OPB's daily conversation covering news, politics, culture and the arts. Hosted By Dave Miller.
According to the latest economic forecast, Oregon’s economy is steady. But at the same time, state economists say that job growth over the past few years has been at some of the state’s lowest levels in recent history. The forecast also found that there is a 50% chance for Oregonians to see another kicker in 2026. Josh Lehner interim state economist for Oregon. He joins us with more.
Floating offshore wind projects are slowly moving forward off the coasts of California and Southern Oregon. The projects could power millions of homes, but they’ve also raised concerns from tribal governments, environmental organizations and the commercial fishing industry. The Pacific Offshore Wind Consortium aims to address some of those questions. Made up of centers at Oregon State University, Cal Poly Humboldt and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the consortium will conduct research and provide pub...
The Sisters Rodeo has begun. The event will last through June 9 and features multiple performances and a parade. Next month, St. Paul will host its rodeo over the 4th of July. The rodeos have run for more than 80 years and host thousands of spectators in their rural communities. We hear more about the events from Brian Greig, the director of sponsorships and marketing for the Sisters Rodeo Association and Karen McKillip, the general manager for the St. Paul Rodeo.
We’re taking a deep dive into people’s work lives. We want to learn what it takes to do different jobs and how these professions change us. On the latest installment of our series, we visit Freeland Spirits in Portland, which is owned and run by women. Master Distiller Molly Troupe creates spirits, like gin and whiskey. She takes us behind the scenes and shares more about her craft and the rye whiskey—grown and distilled in Oregon—that Freeland recently released.
The Pamplin Media Group announced Monday that the Portland Tribune and more than two dozen of its other local newspapers in Oregon had been sold to Mississippi-based Carpenter Media Group. As reported in Willamette Week, Ross Island Sand & Gravel, part of R.B. Pamplin Corp., has been under fire for its failure to refill the cavernous hole it dug while mining the Willamette River bottom from 1926 to 2001. The R.B. Pamplin Corp., which has a variety of business holdings, had been struggling fi...
Since 2007, the Oregon Game Project Challenge teaches middle and high school students in Oregon how to go from video game players, to developers in a year long competition. Every season a new theme is announced and competitors have the entire school year to develop a video game from start to finish, including coding, art and sound design. This year's competition was in mid-May, and the team Toast Lads from Century High School won best in show for their game, MARK3T M3TAL. Jason Pelkey is their t...
There’s a new entry in Portland’s art scene. But it’s not your typical exhibit or art show where the canvases or sculptures are carefully curated and displayed to be enjoyed from a respectful distance. Instead, Fathom is an underwater-themed immersive art experience abounding with opportunities for interaction, whether it’s the 21-foot-long, animatronic humpback whale that sings at the touch of a button, glowing treasure chests, a room of infinity mirrors to get lost in or a giant, illuminated c...
In December 2023, news broke that a nurse at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center reportedly stole fentanyl from patients in the intensive care unit, by replacing their IV medication with tap water. This wasn’t the first time narcotics were stolen by an employee at the hospital, and it isn’t the only hospital in Oregon where this is happening. Poor data collection and oversight makes drug diversions hard to track among local, state and federal agencies. Kaylee Tornay is a reporter for Investigat...
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Oregon Department of Agriculture recently announced the closure of shellfish harvesting throughout the entire Oregon coast. In Washington, officials have also closed shellfish harvesting throughout the state’s Pacific Coast. Agencies are checking for a marine biotoxin which can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning. The naturally occurring biotoxin affects the nervous system. People with paralytic shellfish poisoning can experience tingling of the...
When you think of wetlands, you probably think of marshy areas around lakes and rivers. But there are also wetlands in the damp forests of the Pacific Northwest. And those wetlands can be very important for storing carbon and helping to slow climate change. Researchers in Washington are mapping the forested wetlands of the West. Natalia Mesa, Editorial Fellow for High Country News, joins us to talk about the effort, and the importance of wetlands, which she recently wrote about....
Iron is one of the cheapest and most abundant metals on the planet, unlike nickel and cobalt, which are used in lithium-ion batteries to power electric vehicles, and ubiquitous devices, from mobile phones to laptops. Oregon State University chemistry researcher Xiulei “David” Ji is an author of a new study that shows iron can be used to replace metals that are scarce, expensive and can be environmentally damaging to extract. He hopes this technology will be the spark for a green battery technolo...
Since 2006, more than 52,000 police guns were used in crimes across the U.S. In many cases, these weapons ended up in the hands of the general public in completely legal ways. Law enforcement agencies, including the Oregon State Police and the Portland Police Bureau, have sold or traded-in their firearms to gun stores or manufacturers in order to obtain newer models. Chris Hacker is an investigative data reporter with CBS News who reported on this trend in collaboration with The Trace and Reveal...
Two years ago, a Portland Jewish family’s home was destroyed in an arson. As they got rid of all their burned belongings, the one thing they couldn’t bear to do was toss out with the rest of the burned remains a 100 year-old Steinway grand piano that had belonged to “Grandma Bess.” Much of it was intact, though not restorable. They reached out to musicians and artists and ultimately found their way to Jennifer Wright. She’s a classical pianist by training, a composer and a sound artist who works...
A bike garden in Vancouver will have its grand opening next month. Also known as traffic gardens, these types of spaces help children and adults practice bike and road safety in a controlled environment. Will Grimm is the lead design and project manager for the Heights Bike Garden. Fionnuala Quinn is the director of Discover Traffic Gardens and consulted on the project. They join us with details.
The Vancouver Master Chorale is in its 75th year of performing a range of choral music with a crew of volunteer singers. The choir has gone through several names and directors since 1949, and has toured across Canada, Europe and Hawaii. Today, the choir has grown to more than 100 members and performs everything from Beethoven to Billy Joel. Jana Hart is the music director for the Vancouver Master Chorale. Brenda Hall has been a member since 1974, and Daniel Trushov joined just last year. We talk...
