Think Out Loud

Movies like “The Goonies,” “Animal House” and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” are among the most famous of those filmed in Oregon, and they're points of pride for Oregon film buffs. Television shows like “Grimm” and “Portlandia” and animation studios like Laika and ShadowMachine burnish the state’s production portfolio.   While newer projects continue to shoot in Oregon, the industry was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, a lengthy writers and actors strike and an industry-wide shift to overseas production. Tim Williams is the executive director of Oregon Film, a semi-independent state agency that promotes movie and TV production in Oregon. He joins us to talk about how the industry is faring in Oregon.

Last year, there were 36 whales entangled with commercial fishing gear off the coasts of Oregon, Washington and California, or found entangled with West Coast fishing gear off the coasts of other countries. That’s the highest number of whale entanglements in the West Coast region since 2018, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.    More than eight years ago, scientists at Oregon State University began collaborating with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the commercial Dungeness crab fishery and environmental nonprofits to reduce entanglements of endangered humpback, fin and blue whales off the Oregon Coast. OSU scientists boarded research vessels and U.S. Coast Guard helicopters for surveys at sea and air to map the distribution of whales and their overlap with Dungeness crab fishing locations.      The scientists found that the risk of entanglement in fishing gear is greatest for whales in April when they gather near shore to feed off the Oregon Coast, and the crab fishing season is still underway. That observation and discussions with stakeholders led to best practices and regulations adopted by ODFW to limit the risk of entanglement by, for example, reducing crab pot limits at the end of the season.   Today, OSU scientists are expanding this work to include the risk of entanglement from other commercial fisheries, including rockfish and sablefish. They’ve also been analyzing scars on humpback whales’ tails and fins to better estimate how many whales are getting wrapped up in nets, lines, pots and buoys. Leigh Torres is an associate professor in the department of fisheries, wildlife and conservation sciences and Oregon Sea Grant Extension at Oregon State University. She joins us to share the latest with this award-winning effort to reduce whale entanglements off the Oregon Coast and beyond.

As Western Oregon faces drier and hotter summers, researchers at Oregon State University Extension are investigating crops that can withstand drought and require less irrigation. Shayan Ghajar is an organic pasture and forages specialist at OSU Extension. He has been researching grasses and legumes that can resist Oregon’s drying climate and still feed people and livestock. Ghajar joins us with details of his research and what it could mean for Oregon farmers.

To say spotted ratfish are unusual is an understatement. Related to sharks, they abound in the inky, dark depths of the Puget Sound. Armed with a venomous fin, they swim gracefully  along the sea floor trailing a long, pointed tail half the length of their bodies, with green, glowing eyes hunting for mates or prey to crack open with their beak-like mouths. And if all that wasn’t weird enough, they are now the first animal documented to have teeth growing outside of the jaw, according to new research led by a team of scientists at the University of Washington.    Scientists have known for some time that male spotted ratfish have a club-like, barbed structure between their foreheads they use during mating to grasp females and intimidate reproductive rivals. But they didn’t know if the sharp barbs that ring this structure were actually teeth or denticles, tiny, rough projections that cover sharks’ skin. So they caught hundreds of specimens to study them at various stages of development, from embryos to adulthood and used 3D X-ray imaging to solve this mystery.  Karly Cohen is a post-doctoral researcher at Friday Harbor Labs at the University of Washington and lead author of the recently published paper documenting this research. She joins us to share her findings and how they might expand our understanding of the evolution of teeth, and their purpose, to not only feed but to mate.  

