Think Out Loud

Floyd Skloot’s newest collection of poetry, "Dancing in the Cosmos, New & Selected Poems, 1973-2024," covers the span of his career, including the best of his previously published poems and a section of new poems about his experience living with Parkinson's disease. We spoke to Skloot along with his daughter, the author Rebecca Skloot, in front of an audience at Powells.

A new report in the Journal of the American Medical Association lays out a range of evidence-based initiatives to reduce firearms deaths in the U.S. by 2040. The article comes out of a large interdisciplinary conference earlier this year that was chaired by researcher Fred Rivara, pediatrics professor in the University of Washington’s Medical School. He says professionals in the fields of public health, criminology, public policy and gun manufacturing discussed what has worked all over the country to bring gun deaths down. He says the idea was not to do away with guns or the Second Amendment, but to encourage the wider implementation of policies that have already been proven effective — and use emerging technologies — to reduce deaths. Rivara joins us to tell us more about the research into gun violence as a public health crisis, and what he hopes policy makers and the general public take from it.

Twenty years ago, Third Rail Repertory Theatre launched itself onto the Portland theatre scene with a production called “Recent Tragic Events,” set just after the attacks of 9/11. That play, written by Craig Wright, put Third Rail Rep on the map, winning a number of local theatre honors. While many theatres have come and gone in that time, Third Rail is among those that were able to survive the pandemic and other economic pressures. It’s celebrating 20 years by reprising that first show, “Recent Tragic Events.” We talk with director Scott Yarbrough, who was also the company’s founding artistic director, about how the play resonates today.

Last Friday morning, Oregonians were able to begin accessing their full monthly benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to fully fund the federal food aid program which serves more than 42 million Americans. But many of those households face new uncertainty after the Supreme Court granted on Friday night the Trump administration’s emergency appeal of the ruling. In a statement, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said the state had acted lawfully in sending out the SNAP payments and vowed to fight the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s demand that states “undo any steps” they took to issue  the full November SNAP benefits. Food pantries across Oregon, including at William Temple House in Portland, have mobilized in recent weeks to help people like Elaine, one of the more than 750,000 Oregonians who are SNAP recipients. To protect her privacy, OPB is identifying Elaine only by her first name. She says SNAP has been a lifeline to her for nearly 20 years while being unable to work fulltime because of a disability and experiencing periods of homelessness. Elaine joins us to discuss the restoration of her SNAP benefits after nearly a week without them, and the uncertainty about the program’s future. 

The leading cause of death for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers is COVID-19 followed by cancer linked to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center,according to a Mother Jones report. ICE data reviewed by the outlet showed that deaths and assaults at the agency are not outsized compared to other law enforcement, despite the Trump administration’s claims that their work is exceptionally dangerous. Noah Lanard is a reporter for Mother Jones and covered the story. He joins us with details of what he found in the data.

New data from Downtown Clean & Safe shows a growing number of pedestrians visiting Portland’s downtown. Compared to last year, the total number of visitors from January to August was up by 5.6%, making it the strongest year for downtown since the pandemic. But those numbers still have not caught up to what they were pre-lockdowns -- and are still just half of what they were in 2019. We’ll hear from various community leaders to hear how they view downtown. Todd Zarnitz is the president of the Northwest District Association. Sarah Shaoul is the founder and CEO of Bricks Need Mortar. And Ryan Hashagen is the founder of Icicle Tricycles, director of the Steel Bridge Skatepark Coalition and an adjunct professor at PSU. And we get thoughts from community members, visitors and business owners we gathered on a recent visit to downtown.

In 1983, the body of 21-year-old bartender Dana DuMars was found in Candy Cane Park in La Grande, Oregon. The case was never solved, though for years children grew up with scary stories about the park. An investigator for the district attorney’s office spent years looking into the case and finally narrowed in on potential suspects. But then, cuts from the federal Department of Justice to local law enforcement ended the investigation. Emma Goldberg wrote about this story for the New York Times and joins us to talk about it.

