Think Out Loud

Amazon has a big footprint in Morrow County driven by tax incentives, cheap power and available land. A new complaint from the Oregon Department of Justice claims that some of those tax incentives and land sales were approved by people who benefitted from the company’s purchase of internet services from a small company called WindWave. Mike Rogoway, business and technology reporter for The Oregonian, reported the details of this story and joins us to explain.

Artificial Intelligence is impacting business, government, social media — and countless aspects of modern life. Child health and safety advocates say the effects of social media and the rise of chatbots and other AI on children can be devastating and lead to depression, and in the worst cases, suicide. Oregon lawmakers passed a bill in the short session to protect children and youth from these emerging technologies, which will provide guardrails for adults using chatbots as well.   We talk with one of the bill's sponsors, Oregon Sen. Lisa Reynolds (D - Portland). And we hear from Kristin Bride, the executive director of the Carson J. Bride Effect, which she founded to protect kids from predatory tech practices, after the death of her son by suicide in 2020.  

The Center for Addiction Science, Policy, and Research, or CASPR, released a nationwide report ranking states based on their ability to protect residents from online gambling harm. Oregon received an “F” grade — among the bottom 10 states for its lack of gambling harm reduction methods.   Gambling is often regarded as an invisible addiction due to its lack of visible physical symptoms or side effects — and it has become more accessible than ever. As people have begun to participate in sports betting, online poker, casino games and lottery from their mobile devices, guardrails protecting against harmful gambling behaviors have seldom kept pace.   We’ll discuss problem gambling in Oregon and recovery methods with Kitty Martz, the executive director of Voices of Problem Gambling Recovery, and Brian Ward, a certified gambling recovery mentor with the state of Oregon.   Note: If you or a loved one is experiencing gambling harm, Oregon’s Problem Gambling Resource call helpline is available at 1-877-MY-LIMIT (1-877-695-4648).     

The two unions representing faculty and staff at Portland Community College have been on strike since March 11. It’s the first ever strike at a community college in Oregon. Instructors and staff are negotiating for higher cost-of-living and salary increases, among other issues. With the spring term scheduled to start March 30, the negotiations could delay classes, many of which have taken place remotely or been canceled due to the strike.    Ben Cushing is a faculty member in sociology and president of the PCC Federation of Faculty and Academic Professionals. Aaron Hill is the college’s interim associate vice president for finance. They both join us to talk about where negotiations stand.  

Portland storyteller and comic Ash Allen is on something of a roll. She’s won the Moth’s StorySLAM multiple times. Willamette Week recently named her one of its Funniest Five and in 2025 she was a Best of Portland Comedy finalist. Allen has headlined festivals including Pickathon, Fire and Story, and Hell Yes Fest.   She says this debut solo storytelling show “Big Feelings Baby" is “rooted in queer identity, grief, humor, and the act of reclaiming one’s voice.” She explores what it means to “grow up different” in the Mississippi woods, “to be asked to quiet that difference, and to eventually choose to live out loud.” Allen joins us to share more details about her upbringing and her show that premiers this weekend  

Doug Lowell spent nearly 40 years in the world of advertising, from co-owning an ad agency to teaching the subject at Portland State University. But it was only in retirement that he was able to achieve his dream job of opening his own bookstore. As a third-generation Portlander, the business also allows him to play a part in the revitalization of Portland’s downtown, which he recalls once being the envy of other cities.    Lowell began welcoming customers to the store, Kid Hermes the Trickster, about a month ago. Oregon ArtsWatch recently profiled Lowell and his new venture. The 830-square-foot space in downtown Portland is packed with roughly 1,700 books that come mostly from Lowell’s personal library. In addition to literary classics from Jane Austen and Franz Kafka, visitors might find rare first editions and signed copies of titles spanning photography, science fiction or even a 16-volume collection of the Oxford English Dictionary. There’s also a gallery inside the store where Lowell hosts art exhibitions featuring local and international artists.    Lowell joins us to share his vision and hopes for Kid Hermes the Trickster.  

The Mt. Adams Institute has announced that it will dissolve and cease operations effective December 31st, 2026. The Southwest Washington nonprofit provides educational and career opportunities in the outdoors through partnerships with agencies such as the U.S. National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service. It pairs young adults and U.S. military veterans with internship opportunities in outdoor resource management roles, ranging from trail maintenance and construction to environmental education.   Around 95% of its budget came from contracts with federal agencies and through AmeriCorps. Though the loss of federal funding wasn't the only factor in the organization’s decision to dissolve, the budget cuts initiated a ripple effect that left the organization facing layoffs and other financial strains. It’s one example of a wider reaching fallout for nonprofits in the wake of federal funding cuts across the U.S. Mt. Adams Institute Executive Director Aaron Stanton joins us to discuss how the loss of federal funding has impacted the organization's work.

Spring has sprung! And Hearth and Hollow owner Dusti Arab is passionate about helping people grow their own food. She sells what she cultivates  herself in her edible-plant nursery and is also a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) grower. She says planting and growing food isn’t just for spring — it’s an all season activity. Her entire operation is run out of her home in Vancouver, essentially in her backyard. She doesn’t have a brick and mortar retail outlet, focusing instead on selling at the Vancouver Farmer’s Market on Saturdays and growing the edible-plant CSA. Arab also teaches workshops and maintains a food access resource guide for Clark County. She joins us to share more about her edible plant work and her hunger relief efforts.

Danisa McLean has taken the helm of Multnomah County’s Preschool for All program after her predecessor resigned abruptly last summer amid an external investigation into a conflict of interest. The program is funded by a 1.5% marginal tax rate on high income earners which some, including Governor Tina Kotek, have said is having negative effects on Oregon’s economy. In addition, estimates on how many preschool spots are needed and how much money that will cost have been difficult to match up in forecasts. McLean joins us to explain her vision for the program.

Leaders in the Columbia River shipping industry say there’s a growing risk that the 95-year-old Lewis and Clark Bridge will be struck by a large ship and collapse. Ships have doubled in size since the shipping channel was first put into use. Without modern sensor technology, it’s increasingly difficult for pilots to calculate clearance margins when passing through the channel. In the event of a collapse, it would be similar to the magnitude of the 2024 Francis Scott Key Bridge disaster in Baltimore.   Henry Brannan, a reporter at The Columbian newspaper and The Daily News in Southwest Washington, joins us to discuss efforts to prevent the bridge’s collapse, like realigning the channel on the Columbia river and retrofitting the bridge with modern sensors.