12/28/2006 - Politics Year-In-Review

On the last Oregon Considered of the year, it's become a tradition to look back at the year in politics.

There's always something political to talk about when you look back over the news landscape of any year. But election years provide a particularly rich vein of stories.

We won't get to every story, but we will examine that big political behemoth -- elections results -- and a few stories you may not as easily remember from earlier in the year. And we'll update you on where some of those Oregon-based civil liberties cases stand.

Political Analyst Bill Lunch and OPB's senior political reporter Colin Fogarty joined Allison Frost to dig into this year's mine.

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Posted by Casey

12/27/2006 - The Price Of Liberty

In the final week of 2006, OPB is looking back at some of the significant issues and events of the year.

Last September 11th, we marked the 5th anniversary of the attacks on New York and Washington DC by looking at how efforts to keep Americans safe since that time have affected our freedom. We called that edition of Oregon Considered "The Price of Liberty."

This special rebroadcast looks at recent cases in Oregon that help illustrate the age old tension between civil liberties and security.

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Posted by Casey

12/26/2006 - Oregon Reconsidered

Every year about this time, we look back at the events and issues that shaped Oregon and the Northwest.

Today, we're looking at our own coverage and singling some stories out for "reconsideration."

We hope the pieces you hear leave an impression about the diversity of stories you might have heard on Oregon Considered throughout the year.

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Continue reading "12/26/2006 - Oregon Reconsidered"

Posted by Casey | Comments (44)

12/21/2006 - Pawn For The Holidays

Malls and big-box stores aren't the only places that see a bump in business around the holidays. It's high season for pawnshops, too.

A quick-cash solution for some, a bargain-hunter's paradise for others: at a pawnshop, Christmas commerce comes full circle. Correspondent Elizabeth Wynne Johnson has the story.

Complete article...

Also on Thursday's Oregon Considered
Daniel Chan: The Troubled Man Behind The Salem Church Fire
Sounds for the Holidays: Russian Church Choir Tweaks Traditional Music
Development Commission Makes its Move on Old Town

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Posted by Michael Clapp | Comments (130)

12/20/2006 - Mt. Hood Mission Moves From 'Rescue' To 'Recovery'

The search for two missing climbers on Mt. Hood is now a recovery, rather than a rescue, mission. Authorities have given up hope of finding the men alive, as Ley Garnett reports.

Hood County Sheriff Joe Wampler flew over the mountain before a new weather system moved in to obscure the 11,000 foot peak.

Complete article...

Also on Wednesday's Oregon Considered
NSA-Al Haramain Case Sent To San Francisco
Unionized WA Foster Parents Prepare To Lobby Lawmakers
Two Years Into Portland's Ten-Year Plan To End Homelessness
How About Nothing For Christmas?

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Posted by Michael Clapp

12/19/2006 - Homeless In Post Falls, ID

In recent days, Northwest headlines have been about high winds and disrupted lives.

On a frozen patch of muddy ground in North Idaho, all that remains of one mobile home park is a few humble trailers, surrounded by rubble. But it wasn't the record-breaking storm that got them.

It was the gale-force winds of economic change. Correspondent Elizabeth Wynne Johnson has the story of one woman on the brink of homelessness.

Complete article...

Also on Tuesday's Oregon Considered
Oregon Bucks National Violent Crime Trend
Portland Archdiocese Submits Reorganization Plan
Reverse Migration Brings Greek Immigrants Back Home
Portland Zoo Debuts Its Shy Little Ocelot
Going Home For The Holidays

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Posted by Michael Clapp | Comments (40)

12/18/2006 - Sounds for the Holiday: Choir sings songs of unity and praise

This month OPB Radio's occasional series drops in on Oregonians making music in a variety of traditions.

OPB's April Baer recently visited a gospel choir grounded with a powerful sense of community.

Complete article...

Also on Monday's Oregon Considered
Search Continues For Missing Climbers, But Evidence Of Accident Grows
Top Sources Of Mercury Pollution Remain Uncontrolled
Archdiocese Reorganization Plan Still A Mystery
Transformer Fire Knocks Out Power To 50,000 Over Weekend

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Posted by Michael Clapp | Comments (72)

12/14/2006 - BLM Says Vandals Not Responsible For Open Gate

Federal workers -- not vandals -- were responsible for leaving the gate open on the logging spur that led James Kim to his death.

After saying vandals had cut the lock and opened the gate, the Bureau of Land Management now says that's not the case.

Complete article...

