Beat Check with The Oregonian

Fifteen years after 7-year-old Kyron Horman vanished from Skyline Elementary School in Portland, his disappearance continues to haunt not just the Pacific Northwest, but parents everywhere. In this special episode of Beat Check, engagement editor Julie Evensen and social media producer Destiny Johnson talk to investigative reporter Noelle Crombie about recent news about the case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A trio of journalists joined Editor Therese Bottomly on Monday's episode of “Beat Check with The Oregonian” to talk about the 2020 street protests that started in Portland after the police killing of George Floyd. Multimedia journalist Beth Nakamura, social media producer Ryan Fernandez, and reporter Zane Sparling (who covered protests for the Portland Tribune) join the conversation. On this episode of Beat Check, we talk about: --The physical dangers journalists faced on the streets from tear gas, munitions, crowding --Direct police violence against journalists --The three chapters of the 150-plus nights of protest --The role of live streamers --The fatal shooting in downtown after a pro-Trump caravan arrived in the city Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen died in 2018 from complications related to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, it was matter of when, not if, his beloved professional sports team would be sold. Seven years later, that time has finally arrived. Allen's estate announced on May 13 that is has initiated a formal sales process for one of Oregon's most cherished institutions. Even though the sale has been anticipated since Allen's death, it has sparked widespread curiosity — and concern — among the Blazers' passionate fan base, fueling speculation about the future of the franchise. How long will the process take? Who might be interested in buying the team? And are the Blazers safe from relocation? On the latest episode of Beat Check, The Oregonian/OregonLive's sports columnist, Bill Oram, dissects the looming sale of the Blazers and the future of the franchise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Watchdog reporter Ted Sickinger joined Editor Therese Bottomly on this episode of “Beat Check with The Oregonian” to talk about his extraordinary reporting into Skyline CDL School, which operated in Oregon and Washington. On this episode of Beat Check, we talk about: --How the alleged bribery scheme operated, according to regulators --How the newsroom got onto the story --How regulators in Washington went on stakeouts to make their case What role the Higher Education Coordinating Commission has --How the school seemed to make efforts to appeal to Russian and Ukrainian immigrants --What the impact of the reporting has been Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For this week's episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, education reporter Julia Silverman tackles a series of burning questions from readers and listeners who are weighing how to vote on the $1.83 billion bond. Have a listen, and don't forget to turn in your ballot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is a bleak time for mass transit all throughout the U.S. The challenges here in the Portland metro area are many and pronounced.TriMet is providing about 30 million fewer rides each year than it did in 2019 — and the recovery appears to be slowing way down. Rider safety has been a persistent concern since the pandemic. Fare evasion is rampant. Meanwhile, TriMet's subsidy per ride has soared by more than 400% in the last decade. And the regional transit agency is now raising the prospect of staggering service cuts over the next few years. On the latest Beat Check, Oregonian/OregonLive reporters Shane Dixon Kavanaugh and Mike Rogoway examine this perilous moment for public transit in the Portland region. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In recent months, climate and environmental work have been under threat in the U.S., with the Trump administration dismantling climate legislation, freezing funds and intimidating universities, states and nonprofits. Despite the chaos, there's still a place for hope, says award-winning environmental journalist Alan Weisman, author of the new book Hope Dies Last. The book profiles scientists, engineers, activists and environmentalists in the U.S. and around the world who are doing extraordinary work to repair our planet's most devastated ecosystems and prevent climate disaster. Weisman spoke on the Beat Check podcast about how we can persevere despite all odds, how to pass on hope to our children and which four world emergencies need visionary ideas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When President Trump raised tariffs against China and other countries earlier this month, stock markets plunged, chaos rippled through the global economy and anxiety hit business owners across the United States. The specifics of the tariffs — which soared as high as 145% on China and affected virtually every country on earth — have been changing weekly, if not daily. And the helter-skelter nature of it all has sent businesses scrambling to