Think Out Loud

When retired preschool owner Colleen Strohm and her husband moved to Maupin after their retirement, they found a vibrant community, but no local newspaper. Strohm says she tried to talk others into starting one, but after no one took her up on it, she finally realized she’d need to do it herself. She and her husband launched “The South Wasco Times” in October. Strohm is the publi...

As the historic Portland Public School strike comes to an end, the state and country continue to face another issue: hiring. According to a dashboard created by the Oregon’s Teacher Standards and Practice Commision, there are more than 1,000 open positions for educators and other roles across the state. Kevin Carr is a professor of science education at Pacific University. He joins us to shar...

For 25 years, the Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports has worked with schools around the country to make learning environments more supportive and productive. The PBIS framework focuses on establishing shared values and expectations for the classroom and acknowledging positive behavior. It also aims to address unwanted behavior through redirection instead of punishment. The ce...

At Oregon Health & Science University, the number of patients treated for falling injuries has increased by 90% compared with 2016. These are falls that occur on ground-level, not from heights. Nationwide, about three-quarters of those patients are over the age of 65. That’s why Katie Drago, an OHSU geriatrician and associate professor of medicine, says the problem is becoming “a g...

On Monday morning, more than 40,000 students in Portland returned to school after a tentative deal had been announced the day before to end a teachers’ strike that had shut down schools since Nov 1. The agreement between Portland Public Schools district and the Portland Association of Teachers still needs to be ratified by union members and the school board this week. It includes a nearly 14...

Author Tim O’Brien is best known for his book “The Things They Carried,” about the Vietnam War. His latest book, “Dad’s Maybe Book,” is a compilation of anecdotes and reflections on becoming a parent in late middle age, and what he wants his young children to know about him before he dies. This conversation was recorded in front of an audience at the Portland Bo...

At first, Ada Limón wasn’t able to write poetry during the pandemic. And then she wrote a poem called “The Hurting Kind.” From that flowed the rest of her new book of poems under that same name. We talk to Limón, the poet laureate of the United States, before an audience at the Literary Arts space in downtown Portland.

Yesterday, a Harney County Circuit Court judge ruled that Measure 114 violates Oregon's state constitution. The law, which voters passed last year to regulate firearms, has yet to go into effect due to multiple court challenges. Measure 114 bans future purchases of magazines that can carry more than 10 rounds of ammunition. It also requires those wishing to buy a firearm to get a permit first. Per...

Last month, a new bookstore opened in Vancouver. But this isn’t your typical brick and mortar spot to pick up the latest thriller, mystery or best-selling memoir of a pop star. The Romance Era Bookshop sells only romance novels and related subgenres, including Romantasy, in which classic fairy tales are reimagined, with strong female protagonists embarking on quests both otherworldly and rom...

Last week, the Clark County Council in Southwest Washington unanimously approved the creation of a new public defenders office to provide free legal counsel to criminal defendants who cannot afford hiring their own lawyers. Clark County is the largest county in Washington to rely on a contract model for public defense. As previously reported in The Columbian, the new office will initially consist...

We typically wear noise-canceling headphones to drown out unpleasant sounds, such as cars honking or construction machines drilling. But what if you still wanted to hear someone knocking on your door or birds chirping on your walk? New artificial intelligence technology from the University of Washington could soon make that possible. Researchers developed an algorithm that allows users to pick whi...

Center for Disease Control and Prevention data published earlier this year shows that Oregon has some of the highest rates of syphilis infections, landing ninth out of all states. At the same time, more than 3,700 babies were born with congenital syphilis in the U.S. last year — the highest count in more than 30 years. Tim Menza is the medical director of the HIV/STD/TB section of Oregon Hea...

How is the PPS strike affecting after school programs and other organizations that offer kids additional support outside of school? We'll hear from several groups that are shifting gears to offer kids and their families more resources as the strike continues. We check in with Sabina Urdes, the executive director of the East Portland Collective; Ava Shannon, the youth programs manager at the Northe...

Augmented reality technology allows the user to see the real world while overlaying virtual elements. It’s often used to enhance gaming experiences — think Pokémon GO — but researchers in the University of Washington’s Makeability Lab are using AR to improve accessibility for users who are blind, low-vision or have other disabilities. For example, the RASSAR app uses...

The double-crested cormorant is one of many seabirds that love to eat salmon. The birds were driven away from East Sand Island near the mouth of the Columbia River decades ago in an effort to protect the fish, but wildlife managers are now responding to some unintended consequences. Roughly 10,000 cormorants now prefer to make their home on the Astoria-Megler bridge. The acid from their excrement,...

Earlier this year, millions of dollars were allocated to counties across the state as part of a homelessness state of emergency. We hear from an organization based in rural Oregon that’s working on rehousing residents in Baker, Grant, Union and Wallowa counties. Connie Guentert is the executive director of Community Connection of Northeast Oregon, Inc. She joins us with details of the organi...

Lone Fir Cemetery is one of the oldest continuously operating cemeteries in Portland. It also serves as a painful reminder of the racist and exclusionary treatment of Chinese immigrants who first arrived in Oregon in the mid-1800s, working as miners, merchants and other laborers. From the 1860s to the 1920s, roughly 2800 Chinese immigrants were buried in a section of Lone Fir known as Block 14. Le...

After facing pandemic-era high inflation rates and a shift in migration, Oregon’s economy is stabilizing, according to a new forecast. The forecast also notes that economic recovery post-pandemic has been inclusive across the board, as people of all backgrounds are seeing lower poverty rates and higher rates of employment. Josh Lehner is an economist with the state. He joins us to share more...

Two dozen elected officials, law enforcement officers and substance use treatment providers traveled from Oregon to Portugal recently to learn about the country’s 20-year-old drug decriminalization program, which inspired Oregon’s voter-approved Measure 110. The trip was organized and largely paid for by the Health Justice Recovery Alliance, a statewide advocacy organization focused on...

With the presidential election less than a year away, a  recent survey commissioned by the Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division highlights the challenges facing Oregon’s county clerks. Researchers at Reed College’s Elections & Voting Information Center surveyed nearly all of Oregon’s 36 county clerks who not only administer elections but also record property tran...

Portland Public Schools students are out of class for the 10th day this month as the first strike in the district’s history continues. The Portland Association of Teachers claims the most recent offer it presented to the district would significantly reduce the financial gap between the two sides, but the district has disputed how much the proposal would actually save. Renard Adams is chief o...

Tooth enamel is the strongest substance produced by the human body, protecting the sensitive lower layers of the teeth. But once it wears away, we can’t regrow it. The cells that create enamel, called ameloblasts, die shortly after the teeth are formed. New research from the University of Washington could eventually change that, however. Researchers have succeeded in transforming stem cells...

Oregon’s timber reputation is largely built from softwoods like Douglas Fir. But a new lumber mill in Philomath aims to take advantage of the many hardwoods available on the western side of the state. Patrick Lumber aims to mill Oregon white oak, Pacific maple, tan oak, madrone, chinquapin, myrtle and Oregon ash trees from lots that are being thinned for fire protection. David Halsey, CEO of...

The Oregon Justice Resource Center recently released a report focusing on access to abortion in Oregon county jails. It found that access to the procedure varies widely by county. We hear more about the report from Brittney Plesser, co-director of the Fair Law Project at Oregon Justice Resource Center.

The way in which Americans have purchased firearms, and how they’re advertised, has changed greatly over the years. But a recent study from Oregon State University sheds light on a new group helping target consumers: gun influencers. Aimee Huff and Michelle Barnhart are both associate professors at OSU’s College of Business. They both join us to discuss how gun culture has changed over...