Think Out Loud

In January of 2027, people on Medicaid will need to meet a slate of new requirements mandated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or HR1. Some people on the Oregon Health Plan will need to confirm that they are working, volunteering or attending school every six months. And everyone will need to renew twice a year, rather than once every two years. All this paperwork will be handled by the Oregon Department of Human Services, in collaboration with the Oregon Health Authority. Both departments are working hard to make sure they are ready for the January deadline. Vivian Levy, Interim Medicaid Director for the Oregon Health Authority, and Nate Singer, Director of Eligibility Partnership at the Oregon Department of Human Services, join us to explain how Oregonians will be impacted.

 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 18,500 professional tailors, dressmakers and seamstresses in 2024. That’s a 30% drop from a decade before. The median age for the profession is 54, and unlike other skilled labor industries, not enough young people are filling in for those who are retiring.

What are the challenges of this work and why don’t more young people want to do it? To answer these questions and more we are joined by two professional sewists in Oregon. Stephanie Mendes is the owner of Love Stephanie Apparel and is an instructor at the Portland Fashion Institute. Mackinley James is known as the Fibrarian and is based in Portland.

Reed College recently settled a pair of complaints from former students who said they were targeted and harassed for being Jewish. The college agreed to update its discrimination policy, implement new training for students, faculty and staff and appoint a coordinator for Title VI civil rights complaints, among other changes. 

For a student perspective on the settlement, we’re joined by Reed Student Body President Andrew Happy.

By Monday, the Bench fire burning in Warm Springs grew to more than 40,000 acres after combining with the Beachcomb fire. At least six homes and five buildings have been lost, according to state fire officials. 

Hundreds of people are under Level 3 “Go Now!” evacuation orders, with more than a thousand others under lower evacuation levels. 

Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Tribal Council Chair Dennis White III has issued a state of emergency declaration that authorizes coordination with and seeks assistance from state, local and federal agencies to fight the wildfires threatening the reservation and taking a toll on tribal services. Tribal officials have now issued a water conservation order and a boil water advisory while announcing the closure of government offices on Tuesday.   

Edward Henderson, Secretary-Treasurer/CEO of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, joins us to share more.

Portland city officials are rapidly approaching the Aug. 12 deadline to begin negotiations for a Moda Center deal.

With both city officials and Trail Blazers management firm in their stance, the threat of a Trail Blazers relocation has crept into NBA discourse.

NBA reporters Mike Vorkunov and Yaron Weitzman join us to discuss further about the possibility of a Blazers relocation, and what cities may be attractive suitors for the franchise.

Firefighting crews are working around the clock to contain the dozens of wildfires burning across Central, Eastern and Southern Oregon. The Oregon Department of Forestry is coordinating with state, local and federal agencies to contain large wildfires that have triggered level 1, 2 and 3 evacuations and led to air quality advisories in more than a third of the counties in the state. 

The agency’s complex incident management teams have taken command of the Akawa Butte fire burning near Sisters and are assisting on several fires that are part of the Rowe Creek Complex. A state-to-state mutual aid agreement has allowed ODF to get help from Florida firefighters who took over command on Monday of the Evans Creek fire in Southern Oregon.

Kyle Williams, ODF’s Deputy Fire of Fire Operations, joins us for more details.

Portlander Aliyah Tan recently won first place at the National Yo-Yo Contest in Las Vegas. It was the first time Tan took the spot spot since she started competing at nationals in 2014. Tan’s winning routine, set to music by the British rock band The Last Dinner Party, featured three minutes of elaborate string tricks between two yo-yos. She now heads to the World Yo-Yo Contest in Himeji, Japan, next month. 

Tan joins us in the studio to talk about her elaborate yo-yo routines and what she loves about it.

Tribal police departments in Washington employ police officers who have been fired at a disproportionate rate, according to new reporting from InvestigateWest. At the state level, tribal law enforcement only makes up about 2.5% of the police force, but they hire four times more officers who were previously fired or resigned in lieu of termination than other departments. Melanie Henshaw reported on this issue for InvestigateWest and joins us to share more.

On July 19, Portland celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the Biketown bike-share and e-scooter rental program with a record-setting electric bike ride. 

With more than a thousand participants, Portland shattered the Guinness World Record  for largest e-bike ride, more than doubling the previous record set by Seattle.

Portland Bureau of Transportation Director Millicent Williams joins us to discuss the record-breaking e-bike ride and reflect on the 10-year anniversary of the Nike-sponsored micromobility