Longform
I'm a generalist who has written in depth about crime, education, healthcare, social entrepreneurs, California's prisons, state and federal medical marijuana laws, and homelessness, among many other topics.
Awards received include: First Place, General Excellence (shared), California Newspaper Publishers Association (2011); Outstanding Talk Show, Alliance for Women in Media (2010); First Place, Public Affairs Journalism (shared), Associated Press Broadcasters Competition (2010); Second Place, Social Issues Reporting, Society of Professional Journalists, Oregon/Southwest Washington chapter (2009).
Longform
Monterey County vets struggle with civilian life, but new projects promise help and hope.
More than 30,000 state prisoners will shift from state to county control starting Oct. 1— including 300-plus headed to Monterey County. What happens next is anybody’s guess.
Undocumented women servicing field workers, streetwalkers in seedy motels, high-end flesh sold at high-end events: sex sells in Monterey County.
From the feds to the county, the confusion surrounding medical marijuana laws is enough to drive a girl to get stoned.
“What I hear from [Portland Police Bureau] officers is, ‘we’ve never been stretched so thin,'" says Neighborhood Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Wells. "How do we do more with less?”
Portland is on track to receive $4 million for rapid rehousing of people affected by the recession. But the city has yet to hear what regulations apply on how that money can be used.
As some churches look to revive their congregations, the emergent church movement draws young Christians in droves.
Radio
It's been half a century since Albert Starr co-invented and implanted the world's first artificial heart valve, but the impact of his medical milestone is still being felt today.
What does it take to run a food cart? Is there fierce competition with other carts - or nearby restaurants?
Have you elected to use genetic testing? If so, why? What was your experience?
New evidence produced through post-conviction DNA testing has led to over 200 exonerations nationwide, and has cast a spotlight on the flaws in eyewitness testimony and visual memory that lead to wrongful conviction.
Are all eggs created equal, or should people pay more for "better" genes?
What do you see as the future of news? Is print media dying, or is it merely in a state of transition?
Social Entrepreneurship
Rasiej sat down with Dowser to talk about going head-to-head with Rudy Giuliani, getting stuck on a ski lift with a senator, and other adventures on the road to founding a nonprofit.
Financial and social profits don’t always go hand-in-hand; many view the two as antithetical. Aron Cramer has made a career out of upending this notion.
Crowdsourcing is an inherently inclusive approach and it allows organizations to engage throngs of aficionados. However, it has its pitfalls.
During a stint with Britain's aid program in Zambia, Simon Berry had an idea: What if Coke’s distribution channels could be used to deliver oral rehydration salts to developing countries?
Toronto's Centre for Social Innovation is one of many new coworking spaces that strive to bring together members of the creative class under one roof.
Healthcare
Matthew Kirby has seen things he’d rather forget during his stay at the Oregon State Hospital (OSH). These days, though, he has reason for hope.
County clinics, health departments team up to address Latino health disparities.
The Human Services Coalition of Oregon submitted a letter to the legislature Wednesday offering cautionary recommendations to lawmakers preparing to slash services.
Senate Bill 97 would require continuing education in cultural competency as part of the licensure process for the state’s medical professionals.
The latest amendments to Oregon’s health exchange legislation have incensed many of the bill’s former supporters.
Crime
How an IP address led to an international child porn investigation
Jail’s most dangerous inmates pick cell locks with paper.
The Portland Police Bureau must recruit, hire and train up to 60 new officers, to the tune of $2.2 million. But they can’t afford to.
A commercial community fights for survival at a time when the recession has already battered their bottom lines.
Politics
Americans Elect is mounting a high-tech, online challenge to the two-party system, but they're doing it with big bucks from traditional conservatives.
The towns of Monterey County have no shortage of development projects in the works. There’s just one problem: One of their key funding sources could be sucked dry by the state in the very near future.
Central Coast redistricting puts Latinos in the spotlight.
The battle over renaming Interstate Avenue for Cesar E. Chavez opened deep rifts in the North Portland community, put issues of race and neighborhood identity center stage, and called into question both City Hall’s credibility and Portland’s socially progressive reputation.
Human Interest
Nonprofit scandal nears resolution with a proposed new fund for AIDS patient housing.
Dong Sun Kim’s murals quietly capture the beauty of his adopted country.
Time and again, Monterey’s elected officials describe their fair city as “internationally renowned” and “a world-class destination.” But when comes to describing their downtown, these selfsame praise-singers aren’t exactly effusive.
The proliferation of pods symbolizes a shift toward a more pedestrian-friendly commercial corridor, the latest hope for an area that's long struggled to become a destination because of crime, fast-moving traffic and a stop-and-start economic past.
High school students from North Portland's Boise neighborhood work with artists Apricot Irving and Julie Keefe on oral histories and portraits for an exhibition at City Hall.
These Numbers Have Faces, a group founded by 27-year-old Justin Zoradi, combines a passion for soccer and belief in the potential of South African youths.
Started in 2009 by the Portland Police Bureau, GirlStrength is a nine-week self-defense and interpersonal skill-building program offered for free at elementary and middle schools.
A rare genetic condition prevents Harper Goldberg from walking on her own. But her father hopes to transform North Portland's Arbor Lodge Park into a place where Harper and children of all abilities can play together.
Churches in Portland’s lower-income neighborhoods, many of them in North and inner Northeast Portland, are being hardest hit by the recession.
Alpha and Omega International Ministries, as the church is more formally called, is one of the few Pentecostal houses of worship in the area.