It could be a state replication of the national nonprofit news service ProPublica or linked to it since one of the founding editors is a former Oregonian investigative editor Stephen Engelberg. We need better informed constituents in this state so we are better prepared to tackle all the challenging issues facing us. We need an objective, professionally vetted source of information and news that can fill in for diminishing print media/newspapers and be accessible through electronic and social media. A state version of ProPublica could be seeded with MMT funding (as the national model is by national foundations) with part of the funding going to help establish a sustainable business model. The best way to really get at solving our problems is to first understand what they are and what the best solutions are going forward.

Amongst my friends and in my profession, as the business manager of a local staffing agency, it seems the biggest local agent of pessimism is unemployment. All we seem to hear about are companies downsizing, relocating, and closing. But there are local companies surviving and even thriving in this economic downturn.

Let the light in by promoting successful local businesses in the media, perhaps in the Oregonian or in local tv/radio segments. Sponsor stories and ads for companies that are increasing local jobs, utilizing local vendors, and overall benefiting Oregon's economy. It's great advertising for those businesses and gives the rest of us a little positive news.

Information is the lifeblood of both markets and democracy. A free press is essential to the functioning of both. Salem-News.com is a well established independent news source serving Oregon. They have published many ground breaking stories on vital issues that other news organizations won't touch. Recent exclusives include a series on corruption in the DOC, an expose on the illegal activities of a major corporation operating in Oregon, and ongoing coverage of crucial environmental issues. Salem-News.com is veteran owned, and has many contributing writers who are veterans, providing a unique and essential viewpoint that is missing in much of the mainstream press. Their coverage of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and other military issues, reflects the knowledge and conscience of the veterans who write for them, and is second to none. Salem-News.com operates the Oregon Transparency Project, which provides easy access to State Government spending data, otherwise inaccessible to average Oregonians. Support for independent news organizations like Salem-News.com does not need to be a million dollar idea to yield million dollar results. A grant of $50,000-$100,000 to a well established independent news organization, which would allow for investment in improved infrastructure, and fund additional reporting, would yield immediate results, and help to insure the free flow of information that is so vital to our democracy and economic prosperity.