Oregon’s only federally-run boarding school for Native American students failed to properly spend or account for millions of taxpayer dollars as well as hundreds of thousands contributed to student accounts by Indigenous families, according to an audit published Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Interior’s Office of Inspector General. OPB editor Rob Manning, who worked on a five-part investigation into Chemawa, joins us to talk about the audit.
Jul 20, 2023•14 min
From ocean acidification to rising sea levels and warming temperatures, climate change is taking a toll on the world’s oceans and fisheries. Scientists at NOAA, for example, have found that warming temperatures in the Bering Sea between Russia and Alaska are affecting the movement of Pacific cod and Alaska pollock, and that some fisheries are more vulnerable to climate change than others. Tensions may also flare up in the coming years between fishing fleets in pursuit of stocks as different fish...
Jul 20, 2023•24 min
Pacific Seafood, a seafood processing company based in Oregon, owns more than 40 facilities across 11 states. The company is a major force in the fish, crab, and shrimp industry up and down the West Coast. Brand Little, a fisherman based out of San Francisco, says Pacific Seafood has too much power, and is able to both dictate the price offered for crabs and exert influence on the start date of the crab fishing season. Little filed a lawsuit in California on behalf of other small fishermen. We t...
Jul 20, 2023•15 min
Sudden oak death, a tree disease caused by a fungal-like pathogen, can lead to bleeding cankers, leaf blight and rapid dieoff in a number of plant and tree species. The disease was first detected in northern California in the mid-1990s, and has been slowly spreading in Southern Oregon since 2001. Newly infected trees were recently found in Humbug Mountain State Park near Port Orford, leading to renewed treatment efforts by state agencies. Gabriela Ritokova is a forest pathologist with the Oregon...
Jul 19, 2023•14 min
For more than a hundred years, all the members of Portland's city council have been elected city-wide. That's about to change after voters passed a major overhaul to the city charter last November. The volunteer Independent District Commission has released three maps depicting different options for how the districts could be drawn. We talk to Josh Laurente and DaWayne Judd, co-chairs of the Independent District Commission, about their proposed maps for how to divide the city into four districts....
Jul 19, 2023•21 min
Portland area counties are joining together to work on a regional heat map. The data will be collected by volunteers, and public health officials hope that the information can help better prepare the region for hotter summers. In a typical year in Portland, no heat related deaths are reported. In 2021, after the record-breaking heat dome, at least 69 deaths resulted from extreme heat in the last week of June, according to Multnomah County. Summers in Oregon are heating up, and public health offi...
Jul 19, 2023•17 min
The system for dispatching emergency services is itself in need of help. The Portland Bureau of Emergency Communications has been struggling for many years to get its hold times down. It has hired more dispatchers, and is now using a system of automatic call backs to numbers that hang up. It’s also implemented as an automated answering system for non-emergency calls. Given the challenges, it might come as a surprise to learn that the award for best dispatcher in North America is Portland’s own S...
Jul 18, 2023•19 min
Measure 114, Oregon’s voter-passed law to regulate firearms, has yet to go into effect because of multiple court challenges. Measure 114 bans future purchases of magazines that can carry more than 10 rounds of ammunition. It also requires those wishing to buy a firearm to get a permit first. Permits will require applicants to complete a safety class and a federal background check. Last Friday, a federal judge ruled that the measure’s ban on the sale or manufacture of large-capacity magazines and...
Jul 18, 2023•15 min
Oregon archaeologists have found evidence of human occupation in the state that dates back more than 18,000 years. University of Oregon students and faculty working at the Rimrock Draw Rockshelter in Harney County found stone tools and fragments of camel and bison teeth beneath a 15,000-year-old layer of volcanic ash. Radiocarbon dating of the tooth enamel revealed that the fragments were 18,250 years old. Due to their position in the ash, the tools are thought to be even older — making them som...
Jul 18, 2023•19 min
The invasive vine mealybug was found in Southern Oregon in 2021 and since then, vineyards have been fighting to eradicate the insect. The pest can cause significant damage to Oregon’s grape vines, affecting fruit quality and mold growth. State funding from SB 5506 will invest more than $400,000 to monitor, research and suppress the insect before it becomes widespread in the state. Brian Gruber is the president of the Oregon Winegrowers Association. Greg Jones is the vice chair on the Oregon Wine...
