still unfolding and we’re trying to see how that day will fit in the history of Portland.

 In this and the next four episodes of this brief serial report, we’ll try to put the events of May 26 into a context. What do those events mean and what significance do they have for our city?

 As we were interviewing and writing this story, the national media spotlight focused on a confrontation in Charlottesville, Virginia, in which a white racist allegedly plowed into a group of demonstrators and killed one person…

 Music: a few more bars, continuing from above…

 First we’re reporting from the scene… what’s there now…what are the thoughts of station users as they pass through the station today…Let’s hear the ”Voice of the People.”

 I’m at the station now, 3:30 PM, August 8.  Here are some voices from Hollywood station users, some of them people who passed through this station on May 26 and most of the days since. 

 Hi, I’m from KBOO, 90.7 FM, and we’re following up with a series on the hate crime murders that took place here on May 26:

• Did you use this station on May 26, the day of the murders?
• What was your reaction to what happened that day?
• How have you processed the emotions you’ve felt since then?
• How do we put this behind us?

 NaME EACH PERSON, 

In our second episode, tomorrow, we’ll talk to community leaders about how the event fits into the City’s history and what it means in terms of race relations.  how do City leaders see the long-term impact…how about religious leaders and the Muslim community?  And what about our safety?...how can we protect ourselves on the metro and in other public places…? And, how did the suspected murderer survive his arrest?

Our third episode is about the victims and their families:  what is and will be the impact of these murders on the lives of people directly involved in the event…. What were the results of the fund-raising efforts that followed the incident?  How about the children of the victims? And will there be justice in the courts, and how satisfactory can it be? 

In our fourth episode we’ll try to find the national perspective… why has Congress failed to recognize this event?  What’s been the effect of this event on the national image of Portland ----Boston became “Boston Strong,” but what has Portland become?  Is white racism somehow winning in a conflict with democratic pluralism?  Is racism becoming… respectable, main-stream?

And finally we ask the question: how do we leave this?  How do we write the history of what happened that day?  Will May 26 be seen as a turning point in the history of this city, or will it be just another mile marker on a long trail that begins with the systematic mistreatment of native people and a misguided constitution and leads to a seemingly endless series of hateful racial encounters? What permanent results if any, should we expect?  Were the victims heroes?  Will there be a permanent memorial? What, if anything, have we learned from what happened on May 26, 2017?

  MUSIC:  a little more somber, … fading under the closing text… 

You’ve just heard the first in a five part series; Listen in tomorrow for the second episode:  “The Holllywood Murders:  A Time for Leadership.”

Does Portland have a reputation as one of the leading “sin cities” in the US?  If so, is the reputation deserved?  What’s the basis for it? Yes, and this is based on the large number of strip clubs and the very open frame of mind that prevails here on this subject. Do we want it this way?  Yes, it seems that we do…

 How does the sex industry fit in Portland’s economy?  Do we have a realistic view of it? We quoted Amory Jane in Episode 4 but it’s worth repeating:

Has the industry seen changes in how it operates in the internet/social media world, and are there new features and practices that we need to understand in order to protect ourselves and our families?

Are we dealing with this industry in a constructive way?  What could we do differently to improve how we approach it?  Would it be a good idea to make prostitution legal? 

 Do we have organizations that effectively support sex workers who’ve been victims of the industry or women who are trying to escape “the life?”

 No, this seems to be a problem.  One organization, shut down while we were working on this story.

Should we be concerned about sex trafficking here?  And is there a connection between Portland’s “sanctuary city” policy and sex trafficking? 

Trafficking is a scary thing and it deserves the legal attention that it gets.  But we should not let it distract us from the larger issue:

And there seems to be no connection beween sex trafficking and illegal immigration, none….

 What else?  How do we leave this?

 Some closing thoughts: 

Prostitution may be the oldest profession in the world. Whether it is or not, and for whatever reason, it doesn’t seem to be going away…It fact, it may be taking new forms and actually growing.  Maybe we need to rethink how we deal with it, even how we see it.

Maybe Agent Biehn of the FBI is not quite down with the times.  Maybe we should be able to buy sexual satisfaction, if we want it…

Is there progress?  Quote from PDX police interview:  So, how you doin’?  You makin’ progress?...We sure hope so….

             And the FBI point about getting these people jobs:  yes, we like the idea, but good luck with that…!

 Lack of data about the industry is much more than just an academic knowledge gap.  The lack of data makes it impossible to know, not only where we are, but where we’re going…

 Different definitions of the word “trafficking” lead to conflict and misunderstanding.  And, by some definition, we are all traffickers.

 Is it good that we have shifted the focus of enforcement to arresting the users?  Where does that leave us?  Can we compare the enforcement of crimes in the sex industry to “the war on drugs?”   Do we want to see it that way?  Where has that war on drugs gotten us anyway? 

 And, what’s the difference between the sexual exploitation of women (or men) in the movie industry, or in the White House, in what is called “quid pro quo sexual harassment” and sexual exploitation in prostitution, porn and stripping?  It’s all on the same spectrum, no?

