"Exciting"(?) Stories

I had two "exciting" stories Tuesday. As exciting as budgets and health insurance can be. Tuesday it was quite exciting. To me, at least.

First: Budgets.
School districts across Oregon are facing deficits forcing them to cut anywhere from 10-15% of their budget for the coming school year. Jobs, days, closures, programs -- everything's on the table. We got word from a senior at Grants Pass High School that their Board would be voting whether to cut the school's Child Development Center. It's a day care center for infants and toddlers where students get experiential learning and class credit. The program is well-known in the community, sometimes with a two-year waiting list. About a hundred people came to the meeting, hoping to convince the Board to not cut the program. They were successful... at least, for now.

Second: Health Insurance.
Whooo-hooo! Who doesn't get excited about health insurance? Probably the uninsured. And according to my report there will be less uninsured in Oregon. $48 million, in the form of a federal stimulus grant, is coming to the Beaver State to help provide insurance to as many as 400,000 uninsured Oregonians.

I enjoyed working on both of these stories.
Does that make me a nerd? Maybe. But I embrace it.