adapt to Trump's trade war. In Oregon's trade-dependent economy, the tariffs are particularly tough on the footwear and apparel industry, which uses factories in Asia. And while business giants like Nike and Columbia are plotting to stay afloat, the dramatic shift in policy is potentially crippling for thousands of small businesses in the state, which don't have as much financial flexibility and muscle. What's the mood among Oregon's small business owners? How are they coping? And what does the future look like? On the latest episode of Beat Check, reporter Matthew Kish, who covers business for The Oregonian/OregonLive, breaks down the impact of Trump's tariffs on Oregon small businesses. Related reading: • How Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs have rattled Oregon small businesses • ‘Tariff tantrum' will squeeze Oregon's sneaker business • Oregon food industry facing extreme uncertainty again, this time from Trump tariffs • As trade war heats up, here are Oregon's largest trading partners • Trump puts 90-day pause on most new tariffs but an increase on Chinese imports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Politics and Education Editor Betsy Hammond breaks down the key finding of a survey of 600 metro area voters by DHM Research, commissioned by The Oregonian. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With wildfire season approaching and southern California still reeling from the January wildfires, Portland leaders are making sure the city can withstand a major urban wildfire. Forest Park, the city's crown jewel and one of the largest urban forests in the U.S., has been identified as one of the areas most at-risk for wildfire in the city. Kim Kosmas, a senior public education officer with Portland Fire & Rescue who also manages the wildfire preparedness program, talks on Beat Check about what the city is doing to prevent large fires in Forest Park and what homeowners can do to protect their homes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First-class airfare to Hawaii. Five-star hotel stays. Lots and lots of food. All of it footed — directly or indirectly — by customers of a large Portland-area utility. A recent Oregonian/OregonLive investigation found that executives with Clean Water Services, Washington County's sewer agency, have spent years enjoying fancy business trips to Hawaii and meals on ratepayers' dime. None of the lavish travel spending is accounted for in the agency's annual budgets. And, despite months of probing questions and public records requests, officials have not yet disclosed the total cost of four Hawaiian trips or provided the receipts on hundreds of thousands of dollars in food spending. On the latest Beat Check, Shane Dixon Kavanaugh talks to Jamie Goldberg about her rigorous watchdog reporting led to this month's series on Clean Water Services. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A series of headlines has brought bad news about the management of Oregon's Department of Corrections and Oregon Youth Authority to public attention. Numerous leadership changes have also resulted at the two departments. The agencies are separate divisions in Oregon's state government but share the responsibility to care for people incarcerated for criminal convictions. The Oregon Youth Authority takes offenders who committed crimes before age 18 (from 12 to 24) and the Corrections Department houses adults. Senior reporter Noelle Crombie, who specializes in criminal justice journalism, wrote about problems of medical neglect in Oregon's prisons. Prison officials placed on leave Prison medical care under scrutiny Prisoner lost sight in eye Doctor warned about problems at prisons Top officials dismissed Prison medical care plagued by turmoil at the top (with watchdog reporter Ted Sickinger) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the Mt. Bachelor ski resort abruptly went up for sale in August, a couple of Central Oregon mountain enthusiasts had an audacious thought: Maybe we should buy it. Before they knew it, the me — who had not met beforehand — put in motion a plan to purchase one of Oregon's most cherished landmarks. They organized a GoFundMe and formed a company. They hobnobbed with Oregon politicians. They sought out big-pocket investors. They knew the challenge would be daunting. Bachelor is a coveted property, after all. So the corporate titans of the ski industry would be swarming, likely offering bids in the neighborhood of $200 million. But the movement was quickly celebrated as a potential win for the underdog, drawing national attention for its effort to keep the United States' seventh-largest ski resort out of the hands of corporate America — and in the hands of local ski bums. The group made a major announcement last week regarding their quest to buy Bachelor. Where do things stand? And how did we get to this point? On the latest episode of Beat Check, Jonathan Bach, who covers housing and real estate for The Oregonian/OregonLive, discusses the backstory — and the latest news — surrounding the bid to buy Mt. Bachelor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

