Think Out Loud

For the first time ever, the Indian Health Service will receive just over $5 billion in advance appropriations. That means the agency will still be able to provide services to its roughly 2.6 million patients in the event of a funding lapse, such as a government shutdown.

While the stopgap funding will provide crucial stability for the agency, experts and advocates say IHS is still chronically underfunded. A federal report found that its 2022 budget – close to $7 billion – funded less than half of what patients needed. And a report from the Tribal Budget Formulation Workgroup, which advises the federal government, estimated the agency would need a $51 billion budget to provide adequate health services and address health disparities in Native American communities.

Melanie Henshaw is the Indigenous affairs reporter for Street Roots. She dug into these issues and joins us to explain what the new funding will – and won’t – do.

Using 70 years of data, researchers led by an Oregon State University professor found that landslides in the Pacific Northwest are influenced more by clear-cutting and roadwork than by heavy rain. Catalina Segura is an associate professor in OSU’s department of forest engineering, resources and management. She joins us with the details.

The U.S. Department of Energy is offering $7 billion in funding to create a network of six to ten sites across the nation to develop and commercialize hydrogen made from renewable energy such as wind and solar. Hydrogen can be used as a fuel, to generate electricity or for industrial applications, including making fertilizer and refining petroleum. Most hydrogen today is produced using natural gas, a fossil fuel which is accelerating climate change.

Lake Oswego-based Obsidian Renewables is one of the energy companies applying for funding from the DOE’s regional clean hydrogen hubs program. It wants to build a pipeline connecting two facilities located in Hermiston and Moses Lake, Washington to generate hydrogen primarily from wind and solar power. The Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association, a public-private partnership which includes the Washington Department of Commerce and the Oregon Department of Energy, is also competing for federal dollars to spur investment in clean hydrogen projects. The details of its proposal have not been made public, but the association claims it could create tens of thousands of jobs to supply the aviation, agriculture and other industries with green hydrogen. Joining us are Ken Dragoon, the director of hydrogen development at Obsidian Renewables, and Rebecca Smith, a senior energy policy analyst at the Oregon Department of Energy.

Last week, a federal judge ruled that time limits for how long someone charged with a crime can stay at Oregon State Hospital will continue. This means the September order requiring the psychiatric facility to release patients facing misdemeanor charges in 90 days, felony charges in six months and more violent felonies within a year, will remain.

The Oregon State Hospital also received news that it passed its federal inspection. However, investigators noted that the facility still faces issues over food safety, medication storage and hygiene. Ben Botkin is the criminal justice and health reporter for the Capital Chronicle. He joins us to share what this ruling means for the future of the state and the details of the inspection.

One of Southern Oregon's long-time newspapers is folding. The Medford Mail Tribune’s last issue was Friday, January 13. The paper’s publisher, Steven Saslow, wrote in an announcement that "industry-wide reductions, and in some cases complete elimination of national advertising spends for newspapers (digital or printed editions), coupled with rising costs of content and the difficulty of hiring staff and managers have made continuing the Mail Tribune unsustainable.”
This decision comes just a few months after the paper stopped its print edition and went entirely online. It also follows the 2021 demise of the Ashland Daily Tidings, owned by the same company.

The Daily Courier in Grants Pass saw an uptick in subscribers when the Mail Tribune went entirely online. And now its publisher says, it plans to go all-in to cover the news vacancy. Travis Moore says the historic, family-owned local newspaper is committed to covering local news and is ready to hire as many former Tribune reporters as it can and expand its footprint. Moore joins us to tell us more about the decision and what happens next.

There’s no getting around it — parasites are icky. But they’re also complex organisms that help control host populations and keep food webs balanced in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. They're also disappearing at an alarming rate, according to researchers at the University of Washington. After studying fish specimens dating as far back as 1880, the researchers found a steep decline in marine parasites in Puget Sound. The decline was strongly correlated with rising water temperature, suggesting that climate change could pose a significant threat to parasite species.

Chelsea Wood is a professor of aquatic and fishery science at the University of Washington and lead author of the study. She joins us to explain the role parasites play and what their loss could mean for different ecosystems threatened by climate change.

Portland YouthBuilders is a nonprofit focused on facilitating careers for young people. The organization offers Oregonians between the ages of about 17-26 support through education and vocational training. We learn more about Portland’s program from Tonia Kovtunovich, the organization’s development director, and Abasi Umoh, a recent participant in the Bridge program.

Over the next several years, Oregon could receive up to $1 billion in federal funding to increase broadband access, but a recent audit from the Oregon Secretary of State’s office shows the state may have some difficulties distributing funds equitably. Inaccurate data, inadequate staffing and a lack of long-term planning are just a few issues facing the Broadband Office. Kip Memmott is the Director of the Secretary of State’s Audits Division. Matthew Owens is the principal auditor. They join us to share what their audit found and what changes the office needs to make to be able to use federal dollars and increase broadband access.

Author Lauren Groff retreated to the middle ages for her latest novel. After her book “Fates and Furies," received wide praise, and in the aftermath of the 2016 election, Groff found solace in writing about the life of nuns cloistered together in 12th century England. We talk to Groff about her latest book, “Matrix,” in front of an audience of students at Leodis V. McDaniel High School in Portland.

Richard Powers’ last novel, “The Overstory,” was a 600-page deep-dive into the science of forests, and the relationships between trees and human beings. His newest, “Bewilderment,” is less than half that length, but both more vast and more intimate in scope. It is the story of an astrobiologist who looks for life on other planets, while he navigates a complex relationship with his young son. Powers joins us in front of an audience at Parkrose High School.