OPB Audio

Earlier this month, the Pharmacy Foundation of Oregon announced it was awarded more than $5 million from the Oregon Health Authority to expand pharmacy access in rural and frontier communities. The need is particularly acute in Oregon. According to an analysis by AP in 2024 using data from the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs, Oregon has the second fewest retail pharmacies per capit...

Warm Springs rancher Jason Smith has helped manage the wild horse population on the reservation for decades. Now, he and partner Kremena Doust are helping keep the horses safe from a nearby wildfire.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 18,500 professional tailors, dressmakers and seamstresses in 2024. That’s a 30% drop from a decade before. The median age for the profession is 54, and unlike other skilled labor industries, not enough young people are filling in for those who are retiring. What are the challenges of this work and why don’t more young people want to do it? To...

In January of 2027, people on Medicaid will need to meet a slate of new requirements mandated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or HR1. Some people on the Oregon Health Plan will need to confirm that they are working, volunteering or attending school every six months. And everyone will need to renew twice a year, rather than once every two years. All this paperwork will be handled by the Oregon D...

Reed College recently settled a pair of complaints from former students who said they were targeted and harassed for being Jewish. The college agreed to update its discrimination policy, implement new training for students, faculty and staff and appoint a coordinator for Title VI civil rights complaints, among other changes. For a student perspective on the settlement, we’re joined by Reed Student...

As Moda Center deal looms, Portland city officials at the center of negotiations weigh in

By Monday, the Bench fire burning in Warm Springs grew to more than 40,000 acres after combining with the Beachcomb fire. At least six homes and five buildings have been lost, according to state fire officials. Hundreds of people are under Level 3 “Go Now!” evacuation orders, with more than a thousand others under lower evacuation levels. Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Tribal Council Chair De...

Portland city officials are rapidly approaching the Aug. 12 deadline to begin negotiations for a Moda Center deal. With both city officials and Trail Blazers management firm in their stance, the threat of a Trail Blazers relocation has crept into NBA discourse. NBA reporters Mike Vorkunov and Yaron Weitzman join us to discuss further about the possibility of a Blazers relocation, and what cities m...

Firefighting crews are working around the clock to contain the dozens of wildfires burning across Central, Eastern and Southern Oregon. The Oregon Department of Forestry is coordinating with state, local and federal agencies to contain large wildfires that have triggered level 1, 2 and 3 evacuations and led to air quality advisories in more than a third of the counties in the state. The agency’s c...

Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon has existed since 1872 under various names and is one of the largest employers in the rural region. It’s also one of the most affordable Universities for students in the surrounding areas. But financial troubles have brought the university to the brink of closure.

Women across the Pacific Northwest compete in the Larry Bell Memorial All Girls Rodeo

Over the weekend, the Bench and Beachcomb fires experienced extreme fire activity and merged to create one fire now known as the Bench Fire. With three potential fronts reportedly threatening the Warm Springs community.

Portlander Aliyah Tan recently won first place at the National Yo-Yo Contest in Las Vegas. It was the first time Tan took the spot spot since she started competing at nationals in 2014. Tan’s winning routine, set to music by the British rock band The Last Dinner Party, featured three minutes of elaborate string tricks between two yo-yos. She now heads to the World Yo-Yo Contest in Himeji, Japan, n...

Tribal police departments in Washington employ police officers who have been fired at a disproportionate rate, according to new reporting from InvestigateWest. At the state level, tribal law enforcement only makes up about 2.5% of the police force, but they hire four times more officers who were previously fired or resigned in lieu of termination than other departments. Melanie Henshaw reported on...

On July 19, Portland celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the BIKETOWN bike-share program with a record-setting electric bike ride. With 1,069 attendees, Portland shattered the Guinness record for largest e-bike ride, more than doubling the previous record set by Seattle. Director of Portland Bureau of Transportation, Millicent Williams joins us to discuss the record-breaking e-bike ride, and ref...

Cascade Head UNESCO Biosphere is doing well despite losing federal funding and not getting much direction from the United Nations.

For a group of incarcerated girls at the Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility in Albany, a natural hair care program is providing both training and styling.

The board is taking up an aspirational proposal to rename the center, reduce its primate population over time and invest in new approaches.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek visited fire crews in Sisters, where the nearby Akawa Butte Fire has already burned at least two homes. Officials say it's the number one priority wildfire in the nation.

More than 500,000 acres have burned in Oregon from wildfires that were sparked last week by lightning storms. That includes the Rowe Creek Complex that has grown to roughly 150,000 acres and triggered level 1, 2 and 3 evacuation notices for residents in Wheeler and Wasco counties. The fires have also led to air quality advisories for more than a third of the counties in the state. Rangeland Fire P...

Last year over 7,000 people gathered on camp chairs and picnic blankets to hear the opera “Carmen” at Peninsula Park in Portland. It was a performance staged by the organization Opera in the Park, which aims to share the love of opera with as many people as possible. This year the organization will bring the Oregon premiere of the world's first Mariachi opera, “Cruzar la Cara de la Luna,” to both...

Nearly 30% of people who experienced homelessness in Clark County last year were children. That’s according to a recent report by the Council for Homelessness, which also found that the percentage of family households stabilized through rent assistance dropped by 5% last year. For families experiencing homelessness in Vancouver, they may have to wait months until a spot becomes available at the fe...

Resources are stretched thin in an already grueling fire season in Oregon.

Public and private universities alike are facing increasing financial strain with rising costs, limited funding and tuition already unaffordable for many. Now two of Oregon’s private universities have decided to merge, in large part to save money. Willamette University and Pacific University are the oldest colleges in Oregon and the entire Western U.S., predating Oregon statehood. Leaders of both...

Glendon Smith is the inaugural tribal liaison for the Oregon State Police. Since 2023, he’s been responsible for establishing relationships with Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes and educating state troopers on how to interact with tribal citizens and other law enforcement agencies. He recently received a public service ambassador award from Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek for his work. Smith joins...