But will it be a home run? The Portland Diamond Project has so far struck out on its years-long efforts to bring Major League Baseball to Portland. But now they've got a new site on the South Waterfront, fresh energy from city leaders and a pitch to the Oregon Legislature, not to mention swoon-y renderings of a new stadium along the Willamette. Sports columnist Bill Oram and ECONorthwest economist Mike Wilkerson join Beat Check with The Oregonian to make sense of the numbers behind the proposal, the unknowns (who is behind that ownership group?) and what comes next. Wilkerson, a consultant to the Portland Diamond Project, says building a new stadium downtown could be a game-changer for Portland, the city that he recently and regretfully said was on the verge of a “doom loop” thanks to downward trends in population growth, the commercial real estate market and more. Stay tuned until the end of the episode to hear Oram and Wilkerson make it very clear where their own personal baseball allegiances land. Related coverage: Is a picture worth almost a billion dollars?OHSU responds to South Waterfront ballpark proposalEconomist warns of Portland ‘doom loop' Subscribe to Beat Check anywhere you listen to podcasts to get new episodes each week. You can support local journalism by becoming a subscriber to The Oregonian/OregonLive. Explore more of our podcasts and sign up to get newsletters for the latest news and top stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Preliminary results from a new state survey on wood combustion show more people are using fireplaces and woodstoves in urban areas in Oregon, despite efforts by state and local governments to decrease their use. Why the increase? And just how dangerous are wood stoves and wood-burning fireplaces to our health and the health of the planet? John Wasiutynski, the director for Multnomah County's Office of Sustainability, talked on the Beat Check podcast about the pollution impacts of wood combustion and about why it's so difficult to get people to stop using wood burning devices.  READ MORE: Budget cuts jeopardize program providing heat pumps for low-income Oregonians Oregon attorney general's office joins lawsuit against the EPA over wood-burning stove standards Limiting winter fires helps Portland's toxic air, and it's the law Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's undeniably good news that deadly violence in Portland continued to tick downward last year. The city recorded 71 homicides in 2024. That's six fewer than the year prior and a 30% drop from the record-shattering 101 killings Oregon's most populous city saw in 2022. Reported shootings, meanwhile, fell below 1,000 for the first time since 2020. Despite these positive trends, annual Portland homicides are still more than double what they were pre-pandemic. And other large, more populous west coast cities like Seattle and San Francisco continue to see far fewer killings than here. So what gives? On The latest Beat Check, Oregonian/OregonLive reporters Shane Dixon Kavanaugh and Zaeem Shaikh discuss Portland's stubbornly high homicide numbers — and why there are signs of continued of improvement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The second Trump administration has barely begun, but an avalanche of policy changes and executive orders have already had repercussions in Oregon. Editor Therese Bottomly is joined by politics co-editor Jamie Goldberg and watchdog editor Brad Schmidt to discuss local coverage of the Trump effect in Oregon. They discuss the many lawsuits already filed by Oregon and other states over Trump's orders.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Oregon became the third state in the United States to legalize recreational marijuana use, proponents envisioned a double dose of green. Residents were given a chance to light up legally, finally bringing the state's underground cannabis culture out of the shadows. Nowadays, Oregon boasts twice as many cannabis shops as Starbucks coffeehouses. But a decade into Oregon's grand, green experiment, the business of marijuana has reached a crisis.  On the latest episode of Beat Check, Mike Rogoway, who covers Oregon technology and the state economy for The Oregonian/OregonLive, details the highs and lows of one of Oregon's most unique industries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's no secret that Oregon has an affordable housing problem. Gov. Tina Kotek has set an ambitious goal of building 36,000 units of housing a year, but so far, the state is nowhere close to hitting that target. Housing and real estate reporter Jonathan Bach recently went to Bend to spotlight a small but meaningful piece of the affordable housing puzzle: Community land trusts. He dissects them on this week's episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, and also checks in on other strategies the state is using to chip away at its housing backlog. And don't miss the end of the episode, where Bach discusses the commercial real estate projects that are set to break big in 2025, including the new James Beard Public Market in Portland. Pike Place, Portland's coming for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oregon's