Portland is known as a coffee city – but some cafes are not only serving drinks, but a cause as well as nonprofits. Taylor Bolan is the manager of The Porch Coffee Space. Christina Horigan is the co-founder of Jubilee Hall. They both join us to share more about the work they’re doing and how they see this movement in the city.
Whether it’s a walk in the park, hike in the forest or tending to a backyard garden, there’s ample subjective and scientific evidence that being in nature can have beneficial effects for us, from relieving stress to improving our mood. But less is known about what role the scents of nature, from the unmistakable odor of a pine tree to chemicals emitted by plants that are below our conscious awareness, influence human health and behavior. In a recently published paper, a team of scientists in the...
Five years ago, the national advocacy group A Better Childhood teamed up with local nonprofit Disability Rights Oregon to file a class action lawsuit against Oregon’s Department of Human Services. The state’s child welfare system had been sued individually many times over the years over horrific outcomes in individual cases. But this class action was the first of its kind, representing all current and future children and youth in foster care in Oregon. It didn't seek monetary damages — only tang...
Oregon strawberries are renowned for their deep-red color and exceptional sweetness. They’re a special fruit, but the high sugar content that makes their flavor pop also makes them difficult to ship and store. Most of the state’s berries go into the processed market, to be used in ice cream, pastries and other goodies. But as reported in the Capital Press, California strawberries account for more and more of that market, meaning fewer profits for Oregon farmers. The shift has led to a decline in...
Gaza war protesters at two Oregon universities have made progress on their demands after weeks of demonstrations On Friday, the Associated Students of Portland State University and PSU President Ann Cudd released a joint statement condemning the violence in Gaza and announcing new initiatives on campus. At the University of Oregon, a deal has been struck to disband the encampment students established more than three weeks ago. Tiffany Camhi is the higher education reporter for OPB. Nathan Wilk i...
A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recently recommended the approval of a new blood test that can detect colon cancer. This comes at a time when more young people are getting diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Flavio Rocha is the physician-in-chief at OHSU’s Knight Cancer Institute. He joins us to share more on what this trend means and what new advances in technology can tell us.
It’s been three months since the main branch of the Multnomah County Library reopened after being closed for nearly a year for renovations. The improvements include new and updated meeting rooms, a new designated teen space, new gender-inclusive and family restrooms, charging and internet improvements and a variety of safety changes, like lowered shelves, new fire alarms and air quality monitoring equipment. Shelly Jarman, the regional manager of the Central branch, says library staffers are wel...
Oregon’s largest school district is facing a $30 million deficit and the prospect of cutting some 250 positions districtwide. Interim Superintendent Sandy Husk has presented her proposed budget, which the school board tentatively approved last week. Schools across the state face budget cuts, citing rising costs, limited state funding, the end of federal COVID relief money, heightened student needs since the pandemic and declining student enrollment. Portland also experienced its first-ever teach...
Author David Grann often writes about obsession. His stories feature people doing extraordinary, and often dangerous or morally questionable things, in pursuit of ambitious goals. He’s the author of the books “Lost City of Z,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and his newest, “The Wager.” Grann is also obsessive about the research and details he puts into his books. We talk to Grann in front of a group of students at Nelson High School in Happy Valley.
A new sport could be coming to schools across Oregon. At the beginning of this school year the Oregon School Activities Association voted to make boys volleyball an emerging sport, meaning that it has the potential to become an official sport through OSAA. But how does boys volleyball differ from the girls version of the sport? And how much interest has the game had in schools? To answer these questions and more, we’re joined by Emily Kernen, the head volleyball coach for the boys team and the f...
Earlier this month, the body of a juvenile gray whale was found washed onto a beach in Bandon on the Southern Oregon coast. Bite marks on the body suggested it was likely killed by orcas, which hunt gray whales. Typically, reports of a beached whale would trigger a response from government officials to authorize the collection of samples to determine the cause of death. But in this case, officials at the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department went one step further. Realizing the cultural signifi...
Teachers and classified staff at Gresham High School recently held a vote of no confidence against school leadership and called for the removal of Principal Erika Whitlock. The vote follows what teachers have described as two years of growing disciplinary concerns, including students skipping class, bringing weapons to school and getting into increasingly violent fights. It also comes as the union continues to negotiate its contract with the district. Christopher Keizur is an associate editor an...
Salem voters appear to have elected a new mayor. Julie Hoy, a restaurant owner and Salem city council member, appears to have defeated incumbent Chris Hoy, although he still has yet to concede. Julie Hoy holds a 12-point lead in the race, according to primary election returns posted on the Oregon Secretary of State’s website Friday morning. The two Hoys are unrelated. According to the Salem Reporter, Julie Hoy raised nearly $300,000 - a record for a Salem mayoral race - mainly from businesses an...
Wildland firefighters across the West now have access to a large network of cameras monitored by AI to alert them to wildfires when they start. University of Oregon’s Oregon Hazards Lab, along with collaborators at other universities, have partnered with the company ALERTWest to monitor the cameras 24/7. When an algorithm detects smoke or fire, an operations center will be alerted, and dispatchers will then alert the appropriate fire manager. Doug Toomey, director of OHAZ, will join us to discus...
The Oregon State Bar has started to license paralegals, allowing them to offer some legal help that previously could only be provided by lawyers. The program is one of a handful nationwide and gives licensed paralegals the opportunity to provide assistance in housing and family law. Sue Gerhardt is a longtime paralegal who recently received her license through the Oregon State Bar. She joins us with more about what this means for Oregonians in need of family or housing law services.
