Beat Check with The Oregonian

Portland City Hall reporter Shane Dixon Kavanaugh talks about what’s going on with Mayor Ted Wheeler. Obviously Oregon, Portland and the nation are coping with a lot right now. We talked about that, but also discussed Wheeler’s policy priorities, the two high profile public confrontations he experienced this January, why he hired former mayor Sam Adams and what all of his staff shakeups may mean f...

Public health officials in Josephine County were headed home from a vaccine clinic in Cave Junction as a snowstorm hit Tuesday. A jackknifed semi blocked their way home, and six doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were about to expire. Up next, reporter Noelle Crombie talks to Mike Weber, Josephine County’s public health director, about the fateful trip and how staff administered the six doses to lucky...

Donald Trump’s presidency is over, and President Joe Biden has pledged sweeping immigration reforms. Those plans may include a path to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of people brought to the US as children. It’s a familiar story, but this time there may be some momentum. On the latest episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, reporter Eder Campuzano talks about what a new administration in...

COVID-19 has affected everything in our world — including the long-term plans for people hoping to start a family with help from fertility clinics like those housed at OHSU in Portland. The pandemic proved to be a fatal blow for IntegraMed, an obscure company with a decade long relationship with OHSU. The she company went bankrupt, owing nearly $20 million to thousands of people around the country...

It hasn’t yet been a month since Oregon received its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines. How are we doing?  In typical Oregon fashion – we’re doing OK. Better than some states, not as well as others, but demand for the vaccine is outpacing supply, and even supplies aren’t reaching Oregonians – and their arms – as quickly as anyone would like. On this episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, repo...

How did we change in 2020, and what does 2021 have in store as the nation, we hope, gradually emerges from the pandemic? Reporter Lizzy Acker shares perspectives from The Oregonian/OregonLive's readers. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s finally time to turn the page on 2020 and look ahead to what 2021 will bring. Reporters Kale Williams and Lizzy Acker and visual journalist Dave Killen joined host Andrew Theen to talk about the tumultuous year. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As 2020 comes to a close, more Oregonians are struggling to pay for their housing. This week on Beat Check with The Oregonian, reporter Jamie Goldberg talks about the challenges facing renters, homeowners and business owners. The state Legislature is expected to confront the issue in some form on Monday, the same day this episode is released. But their action now might only delay — not solve — a l...

The first healthcare workers in Oregon were vaccinated against COVID-19 on Wednesday, a historic moment in the pandemic that’s killed more than 1200 Oregonians in less than a year. On this episode, we hear from one of the first Oregonians to receive the vaccine. Jeremy Howard is a respiratory therapist at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center in Northwest Portland, where he’s worked since 2003. We...

When a serial stalker terrorized multiple families with young daughters earlier this year, a Northeast Portland neighborhood did what the Portland Police Bureau couldn’t – they banded together and tracked down a suspect, who was ultimately arrested on a warrant for a previous charge. On this episode, reporter Maxine Bernstein talks about her recent story highlighting that stalking case and what it...

Cole Herrington, the 20-year-old man who survived what experts and observers say was likely a great white shark attack Dec. 6, talks to The Oregonian/OregonLive about his surreal encounter. Herrington spoke with Noelle Crombie from his hospital bed at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in North Portland. Here's Noelle's story. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about...

It’s been a hard year — but for tens of thousands of Oregonians, these are desperate times. And amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the ensuing recession and the state’s wildfires, help has been even harder to find. On this episode, journalists highlight some of the charities and social service groups featured in The Oregonian/OregonLive's Season of Sharing campaign. You'll hear from newsletters and speci...

At nearly two dozen Oregon workplaces that would later suffer major COVID-19 outbreaks, state regulators got an early heads up in the form of complaints from workers or their representatives. State officials inspected just two of these factories, prisons and other potential hotspots before the virus ripped through, sickening dozens in each case. Investigative reporter Rob Davis and business report...

More than 95,000 people filed sex-abuse claims against the Boy Scouts of America before a key deadline passed last week in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. It's an astonishing figure that, according to victims' attorneys, exceeds the number of claims ever filed against the Catholic Church. The avalanche of sex abuse filings that forced the youth organization into bankruptcy has its origins in a Por...

If you thought COVID-19 was in the rear view mirror, you’re wrong. Now, Oregon faces its toughest restrictions since March as cases spike across the state, threatening to overload the healthcare system. On this episode, investigative reporter Brad Schmidt talks about the statewide "freeze" ordered by the governor and answers questions submitted by readers about a whole range of topics. Sign up for...

Winter is coming, and with it, huge questions for Portland’s already struggling food and bar scene. On this episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, restaurant reporter and critic Michael Russell talks about the state of the restaurant industry right now. We talked about the big names and brands like Pok Pok and Beast that have closed their doors for good, why businesses are nervous about the lon...

Oregon voters overwhelmingly approved Measure 110, decriminalizing small amounts of heroin and other street drugs. Now what? On this bonus episode, The Oregonian and OregonLive’s Noelle Crombie talks about Measure 110, how this isn’t the first time the state took a historic step on drug reform, how the Legislature is reacting and how the pioneering vote is creating waves around the country and bey...

All eyes were on the top of the ticket Tuesday, but in this election night episode, journalists from The Oregonian/OregonLive discuss the potential impact of down-ballot races in Oregon and the Portland metro area. You can support this podcast and our local journalism with a subscription to OregonLive. Go to oregonlive.com/podsupport. Thank you. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out inform...

Oregonians love vote-by-mail. Do we actually how it works? On this episode, politics editor Betsy Hammond talks about the nitty gritty details behind our vote by mail system and the task ahead for much of the rest of the country at states are now trying to figure out — during a pandemic no less — what Oregon has been refining since 1998. We talked about voter turnout, what to expect on election ni...

Finally, ballots have arrived — or are arriving imminently — at Oregonians' mailboxes. On this episode, politics reporters Hillary Borrud and Everton Bailey Jr. discuss the big stories and issues they are tracking this year. We talked about the Portland mayor's race, the secretary of state contest, the proposed Portland police oversight reform measure and much more. You can support this podcast an...

Businesses across the state are locked into a new normal — and any true economic revival could be years away. But things could actually be much worse. On this episode, reporter Mike Rogoway talks about the latest unemployment figures and the overall state economic forecast and explains why things aren’t as bad as experts feared they would be. We also talked about downtown's struggles, how the rece...

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and challenger Sarah Iannarone faced off in their first televised debate this week, making their final pitch to voters before ballots start arriving in mailboxes next week. Wheeler and Iannarone discussed their stances on police reform, homelessness, the COVID-19 pandemic, how to rebuild Portland’s economy and much more. The debate was moderated by The Oregonian/OregonLi...

As Oregon starts the monumental task of digging out from the most destructive fires in recent history, Phoenix and Talent, two small towns sandwiched between Medford and Ashland, face an unbelievable challenge. On this episode, reporters Noelle Crombie and Ted Sickinger talk about how the Almeda fire tore through those two Jackson County towns, devastating thousands of homes and ripping the commun...

A pandemic, months of racial justice protests and devastating fires haven’t stopped TriMet’s buses and trains from running. But where does the transit agency go from here? On this episode, a conversation with TriMet general manager Doug Kelsey about this challenging year and how its affected the agency and its staff, the future of public transit and why he says TriMet needs another federal stimulu...

After a tumultuous and frightening week of catastrophic wildfires, Oregonians finally have a chance to breathe — literally and figuratively. But for thousands of families, here is no home to go back to. On this episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, Jamie Goldberg and Samantha Swindler talk about their experiences covering the Riverside fire, which raced through Clackamas County and led to wide...