NE Village Circles were formed to introduce Village members who are neighbors to one another. A neighborhood circle is a group of roughly 10-12 Village members who live near each other and want a deeper and broader level of connection. The types of activities a given circle might engage in are determined by the group. Many circles engage in social- and interest-based activities. Members, like close neighbors, help each other out when they can.

 

Three NE Village circles have already met, as reported by their correspondents:

 

"The first gathering of the Irvington/Lower Alameda/Sullivan's Gulch Circle started with a discussion of why we had joined NE Village. Then we talked about what we are hoping will come from getting to know village members who live nearby and some of the things we are interested in doing together. We found some surprising common interests. For our second meeting, we settled on reading an award-winning article on the opioid crisis, which we will use as a springboard for discussion. We may plan a lighter social outing for our third gathering."

 

"On February 13, the Cully/Roseway/Rose City Park Circle held its first meeting, an informal lunch at Blackbird Wine Shop. It was exciting to meet so many new people for the first time knowing that we shared some important values. Since we were seated at one long table, we started by getting to know the people sitting next to us. We talked about why we had joined a circle and what direction we'd like to see ours go. Laughter emanated from all four corners of the table as new connections formed. The group will meet next in March at a member's home."

 

"The Beaumont Circle has been slow to get started. The only time we met, only four members were able to attend. Members live geographically close together but are diverse in age and interests - four single women and two couples. Our second meeting was snowed out, and our next gathering is scheduled for the end of March."

                                                                                                                                    

Members of each circle will decide whether to continue meeting and on what basis. It's possible the circles will be open to new members later this year, so stay tuned if you're interested in joining.

 

In the meantime, check out the new Village Square meetings the second Wednesday of every month starting in April if you want to socialize with other Villagers on a monthly basis.

W-2's, 1099's, 1095-A, and more strange numbers are starting to show up in your mail. Yes, it's tax time again.

 

If you have a straightforward tax situation-just income from your job, or retirement plans, and you have health care-you can file for free online using software contracted by Oregon's Department of Revenue. See: http://www.oregon.gov/DOR/programs/individuals/Pages/approved-vendors.aspx. 

 

Be careful using just any free file software. Often companies offer free federal returns, but they make up for it by charging for state filings.

 

If your tax situation is more complicated, or you aren't comfortable doing your own taxes, AARP Tax-Aide provides free tax preparation service. Volunteer preparers are certified by IRS and use IRS provided software to do taxes. They can't prepare returns for rentals, depreciation, or small businesses with an employee or a loss. Check out what can be done and where locations are at  https://cashoregon.org.

NE Village volunteers have been busy getting things done for members and driving them to their appointments. Since the village opened in November 2016, there have been almost 600 requests for rides, 130 requests for yard work, 150 requests for in-home support including light housekeeping and personal assistance, and close to 30 requests for technical help with computers and other electronics.

American journalist T. R. Reid traveled to Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Canada to learn what kinds of health care and health insurance other wealthy democratic nations have. His genuine sore shoulder served as entrée to the offices and clinics of health care providers, while he researched the costs and benefits of each country's system.

 

He didn't find much outright "socialized medicine," rather several different combinations of government and private health care and insurance, and explores the origins and up- and downsides of each. Among the most striking of his findings: 1) each country considers health care a basic right of its citizens, and that the correct moral choice of the country is to provide it; 2) most unified systems require both universal care and universal participation in the system; 3) health insurance businesses may not make profits or refuse claims; 4) the cost per person of each system reviewed is much less than that of the United States, while many statistics show better health outcomes; 5) doctors pay little or nothing for their educations, eliminating the crippling student debt that often plagues U.S. doctors; 6) the unified systems have substantial clout in negotiating drug prices; 7) no one goes bankrupt because of medical bills.

 

Reid sets out his thinking about how the U.S. might improve its health care, but never suggests that we cherry-pick the best bits from each system he examined and slap them on. He also considers what such improvement would take - finding the political will to choose differently, ensuring economic balance, educating people about new possibilities, and making an honest decision about whether we as a nation see universal coverage as a moral choice.

 

Reid provides illuminating anecdotes as well as plenty of footnotes, and has organized the material in a reader-friendly fashion. This extra timely book, with its clear and articulate writing, makes for a fine read, and provides much to ponder.

 

 

- Nan Artman

PLEASE NOTE: The opinions expressed in this review column are those of the author, not NE Village PDX.

 

CALL FOR REVIEWS: Have you read a book you'd like to share with fellow villagers? Visited a restaurant that's become your current favorite? Write up your thoughts (200-450 words is plenty) and send them to info@nevillagepdx.org .