Beat Check with The Oregonian

This is episode two of Public Plea, a five-part series reported and produced by current and former University of Oregon journalists and professor Ed Madison. We're sharing the five-part series here over the next few days. Subscribe anywhere you listen to podcasts to get the episodes in your Beat Check feed. Here's the Public Plea website. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information....

A team of journalists at the university of Oregon spent the past year and a half delving deep into an issue that turned out to be exceptionally timely – what to do with young Oregonians who were convicted of serious crimes as juveniles. Current and former UO students and a journalism professor at the school produced a documentary and a podcast series that examines Oregon’s landmark mandatory minim...

This is episode one of Public Plea, a five-part series reported and produced by current and former University of Oregon journalists and professor Ed Madison. We talked with Ed Madison and Jordan Bentz, a freelance producer who worked with Madison and the students on the documentary and podcast project, on our regular episode this week. Listen to that episode to learn more about the project. We're...

Dozens of restaurants opened their doors in the past two years and are still standing – creating a business and winning customers in a pandemic and thriving in some cases despite the odds. So where does a hungry person go when there are so many great options – that’s where Michael Russell comes in.   I’m Andrew Theen and this is Beat Check with The Oregonian.    Up next – another conversation with...

Winter break is just around the corner. Then it will be 2022, somehow. Portland Public School teachers have a new year’s resolution: more time to prepare lessons, grade and help students falling behind. Their bosses say – not so fast. On the latest episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, we chat with Eder Campuzano, education reporter for the Oregonian and OregonLive. We talked about how the fir...

[This is a rebroadcast of an episode from March] Nora the polar bear has lived a tough life, and the fact that she’s alive — and back in Portland at the Oregon Zoo — is a miracle of sorts. Nora’s story represents so much more than the life and struggles of one bear. It’s about climate change, the effect it’s had on indigenous people and their livelihoods, and how we — humans — can respond to it. I...

For millions of Oregonians, Thanksgiving 2020 was smaller than expected. But with widespread vaccination – and now booster shots – Delta subsiding, many families are getting back together and can feel safer about doing it.   The CDC has some recommendations for people traveling to visit loved ones, if you are vaccinated Like getting tested in advance. But the main recommendation or everyone is sim...

The conservative majority on Newberg’s school board tripled down last week on its controversial policy to ban so-called political symbols like the Pride Flag and Black Lives Matter from classrooms and campuses.   The board voted 4 to 3 to oust the popular superintendent who helped steer the exurban district to financial stability in recent years.   It’s the latest surprising step from a school boa...

One of the country’s most famous companies is expanding in Oregon, and one city is carrying the water, legally speaking. That town sued to the public from knowing key details about the company’s plans. I’m Andrew Theen and this is Beat Check with The Oregonian.    Up next, Mike Rogoway, business and technology reporter for The Oregonian and OregonLive.   We talked about Google’s plans along the Co...

The University of Oregon’s track and field program is one of the best in the world, and the school has pushed the limits for decades to help athletes trim their times, boost their throws and jumps and live up to Eugene’s Track Town USA nickname. But some former female athletes said the school went too far.   On the latest episode of Beat Check, we hear from Ken Goe, the longtime and now retired re...

Sometimes in journalism, it’s like pulling teeth trying to obtain records from public agencies. Other times, the state accidentally sends sensitive records to your email box. Then it’s decision time. Therese Bottomly, the editor of The Oregonian and Oregon Live and Vice President of Content for The Oregonian Media Group, talks about the latest public records and transparency questions in our newsr...

Oregon’s state run prisons have had some of the worst workplace outbreaks during the pandemic. Now as the clock ticks toward a key deadline where prison staff must be vaccinated, a large number of workers are not. The state’s top prison official is saying those people may lose their jobs. Aquick thank you to our sponsor PacificSource Health Plans for supporting the show.     On the latest episode...

