Sage Van Wing

When someone accused of a crime is found unable to aid and assist in their own defense, they are sent to the Oregon State Hospital for an evaluation. After that, they often need to spend time at a residential treatment center until they are fit to stand trial. A new rule from the Oregon Health Authority requires residential treatment facilities in the state to accept those patients ahead of any who might be on their waiting list, setting aside their normal admissions standards. Attorneys for the Oregon Council for Behavioral Health and six residential treatment providers filed a petition with the Oregon Court of Appeals to block that rule. We hear from Heather Jefferis, executive director of the Oregon Council for Behavioral Health, about the challenges faced by behavioral health providers in Oregon.

We hear from Curtis Robinhold, the executive director of the Port of Portland, and from Tim McCarthy, the chief operating officer of Harbor Industrial, a maritime services company at the Port’s container terminal.

After the devastating 2020 Labor Day fires, the Oregon Legislature passed a bill that was supposed to lead to more wildfire awareness and resilience. It created a map of areas at high risk of fire. But that map led to a huge backlash from property owners. Now one of the democratic state senators who helped create the map is sponsoring a bill that would repeal it. We’ll talk to Jeff Golden, who represents the Ashland area, about why — and what should happen instead.

During the last year of the first Trump presidency, M. Gessen wrote a book about what lessons Americans could learn from countries like Russia and Hungary. The book, called “Surviving Autocracy,” draws on Gessen’s own experiences growing up in Russia and the scholarship of European philosophers who have written about modern day authoritarianism. We talk to Gessen in front of a student audience at Grant High School.

Between the on-again-off-again tariffs and the cancellation of federal funding, Oregonians across the state are affected by the many changes coming from the federal government. Reporters at the Portland Business Journal set out to take the temperature of business, nonprofit and political leaders across the state, three months into the Trump administration. Elizabeth Hayes, reporter for the Portland Business Journal, joins us to share what they found out.

Washington state lawmakers have ended their legislative session by sending a $78 billion dollar budget to Gov. Bob Ferguson’s desk. It includes nearly $6 billion in cuts and over $9 billion in taxes. Legislators also passed rent cap increases and a new gun permit system. Olympia correspondent Jeanie Lindsay joins us to share what the Washington Legislature accomplished this session.

Multnomah County chair Jessica Vega Pederson released a proposed $4 billion budget plan this week. The budget includes cuts to several programs and over 100 positions. Vega Pederson spoke to Think Out Loud about her proposal.

Multnomah County chair Jessica Vega Pederson released a proposed $4 billion budget plan this week. The budget includes cuts to several programs and over 100 staff to address a $77 million shortfall. Earlier this year the county asked local and state jurisdictions to help fill a shortfall of over $100 million in the county’s homeless services budget. Chair Vega Pederson joins us to explain her budget proposal.

Students from Sprague High School in Salem and Lincoln High School in Portland are sharing a championship title at a national civics competition that tests students understanding and mastery of the U.S. Constitution.

Portland City Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney joined OPB's "Think Out Loud" to talk about the challenges and successes of the new city council so far, and the tough decisions it will soon have to make to address the city’s massive budget deficit.