Think Out Loud

Even though the Roman empire came to an end thousands of years ago, we still tell stories about the emperors who ruled during that time. From Caligula, who threatened to make his horse a senator, to Nero, who killed his own mother and set fire to the city to make room for his palace, classicist Mary Beard argues that the stories we tell about the Roman emperors might say more about us than they do about the emperors themselves. Beard joins us to talk about her latest book, “Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World,” which attempts to break down what we can actually know about the lives of the emperors and how they ruled.

The Black Possibilities App is creating a “digital safe space for Black Oregonians to connect, organize, heal, & advocate together,” according to the organization Imagine Black, which created the app. Joy Alise Davis, the executive director of Imagine Black, joins us to talk about the need the app fills for Black Oregonians, and the new online connections and exchanges she hopes will emerge from using it.

The city of Salem is facing a massive budget shortfall. To help close it, the City Council recently approved a tax on anyone working in Salem who earns above the minimum wage. City officials claim the tax is needed to maintain and expand emergency services, including hiring more police officers, firefighters and sustaining homeless services. Oregon Business & Industry successfully petitioned to put the issue before Salem voters in a special election this November. Virginia Stapleton is president of the Salem City Council and co-founder of the Committee to Save Salem, which supports the ballot measure. Preston Mann is the political affairs director of Oregon Business & Industry which has raised more than $180,000 to defeat the measure. They join us to share opposing perspectives on the tax which has been extensively covered by the Salem Reporter, including an Oct. 11 town hall it moderated with Stapleton and Mann. 

Last week, reporting from the Portland Mercury revealed some of the living conditions at Argyle Gardens, a transitional housing apartment complex operated by Transition Projects Inc. Tenants reported issues with cleanliness in communal spaces, bed bugs and poor management. Tony Bernal is the interim executive director of TPI. He joins us to share the organization's response to the reporting and what they’re doing now to address some of these issues. 

Only five states in the U.S. require sex education to be made accessible to people with disabilities. Oregon has no such requirements, but a partnership between Oregon Health Authority, Oregon Department of Education, the University of Alaska Anchorage and Oregon Health and Science University aim to fill this gap though a program for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The Friendships and Dating Program provides participants the skills to promote healthy relationships and sexual health in their communities. Lindsay Sauvé is the program and evaluation manager with the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at OHSU.  Morrigan Hunter is a community research liaison with the center. They both join us to discuss the impact this program is having and what it takes to make sex education more accessible. 

It’s been about two weeks since war broke out in Israel and Gaza. Though thousands of miles away, the war and subsequent humanitarian crisis in the Middle East has taken an emotional, mental and personal toll on many Oregonians. An event in Wilsonville this weekend brought together medical and mental health professionals to help community members develop coping mechanisms for the stress and find support through fellow community members.

Farah Ramchandani organized the event and Selma Quan Anderson participated in her capacity as a registered nurse. They join us to talk about the importance of creating space for community members to process their feelings.

A recently released audit took aim at the operation of Metro’s two solid waste transfer stations. Located in Northwest Portland and Oregon City, the facilities process about 40% of the garbage generated by 1.7 million customers in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington County. They also accept hazardous household items like paint thinner, batteries and used propane tanks. 

Willamette Week earlier reported on the audit which found “gaps” and “weaknesses” that reveal a “lack of basic management practices” and raise concerns around safety and financial risks for the agency. For example, only 3% of employees at the transfer stations completed annual radiation safety training, and fewer than half completed asbestos awareness training. The audit also found overpayment to a contractor supplying diesel for Metro’s garbage trucks. Joining us is Metro Auditor Brian Evans to talk about the audit and recommendations it made to Metro officials.

The Refindery in the tiny coastal town of Wheeler is not your typical thrift store. For one thing, you won’t find secondhand clothes for sale. But if you’re looking for a 1986 wall calendar, a used door hinge that still works or that missing piece for a Monopoly board game, you might be in luck. The Refindery invites visitors to reimagine and repurpose items otherwise destined for the landfill, like the glass fish and salvaged seashells mounted inside a vintage television displayed in the store. It also hosts a monthly event where community members can bring in broken vacuum cleaners, lamps and other objects for repair by a team of volunteers. The Refindery and the Repair Café are operated by Heart of Cartm, a nonprofit formed in 2021, which grew out of  a volunteer-run recycle transfer center started in Manzanita three decades ago. Jessi Just, the executive director of Heart of Cartm, joins us to talk about her organization which was recently profiled in Oregon ArtsWatch, and its ongoing work to reduce and reimagine waste on Oregon’s North Coast.

Since 2017, Bruce Poinsette has helped lead a neighborhood effort to interrupt racism in Lake Oswego. The group is called Respond to Racism and holds regular community meetings to engage people in conversations and anti-racism action. Poinsette recently launched a new online interview series talking to people of color who have left the “bubble” of LO. He joins us to share his own experience in the bubble, Respond to Racism’s work more broadly, and what he’s hoping to accomplish with the latest video series.

Oregon’s Warmline is a hotline people can call to get support and talk through issues with a peer. For the second quarter of 2023, the service received over 20,000 calls across the state, a more than 40% increase in demand compared to last year. But while need for the service is there, a state grant is expected to expire in the spring, throwing the future of the program into question. Kimberly Lindsay is the executive director of Community Counseling Services, the nonprofit that operates the line. She joins us to share what demand has been like for the warmline and the options the organization is considering to keep the service going.