Think Out Loud

Administrative law judge Vadim Mozyrsky and public policy director Meghan Moyer rose to the top of a five-person primary race this spring for the District 1 seat on the Multnomah County Commission. Neither, however, received at least 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff for the general election in November.  We’ll hear from both candidates about how they hope to represent the district, whi...

Oregon voters will decide the fate of five statewide ballot measures this November, including Measure 118. Also known as the “Oregon Rebate,” it would impose a 3% tax on a company’s sales above $25 million in Oregon. That money would then be distributed evenly to every Oregonian – roughly $1600 per person – regardless of age or income, starting in 2026 as either direc...

While the fate of the nation seems to ride on which of the major party presidential candidates will win the November election, the stakes are arguably as high for Congressional races around the country. The result of a couple dozen of them - including a few in Oregon - will determine whether Republicans or Democrats control the House. In the 4th District, Val Hoyle is a first-term incumbent Democr...

New data from the Oregon Department of Education show that students in the state are still struggling with reading, math and science as they still have not bounced back to pre-pandemic levels. Test results show that less than half of students tested are proficient in English language arts and less than a third are proficient in math. Charlene Williams is the director of ODE. She joins us to share...

For the first time, Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have been found in Oregon. Emilio DeBess is the state public health veterinarian based at the Oregon Health Authority’s Public Health Division. He says the insects are a national concern ”because they can carry and transmit various diseases that can have serious health consequences such as Zika virus, chikungunya, dengue and yellow fever.&rd...

It’s an open race this fall for Oregon Secretary of State. The office oversees elections and audits of state agencies, among other responsibilities. Interest in the race has been ignited recently by the discovery that the Oregon DMV accidentally registered hundreds of noncitizens to vote through an error in the state’s Motor Voter system. If voters pass Measure 117 in November, the win...

In 2022, Portland residents voted to drastically change the city’s form of government. That includes using ranked choice voting to expand the city council from five seats to 12. Another change is the creation of four geographic districts, with voters in each district electing three candidates to represent them on the new council. District 1 is in the far east side of Portland, including neig...

Amy Tan might be best known for her fiction, including "The Joy Luck Club" and "The Kitchen God’s Wife," but her latest book takes its drama from her backyard bird feeder. In 2019, Tan began drawing birds she saw in nature, particularly the ones who visited her tree-filled backyard in Northern California. The result is a book of reflections, observations, detailed drawings and cartoon sketch...

Rhythm Traders, a Northeast Portland drum shop that has been open for over 30 years, is welcoming two other music businesses into its building. Together, the three businesses hope to create a sort of living room for Portland musicians, and long term stability for their own stores. Ryan Lynn, owner of Eastside Guitar Repair, and Hank Failing, owner of Hank’s Music Exchange, join us to talk ab...

As first reported in The Columbian, a family of therapists has opened a new mental health urgent care clinic in Vancouver. Birchstone Mental Health Urgent Care aims to fill a gap between the emergency room where people experiencing mental health crises often end up and weekly therapy sessions. The clinic does not accept insurance, though it does offer a sliding scale for some patients who cannot a...

An ombudsman investigation in Portland found evidence of predatory towing at a group of apartment complexes in the Cully neighborhood. The report says towing practices financially and emotionally harmed residents, most of whom identify as low-income and Latino. It also found that the influx of towing impacted clients and staff at a nearby county-run health clinic and community center. Tony Green i...

For a third time, a federal judge has ruled that Wellpath — one of the nation’s largest for-profit providers of health care to people in prisons and jails — wrongfully deleted emails connected to in-custody deaths.  Wellpath operates in at least 10 correctional facilities in Oregon and Washington, and has purged email evidence in at least three wrongful death cases in the Pa...

Radon is a naturally occurring, invisible and odorless gas released from the decay of radioactive metals like uranium found in soil, rocks and groundwater. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, it’s also the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S., and claims more than 20,000 lives annually. Homes are a major source of radon exposure which testing kits can be used to moni...

Among the U.S. Congressional races that are being closely watched in this year’s general election is Oregon’s 6th Congressional District. It stretches from the suburbs southwest of Portland down into Salem, and includes all of Yamhill and Polk counties, along with portions of Marion, Washington and Clackamas counties. Voters cast their ballots for the first time in this district in 202...

The Portland Fermentation Festival – also known as “Stinkfest” – is a celebration of all things fermented, from kimchi and kombucha to pickles and miso. Started in 2009, the festival returned last year after taking a three-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic. Once attendees pay admission, all of the featured fermented products are free to sample, trade and take home. W...

As buildings like the Keller Auditorium and iconic Portland sights such as the Burnside Bridge are approaching a remodel, could a fresh new look save Portland’s downtown? As argued in The New York Times, cities across the country and world are finding hope in new architecture. Tim Eddy is the founding principal architect and president of Henneberry Eddy. He joins us to share his thoughts on...

Salem’s downtown has seen some local businesses shut their doors in recent years, but the Salem Reporter found that the economy is still strong there. Currently the vacancy rate for store fronts stands at 3.8%, and about half of the available spaces have new tenants within 6 months. Abbey McDonald is the homelessness and housing reporter for the publication. She joins us to share more. 

Native Hawaiian and former Oregonian Lehuauakea has created 10 kapa paintings and digital art posters that will be on display this weekend at the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts in Beaverton. Kapa is a textile made from the bark of certain trees after going through a process involving soaking and beating to create the fabric. Lehuauakea’s work for this exhibit focuses on belonging, especi...

Names like Lonnie Mayne, Buddy Rose and Dutch Savage may not be familiar to some today, but for fans of Portland’s professional wrestling scene of the 1960s to early '90s, these were some of the headliners that sold out the old Portland Sports Arena. As first reported in Slam Wrestling, two Portlanders have been working to preserve the history of the Pacific Northwest wrestling scene and mak...

After years of steep increases, overdose death rates appear to be dropping nationwide. Data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a 10% decrease in the number of deaths from drug overdoses across the country from April 2023 to April 2024. That number varies significantly by state — while many Eastern states saw double-digit decreases, Oregon saw a 22% increase over...

The fourth annual Week Without Driving challenge kicked off on Monday. The event was created in 2021 by Disability Rights Washington to highlight the barriers nondrivers face, including those who have disabilities, with using public transit or sidewalks and bike lanes to get around. This year the challenge has expanded to all 50 states with the help of dozens of local and state organizations. And...

Last month, the Oregon Water Resources Commission voted to change the state’s groundwater rules. The new rules would require new water users to prove the water is available before the state will issue permits for wells. Ivan Gall was appointed to head the Water Resources Department last spring. He joins us to talk about the new rules and other challenges facing water resources in Oregon.

 The Oregon Public Utility Commission has approved rate hike upon rate hike in recent years, and consumers are feeling the pinch. Currently, the list of requests for rate hikes includes those from Idaho Power, which serves about 20,000 customers in Oregon; Portland General Electric, which last had a rate case in 2023; and Northwest Natural and Pacific Power, which both last had a request befo...

On March 20, 1998, police in Salem, Oregon, discovered the body of 28-year-old Harriet Thompson inside her apartment. Within a week, they arrested Jesse Johnson for murder. Johnson drifted west after a troubled childhood in Arkansas and a stint in prison there. In Salem, he was known around town as a homeless drug user. A random encounter with Thompson the week before she was killed changed Johnso...

Washington’s Yakama Nation received both a grant and a $100 million federal loan to build a large solar project. Held up by a series of bureaucratic hurdles, the funding could expire before the government lets the tribal nation access the money. OPB Investigative Editor Tony Schick joins us to explain how bureaucracy is getting in the way of progress.