Despite ambitious goals toward combating climate change, Oregon and Washington lag far behind other states when it comes to adding renewable energy. 

Our series It’s Not Easy Going Green focused on the struggles around the creation of new green energy projects. But it turns out that even if Oregon and Washington built all the wind and solar farms anyone could want, there’s just not enough grid capacity in the Northwest to deliver that energy to people’s homes. 

That’s according to a new investigation from Oregon Public Broadcasting and ProPublica. OPB reporters Tony Schick and Monica Samayoa scrutinized the Northwest’s transmission grid and its operator, the Bonneville Power Administration, which in the past decade has hooked up only one wind or solar plant, and that was an add-on to an existing plant. 

So, for a bonus episode of the series, Cascade PBS investigative reporter Brandon Block sat down with Schick and Samayoa to compare notes on why the Pacific Northwest’s dream of clean energy remains so far from reality. 

Read Schick and Samayoa’s reporting, “How the Pacific Northwest’s Dream of Green Energy Fell Apart” and “Higher Prices, Rolling Blackouts,” at OPB.org or ProPublica.org. 

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Producers:  Maleeha Syed, Sara Bernard

Reporter:  Brandon Block

Story editor: Ryan Famuliner

Executive producer: Sarah Menzies

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Northwest Reports is made possible by listeners like you.  If you would like to join the members who help us create this series, go to cascadepbs.org/nwreports. In addition to supporting our journalism, members receive great member benefits, including Cascade PBS Passport, with extended access to an on-demand library of local and PBS favorites.

One group with a loud voice in the debate over renewable energy development in Washington is farmers. Since so many of these conflicts are rooted in land-use decisions, a major question remains: Should the state prioritize land for agriculture or energy development?

Brandon Block explains how some farmers believe these new energy facilities could threaten their way of life, while others are surviving by leasing land to a solar developer.

Finally, Block speaks with a researcher who helps design conflict-reduction maps. The hope is that better advance planning can help address all of these dueling priorities – including the looming climate crisis.  

Read Block's investigation here. 

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Host/Producer:  Maleeha Syed

Producer: Sara Bernard

Reporter:  Brandon Block

Story editor: Ryan Famuliner

Executive producer: Sarah Menzies

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Northwest Reports is made possible by listeners like you.  If you would like to join the members who help us create this series, go to cascadepbs.org/nwreports. In addition to supporting our journalism, members receive great member benefits, including Cascade PBS Passport, with extended access to an on-demand library of local and PBS favorites.

What is the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, or EFSEC, anyway? While so many of Washington’s proposed renewable energy projects are mired in controversy, one thing all sides can agree on is their criticism of EFSEC.

The state body, which is empowered to override local laws and recommend permits for new energy projects, is routinely critiqued by everyone from clean energy developers to Indigenous nations to even the state legislature. Brandon Block explains why this facility-permitting council was created in the first place, how it works and what reforms might be in order.  

Read Block's investigation here. 

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Host/Producer:  Maleeha Syed

Producer: Sara Bernard

Reporter:  Brandon Block

Story editor: Ryan Famuliner

Executive producer: Sarah Menzies

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Northwest Reports is made possible by listeners like you.  If you would like to join the members who help us create this series, go to cascadepbs.org/nwreports. In addition to supporting our journalism, members receive great member benefits, including Cascade PBS Passport, with extended access to an on-demand library of local and PBS favorites.

As originally proposed, the Horse Heaven Hills wind farm would have built more than 200 wind turbines on a prominent ridgeline just south of Washington’s Tri-Cities. After years of community backlash, litigation and former Governor Inslee’s veto of a controversial state council’s permitting decision, the project is still in limbo.

Cascade PBS investigative reporter Brandon Block explains how a slew of resistance – including from homeowners, wildlife conservationists and the Yakama Nation – raises important questions about which concerns take precedence in the drive to kick fossil fuels. 

Read Block's investigation here. 

