Think Out Loud

Oregon lawmakers will have roughly $500 million less to work with for the next two-year budget cycle, according to the state’s latest economic and revenues forecast unveiled Wednesday in Salem. The uncertainty sparked by tariffs, slashed federal spending and immigration issues are clouding the state’s economic outlook, according to Oregon Chief Economist Carl Riccadonna. Also on Wednesday, the state released its latest jobs report. It showed that unemployment in Oregon rose to 4.7% in April, which is higher than the national average and marks a gradual increase over the past year.  Oregon Chief Economist Carl Riccadonna joins us for more details about the state’s economic outlook and the challenges ahead.   

The National Endowment for the Arts has withdrawn more than half a million dollars worth of grants that arts organizations all over Oregon were relying on. Portland Playhouse got a letter that said it would not get $25,000 meant for its production of August Wilson’s and Joe Turner’s "Come and Gone" that was to open the next day. Other organizations that saw their funding pulled include All Classical Portland, Oregon Children’s Theatre, NW Children’s Theatre, Passinart: A Theatre Company, and Profile Theatre. Portland Playhouse donors quickly made up the theatre’s lost $25,000 grant, but future federal funding is looking bleak to many Oregon arts organizations. Many of them met this week with Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, who vowed to do everything in her power to get federal funding restored. Claire Willett is a Portland-based playwright, artist and grant writer. She’s been following the NEA funding cuts for Oregon Arts Watch and joins us to share the latest developments.

Earlier this month, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed a bill into law that now requires clergy to be mandatory reporters of child abuse or neglect. Under SB 5375, clergy in Washington must report suspected abuse or neglect to authorities even if they learn of it during so-called penitential communications, such as confessions. The bill was first introduced in 2023 after reporting by InvestigateWest described how a lack of a mandatory reporting requirement for clergy in Washington may have played a role in helping Jehovah’s Witnesses in the state hide allegations of child sexual abuse.   As reported earlier by InvestigateWest, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it is opening an investigation into SB 5375, which it claims appears to violate the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment. Joining us to discuss the new law is the bill’s sponsor, Democratic Washington state Sen. Noel Frame, who represents Seattle in the state’s 36th Legislative District. 

Ever since its debut 10 years ago, the wood-bat baseball team the Portland Pickles have been delighting fans with its summer games that feature quirky fan appreciation events, such as a “Redhead Appreciation Night” for the season opener on May 27, or one honoring bee sting survivors.  In addition to its 10th anniversary and winning the West Coast League championship last year, the Pickles are celebrating another milestone. Tomorrow marks the debut of the Portland Bangers, a new soccer team the Pickles are launching. Like the Pickles, the Bangers also feature collegiate-level athletes playing during the summer months.    Jorge Villafaña is the head coach of the Portland Bangers and a retired professional soccer player who helped the Portland Timbers win its first-ever Major League Soccer championship in 2015. He joins us along with Alan Miller, co-owner and president of the Portland Pickles, for a preview of the teams’ new seasons.  

After the devastating 2020 Labor Day fires, the Oregon Legislature passed a bill that was supposed to lead to more wildfire awareness and resilience. It created a map of areas at high risk of fire. But that map led to a huge backlash from property owners. Now one of the democratic state senators who helped create the map is sponsoring a bill that would repeal it. We’ll talk to Jeff Golden, who represents the Ashland area, about why – and what should happen instead.

On Monday, the U.S. and China agreed to suspend increased tariffs for 90 days while negotiations continue. Prior to that announcement, the Port of Portland had projected exports and imports to be down 30% in May. We hear from Curtis Robinhold, the executive director of the Port of Portland, and from Tim McCarthy, the chief operating officer of Harbor Industrial, a maritime services company at the Port’s container terminal.

Late last month, the National Science Foundation, a U.S. federal agency that supports scientific research, terminated more than 400 grants that related to misinformation, disinformation and diversity, equity and inclusion. A proposed budget from the Trump administration would also cut the NSF budget in half. Kate Starbird is the co-founder of UW’s Center for an Informed Public. She joins us to share more about the broader impacts of these cuts. 

The owners of Malheur Enterprise are retiring.  Les Zaitz is the retiring publisher of the Malheur Enterprise. He joins us with details. 

Derrell Sekou Walker teaches West African dance to elementary and middle schoolers at two Portland public schools. He loves his job, but as the founder and artistic director of Sebé Kan Youth African Dance Company, he is bringing his love of this art form — along with the feelings of joy and freedom it inspires — to the larger community. He first formed Sebé Kan more than 20 years ago, but since 2018, he’s been focused on teaching the dance traditions from Mali, Guinea, Ivory Coast and other West African nations to children and youth. On May 16, the company will present a one night only, multigenerational dance performance and concert called “Mobaya: A Coming of Age” at Portland’s Newmark Theatre.   Walker joins us, along with his wife Karida Walker, who is a dancer in the troupe; and high school senior Nylah Jae Holt, who has been dancing with Sebé Kan since she was 8 years old. 

When Rep. Ricki Ruiz (D-Gresham) was growing up with immigrant parents, the pervasive fear of deportation was integrally woven into his experience of childhood. He told KGW that even today, as an adult and a U.S. citizen, he’s always looking over his shoulder. That’s why he’s co-sponsoring SB 703, which would provide funding to nonprofits to help immigrant families that are eligible to apply for legal status to do so. On his Instagram account, he posted about the proposal’s bipartisan support, saying it indicates that “despite the federal landscape, Democrats & Republicans can still come together & work on immigration policies.” Ruiz joins us to tell us more about the bill and the impact it would have on immigrants and their families. House Republicans were either unavailable or did not respond to invitations to participate in this discussion.