Jacob Lewin

Compared to other Oregonians, a lot of Latinos in Oregon don't drink alcohol. Yet those who do drink face bigger problems. Some of the reasons are cultural.  This is the latest in KLCC's series on health disparities amongst Oregon Latinos.

(Mariachi music)

The number of H-I-V cases in Oregon is declining, but not amongst Latinos.  They are twice as likely to contract the virus as non-Hispanic whites.  This is the first in an ongoing series on Latino health disparities in Oregon:

"Buenos días.  Mi nombre es Diana Herrera......"

Twice a month, dozens of Latinos from throughout Oregon come to the Mexican consulate in Portland to see about documentation.  They also get a primer on HIV and AIDS and an HIV test if they want one:

"A empezar el timbre...lista?..."

This week marks 50 years since a lethal tsunami hit Oregon's shores. A lot has changed since then.

Fifty years ago, here at Beverly Beach, on a star-lit night, the McKenzie family, from Tacoma, was camping in a lean-to. A tsunami took away their children. A magnitude nine quake off Alaska in 1964 generated a series of waves that grew dramatically higher as they reached the coast four hours later.  In Cannon Beach, the downtown was flooded and houses floated away.  Peter Lindsey watched from high ground:

When grass seed prices crashed in 2008, a group of Willamette Valley farmers decided to switch part of their production to food crops.  Now, not only are their results successful, but they may be laying the foundation for a different kind of food economy in Oregon.

The number of Latinos in Oregon schools has reached 22-percent, but an achievement gap between Latinos and whites stubbornly continues. A program in Corvallis may be having some success in improving outcomes for Latino students.

Over tacos, a group of parents and peer facilitators draw up a list of obstacles to going to college.  First is money, then motivation, and then teen pregnancy.  Although they are talking about college, this is a group of parents of elementary school kids being taught the skills they need to be more involved:

Twenty years ago this month President Bill Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement into law.  Few foresaw that it would change the face of Oregon.

Downtown Woodburn seems to be in good economic shape. Anthony Veliz, who owns a marketing firm here, shows us around:

"All of these businesses here, as we're walking are Latino-owned businesses. King's Den barbershop and we have these little tienditas, little stores, shops, zapateria y joyeria.   We have a Mexican grocery store....we can go in...."

The aim of the Lincoln County School District is ambitious: To become the best district in the world for integrating the ocean into the lives of its students. This school year students, teachers and administrators—and their partners in the community—are doing more than ever to meet that goal. The sea lions on the Newport bayfront (sounds of sea lions barking) welcome a group of Lincoln County teachers. The teachers are down on their bellies, using car ice scrapers under the docks.The results go under portable microscopes. It's an exercise that they will later share with their students.