Think Out Loud

A study released by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory explored groundwater extraction and how growing demand will affect remaining resources. Scientists focused on when and where groundwater levels could peak, meaning the water becomes so inaccessible that deeper wells or costly equipment are needed to meet demand.  

As it becomes more difficult to access groundwater, international agriculture could be affected and the cost of food could rise. 

The study illustrates that groundwater has finite characteristics, and water basins around the world – including some in the western United States –  are reaching their limits. We learn more about the study from Hassan Niazi, an earth scientist with the national lab.

Portland musician Rose Gerber combines country, folk and alt-rock into her sound. Gerber released a new EP, "Untraveled Highway," earlier this year.  She will be headlining a country music fest at the Kenton Club on Saturday and joins us with an in-studio performance.

Measles was declared eradicated in the U.S. in 2000, but as vaccination rates have fallen, the disease has popped back up. Oregon is experiencing the worst outbreak in the state since the early 1990s. With kids returning to school and measles being one of the most infectious of diseases, public health concerns are running high. Joining us to talk about all of this and update us on the latest COVID-19 news, is Paul Cieslak, medical director for the Acute and Communicable Disease Prevention Section and the Oregon Immunization Program at the Oregon Health Authority.

Wildfires have burned more than a million and a half acres in Oregon so far, with the season still not over. Eastern Oregon has been especially hard hit by massive fires this summer, including the Durkee Fire which ignited last month and has burned nearly 300,000 acres. Ranchers in Eastern and Central Oregon face growing uncertainty and mounting economic losses to their livelihoods. The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association started a fund to raise money to help ranchers who’ve lost cattle or pasturelands for grazing. 

Matt McElligott is the president of the OCA and the owner of LM Ranch in Baker and Grant Counties. He shares with us the impact of the wildfires on ranchers and the long road to recovery some of them face. 

Earlier this year, the Portland band Blitzen Trapper released its 10th studio album, “100’s of 1000’s, Millions of Billions.” The band found success in 2008 with the release of their album “Furr.” Founding members Eric Earley and Brian Adrian Koch join us in the studio, along with fellow band member Nathan Vanderpool, to play some songs and talk about the new album, which is based on songs that Earley recorded on 4-track tapes in the early '90s.

As summer draws to a close, teachers across Oregon are readying lesson plans for the start of a new school year. But for school districts in rural parts of the state, budgetary constraints may mean that arts literacy and the benefits it offers students aren’t included in the curriculum. 

Since 2020, the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology on the central Oregon coast has been helping fill that need through a monthly youth arts program. It originally served 500 students at two schools in Tillamook County. Oregon ArtsWatch recently reported on the expansion of the program which is launching this fall with a new name, K-8 Create, to serve more than 5,000 students across 17 schools on the coast, from Astoria to Waldport. Ninety-five percent of the students qualify for free or reduced meals and for many, Sitka’s monthly lessons offer the only art instruction they get at school. Alison Dennis is the executive director of the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology. Leeauna Perry is Sitka’s youth program director. They join us to talk about the impact the K-8 Create program is having in rural coastal communities. 

Students at Umpqua Community College in Southern Oregon may soon have some new options for housing. The college is converting three historic buildings in downtown Roseburg into student dorms and apartments. College leaders hope that providing housing will help attract students from around the region and that bringing students downtown will add vibrancy to the city’s core.

UCC President Rachel Pokrandt joins to talk about the role the college hopes to play in revitalizing downtown Roseburg and alleviating the city’s housing crunch.

Bill Sumio Naito, who died at age 70 in 1996, was a Portland-born son of Japanese immigrants who became one of the city's most significant business and civic leaders. Erica Naito-Campbell, his granddaughter, grew up next door to him and has written a new biography of the man who lends his name to the road thousands of people drive and bike on every day. The book, “Portland's Audacious Champion,” details Naito’s life from growing up in East Portland, through military service in World War II, to his role in much of Portland’s iconic geography: from the Portland sign near the Burnside Bridge to Waterfront Park. Natio-Campbell joins us to share more.

On Monday, a judge at the U.S. District Court of Oregon in Portland will hear arguments to temporarily block the proposed merger of Kroger and Albertsons grocery chains. The nearly $25 billion deal, which was announced nearly two years ago, would create the largest supermarket chain in U.S. history, with roughly 5,000 stores and 700,000 employees across 48 states. Kroger owns Fred Meyer and QFC grocery stores in the Northwest, and Albertsons owns Safeway. 

In February, the Federal Trade Commission sued to block the merger, claiming it would hurt workers, stifle competition and raise prices for consumers. Executives at Kroger and Albertsons dispute those claims, saying the merger will result in lower prices and more choices for consumers, and result in no layoffs of “frontline workers.” 

On Capitol Hill, opposition to the merger is being led by Oregon’s senior Democratic Senator, Ron Wyden, and Washington’s U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-07). Sen. Wyden joins us to share his perspective on the proposed merger, the presidential election and other issues. 

Al Ward is a 65-year-old musician who is hiding out from the wreck of his life in an abandoned mine in the high Nevada desert. Ward spends his days drinking and writing songs until he encounters a half-blind horse, and is forced to reckon with his life. Portland author Willy Vlautin joined host Geoff Norcross at the Pickathon Experiential Music Festival to talk about the compulsion to create art, the power of music, and the possibility of redemption.