Think Out Loud

Global climate change is warming oceans, melting polar ice and causing sea levels to rise around the world. Scientists predict that in the next 80 years, waters will rise at least 3 feet, but that a rise of more than 6 feet cannot be ruled out. That level of increase would submerge small islands in the Columbia River and leave much of Sauvie Island underwater as well. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has released a new mapping tool that helps people visualize various levels of sea level rise around Oregon. Jonathan Allan is a coastal geologist with the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. He joins us to discuss how sea level rise is already impacting Oregon.

NOAA recently released a seasonal outlook that shows much of the United States will likely experience a hotter than usual summer, including in Oregon. And, last year was already the hottest summer on record. What role is climate change playing in the seasonal outlook? How might they look different moving forward? We dig into these issues with Dan Collins, a meteorologist with the Climate Prediction Center.  

The two new leaders of Oregon’s Planned Parenthood affiliates are pushing to dissolve the political arm of their organization in a move that has blindsided some long-time advocates and has them worried about the future of reproductive rights in the state. Oregon has two Planned Parenthood affiliates. They provide reproductive health care, including abortion access, but do not engage in political work such as lobbying or campaigns. Last week, the leaders of those two affiliates sent a letter to the two groups’ political advocacy arm. They informed the lobbying group’s governing board that they plan to dissolve Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon and restructure the organization to focus more on “health care and advocating for the needs of the Planned Parenthood affiliates and their patients.” Lauren Dake, OPB political reporter, joins us to talk about the rift in the organization. 

According to Credence Research, the U.S. plus-size women’s clothing market is expected to be worth over $101 billion by 2032. But at the same time, within the past few years the market has faced challenges with major retailers like Old Navy and the LOFT scaling back on its sizes. Why do retailers struggle to meet the needs of plus-size clientele, and what does it take to make plus-size clothing consumers want? To answer these questions and more we’re joined by Claire Doody. She is the owner and designer of Copper Union, a Portland-based plus-size fashion line. We’ll also hear from Kelsey Conser, the owner of I Want Seconds, a plus-size focused thrift store in Portland that recently celebrated its one-year anniversary.

Douglas firs, hemlocks and ponderosa pines probably feel like fundamental parts of Oregon’s natural forests. In fact there are people working across the state to breed better versions of those trees to be more resistant to insects, diseases and climate change. Don Kaczmarek, a forest geneticist for the Oregon Department of Forestry, joins us to talk about his work breeding trees, and producing seeds for the state’s forests and seed banks.

Last month, a 5-story commercial building in Portland’s Old Town historic district was awarded one of the most rigorous sustainability certifications in the world, given by the Portland-based International Living Futures Institute. There are only three dozen certified Living Buildings in the world, and the Portland building is the first commercial one to achieve it. Living Buildings must meet a range of strict requirements, from the design to operation. That includes using renewables like solar power to generate at least 5% more energy than is needed and harvesting rainwater to supply all the water for drinking and other uses. 

The PAE Living Building at SW Pine and 1st Ave. not only met these standards but went one step further by being engineered to last at least 500 years to withstand a massive Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake. Kathy Berg is an architect and partner at ZGF Architects and the project lead. Paul Schwer is the president emeritus of PAE, an engineering firm that co-owns, along with ZGF Architects, the PAE Living Building and is headquartered inside it. They join us to talk about their collaboration on the space, and why they hope it could be a model for commercial developments elsewhere.

State lawmakers are traveling across Oregon to host meetings about transportation issues. The Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation has kicked off a 12-stop tour to hear perspectives on the state’s transportation system and the challenges it faces. Lawmakers will use information from the tour to craft Oregon’s next transportation package in the 2025 legislative session. Julia Shumway recently reported on this issue for the Oregon Capital Chronicle and joins us with details.

The federal COVID-19 emergency declaration, which expanded Medicaid coverage, officially ended last spring. Since then, state agencies that oversee Medicaid have been updating their eligibility rosters and disenrolling patients who no longer qualify. While some patients were determined ineligible, the vast majority were disenrolled for administrative reasons such as incomplete applications, incorrect paperwork and missed renewal notices.  

A recent study from Oregon Health & Science University found that Black and Hispanic patients were twice as likely to lose coverage for those reasons than white patients. Jane Zhu is an associate professor of medicine at OHSU and one of the study’s authors. She joins us with more details.

Salem is far from the only Oregon city to be struggling with balancing its budget amid rising costs and declining revenues. Leaders cite property tax limits, the end of pandemic aid money and inflation rates, among other factors. But as a capital city, it’s one that gets more attention than others. Earlier this year, Salem city residents reacted overwhelmingly negatively to big proposed cuts to the library to attempt to address the shortfall.   Those cuts were restored as a result - for now.

The city’s standing Budget Committee will present its recommendations to the city council during its meeting Monday evening, where time for public comment will be provided as well. We hear more details from Irvin Brown, the chair of that committee, which includes the mayor and all the members of the volunteer city council, as well as nine appointed community members. Brown has been serving as a community member, but in May he won a seat on the city council and will take that office in January.

In October 2022, Grant County Sheriff Todd McKinley arrested Ricky Snodgrass, a U.S. Forest Service employee who was leading a prescribed burn that jumped to private land and burned roughly 20 acres. In February of this year, a grand jury indicted Snodgrass on a misdemeanor count of reckless burning. His case was then moved to federal court, where it was dismissed last week. The case was a particularly striking example of longstanding tensions between federal agencies and local communities in rural Oregon.

Conrad Wilson is a reporter covering criminal justice and legal affairs for OPB. He joins us with more details on the case.