Think Out Loud

On Sunday, the Trump administration sent a memo to Oregon Gov. Kotek authorizing the deployment of 200 members of the Oregon National Guard for 60 days. At the same time, the administration has also named antifa, the left-wing, anti-fascist political movement, as a domestic terrorist organization. What does action mean for the political movement and how do protests happening now compare to other parts of the world and the history of the U.S.? To answer this question and more, we’ll hear from Shane Burley, a Portland-based writer and filmmaker who is author of the book, “Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It." He is also the editor of “No Pasaran!: Antifascist Dispatches from a World in Crisis.”

This weekend, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from mobilizing the Oregon National Guard to Portland and then issued a second restraining order when the president tried to summon troops from Texas and California to Oregon. The administration has since appealed the decision. Throughout the back-and-forth, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has denounced the president’s actions and his characterization of Portland as “war-ravaged.” She joins us with more details on her response to the attempted deployment and the state’s efforts to block it.

British primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall died last week at the age of 91. Goodall revolutionized our understanding of chimpanzees, our closest living relatives. She was mentored by the renowned anthropologist and paleontologist Louis Leakey, who helped fund her first trip to Tanzania in 1960 when she was 26-years-old. With no formal scientific training, she made the discovery that chimpanzees were capable of using and making tools – a skill scientists previously thought only humans were capable of doing. Goodall not only founded her own institute to promote the conservation of chimpanzees, she also embarked on a decades-long advocacy for humanitarian causes and environmental protections around the world.    In 2011, “Think Out Loud” host Dave Miller interviewed Jane Goodall when she visited Oregon. We listen back to that conversation about her remarkable life and more than a half century of studying chimpanzees that has helped shape insights into our own behaviors and evolution within the animal kingdom.  

Hatcheries, also known as fish farms, have long been used to supplement fish supplies affected by human activity. But with the 18 dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers, they became more important to maintaining fish populations to fulfill tribal agreements and to meet commercial and sports fishing demands. There are now hundreds of hatcheries in the Northwest, run by federal, state, local and tribal governments. But many of them are aging, in need of repair or replacement. Zach Penney is the director of strategic initiatives at the The Columbia River Inter-tribal Fish Commission. He says even before the Trump administration’s mass layoffs and broad cuts to the federal government, the Columbia basin had an infrastructure backlog of about $1 billion. Now, many vulnerable hatcheries are only able to survive with the help of volunteers. But Penney says, the hatchery system cannot continue without more sustainable funding, including more staffing and money for basic infrastructure. He joins us to share more about the factors that have led to the current situation and what he sees as the way forward.

An unprecedented weekend put Portland at the center of national headlines, as President Trump continued his push to deploy National Guard members into the city over the objections of city and state elected officials and a federal judge. After his order for an Oregon National Guard deployment was blocked, Trump turned to the National Guard in California and Texas for hundreds of federal troops he could send to Portland. Late Sunday, U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut again sided with the state of Oregon. OPB reporter Troy Brynelson joins us to catch us up.

 Portland is well-known for its craft coffee, beer and cocktails. But it’s also home to a number of craft chocolate makers. The city’s first Craft Chocolate Festival will take place Oct. 3-5 at the Olympic Mills Building in the Central Eastside neighborhood. Attendees can sample sweets from makers across the city, while makers can attend informational sessions on how to grow their businesses.    George Domurot is the founder and CEO of Ranger Chocolate Co. Andrea Marks is the owner of Bees and Beans. They join us to talk about the festival and the evolution of Portland’s craft chocolate scene.  

The Portland Art Museum already has one of the most significant collections of modern Japanese prints in North America. On September 27, it burnished those credentials with the opening of the first solo U.S. exhibition of the late artist Yoshida Chizuko (1924-2017).   Born in 1924, Chizuko forged a place for herself in Japan’s male-dominated postwar art world. And though she married into the well-known Yoshida artist family –– which produced three generations of influential woodblock print artists –– critics say her work has been often overshadowed. The new exhibition brings together more than 100 of Chizuko’s woodblock prints and paintings, many of which have never before been displayed publicly.   Portland Art Museum's Asian art curator Jeannie Kenmotsu joins us to discuss the avant-garde artist who pushed the boundaries of both painting and printmaking, her place in the Yoshida family legacy and why her work still feels modern today.  

Portland will host Major League Table Tennis events this weekend at the Oregon Convention Center. On Friday, the Portland Paddlers will face off against the Los Angeles Spinners at 7:30 p.m.  Hampus Nordberg is a Portland Paddler player, and Christian Lillieroos coaches the team. They join us with more about what table tennis looks like in Portland and what to expect this weekend.

 Last month, Oregon became the first state in the nation to be verified for its accessibility for travelers with disabilities by the travel website Wheel the World. The company worked with Travel Oregon to assess hundreds of hotels, restaurants, tourism providers and state parks in seven regions across the state for their accessibility. That includes features like step-free entrances at museums or specialized wheelchairs available to venture onto a beach on the Oregon Coast.    But the state’s efforts to promote its accessibility doesn’t mean that barriers don’t still exist for travelers with physical or neurocognitive disabilities. Small hotel owners and tourism operators may also lack awareness about best practices to engage with these travelers or struggle with how to become more accessible online and in person.    To address these gaps, researchers at Southern Oregon University recently received a grant from Travel Oregon to develop and roll out training workshops at 12 locations across the state for travel industry professionals and other stakeholders. The training includes guidance on best practices and role-playing exercises where participants can experience, for example, what it’s like to navigate a carpeted hotel lobby in a wheelchair or to receive information during an emergency as a person who is hard of hearing.    The goal of these trainings and the education they provide is to create a statewide network of “Accessible Tourism Ambassadors,” according to Pavlina McGrady, an associate professor in the school of business at Southern Oregon University. McGrady and Rebecca Williams, an assistant professor in the school of business at SOU, join us for more details. Ulysses McCready, a junior at SOU who is blind, also shares his perspective about inclusive tourism and the assistance he provided McGrady and Williams on their project.   

 In 2007, the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries released a report looking at the seismic safety of more than 3,000 schools and other public buildings. A new analysis from The Oregonian/OregonLive found that of the 138 schools in the Portland area that were considered  at “high” or “very high” risk of collapsing, 110 of those continue to have students. And of those 110, 55 of them still have not had any major renovations. At the same time, some researchers are beginning to rethink whether the current "drop, cover and hold on" safety plan is the best option for students. Lizzy Acker is a reporter for The Oregonian/OregonLive. She joins us to share more on the seismic preparedness of Portland's students and schools.