Think Out Loud

Wildland firefighters across the West now have access to a large network of cameras monitored by AI to alert them to wildfires when they start.  University of Oregon’s Oregon Hazards Lab, along with collaborators at other universities, have partnered with the company ALERTWest to monitor the cameras 24/7. When an algorithm detects smoke or fire, an operations center will be alerted, and dispatchers will then alert the appropriate fire manager. Doug Toomey, director of OHAZ, will join us to discuss how this system will help in the fight against wildfires. 

The Oregon State Bar has started to license paralegals, allowing them to offer some legal help that previously could only be provided by lawyers. The program is one of a handful nationwide and gives licensed paralegals the opportunity to provide assistance in  housing and family law. Sue Gerhardt is a longtime paralegal who recently received her license through the Oregon State Bar. She joins us with more about what this means for Oregonians in need of family or housing law services. 

Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt has lost his reelection bid. In a Wednesday afternoon statement, Schmidt said he called to concede his seat to opponent Nathan Vasquez, a longtime prosecutor in Schmidt’s office. As of 7 p.m. Wednesday, Vasquez had won 54% of the vote, with Schmidt trailing at 46%. Nathan Vasquez joins us to discuss his vision for the future of the criminal justice system in Multnomah County.

Oregon voters have now cast their ballots for the primary election. May primary elections tend to draw low turnouts, despite some big items on the ballot, including an open race for the Congressional seat held for nearly 30 years by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland), who announced his retirement last October. We hear from some of the winners of key Congressional, county and mayoral contests that were on the ballot. OPB political reporter Dirk VanderHart also joins us for analysis of the primary, from the massive amounts of outside money flowing into the CD3 race, to contests to decide who will be Oregon’s next state treasurer and attorney general. 

The Bureau of Land Management oversees 245 million acres of public land across the U.S. More than 60% of that rangeland is being managed through leased livestock grazing allotments in Oregon and nine other Western states. But according to the nonpartisan Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, livestock grazing is the main reason why nearly 60 million acres of BLM rangeland fail the agency’s own standards for land health, which are used to assess soil and water quality, among other factors. High Country News recently reported on PEER’s findings, which also found that BLM state offices are increasingly relying on a federal loophole to renew grazing permits and leases without environmental review, especially in Oregon, Nevada and Idaho.  Peter Lattin is a landscape ecologist, geospatial analyst in Oregon who was working for a contractor that was hired by BLM in 2010 to conduct regional ecological assessments. He resigned from his position when he was told by BLM officials not to include the impact of livestock grazing on land health assessments. He then shared his concerns with PEER and worked with the organization to obtain BLM records through the Freedom of Information Act. Lattin and PEER used that data to create an interactive map that shows the impact of livestock grazing on public land. Chandra Rosenthal is the director of PEER’s Rocky Mountain office in Denver. They join us to talk about their findings. 

Jenny Don’t and The Spurs started more than a decade ago as a side project for a few members of Portland’s punk scene who were looking to explore a new sound. Since then, they’ve become known for their punk-tinged country style, as well as their eccentric outfits, and high-energy live shows.  Founding members Jenny Don’t and Kelly Halliburton join us to talk about the band’s journey and its upcoming album, “Broken Hearted Blue.”

The Oregon Department of Transportation was part of a global hack last year that affected the data of about 3.5 million people with Oregon IDs or driver’s licenses. The information involved in the breach included dates of birth, physical addresses and the last four digits of Social Security numbers.  Earlier this year, two Oregonians filed a lawsuit over the data breach. They say the state failed to protect the personal information of residents.  How should government agencies be thinking about protecting sensitive data? What can the U.S. learn from other countries and their data practices? We dig into these issues with Rohan Grey, an assistant professor at Willamette University College of Law. 

Nearly 30 years ago, Metro purchased a 27-acre property located on the east side of the Willamette River near the St. John’s neighborhood in North Portland. Before it can become a nature park with trails and beach access, Willamette Cove first needs to be cleaned up to remove toxic metals, dioxins and other pollutants lingering in the soil and water after decades of  heavy industrial activity at the site. As planning for the cleanup gets underway, Metro recently asked residents for their opinions on what features and amenities they want included in the nature park. Joining us to talk about the outreach efforts ramping up and the vision for Willamette Cove is Cory Eldridge, a communications specialist at Metro and the community engagement lead on the project.

 There has been a significant increase in player ejections for boys soccer and football games this year, according to the Oregon School Activities Association. An ejection is when a coach calls out a player for having unsportsmanlike behavior that can range from threats to physical violence. This year, Oregon’s boys soccer teams have accumulated 198 ejections -- a nearly 45% increase from last year. Peter Weber is the executive director of the Oregon School Activities Association. Michael Nolan is the athletic director of Ida B. Wells High School. They both join us now to discuss what's driving these increases and what's being done to address them.

The small village of Taholah was built more than a century ago on the Quinault Indian reservation, where the ocean meets the Quinault River on the northern Washington coast. The village has been flooded more and more often over the years due to a changing climate. It’s far from the only community  to be affected by rising oceans and temperature changes, but it’s one of the first to actually move because of it. The tribal council made the decision in 2017 and has been working ever since to ensure the smoothest transition possible for the 800 people who live there. The first residents are expected to be moved into their new homes in the fall. Mark Trahant, editor-at-large at ICT, wrote a three-part story about this move. He joins us to share the details about Taholah and how its story reflects a larger story about climate change adaptation.