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Host/Producer:  Maleeha Syed

Producer: Sara Bernard

Reporter:  Brandon Block

Story editor: Ryan Famuliner

Executive producer: Sarah Menzies

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Northwest Reports is made possible by listeners like you.  If you would like to join the members who help us create this series, go to cascadepbs.org/nwreports. In addition to supporting our journalism, members receive great member benefits, including Cascade PBS Passport, with extended access to an on-demand library of local and PBS favorites.

In the final episode of the series, three Washington Republicans react to Donald Trump’s reelection and ponder the future of the state’s GOP.

Donald Trump’s reelection to the country’s highest office elicited a range of reactions ... even among Republicans in Washington state.  

Some on the right have distanced themselves from Trump, which listeners heard in the first episode of “The Elephant in the Room” — a three-part series from Northwest Reports that dives deeper into the state and future of Washington’s GOP. Other Washington Republicans stand by the President-elect, including those whom the Northwest Reports team spoke to at a GOP watch party on election night.  

In the series’ third and final episode, hosts Sara Bernard and Maleeha Syed caught up with a few Republicans in Washington after Nov. 5 to hear their perspectives on how this year’s election played out.  

The three candidly shared their thoughts on Trump’s reelection, the reasons Republicans keep losing in Washington and where they see the state GOP going from here.  

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Credits 

Host/Producer: Sara Bernard and Maleeha Syed 

Reporters:  Sara Bernard and Maleeha Syed 

Story editor: Ryan Famuliner

Executive producer: Sarah Menzies

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If you would like to support Cascade PBS, go to cascadepbs.org/membership. In addition to supporting our events and daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Cascade PBS. 

Follow the team as they head to Bellevue for a Republican election night watch party. As results roll in, attendees share their thoughts.

Washington state, as expected, went blue in this year’s election – showing up for Kamala Harris and electing Democrats in statewide races. Still, Republicans here had a lot of enthusiasm on election night ... and it turned out to be warranted. 

The GOP clinched major victories on the national stage, reelecting Donald Trump to the executive office and securing control of both chambers of Congress.  

In the second episode of “The Elephant in the Room” – a three-part series exploring the state of Washington’s Republican party – Northwest Reports spent election night at a GOP watch party in Bellevue. 

As results rolled in, attendees shared their thoughts on what draws them to the Republican Party; their perspectives on the chaos that unfolded at the 2024 Washington GOP convention in Spokane; and, of course, their feelings about Donald Trump.  

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Credits 

Host/Producer: Sara Bernard and Maleeha Syed 

Reporters:  Sara Bernard and Maleeha Syed 

Story editor: Ryan Famuliner

Executive producer: Sarah Menzies

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If you would like to support Cascade PBS, go to cascadepbs.org/membership. In addition to supporting our events and daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Cascade PBS. 

A Northwest Reports limited series examines the present and future of Washington’s GOP. In this episode, moderate Republicans talk internal divisions.

Republicans won big in this year’s election. Republicans in Washington state, however ... That's a different story.  

In November, the country voted to reelect Donald Trump to the nation’s highest office; Republicans gained control of Congress; and most states experienced significant swings to the right. Washington also saw a slight rightward shift, but it wasn’t by much, and Democrats won all the statewide races.     

“The Elephant in the Room” is a three-part series that examines the state of Washington’s GOP through conversations with Republicans – who range from moderate to conservative – before, during and after the election. The series explores what it’s like to be red in a blue state; the divisions that exist between the more moderate and more conservative flanks of the party; what lies ahead for the Washington’s GOP; and how Trump fits into all of this.  

In the first episode, hosts Sara Bernard and Maleeha Syed speak with two people before the election who identify as Republicans but distance themselves from Trump: Chris Vance, who formerly chaired Washington’s Republican Party and this year worked as a Republican for Kamala Harris, and Deanna Martinez, who chairs the Mainstream Republicans of Washington. These two explore the discord between more moderate and more conservative Republicans in Washington ... and what another four years under Trump could mean for the state’s GOP.  

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Credits 

Host/Producer: Sara Bernard and Maleeha Syed 

Reporters:  Sara Bernard and Maleeha Syed 

Story editor: Ryan Famuliner

Executive producer: Sarah Menzies

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If you would like to support Cascade PBS, go to cascadepbs.org/membership. In addition to supporting our events and daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Cascade PBS. 

