‘May December’ showcases riveting performances in film based on Northwest teacher convicted of child rape

LONG SYNOPSIS: “May December,” by Portland director Todd Haynes, may be the most unsettling movie you’ll see all year. It’s set in Savannah, Georgia, with fictional characters, but the real-life scandal that it’s more than loosely based on unfolded near Seattle in the late '90s. Seattle-area second grade teacher Mary Kay Letourneau sexually abused Vili Fualaau, beginning just before his 13th birthday. She served time for child rape, and had two children while in custody, ultimately marrying Fualaau when he turned 18 after she had served her time.

In “May December” an actress played by Natalie Portman is researching a role for an upcoming film that is based on the former teacher, played by Julianne Moore. In her pursuit of the “truth” of the character she’ll be playing, Portman’s character displays a kind of cold obsession that’s both dehumanizing and deeply — perhaps even shamefully — compelling. We talk with Haynes about the movie, which is streaming on Netflix, and how it’s been received by viewers and film critics.

During the pandemic, alcohol consumption increased more than it has in the last 50 years. Alcohol related deaths have also been increasing, according to the National Institute of Health. 

In Oregon, six people die each day on average from alcohol related causes, according to the Oregon Health Authority. As the holiday season approaches, the state agency wants Oregonians to talk to their loved ones about excessive drinking. Tom Jeanne is the deputy state healthy officer and epidemiologist at the public health division of OHA. Mike Winer is the associate medical director at Hooper Detox Center in Portland and is an assistant professor in addiction medicine at OHSU. They both join us to share more on the increase in alcohol consumption in the state and share the best ways to navigate difficult conversations with loved ones about drinking. 

Charity Woodrum grew up in Oregon. While she first explored a career in nursing, she realized that she was meant to gaze at the stars. The University of Oregon alum has interned with NASA and is now working on obtaining a doctoral degree in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of Arizona. She’s also a member of the James Webb space telescope team and is researching galaxy evolution. Her journey is the focus of a documentary screening hosted by the Carlton Observatory at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville on Friday. Woodrum joins us to talk about her work and the people who inspired her along the way.

In a recent survey of Oregon parents, 40% responded that they or their partner had to quit, turn down or “greatly change” their job in the last year due to difficulty finding child care. It also found that families of color and those who speak a language other than English were more likely to be impacted. The findings reflect similar surveys from 2020 and 2019 which showed that the high cost and limited availability of child care slots in the state present major challenges for parents.

Katherine Pears is a senior scientist and science director at the Oregon Social Learning Center, a nonprofit research organization that conducted the survey. She joins us to talk more about the challenges facing both families and child care providers.

 Thousands of Oregonians are dealing with having to pay back some unemployment benefits the state now says they shouldn't have received. The Oregon Law Center filed a lawsuit in 2022 arguing that the Oregon Employment Department is violating the due process clause of the constitution. The case is ongoing and represents the confusion around paying back benefits. Meanwhile the agency says it was overwhelmed by requests during the pandemic, and it’s possible that more than $5.5 million could be waived in overpaid benefits. Dianne Lugo is a reporter for the Statesman Journal and has covered these issues. She joins us with more on her reporting.

Last week, a state report showed that 38% of all Oregon students are chronically absent, meaning they miss at least 10% of school days. Charan Cline is the superintendent of the Redmond School District in Central Oregon. He joins us to share more on what this issue looks like in his district. Stacy Parish is the leader of Oregon Department of Education’s Tribal Attendance Promising Practices. She joins us to share more on what this issue is looking like for Oregon’s Indigenous students.

Last month, Multnomah County fined ambulance service provider AMR more than $500,000 for slow response times to emergency 911 calls. According to its exclusive contract service with the county, AMR is required to respond to 90% of life-threatening calls within 8 minutes in urban areas. But in August, AMR ambulances were delayed in responding to 14% of emergency calls. The company has appealed the fine and claims the problem is largely due to the county’s staffing requirement of two paramedics per ambulance. In Washington, Clackamas and Clark counties, for example, no such requirement exists, and AMR is able to staff ambulances with one paramedic and an EMT.Meanwhile, there’s a growing shortage of EMTs and paramedics across the nation, including Oregon, which community colleges are helping to address through training courses. Joining us to talk about these issues are Dr. Paul Lewis, deputy health officer for Multnomah County; Randy Lauer, vice president of operations for AMR; and Dave Schapp, EMS programs director at Central Oregon Community College in Bend.

Every Thursday night for nine years THE THESIS brings artists and audiences who love hip-hop to celebrate together at Kelly’s Olympian in downtown Portland. The event is Portland’s longest-running hip hop showcase. We talk to Mac Smiff and Grant Stolle, two of the founders of THE THESIS, about creating a safe space to uplift local hip hop artists. 

A coalition of environmental groups and tribes who are suing the federal government over the condition of salmon on the Snake River have been in talks with the government for over a month. Those talks are tentatively scheduled to reach an agreement by December 15, but last week, a leaked draft agreement showed that the federal government may agree to take down the four lower Snake River dams. The agreement also revealed federal government commitments to investing in habitat restoration and alternative energy development on tribal lands. The Snake River is the main tributary of the Columbia River, flowing from Idaho and eastern Washington into Oregon. We talk to longtime Idaho journalist Rocky Barker about how we got here, and what the leak could mean for a future agreement.

A team of scientists at Oregon State University has recently received more than $4 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lead a study to understand a disease threatening honey bees. The bacterial disease targets the larvae within a honeybee colony, killing them within a few days before they can emerge from their cocoons as adults. Although the disease is not new, it appears to have gotten worse in the past five years, according to Andony Melathopoulos, an associate professor in the Department of Horticulture at OSU, and the co-principal investigator of the study. The disease is of particular concern to beekeepers who travel across the country with their colonies and have noticed a rise in infections following the start of blueberry pollination in April. Melathopoulous joins us to talk about the details of the study, which will also include steps beekeepers may be able to take to protect their colonies and the multibillion-dollar industry that depends on their services.