Salem-News.com Family articles Page 33

Raise Revenue or Deepen the Pain

The Oregon Center for Public Policy says the legislature must enact HB 2649 and HB 3405 to avoid further harming Oregonians, particularly the most vulnerable.

(SILVERTON, Ore.) - The legislature will soon vote on bills that would raise taxes on the wealthiest Oregonians and corporations. If the votes fail, or if the measures are referred to the voters and fail there, middle- and low-income Oregonians — those hardest hit by the economic downturn — should brace for even greater pain than what’s already on the way.

A good indication of the kind of pain that would follow from the defeat of the revenue-raising bills — HB 2649 and HB 3405 — is the harm contained in the budget cuts already penciled in. Those cuts are largely set out in the budget that the Co-Chairs of the legislature’s Joint Ways and Means Committee released in late May.

Internet Dating 101 and How I Met My Wife

What I also learned was that online dating was no different, in its essence, from in-person dating.

(AGOURA, Calif.) - When I got separated and then divorced six years ago, the world of dating had gone through a change. Internet dating was well underway and the quaint idea of friends introducing you to other friends seemed to have gone the way of the horse and buggy.

There were still bars and clubs, but those options didn’t appeal to me when I was young enough to consider them, and when my hearing was still good enough to survive the over-the-top decibels in such environments.

Police Arrest Florida Woman in Oregon on Kidnapping Charge

Florida woman'a arrest in Oregon related to the kidnapping of her son‏.

(BEAVERTON, Ore.) - Beaverton Police say they received information this morning at 8:15 a.m. from a Florida agency stating they believed a woman they were seeking on a nationwide warrant had been located in the Beaverton area.

Detective Pam Yazzolino with Beaverton P.D. says a new break would ultimately be just what the Florida authorities were looking for.

Summertime and the Livin’ Is Easy

I have to admit this is a rare column in which I’ve just shared random thoughts along with some family details of plans for our summer. Call it summer laziness but “fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high.”

(AGOURA, Calif.) - I love that song. Who can’t help but love it? It’s nearing summertime by this dad’s astute intuition and the school calendar, and that tells me it’s summer once again and what are we going to do with the kids?

A stay-at-home parent’s life is dictated by driving. Driving his or her kids to and from school, to their various extra-curricular activities, to doctor’s appointments, etc. We live in the car, so summer is actually my break, too.

Do Men Have Strong Emotional Support in Their Lives?

If you men don’t have men friends that you can really talk to about your life, then get out there and find them. Start your own group at a local coffee house, away from the women, or through your church or synagogue.

(AGOURA, Calif.) - Do men really have good support for emotional issues, on a regular basis? When a man reaches a certain age and he’s depressed, he’s struggling with his place in the world, he’s going through family problems or a divorce, or financial and job worries, etc., where can he turn?

Add into the mix that he’s a single dad and has no immediate family around and you have my situation, a few years ago.

Don’t Take It Personally

The true goal for a parent should be to raise independent human beings that can ultimately survive and thrive in the world on their own.

(AGOURA, Calif.) - I know my column is from my personal perspective, and often about my personal life. Yet I feel this topic is more confessional than many others and affects me too often.

Will the Kids Ever Leave?

This is Bruce's 25th article on Salem-News.com.

(AGOURA, Calif.) - What an interesting contemporary question: will our kids ever leave? I left home at sixteen to go away to college and never returned, except for visits.

I stayed close to my parents, and they did help me financially through college, though I worked every summer to supplement my education expenses and pay for my own spending. ShortRib (my wife) and I wonder when will our kids be independent enough to afford to leave?

Diversity is a Nine Letter Word

The challenges of parenting are never ending and never the same.

(AGOURA, Calif.) - Diversity is a nine-letter word; so is parenting. ShortRib (my wife) and I met a wonderful couple on our recent honeymoon that, at first, we thought and they thought represented the most diversity in a couple any of us knew.

In fact, they were written up as just such a phenomenon in a local paper in their hometown. David is a 55-year-old, liberal, white Jewish lawyer, while Farah is a 40-year-old, conservative, black Christian, non-profit worker.

Mother’s Day and the Women in Our Lives

Call me sentimental, but I can’t help but offer items of tribute to my mother, and just a few of the better memories.

(AGOURA, Calif.) - As Mother’s Day rolls around once again, I find myself reflecting this year on the different obligations we feel towards those mothers in our lives, at different times and passages in our lives.

As this is the second Mother’s Day since my own mother died, I can’t help but remember her with the fondest recollections, avoiding the sad, last, and declining years of her life when a stroke took away her sparkle and delightful personality.

Happy `Recessionary` Mother`s Day!

Adecco Survey Finds Overwhelming Majority of Working Moms Work Because They Have To, But Their Kids Are Smarter and Better Behaved As a Result.

(MELVILLE, N.Y./PRNewswire) - As the country prepares to celebrate Mother's Day, Adecco Group North America's latest American Workplace Insights Survey indicates the economy is changing life at home and work, leaving moms feeling the most stress.

Surprisingly, more than three quarters (80%) of working moms(1) are working because they have to, showing there is likely an increased strain on family budgets due to the economic crisis.