Think Out Loud

In Washington, millions of dollars in child support payments are intercepted by the state from custodial parents who receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a federal assistance program that includes cash benefits. Lawmakers are considering a bill with bipartisan support that would redirect a portion of future child support payments back to families. Brandon Block is an investigative reporter at Cascade PBS. He has reported on the bill and joins us with details.

Two of the largest supermarket chains in the U.S. are planning to merge. Kroger and Albertsons first announced their proposed merger in 2022. The Federal Trade Commission has been reviewing the proposal for more than a year and is expected to make a decision soon. Meanwhile, lawmakers, consumer advocates and others have raised concerns about the proposal. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson recently sued to block it, arguing that it would reduce competition and raise prices at the grocery store. Alina Selyukh has been covering the story for NPR. She joins us with more details on what this merger could mean for shoppers.

The public school superintendent at the 4J School district in Eugene is under investigation, the Eugene Weekly is reporting. The school board hired Andy Dey in 2022 when similar allegations surfaced. A Seattle area firm has turned over its investigation to the school board, which met for another executive session Monday night. Eugene Weekly editor Camilla Mortensen has been following the story, in collaboration with the University of Oregon’s Catalyst journalism program, led by investigative reporter Brent Walth. Mortensen joins us to tell us the latest about the 4J investigation and update us on the weekly’s return to print this week. It’s the first print issue after embezzlement came to light in December and forced the layoff of the entire staff

The American Library Association’s “I Love My Librarian Award”  recognizes public, school, college and university librarians for their “exceptional” accomplishments and “outstanding public service.” Only 10 librarians across the country receive the award, and this year, one of the recipients is from Oregon. Claire Dannenbaum is a reference and instruction librarian at Lane Community College. We talk with her about the joys – and challenges – of her work.

As libraries change to meet the needs of their communities, these public spaces are seeing their services expand in different ways. For some, it’s the growth of children’s areas and play spaces. But how do libraries plan for these spaces and what does it take to make libraries a welcoming place for all ages? Several Multnomah County libraries are currently under renovation, with some opening as early as this summer. Some of these renovations include expanding children’s areas and having an outdoor play space. The Spokane Public Library opened new children’s play spaces in six of its libraries in 2021 and 2022. Joining us for a discussion about the growth of children’s areas in libraries are: Jennifer Studebaker, Multnomah County library community services director for children; Katie O’Dell, Multnomah County deputy director of library building projects; and Jennifer Studebaker, Spokane Public Library director of marketing and communications.

Mothers who use fentanyl, meth or other substances during their pregnancies can give birth to babies who have to spend weeks in the hospital to treat their exposure to and withdrawal from drugs. After their release, caregivers can still struggle to soothe and feed them. Tricia Hughes, a registered nurse in Spokane, discovered this when she and her husband began fostering babies born dependent on heroin and other substances two decades ago. That experience inspired a 15-year-long quest to create Maddie’s Place, a nursery that provides around-the-clock care for drug-exposed babies. It opened in Spokane in October 2022, and is one of only a handful of such facilities in the nation that allows a parent in recovery to stay with their baby while receiving support services to care for themselves and their child. Hughes is the founder and clinical director of Maddie’s Place. She joins us, along with Mary Potter, a mother in recovery who has been staying at Maddie’s Place with her nearly five-month-old son. They share with us how the center is helping some of the youngest victims of the fentanyl crisis. 

Oregon lawmakers are deciding whether to make changes to the state’s landmark drug decriminalization law, Measure 110. A bipartisan committee has been meeting since October to hear testimony from law enforcement, substance use disorder experts and treatment providers. Democratic state lawmakers recently put forth a proposal that would recriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs. Republicans have introduced their own proposal, which includes harsher penalties for possession and public drug use. We recently heard about the Democratic proposal, and now we turn to the Republican one. Rep. Jeff Helfrich represents Hood River and leads the House Republican Caucus. He joins us to talk about the Republican plan for M110 and other priorities for the upcoming short session.

Oregon lawmakers are deciding whether to make changes to the state’s landmark drug decriminalization law, Measure 110. A bipartisan committee has been meeting since October to hear testimony from law enforcement, addiction experts and treatment providers. Democratic state lawmakers recently put forth a proposal that would recriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs. Republicans have introduced their own proposal that includes harsher penalties for possession and public drug use. We’ll hear about the Republican proposal later in the week; but first, we turn to Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber, D-Beaverton, and Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego. They join us to talk about Democrats’ plan for M110 and priorities for the short session.

It’s been a few weeks since cold, ice and wind battered Oregon, killing at least 15 people and bringing much of the state to a grinding halt. The region has weathered many storms but this one prompted Gov. Tina Kotek to declare an emergency, enabling the possibility of federal funding and reimbursement to clean up the damages. We’re joined by Rachel Pearl and Chris Voss with Multnomah County, Drew Hanson with PGE, Jody Yates with PBOT, and Eve Gray with Lane County. We talk with them about the lessons they learned from the storm, and how they’ll apply them to the next natural disaster.

The East Side High Schools ski team has student racers from several schools in Portland including Grant, Cleveland and Franklin. This year, the team faced a power outage during a school trip, and other trips were canceled because of too little and too much snow. The already compact season is even shorter this year because of weather conditions. We learn more about the team and the ups and downs of this season from Head Coach Randy Hewitt and student racers Nora Isles and Liam Palfreyman.