At the end of the day, the sex industry is made up of…people.  Buyers, sellers, users, dealers---in the final analysis they’re all just people.  They may be family, friends, neighbors, associates, people we may not know but see on the streets…but they are, at the end of the day, people…like us…

 And a final note: we’ve seen so many changes in our economy and culture.  They’ve been coming fast, and each one tops the last in its power and impact.  But…standby:  the sale of sex is an industry and it’s on the verge of changes that will collapse the last thousand years into a generation…Get ready for the …………… The next phase of reality may be more virtualthan it is… virtuous….

And we still want your feedback. At the end of this series we’ll do a full episode in which you get to speak your mind on this subject.  If you have a comment or question about the series or about the sex trade, we’d like to hear it.  Call the KBOO Newsroom at 503-231-8032 ext. 202 and we’ll hear you out and put you on the air.

How about the places you see when you drive across town: strip clubs, massage parlors---how do they fit in the industry picture? 

 There are two different kinds of things happening here.

 One is burlesque, which seems to have evolved, at least here in Portland, into “performance art.” Here’s Honey LaFleur talking about that:

             L-3: she sees burlesque as a mission.

             L-4; it’s a feminist act!

 But the real story is about stripping, dancing in clubs that cater to…well, horny guys.

MUSIC

We went inside Diablo II, a strip club on Mccullough.  It’s a big open roomwith a bar to your right as you walk in and a stage area with two poles taking up most of the rest of the stark, undecorated space to your left. Customers, mostly twenty-somethings when we were there, sat around an inside bar that creates a rectangle around two dance poles.  On those poles and on the bar itself, women stripped and danced.  The dancer worked around the bar and got close to each customer, who paid out $2 bills as the dancers got even closer…

 Here’s what Fauna has to say about stripping in Portland:

 What are the laws related to this business?  What about the sex industry issues that arise with strip clubs, regarding location, employment, connection with trafficking, vice, tax evasion, etc?

Here we can tell the rest of the BOLI story…

R-3: The BOLI story from STROLL perspective…

And what about “bikini drive-thru coffee shops?” (Twin Peaks Espresso, Vancouver…)

What other events and organizations connect the arts with the sex industry?  The Naked Bike Race, Hump Fest…

And we’d like your feedback. At the end of this series we’ll do a full episode in which you get to speak your mind on this subject.  If you have a comment or question about the series or about the sex trade, we’d like to hear it.  Call the KBOO Newsroom at 503-231-8032 ext. 202 and we’ll  hear you out and put you on the air.

The internet has changed …everything…and in the sex industry it’s changed porn more than anything.  This is the eighth in KBOO’s ten-episode series on the business of sex in Portland.  In this episode we tackle the subject of porn and the business of sex toys and how they fit in the business of sex in our city.

 MUSIC

 Porn is about…appearance, fundamentally….  And here’s economist Dr. Catherine Hakim speaking about how appearance and image seem to have become more important because of the internet:

            H-4: porn takes on a new reality (?)

By the way, Dr. Hakim notes that the line between sex and dating sites is blurring:

H-5:

Porn is an industry like…food?  Here’s Dr Sheila Tarrant, economist at UCLA, making that case:

            T-?

 Is porn a multinational business in which there are monopolies?  Ever heard of a company called MindGeek?  According to ---------, MindGeek uses more internet bandwidth than Amazon.com,……………………….., and ……………………………….Dr. Tarrant again:

Is internet porn good for women? Are the changes we’re seeing in the porn industry positive from a woman’s perspective?

T-6

Wait, there’s racism in the porn industry? Can you see the US Supreme Court taking up this issue?

            T-5:

Justice Thomas might be the person to write the majority opinion, in defense of the corporate rights of MindGeek.    

T-6?    

But let’s get back to Portland and talk porn films.  Here’s porn film director, Lilly Campbell, who’s got her own style.

So many changes in the industry…Will virtual reality become the next frontier?

 Okay, we have a spelling test for you today: phathalate.  We’ll use it in a sentence, just to help you think it through, and here it is:  “Amory Jane of SheBop recommends that you purchase sex toys free of phalates.”

So, you had your chance, and here’s the correct spelling: PHALATE  P-H-A-L-A-T-E PHALATE.  Got t?

And here’s Amory Jane herself:

            AJ-

            AJ-

            AJ-

Early on we asked the question, can porn be ethical, pro-feminist? And now we know what Drs. Hakim and Della Giusta, and Lily Campbell and Amory Jane think about that, but what do you think?

 We’d like your feedback. At the end of this series we’ll do a full episode in which you get to speak your mind on this subject.  If you have a comment or question about the series or about the sex trade, we’d like to hear it.  Call the KBOO Newsroom at 503-231-8032 ext. 202 and we’ll hear you out and put you on the air.

 The next episode is our PEN-ULTIMATE, second to last, and we’re going to strip the subject down to its bare essentials and talk about… stripping, the heart and soul of the business of sex in Portland.  So, join us for that next episode.