Jul 17, 2023•21 min
With its bright orange bill, white face and curling, yellow plumes, the tufted puffin is arguably the most recognizable seabird in Oregon. But scientists are now getting a clearer picture of how climate change is affecting the survival of tufted puffins and other seabirds. A new study from the University of Washington found that persistent heat waves in the marine environment linked to climate change are leading to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of seabirds several months later. The researc...
Jul 17, 2023•21 min
Last weekend volunteers painted the old city hall building and a downtown restaurant in Sweet Home, Oregon. The small town pitched the idea to Miller Paint Company as a way to revitalize the downtown and convince drive-through tourists to stop and spend money. Like many small towns in Oregon, Sweet Home has been struggling to achieve economic viability after timber mills closed down and COVID hit. City manager Kelcey Young joins us to talk about why she thinks this new paint job could help....
Jul 17, 2023•11 min
Author Nicole Chung was born to Korean immigrants in Seattle and later adopted by a white couple in Southern Oregon. The 2018 memoir “All You Can Ever Know” follows Chung’s exploration of her identity as a transracial adoptee as she searches for her birth family. Her second memoir, released earlier this month, covers the untimely deaths of her adoptive parents — first her father from kidney disease, then her mother from cancer in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. “A Living Remedy” chronic...
Jul 12, 2023•52 min
At first, Ada Limón wasn’t able to write poetry during the pandemic. And then she wrote a poem called “The Hurting Kind.” From that flowed the rest of her new book of poems under that same name. We talk to Limón, the poet laureate of the United States, before an audience at the Literary Arts space in downtown Portland.
Jul 12, 2023•52 min
School is out for summer vacation, but some Oregonians are still in the classroom taking a driver’s education course. At the same time, the state is currently seeing a shortage of people who can actually teach the course. Michelle Godfrey is the public information officer for the Oregon Department of Transportation. Nancy Haase is the program manager for the High Desert Driver Education Program. They both join us to share some of the reasons behind the Driver’s Ed instructor shortage and how tha...
Jul 12, 2023•20 min
Oregon will receive a whopping $688 million from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to help provide broadband in areas of the state that lack high-speed connection. The funding is part of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal. Oregon’s Broadband Office will craft a five-year action plan and has been holding community meetings across the state to hear what Oregonians are experiencing in terms of internet access. Nick Bats is the director of the office. He joins us to...
Jul 12, 2023•21 min
After hours of public testimony, Salem City Council voted to approve a payroll tax to help fund police, fire and homelessness services. The ordinance passed by a single vote, taxing wages for anyone who works in Salem, regardless of their home address. The policy could go into effect as early as next summer. Chris Hoy is the mayor of Salem. He joins us to share why this tax is needed and how it will work going forward.
Jul 12, 2023•13 min
In the Klamath Basin, many different interests have struggled to get the water they need. Meanwhile, Colorado River users have agreed to use less water as supply has dwindled over time. As water users across the West continue to face uncertainty over water levels, how can stakeholders compromise on limited resources? Adell Amos is a Clayton R. Hess Professor of Law and the Executive Director for the Environment Initiative at the University of Oregon. She joins us to explain what a larger agreeme...
Jul 11, 2023•13 min
Oregon lawmakers recently passed legislation advancing wildfire programs in the state. And nearly a year after a draft wildfire map was withdrawn, the proposal gives the Oregon Department of Forestry and Oregon State University another chance at outlining hazards. Mariana Ruiz-Temple is the state fire marshal. Chris Dunn is an assistant professor in wildfire risk science at Oregon State University and will continue work on the state’s wildfire map. Mike Shaw is the fire protection division chief...
Jul 11, 2023•22 min
Butte Falls is a small town in southern Oregon, about an hour northeast of Medford. The 400 or so residents there are surrounded by a ring of what was until recently privately owned forest. But a decades-long effort to buy and manage the land itself has finally come to fruition, with the help of state, federal and private funding - and too many agencies and elected officials to list. As reported by Inside Climate News and Columbia Insight, Butte Falls will be making forest management decisions t...
