
Graphic Journalist Joe Sacco’s new book depicts indigenous life in the North
Portland-based comics journalist Joe Sacco’s new book is an emotionally complex and historically informed portrait of the Dene First Nation people, the indigenous subarctic communities that have lived in what is now known as Canada's Northwest Territories for thousands of years. “Paying the Land” tells how economic and cultural colonialism and residential schools nearly destroyed the Dene’s ancient way of life. It also chronicles the impacts of mining, drilling and fracking, along with climate change on the land and people.
Today's Show
Oregon’s vaccination efforts at risk due to lack of federal reserve, OHA director says
2 Oregon school district leaders on why they are returning to in-person education amid pandemic
School reopening debates exclude families of color, Portland mother writes
Featured Stories
Oregon’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout for teachers and older Oregonians
As Oregon continues to roll out vaccinations for health care workers and nursing home residents and staff, the Oregon Health Authority is gearing up to distribute vaccines to the next group on their priority list: K-12 education workers. Oregon’s teachers, campus staff and bus drivers are all next in line to receive the COVID-19 vaccine ahead of Gov. Kate Brown’s Feb. 15 goal to get students back into schools. But they’ll be ahead of thousands of home-based Oregonians over the age of 65.
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At Home With Recovery
The Thurston Creek Oxford House is an intentional living facility for recovering addicts and is one of over 200 Oxford Houses in Oregon.

Enrollment at Oregon’s community colleges fell in 2020
College enrollment is declining across Oregon. Community colleges have been hit the hardest, with an overall 23% enrollment decline, compared to a 3.8% decline across all institutions. This could spell lasting consequences for both the colleges and students.
Traffic fatalities in Portland last year reached highest level since 1996
Fifty-four people died due to traffic collisions on Portland’s streets in 2020, surpassing 2019’s count. There haven’t been that many traffic fatalities in the city in 24 years. There's historically a pattern of reduced driving and traffic deaths during recessions, but 2020 bucked that trend. Portland Bureau of Transportation Public Information Officer Dylan Rivera joins us to discuss the increased number of traffic fatalities last year.

Mayor Ted Wheeler’s second term in office
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler was narrowly reelected for a second term in office in a runoff election in November. Wheeler is the first mayor since Vera Katz who will serve consecutive terms as mayor of Portland. He’s recently pledged a tougher stance on people who commit violence and vandalism at protests following demonstrations on New Years Eve. We check in with Wheeler about his plans and goals for his second term in office.
Oregon City police hire a behavioral health specialist
Oregon City police now have the option of calling a behavioral health specialist when they encounter someone experiencing a mental-health crisis. Valentina Muggia started the job a few weeks ago, but she’s spent the last five years working with the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office in a similar position.
Salem school workers support Pacific Islander students through coronavirus pandemic
Pacific Islanders in Oregon have experienced disproportionate rates of COVID-19 infection. In the Salem-Keizer School District, Pacific Islander students have also been more likely to fall behind during distance learning.
Oregon Health Authority director on slow vaccine rollout, efforts to speed up vaccinations
Oregon planned to vaccinate 100,000 people against COVID-19 by the end of December. But less than a third have actually received a dose of the vaccine.
Klamath County schools return to in-person learning in January
After Oregon Gov. Kate Brown loosened pandemic-related restrictions on in-person education, both school districts in Klamath County announced they would return to in-person learning on Jan. 11.
Scientists warn of climate emergency
Last year, researchers at Oregon State University led a group of 11,000 scientists worldwide to declare a climate emergency. This week, those same researchers renewed their calls for action.

Oregonians respond to violent insurrection in the nation’s capitol
Extremists emboldened by President Donald Trump flooded into the U.S. Capitol building yesterday in an attempt to disrupt the certification of the electoral college.

Investigating Oregon’s industrial logging industry
Logging in Oregon rakes in billions of dollars annually, but an investigation by OPB, The Oregonian/OregonLive and ProPublica found that the state has prioritized corporations over its small logging communities and the environment. OPB reporter Tony Schick fills us in on the investigation.
Tribal EMS rescue serves rural Eastern Oregon
In June 2020, Ron Eagleye Johnny started the Fort McDermitt Tribe EMS Rescue, a government-funded service that is located on the Fort McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Reservation.
Hillsboro launches city-run internet network
Hillsboro launched its city-funded broadband internet service in December. Over the next decade, Hillsboro plans to expand the project to establish Oregon’s largest publicly run fiber network. We’ll speak with Hillsboro Mayor Steve Callaway about how rollout is going so far and his vision for HiLight.
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Oregon Employment Department prepares to distribute federal COVID-19 relief money
After months of congressional disagreement and a last-minute veto threat from President Donald Trump, the federal government passed a new COVID-19 relief bill in late December. We talk with David Gerstenfeld, interim director of the Oregon Employment Department, about when the new relief money will reach Oregonians.
Five years after its passage, how is the Portland preference housing policy working?
In 2015, the city of Portland passed an affordable housing strategy that was the first of its kind in the nation: It would give preference for housing and home loans to those who’d been displaced from historically Black and now gentrifying neighborhoods in North and Northeast Portland.
PCUN offers aid and workshops to small businesses during pandemic
Recent surveys in Marion County by PCUN found that many small business owners of color in the area faced barriers to accessing aid.

Portland Book Festival Roundup
Today we bring you selections of three interviews from this year’s Portland Book Festival. Jon Mooallem talked with John Notarianni about his book “This is Chance: The Shaking of an All-American City, A Voice That Held it Together.” Aida Salazar spoke with Jenn Chavez about her book for middle-grade readers, “Land of Cranes.” And Shayla Lawson spoke with Tiffany Camhi about her book of essays, “This is Major.”
Summing up the year’s news
From the pandemic, to racial justice protests, to wildfires, to the election — how have the events of this year changed us? Nkenge Harmon Johnson, Scott Bruun and Christopher McKnight Nichols help us make sense of a very interesting year.
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Oregon writer Barry Lopez Looks Back On A Lifetime Of Attention To Detail
Legendary Oregon author Barry Lopez died over the weekend after a long illness.