Locus Focus

After a 17 year battle, communities across Southern Oregon (and the rest of

the region) finally defeated the massive Jordan Cove LNG Export terminal

proposed for Coos Bay. But not long after that victory a new fracked gas

behemoth threatens the region again. Gas Transmissio...

This program was originally broadcast on October 24, 2022

For thousands of years the north reach of the Willamette River, near its

confluence with the Columbia, was a braided river of shallow channels and

islands rich in biodiversity. That was until European settlers cam...

This program was originally broadcast on November 28, 2022

 

The Northern Spotted Owl is the quintessential canary in the coal-mine for

older forest ecosystems. It was listed as “threatened” under the

Endangered Species Act in 1992 because of widespread logging of it...

Ever since last summer, when the city of Portland denied Zenith Energy the

Land Use Compatibility (LUCS) statement to expand their oil train operastions

in Northwest Portland, it looked like Zenith might actually be forced to shut

down. But then to the amazement and dismay ...

Last month the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released

the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the proposed GTN XPress

fracked gas pipeline expansion. The project, which would significantly

increase the flow of fracked gas through the Northwest, fac...

Portland voters just made history. With the passage of Measure 26-228, for

the first time in over 100 years we are changing our form of government and

election system. The City of Portland will be implementing ranked choice

voting, preparing to move to a City Administrator ...

The Northern Spotted Owl is the quintessential canary in the coal-mine for

older forest ecosystems. It was listed as “threatened” under the

Endangered Species Act in 1992 because of widespread logging of its

old-growth forest habitat. And although wildfires have been blamed...

At long last Oregon regulators are beginning to rein in the state’s largest

gas utility. Earlier this year NW Natural came to the Oregon Public Utitlity

comission with a proposal to drastically raise its rates. The rate increases

would mainly pay for executive bonuses, inve...

Portland prides itself on being a tree city but in fact in recent years

Portland's tree canopy has actually shrunk. Friends of Trees, a nonprofit

organization that addresses inequities in the urban canopy by planting trees

with community involvement, has been working for ye...

As Election Day approaches our stomachs are contracting as our minds try to

push past worst case scenarios. With so many critical races too close to

call, and so much dark money being poured into some pretty scary candidates'

campaigns, we need to take a close look at what ...