Also on Thursday's Oregon Considered
Fish Managers Predict Smaller Run Of Spring Chinook
Hurricane-Force Winds Expected In Latest Storm
AWOL Soldier's Mother Says Ordeal Has Been 'Exhausting'
Kennewick School Mixes ESL Students And English-Speakers

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Posted by Michael Clapp

12/13/2006 - Oregon Delegation Starts Slow Return To 'Glory Days'

There was a time when Oregon had one of the most powerful Congressional Delegations in the country. But for the past decade it's been mostly freshman with little influence.

The Democrats' congressional takeover has the state clawing back slowly to its glory days. Jill Morrison has more from Capitol Hill.
Complete article...

Also on Wednesday's Oregon Considered
After 54 Years, Les Schwab Moves Headquarters From Prineville
Technology Aiding Search For Lost Mt Hood Climbers
Beyond Home Inspections, Energy Trust Looks To The Future
Commissioners Poised To Restore SUN Program Funding

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Posted by Michael Clapp

12/12/2006 - Batten Disease Patient Benefits From Stem Cell Injections

The parents of a critically ill 6-year-old praised researchers for their work at Oregon Health and Science University Tuesday.

Doctors drilled through Daniel Kerner's skull last month and injected nervous-system stem cells to try and help him fight Batten disease.

The medical school says it was the first such procedure ever undertaken. As Kristian Foden-Vencil reports, the parents are thrilled that Daniel hasn't suffered any of his customary seizures since the operation and that he'll be going home soon.
Complete article...

Also on Tuesday's Oregon Considered
Smith On Iraq: Heartfelt Political Posturing?
ODOT Considering Tolls To Fund Newberg-Dundee Bypass
PGE Makes Its Case For A 9% Rate Hike

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Posted by Michael Clapp

12/11/2006 - Sounds for the Holiday: The Portland Revels

Today our series of holiday music brings you the Portland Revels.
Complete article...

Also on Monday's Oregon Considered
Senator Smith Expounds On His Iraq About-Face
Portland Archdiocese Settles Bankruptcy Case
Portland Schools Paying For The Past
Where Are We, And How Did We Get Here?

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Posted by Michael Clapp

12/7/2006 - NW Sports Transplants Face Culture Shock

Every year, dozens of Northwest athletes nurse dreams of playing in the NBA or NFL only to be passed over in the draft.

A smaller number of our college standouts get a second chance. They sign professional contracts to play for teams in Europe.

Correspondent Tom Banse profiles a Tacoma native -- and former women's collegiate basketball star from Oregon State -- who's playing pro basketball in Athens this fall.
Complete article...

Also on Thursday's Oregon Considered
Fort Clatsop Replica Ready For Visitors
Work Piling Up As Congress Winds Down
Exposure Killed Lost Father On Rescue Mission
Memories Of Pearl Harbor On 65th Anniversary

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Posted by Michael Clapp

12/6/2006 - Labor Shortage Spurs Orchard Mechanization

Picking cherries. Pruning pear trees. Thinning the apple crop. Those are all tasks done by hand here in the Northwest.

The fruit industry is among the last in farming to mechanize. But a shortage of migrant labor this year is giving an added push to automate area orchards.

Correspondent Tom Banse reports from outside Yakima.
Complete article...

Also on Wednesday's Oregon Considered
OHSU-Developed Leukemia Drug Shows Promise
- Extended interview with Dr. Druker of OHSU
City Still Pushing To Investigate PGE's Finances
Students In Limbo As State 'Re-Calibrates' Passing Scores For Tests

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Posted by Michael Clapp

12/5/2006 - Governor Plans Car Insurance Tax To Beef-Up State Police

Speeders, beware. You could be affected by an item in Governor Ted Kulongoski's $15 billion, two-year state budget proposal released this week.

The Oregon State Police has complained for years that it's chronically underfunded.

Now, Kulongoski is proposing a tax hike to beef-up the number of state troopers. Colin Fogarty reports.

Complete article...

Also on Tuesday's Oregon Considered
Highway 35 Will Likely Reopen Ahead Of Schedule
Portland's Free Wi-Fi Cloud Starts Service
Q Center Hosts First College Night For Gay And Lesbian Students
Reasons To Let That Garden Go To Seed

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Posted by Michael Clapp

12/4/2006 - Sounds of the Holiday: Shape Note Singers Usher in December with a Shout

Shape Note singing has a long and storied tradition in American music. Once you've heard it, you'll never forget it.

Singers practice an alternate form of sight reading, and deliver in a vigorous, fervent style that values devotion over note-perfect precision.

OPB's April Baer checked in with a Portland sing, and sends this audio postcard.

Complete article...

Also on Monday's Oregon Considered
Governor Proposes $15 Billion Budget
Patrice Lumumba Ford Appeals His Plea-Bargained Sentence
Group Looks To Place Measure 37 On 2007 Legislature's Agenda
Eugene Math Student Wins 'Siemens Competition'

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Posted by Michael Clapp