Teachers with ADHD or autism are able to understand and advocate for the specific needs of their students. But, they can also face challenges when seeking resources to teach those same students. And, it can be difficult to get accommodations that help neurodivergent teachers do their best work at school. Alex Newson is a doctoral candidate in special education at the University of Oregon. Kathy Paxton-Williams is an English as a Second Language teacher in Portland. Madeline Numbers is a student ...
Jan 09, 2024•22 min
The West continues to be shaped by water issues. In Oregon, some floodplains affected by human interference are being restored to manage climate issues. And restoration projects are happening in California too. Dos Rios Ranch Preserve is a restored floodplain in the state’s Central Valley. The region has been affected by drought and flooding, but the restoration is helping to mitigate the effects of extreme weather on the landscape. Jake Bittle is a staff writer at Grist. He’s reported on these ...
Jan 09, 2024•12 min
The Portland Thorns have a new owner. Meritt Paulson sold to RAJ Sports, the sister and brother company that owns other franchises, including a stake in the Sacramento Kings in the NBA. The sale was more than a year in the making and came after years of investigations and reports of sexual harassment and abuse in the National Women’s Soccer League and the Thorns specifically. Other changes for the Portland team are in the offing, with the seasonal draft just around the corner. The team already l...
Jan 09, 2024•19 min
On December 28, 1973, President Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act. The landmark law has prevented 99% of animals and plants listed as threatened or endangered under its protection from going extinct, including the bald eagle, humpback whale and Florida manatee. But despite its success as a conservation tool, the ESA is not without its limitations and no longer has the bipartisan level of Congressional support it once enjoyed decades ago. Michelle Nijhuis is a contributing editor at...
Jan 08, 2024•18 min
Oregon and its child welfare system have been in and out of court since 2019, defending against a class action lawsuit on behalf of every child in foster care. The national advocacy group A Better Childhood and Disability Rights Oregon are pushing for adequate facilities and support and an end to the trauma they say kids suffer in state custody. Similar lawsuits have been brought in other states, including Tennessee, which implemented reforms following a settlement that resulted in improved outc...
Jan 08, 2024•14 min
The Portland Bureau of Transportation is managing a budget shortfall of about $32 million. Meanwhile, traffic deaths in Portland remain high with about 68 deaths recorded for last year, according to PBOT’s preliminary data. We hear more from Millicent Williams, the director of PBOT, on the agency’s future and managing traffic safety in the city.
Jan 08, 2024•20 min
Portland musician Jimmie Herrod has sung in many different kinds of venues for a variety of performances. He’s been a guest vocalist with Portland-based Pink Martini since 2017. He was a finalist on "America's Got Talent" in 2021, and his past shows include performances with numerous symphonies, including the Oregon Symphony and the National Symphony Orchestra. But his upcoming show with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony is a unique performance. The program consists of orchestral arrangements done...
Jan 05, 2024•23 min
Ben Hoffman is the first Oregon doctor to serve as president of the American Academy of Pediatrics in 84 years. A professor of pediatrics at Oregon Health & Science University, Hoffman has worked to promote injury prevention policies and advocacy training for pediatric residents. He joins us in studio to talk about his new role and what he sees as the biggest issues in children’s health care nationwide.
Jan 05, 2024•19 min
A fire ripped through the Portland Mercado food court early Wednesday morning. Vendors there are currently closed so that the damage can be fully assessed. The location has been a hub for Latino communities and featured food from countries including Mexico and Columbia. Hacienda Community Development Corporation owns the space. Ernesto Fonseca is the CEO of the organization. He joins us with details of the fire and what this means for the future of the Mercado.
Jan 05, 2024•11 min
Efforts to remove former president Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot are under way in multiple states, including in Oregon. The challenges rest on an obscure clause of the 14th Amendment that prohibits anyone who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding federal office. It’s unclear whether the clause applies to the presidency, but groups in Colorado and Maine successfully argued that Trump’s actions after the 2020 election disqualify him from running for office. Oregon Secretary o...
