Song in my Head: Falling in and out of love with you...don't know what I'm gonna do..I keep falling in and out of love with you........Pure Prairie League

In Season: wildfires

Great commentary in the Oregonian today regarding health care coverage

How about major league health care? 07/01/03
Russ Danielson and Glenn Rodriguez

T he Oregon Legislature needs a to-do list. The Oregonian was right to offer one ("10 chores before adjournment," June 22). Yet one vital investment in the future of our communities was missing: a commitment to "major league health care."

This was the part I could relate to:

Through no fault of their own, people with complex medical conditions and limited incomes are now dangling over a gulf of indecision. The Oregon Health Plan began because we had a vision and a sense of community that led to a collaborative, workable design recognized around the nation as a leading model for care. In fact, Medicare gives Oregon high marks for overall quality of care.

One of the reason I have continued to live in Oregon is its progressiveness in societal and government issues. Unfortunately, budget shortfalls from income tax revenues have declined so dramatically that we are becoming the "Mississippi of the west".