Think Out Loud

Everyone Village, a transitional shelter program in Eugene, is partnering with PeaceHealth to open 10 tiny homes where unhoused patients can safely recover from surgery. As reported by KLCC, the project will also include a medical clinic to provide primary care to all residents of the village. Patients in the recuperation cottages will have full access to Everyone Village’s suite of wraparound services during their stay.    Gabe Piechowicz is the founder and executive director of Everyone Village, and Susan Blane is the director of community health at PeaceHealth Oregon. They both join us to talk about the new effort to improve health outcomes in Eugene’s homeless population.  

Public broadcasters large and small have been reacting to the unprecedented Congressional vote to pull already-approved funding for public media. In Oregon and Washington, public radio stations face an array of challenges, depending on their size and resources. Some radio stations play nationally-produced NPR content, but not all. Many are squarely focused on covering their local community news with locally produced programs. Tribal stations, rural stations, student-driven stations and classical music stations are among those  hardest hit. Joining us to tell us more are KMUN Station Manager Susan Peterson in Astoria; Northwest Public Broadcasting’s Director of Audience and Programming Sueann Ramella in Pullman, WA; KWSO's Sue Matters on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation; and KLCC reporter Zac Ziegler in Eugene. OPB is among the public media organizations affected by the rescission cuts.

Renaissance fairs have long been a place for workers and visitors alike to find community amid the trappings of a fictional medieval town. “Merchants” bring their wares to hawk, while various “guilds” provide the entertainment, from jousting to smithing to demonstrating medieval textile arts.   But some longtime guild workers at the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire have pulled out of the festival due to what they describe as bad management and poor working conditions. They say the organization that puts on the fair – which also operates the Oregon Renaissance Faire and Oregon Celtic Festival – has prioritized profits over maintaining the sense of community that workers and volunteers value. Nathalie Graham is a former freelance reporter who now writes for The Seattle Stranger. She looked into these complaints in a recent article for InvestigateWest and joins us with more details.

Last October, Patrick Leonard opened Postcard Bookshop, fusing his love for literature with his love for travel. Located in Portland’s Central Eastside neighborhood, the store’s shelves are organized according to countries or regions, from Africa to Oceania and the Pacific Northwest. In addition to travel guides, phrase books and cookbooks showcasing world cuisines, novels on display provide passage to new cultures and worldly journeys.   But running a bookstore geared to customers planning or returning from vacations has made Leonard rethink what it means to be a global traveler today. From Google Translate to Instagram, Airbnb and Uber, social media and apps are changing tourism and the communities impacted by it. Throngs of visitors to popular destinations are fueling a rise in overtourism which is straining resources, prompting street protests and pricing locals out of the housing market, from Hawai’i to Portugal. Leonard joins us for a discussion about overtourism and the challenge of being an ethical tourist.

Many states in the U.S. have legalized cannabis either medically or recreationally, but without legalization at the federal level regulation is left to states, including testing for contaminants and THC levels. New reporting from Undark, an online science magazine, found that in some states, including Oregon, independent labs were inflating THC level numbers and providing fraudulent results. Teresa Carr, a senior contributor at Undark, joins us to share more on lab testing and what some states are doing to combat fudged results.

Oregon lawmakers recently passed a bill requiring climate change education to be integrated into classrooms across the state. The legislation directs the state board of education to integrate climate science — including causes, impacts, and strategies for adaptation — in core subjects like science, history, health, and civics. The goal is to equip students with accurate information and age-appropriate tools to understand and respond to the climate crisis. Supporters say the new law is a step toward normalizing climate education statewide, especially in rural and underserved regions.   Tana Shepard, founding member of Oregon Educators for Climate Education — the organization that drafted the bill — and Mikayla May, a high school student and climate advocate with Our Future, join us to talk about what this means for Oregon schools and for the next generation of students.

Earlier this month the semiconductor chip maker Intel announced it would layoff nearly 2,400 workers in Washington County - amounting to about 10% of its overall workforce. Nonetheless, the company remains one of Oregon’s largest private employers, and the ripple effects of its contraction will be felt more broadly throughout the state economy. OPB business reporter Kyra Buckley has been following this story, and she joins us to bring us the latest.

Clatsop County is exploring a pilot program that would convert vacation homes that are often left vacant into long-term rentals for people who work in the county. As reported in the Daily Astorian, the program would offer cash incentives for property owners to lease out their homes for a year or more. The county has applied for a grant to fund the two-year pilot, but has yet to receive those dollars.Clatsop County housing manager Elissa Gertler joins us to talk about the potential program and other possible solutions to the coast’s housing crisis.

Gov. Tina Kotek has aimed for a goal of 36,000 homes being built a year. As part of her housing development plans, Kotek’s office announced the launch of the Housing Accountability and Production Office, a joint office between the Department of Land Conservation and Development and the Building Codes Division. The agency will provide technical assistance and enforce state housing production laws. Joel Madsen and Tony Rocco, the office's joint managers, join us with more about the goals of the agency and what it means for Oregon’s housing crisis.

Earlier this month the Oregon Department of Transportation announced it would need to lay off nearly 500 workers. This came after lawmakers failed to pass a transportation package to help boost the budget of the agency responsible for road maintenance around the state. Now, Gov. Tina Kotek has announced a special session will be held in late August with the hopes of finding the funds for the state’s transportation agency and has also shared she will delay impending layoffs. OPB politics reporter Dirk Vanderhart joins us to share more on what to expect from the upcoming special session.