Problems at a Portland-area foster care facility have brought wider issues surrounding the state’s child care system to public attention, including making it the focus of a recent state senate committee hearing. According to a recent article in The Oregonian “the issue flared… when the Senate’s human services committee confronted…
Laundry ‘pods’ – essentially pre-packaged detergent that can be thrown in the machine with no need to measure it – have only been around for a few years but have quickly become popular here in Oregon and across the country. As a recent story on MyCentralOregon.com details, however, they also…
The Oregonian this week reported on a guilty plea by a 24-year-old Gresham woman in an Oregon distracted driving case that encapsulates everything that is wrong with this growing problem. According to the newspaper, the defendant admitted to “taking cellphone video of her child when she crashed into three teens outside…
SafeKids Oregon – an organization that regular readers will know I have long supported – has just published a very useful set of back-to-school tips and reminders. They are worth the attention of every Oregon parent. The group’s website offers a useful guide focused on preventing injuries to children by…
NBC news is reporting this weekend that Britax, a major manufacturer of child car seats, “is recalling 37 models of its car seats due to a potential safety defect that could prevent harnesses from locking.” In a web article the news organization reports that the recall order effects models built…
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a recall notice regarding millions of dressers sold by furniture giant IKEA, announcing last week that the company is offering free repair kits to customers. According to the CPSC notice (see link below) “the chests and dressers can pose a tip-over hazard if…
The sad news last week that a three-year-old boy in Idaho was found dead in his family car is a timely and tragic reminder of something I highlight nearly every summer: the danger that sealed cars pose for small children. According to the Associated Press the boy “apparently wandered outside…
Memorial Day weekend has come and gone and the summer is officially underway. That is mostly a good thing, but as The Oregonian reminded us last week, it is also a moment to give some careful thought to safety. The holiday weekend, the paper noted, is “also the start of…
The deaths of three teens in three separate Oregon car crashes earlier this month is leading some observers to call for a rethinking of the state’s teen driving laws, according to The Oregonian. “In 1999 the state passed a graduated driver’s license law for people under 18, requiring a period…
An accident last weekend in which a pick-up truck struck and killed three children and left one adult in critical condition is sparking local activism, according to a report by the Associated Press, reprinted in The Oregonian. The accident took place “in or near a crosswalk” at the same intersection…