Jan 04, 2024•29 min
Over $3.6 million in federal funding will be given to the City of Salem and Umatilla and Clackamas Counties to improve street safety. The money will be used to develop and update road safety plans. Joseph Marek is the traffic safety program manager for Clackamas County. Treven Upkes is the deputy chief of the field operations division for the Salem Police Department. They join us to discuss what traffic safety looks like in their community and how they plan to use these new funds.
Jan 04, 2024•13 min
The local alt weekly in Eugene has been publishing community and regional news since 1982. It’s no purple prose to say that many readers consider Eugene Weekly to be an institution. So when editor Camilla Mortensen put out a letter explaining that the paper had suffered a huge blow from alleged theft and mismanagement by a longtime employee, the community responded with offers of help and donations of cold hard cash. Law enforcement are investigating, and Mortensen says the Eugene police chief p...
Jan 04, 2024•11 min
Where the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean meet the shallower waters of the Columbia River, the waves, the wind and the current combine to make what is often a very hazardous situation. More than 2,000 vessels and 700 lives have been lost at the Columbia Bar, and many more in the surrounding area, known as ‘The Graveyard of the Pacific.’ Christopher D’Amelio is one of a select few people who have qualified as surfmen for the U.S. Coastguard. Surfmen pilot rescue boats over sometimes huge waves a...
Jan 03, 2024•28 min
Last month, the Biden administration announced an agreement with four Northwest tribes, the states of Oregon and Washington, and environmental groups around the waterways of the Columbia River Basin. As a part of the agreement, the Federal Government commits to fund salmon restoration projects, build clean energy generation for the tribes and clear the pathway for the possible eventual removal of the four Lower Snake River dams. We talk to Nez Perce Tribal Chairman Shannon Wheeler, who is party ...
Jan 03, 2024•25 min
Soccer is a sport enjoyed around the world, but a new accessible version is growing. Amputee soccer follows many of the same rules as the original, but with a few differences. The field is smaller, teams have fewer players and, most notably, players use forearm crutches to balance, run and kick. The sport was created in Seattle in the 1980s as a way for amputee athletes to get out on the pitch. It’s been slowly gaining popularity since then, with teams and conferences across Asia, the Americas, ...
Jan 02, 2024•17 min
Above-normal temperatures have caused a slow start to the ski season in the Pacific Northwest. Many ski resorts at lower elevations in Oregon still haven’t opened, and resorts at higher elevations are starting the season with lower snowfall totals. Greg Pack is the president and general manager of Mt. Hood Meadows. Andrew Gast is the general manager of Mt. Ashland Ski Area and Lauren Burke is the director of marketing and communications for Mt. Bachelor. They join us with details.
Jan 02, 2024•22 min
From the housing crisis to public safety, Oregon has a whole set of new state laws taking effect in January. The laws range from targeting “paramilitary activity” to tax breaks for families with children. We learn more on what Oregonians can expect in the new year from OPB political reporter Dirk VanderHart.
Jan 02, 2024•14 min
Jonathan Lethem, the bestselling author of twelve novels, including “The Fortress of Solitude” and “Motherless Brooklyn,” has often focused his books on the Brooklyn neighborhood he grew up in. His newest, “Brooklyn Crime Novel,” makes the neighborhood a main character. The book examines gentrification, nostalgia and race, among other topics. Lethem spoke to Dave Miller in front of an audience at the 2023 Portland Book Festival.
Jan 01, 2024•53 min
The lack of affordable childcare in Oregon and the nation has been described as a crisis. In 2020, Multnomah County voters passed a tax on high income earners to fund the Preschool for All measure. The idea is to give access to quality early childhood education for every family in the county regardless of their ability to pay. The program is rolling out in phases and is now providing free preschool to some families for the second year. It has subsidized some existing preschool programs, but hasn...
Dec 29, 2023•52 min
A few years ago, when Gabe Piechowicz decided to change careers from logging to religious ministry, he didn’t imagine that his work would be almost exclusively focused on helping people get off the streets in Eugene. But shortly into his new career, he was calling local shelters to help find a place for some of his church’s neighbors and Dan Bryant answered his phone. Bryant is the founder and director of Opportunity Village, one of Oregon’s first village-model temporary shelters, informed by Di...