Protests at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in South Portland have been largely peaceful, despite President Trump’s attempts to send National Guard troops to the site. Local law enforcement has successfully managed conflicts among protesters and counter-protesters and made arrests for those who commit property or other crimes.   In September, Portland Police Chief Bob Day said on “Think Out Loud” that the bureau’s approach to these protests is consciously different from the one it took in 2020. He cited the use of Dialogue Liaison Officers who are “embedded” early on. “These are officers that are clearly identifiable with white shirts,” he said. “They’ve had additional training, and they go early on and try to establish communication and understanding.”   We learn more about this approach from Sergeant Daniel DiMatteo and Officer Jessica Ruch. They are among the approximately 10 Dialogue Liaison Officers the bureau deploys to protests.  

 Yesterday, Benjamin Gutman made his first appearance on the biggest stage possible. In his role as solicitor general of Oregon, Gutman argued in front of the nine justices of the Supreme Court on behalf of a coalition of a dozen states that sued over the president’s signature tariff trade strategy. The states argued the U.S. Congress, not the president, has the power to impose and collect taxes under the U.S. Constitution. Gutman joins us to talk about the experience.

There are more than 150 parks, and over 11,000 acres of land maintained by Portland Parks and Recreation. Parks play a role in providing a community gathering space, an area for exercise and more for communities. And recently, Portland voters cast their ballots on whether they support an increase to the Portland Parks levy. But how have parks changed over the years and which ones have we lost along the way? To answer these questions and more, Catherine McNeur joins us. She is a history professor at Portland State University and the author of two books, “Taming Manhattan” and "Mischievous Creatures." Her new course, Parks & Portland, will be offered this spring and explores the history of the city’s parks and the ways they have changed culturally, physically and environmentally over the last two centuries.

After four years in the making, the Northwest Museum of Cartoon Arts will be opening a permanent location in downtown Portland. Its debut exhibit "The Pacific Northwest in Comics” will explore and highlight the local comic industry and the notable artists, writers and others who have shaped the scene. Mike Rosen is the board chair for the museum. He joins us to share more about the only cartoon arts museum in the Northwest and the role Portland plays in the industry as a whole.

Last week, the Salem City Council voted 6-3 in favor of accepting a $180,000 donation from the Salem Chamber of Commerce and Salem Main Street Association to address concerns about livability and crime. The donation will be used to double the size of the Salem Police Department’s Homeless Services Team from two to four officers. The team responds to unsanctioned homeless encampments and helps connect unsheltered people to wraparound services. In a letter sent to the city council, Salem police chief and the city manager, the business groups said they would consider making another $180,000 donation in six months after “evaluating the effectiveness of this investment.”    The city council had already approved last month spending more than $600,000 to expand the size of the HST and have it operate seven days a week instead of four. The plan also includes adding mental health specialists to respond to certain emergencies and increase trash pickup to seven days a week. The donated funds will now help offset those costs.    The council’s divided vote to approve that largely anonymous donation comes amid controversy over Salem Mayor Julie Hoy’s decision to join an effort to repeal HB3115. The state law requires local governments to keep regulations on camping on public property “objectively reasonable.”      Salem Statesman Journal city reporter Whitney Woodworth joins us for more details.  

Portland’s public camping ban went into effect over the weekend. Police can now issue citations for people living in vehicles or camping in parks, streets and other public spaces if “reasonable shelter” is available. The ordinance originally passed in 2024, but Mayor Keith Wilson said in February he would pause enforcement until the city could open more shelter beds.   Meanwhile, Portland voters had until Tuesday at 8 p.m. to decide on a controversial ballot measure to raise property taxes to fund a new city Parks Levy after the old one expired. Alex Zielinski covers Portland city government for OPB. She joins us to talk about election results, how camping enforcement is going so far and what the ban means for people living outside.

In 1908, Oregon voters approved a statewide ballot measure allowing proportional representation to be used in voting across the state. More than 100 years later, Portland voters used ranked choice voting for the first time, while Oregon voters overall opposed a switch to adopt ranked choice voting statewide. A new analysis from Sightline Institute looked at voting methods across the state and found that current election methods lead to a “pattern of misrepresentation.” Shannon Grimes is a senior researcher with the think tank’s democracy program. She joins us to share more on what she sees is wrong with Oregon’s current voting practices and suggestions she has to improve it.