residential electricity rates have gone up nearly 50% in the Portland area in just the past four years. Those increases have primarily been driven by the rising costs to buy power from the open energy market. But there's growing concern that the rapid expansion of power-hungry data centers could significantly drive up residential power bills in the coming years. Already, data centers consume more than 10% of all Oregon's electricity. Power planners expect tech companies' power use will double by the end of the decade, or perhaps quadruple. Mike Rogoway, who reports on data centers for The Oregonian/OregonLive, talked on Beat Check podcast about a new proposal state lawmakers are crafting for the new legislative session that would give Oregon regulators authority to insulate residential customers from the costs associated with supplying data centers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A housing, homelessness and behavioral health crisis. Flagging student test scores. Billions of dollars needed for road and bridge repairs.Oregon legislative leaders will kick off their 2025 session this week at the Capitol with no shortage of significant challenges to tackle and tame. And while Democrats and Republicans say right now that they share a focus on other key areas of concern — such as making life more affordable for Oregonians and greater accountability of state government — the finer details around those common goals could prove divisive in the coming months. On the latest Beat Check, reporters Sami Edge and Shane Dixon Kavanaugh offer a Salem legislative preview. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Business reporter Matthew Kish just completed a three-part series on one of Oregon's signature companies, Nike. He took a deep dive into the so-called “Starfish” surveys, a clandestine effort to document problems employees had with harassment and discrimination. The surveys are at the heart of a court case set to be argued this winter at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Kish joined Editor Therese Bottomly to talk about his reporting, the court case, and how The Oregonian/OregonLive became entwined in court proceedings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Large solar farms are on the rise in Oregon, in a push to fulfill the state's ambitious clean energy mandates. But their rapid rise is leading to worries about how they could reshape the state's agricultural economy and rural vistas. In November, the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council, a board that oversees the siting of large energy facilities, approved the state's largest solar farm – and one of the country's largest – on about 10,000 acres of active farmland in Morrow County. It's one of several multi-thousand acre solar farms poised to be built in Oregon. Most of the projects will cover cultivable agricultural land, taking thousands of acres out of production and reshaping the rural landscape. This has brought questions about the potential impacts to farmers, ranchers, tourists and wildlife. Sarah Esterson, a senior policy advisor on the state's Energy facility siting team, talked on Beat Check about how the state approves large solar farms and what it requires of developers to offset impacts to rural economies and landscapes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Schools may be closed for the holiday break, but there's a lot ahead for Oregon's public education system in 2025. We asked three of the superintendents of Oregon's largest public school districts — Kimberlee Armstrong of Portland Public Schools, Gustavo Balderas from the Beaverton School District and Andrea Castaneda from Salem-Keizer Public Schools — to join Beat Check this week for a roundtable discussion. Listen in to get the scoop on their thoughts about how the state funds education, and how that impacts urban school districts, which serve complex, high-needs communities, including families experiencing poverty and students who don't speak English as a first language. We also broke down the debate over greater accountability in Oregon's school systems, what it's like to be negotiating with teacher unions in the wake of Portland's impactful teacher strike and what classroom projects — from language immersion to early literacy — have them really jazzed about 2025. Read more: How shabby or shiny are your local schools? In Oregon, it depends on where you live. After Portland teachers' strike and statewide budget cuts, Kotek backs ‘significant' changes to funding formula. In Albany, a teacher's strike reverberates statewide Subscribe to Beat Check anywhere you listen to podcasts to get new episodes each week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the evening of Saturday, Dec. 7, a series of curious and unusual red lights illuminated the Oregon night sky. They moved around dramatically, zooming up and down at speeds so extreme, so uncharacteristic, nearby pilots were left in awe as they watched it all unfold from 30,000 feet. “I don't even know how to describe it,” one pilot said. “It's pretty crazy,” added another. In the middle of the mystery, an air traffic controller gave