Dec 28, 2023•55 min
The Cedar Grove apartments in Beaverton were created by Community Partners Affordable Housing, or CPAH. The nonprofit has been working to create homes that Oregonians can actually afford to live in for 30 years now. This is part of a series of conversations we’re having this year about some of the biggest problems Oregon is facing, along with possible solutions. More than half of renters in Oregon don’t have enough money after they pay rent to be able to afford basics like food, child care or tr...
Dec 27, 2023•53 min
Fentanyl has taken over the illegal drug market largely due to its low cost and abundant supply. It’s fueling rising addiction rates, and those in need of treatment often have no options. Enter the Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde’s Great Circle Recovery program. Great Circle runs two clinics in Portland and Salem, as well as a mobile clinic. It serves not just tribal members, but anyone who’s struggling with addiction and wants help. We hear more about the nonprofit’s mission and how the...
Dec 26, 2023•53 min
The Oregon-based nonprofit LifeWorks NW began providing mental health services more than 60 years ago, long before the idea of providing mental health services in the community was recognized as a best practice. Today the nonprofit runs a variety of mental health treatment programs, including Adolescent Day Treatment and one of the state’s Early Assessment and Support Alliance programs. It’s also one of the three partners of the Bridge clinic at OHSU . As a part of a new OPB series tackling some...
Dec 25, 2023•52 min
We are joined by a panel of experts to look back at the biggest news stories from the Pacific Northwest in 2023. Nkenge Harmon Johnson is the president and CEO of the Urban League of Portland. Anna Griffin is the Vice President of News at OPB. And Scott Bruun is the Vice President of Government Affairs at Oregon Business & Industry, a statewide business advocacy group.
Dec 22, 2023•52 min
As 2023 comes to a close, the staff of OPB's "Think Out Loud" look back on some of their favorite conversations from the past year. Producers Allison Frost, Elizabeth Castillo, Gemma DiCarlo, Sage Van Wing and Sheraz Sadiq joined host Dave Miller in conversation.
Dec 21, 2023•53 min
Portland artist Yoonhee Choi has been hard at work creating giant glass wall hangings that will decorate the airport security area at the newly renovated Portland International Airport. Choi usually makes tiny collages from found materials, but her first public art commission, funded by the Regional Arts and Culture Council, will be nearly 56 feet long. Choi joins us to discuss what it means to make art for Oregon’s busiest airport.
Dec 20, 2023•20 min
Earlier this month, the Oregon Health Authority announced plans to offer free naloxone to middle and high schools throughout Oregon. In Oregon City schools, naloxone is already available. The district has also hosted public awareness events about fentanyl, counterfeit pills and drug overdoses. Michele Stroh is a board member of the Oregon City School District. She’s rallied behind these efforts, she says, to help keep students safe. Her son died from fentanyl poisoning in 2020. And she hopes tha...
Dec 20, 2023•15 min
The city of Portland hired Brandy Westerman to oversee its Safe Rest Villages and Temporary Alternative Shelter Sites. Westerman previously served as a senior executive at Mercy Corps, and has led humanitarian response teams in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries. She joins us to talk more about her new role as the city’s emergency humanitarian operations director, and her vision for homeless services in Portland.
Dec 20, 2023•19 min
In September, the newly redesigned Chelsea Anderson Memorial Play Station opened at Marshall Park in Vancouver. But this isn’t your typical playground. For one thing, wood chips have been replaced with smooth surfaces to allow children in wheelchairs easy access to play features, including a merry-go-round and swing, modified for their use and enjoyment. Instead of an abundance of steel and plastic, natural elements also abound, from a sensory garden to water features and a sandy play area for k...
Dec 19, 2023•21 min
Tribal governments have used the Endangered Species Act to litigate on behalf of imperiled, culturally important species like salmon and grizzly bears, but the law does not acknowledge tribal sovereignty and hunting rights. Anna V. Smith, associate editor of High Country News, joins us to talk about the complicated relationship between tribes and the 50-year-old law.
Dec 19, 2023•13 min
