OPB's daily conversation covering news, politics, culture and the arts. Hosted By Dave Miller.
By 2029, the Knott Landfill outside of Bend is expected to reach capacity and will no longer accept any more solid waste. Now, Deschutes County officials are looking at two potential locations for a new landfill. Tim Brownell is the director of solid waste for the county. He joins us to share more on how to plan and build a landfill, as well as the timeline for opening.
Though data about clients at Oregon’s new legal psilocybin clinics is protected by privacy rules, it appears that many are coming from outside the state. Freelance journalist Grant Stringer talked to multiple clinic owners and clients in a story for The Oregon Capital Chronicle. We talk to him about what he learned.
A new study from Oregon Health & Science University used TikTok to survey teens and young adults about their understanding of menstrual health. It found that although the vast majority of respondents would prefer to control or stop their period using hormonal medications, nearly two-thirds were unsure whether it would be safe to do so. Researchers also found that health literacy was lowest among respondents who identified with a Christian family background or who lived in the U.S. South. Mau...
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed shooting over 400,000 barred owls over the next 30 years in order to save endangered spotted owls. Barred owls have migrated here from the Eastern U.S. and adapted well to the environment — they can survive in more habitats and eat more species than the spotted owls. USFWS has experimented with shooting barred owls in the past, and now proposes doing it on a much larger scale. Kessina Lee, the state supervisor of Oregon’s USFWS office, and Robin Br...
Yesterday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that wolverines will now be listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The ruling was hailed by conservation groups which have been advocating to protect wolverines in the contiguous U.S. for more than 20 years, including suing the agency twice. There are roughly 300 wolverines spread across Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Washington. The new federal listing does not apply to wolverines in Alaska. Wolverines are already li...
If you’re an avid gardener who pursues your passion all year round, you may be familiar with a handy guide commonly found at nurseries that tells you if the azaleas, rhododendrons, or other perennials you’re thinking of planting in your garden are likely to survive the winter. The Plant Hardiness Zone Map is divided into 13 temperature zones and half-zones, stretching from frigid Alaska (1a) to tropical Puerto Rico (13b), and is based on a 30-year average of the coldest winter temperatures recor...
Naloxone can be used to reverse an opioid overdose in an emergency situation. It’s available over the counter at a pharmacy, but some advocates say that’s not enough to get it into the hands of people who need it most. Project Red offers overdose prevention supplies like naloxone to restaurants, bars and other establishments. The Naloxone Project is an organization with chapters in several states including Colorado and Washington. Its goal is to have hospitals distribute naloxone to at-risk pati...
Last Monday, the Salem City Council convened a meeting with the Marion County Board of Commissioners and Salem-Keizer school district leaders to discuss the findings from a recent report looking at the sharp rise in the city’s gun violence. Shootings in the Salem city limits have doubled in the past five years, according to the report, which did not include police shootings or those that were self-inflicted or done in self defense. The report also found that at least half the shootings involved ...
The University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History hits the road in the summers. It offers hands-on learning through its Oregon Rocks! program, which teaches kids and families about geology. The organization travels throughout the state, reaching places like Portland, Pendleton and Paisley to bring science discovery to Oregon communities of all sizes. We listen back to a conversation with Mia Jackson, the education manager at the museum, who joins us with details about the program a...
When retired preschool owner Colleen Strohm and her husband moved to Maupin after their retirement, they found a vibrant community, but no local newspaper. Strohm says she tried to talk others into starting one, but after no one took her up on it, she finally realized she’d need to do it herself. She and her husband launched “The South Wasco Times” in October. Strohm is the publisher, editor and reporter for the monthly print paper. Her husband, retired Portland State University professor Doug L...
As the historic Portland Public School strike comes to an end, the state and country continue to face another issue: hiring. According to a dashboard created by the Oregon’s Teacher Standards and Practice Commision, there are more than 1,000 open positions for educators and other roles across the state. Kevin Carr is a professor of science education at Pacific University. He joins us to share more on the challenges of obtaining a teaching license and what can be done to address the shortage....
For 25 years, the Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports has worked with schools around the country to make learning environments more supportive and productive. The PBIS framework focuses on establishing shared values and expectations for the classroom and acknowledging positive behavior. It also aims to address unwanted behavior through redirection instead of punishment. The center recently received $21 million from the U.S. Department of Education to fund its work for the ne...
At Oregon Health & Science University, the number of patients treated for falling injuries has increased by 90% compared with 2016. These are falls that occur on ground-level, not from heights. Nationwide, about three-quarters of those patients are over the age of 65. That’s why Katie Drago, an OHSU geriatrician and associate professor of medicine, says the problem is becoming “a growing public health emergency.” We talk with Drago about the study the hospital has begun to help people preven...
On Monday morning, more than 40,000 students in Portland returned to school after a tentative deal had been announced the day before to end a teachers’ strike that had shut down schools since Nov 1. The agreement between Portland Public Schools district and the Portland Association of Teachers still needs to be ratified by union members and the school board this week. It includes a nearly 14% pay raise for educators over the next three years, additional planning time and expanded access to menta...
Author Tim O’Brien is best known for his book “The Things They Carried,” about the Vietnam War. His latest book, “Dad’s Maybe Book,” is a compilation of anecdotes and reflections on becoming a parent in late middle age, and what he wants his young children to know about him before he dies. This conversation was recorded in front of an audience at the Portland Book Festival last fall.
