Think Out Loud

The city of Bend recently launched a program that offers rebates to homeowners who give up their grass lawns in favor of native plants and low-water landscaping. It’s part of the city’s efforts to reduce its water usage by 7.9 billion gallons by 2040. The program is so popular that it maxed out its funding in a matter of weeks and is no longer taking new applications. Dan Denning is the water conservation program manager for the city of Bend. Rick Martinson is the founder and director of the High Desert Horticultural Center. They join us to talk about the new program and the increasing demand for more sustainable landscaping.

In 1915, U.S. Forest Service ranger Elijah “Lige” Coalman built a fire lookout cabin on the summit of Mt. Hood. The cabin served as a place to view incipient fires and a bit of a party spot, according to the new short documentary Cabin in the Sky: The Mount Hood Lookout. Filmmaker Ned Thanhauser joins us to share the history of the cabin, which lasted until 1940. 

The United Methodist Church recently wrapped up its general conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. At the gathering, delegates removed bans on gay clergy and officiating same sex marriages. The decision comes after decades of disagreement over those policies.In the Pacific Northwest, the Oregon-Idaho conference has already been a fully inclusive ministry.Meanwhile, over the last few years, more than 7,000 congregations nationwide left the United Methodist Church. Many held more conservative theological views and largely left over LGBTQ-related policies.Jan Nelson is a member of the Morningside United Methodist Church in Salem and attended the General Conference in Charlotte as a lay delegate. Reverend Ethan Gregory has been an associate pastor at First United Methodist Church in Portland and will soon head to Salem. They join us with details of what this historic change means.

Erika Hayasaki’s book “Somewhere Sisters: a story of adoption, identity, and the meaning of family” explores a very complicated multi-family, multinational story. At the heart of the book are sisters: identical twins born in Vietnam. One was adopted by a wealthy family in the U.S., one was raised in rural Vietnam. We spoke to Hayasaki in 2022 in front of an audience at the Portland Book Festival.

: In her novel "The Dreamers," Portland writer Karen Thompson Walker explores the terrifying possibility of a world altered by a highly contagious disease. The disease causes people to fall into a seemingly endless sleep. We'll talk to Thompson Walker about her book, "The Dreamers."  

In a 5-3 vote, the Umatilla County Planning Commission has recommended changes on the number of livestock residents can have. Under the proposed rules, single family dwellings are now allowed to have four small livestock animals per acre of property. The commission in a 7-1 vote also decided not to recommend proposed changes that would limit the number of fowl on a property. Both recommendations will now go to the county’s board of commissioners who will vote on the proposed changes at a June 5 meeting. Berit Thorson is a reporter for the East Oregonian covering this issue. She joins us to share more on the proposals and the community feedback the changes have received so far. 

When SE Portland resident Hannah Wallace went out with members of her neighborhood association in December of 2020 and asked  people living on the streets what they needed most, the two things they heard most were: showers and laundry facilities. Wallace started the Sunnyside Shower project in response. The project began at Sunnyside Methodist Church with Wallace and a handful of volunteer offering showers twice a week. It now has dozens of volunteers and people can come 3 days a week to get a shower and other resources when available, like free toiletries, laundry cards and help connecting with other services, like the Oregon Health Plan and drug treatment. Since it began, a Multnomah Village’s volunteer group Southwest Outreach began their own version at Riversgate Church. And in February, a new Shower Project opened at the 13 Salmon shelter at the First Unitarian Church. Kelly Clendenon began volunteering several years ago, helped launch the project with some guidance from Wallace and others, and is now the project’s coordinator. He says as a person who lived on the streets for many years himself, his current work is especially meaningful. Clendenon and Wallace join us to tell us more about what it takes to run these projects and what difference one shower can make for someone who would otherwise have no access.  

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, an agency within the U.S. Department of Interior, recently announced next steps for developing floating wind facilities off the coast of Coos Bay and Brookings. These Oregon offshore wind turbines could power more than one million homes with renewable energy, according to the agency. Still, tribal leaders and commercial fishing groups remain concerned about how the projects could affect the ecosystem. We hear more about the latest developments from OPB climate reporter Monica Samayoa.

Oregon's groundwater is being used faster than it’s being replenished, and the state’s aquifers are declining. The Oregon Water Resources Department is proposing new rules in response. The agency would change the way it decides if groundwater will be available for new users. Justin Iverson is the groundwater section manager for OWRD. He joins us to explain what we know about Oregon’s groundwater and what can be done to regulate its use.

It’s been just over a week since protesters took over the Branford Price Millar Library at Portland State University as part of demonstrations against Israel’s war in Gaza. Police eventually cleared the building and classes resumed last Friday, but the library remains closed as damage to the collections and facilities are assessed. Cris Paschild is an associate dean, university archivist and head of special collections at PSU. She joins us with more details on the Millar Library’s state and when it might reopen.