Jul 11, 2023•19 min
On June 20, four skateboarders gathered together to ride from Virginia to Oregon. They began the journey in Williamsburg, and on Friday, the group arrived in Newport and dipped their boards into the Pacific Ocean. The team set out to break the record for the fastest skateboarding relay across the U.S. The trip clocked in at 17 days and six hours. Andrew Andras, Rick Stubblefield and Paul Kent were part of the relay. They join us with details of the trek.
Jul 10, 2023•17 min
Last summer, an invasive and highly destructive forest pest was first spotted in Oregon at an elementary school in Forest Grove. Oregon is the first state on the West Coast and the 36th in the nation where the emerald ash borer has been detected. The small, shiny green beetle is native to Asia and has killed over a hundred million ash trees nationwide since its arrival in the U.S. roughly 20 years ago. In June, the Oregon Department of Agriculture reinstated a temporary quarantine on ash and whi...
Jul 10, 2023•22 min
A new investigation from Washington news outlet KNKX has found that allegations of a culture of sexism, racism, and abuse at a premier youth soccer club mirror the behavior alleged at the professional level. The investigation found allegations of racial and sexual harassment, player endangerment and inappropriate touching of underage players at one of Washington’s premiere youth leagues. Reporter Grace Madigan joins us to talk about what they found.
Jul 10, 2023•14 min
Cooler temperatures have brought some relief to the Willamette Valley and a large swath of Western Oregon which were under heat advisories from the National Weather Service earlier this week. The hot, dry conditions coincided with three straight days of the hottest global temperatures ever recorded. Farmers and ranchers are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change as they contend with hotter and drier weather conditions, particularly during the summer months. Oregon produces more...
Jul 07, 2023•15 min
There’s a lot that researchers still don’t know about volcanoes. But they do expect volcanic eruptions to coincide more often with other natural disasters, like floods and wildfires, as the climate continues to warm. Research from Portland State University shows that the increasing frequency of extreme weather events means they’re more likely to occur at the same time as a volcanic eruption – creating “compound disasters” that will challenge emergency management officials. The study is part of a...
Jul 07, 2023•14 min
Last Saturday, news broke that seven-time All-Star point guard Damian Lillard wants to be traded from the Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard is the all-time leading scorer for the Blazers and has spent his entire professional career playing for the team which chose him as the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft. Lillard unanimously won the NBA Rookie of the Year award his first season in the league but has yet to win a championship title after 11 seasons with the Blazers. Mike Richman is the h...
Jul 07, 2023•25 min
One of the best-known strategies to prevent dune erosion is to introduce plants whose roots will help hold sand in place and stabilize the dune. But experiments conducted at Oregon State University show that may not always be the case. Researchers found that newly planted vegetation can actually accelerate erosion in the face of extreme storms. Meagan Wengrove is an assistant professor of civil and construction engineering at OSU. She was involved in the experiments, and joins us to talk about w...
Jul 06, 2023•17 min
In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a web designer refusing to make a website for same-sex marriages, despite a Colorado law that prohibits discrimination against gay people. In another case involving a mail carrier who was refusing to work on his Sabbath, the courts unanimously decided to broaden religious protections, creating a new standard for testing religious accommodations. Jim Oleske is a law professor at Lewis & Clark Law School. He joins us to break down the...
Jul 06, 2023•21 min
A church in Monmouth was exploring the idea of creating micro shelter housing for people experiencing homelessness. The housing would have been located on a grassy field owned by the church. The idea was scrapped after community backlash against the proposal. We hear more from Bill Poehler, a Statesman Journal reporter, who has covered the issue.
Jul 06, 2023•15 min
Military veteran Lauren Grigsby describes the Central Veterans Oregon Ranch in Bend as a place of sanctuary. For nearly a decade, the 19-acre working ranch has opened its gates to veterans searching to talk to someone who understands the feelings of anxiety, isolation and other symptoms of PTSD they carry from tours of duty or other military service. In addition to peer support counseling, the ranch also offers mentorship and vocational training programs in ranching, beekeeping and farming, incl...
Jul 05, 2023•19 min