On Monday, the Trump administration announced that it will partially restore funding for the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program, but only at half the amount recipients of the food aid program would normally get this month. In separate rulings on Friday, two federal judges had ordered the Trump administration to tap billions of dollars in emergency reserves to continue to fund the program which 42 million Americans rely on, including 1 in 6 households in Oregon. .   SNAP recipients will likely still face delays, which could last weeks, as state agencies scramble to account for the reduced November benefits. Oregon and Washington were part of a coalition of 25 states and the District of Columbia that had sued to prevent the loss of monthly SNAP benefits beginning Nov. 1 after the Trump administration said it would halt funding for the program during the federal government shutdown. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson and Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek last week authorized millions of dollars in state funds to support food banks in their respective states.   Roughly 930,000 people are enrolled in SNAP in Washington state. Sixty thousand of them reside in Clark County, according to Emily Straw, president of the Clark County Food Bank. She says there has been increased demand from clients in the past week or so at the two pantries the food bank operates in Vancouver.     Straw joins us to share how her organization has mobilized to help vulnerable Clark County residents facing hunger.  

On Monday, the Trump administration said it would partially restore funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in response to two federal judicial rulings last Friday that ordered it to use contingency funds to pay for the federal food assistance program. Oregon and Washington were part of a coalition of 25 states and the District of Columbia that had sued to prevent the loss of monthly SNAP benefits on Nov. 1. The 42 million people across the nation who rely on SNAP will now only get half the amount they would normally get for the month and will likely face delays to access their partial benefits.    About 1 in 6 people, or roughly 757,000 households, receive SNAP benefits in Oregon. Last week, Gov. Tina Kotek announced sending $5 million in unspent state funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families to help Oregon food banks. Her executive order also declared a 60-day food emergency and called on Oregonians to donate or volunteer in their communities “to help neighbors from going hungry.”  Gov. Kotek joins us to discuss this situation along with the impact of other actions by the Trump administration, including the possible deployment of the National Guard to Portland, which has been blocked until Friday, when a final ruling by a federal judge is expected.

The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians recently opened its first affordable housing development in Salem. The city is the second-largest population center for tribal citizens outside of Siletz, according to tribal housing officials. As reported in Underscore Native News, the complex includes two- to four-bedroom homes, with half of the 39 units reserved for residents who make below 80% of the area's median income. Vera Vasquez just moved into a home in the development, known as Kloshe Illahee Haws. Sami Jo Difuntorum is the executive director of the Siletz Tribal Housing Department. They join us to talk about the importance of creating affordable housing and fostering tribal culture outside of the Siletz reservation on the Oregon Coast.

The Vancouver-based Pink Lemonade was started in 2010 by two doctors Allen and Cassie Gabriel, a plastic surgeon and an anesthesiologist. They saw a gap in non-medical, emotional support for women being treated for breast cancer in the Portland-metro area. They began offering retreats and support groups locally, eventually adding a mentorship program where breast cancer survivors who have gone through treatment mentor others who have more recently gotten a diagnosis. And 15 years later, the nonprofit serves people in all 36 Oregon counties and six in SW Washington. Susan Stearns is the CEO of Pink Lemonade and was its first staff member who was also a survivor. Tina Sixberry has been a mentor since 2019 after participating in other programs. Miyuki Yaegashi met Sixberry and became her mentee earlier this year, shortly after she was diagnosed. All three join us in studio to talk about creating connections and community, and making sure those facing breast cancer diagnosis and treatment know they are not alone.

Demand for protein powders and shakes has soared in recent years as influencers and health gurus have touted the nutrient’s benefits for weight loss and muscle gain. But the benefits could come at a cost. A recent Consumer Reports investigation found unsafe levels of lead in many popular protein supplements. More than two-thirds of the products tested had more lead in a single serving than food safety experts say is safe to consume in an entire day. Hannah Cutting-Jones is a food historian and assistant professor in the University of Oregon’s global studies department. She’s written about the rise of protein as a diet trend and joins us to talk about what it’s meant for consumers.