permission for the pilots to “maneuver as necessary left and right to avoid the UFO out there.” Some have suggested that the lights were merely Starlink satellites, which are routinely spotted as they orbit the planet. But others aren't so sure. Some believe those weird red lights that dazzled the night sky are part of a curious trend of uncanny events. Some believe there's more to the story. On the latest episode of Beat Check, Lizzy Acker, who covers Oregon weather and writes the advice column Why Tho? for The Oregonian/OregonLive, shares details of the recent curiosities in our friendly skies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, plans for the largest U.S. supermarket merger in history imploded in spectacular fashion. First, an Oregon federal judge blocked the $24.6 billion bid by Kroger to take over Albertson's, its next largest rival. Less than 24 hours later, Albertsons, which also owns Safeway, pulled out of the deal entirely — and then filed a massive lawsuit against Kroger, the parent company of Fred Meyer and QFC. The bitter breakup marks the end of a two-year saga that stood to upend grocery shopping across Oregon and centered largely right here in Portland. On the latest Beat Check, Oregonian/OregonLive reporters Kristine de Leon and Shane Dixon Kavanaugh unpack the final twists and turns of the supermarket deal gone sour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades, The Oregonian has sponsored an annual fundraising drive, featuring local nonprofits making a difference in our community. Its part of The Oregonian/OregonLive's mission to strengthen and empower the communities we serve. This year, we are featuring 13 nonprofits. Once the board chooses a nonprofit, reporters and photographers find an example of how the agency has helped individuals. Each article is accompanied by a box that shows what donations, even small ones, can accomplish. Grant Butler, a longtime editor and reporter in our newsroom, takes on the challenge of managing the project each fall. He joined Editor Therese Bottomly, who leads the board overseeing Oregonian Publishing Co. Public Benefits Inc., to talk about the importance of our campaign. > Donate to the Season of Sharing general fund. You can also text the code Season2024 to 44-321. This year's Season of Sharing fund drive continues until Dec. 31. Online donations can be made at oregonlive.com/sharing or the 2024 Season of Sharing GiveLively page. Donations can also be made by mail: Make a check out to Season of Sharing and send it to Season of Sharing, c/o Oregonians Credit Union, 336 N.E. 20th Ave., Portland, OR 97232. In this episode of Beat Check, we talk about: The history of our fund drive and how it has changed over the decades How the nonprofits are chosen Hearing about the transformative power of Season of Sharing gifts How Season of Sharing prompts other gifts or bequests Favorite stories Butler remembers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roger A. Pearce Jr. spent three decades as a successful attorney in the Northwest, representing prominent people and high-profile businesses in Oregon and Washington. He dedicated his free time to nonprofit boards and planning commissions. He spent countless hours doing pro bono legal work. He was well-liked in social circles and part of a happy marriage. By all measures, the name Roger Pearce was synonymous with success and respect. Except for one thing: Roger Pearce was not actually Roger Pearce. Who is the real Roger Pearce? Why did a prominent lawyer spend 50 years masquerading under a stolen identity? And how did the truth finally come to light? On the latest episode of Beat Check, Maxine Bernstein, who covers the federal court and crime and law enforcement for The Oregonian/OregonLive, shares the gripping story of how a prominent lawyer stole the identity of a deceased baby. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For more than a decade, Oregon forecasters have underestimated the strength of the state's economy — and the amount of money it collects each year. That's led to tax rebate windfalls for Oregon residents, who receive a portion of excess revenue under the state's unique “kicker” law. It's also left state lawmakers with less money to spend on schools, health care, transportation and other budget priorities. All of this may change now that Oregon's hired a state economist, who is reforming the model his office uses to predict the state's finances. On the latest Beat Check, reporters Shane Dixon Kavanaugh and Mike Rogoway discuss the potential impacts of those changes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new investigation published in The Oregonian/OregonLive focuses on the life of an Oregon girl who was repeatedly trafficked for sex and on how the foster care system had failed to protect her. On the latest Beat Check, investigative reporter Hillary Borrud talked about the story, including how sex trafficking of children can happen in a city like Portland and why our state is failing those most at risk. Read more: Oregon teen repeatedly sex trafficked. How the foster system failed her 5 things to know about how Oregon's foster system