For decades, rural Oregon counties that contain large swaths of federally owned forest land have depended on a share of timber revenues from federal logging to fund schools, law enforcement and other essential public services. These payments were originally meant to offset the loss of property tax revenue that counties could not collect on federal lands. But when logging on these lands slowed drastically in the 1990s due to new environmental protections — like the Endangered Species Act — those payments plummeted.    In response, Congress stepped in with a temporary fix: the Secure Rural Schools Program. First passed in 2000, Congress reauthorized it multiple times over the years until it allowed it to expire in 2023. Congress which it enacted in 2000 and reauthorized multiple times until it expired in 2023. The lapse in the SRS reauthorization has triggered the default distribution of the significantly reduced timber revenue to counties.    The federal budget process has introduced new complications as well. President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law in July, requires federal agencies to ramp up logging. But it also includes a provision redirecting all proceeds from timber sales on lands in counties to the federal government — threatening one of the last fiscal lifelines for rural governments to fund its core services.   With counties facing budgeting shortfalls that carry big consequences, questions about how to create a long-term sustainable path forward have taken on new urgency. Lane County Commissioner Heather Buch and Klamath County Commissioner Derrick DeGroot — whose counties receive the second- and third-highest federal payments in Oregon after Douglas County — join us, along with Mark Haggerty, a senior fellow at the liberal-leaning thinktank Center for American Progress to talk about the challenges Oregon’s rural counties face and what a stable funding model for these counties might look like.   Curry County Commissioner Jay Trost declined to participate in the conversation but provided OPB with a statement:  Curry County has the second lowest property tax rate in Oregon at .59 per thousand of assessed value and like most Oregon Counties, we have not been able to keep up with the inflation over the past 4 years.  We had to endure a 31% reduction in the county budget for the 24/25 fiscal year, we were able to maintain that with no further budget reductions in the 25/26 budget because of timber revenues that came in and covered the annual employee role up costs.  These O&C timber funds allowed us to remain fairly status quo in terms of service delivery.  Going forward if those funds are not made available to us, we will most likely see more reductions in county services.  We are working diligently to think outside the box, identify alternative solutions that will maximize each dollar and become more efficient. These efforts will help and are necessary, however the reality remains the same, if we don’t receive timber revenues, and or PILT (payment in lieu of taxes)  payments we will have to make cuts.  We remain confident that the federal legislature will correct the language needed to ensure that counties like ours that rely on natural resources revenue will not be negatively impacted.    

Last week, a plot of land in North Portland felt a shake, but not one caused by an earthquake, but instead by a machine known as T-Rex. Researchers with Portland State University were simulating a minor quake to test a soil treatment that would fortify the ground from liquefaction. Arash Khosravifar and Diane Moug are both associate professors in Civil and Environmental Engineering at PSU. They both join us to share why their research is important and what they learned from the recent demonstration.

Samaritan Health Services considered closing the birth centers at its hospitals in Lebanon and Lincoln City earlier this year. The move drew pushback from nurses, community members and lawmakers. The health system recently announced it would keep the centers open for at least another year — but not without some changes.   Lesley Ogden is the CEO of both Samaritan’s North Lincoln Hospital in Lincoln City and Pacific Communities Hospital in Newport. She joins us to talk about what it takes to keep maternity services running amid rising health care costs, decreasing revenue and staffing challenges.   

The Rowena Fire and Burdoin Fires affected communities along the Oregon and Washington sides of the Columbia River. Many of the structures destroyed were part of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. The region has legal protections in place to preserve its natural and recreational resources, although the areas typically have some people already living there.    The Columbia River Gorge Commission helps create and enforce policies that preserve this area. Krystyna Wolniakowski is the executive director of the commission. Alex Johnson is a commissioner. They join us with more on what rebuilding looks like in a region with special protections and how the commission is working with property owners and residents on post-fire recovery.         

The new school year means that once again some kids are walking or biking through neighborhoods and on busy streets to get to class. Safe Routes to School is a nationwide, federally funded initiative that works to educate and encourage students to bike and walk to school safely. There are Safe Routes to School programs across Oregon, including one serving students in the Salem-Keizer School District.    The Salem-Keizer Safe Routes to School program started five years ago, but because of the pandemic, and the inability to reach students in schools, it didn’t really take off until fall 2022 when Beth Schmidt was hired to lead it. Since then, Schmidt has worked with the district and other partners to teach bus, pedestrian and bike safety, including PE classes that started last year in partnership with Cycle Oregon to help kids learn how to ride bikes and follow the rules of the road.  Next month, the Portland-based nonprofit The Street Trust will be giving Schmidt an award for her efforts to advocate for the successful passage of SB 450, which Gov. Tina Kotek signed into law in June. It designates Nov. 14 as Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day in Oregon to honor Bridges’ courage in helping end school segregation in the U.S. Schmidt joins us to talk about her work in Salem and Keizer to make streets safer for students.

In October, a new community health center and pharmacy will be coming to Wheeler, Oregon. The Nehalem Bay Health Center and Pharmacy will replace an aging clinic that provided services to the region since the early 1980s. The new 16,000 square feet facility will double the capacity of the old clinic and will now provide some new services, such as dental care and x-rays. Marc Johnson is the president of Nehalem Bay Health District. Gail Nelson is the CEO of the new center. They join us to share more on what this new facility will mean for the community.