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.
Yesterday, a Harney County Circuit Court judge ruled that Measure 114 violates Oregon's state constitution. The law, which voters passed last year to regulate firearms, has yet to go into effect due to 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. Earlier this...
Last month, a new bookstore opened in Vancouver. But this isn’t your typical brick and mortar spot to pick up the latest thriller, mystery or best-selling memoir of a pop star. The Romance Era Bookshop sells only romance novels and related subgenres, including Romantasy, in which classic fairy tales are reimagined, with strong female protagonists embarking on quests both otherworldly and romantically relatable. The store is also less like Barnes & Noble and more like “hanging out at your bes...
Last week, the Clark County Council in Southwest Washington unanimously approved the creation of a new public defenders office to provide free legal counsel to criminal defendants who cannot afford hiring their own lawyers. Clark County is the largest county in Washington to rely on a contract model for public defense. As previously reported in The Columbian, the new office will initially consist of 10 positions, including six attorneys who will handle felony-level cases. The county will continu...
We typically wear noise-canceling headphones to drown out unpleasant sounds, such as cars honking or construction machines drilling. But what if you still wanted to hear someone knocking on your door or birds chirping on your walk? New artificial intelligence technology from the University of Washington could soon make that possible. Researchers developed an algorithm that allows users to pick which sounds can filter through their headphones in real time. Shyam Gollakota is a professor of comput...
Center for Disease Control and Prevention data published earlier this year shows that Oregon has some of the highest rates of syphilis infections, landing ninth out of all states. At the same time, more than 3,700 babies were born with congenital syphilis in the U.S. last year — the highest count in more than 30 years. Tim Menza is the medical director of the HIV/STD/TB section of Oregon Health Authority. They join us to share more on what the current trends are in the state and what’s being don...
How is the PPS strike affecting after school programs and other organizations that offer kids additional support outside of school? We'll hear from several groups that are shifting gears to offer kids and their families more resources as the strike continues. We check in with Sabina Urdes, the executive director of the East Portland Collective; Ava Shannon, the youth programs manager at the Northeast Community Center; and Jessica Swartz Amezcua, the owner of Adventures in Spanish.
Augmented reality technology allows the user to see the real world while overlaying virtual elements. It’s often used to enhance gaming experiences — think Pokémon GO — but researchers in the University of Washington’s Makeability Lab are using AR to improve accessibility for users who are blind, low-vision or have other disabilities. For example, the RASSAR app uses a smartphone to scan indoor spaces for safety and accessibility issues, while ARTennis uses an AR headset to help low-vision users...
The double-crested cormorant is one of many seabirds that love to eat salmon. The birds were driven away from East Sand Island near the mouth of the Columbia River decades ago in an effort to protect the fish, but wildlife managers are now responding to some unintended consequences. Roughly 10,000 cormorants now prefer to make their home on the Astoria-Megler bridge. The acid from their excrement, or guano, eats through the bridge coating which Oregon Department of Transportation workers must re...
Earlier this year, millions of dollars were allocated to counties across the state as part of a homelessness state of emergency. We hear from an organization based in rural Oregon that’s working on rehousing residents in Baker, Grant, Union and Wallowa counties. Connie Guentert is the executive director of Community Connection of Northeast Oregon, Inc. She joins us with details of the organization’s work.
Lone Fir Cemetery is one of the oldest continuously operating cemeteries in Portland. It also serves as a painful reminder of the racist and exclusionary treatment of Chinese immigrants who first arrived in Oregon in the mid-1800s, working as miners, merchants and other laborers. From the 1860s to the 1920s, roughly 2800 Chinese immigrants were buried in a section of Lone Fir known as Block 14. Ledgers were used to record the names of many of the people who were buried there so that the remains ...
Two dozen elected officials, law enforcement officers and substance use treatment providers traveled from Oregon to Portugal recently to learn about the country’s 20-year-old drug decriminalization program, which inspired Oregon’s voter-approved Measure 110. The trip was organized and largely paid for by the Health Justice Recovery Alliance, a statewide advocacy organization focused on implementing M110. The group met with Portuguese policymakers and addiction service professionals to learn how ...
After facing pandemic-era high inflation rates and a shift in migration, Oregon’s economy is stabilizing, according to a new forecast. The forecast also notes that economic recovery post-pandemic has been inclusive across the board, as people of all backgrounds are seeing lower poverty rates and higher rates of employment. Josh Lehner is an economist with the state. He joins us to share more on the state of Oregon’s current population trends and what the labor market is looking like.
With the presidential election less than a year away, a recent survey commissioned by the Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division highlights the challenges facing Oregon’s county clerks. Researchers at Reed College’s Elections & Voting Information Center surveyed nearly all of Oregon’s 36 county clerks who not only administer elections but also record property transactions and issue marriage licenses. But as the survey reveals, that job has become tougher and more stressful in recent ye...
Portland Public Schools students are out of class for the 10th day this month as the first strike in the district’s history continues. The Portland Association of Teachers claims the most recent offer it presented to the district would significantly reduce the financial gap between the two sides, but the district has disputed how much the proposal would actually save. Renard Adams is chief of research, assessment and accountability for PPS. Angela Bonilla is the president of PAT. They join us wi...