failed to protect teen from sex trafficking Video: How Oregon's foster system failed to save a teenager from sex trafficking Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're a few days out from Election Day 2024, and reporters at The Oregonian/OregonLive have been hard at work trying to decode all the results and what they mean for our region. Portland's got a new mayor, and the new City Council is coming into focus too. Voters chose two new progressive Multnomah County Commissioner candidates over their more moderate opponents, while the Clackamas County Commission is on the verge of a big power shift. Democrats remain in the driver's seat in Salem, and are poised to win nationally watched Congressional races in the Pacific Northwest too. This week's podcast breaks it all down, plus we'll get into the Election Day moments we'll still be thinking about six months from now. Related coverage: Mayor-elect Keith Wilson says he'll once again make Portland ‘the city that works' Progressives Meghan Moyer, Shannon Singleton capture seats on Multnomah County board of commissioners Janelle Bynum wins race for Congress, flipping U.S. House seat from GOP to Democratic control Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In one of the most contentious and consequential elections in recent memory, Oregon has become ground zero for one of the most intriguing and potentially important races in the United States. District 5, a wide swath of Oregon that stretches from SE Portland to Albany to Bend, is home to a heated and hotly-contested political showdown between Republican incumbent Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Democratic challenger Janelle Bynum, who are vying for a spot in the U.S. House of Representatives. The winner of the race, which is one of only a handful of battleground matchups this election cycle, could shift the balance of power in congress. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Oregonian/OregonLive's Maxine Bernstein reported on the two-week trial in federal court that brought to light a pattern of crimes by defendant Negasi Zuberi. A final twist as the case was headed to the jury threatened to hold up the final verdict. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The senior vice president at DHM Research decodes his firm's recent polling on the Portland mayor's race, voter attitudes about downtown and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the end of September, when the federal government canceled Oregon's first-ever offshore wind lease sale, many people were left with questions about why and what's next. The announcement from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management came after Gov. Tina Kotek sent a letter to the agency asking it to stop the Oct. 15 auction. Kotek cited tribal opposition and a tribal lawsuit among the reasons for halting the lease sale. That lawsuit was filed by the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, which has emerged over the past two years as one of the most vocal opponents of offshore wind, demanding the bureau conduct in-depth reviews of the impacts of floating turbines on marine life and fishing areas. Despite the lawsuit and the canceled auction, the tribal confederation has continued talks with the federal agency. Because the reality is that the turbines are badly needed to generate clean electricity and help achieve state and federal climate goals. The questions remain: how and where should these projects be built? Brad Kneaper, Tribal Council chair with the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians and Rick Eichstaedt, the tribes' attorney, talked on Beat Check about why his tribes decided to sue to halt the auction and what the path forward for Oregon's offshore wind is. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the latest Beat Check, Oregonian/OregonLive reporters Shane Dixon Kavanaugh and Julia Silverman discuss the prospects of Portland mayoral hopefuls Rene Gonzalez, Carmen Rubio and Keith Wilson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The general election is fast approaching and Oregon journalists are working hard to inform voters. The Oregonian/OregonLive's politics team is tackling everything from congressional races to local measures. A particular focus this fall is Portland's new ranked-choice voting system. Jamie Goldberg, who with Betsy Hammond leads the newsroom's politics team, joined Editor Therese Bottomly for a conversation about all of the information we're providing prospective voters as we approach the date when ballots go out. --We cover key dates to watch for --We talk about recent concerns regarding ineligible voters --We highlight various tools on OregonLive for readers to find out more Find all of our general election 2024 coverage at oregonlive.com/election-preview All of our coverage on Portland's new system is at oregonlive.com/topic/portland-government The Oregonian/OregonLive's interactive map for Portland voters is here. Our video explainer is at here, using donuts to explain the new system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Connie Chung is an icon. It's been almost 20 years since she was regularly on air, but she's still a household name and a namesake for a generation of Asian American women. Americans remember her as one of the faces of the news, from the 1970s through the early 2000s. She interviewed Nixon and Oregon's one-time Olympic darling-turned-national villain, Tonya Harding and covered the events that rocked the country from the O.J. Simpson trial to the Oklahoma City bombing. In “Connie: A Memoir” released Tuesday from Grand Central Publishing, Chung, now 78, tells her own story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

