Think Out Loud Oregon Public Broadcasting

Earlier this month, Gov. Tina Kotek threatened to veto $14 million in state funding for seven local infrastructure projects across Oregon unless they could clearly show they would result in new housing development. Last week, she announced that no line-item vetoes would be made to the projects state lawmakers had already approved funding for during this year’s short legislative session. Shady Cove, a city of roughly 3,200 residents in Jackson County, was one of the municipalities the governor’s office requested additional information from. According to Mayor John Ball, the city wants to use the $1.5 million it was awarded to develop a municipal water system, which he says is essential for new housing development. Mayor Ball joins us to talk about the status of the project, and to reveal the challenges rural communities in Oregon face to build more housing.  

Records show that since the beginning of this year,  there were 9 druggings of University of Oregon students, and the university failed to alert students about what was happening, violating their own protocols. These incidents were potentially linked to fraternity parties. That’s according to a new story from Eugene Weekly. We're joined by reporter Eliza Aronson, who is also a UO  senior studying Journalism and Marine Biology. 

 “Unrelenting pressure” on the nation’s rural healthcare safety net means more hospital closures and many operating on the brink. That’s according to a new report by the Chartis Center for Rural Health. The center says hospitals have been in crisis mode for the last 15 years, but even in just the last 12 months the situation has worsened further, with the percentage of America’s rural hospitals operating in the red jumping from 43% to 50% in that time.

Some of the report’s other key findings include:Access to inpatient care continues to deteriorate, as 167 rural hospitals since 2010 have either closed or converted to a model that excludes inpatient care.Between 2011 and 2021, 267 rural hospitals dropped OB services. This represents nearly 25% of America’s rural OB units.Between 2014 and 2022, 382 rural hospitals have stopped providing chemotherapy services.

We get more details about what’s driving these trends from Michael Topchik, director of the Chartis Center for Rural Health. We’re also joined by Dr. Lesley Ogden, the CEO of two Lincoln County hospitals: Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital in Lincoln City and Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital in Newport.

 

Gun sales in Washington have dropped significantly this year as new gun safety laws have taken effect. The drop follows a spike in sales last year that happened when buyers scrambled to purchase guns as lawmakers debated legislation. David Gutman recently wrote about this for The Seattle Times. He joins us with more on Washington’s gun laws. 

On Monday, April 22nd, the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments on a case out of Oregon that could have national implications on homelessness policy. The question at the heart of Grants Pass v Johnson is whether cities can regulate where and when people can sleep outside, especially if there isn’t shelter space available. Jeremiah Hayden, a reporter for Street Roots Newspaper, tells us about the oral arguments, and the case in Grants Pass that started it all.  

We revisit a conversation we first aired in April 2023 which was the first installment of our series on people’s professions. We’ll learn what it takes to do different kinds of jobs and how these professions change us.

David Beer is Portland’s Squeezebox Surgeon. He has studied the inner workings of accordions in Italy and at A World of Accordions Museum in Wisconsin. He operates on all different kinds of free reed instruments. He shares with us how he got into this business and gives us an inside look of how accordions work and what it takes to get them singing again.