Kimberly King Parsons debut novel, “We Were the Universe” received the Oregon Book Award’s Ken Kesey Award for Fiction earlier this year. The novel explores grief, trauma and psychedelic experiences as readers follow young mom, Kit, through journeys both physical and emotional. Parsons joins to discuss Texas, motherhood, loss and more.

After more than 100 years, Chinook salmon have made it to areas above Upper Klamath Lake in Southern Oregon. Earlier this month, a radio-tagged adult salmon was detected in the Williamson River and others were found in tributaries on the west side of Upper Klamath Lake and in the Sprague River. The return of salmon follows the largest river restoration project in U.S. history. The removal of four dams in Southern Oregon and Northern California was completed last year. Adult salmon swam more than 200 miles from the ocean to the Oregon side of the Klamath Basin for the first time since 1912. The Klamath Tribes said the fish need time and protection to thrive again. We hear more from William Ray Jr., the chairman of the Klamath Tribes.

Eighteen-year-old Sarah Zuber was found dead in 2019 just 400 feet from her home in Rainier. The second season of OPB’s investigative podcast "Hush" focuses on her story and the ways that citizen sleuthing, declining local media, and a police department that can’t find answers led to serious rifts in rural Columbia County. We’ll listen to the first episode of the new season.

  LONG SYNOPSIS: The city of Sisters has built a strong tourism base, from its acclaimed rodeo and quilt shows to its outdoor experiences. But Sisters also grapples with economic development and big challenges, from wildfires to housing shortages.   City officials are working on providing more affordable housing options for residents. And earlier this year, the Flat Fire burned as close as two miles northeast of the city. The blaze destroyed roughly 23,000 acres and five homes.   Scott Humpert is the executive director of Explore Sisters, an organization tasked with managing tourism in the city. He joins us with details of how Sisters is aiming to keep the industry sustainable in the region.  

Marion County filed a lawsuit this summer asking a federal court to clarify what information it could provide to federal immigration officials. Since then, 20 of Oregon’s 36 counties have voiced their support for the lawsuit, along with nearly all county sheriffs in the state. Attorney General Dan Rayfield has asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that Oregon’s sanctuary state law clearly prohibits local cooperation in immigration enforcement.  Juliet Stumpf is the Edmund O. Belsheim Professor of Law at Lewis & Clark Law School. She joins us to talk about what the county’s lawsuit could mean for Oregon’s sanctuary state law.

In February, the Trump administration announced cuts to more than 90% of USAID’s foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall assistance around the world. In July, the agency’s remaining programs were brought under the control of the State Department. Thousands of USAID staff and contractors working in the US and around the world have been fired or laid off, including Portlander Leah Petit. A global health professional for nearly 20 years, Petit was a senior program advisor at USAID’s Office of HIV/AIDS when she lost her job in late January. Her projects focused on strengthening local health systems in Africa and Asia to sustain long-term HIV prevention, monitoring and treatment efforts.    In August, Petit embarked on a new career when she launched “Global Development Interrupted,” a podcast she hosts and produces featuring former USAID workers who help dispel misconceptions about the agency’s work overseas and how it has benefited Americans here. Established nearly 65 years ago, USAID has delivered lifesaving humanitarian assistance and medicines, mobilized to halt the spread of deadly diseases like Ebola, expanded access to clean drinking water and sanitation, along with countless other relief and development programs. Petit joins us to share more details about her podcast and what’s at stake when the US reverses its leadership on international aid, including the millions of lives that are expected to be lost with the dismantling of USAID.  

Earlier this month, the Trump Administration said it will not tap emergency dollars to keep funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program flowing during the government shutdown.   On Tuesday, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield announced that Oregon had joined a coalition of more than 20 states, including Washington, suing the Trump Administration for suspending the federal food assistance program. Organizations that provide groceries and other services have already faced an increased strain in resources due to inflation and funding cuts. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the agency that funds SNAP, announced it will no longer release an annual household food security survey which researchers use to measure hunger in the U.S.   Krista Harper is the development director for Clackamas Service Center. Mark Edwards is a professor of sociology and director of the Oregon State University Policy Analysis Lab. They join us for more details about how recent federal actions affect Oregonians who rely on SNAP benefits.  