School is back in session, but September has been warmer than usual. Thousands of students in the Portland area were let out of school early or had classes canceled earlier this month as temperatures reached triple digits and dirty air from wildfires in the region triggered air quality alerts. With extreme weather events on the rise both during summers and winters, schools are being forced to adjust to the impacts of a warming climate, including by upgrading their buildings, swapping gas-gurgling buses for electric ones and writing new climate-focused curriculums, among others. Julia Silverman, The Oregonian's education reporter, talked on Beat Check about how schools are hoping to fund new HVAC systems and other climate-related changes, what approaches rural schools are taking and why climate-related learning disruptions can significantly hamper student success. Read more about schools' response to climate change on The Oregonian/OregonLive.com: Portland-area schools hope city will fund more AC and climate upgrades, via clean energy tax proceeds How shabby or shiny are your local schools? In Oregon, it depends where you live 6 down, 3 to go as another renovated high school opens in Portland With extreme heat in the forecast, Portland-area school districts weigh their options Students, legislators push for school districts to tackle climate change A Portland high school student has Oregon governor's ear on environmental justice Young Somali American brings green Islam movement to Portland Students nationwide have rebounded after pandemic. But not in Oregon. Consequences could be severe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Portland City Hall is on the verge of some truly monumental changes, ranging from the radical transformation of how the city's government operates to an historic election in November that will usher in a new mayor and expanded 12-member City Council. The work to get here has now been years in the making. Few have followed the twists and turns of this civic saga as closely as Maja Viklands Harris. A longtime journalist and local government watcher, Harris is the founder of Rose City Reform, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news and research site that's become a must-read for reporters, political insiders and many of the people seeking local elected office this fall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 new wave energy test site is nearly complete off the Oregon coast. The site, overseen by Oregon State University, will allow private developers to test devices that can harness the power of ocean waves, a technology that's still in its infancy. The hope is that wave energy can become another major source of clean, renewable electricity akin to solar or wind power and can help power the world's clean energy transition. Burke Hales, a professor at Oregon State University and the chief scientist at the test site, talked on Beat Check about why Oregon is at the forefront of this new technology and what the challenges are going forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last month, watchdog reporter Ted Sickinger published an in-depth article examining a loophole in the Oregon Lottery's rules. In Oregon, it is perfectly legal to re-sell your winning lottery ticket at a discount, allowing the buyer to claim the prize. Why would anyone do this? Well, if they wanted to avoid having the state seize part of their winnings for taxes or back child support, for example. And why would the state allow this? Lottery officials told Sickinger they were aware of the practice of “discounting” and despite the fact other states have moved to close down similar schemes elsewhere nothing had been done in Oregon to prohibit the workaround. Sickinger joined Editor Therese Bottomly on “Beat Check with The Oregonian” to talk about how he got onto the story and how he tracked down participants willing to talk with him. He also talked about reaction to his piece. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2024 fire season so far hasn't encroached on as many highly populated areas or forced as many mass evacuations as some recent years. But it's been historic nonetheless. More acres have burned across the state than in any year since at least 1992, when officials started keeping a reliable tally. Sujena Soumyanath and Fedor Zarkin, public safety reporters for The Oregonian/OregonLive, discussed fire damage to date, dispatches from the front lines and the outlook for the rest of the season on Beat Check with The Oregonian. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices