Think Out Loud

The Cedar Grove apartments in Beaverton were created by Community Partners Affordable Housing, or CPAH. The nonprofit has been working to create homes that Oregonians can actually afford to live in for 30 years now. This is part of a series of conversations we’re having this year about some of the biggest problems Oregon is facing, along with possible solutions. More than half of renters in...

The Cascade Head Biosphere Region consists of more than 100,000 acres and has been recognized by the United Nations for its rare and diverse ecosystem. The area includes the Cascade Head Experimental Forest and Marine Reserve and Marine Protected Areas. The Cascade Head Biosphere Collaborative has organized the “Art on the Beach” sand art competition to continue its mission of educatin...

Research shows that up to 50% of the human brain is involved in visual processing. For octopuses, that number is roughly 70%. There are similarities between octopus and human eyes – both involve a lens and a pupil that allows light into the back of the eye – but the way our brains process vision is completely different. University of Oregon biology professor Cris Niell has been studyin...

From May to June of this year, the number of 911-related overdose calls in Multnomah County doubled compared with last year. While many calls took place in areas such as Old Town and downtown Portland, data obtained by the Lund Report shows that nearly every residential neighborhood in the Portland area has a reported case. Emily Green is the managing editor of the Lund Report. She joins us to sha...

Green Diamond timber company agreed to slow their logging operations in Southern Oregon in return for millions of dollars in payments from Microsoft and other companies seeking to offset their carbon dioxide pollution from fossil fuels. The companies are essentially paying the timber company  to grow more trees on this land. The Bootleg Fire upended the Green Diamond carbon storage plans, bur...

In June, a team from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently traveled to Astoria, Newport and other coastal towns in Oregon and Northern California to meet with community members about the possible reintroduction of sea otters to Oregon and Northern California. Starting in the 1700s, the marine mammals were nearly hunted to extinction from Alaska to California for the maritime fur trade, and d...

The University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History has hit the road this summer. It’s offering hands-on learning through its Oregon Rocks! program, which teaches kids and families about geology. The organization is traveling throughout the state, reaching places like Portland, Pendleton and Paisley to bring science discovery to Oregon communities of all sizes. Mia Jackson is the...

For the first time in its history, the Deschutes County Fair and Rodeo in Redmond will feature drone light shows. The Bend Bulletin first reported on the drone light shows which will take place after each evening’s musical performance and feature more than 200 drones launching into the night sky. The drones are programmed to fly like a hive of bees buzzing with LED lights, swooping into form...

The Treasure Valley Reload Center is a rail project in Nyssa aimed to help farmers ship their produce to other markets. Projected to open in 2020, the center has faced a number of setbacks due to permitting and financial issues. Now, the expected operator of the project, Americold, has announced they will be removing themselves from the project. Pat Caldwell is a reporter for the Malheur Enterpris...

Last  year the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles announced that they were leaving the Pac-12. Last week, the University of Colorado did the same. The collegiate athletic conference was formed in 1959, but its future remains unclear. Zachary Neel, managing editor for USA Today’s Ducks Wire, joins us to discuss the options on the table now for...

Since 1995, Portland has funded the independent Regional Arts and Culture Council to provide arts education, advocacy, and administer grant funding to local artists. Recently Commissioner Dan Ryan told RACC the city wants to do that work itself. The city provides over $6 million of RACC’s $7.5 million budget, and will let that contract expire at the end of the year. Darion Jones, Senior Poli...

After a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of canoe families from across the Pacific Northwest once again paddled to Seattle, landing at Alki Beach on July 30. Canoe families will spend the next week participating in songs, dances and other protocol ceremonies hosted by the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe.  Nika Bartoo-Smith is part of a team at Underscore News that has been co...

Youth who are blind or visually impaired face challenges if they want to play sports or even engage in physical activity their sighted peers may take for granted. The Northwest Association for Blind Athletes created Camp Spark to change that. Its free sports camps use games, physical activity, orientation and mobility to help campers develop skills - including leadership, independence, and advocac...

