Think Out Loud

Wildfires spreading throughout the state have caused multiple road closures and prompted evacuations. The Durkee Fire, which is burning in Malheur and Baker counties, is so hot it created its own weather. Record dry conditions combined with lightning strikes and human activity have set off over 60 fires across Oregon and Washington already this season. The U.S. Forest Service is bringing in resources from across the country to aid in fighting these blazes. Mariana Ruiz Temple, Oregon’s State Fire Marshal, joins us to share more. We’ll also hear from Jacque Buchanan, U.S. Forest Service regional forester for the Pacific Northwest.

The Snoopy Senior World Hockey Tournament is an annual event that draws hundreds of hockey players to an ice rink in California. But unlike other tournaments, this one is specifically for older adults. Eugene’s Oregon Old Growth is a team with players ranging in age from 70 to 83. Mike Sheehan and Bob Carolan both just returned from the tournament last week. They join us to share more on the world of senior hockey and what keeps them on the rink.

Before telephone wires were coated in plastic, they were originally protected by a layer of lead. Lead-sheathed cables were largely phased out in the 1950s, but in Portland’s oldest neighborhoods, some of them still hang from utility poles. A recent study from Oregon State University tested lead levels in moss in some neighborhoods and found that lead levels are up to 600 times higher in places where the cables were once used than in other nearby areas. The findings raise concerns about whether the cables could lead to increased risk of lead exposure for residents of older neighborhoods.

Alyssa Shiel is an associate professor in the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric sciences at OSU and the study’s lead author. She joins us with more details.

Family Connects Oregon is a program that brings nurses to the homes of newborns and their families, as NPR recently reported. It’s an opt-in service that aims to improve health and socioeconomic outcomes for parents and children. Family Connects continues to expand in Oregon and has visiting nurses in counties including Jefferson, Lincoln and Washington. We learn more about the service from Barb Ibrahim, a public health nurse for Jefferson County. 

The Ross Island Lagoon, which sits in the center of the four-island complex known as Ross Island, is a byproduct of decades of mining. In addition to industrial purposes, the lagoon also has a long history of being used recreationally and provides habitat for a variety of vulnerable plant and animal species.
In 2015, researchers began to see cyanobacterial blooms in the lagoon. Cyanobacteria is a type of bacteria which can pose a serious threat to the health of animals and people who come into close contact with the water. When present, it gives the water a bright green appearance.
Because the lagoon is a warm, stagnant pool, it’s an ideal breeding ground for cyanobacteria. And it’s only getting warmer due to climate change. The tide from the Willamette pulls the cyanobacteria out into the river’s main flow, contaminating the rest of the water. The Oregon Health Authority routinely releases warnings urging against recreational river use during warmer seasons because of this.
Since 2017, Oregon State University and the Willamette River group the Human Access Project have been working on reducing these Lagoon blooms. There is work being done by different groups to address the cyanobacterial blooms in the Ross Island Lagoon. Desirée Tullos, professor of Water Resources Engineering at Oregon State University, joins us to share more.

A growing number of Oregon tribes have been investing in equine therapy for youth struggling on reservations and in foster care. Both the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs have developed programs in the last three years. And the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Klamath Tribes and Burns Paiute Tribe have plans to launch programs, some as soon as this summer. Nancy Marie Spears is the Indigenous children an d families reporter for The Imprint. She has been reporting on this trend and joins us to share more.

Live Nation wants to develop a 3,500 capacity venue in Portland’s central eastside. The company, which also owns Ticketmaster, controls an estimated 60% of concert venues across the country and also serves as one of the nation’s biggest artist management companies. Earlier this summer, the Department of Justice sued Live Nation, seeking to break up their “monopoly and restore competition for the benefit of fans and artists.” We hear from reporter Katie Thornton, who wrote about Live Nation’s quest to enter Portland for The Guardian. We also hear from Willamette Week reporter Anthony Effinger, who wrote about an alternate effort from local music promoter Monqui Presents to open a mid-sized venue at  the Lloyd Center.

Since the extreme heat dome in the Pacific Northwest in 2021, researchers have been busy trying to identify all the different effects that heat had on trees and forests. One of those researchers is Chris Still, a professor in the college of forestry at Oregon State University. He says a collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service using satellite data is revealing the swaths in the region that were most damaged. Researchers have also found that tree growth after a heat event does not seem to be as resilient compared to growth after a drought. Still joins us to share more about the research and what it may portend for future heat domes and other extreme heat events that are likely as the planet continues to warm.

Cities across the Pacific Northwest are struggling to handle a growing number of requests for public records such as court documents, police reports and emails between public officials. To test those systems, the investigative news outlet InvestigateWest sent the same records request to 15 cities across Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Some took months, or charged hundreds of dollars, to fulfill the requests.

Daniel Walters reports on democracy and extremism for InvestigateWest. He joins us to share more about what he found and the vital role public records play in holding governments and agencies accountable. 

President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 election is reverberating across the nation and the Pacific Northwest’s political world. The news comes less than a month before the Democratic National Convention is scheduled to begin in Chicago. Earl Blumenauer, Democratic Congressman representing Oregon’s 3rd district, and James Manning, state senator representing Eugene, are among the local delegates heading to the convention. They join us to share their reactions.