Chef Outta Water presents a series of food events from Thursday, Sept. 28, to Sunday, Oct. 8, that are an exchange of flavors, friendship and business opportunities between Australia and Oregon. Australian Chef Michael Brine from Townsville, North Queensland, will be the ‘chef outta water’ teaming up with Astoria’s Chef Chris Holen as part of a local makers and food producers tour though Astoria, Portland, Hood River, Bend, and McMinnville. Brine will use his skill to pair ‘down under’ flavors with Oregon produce.

Nearly 12 years ago, Hamdia Ahmed boarded a plane bound for America. She had spent nearly all her young life in the Dadaab in Kenya, the world’s largest refugee camp, along with hundreds of thousands of other Somalis fleeing civil war. [...] Now the 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Southern Maine is finding her voice advocating for Portland’s Muslim and immigrant community, which is on edge since Donald Trump was elected president using anti-immigrant rhetoric and vowing “America first” policies, such as tightening the borders.

The group came to the United States as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program. The decades-old program has built relationships with emerging leaders from countries all over the world. [...] Many diplomats have praised the program as an extremely effective tool in creating international understanding between the U.S. and other countries.

Nine students and two chaperones headed off July 12 for Miyoshi City, the official “sister city” of The Dalles. [...] The objective of the visits is “to build and sustain cross-cultural connections and mutual understanding with our sister cities and the larger global community,” read an excerpt from the mission statement of the Sister Cities website. 

National efforts to put a price on carbon in the United States largely petered out years ago, but the climate policy is gaining traction in a handful of states out west. The governors of California, Washington, and Oregon, along with the premier of British Columbia in Canada, signed an agreement Monday to coordinate efforts to reduce carbon emissions in the region. Washington and Oregon will aim to implement their own pricing structures to mimic those already in place in California and British Columbia.