Think Out Loud

In August, Beaverton police arrested the alleged leader of a crime ring they say trafficked more than 44,000 stolen catalytic converters since January 2021 — the street value of which is estimated to be over $22 million. Police said at the time that the Portland-area crime ring stretched as far as New York, but offered few details about the alleged ringleader or where the stolen parts ended up.

Willamette Week reporter Lucas Manfield tracked the stolen converters from the Portland metro area to Long Island to a New Jersey metal recycler. He joins us to talk about his reporting.

Portland has seen 93 homicides this year, and the year isn't over yet. Those include five people killed by local law enforcement officers. The city’s efforts to reduce this violence starting in 2019, when the uptick started, have been not only unsuccessful but fraught with controversy. Despite the launch of the Enhanced Community Safety Team in February 2021, the start of the Focused Intervention Team in 2022, and an increased Portland Police Bureau recruiting push, the deaths continue to rise. Meanwhile, legal challenges to the Oregon ballot measure that voters narrowly approved to tighten gun laws statewide continue, with a Friday court hearing. We get more details from OPB reporter Jonathan Levinson.

Portland photographer Intisar Abioto’s work is showing in two galleries. The exhibition at the Art Gallery at The Patricia Reser Center for the Arts in Beaverton showcases her own pieces and those of the other women artists in her family. She’s also part of the Oregon Contemporary show in Portland. The historic Cannady home in NE Portland is the subject of one of these installations. People working to elevate Black history say this residence that once belonged to Black activist and civil leader Beatrice Morrow Cannady is a place that should be recognized as historically and culturally significant. Intisar Abioto said, not only that, but when she learned it was for sale earlier this year, she thought it could be reclaimed by the Black community as a place to gather, organize and create art.

She spearheaded an effort to buy the property. Abioto worked with other artists, Black political leaders, business owners, historians, activists and someone who volunteered to finance a backup offer on the $1,135,000 home. The sellers didn’t accept the offer, but Abioto says there are still valuable lessons to be learned from both Beatrice Cannady’s history in Portland, and the story of the community effort to buy her home. She joins us to talk about art, history and the present moment, and how this experience synthesizes all three.

In September, a grand jury declined to charge a former West Linn doctor accused of sexual abuse by more than 100 women and children. Now a new release of documents and police reports could provide more insight into why the doctor wasn’t indicted. Holly Bartholomew has been following this story for the West Linn Tidings newspaper. She joins us to talk more about the case, and what the alleged victims would like to see happen next.

Railroad workers have expressed concerns over unpredictable and punishing schedules, a lack of sick leave and extended periods of on-call time. Four of the twelve unions involved in contract negotiations rejected a deal brokered in September and threatened to strike. At President Biden's urging, Congress has stepped in and is working to reach a labor agreement. On Wednesday, the U.S. House passed a bill that would bind companies and workers to accept the agreement reached in September. We learn more about this issue from Peter Goodman, a New York Times global economic correspondent and author of "Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World."

This spring, a new brewery dedicated to tabletop roleplaying games will be coming to East Portland. TPK Brewery is queer and BIPOC women-owned, with a goal to create an inclusive space and promote diversity in Portland’s gaming and brewery culture. With the growing popularity of TTRPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, how have these games changed over the years, and what does diversity and representation look like now? Dana Ebert is the creative director for TPK Brewing. Amanda Cote is an assistant professor of media studies and game studies at the University of Oregon. They join us to help answer these questions and more.

Hold times for 911 calls in Portland are far longer than the national standard, which specifies that 90% of calls should be answered within 15 seconds. According to the city’s Bureau of Emergency Communications, only 35% of calls were answered within that window last month. The bureau wants to hire more dispatchers and has begun using a system of automatic call backs to numbers that hang up. It also plans to launch an automated answering system for non-emergency calls in the new year.

Joining us to talk about possible fixes for long emergency call wait times is Bob Cozzie, director of the Portland Bureau of Emergency Communications.

Alicia Jo Rabins is a writer, a performer, a filmmaker, a Torah scholar and a teacher. She’s also a mother. Rabins says that after she had children, she noticed that the way she interacted the sacred texts of the Torah shifted. She saw them with new eyes and uncovered different lessons than she had before she became a parent. Her new book, “Even God had Bad Parenting Days,” connects the ancient stories with contemporary life. In this collection of essays, Rabins reveals some of her own deeply personal struggles and what she’s learned and practiced to get her through difficult times and embrace joy as often as possible. We talk with her about these stories and their intersections with the ancient wisdom in texts written thousands of years ago.

After spotting a stolen vehicle in his neighborhood and informing the owner via social media, Titan Crawford has made hunting for stolen cars a big part of his life. He’s the founder of the Facebook group, PDX Stolen Cars, which is made up of volunteers helping each other find stolen cars in Portland. When police have to prioritize other crimes, the group can be another way for Portlanders to actively work on getting their vehicles back. And it’s not just cars. Motorcycles have been found in the group too. Nicole Heath joined the group hoping to get her stolen motorcycle back. While she continues to search for it, she has helped others in the group find their stolen vehicles. She and Crawford join us with details of the group and the work they’re doing.

In the 1920s, the Osage were considered the richest people per capita in the world, thanks to oil wells on their land. But in the early 1920s, about two dozen tribal members were killed mysteriously. Author David Grann delves into those deaths and the conspiracy behind them in his book “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the F.B.I.” Host Geoff Norcross spoke with Grann in 2017 in front of an audience at the Portland Book Festival.