Think Out Loud

In 2022, Portland residents voted to drastically change the city’s form of government. That includes using ranked choice voting to expand the city council from five seats to 12. Another change is the creation of four geographic districts, with voters in each district electing three candidates to represent them on the new council.

District 1 is in the far east side of Portland, including neighborhoods such as Hazelwood, Mill Park, Centennial and Parkrose to name a few. On Sep. 30, “Think Out Loud” convened a District 1 candidates forum at Von Ebert Brewing. Candidates were invited to participate based on the number of individual donors that contributed to their campaign. They include: Candace Avalos, Doug Clove, Jamie Dunphy, Timur Ender, Noah Ernst, Terrence Hayes, David Linn, Steph Routh, Thomas Shervey, Loretta Smith and Cayle Tern.

Amy Tan might be best known for her fiction, including "The Joy Luck Club" and "The Kitchen God’s Wife," but her latest book takes its drama from her backyard bird feeder. In 2019, Tan began drawing birds she saw in nature, particularly the ones who visited her tree-filled backyard in Northern California. The result is a book of reflections, observations, detailed drawings and cartoon sketches called "The Backyard Bird Chronicles." Tan talks to us in front of an audience of students at Franklin High School.

Rhythm Traders, a Northeast Portland drum shop that has been open for over 30 years, is welcoming two other music businesses into its building. Together, the three businesses hope to create a sort of living room for Portland musicians, and long term stability for their own stores. Ryan Lynn, owner of Eastside Guitar Repair, and Hank Failing, owner of Hank’s Music Exchange, join us to talk about what the new MLK Music Mall could look like. 

As first reported in The Columbian, a family of therapists has opened a new mental health urgent care clinic in Vancouver. Birchstone Mental Health Urgent Care aims to fill a gap between the emergency room where people experiencing mental health crises often end up and weekly therapy sessions. The clinic does not accept insurance, though it does offer a sliding scale for some patients who cannot afford the $150 fee for a visit, which includes an assessment and referrals for medication management and follow up counseling. Three co-founders of the clinic join us to share more: Brandon Fielding, a licensed clinical social worker; and his parents, psychologist Kelly Fielding and licensed clinical social worker Gayle Fielding.

An ombudsman investigation in Portland found evidence of predatory towing at a group of apartment complexes in the Cully neighborhood. The report says towing practices financially and emotionally harmed residents, most of whom identify as low-income and Latino. It also found that the influx of towing impacted clients and staff at a nearby county-run health clinic and community center.

Tony Green is a deputy ombudsman for the city of Portland. He conducted the investigation and joins us with more details.

For a third time, a federal judge has ruled that Wellpath — one of the nation’s largest for-profit providers of health care to people in prisons and jails — wrongfully deleted emails connected to in-custody deaths.  Wellpath operates in at least 10 correctional facilities in Oregon and Washington, and has purged email evidence in at least three wrongful death cases in the Pacific Northwest. Criminal justice reporter Conrad Wilson joins us to discuss the cases.

Radon is a naturally occurring, invisible and odorless gas released from the decay of radioactive metals like uranium found in soil, rocks and groundwater. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, it’s also the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S., and claims more than 20,000 lives annually. Homes are a major source of radon exposure which testing kits can be used to monitor and determine whether to do mitigation by increasing ventilation or sealing foundation cracks.  

But it turns out that even relatively low levels of radon exposure can be dangerous, according to a new study funded by the EPA and led by researchers at Oregon State University. They found an increased risk for developing another kind of cancer - childhood leukemia - in children in more than 700 counties in 14 states, even at average levels well below the EPA’s own established guidelines for when to do radon mitigation. Joining us to share more is the study’s lead author, Matthew Bozigar, an environmental epidemiologist and assistant professor in the college of health at OSU.

Among the U.S. Congressional races that are being closely watched in this year’s general election is Oregon’s 6th Congressional District. It stretches from the suburbs southwest of Portland down into Salem, and includes all of Yamhill and Polk counties, along with portions of Marion, Washington and Clackamas counties. Voters cast their ballots for the first time in this district in 2022 when they narrowly elected Democratic state Representative Andrea Salinas over her GOP challenger, Mike Erickson. He is the founder and CEO of AFMS, a supply chain and logistics consulting firm based in Tigard.

They are once again facing off to represent Oregon CD6 voters on Capitol Hill. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas and Republican candidate Mike Erickson join us for a debate on key issues and to outline their legislative priorities for the seat.  

The Portland Fermentation Festival – also known as “Stinkfest” – is a celebration of all things fermented, from kimchi and kombucha to pickles and miso. Started in 2009, the festival returned last year after taking a three-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic. Once attendees pay admission, all of the featured fermented products are free to sample, trade and take home.

We’ll talk with the three “Stinkfest Queens” who organize the festival — Liz Crain is an author who’s written several books about fermentation and the Portland food scene. Heidi Nestler is the CEO of Wanpaku Foods and a nutrition instructor at Quest Center for Integrative Health. Claudia Lucero is a cheesemaking book author and the CEO of Urban Cheesecraft.

They join us in the studio to share more about the fascination with fermentation and what attendees can expect from this year’s festival.

The 2024 Fermentation Festival will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10, at the Ecotrust building in downtown Portland.

As buildings like the Keller Auditorium and iconic Portland sights such as the Burnside Bridge are approaching a remodel, could a fresh new look save Portland’s downtown? As argued in The New York Times, cities across the country and world are finding hope in new architecture. Tim Eddy is the founding principal architect and president of Henneberry Eddy. He joins us to share his thoughts on the role architecture plays in downtown revitalization.