Author Archive
Phil Busse

AIFF recommendation: Rogue Award for activist and documentary director Renee Tajima-Peña
Renee Tajima-Peña is an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker whose work focuses on communities of color, immigration, gender, and social justice. A week or so ago, she had a bundle of her films shown on PBS—Asian Americans, the first docu-series on Asian American history—and recently launched the Building History 3.0, an interactive

Sipping from an optimistic cup: Q&A with DANCIN Vineyard’s Dan Marca
Indeed, the tourism industry in southern Oregon has soured. Britt Fest and OSF both have shut down for the summer, and restaurants are closed indefinitely. But social distancing does not mean you cannot still drink local wines! And DANCIN Vineyard co-owner Dan Marca remains optimistic and upbeat. The Messenger caught up

Letter to Editor: From Ashland Food Co-Op Board of Directors
The Ashland Food Co-op has played a critical role supporting our community for nearly 50 years by providing healthy food and a safe place to shop. With the recent Covid 19 shutdown, this support has been even more important and has stretched our organization in ways that we could not

Re-Tooling The Ashland Independent Film Festival: Q&A with AIFF Executive Director Richard Herskowitz
Rogue Valley Messenger: The festival will be hosted online this year. It is a fascinating change: AIFF will be available on FilmFestivalFlix.com. Can you give some insights into this business? Both the idea of online film festivals: Is this a new, emerging industry? And what is it about FilmFestivalFlix.com that attracted AIFF to

Artificial Intelligence Developments to Watch in 2020
Changes take place every day in every aspect of our lives. Things change, people grow, and life takes unexpected turns that keep it interesting. A hot industry that has attracted so much attention is in artificial intelligence (AI). This impressive form of technology is changing the way people interact and view

PUBLIC PROFILE: Susan Aversa Orrego, Managing Director, Collaborative Theatre Project
Rogue Valley Messenger: There is quite a robust lineup this year. What is the decision making process for determining what plays to present? SAO: As our name implies, we meet together to discuss scripts and ideas for each season. In crafting the 2020 Season, we wanted fun, yet thought-provoking material

PUBLIC PROFILE: Sally Mackler, Board President, SNYP Clinic
Serving the region, the newly open SNYP Clinic in Talent, is exactly what its letters stand for: spay and neutering pets. We caught up the nonprofit’s Board president, Sally Mackler, to find out how the clinic came about—and the scope of the problem they hope to, well, neuter. Rogue Valley

How to Start a Neighborhood Watch
Photo by DGLimages Whether your neighborhood is known as something of a crime hot spot, or you want to prevent that sort of thing from happening in the first place, one of the best ways to help combat crime is to form a neighborhood watch. Not only can a watch

Optimize Your Fitness Plan with Your 23andMe DNA test Data
In today’s fast-paced world, keeping fit and staying healthy are synonymous. Although there are various things that you can do to stay healthy, most people fail to exercise due to the lack of tangible results. Remember, some expect maximum results for little or no effort. Fortunately, you can use your

How to Get to Know Your Neighbors
Photo by Iakov Filimonov Back in the good ol’ days, you could take for granted that you and your family knew your neighbors. In some cases, they might have even been your best friends. But the tradition of being friendly with the neighbors has gone somewhat by the wayside in