Think Out Loud

 Portland resident Kelli Caldwell’s mother suffers from severe mental illness and episodes of psychosis. She also had access to multiple firearms and other weapons. As her mother's mental illness progressed, the responsibility fell on Caldwell and her family to remove the weapons so her mother wouldn't harm herself or others. Caldwell tried appealing to law enforcement, social services, healthcare agencies and courts for help in removing weapons from her mother’s possession. But help has rarely become available to her.   Caldwell recently wrote about her decades-long journey navigating systems of law enforcement, social services and healthcare agencies for The Marshall Project. She joins us for more details. 3/11 A recent essay in The Marshall Project chronicles a Portland resident’s decadeslong struggle navigating legal systems to remove firearms and other weapons from her mother, who suffers from severe mental illness and psychosis. The author joins us to share more.

Washington state lawmakers concluded the 60-day short legislative session in Olympia yesterday. One of the closely watched bills they passed imposes a state income tax of 9.9% on households earning more than $1 million annually. The so-called millionaires’ tax garnered a record-breaking 25-hour debate on the House floor. Gov. Bob Ferguson is expected to sign the legislation which would not go into effect until 2028.    Scott Greenstone, a politics reporter at our partner station KUOW and co-host of the “Sound Politics” podcast, joins us to discuss the bill and other key developments in the session.   PROMO: 3/13 Washington lawmakers concluded the 60-day short legislative session yesterday, including a highly debated income tax on millionaires passed after a record-breaking 25-hour debate. We’ll hear from a reporter with our partner station, KUOW, with more.

 Portland Public Schools Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong announced this week the district may need to close five to 10 of its 74 elementary, K-8, middle and alternative schools -- by the fall of 2027. Steadily declining student enrollment and rising costs are tied to the funding crunch, which amounts to $50 million for the next 2026-2027 academic year.  And now, the district recently discovered a $10 million dollar budget gap for this year. The district is moving forward with staff cuts and other reductions to shore up the current budget by June 30. We sit down with Armstrong to get more financial details and what she sees as the way forward. 

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is the first Black woman ever confirmed to the highest court in the land, and a consistent and clear voice of dissent on it. She's also the author of a memoir, “Lovely One,” which was picked as this year’s choice for the Multnomah County Library “Everybody Reads” program. We talk to Justice Jackson in front of an audience of Portland high school students.

Many concert venues rely on alcohol sales for revenue, meaning people under age 21 are often left out of shows. Not so at The Off Beat. Portland nonprofit Friends of Noise opened the venue in the Kenton neighborhood last fall and held a grand-opening show headlined by Team Dresch last month.   André Middleton is the executive director of Friends of Noise. Clara Kornelis is a musician and a booker for The Off Beat. They join us to talk about the importance of creating an all-ages space for young performers and live music fans.  

Last month, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office began testing drones to respond to traffic crashes, crimes or other emergencies deputies might be dispatched to following a 911 call. Skydio, a California-based drone manufacturer, has provided the county with two of its drones and the “Drone as First Responder” software platform that it markets to law enforcement agencies across the nation.     A team of sheriff’s deputies who are FAA-certified drone pilots have been assigned to work on Washington County’s DFR trial program, which is expected to end in mid-April. The pilots work in shifts listening to incoming emergency dispatch calls. A pilot can respond to a call by remotely launching a drone, which has a range of roughly three miles, from its base in Aloha to the scene of an emergency to collect evidence or assess a crash site minutes before the arrival of deputies or other first responders. The DFR drones have responded to more than 90 calls for service since Feb. 20.    Matt Frohnert, a lieutenant in the patrol division of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, joins us to share more details about the program.  

Last month, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office began testing drones to respond to traffic crashes, crimes or other emergencies deputies might be dispatched to following a 911 call. Skydio, a California-based drone manufacturer, has provided the county with two of its drones and the “Drone as First Responder” software platform that it markets to law enforcement agencies across the nation.     A team of sheriff’s deputies who are FAA-certified drone pilots have been assigned to work on Washington County’s DFR trial program, which is expected to end in mid-April. The pilots work in shifts listening to incoming emergency dispatch calls. A pilot can respond to a call by remotely launching a drone, which has a range of roughly three miles, from its base in Aloha to the scene of an emergency to collect evidence or assess a crash site minutes before the arrival of deputies or other first responders. The DFR drones have responded to more than 90 calls for service since Feb. 20.    Matt Frohnert, a lieutenant in the patrol division of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, joins us to share more details about the program.  

Researchers at Oregon State University are using satellite imaging to measure damage in Iran. The Conflict Ecology Lab works to assess the effect peace and conflict have on land. The lab has previously done work around Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan. Jamon Van Don Heok is an associate professor of geology and geopolitical sciences at OSU and leads the lab. He joins us to share more on what he’s seeing.  

 Morgellons disease is a rare skin condition described by intense itching, burning and crawling sensation underneath the skin. Many living with the condition also experience painful sores and, as a 2024 study found, have a lower quality of life. Oregon Health and Science University Dermatologist Jesse Keller is one of the authors of that study. He was also recently featured in an article about the condition in Undark. Keller joins us to share more on what Morgellons disease is and what he hears from the patients he treats.  

 As a company, Oregon-based Nike has previously said that the average factory worker in the 13 countries it has contracts with is paid twice the amount of the local minimum wage. Past reporting from ProPublic found that less than 1% of Cambodian workers made that. Now, a new story from the publication, in partnership with The Oregonian/OregonLive, found that workers in Indonesia also do not reach that standard. On top of that, the reporting found that Nike is also shifting much of its manufacturing to parts of the country that are less-developed and where workers make much less. Rob Davis is a reporter covering the Northwest for ProPublica. Matt Kish is the business reporter for The Oregonian. They join us to share more on what their reporting revealed.