Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt has lost his reelection bid. In a Wednesday afternoon statement, Schmidt said he called to concede his seat to opponent Nathan Vasquez, a longtime prosecutor in Schmidt’s office. As of 7 p.m. Wednesday, Vasquez had won 54% of the vote, with Schmidt trailing at 46%. Nathan Vasquez joins us to discuss his vision for the future of the criminal justice system in Multnomah County.
May 23, 2024•15 min
Oregon voters have now cast their ballots for the primary election. May primary elections tend to draw low turnouts, despite some big items on the ballot, including an open race for the Congressional seat held for nearly 30 years by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland), who announced his retirement last October. We hear from some of the winners of key Congressional, county and mayoral contests that were on the ballot. OPB political reporter Dirk VanderHart also joins us for analysis of the primary,...
May 22, 2024•51 min
The Bureau of Land Management oversees 245 million acres of public land across the U.S. More than 60% of that rangeland is being managed through leased livestock grazing allotments in Oregon and nine other Western states. But according to the nonpartisan Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, livestock grazing is the main reason why nearly 60 million acres of BLM rangeland fail the agency’s own standards for land health, which are used to assess soil and water quality, among other fa...
May 21, 2024•16 min
Jenny Don’t and The Spurs started more than a decade ago as a side project for a few members of Portland’s punk scene who were looking to explore a new sound. Since then, they’ve become known for their punk-tinged country style, as well as their eccentric outfits, and high-energy live shows. Founding members Jenny Don’t and Kelly Halliburton join us to talk about the band’s journey and its upcoming album, “Broken Hearted Blue.”
May 21, 2024•20 min
The Oregon Department of Transportation was part of a global hack last year that affected the data of about 3.5 million people with Oregon IDs or driver’s licenses. The information involved in the breach included dates of birth, physical addresses and the last four digits of Social Security numbers. Earlier this year, two Oregonians filed a lawsuit over the data breach. They say the state failed to protect the personal information of residents. How should government agencies be thinking about pr...
May 21, 2024•16 min
Nearly 30 years ago, Metro purchased a 27-acre property located on the east side of the Willamette River near the St. John’s neighborhood in North Portland. Before it can become a nature park with trails and beach access, Willamette Cove first needs to be cleaned up to remove toxic metals, dioxins and other pollutants lingering in the soil and water after decades of heavy industrial activity at the site. As planning for the cleanup gets underway, Metro recently asked residents for their opinions...
May 20, 2024•22 min
There has been a significant increase in player ejections for boys soccer and football games this year, according to the Oregon School Activities Association. An ejection is when a coach calls out a player for having unsportsmanlike behavior that can range from threats to physical violence. This year, Oregon’s boys soccer teams have accumulated 198 ejections -- a nearly 45% increase from last year. Peter Weber is the executive director of the Oregon School Activities Association. Michael Nolan i...
May 20, 2024•17 min
The small village of Taholah was built more than a century ago on the Quinault Indian reservation, where the ocean meets the Quinault River on the northern Washington coast. The village has been flooded more and more often over the years due to a changing climate. It’s far from the only community to be affected by rising oceans and temperature changes, but it’s one of the first to actually move because of it. The tribal council made the decision in 2017 and has been working ever since to ensure ...
May 20, 2024•14 min
Indigenous author, botanist and professor Robin Wall Kimmerer is best known for her book “Braiding Sweetgrass,” which was published in 2013 and is about the reciprocal relationships between humans and the land. Her first book, “Gathering Moss,” was published a decade earlier by Oregon State University Press. Kimmerer is in Corvallis to accept Oregon State University’s 2024 Stone Award for Literary Achievement. She will give a lecture on Friday, May 17th at 7pm.
May 17, 2024•52 min
You may not know it, but you’ve likely encountered a building designed by Pietro Belluschi before. The notable modernist architect designed over 30 public buildings in Portland and around Oregon, and numerous homes and churches. Belluschi was known as one of a group of architects creating a distinctive Northwest modernist style that matched his buildings to the landscape. Brian Libby, freelance architecture and design journalist, joins us to talk about Belluschi’s legacy which he recently wrote ...
