Mismanagement, inequity and turnovers plague Oregon’s Department of Early Learning and Care, a new story from InvestigateWest shows.  The agency is responsible for more than $1.3 billion in early learning investments and has seen more than five managers and directors leave the office in the past 18 months, with some employees describing office culture as “toxic.” Kaylee Tornay is an investigative reporter who has been reporting on this issue. She joins us with more on what some workers have been facing. 

You may have heard that wildfire seasons are getting longer, with blazes burning more intensely and lasting longer than ever. In 1993, fires were fought across nearly 1.8 million acres - but by 2021, that area had quadrupled. Not surprisingly, the resources and workforce needed to combat these conflagrations has been increasing as well. But exactly the opposite is happening: more and more of these critically important wildland firefighters are quitting or retiring, and they are not being replaced. As Abe Streep found in his two-year-long investigation for ProPublica, the reasons involve federal policies and what is offered to these critical employees by way of compensation, benefits and working conditions. He joins us to share more details of that investigation. 

 Three nonprofits in Oregon and one nonprofit in Southwest Washington will receive funding from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. The Pacific Northwest organizations were recently selected along with hundreds of other nonprofits across the country and are sharing a pot of about $640 million in unrestricted grant money. 

Jackson Street Youth Services works with young people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. The organization provides housing and other supportive programs in Linn and Benton Counties. It received $1 million in funds.   

Familias en Acción offers culturally specific health services to Latino communities in the Portland metro area and was granted $2 million. It’s working on partnerships and service expansion to more rural parts of the state.  

Kendra Phillips and Margarita Gutierrez Lemus are the executive directors of Jackson Street Youth Services and Familias en Acción, respectively. They join us with more about the work that they’re doing and how the grant money will further the missions of their organizations.

Last week, three of Gov. Tina Kotek’s top aides announced their departure from the Governor’s Office. Sources with knowledge of the matter told OPB that the shakeup could have come from personality conflicts between staff and the governor's wife, Aimee Kotek Wilson. Now, Kotek is considering establishing an Office of the First Spouse and has already hired two state-funded staffers to accompany First Lady Kotek Wilson to an out-of-state conference in Salt Lake City. Dirk VanderHart is OPB’s political reporter. He joins us to share more on recent news.   

Edwidge Danticat is an award-winning writer of novels, short stories, essays, and memoirs, with a focus on the rich experiences of the Haitian diaspora. Her latest book is the collection of short stories “Everything Inside.” We listen back to a conversation with Danticat in front of an audience at Woodburn high school in 2022.

OPB's latest podcast, “Salmon Wars,” tells the story of salmon in the Northwest in a way you haven’t heard before — through the voices of one Yakama Nation family who have been fighting for salmon for generations. In episode one, host Tony Schick introduces us to Randy Settler and his family. The Settlers, members of the Yakama Nation, have been deeply affected by the Northwest’s salmon policies for generations. They lost their home, their primary food source, and their ancestral fishing grounds. Randy and his parents went to jail for exercising their fishing rights. They also won some important victories along the way. Now, he’s passing the fight on to younger people in the tribe.

Portland city officials are currently considering what to do with one of downtown’s largest venues. The Keller Auditorium is more than a century old and was last renovated in the 1960s. A 2020 analysis found that the building needs a seismic upgrade and a number of accessibility improvements to bring it up to modern standards. Some are arguing for an extensive renovation of the current space, while others are pushing for a new auditorium to be built on the Portland State University campus or as part of a redeveloped Lloyd Center. The City Council is expected to take up the proposals this spring.

Brian Libby, a freelance architecture and design journalist, recently wrote about all of this for Oregon ArtsWatch. He joins us with more details on the pros and cons of each proposal.

On June 3, 2016, a train carrying crude oil derailed in Mosier, a Wasco County community in the Columbia River Gorge. Several rail cars caught fire and oil leaked into the Columbia River. 

For some officials, the incident was a wake-up call. Trains carrying oil regularly pass through the Columbia River Gorge. In Oregon, agencies are coordinating with officials from Washington, tribal and federal governments to prepare for future oil spills. Chuck Thompson is the editor of Columbia Insight, a nonprofit news website covering environmental issues around the Columbia River Basin. He wrote about these efforts and joins us with details. 

With spring break around the corner, many students will be enjoying their time away from school work, but some may find themselves picking up jobs as babysitters. Margie House is the 4-H program coordinator at Oregon State University’s Extension program and runs a babysitter teaching program. She joins us to share more on the demand for the course and what students are learning.

After seeing an all-time high for gun violence at the end of 2022, Portland saw a 22% decrease in overall shootings last year. In late February, Mayor Ted Wheeler attributed this decline to a community-city partnership known as Portland Ceasefire. Marcell Frazier is the director of the city’s Office of Violence Prevention. Mike Myers is the community safety transition director. They have collaborated on Ceasefire and join us to discuss what gun violence currently looks like in the city and what is being done to address it