Portland is on pace to shatter the record for most homicides in a calendar year. It’s a confluence of factors. People lost their lives in all corners of the city, and there is no clear consensus on how to address the crisis    On the latest episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, veteran reporters Maxine Bernstein and Noelle Crombie talk about the rise in gun violence. Max has covered law enforc...

Willamette Falls is one of Oregon's most impressive natural wonders, but chances are you've never seen it up close. That may eventually change. On the latest episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, travel and outdoor writer Jamie Hale (also the co-host of the fantastic Peak Northwest podcast) talks about the long range plans that the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde and other tribes have f...

Perhaps nothing in our lifetimes has so universally affected humans than the coronavirus pandemic, and a new book from a Portland-based journalist has the ambitious goal of sharing more than two dozen stories from all around the country. On the latest episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, books columnist Amy Wang interviews Eli Saslow, the Portland-based reporter for The Washington Post and Pu...

--Students at Reynolds high school will be learning from home once again this week. Dozens of students have had to isolate so far for potential exposure on school buses in Portland and Lake Oswego. But all in all – students are back in classrooms and teachers are back in person. How’s it all going a few weeks in? On the latest episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, reporters Aimee Green and Fed...

The summer doldrums are here and fall is just around the corner – but some things don’t seem to change – Portland City Hall is filled with uncertainty and the mega project to expand I-5 through the rose quarter is once again filled with question marks. On the latest episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, we’ll tackle both of those ongoing stories.   On the first half of the show, City Hall repo...

Eighteen months into the pandemic, healthcare workers in hospitals and intensive care units in Oregon are still at it. They are tired, frustrated and feeling forgotten. It’s a tense time and unvaccinated Oregonians continue to show up at their doors, some failing to believe in the very virus that sent them there in the first place.   On the latest episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, Jeff Man...

It’s the first week of class for Portland public school students and many others around the state return in a matter of days. But the Delta variant of COVID-19 is spreading and most students are still unvaccinated. It’s an exciting and nerve-wracking time.   What do we make of it all?   On the latest episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, reporters Eder Campuzano and Aimee Green talk about how...

Public students are going back to school full-time in the coming days for the first time in 18 months. We figured this was worth a couple episodes of the podcast. My colleague, Julie Evensen, interviewed Dr. Whitney Casares, a Portland pediatrician, about what parents should keep in mind when it comes to Delta, return to school, the vaccines and much more. This conversation ran on our Facebook acc...

Beer is part of the culture in Oregon, and a year and a half into the pandemic, the renowned industry is tired, but still standing.   Some big names are gone. Others expanded. And Beervana is once again seeing new businesses enter the crowded field. Oh and Delta is still looming   On the latest episode of Beat Check, Andre Meunier, breaking news new editor and beer writer for The Oregonian, talks...

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Oregon has been one of the best performing states. We had some of the lowest infection rates, hospitalizations and deaths per capita in the nation. But now the Delta variant is surging here, infection rates and hospitalizations are a big concern. Mask mandates are back. How did we get here?   On the latest episode of Beat Check, reporters Aimee Green and Ted Sicki...

Where do people experiencing homelessness go when their campsite is swept away? And how does Portland fare on the issue compared to other cities? Is it possible that Portland has more resources and a better plan? On the latest episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, reporter Nicole Hayden talks about the latest issues surrounding homelessness in Portland We talked about the recent sweep of a lon...

What companies belong on Oregon’s Mt. Rushmore? Nike. TexTronix. Les Schwab Tire Centers….and now Dutch Bros? The Grants Pass based drive through coffee company’s success isn’t new, but it’s decision to go public is putting the company in rarefied air. It may soon be one of Oregon’s most valuable companies. On the latest episode of Beat Check, business reporter Mike Rogoway talks about Dutch Bros...

How far would you go to investigate a murder in your family? What if one parent was accused and convicted of killing the other? One Vancouver woman has made reopening the case her life. On the latest episode of Beat Check, reporter Doug Perry talks about his four part series digging deep into a murder in Vancouver that occurred more than three decades ago. It’s a story of a family torn apart and o...