The U.S. government does not track how many citizens are being detained by immigration agents. But new reporting from ProPublica found that there were more than 170 incidents where citizens were detained by authorities at raids and protests, including people who were held for more than a day without being given the chance to call loved ones or a lawyer. Nicole Foy is the Ancil Payne Fellow for ProPublica. She joins us to share more on her reporting.

Since July, a new streamlined process in Washington allows family members of children in the foster care system to become licensed caregivers. As first reported in the Imprint, the change allows "kinship caregivers" to receive resources that were initially not available to them. The updates made by the state of Washington come after federal policy changes made under the Biden administration to allow states to come up with their own licensing standards. Ruben Reeves is the assistant secretary of licensing for Washington's Department of Children, Youth and Family. Jeanine Tacchini is the agency's deputy assistant secretary of licensing. They both join us to share what this streamlined process has meant for youth in foster care.

Some Portlanders will be seeing a single issue on their ballot, a 75% increase in the current levy that funds parks. Under this new increase, the average homeowner would pay an extra $133 a year in taxes. The levy would help fund swim lessons, summer camps, sports programs and allows the Parks Bureau to provide free or reduced cost programs to low-income residents. However, the levy would not be used for much needed maintenance and the city still lacks a stable funding plan for parks, which a recent city audit found.    Jason Williams is the executive director and founder of the Taxpayers Association of Oregon and opposes the levy. Portland City Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney supports the increase. We’ll hear from both sides as they make their case on how Portlanders should vote.  

 Indigenous tribes in what is now the northeastern U.S. and Canada have played lacrosse for millennia. Similar stick-and-ball games were played by tribes across the Southeast and Great Lakes region. But according to NCAA data, less than 1% of college lacrosse players are American Indian or Alaskan Native, and more than 80% are white.   Pacific Northwest Native Lacrosse is trying to change that. As reported in Willamette Week, the organization recruits Indigenous lacrosse players from across the PNW to participate in tournaments, youth camps and clinics.   We listen back to a conversation we first aired in March 2025 with JD Elquist,  the founder of PNWNL. We also spoke with Bilįį Blackhorn, who was then a senior at South Eugene High School and who has played lacrosse for 10 years, including with PNWNL. They joined us to talk about the importance of emphasizing the sport’s Indigenous roots.  

A decade ago, nearly every country in the world adopted the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit the rise in global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius by 2100. Member nations are required under the legally binding treaty to submit every five years their climate action plans, or Nationally Determined Contributions, that detail the voluntary actions they commit to take to cut their carbon emissions.    The treaty couldn’t have come at a more urgent time. Last year was Earth’s hottest year on record, including the first year to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-Industrial levels. Still, the Paris Agreement has allowed countries to make some modest progress on cutting emissions and slowing the arrival of the 2 degrees Celsius tipping point that experts warn could trigger irreversible and catastrophic climate change impacts.  But a new study led by the University of Washington found that those carbon-cutting gains are not great enough to offset the environmental costs of global economic growth, which has risen sharply over the past decade. The study also projects how Pres. Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement for a second time may affect the collective, international effort to fight climate change. Adrian Raftery, a professor emeritus of statistics and sociology at University of Washington, joins us for more details.

President Trump’s use of federal immigration officers to arrest people alleged to be in the country without legal status has led to mass arrests, detentions and deportations. Some of those are U.S. citizens, and at least one such man in Milwaukie is suing the federal government over his unlawful detention. Alyssa Walker Keller is a coordinator for the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition (PIRC). She says in years past, their statewide hotline, 888-622-1510, might receive about 50 calls in a typical month. In the last two weeks, she says, the number is more like 2,000. Walker Keller says the work of the organization is only possible with volunteers who give their time and expertise to support those targeted by ICE and their families. She joins us to tell us more about the growing demands on PIRC and the role it’s increasingly playing as heightened ICE activity continues.  

