OPB Politics Now

It’s very possible Oregon state government has never been as focused on housing and homelessness as it is at this moment. The state’s housing shortage is acute. The number of people without homes is swelling. Oregon's new governor, Tina Kotek, is successfully pushing lawmakers to pass major funding and policy changes a little more than two months after taking office. But cities are saying they are at risk of actually losing shelter space.

On this week's show, we catch you up on a hectic week in Oregon politics. Among the news: Portland struggles to find homeless camp sites, Oregon loses its chief financial officer and state lawmakers look at ways to help prevent organized shoplifting.

Oregon leaders are pushing local governments to build more affordable housing and to build it quickly. But on this week's episode of OPB Politics Now, we’re going to look at the realities of actually managing that housing once it's built. We have a case study in how hard that can be: Portland’s Milepost 5. It started as an artist’s dream – but is now embroiled in a class-action lawsuit.

On this special bonus episode of OPB Politics Now, the team at Think Out Loud sits down with Gov. Tina Kotek to talk about her first two months on the job.

Oregon lawmakers have begun revealing their plan for solving the state’s housing crisis. It’s going to require a big philosophical shift in how Oregon thinks about its land. On this week's show, we examine Oregon’s half-century old land use system and why even progressives' are now saying it’s time to make it easier to build here.

On this week's show, we'll explain new Portland Commissioner Rene Gonzalez's decision to stop letting his bureaus hand out to tents to people sleeping outside. And we'll bring you the latest fallout in the state liquor commission's rare bourbon scandal.

On this week's show, we'll explain the unfurling scandal over rare alcohol and how state regulators may have abused their access. And we'll look at the growing call for changes in how Oregon spends cannabis taxes under Measure 110, the historic drug decriminalization law.

On this week's show, OPB political reporters Dirk VanderHart and Lauren Dake explain why Oregon legislators exempt from a state law banning public officials from hiring family members -- and why one influential Democrat wants to change that this session.

On this week's show, OPB political reporters Lauren Dake and Dirk VanderHart look at the Republican agenda in the 2023 Oregon legislative session.

On this week's show, OPB reporters Alex Zielinski and Lauren Dake talk about the 2023 Oregon legislature session and Mayor Ted Wheeler's decision to fire a top aide -- and former mayor -- Sam Adams.