The Debrief

From wildfire recovery to local government drama, and even a roadside zoo raid, we revisited the stories that shaped Southern Oregon and Northern California in 2025.

Here’s what we talked about:

• Five years after the Almeda Fire, some Royal Oaks residents return, some move on
• Roseburg’s private homeless camps blur business and charity
• After months in limbo, Josephine County Commissioners approve a new library lease
• New Shasta County Clerk supports handcounting ballots, despite state ban
• Lions, guns and meth: Inside the takedown of an Oregon roadside zoo
• Pineros in Southern Oregon: How Jackson County became a center for guest workers in forestry

The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week.

Turmoil at Bandon School District leads to resignations, parental concern
Division has pervaded the small district, with some accusing the superintendent of misconduct.

Humboldt County adopts regional climate action plan

The plan focuses on transportation, development standards, and preparing for California’s 2045 climate goals.

A Northern California community familiar with disaster pulls together after losing a historic mill

The Roseburg Forest Products mill was one of the largest employers in Siskiyou County. In December, it laid off its entire workforce. Now, for the first time since its founding, the small community of Weed is a mill town without a mill.

• Justin Higginbottom, public health and safety reporter
• Roman Battaglia, science, environment and politics reporter
• Jane Vaughan, housing, homelessness and education reporter

The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:

A possible baseball stadium sweetens a hotel tax increase for Medford voters

Shasta County supervisors oppose $200 million behavioral‑health campus

How local food banks are preparing for SNAP changes starting Nov. 1

The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:

New annual school district data from Oregon DOE, includes attendance, enrollment, on track to graduate, and more

Providence Medford opens new suite for gynecologic cancer treatment

Medford can’t require developer to build road and pay bridge costs, court says

The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:

'One of the most intriguing topics': New green cemetery coming to Humboldt County
Michael Furniss, project applicant and executive director of Sacred Groves, said the soil at the site is perfect.
"Good organic matter, good percolation characteristics and infiltration, good aggregate stability, rich biota and is highly fertile," he said. "It's really an ideal soil, and that really turns me on."

Salmon are back in the Klamath River. Now farmers want to keep them off their land
Scott White, general manager of the Klamath Drainage District, shared in the celebration but grew nervous after spotting Chinook in canals used to divert water to agricultural land.
“They're in our canals, which don't get me wrong, it's pretty darn exciting to see salmon in our canals,” White said. “But obviously, we want to make sure that the fish are protected, just as much as we want our growers protected.”

The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:

Jackson County DA takes Oregon DOC to court over sentence reductions

Grants Pass awards $1.2 million homelessness grant, for the second time

Ashland City Council rejects putting citizens petition on the ballot directly

The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:

Grants Pass City Council selects recipient for $1.2 million grant addressing homelessness

Federal shutdown impacts Oregon wildfire prevention crews

Shasta County approves six naloxone vending machines to curb overdoses

The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:

Shasta County Supervisors condemn election chief's exclusion of a local news outlet

Illegal cannabis grows leave behind years of toxic pollution, study shows

Fire season comes to a close in southwest Oregon

The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:

Some of the best sheepdogs compete in Alturas to be the top dog: The top 150 sheepdogs in the U.S. and Canada gathered in rural Modoc County, California this month for the national sheepdog finals.

Grants Pass School Board approves settlement agreement in 'I Resolve' lawsuit

The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:

Youth mental health programs launch in Arcata and Chiloquin

Southern Oregon student test scores still lag behind the rest of the state