In response to increasing crime, drug use, graffiti and unsanctioned homeless camping, the city of Portland launched a “90 day reset” to clean up its Central Eastside. The results of the official effort were released recently and included lighting improvements, removing hundreds of camps, nearly 5,000 pounds of trash and 74,000 square feet of graffiti. Clare Briglio is the executive di...

Mariachi Tradicion, a band made up of students from Forest Grove High School, has played with the Oregon Symphony, in front of audiences at Pickathon music festival, and will now perform later this month at the Jack London Review. The band was founded seven years ago by Lesslie Nuñez as an afterschool club at the middle school. Now, it is the only band from the Pacific Northwest to attend t...

Practitioners of transpecies design aim to consider the needs of all species – not just humans – in the built environment. Their buildings often include habitat for plants, animals and even microorganisms, with the goal of reducing biodiversity decline and lessening the impacts of climate change. The University of Oregon is a hub for the movement, and students and faculty recently show...

Earlier this year, Eugene became the first city in Oregon to effectively ban natural gas appliances in new residential construction. Gas utility NW Natural and others pushed back and were able to get the ordinance referred to the November ballot for voters to either affirm or overturn. But recently, the Eugene City Council repealed the ordinance following a federal appeals court ruling that overtu...

Since 1995, Portland has funded the independent Regional Arts and Culture Council to provide arts education, advocacy, and administer grant funding to local artists. Last week Commissioner Dan Ryan told RACC the city wants to do that work itself. The city provides over $6 million of RACC’s $7.5 million budget, and will let that contract expire at the end of the year.  Carol Tatch, one o...

After managing a yearslong, unprecedented  pandemic, hospitals are still facing challenges like reduced staffing and how to keep workers safe. We check in with Cheryl Nester Wolfe, the president and CEO of Salem Health Hospitals and Clinics. She joins us with more on how the health system is faring and what’s top of mind for health care leaders in Oregon.  

Since 2019, the Willamette Riverkeeper has been working with the city of Salem to remove Ludwigia, an invasive aquatic weed, from the Willamette Slough at Minto-Brown Island Park. Ludwigia threatens native plants and wildlife, including habitat for federally protected spring Chinook salmon and winter steelhead. As described in The Salem Reporter, crews are traveling the length of the 87-acre sloug...

City councilors in Beaverton voted unanimously to do away with including parking in new developments in the city. Kevin Teater is the newest member of the council and campaigned on this issue. Beaverton joins seven other cities in the state that have made the same shift recently, including Portland, Salem and Bend. Last year the state’s Land Conservation and Development Commission passed rul...

After five Portland monuments were toppled in 2020, some city and community leaders called for a robust public engagement process before any decisions were made about their reinstatement. The city partnered with Lewis & Clark College late last year to determine what that public engagement process would look like. A committee of artists, educators, urban planners and public historians has been...

Clatsop County has recently awarded $35,000 to LiFEBoat Services, a homeless service provider in Astoria. The organization hopes this funding will help with improvements and allow it to become a year-round shelter. Osarch Orak is the executive director of LiFEBoat Services. He joins us to share what this funding will mean for the community and LiFEBoat's plan for the future.

:  Earlier this month, a panel of judges for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the Chinook salmon season in Alaska to open for the summer while it considers arguments in a lawsuit filed by the Wild Fish Conservancy. The Seattle-based organization sued the State of Alaska, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Alaska Trollers Association to stop the harvesting of Chinook, also...

Within the last month, seven breweries and taprooms have closed or announced their upcoming closure. Rising costs of operation, change in consumer drinking habits, and the  lingering effects of the pandemic have all affected the market. Ezra Johnson-Greenough, the founder of the blog The New School Beer, joins us to share what’s happening in Portland's beer market and to shed light on w...