Think Out Loud

Jackson County is experiencing a shortage of public defenders. Last week, a Jackson County Circuit Court heard nearly 20 motions from defendants asking to have their cases dismissed. The reasoning? A lack of court-appointed counsel. Kevin Opsahl has reported on what’s happening in the county for the Rogue Valley Times. He joins us with details on what the shortage looks like in Southern Oregon.

A wolverine hasn’t been spotted in Oregon outside of the Wallowa Mountains in more than three decades. But this year, there have been several sightings in Western and Central Oregon. Officials with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife haven’t been able to confirm whether the scattered sightings are of the same wolverine.

Kaly Adkins is the East Region conservation wildlife biologist with ODFW. She confirmed many of the sightings and joins us to talk about the unusual amount of wolverine activity this spring.

Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan announced on Monday that she had ended her contract working as a paid consultant for a cannabis company, which she had done while her office was preparing an audit of the state’s recreational cannabis industry. The Willamette Week reported on Fagan’s paid consultancy work on the same day that the state audit was released which found that overly strict regulations are making it expensive for people to run cannabis businesses and preventing others from joining the industry. The disclosure prompted Oregon Governor and fellow Democrat Tina Kotek to announce the launch of an ethics investigation into Fagan's actions, while Republican lawmakers called for Fagan to resign. OPB political reporter Dirk VanderHart joins us with an update.

The Gem Theater in Athena began life as a saloon, a theater, a store and even a bomb shelter until it was ultimately abandoned and stood empty for 55 years. That is until a group of residents took restoration efforts into their own hands. After nearly 20 years, more than $2 million and hours of volunteer work, the building is close to being completely renovated. Project Manager Rob Mcintyre is hopeful it will be ready for the public by the end of this year. Elsa Rogers is a senior at Weston-McEwen High School and has volunteered in restoration efforts since she was a fifth grader. They both join us now to share what restoration efforts look like now and what this theater will mean for the community once complete.

Researchers at Washington State University studied indoor queen banking as a possible way to help bee populations survive. The practice uses refrigeration to store excess queen bees indoors. The bees can be used later to supplement hives. Many queen producers are based in California and, as the state experiences more severe weather events and wildfires, storing bees outdoors has become more challenging. We hear more about the study from Brandon Hopkins, an author of the research and an assistant research professor at WSU.

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization announced it was tracking a new COVID-19 “variant of interest,” XBB.1.16, which has spread to more than 30 countries, including the U.S. The variant, which is also known as Arcturus, genetically resembles the Omicron strain which drove a surge of infections and hospitalizations in Oregon that peaked in late January last year. According to a forecast prepared by Peter Graven, the lead data scientist at Oregon Health & Science University, the Arcturus variant and another variant, XBB.1.9, will drive a wave of new hospitalizations in Oregon that will peak at around 500 patients in late June. Still, Graven expects the state’s hospital system to be able to handle any surge fueled by Arcturus which appears to be associated with relatively mild cases of infection. Peter Graven joins us to talk about the outlook for COVID and other respiratory illnesses such as RSV and the flu.

Portland singer/songwriter Shireen Amini is one of 16 musicians around the country featured on a new collaborative album called "Hope Rises II." The compilation is produced by Noel ‘Paul’ Stookey, of Peter, Paul and Mary and is a celebration of “New Voices of Social Change.” Amini's track, "Break Myself Free," explores what it means to be authentically yourself without any constraints. Her independently produced single “What I Am” explores her non-binary identity. Amini also regularly performs with the all-Latin band she formed in Bend called ¡Chiringa!, which means "kite" in Puerto Rican-style Spanish. She also runs community song circles as part of what she calls "music medicine." She joins us in studio to tell us more and play some of her songs.

About 50 miles off the coast of Newport, hot, mineral-laden seawater is seeping out of the ocean floor at an unprecedented rate. Researchers at the University of Washington say the liquid acts as a kind of lubricant between tectonic plates, possibly contributing to pressure buildup along the plate boundary. While it doesn’t mean that an earthquake is imminent, the seep could give researchers more insight into how the Cascadia Subduction Zone functions. Joining us with more details is Evan Solomon, an associate professor of oceanography at UW.

The Good Food Awards celebrate products that are “tasty, authentic and responsible.” Makers are recognized in eighteen different categories each year based on a blind tasting and the organization's social and environmental responsibility standards. After more than a decade in San Francisco, the awards celebrated their first year in Portland this past weekend. Sarah Weiner, co-founder and executive director of the Good Food Foundation, joins us to talk about the move. We’re also joined by award winner Holly Ong, co-founder of Sibeiho, to talk about the impact the awards can have on small producers.

Next month, voters in Deschutes County will cast their ballots in a special election that will decide the fate of a handful of ballot measures and candidates competing in local district races. As it has done in past elections, the Source Weekly, an independently owned newspaper based in Bend, shared its endorsements for the election on May 16. But for the first time in its history, the paper published an editorial to weigh in on candidates vying for seats on the Deschutes library board, and why it thinks “there's a good reason for all of us to be paying closer attention” to this particular race. Joining us now to explain what’s at stake is Nicole Vulcan, editor of the Source Weekly.