In the finale of our three-part series, we hear from professionals who help those affected by gun violence find recovery beyond the hospital bed.

Getting stitched up is just one part of a gunshot wound patient’s recovery. People face a long line of stressors after getting out of surgery.  

That’s where Harborview Medical Center’s Violence Intervention and Prevention Program comes in, to ease the burden on patients as they figure out things like transportation to follow-up appointments, help with paying medical bills and access to trauma therapy. 

In our third and final episode of First Response, we hear from Paul Carter III and Tarrell Harrison Jr., two violence intervention and prevention specialists who work closely with Harborview patients after they’ve been shot, about what their work looks like on the ground. We’ll also hear from Mark Rivers of Community Passageways, one of the organizations that Harborview connects patients with as they get close to leaving the hospital.  

Together these three highlight the community-wide effort to help patients and families navigate the hardship and trauma of gun violence. The hope is that these efforts can prevent people from returning to the circumstances that brought them to Harborview in the first place.  

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Credits 

Host/Producer: Sara Bernard and Maleeha Syed 

Reporters: :  Sara Bernard and Maleeha Syed 

Story editor: Ryan Famuliner

Executive producer: Sarah Menzies

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If you would like to support Cascade PBS, go to cascadepbs.org/membership. In addition to supporting our events and daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Cascade PBS. 

In the second episode of our three-part series, we look at Harborview Medical Center's initiative to treat the long-term impacts of gunshot wounds.

There’s been a shift in how medical professionals think about gun violence: Many of them aren’t focused only on making sure a patient lives after being shot ... they’re also thinking about how to help these individuals recover and rebuild beyond the operating table. 

This trend of looking at gun violence as a public health issue has taken shape across the United States, including at Harborview Medical Center. In 2021, the hospital launched its Violence Intervention and Prevention Program, which takes a holistic approach to helping patients affected by interpersonal gun violence.  

People in the program connect with intervention specialists, who get a sense of patients’ needs, build rapport and offer support. This could mean anything from finding transportation to their appointments to help with paying their medical bills. The goal is for these patients to leave the hospital with more support than they had coming in — so they never have to return with a gunshot wound. 

In the second episode of First Response, we speak to the people involved with creating and sustaining this program at Harborview about how the idea first came about; how it got started and how it’s evolved; why the program focuses on people affected by interpersonal gun violence; and some of the challenges that it faces. 

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Credits 

Host/Producer: Sara Bernard and Maleeha Syed 

Reporters: :  Sara Bernard and Maleeha Syed 

Story editor: Ryan Famuliner

Executive producer: Sarah Menzies

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If you would like to support Cascade PBS, go to cascadepbs.org/membership. In addition to supporting our events and daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Cascade PBS. 

In the first episode of our three-part podcast series, two surgeons, a nurse and a paramedic describe the impact of seeing gun violence up close.

Medical professionals in Washington have gotten used to treating people affected by gun violence -- especially in recent years.  

A few months ago, the U.S. Surgeon General declared gun violence a public health crisis at a time when tens of thousands of Americans are dying from firearm-related injuries. This trend is hard to ignore at a place like Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, the only Level 1 Trauma Center in Washington.    

In the first episode of First Response, we speak to medical professionals at the hospital, as well as a King County paramedic, about what this rise in gun violence looks like on the ground – and the impact it has on them.  

Many of these medical professionals aren’t desensitized to gun violence. In fact, it’s quite the opposite: Instead of just responding to the immediate aftermath of a gunshot, health care workers at Harborview want to treat the long-term impact of firearm violence – and, they hope, prevent it from happening in the first place.  

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Credits 

Host/Producer: Maleeha Syed and Sara Bernard

Reporters: : Maleeha Syed and Sara Bernard

Story editor: Ryan Famuliner

Executive producer: Sarah Menzies

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If you would like to support Cascade PBS, go to cascadepbs.org/membership. In addition to supporting our events and daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Cascade PBS.