Think Out Loud

A new study found a nearly 50 percent gap in services for substance use disorder treatment, prevention, recovery and harm reduction in Oregon. Researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University and Portland State University School of Public Health surveyed more than 160 organizations across the state to help quantify the service gaps, which also included barriers to culturally relevant care. For example, fewer than one in five of the organizations surveyed were able to provide services tailored to the LGBTQIA+ community, and one in four of the organizations could not offer any language interpretation services for clients. Joining us to discuss the findings is Katie Lenahan, the study’s lead author and a research project manager at the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health.

According to a new report, more than half of transgender and non-binary people who died in the last 10 years in the Portland metro area were misgendered on their death certificates. This erasure can be painful for families. It can also have monetary consequences. Death certificates are used for reporting a region’s vital statistics, which can influence the allocation of federal and state resources. Kim Repp, Chief epidemiologist for Washington County, was a co-author on the report. She joins us to explain.

In a career spanning more than three decades, Georgina Hayns has been making puppets that have been brought to life through the art of stop-motion animation on TV shows and feature films like “Bob the Builder” and Tim Burton’s “Corpse Bride.” But instead of relying on computers to do the animating, the characters in stop-motion animation are made by hand from materials like clay, latex and silicone. They are then animated by being positioned on sets and moved in tiny increments, with each movement recorded frame by frame.

Today, Hayns is the director of character fabrication at ShadowMachine, a stop-motion animation studio in Portland. She recently led a team of artists who made 200 puppets for a new animated version of “Pinocchio” by Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro scheduled for release next month. She joins us to talk about working on the film, the opportunity that led her to leave her native England for Portland and the enduring appeal of an avowedly analog style of filmmaking.

Say on-air: Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” will be released in theaters in November and be available for streaming on Netflix in December

An Oregon law went into effect this year that helps remove barriers for some Oregonians who want to expunge their records. During a background check, criminal charges will show up on a person’s record which can affect things like housing and employment. The Clean Slate Clackamas Project helps Oregonians with the expungement process. We hear more from Amanda Wall, community relations manager for the Clackamas Workforce Partnership and program manager for the Clean Slate Clackamas Project. Jayme is working on getting her records expunged with the project. They join us with details on how the project is going and how it affects Oregonians.

An estimated 6,500 people could be affected by Biden’s recent pardon for federal convictions of cannabis possession. Since most possession charges occur at the state level, Biden encouraged governors to take similar pardoning actions. Some in the cannabis industry were skeptical of the recent announcement, but do believe it is a first step toward legalization. Jesce Horton is the co-founder and CEO of Portland-based cannabis production company LOWD. He joins us to share his thoughts on this recent announcement and his hopes for the future.

The PDX Free Little Art Gallery is a diorama that features miniature pieces of art and people browsing the gallery. It’s located in the Foster Powell neighborhood near SE 57th ave and SE Rhone St. Onlookers are welcome to take or leave a piece. Gallery patrons stand at about 6 inches tall, and some of the pieces their viewing measure in at about 3 inches by 3 inches. We hear more about the gallery and the inspiration behind it from Grant, the creator.

Oregon is known for its terrestrial forests, but there’s an equally important forest ecosystem in its oceans: kelp. Kelp forests provide a crucial food source and habitat for marine species, helping to support coastal biodiversity as well as the state’s fishing and tourism industries. But along some parts of the coast, these forests are in decline. Sarah Gravem is a research associate at Oregon State University and a leader with the Oregon Kelp Alliance. She joins us to talk about how the organization is working to bring kelp back from the brink.

On Wednesday, the Oregon Department of Education named Rosa Floyd, a kindergarten teacher at Nellie Muir Elementary School in Woodburn, its 2023 Oregon Teacher of the Year. A native Spanish speaker, Floyd has been teaching bilingual immersion kindergarten in the Woodburn school district for 22 years. She also started and teaches a Mexican folkloric dance group at Nellie Muir for current and former students, their parents and school staff. Rosa Floyd joins us to talk about winning the award and the importance of honoring heritage and culture within the classroom and beyond.

People who are in the period of their lives between adolescence and midlife, from roughly age 16 to 36, might face anxiety, depression and confusion about the next steps in their lives. Satya Doyle Byock is the author of Quarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood and a psychotherapist in private practice in Portland. Her book dives into this time in people’s lives and how society can better support those experiencing it. She joins us with details about the book.

Oregon has set a goal of getting at least 250,000 registered Zero Emission Vehicles on the road by 2025. State officials are also considering adopting California’s new rule, announced in August, to ban the sale of all new gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

To meet the goal for a greener transportation future, Oregon will need to boost the number of charging ports in the state five-fold. Although state rebates incentivize buying or leasing new and used electric vehicles for qualifying drivers, residents in rural and underserved communities face considerable hurdles to make the shift to EVs. Joining us now are Jessica Reichers, the technology and policy manager for the Oregon Department of Energy; Amanda Pietz, the administrator for the Policy, Data and Analysis Division of the Oregon Department of Transportation; and JR Anderson, a program manager at Forth, a non-profit that is working to improve accessibility to electric vehicles in Oregon.