Think Out Loud

In just 31 days, Oregon lawmakers ended the 2024 legislative session. They passed bills with bipartisan support that targeted affordable housing, homelessness, campaign finance and the fentanyl crisis. They also delivered on Governor Tina Kotek’s top legislative priority with a $376 million housing package to boost affordable housing construction, help counties acquire land to develop properties and expand emergency shelters for people experiencing homelessness.  

The governor has already announced she will sign into law HB 4002, which effectively ends Oregon’s experiment with drug decriminalization under Measure 110. But there were limits to that bipartisan cooperation, such as when Republicans blocked passage of a bill which would have made Oregon the first state in the nation to restrict corporate and private equity takeover of medical clinics. OPB political reporters Lauren Dake and Dirk VanderHart join us for a look at the key developments from the short legislative session.  

A recent study shows that chronic exposure to discrimination and stigma can negatively impact the health of trans and nonbinary people. But it also shows that a strong sense of community can help alleviate those impacts. The findings are part of the broader Trans Resilience and Health Study, co-led by Jae Puckett, an assistant professor at Michigan State University, and Zachary DuBois, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Oregon.

DuBois joins us to talk about the recent findings, as well as the broader effort to explore trans resilience and health across the U.S.

Jenn McPoland has been homebrewing beer for about 20 years. It’s become her main hobby and something she loves to share. She likes to tell people, “If you can cook, you can brew.” McPoland says while the industry remains pretty male dominated, more women than ever are getting into the craft all the time. When she first got into SheBrew, a one day festival celebrating women in the industry, there were just two women-owned breweries in the state. Now there are a dozen or more.

SheBrew is in its ninth year, and draws professional brewers and homebrewers alike. Not all of the brewers own their own business, but all of them contribute a beer that they have brewed themselves. Profits from the event go to the Human Rights Campaign, which supports LGTBQ+ rights and the Oregon Brew Crew, a homebrewing club. McPoland joins us with more about the event, along with Cason Wolcott, one of five brewers at Baerlic Brewing. SheBrew is happening on March 10 in Portland

City councilors in Ashland voted 5 - 1 this week to close its 24/7 emergency homeless shelter. The city opened the shelter last November. Oregon state officials had offered Ashland $1.8 million for renovations and $800,000 for operational funds for the facility. But the councilors voted to decline the funding and shut the shelter down when the current state funding ends March 31. Meanwhile, the council is currently working on a master plan for addressing homelessness. Jefferson Public Radio reporter Jane Vaughan joins us to tell us more the decision to close the shelter and the ongoing need for homeless services in Ashland.

The Eugene School District 4J board voted Wednesday night not to renew the contract of Superintendent Andy Dey. The departure comes a month after Eugene Weekly broke the news that Dey was under investigation following complaints of discrimination and retaliation. Since then, the paper has reported on the board’s formal reprimand of Dey and a new allegation that Dey kissed a teacher without her consent. 

Eugene Weekly Editor Camilla Mortensen joins us for an update on the board’s decision and what comes next for the district. 

Hannah Glavor’s music used to lean toward singer-songwriter folk. But her newly released single, Otherside, shows an indie rock side to the Portland musician. She writes about loss and hope, and about darkness and the light on the other side. Hannah Glavor joins us in the studio to perform songs from her new album.

Oregon is on the verge of reshaping how political campaigns are financed. HB 4024 would limit contributions for individuals and for organizations. If passed, limits would not begin until January 2027. Jason Kafoury is the co-chair of Honest Elections Oregon. He joins us to share more details of the bill. 

Astoria author Kama O’Connor thinks a lot about romance and love. Writing under the pen name Kristine Lynn, her seventh romance novel - “Accidentally Dating His Boss” - was published last month by Harlequin. In addition to being a romance novelist, O’Connor is also a writing and English instructor at Clatsop Community College in Astoria. Next month, those two passions will converge in a new humanities course called “Modern Love.” From Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” to Taylor Swift’s “Love Story,” the class explores the evolution of love stories in books, movies, songs and pop culture. O’Connor joins us to talk about the course, becoming a romance novelist and changing perceptions about the genre and its authors.  

Kama O’Connor will be giving a free public talk about the history of love stories tomorrow evening at Fort George Brewery in Astoria. Doors open at 6, and the talk begins at 7pm.

It’s been just over three months since the only hospital in Eugene closed, leaving Oregon’s second-largest city without a dedicated emergency department. PeaceHealth announced the closure of its University District hospital last August and ceased most operations at the facility in December. Since then, emergency patients have been transported to the McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center or PeaceHealth’s RiverBend hospital, both located in Springfield.    

Deputy Chief Chris Heppel oversees emergency medical services at Eugene Springfield Fire. He joins us to talk about how the University District closure has impacted EMS in Eugene, along with Rep. Nancy Nathanson, D-Eugene, who joins us with more details about a possible legislative solution to some of those issues.  

Washington’s Department of Natural Resources manages over 100,000 acres inside the border of the Yakama Nation. The lands are held in trust and managed to provide revenue for the state’s K-12 schools and prisons. A new investigation from High Country News and Grist found that nearly 2 million acres of state trust lands lie within the borders of 83 federally recognized Indian reservations. Anna V. Smith, associate editor of High Country News, joins us with more on the investigation.