Think Out Loud

Earlier this month, Oregon State University received $10 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to work with a coalition of Native American tribes to explore opportunities to manufacture products and materials made from hemp. Some of those industrial applications include turning it into carbon for use inside energy storage devices, processing hemp fiber for use in car door panels and floorboards and mixing the interior part of the stalk with lime and water to make a lightweight alternative to concrete in home construction. The federal ban on growing hemp ended in 2018 when Congress legalized its production as an agricultural commodity, and removed it as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substance Act.  OSU’s Global Hemp Innovation Center is collaborating with 13 tribal nations in Oregon, Washington, Montana and Idaho on this effort which will also include educational outreach and workforce training opportunities. Joining us to share details of this partnership are: Jeff Steiner, the director of the Global Hemp Innovation Center at OSU; Jim Souers, an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the CEO of the Warm Springs Economic Development Corporation; Mary Jane Oatman, an enrolled member of the Nez Perce Tribe, a descendant of the Delaware Tribe and the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association.  

Last week, the Yurok Tribe signed a historic agreement with the National Park Service, California State Parks and Save the Redwoods League to transfer a 125-acre property back to tribal ownership. The site, known as ‘O Rew, is roughly in the center of Yurok ancestral territory and sits at the southern gateway to Redwood National Park. The agreement marks the first time that a national park will be co-managed by a Native tribe. Nika Bartoo-Smith recently wrote about the agreement for Underscore News and ICT. She joins us with more details.

Last week the VA Portland Health Care System opened the Social Neuroscience & Psychotherapy Lab, known as the SNaP Lab, focused on psychedelic therapy and clinical trials. Dr. Christopher Stauffer, a psychiatrist, clinical researcher and director of social neuroscience and psychotherapy at Portland VA, joins us to talk about the new lab, and the two clinical trials currently underway.

Oregon’s Bottle Bill, which offers cash refunds for empty bottles and cans, was a landmark piece of legislation when it first passed in 1971. Since then, it’s served as a model for similar bills in other states and led to some of the highest recycling rates in the nation. The bill was originally intended to discourage littering, but the cash refunds it offers have increasingly become a lifeline for low-income Oregonians and people experiencing homelessness. As extensively reported in Willamette Week, critics now say the bill is fueling open-air drug markets outside return sites. We’ll get an overview of the Bottle Bill from Eric Chambers, vice president of strategy and outreach for the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative. We’re also joined by RJ DeMello, chair of the St. Johns Neighborhood Association; Ken Thrasher, former CEO of Fred Meyer and board chair of the Northwest Community Conservancy; and Kris Brown, manager of The People’s Depot, a Portland redemption center run by can collectors. They share their perspectives on how the Bottle Bill does – or doesn’t – interact with the state’s growing opioid and homelessness crises.  

Mismanagement, inequity and turnovers plague Oregon’s Department of Early Learning and Care, a new story from InvestigateWest shows.  The agency is responsible for more than $1.3 billion in early learning investments and has seen more than five managers and directors leave the office in the past 18 months, with some employees describing office culture as “toxic.” Kaylee Tornay is an investigative reporter who has been reporting on this issue. She joins us with more on what some workers have been facing. 

You may have heard that wildfire seasons are getting longer, with blazes burning more intensely and lasting longer than ever. In 1993, fires were fought across nearly 1.8 million acres - but by 2021, that area had quadrupled. Not surprisingly, the resources and workforce needed to combat these conflagrations has been increasing as well. But exactly the opposite is happening: more and more of these critically important wildland firefighters are quitting or retiring, and they are not being replaced. As Abe Streep found in his two-year-long investigation for ProPublica, the reasons involve federal policies and what is offered to these critical employees by way of compensation, benefits and working conditions. He joins us to share more details of that investigation. 

 Three nonprofits in Oregon and one nonprofit in Southwest Washington will receive funding from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. The Pacific Northwest organizations were recently selected along with hundreds of other nonprofits across the country and are sharing a pot of about $640 million in unrestricted grant money.  Jackson Street Youth Services works with young people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. The organization provides housing and other supportive programs in Linn and Benton Counties. It received $1 million in funds.    Familias en Acción offers culturally specific health services to Latino communities in the Portland metro area and was granted $2 million. It’s working on partnerships and service expansion to more rural parts of the state.   Kendra Phillips and Margarita Gutierrez Lemus are the executive directors of Jackson Street Youth Services and Familias en Acción, respectively. They join us with more about the work that they’re doing and how the grant money will further the missions of their organizations.  

Last week, three of Gov. Tina Kotek’s top aides announced their departure from the Governor’s Office. Sources with knowledge of the matter told OPB that the shakeup could have come from personality conflicts between staff and the governor's wife, Aimee Kotek Wilson. Now, Kotek is considering establishing an Office of the First Spouse and has already hired two state-funded staffers to accompany First Lady Kotek Wilson to an out-of-state conference in Salt Lake City. Dirk VanderHart is OPB’s political reporter. He joins us to share more on recent news.   

Edwidge Danticat is an award-winning writer of novels, short stories, essays, and memoirs, with a focus on the rich experiences of the Haitian diaspora. Her latest book is the collection of short stories “Everything Inside.” We listen back to a conversation with Danticat in front of an audience at Woodburn high school in 2022.

OPB's latest podcast, “Salmon Wars,” tells the story of salmon in the Northwest in a way you haven’t heard before — through the voices of one Yakama Nation family who have been fighting for salmon for generations. In episode one, host Tony Schick introduces us to Randy Settler and his family. The Settlers, members of the Yakama Nation, have been deeply affected by the Northwest’s salmon policies for generations. They lost their home, their primary food source, and their ancestral fishing grounds. Randy and his parents went to jail for exercising their fishing rights. They also won some important victories along the way. Now, he’s passing the fight on to younger people in the tribe.