Speaking Freely

This week the C.D.C. flagged an increase in binge drinking among pregnant women, from the ages of 18-49 over the past two years. It links the problem, to the ongoing pandemic. Molly Simpson, Clinical Director of the Hazelden Betty Ford Treatment Center, in Newberg, Oregon explains why the time right after the holidays, and at the start of this new year, brings a rush of people seeking help for addiction. And this year it's worse because of the pandemic pushing so many people into isolation. Joining us also was Lori Anderson, a Portland resident and recovering alcoholic, who now works as a substance abuse counselor at Hazelden Betty Ford in Newberg. She explains how the pandemic's influencing more people to turn to alcohol and drugs, as they're in isolation more and not as accountable to the others in their lives. She also describes her journey, from not knowing how she'd survive without alcohol, to now, serving as an example and counselor for others in recovery.

We've see more than a million new COVID-19 cases in just the past week. And experts are placing the cause as the Omicron variant. It is now in all 50 states. We talked to Dr. Jennifer Vines, the lead health officer for the Tri County Region and for Multnomah County in Oregon.

Children, forced into solitary confinement, restrained, and abused, right in our own country. And, it's part of a documented pattern that's come to light because of an Oregon child, sparking calls for what lawmakers call: The Accountability for Congregate Care Act. This episode features comments from Uvea Speze Lopin, a 12 year old from Oregon, Sixto Cancel, a former foster kid who founded Think of Us, Caroline Cole, abuse survivor with Breaking Code Silence, Paris Hilton, an abuse survivor, Curt Decker with the National Disability Rights Network, Aubrey Edwards Luce, with First Focus on Children, Oregon U.S, Senator Jeff Merkley, Congresswoman Rosa Delauro and Congressmen Adam Schiff and Ro Khanna

Fall festivities are underway. And at the same time, we have a very scary and real threat: the pandemic is still going on. Cases in Oregon's children are on the rise, while children younger than 12 still do not have a vaccine. And the 12 to 17 year old group, remains the least vaccinated. With the safety of families across the Pacific Northwest in mind, I'm talking to a pediatric infectious disease specialist this week. She is

Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse, Mayo Clinic children's center, and for this episode, we're talking about keeping families and kids safe from COVID 19, during fall and Halloween festivities.

Then, hospitals are running short of blood, as the community copes with record numbers of shootings. We talk with Lauren Reagan with Bloodworks Northwest, about the need to donate blood.

Every day and night in Multnomah County, you can see them. Experts estimate there are more than 4,000 people trying to survive, without a home. Instead, they're living in cars, tents, and on the streets in sleeping bags. KXL and Alpha Media are teaming up with Safeway and Transition projects for an effort to save lives from this situation, on November 5th. It's an annual tradition called Truckload of Coats, and it helps the homeless survive the cold winter months. I talked to Roma Peyser, Transition Projects' Director of Development, to find out exactly how this effort works, and for her insight, into what's happening with people who do not have a place to call home, and what it takes to change this for the better.And that was my conversation with Transition Projects' Roma Peyser, she is their Director of Development. Another contributor to Truckload of Coats is the Safeway Foundation. I talked to Safeway Albertson's Director of Communications Jill Mc Ginnis, about what the foundation does in the community, for Truckload of Coats and many other projects.

How did Oregon get to the point where the Delta Variant is crippling the state's hospitals? Where did the COVID 19 virus really start? And will Pfizer's new full approval of its vaccine from the FDA change the minds, of the unvaccinated people among us? These are some of the questions that I asked of two experts who are in Oregon this week. Chunhuei Chi is the Director of the Center for Global Health at Oregon State University, and a professor who teaches about global health. He explained to me how the delta variant is different, it has mutations that make it more contagious and more able to outsmart the body's immune system. He also believes there's been a lot of misinformation, from the World Health Organization and China, about exactly where and how the virus originated. And he thinks we will be able to overcome the pandemic and live safely with the virus, within months.

Since the COVID 19 vaccines first became available, Marketing Professor Aimee Huff from O.S.U.'s School of Business has been studying why some Oregonians have chosen to not get them. Now, she believes the FDA's decision to grant full approval will encourage more people to have confidence in the shots.

This week, the COVID-19 crisis, worsened as hospitals in both Oregon and Washington continued to fill up and case counts climbed. Wildfires burned, the western drought deepened, and Afghanistan and Haiti descended into crisis. I talked to Oregon U.S. Senator Ron Wyden about all of these issues. Also, there's widespread concern, here and across the country, about how the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan is affecting our veterans' mental health. The V.A. has put out an alert, saying experts are worried about increasing cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and even suicide risk. I found out this is having a big impact on our veterans' community, which includes hundreds of thousands of families in Oregon and Washington. We talked to Robert Tell, who manages mental health services for tens of thousands of veterans at the Portland V.A.. And: how far can $1.2 million dollars go, to help people find a way out of homelessness? The United Way is making that big donation to the Bybee Lakes Hope Center, for some big plans for the more than 155,000 square foot Wapato Correctional Facility site. So I talked to Cindy Adams, President and C.E.O. of the United Way of the Columbia Willamette chapter, about how this could work as a hand up and out of homelessness.

Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury started it, Governor Kate Brown continued it. Mask mandates are back in Oregon. This week, Kafoury joined with doctors who are leaders in the major health systems in our area. They echoed her message: the Delta variant's lightning fast spread makes it necessary to bring back masks, or risk ending all of the progress to date in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. This episode includes comments from Portland Public Schools Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrerro, O.H.S.U.'s Dr. Renee Edwards, Northwest Permanente's Dr. Mary Giswold, and Oregon State Representative Dr. Maxine Dexter, and other leaders.

The air we breathe, and how it affects our health. We're talking about the connections between them this week. First, clean air is an issue. Because of more than 80 western wildfires burning now. And because of the memories of last year's wildfire season lingering, when the Portland area, briefly held the top spot with the world's worst air. We talked to an expert about technology that can clean our air, both at home and at work, Vinny Lobdell, President of HealthWay, which produces air purification systems for companies around the world. We have hundreds of thousands of veterans in Oregon and Washington. And there's a significant health challenge for them, related to the air they breathed, while serving our country. They may not even know how toxins from burn pits, affect them. I talked to Shane Liermann, with the Disabled American Veterans. Many of us have been making big changes to our homes, to try to stay healthier and safer during the pandemic. I talked to professional builder Kyle Stumpenhorst, to find out your best strategies to get the best contractor for the job, and not get ripped off. Our air and our climate; they're issues that are top of mind no matter what your political views. I talked to self described conservative Hunter Thomas with the Citizens Climate Lobby, about why democrats and republicans alike are looking seriously at the idea of carbon dividends.

She grew up in Washington state, where she was a little girl who dreamed of learning, about the sun and other stars. Now Nicholeen Violle is a research astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. This week, we talk to her about her views on science education. Plus, her research into explosions of radiation from the sun, and how they impact our satellites, our spacecraft, and our planet, and solar power, for answers about whether it can solve our energy and pollution challenges... and how the sun impacts our health, and can burn our skin. First though, we're taking an up close look at the fire burning in our own backyard: the Bootleg fire, still the nation's largest wildfire. It's destroyed dozens of homes. Erica Wisner tells us what it's like working the night shift, and why it's firefighters' best chance at getting the massive fire under control. And we meet some of the firefighters who are coming from out of state to help. Finally, two gymnasts with ties to Oregon had a chance to shine at the Olympics this week.