Think Out Loud

In the aftermath of a sudden death, family members of the victim often have to speak with police, medical personnel and a raft of other emergency response officials. Volunteers with the Trauma Intervention Program want to make sure they also speak with a caring neighbor who is there to lend a hand.

TIP was founded in 1985 as a way to provide trauma-informed support in the wake of sudden tragedies such as car accidents, overdoses, suicides and other unexpected deaths. Trained volunteers are called to the scene by police, paramedics or other first responders to talk with loved ones of the victim and connect them with secondary services.

The organization now has 15 affiliates across the country, the newest of which will serve Lane County. Bridget Byfield is a former TIP volunteer and program director for TIP of Lane County. She joins us to talk about the benefits of providing “emotional first aid” in the first few hours after a tragedy.

The latest federal Census numbers show Oregon’s population is shrinking for the first time in decades. And it’s losing residents at the sixth fastest rate. Calculating these estimates is not an exact science, says Josh Lehner, with the Oregon office of Economic Analysis. He says numbers from the Portland State University Population Research Center indicate a slowing of growth in the state, but also show a drop in the Portland metro area. Lehner says however you look at it, the implications for state revenues are serious. He joins to explain these numbers and what it could mean if Oregon’s population doesn’t rebound.

An aerial survey conducted this past summer by the U.S. Forest Service and the Oregon Department of Forestry found more than 1 million acres with dead or dying fir trees in Oregon, the largest amount of fir mortality since the aerial surveys began 75 years ago. News of the tree die-off, which has been called “firmageddon” by some of the survey researchers, was first reported by Columbia Insight. The affected trees were mainly white and Shasta firs, with the bulk of the tree mortality concentrated in the southern part of the state. Danny DePinte is a forest health specialist and aerial survey program manager for the U.S. Forest Service. Christine Buhl is an entomologist with the Oregon Department of Forestry who participated in the survey. They join us to talk about what’s behind the tree die-off and its implications for the state's forest canopy in an era of more intense wildfires and hotter droughts driven by climate change.

In a recent election, members of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde voted to amend their constitution and drastically limit tribal disenrollment. The CTGR is one of the few tribes to make a revision like this to protect its members. The new changes now mean only members who enrolled fraudulently would face disenrollment or those who were a member of another tribe when they received Grand Ronde citizenship. Cheryle Kennedy is the Chairwoman for the tribal council with the CTGR. She joins us to share the effects disenrollments can have and the protections will mean for both individuals and tribes.

In Portland, Habitat for Humanity is striving to have a greater regional impact. As the housing crisis continues to affect Oregon, the organization wants more resources directed toward helping low income families become homeowners. Infrastructure exists to expand affordable rental housing, but not to help low income people reach home ownership. We learn more about what the organization hopes to see and accomplish in the future from Steve Messinetti, the president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Portland Region.

Oregon currently has the highest rates of voter turnout in the entire country. Two factors political scientists point to are the state’s vote by mail system and the "motor voter" law that automatically registers people to vote when they get their driver's license. We talk with former Oregon Secretary of State and vote-by-mail advocate Phil Keisling about the numbers and what they mean.

The Eugene Water & Electric Board, Oregon's largest customer-owned utility, is moving forward with decommissioning the Leaburg Hydroelectric Project due to structural deficiencies and the high cost of future repairs. Meanwhile, the board has also released a draft plan to chart Eugene’s energy future. The proposal forecasts electricity needs for the next 20 years and navigates which energy sources, like wind farms paired with batteries, could best fit the region's power needs. The board is currently accepting public comment on the draft. We dig more into these issues with Aaron Orlowski, a spokesperson for the board.

The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled that people convicted by nonunanimous juries have the right to a new trial. Before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the practice of convicting defendants with less than a unanimous jury, Oregon and Louisiana were the only states that allowed it. The justices left it to those states to decide whether or not the ruling applied retroactively to those already convicted. OPB reporter Conrad Wilson covers criminal justice and legal affairs and joins us to tell us more about the ruling and what happens next.

On Jan. 6, 2021, thousands of Trump supporters and right-wing protestors stormed the U.S. Capitol. In a matter of hours, disinformation spread blaming the attack on antifa and the Black Lives Matter Movement, despite no evidence proving that connection. Antifa itself is not an organized group with structure or a leader, so why was it blamed and what exactly is it? To share more on the history of antifascism and explore the work being done today to combat the far-right, we’re joined by Shane Burley. He is a Portland-based writer and filmmaker and the editor of a new book, “¡No Pasarán!: Antifascist Dispatches from a World in Crisis.”

Only about a dozen states have passed a paid leave program that guarantees workers can take time off for personal or family medical reasons. As of January 1, Oregon’s program has now begun. Companies and workers are starting to contribute the money to pay for the program. Workers will be able to apply for benefits in September of this year. Employees can take three different kinds of leave: medical leave, family leave or safe leave. Medical covers the individual; family leave is for caring for children or loved ones; and safe leave provides for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, harassment or stalking to take paid time off. Karen Humelbaugh is the director of Paid Leave Oregon in the state’s employment department and joins us to explain the details of the program.