BIG SLOPPY CHEERS for our very own Oregon State University making the Top 5 for the fourth time in consecutive years. Yes, it’s true, l’il ole OSU has, for four years straight, scored top marks in online schooling… and we all know how important that’s become of late.
INTERESTED HMMM for the Corvallis City Council this week. In a tiebreaker vote that did not include Mayor Biff Traber [away on vacay so Acting Mayor Hyatt Lyttle cast the decider] the council passed an ordinance that will have the city paying councilmembers a monthly stipend and will increase the stipend earned by whoever-is-the-next-mayor. Ward 5 Councilor Charlyn Ellis asked [via motion] if “maybe we should ask the voters” – which was rejected 5-to-3.
ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND CHEERS for Corvallis startup, Crown Electrokinetics. This little offshoot of HP labs is growing, hiring another 20 people, and making a new factory situation happen in Salem. FYI they make “solar powered smart windows” which adjust the amount of light permitted in a room to conserve energy. [Kinda nifty, huh?]
DUMBFOUNDED HUH over the Oregon Health Authority lifting the mask mandate by March 31 “at the latest” for indoors AND schools. Look, we’re not fans of masks [although one of our editors does have a stylist selection of them which she matches to her shoes and handbag], but we’re even less excited about keeping this whole Covid mishegoss going on. To date, the CDC has said it’s safest to keep masks on indoors – especially at schools. [After all, kids just are little germ factories running all over the place touching things like mashugana]
LOUD SLIPPERY SIGHS over Bill Sizemore announcing his run for the Republican nom for Oregon Gov. It’s not that he is egregiously sigh-worthy, it’s just that the list is gettin’ long. To date, the Republican bracket consists of Bridget Barton, Christine Drazen, John Fosdick III, Jessica Gomez, Nick Hess, Jim Huggins, Kerry McQuisten, Brandon Merritt, Bud Pierce, Stan Pulliam [BTW currently dealing with a sex scandal], Amber Richardson, Marc Thielman, and now, sigh, Bill Sizemore – plus there’s Darin Harbick who is no longer running. That makes 13 people vying for one nomination to fight off a Dem nom and Betsey Johnson for the single seat at the top. [It’s gonna get interesting, folks!]
CHEERS for Black History Month [which we’re already in the middle of because time flies like your mom always told you it did and you should’ve listened better]. As we all know by now, Oregon had a rather-to-extremely negative start in its statehood wherein Black people weren’t allowed here. Luckily, we had some really amazing Black people move in anyway and make their marks on our state. And, even more luckily, OPB made a video about these folks. It is 30 whole minutes of good!
In the world of Covid…
JEERS for Johnson & Johnson, which has decided to pursue profit. As it is a business, we get that it needs profit at some point, however… J&J has stopped making their Covid vaccine in the only plant they have that’s approved to make their Covid vaccine. AND the less-developed world as a whole is kinda-sorta in need of those vaccines to keep their people alive. The company is doing this in order to make another vaccine… which they stand to make more money from… for some other virus… that has NOT killed almost six million people so far.
So, here’s the deal. Less developed countries tend to have a hard time getting ultra-refrigerated trucks that can drive along their not-so-infrastructure-friendly roads to get the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to where they’re needed. Also, they are having a hard time finding enough humans who are trained to inject the meds into people. Meaning only 11% of the population in Africa has been vaccinated… and that’s not a typo, we meant to say eleven!
Now, we were thinking, maybe it’s time for more-developed countries [like, IDK, the USA] to send over some refrigerated vehicles to get the other vaccines from Point A to Point B [both Points being located somewhere in Africa or anywhere else they’re needed]. Then, maybe-probably, those countries [again, the USA] could send over some military troops in a nonmililtary fashion who are trained to put needles in the arms of the people who still really need a hand [or a shot].
After all, if we are ever going to get to the place that all of our Sci-fi movies put us [having a single, unified, peaceful society on this planet] then we need to start working on it, because this is supposed to be the year that George Jetson is born, and we’re not getting any better at this not-having-wars thing.
Do you have a story for The Advocate? Email editor@corvallisadvocate.com