In my artist talks and in some of the writings I’ve been doing lately I’ve been relating my interest in the science fiction themes of utopia and dystopia to the realities of Portland, Oregon. Portland, known as the microbrew mecca of the planet, the bike-friendliest city in the US, and potentially the greenest city in the nation, also has some major issues that often are swept under the rug. Sam Adams, our new mayor (not the brewer), gave a fantastic talk yesterday and I wanted to share with you a very small portion of it that is very exciting to me. I will most likely post more of the speech in the near future:

“Here’s a statistic that hits closer to home: As of now, Oregon spends
3.4 times as much per prisoner as per public school pupil. Combine
this with the fact that only 57 percent of Portland city students
complete high school. This means a 43 percent drop-out rate. The
number is even more staggering for students of color. We cannot talk
about being a sustainable city and a sustainable economy if we
continue to allow this kind of failure on our part.”
-Sam Adams, Portland Oregon Mayor