Charles Yu has written a lot about the nature of reality, how we understand what is real, and the assumptions we make about each other and the universe we live in. Yu’s first novel, “How to live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe,” follows a time machine repairman who is searching for his father who is lost in time and memory. His latest book, National Book Award winning “Interior Chinatown,” takes place in a Chinese restaurant that’s also the set for a police procedural TV show and a sendup of stereotypes of Asian American characters. Yu spoke to us on February 29, 2024 in front of an audience of students from Ida B. Wells High School.

The Alcan 5000 Rally isn’t the kind of car race you might think of. It runs from Kirkland, Washington over 5,000 miles up to the Arctic Circle over 11 days. It’s what’s known as a time-speed-distance rally, where following the course, maintaining the right speed and arriving at checkpoints on time is what matters the most. Portlanders Andy and Mercedes Lilienthal placed first in their class and second overall this year. The couple, who are both automotive journalists, have been obsessed with TSD rallies for years. They join us to talk about their win

 Last year, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received nearly 18,000 reports of confidence/romance scams that resulted in losses of more than $672 million. Perpetrators of romance scams typically find their victims online, often through social media. They use a fake persona to deceive victims into trusting them or believing they’re interested in them romantically while making gradually increasing demands for money, which is usually sent by wire or cryptocurrency. The FBI says there was a record $9.3 billion in losses in the U.S. last year from scams involving cryptocurrency.    Romance scams can be especially costly for victims. The Columbian recently reported that between January 2021 and November 2024, Vancouver residents who were victims of romance scams lost an average of $112,000, according to the Vancouver Police Department. Sgt. Jay Alie, who oversees the VPD’s Property Crime Unit, says that while many romance scam victims are over the age of 60, people in their 30s and 40s have also fallen for them. Alie’s investigations of romance scams have widened beyond Vancouver to reveal other victims across the U.S. who’ve been ensnared in them, acting as middlemen to launder money for scammers they also believed they were in relationships with.   Sgt. Alie joins us for more details about these scams as they grow more sophisticated and shares how to protect yourself or vulnerable loved ones from them.  

 Earlier this month, Eugene paused the use of its automatic license plate reader cameras. They use AI to capture a car’s characteristics, like model and color, and can be used as a tool by law enforcement.   Local officials said the cameras have helped close more than 60 cases. But opponents of the technology say it can be used for mass surveillance, since the system is linked to a nationwide network.    Some residents say they’re concerned the technology could be abused under the Trump Administration and used to target people like immigrants, organizers and those seeking an abortion.    Rebecca Hansen-White is a KLCC reporter and has been covering this issue for the outlet. She joins us with details about the system.  

According to reports from U.S. adoption agencies, only 5% of domestic infant adoptions in recent years were completely closed, meaning no contact between the adoptee and their birth parents. Research suggests that some level of openness tends to benefit adoptive families, birth parents and adoptees, but navigating those relationships still presents a host of challenges.   Author Nicole Chung has documented her experience growing up as a Korean American adoptee in a white family in Southern Oregon in her two memoirs, “All You Can Ever Know” and “A Living Remedy.” Her own adoption was closed, but she recently wrote about the intricacies of open adoption for The Atlantic. She joins us to talk about her reporting.

 Portland Mayor Keith Wilson’s big campaign promise was to end unsheltered homelessness in the city by 2026. One part of that effort involves reuniting unhoused people with family members or loved ones outside of Portland.    Individuals can opt into the program or be referred by a member of the city’s outreach team. Outreach workers then connect with the person’s family or friends and arrange transportation to their new community. Contact largely ceases after the individual arrives at their destination. Skyler Brocker-Knapp is the director of Portland Solutions, the office that oversees homeless services in the

In Oregon, employment in the newspaper industry has fallen nearly 80% since 2000, according to OPB reporting.    And when communities lose journalists, information gaps can be exploited. The Ashland Daily Tidings closed in 2023, and the newspaper’s website was later invaded by artificial intelligence.    When a community loses a local newsroom, residents have fewer places to turn to for regional news that keeps them informed. Report for America is a nonprofit that places journalists in newsrooms across the U.S. to cover under-reported issues in communities, especially in rural areas.     Danielle Dawson is a collaborative investigative reporter for InvestigateWest and she’s based in Bend. Simmerdeep Kaur reports for the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin and covers the effects of federal policy on health and childcare access in southeast Washington. Alexander Banks reports for the Yakima Herald-Republic and covers education gaps in the Yakima Valley with a focus on solutions. And Alex Frick is a roving rural reporter covering peninsula communities for The Port Townsend and Jefferson County Leader in Washington.    They join us with details of their reporting and how their work affects people living in the Pacific Northwest.  

