Think Out Loud

When a new wildfire starts in the forest, wildland fire dispatchers are the people in charge of getting resources where they need to go. Their early decisions can help to keep a small fire from getting huge. But a 2022 survey of wildland fire dispatchers in Oregon and Washington by the U.S. Forest Service found that “dispatch is experiencing problems that compromise their own health and safety” as well as “the health and safety of other firefighters,” according to a new article in High Country News. Kylie Mohr, a correspondent for High Country News who wrote that story, joins us to talk about it.

Thirty years of international treaties like the Paris Climate Accords have not reduced global carbon emissions. Oregon State University economist William Jaeger says that’s because the majority of those involved in policy making will not support climate policies whose benefits arrive mainly after they die. Jaeger argues that we may need to rely on the courts to set legal standards that will help create solutions to climate change. Jaeger joins us to discuss his findings.

Since 2010, Eugene's minor league baseball team have been playing at University of Oregon’s PK Park. But with a MLB decision to upgrade to a more expanded season, conflicting schedules and facility requirements mean the Emerald's can no longer play at the field they’ve known for the past decade. The team has proposed a multi-use facility, but they only have two-thirds of the funds to pay the $90.4 million bill they would need. Allan Benavides, the general manager of the Ems, joins us to share what’s next and what the team means for the community.

The film “Deafula” tells the story of a man who comes to realize he’s a vampire. But what makes the 1975 movie unique is that it was the first feature-length 35 mm film to be shot entirely in American Sign Language. The film’s star and director was deaf, and the film created a singular experience for deaf and hard-of- hearing audiences at the time. It was shot in Portland and produced by Oregonian Gary Holstrom.  For hearing audience members, a soundtrack with a translation of the dialogue is part of the original film, along with a music track. “Deafula” was last screened in 1975 at the Paramount Theatre. The film will be shown for the first time since then to a sold-out crowd at the Hollywood Theater this Thursday. Because of popular demand, the Oregon Historical Society is planning to bring it back for a second screening in early 2024.  Holstrom joins us to talk about the making of the film and its unique place in cinematic history.

 Mount Rainier in Washington state is covered with nearly 30 square miles of glaciers and icy patches - more than Mount Hood, Crater Lake and all other volcanic mountains combined, from British Columbia to Northern California. But climate change is taking a toll on Mount Rainier’s glaciers, according to a study published in June. It found a 42% reduction in glacier area from 1896 to 2021, and officially removed Stevens glacier from the park’s inventory. The situation appears worse for the glaciers at Mount Hood, according to a new photographic survey completed last month by the Oregon Glaciers Institute. It found that the seven major glaciers at Mount Hood had receded an average of 60% over the past 120 years, and that roughly a quarter of that loss happened in just the last 20 years. Joining us to discuss the toll climate change is taking on the ice cover in these iconic and popular Northwest peaks are Scott Beason, a park geologist at Mount Rainier National Park, and Anders Carlson, the president of the Oregon Glaciers Institute. 

For the first time in 15 years, passenger flights are once again taking off from the Salem Municipal Airport. Avelo Airlines recently began providing flights to Las Vegas and Hollywood Burbank Airport in Southern California. The ultra low-cost carrier is the first to provide commercial flights in Salem since Delta stopped its service to the city during the 2008 financial crisis. Salem Mayor Chris Hoy recently returned from the inaugural flight to Las Vegas, along with Travel Salem CEO and President Angie Villery. They join us with more details on what the new air traffic could mean for the city.

Community colleges, which usually see an increase in enrollment during a recession, were hit particularly hard by the pandemic. Nationally, enrollment at community colleges fell more than 10% in the last three years. This fall, that trend seems to be improving. For Central Oregon Community College, enrollment is up over 20%. We talk to Alicia Moore, Vice President of Student Affairs at COCC, about what those numbers mean, and what the future of community college looks like.

At 100 years old, the Portland Youth Philharmonic is the country’s oldest youth orchestra, with a rich and storied history. In the early 1920s a young classically trained violinist and teacher, Mary V. Dodge, conceived of what would become the Portland Junior Symphony. It formed in earnest after she convinced a renowned Russian conductor to take on the orchestra composed of students that she was teaching in her attic. The Oregon Historical Society is opening an exhibit on the PYP next month, which will chronicle its birth and achievements over the last century. Joining us are Musical Director David Hattner, PYP principal flutist Macy Gong and former PYP musician Tim McCarthy, who now plays with the National Symphony Orchestra.

A few years ago, when Gabe Piechowicz decided to change careers from logging to religious ministry, he didn’t imagine that his work would be almost exclusively focused on helping people get off the streets in Eugene. But shortly into his new career, he was calling local shelters to help find a place for some of his church’s neighbors and Dan Bryant answered his phone.Bryant is the founder and director of Opportunity Village, one of Oregon’s first village-model temporary shelters, informed by Dignity Village in Portland. Piechowicz ended up working at Opportunity Village but ultimately began his own ministry in a separate housing program he founded called Everyone Village. EV, as it’s called for short, is on a four acre piece of land that was essentially donated. There’s a warehouse that’s been converted into a community meeting space, kitchen and office, as well as a separate building with full plumbing that has showers, toilets and a washer/dryer. There are 60 structures here, all with electricity:  tiny homes called “cottages of hope,” white prefabricated sheds and RVs that are parked inside the lot.The village is self-governed, with expectations, rules and requirements. The people who live here are getting back on their feet, overcoming—and in the process of overcoming —a variety of social and economic challenges. Some of them joined us and shared their story when we visited EV recently and recorded a show as part of a solutions-oriented series focused on some of Oregon’s biggest problems. Our guests were: Dan Bryant of Opportunity Village; Gabe Piechowicz of Everyone Village; Brittany Quick-Warner of the Eugene Chamber of Commerce; as well as villagers Laura Dwinell, Sam Jones and Terri Kulick, and former Opportunity villager, Paul Miller.

We’re taking a deep dive into people’s work lives. We want to learn what it takes to do different jobs and how these professions change us.On the latest installment of our series, we visit Freeland Spirits in Portland, which is owned and run by women. Master Distiller Molly Troupe creates spirits, like gin and whiskey. She takes us behind the scenes and shares more about her craft and the rye whiskey—grown and distilled in Oregon—that Freeland recently released.