May 16, 2024•18 min
Even before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, being able to terminate a pregnancy was not a choice available to everyone who wanted it-- particularly for those with low-incomes living in rural areas with no healthcare providers in their community. And since the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson ruling that returned the regulation of abortion to states, many state legislatures severely restricted the procedure, including medication abortions, which comprise more than half of all abortions in the...
May 16, 2024•18 min
Hundreds of people gathered over the last two days at the Newport Municipal Airport to practice setting up what’s called an Evacuation Assembly Point. The new equipment comes from the state Office of Resilience and Emergency Management, and contains tents, cots, medical supplies and food to create a central place for people who need to be airlifted to safety after an emergency on the coast, and also a staging place to receive incoming supplies. We talk to Ed Flick, Director of OREM, and Lincoln ...
May 16, 2024•17 min
Ben Kitching is a commercial photographer in Bend who specializes in adventure photography - think, for example, of an ad for kayaking equipment you might use or apparel you might wear while running rapids on the Rogue River. Last summer, Kitching embarked on a personal project that combines his skill in adventure photography with a documentary-like lens on a particular group of people he admires. The Oregon Outdoor Athlete Project has since grown to nearly 30 profiles of rock climbers, skiers, ...
May 15, 2024•21 min
Last week, Portland City Council unanimously approved new regulations for camping on public property. Effective immediately, the proposal allows people to camp on public property if there are no shelter beds available and also puts more restrictions on what is allowed while camping. This new ban limits the use of propane heaters, selling bicycle parts and blocking access to private property to name a few. The new ban replaces one that was introduced last year, but has been put on hold due to a j...
May 15, 2024•15 min
Both of Oregon’s Planned Parenthood branches recently welcomed new CEOs. Dr. Sara Kennedy will oversee Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette, which operates clinics in Vancouver, Washington, the Portland metro area, Salem, Bend and Ontario. Amy Handler will oversee Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon, which has clinics in the Eugene-Springfield area, Grants Pass and Medford. They’re taking over at a time when other states, including Idaho, continue to restrict access to abortion and other...
May 15, 2024•18 min
The streaming platform Twitch is most often used by gamers to broadcast live video game competitions and interact with fans. But it’s also home to a growing number of users who are posting news content. Researchers recently looked at how three outlets – the Washington Post, a left-leaning political commentator and a right-wing media channel – use the platform. While creating opportunities to build rapport with audiences, Twitch’s interactive features also break many of the journalistic norms int...
May 14, 2024•29 min
Earlier this month, the Malheur Enterprise reported that the remains of a 27-year-old Idaho woman had been found in a remote area of Malheur County. Last June, Gwen Brunelle told her family she was driving from Boise on a brief trip to California. Her car was found abandoned days later on a gravel pullout less than 30 miles west of the Idaho border. The breakthrough in the case came with the involvement of Aloft Drone Search, a nonprofit in Sherwood that uses aerial and underwater drones to sear...
May 14, 2024•13 min
Federal and state regulators are working with officials in states where an avian influenza has been found in dairy cows. So far, Oregon is not one of those states, but officials are taking precautions and coordinating with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among others. Jenifer Cruickshank is an assistant professor and dairy extension specialist at Oregon State University in Corvallis. She joins us to tell us...
May 14, 2024•11 min
The city of Bend recently launched a program that offers rebates to homeowners who give up their grass lawns in favor of native plants and low-water landscaping. It’s part of the city’s efforts to reduce its water usage by 7.9 billion gallons by 2040. The program is so popular that it maxed out its funding in a matter of weeks and is no longer taking new applications. Dan Denning is the water conservation program manager for the city of Bend. Rick Martinson is the founder and director of the Hig...
May 13, 2024•20 min
In 1915, U.S. Forest Service ranger Elijah “Lige” Coalman built a fire lookout cabin on the summit of Mt. Hood. The cabin served as a place to view incipient fires and a bit of a party spot, according to the new short documentary Cabin in the Sky: The Mount Hood Lookout. Filmmaker Ned Thanhauser joins us to share the history of the cabin, which lasted until 1940.