On Monday, a majority of a 3-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled that the Trump administration can send members of the National Guard to Portland. The immediate impact of the ruling, however, is unclear. The Ninth Circuit’s decision only applies to one of the two temporary restraining orders U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut issued earlier this month blocking deployments both from Oregon and from any other state. Writing for the majority, Judges Ryan Nelson and Bridget Bade said that both of Judge Immergut’s restraining orders “rise or fall together” because they’re based on the same legal reasoning. In a dissent, Judge Susan Graber disagreed and said the Trump administration did not challenge the second restraining order, which therefore remains in effect.    Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, Attorney General Dan Rayfield and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson responded to the ruling in a joint statement and called for a hearing before the full Ninth Circuit. “Oregon remains united in the fight against this unwanted, unneeded military intervention in Oregon,” Gov. Kotek wrote. Last week, a federal appeals court upheld an Illinois district court’s ruling that blocked the deployment of the National Guard to Chicago. The Trump administration filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the National Guard deployment in Chicago.    Joining us for a legal analysis of the Ninth Circuit’s ruling is Jessica Levinson, clinical professor of law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.    

Starting in elementary school, students might begin learning about the epic expedition Lewis and Clark led 220 years ago to explore the newly acquired territory of the Louisiana Purchase, an 8,000-mile journey through present-day Oregon to the Pacific Ocean and back. While the names Lewis and Clark have been etched into history books, the name York is largely unknown. York , William Clark’s slave, was the only Black man on the expedition. A skilled hunter, naturalist and outdoorsman, York also helped Lewis and Clark during their negotiations and encounters with Native American tribes in the uncharted West. Yet, as a slave, York lacked the agency to tell his own story and was denied his freedom by Clark for nearly a decade after returning home.    Grammy Award-nominated Portland musician Aaron Nigel Smith is today helping bring York’s story to a wider audience in the form of an opera that blends different musical genres, from folk to classical and jazz to hip-hop. “York the Explorer” premieres this Friday at the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts in Beaverton for a weekend of performances as part of “York Fest,” a 9-day celebration of the explorer organized by the Oregon Black Pioneers.    Smith produced, co-wrote and composed the music for “York the Explorer.” He also performs in it with his friend Cedric Berry, an artist with the L.A. Opera, who plays York. Jasmine Johnson, the civic engagement and partnerships manager at Portland Opera, plays Rose, York’s mother. They join us for a discussion and in-studio performance of several songs from the opera.  Disclosure: Patricia Reser Center for the Arts and Oregon Black Pioneers are OPB sponsors. OPB's newsroom maintains editorial independence and is not informed by financial support/individuals to the organization.

The Portland Trail Blazers’ first game of the 2025-2026 NBA regular season  tips off tomorrow at the Moda Center against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Blazers’ roster this season consists of several exciting new additions, including rookie Yang Hansen. The Blazers selected the 7-foot-1 center from China as the 16th-overall pick in the first round of the NBA draft in June.    Less than a month later, ESPN broke the news that Damian Lillard had agreed to return to the Blazers on a three-year, $42 million contract. The Blazers traded Lillard in 2023 to the Milwaukee Bucks, at his request, after Lillard spent 11 years playing in Portland without winning a championship trophy. Lillard’s time with the Bucks ended after he tore his Achilles tendon during the first-round of the NBA playoffs in the spring.    The start of the Blazers’ new season coincides with an out-of-court settlement that clears the way for the team’s sale to a group of wealthy investors led by Tom Dundon, the owner of the Carolina Hurricanes hockey team. Last month, the estate of Paul Allen announced it had entered a formal agreement to sell the Blazers to Dundon, pending approval from the  NBA’s Board of Governors. Mike Richman, host of the “Locked On Blazers” podcast, joins us to preview the new season and the hopes and uncertainties lying ahead.