May 13, 2024•11 min
The United Methodist Church recently wrapped up its general conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. At the gathering, delegates removed bans on gay clergy and officiating same sex marriages. The decision comes after decades of disagreement over those policies. In the Pacific Northwest, the Oregon-Idaho conference has already been a fully inclusive ministry. Meanwhile, over the last few years, more than 7,000 congregations nationwide left the United Methodist Church. Many held more conservative ...
May 13, 2024•22 min
Erika Hayasaki’s book “Somewhere Sisters: a story of adoption, identity, and the meaning of family” explores a very complicated multi-family, multinational story. At the heart of the book are sisters: identical twins born in Vietnam. One was adopted by a wealthy family in the U.S., one was raised in rural Vietnam. We spoke to Hayasaki in 2022 in front of an audience at the Portland Book Festival.
May 10, 2024•43 min
: In her novel "The Dreamers," Portland writer Karen Thompson Walker explores the terrifying possibility of a world altered by a highly contagious disease. The disease causes people to fall into a seemingly endless sleep. We'll talk to Thompson Walker about her book, "The Dreamers."
May 09, 2024•43 min
In a 5-3 vote, the Umatilla County Planning Commission has recommended changes on the number of livestock residents can have. Under the proposed rules, single family dwellings are now allowed to have four small livestock animals per acre of property. The commission in a 7-1 vote also decided not to recommend proposed changes that would limit the number of fowl on a property. Both recommendations will now go to the county’s board of commissioners who will vote on the proposed changes at a June 5 ...
May 08, 2024•9 min
When SE Portland resident Hannah Wallace went out with members of her neighborhood association in December of 2020 and asked people living on the streets what they needed most, the two things they heard most were: showers and laundry facilities. Wallace started the Sunnyside Shower project in response. The project began at Sunnyside Methodist Church with Wallace and a handful of volunteer offering showers twice a week. It now has dozens of volunteers and people can come 3 days a week to get a sh...
May 08, 2024•21 min
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, an agency within the U.S. Department of Interior, recently announced next steps for developing floating wind facilities off the coast of Coos Bay and Brookings. These Oregon offshore wind turbines could power more than one million homes with renewable energy, according to the agency. Still, tribal leaders and commercial fishing groups remain concerned about how the projects could affect the ecosystem. We hear more about the latest developments from OPB clim...
May 08, 2024•14 min
Oregon's groundwater is being used faster than it’s being replenished, and the state’s aquifers are declining. The Oregon Water Resources Department is proposing new rules in response. The agency would change the way it decides if groundwater will be available for new users. Justin Iverson is the groundwater section manager for OWRD. He joins us to explain what we know about Oregon’s groundwater and what can be done to regulate its use.
May 07, 2024•10 min
It’s been just over a week since protesters took over the Branford Price Millar Library at Portland State University as part of demonstrations against Israel’s war in Gaza. Police eventually cleared the building and classes resumed last Friday, but the library remains closed as damage to the collections and facilities are assessed. Cris Paschild is an associate dean, university archivist and head of special collections at PSU. She joins us with more details on the Millar Library’s state and when...
May 07, 2024•14 min
In 2022, Oregon voters cast ballots for the first time in a newly created congressional district the state was awarded after the 2020 U.S. Census. The 6th Congressional District stretches from suburbs southwest of Portland to Salem, and includes all of Yamhill and Polk counties, as well as portions of Marion, Washington and Clackamas counties. We hear from two prominent candidates in the Republican primary vying for a chance to flip the seat in the fall. Mike Erickson is the founder and CEO of A...
May 07, 2024•21 min
Last week, crude oil started flowing through a newly expanded pipeline that stretches more than 600 miles from the tar sands of Canada’s Alberta province to an export terminal near Vancouver in British Columbia. The Canadian government spent $25 billion and more than four years to complete construction on the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion which will triple its capacity to ship nearly a million barrels of oil a day. But the project has also raised concerns about the threat of oil spills south...
May 06, 2024•14 min
