Think Out Loud

Oregon lawmakers are considering a bill that would change the legal definition of "independent contractor." Rep. Paul Holvey (D-Eugene) says he wants to prevent companies from hiring workers as contractors when they’re actually doing the same kind of work as the company’s regular employees. But some contractors feel this would actually make it harder for them to get work at all.

Oregon lawmakers could vote on a proposal known as “Taylor’s Law,” named for a 24-year-old named Taylor Martinek who died of an accidental overdose. He played football for Portland State University and struggled with addiction for years, after he was prescribed opioids for a football-related injury. He believed he had bought Xanax and OxyContin, but the pills contained a fatal dose of fentanyl. The bill named for him would increase penalties for those convicted of selling a controlled substance which results in the death of the person who uses it. We talk with his parents Brian and Brenda Martinek, who each testified on the bill when it got a hearing earlier this month. We talk with Washington County Chief Deputy District Attorney Bracken McKey about the bill, and why he thinks it’s different from other mandatory minimum sentencing laws that the ACLU of Oregon opposes.

In an article in this week’s California Sunday Magazine, journalist Katie Engelhart profiles Debra Koosed who was diagnosed with dementia at 65. Koosed didn’t qualify for physician’s aid in dying under Oregon’s Death with Dignity law. So, she found another way to end her life. We hear from Engelhart as well as Oregon Rep. Mitch Greenlick (D-Portland) who is sponsoring legislation to expand the definition of “terminal disease” under Oregon law. Peg Sandeen, executive director of the Death With Dignity National Center, joins us as well. That organization opposes the change Greenlick is proposing.

We get opinions and analysis of some of the week’s big stories from Beth Slovic, a freelance journalist and journalism instructor at Clark College in Vancouver; Erious Johnson, a former civil rights attorney; and Doug Badger, a managing partner at Quinn Thomas.

A new survey from DHM Research looks at consumers in Oregon’s cannabis industry. John Horvick, vice president and director of research at DHM, shares what they learned about the age, gender, education-level, preferences, behaviors and other details of the people who are buying cannabis in Oregon.

A team of Oregon scientists are heading to Antarctica in a few weeks to spend the winter at Palmer Station. The researchers will be looking into the diet and health of a key food species in that region: Antarctic krill. Once they arrive at the research station, the scientists will not be able to leave for the next six months. Kim Bernard, assistant professor at Oregon State University, will be leading the trip. Kirsten Steinke is a graduate student who will also be making the journey.

The 2020 census is about a year away, and Multnomah County officials are looking ahead to ensure an accurate count. Locally, it’s estimated that 20 percent of the population has been historically undercounted. Immigrants and communities of color are especially likely to be undercounted. We talk with Commissioner Lori Stegmann about the efforts she is leading in the county, and Jenny Lee, advocacy director for the Coalition of Communities of Color.

Two thirds of Oregon workers have experienced or witnessed age discrimination in the workplace. That’s according to a recent AARP survey of 1,000 people age 40 and over. The legislature is currently considering changes to Oregon law to add more restrictions against age discrimination and stiffer punishments for violations, but critics say the current law is enough. We hear from Rep. Carla Piluso (D-Gresham) and Paloma Sparks from Oregon Business & Industry.

Oregonians in rural Deschutes County report that accessing court records can be a challenge for them. A new program at the Redmond Public Library aims to help. It lets people access their court records on library computers with just a library card. We talk with David Rosen, the chairman of the Deschutes County Access to Justice Committee, about the program.

Employees at the regional chain Little Big Burger announced this week they intend to unionize. They follow in the footsteps of another regional chain, Burgerville, which formed the first federally recognized fast food union last year. We talk with a Little Big Burger employee about the effort to unionize. And Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of Labor Education Research at Cornell University, tells us why fast food unions are so uncommon.

Thousands of times a year, Oregon and Washington students have been physically restrained or isolated from peers. Parents say what's meant as a last resort happens too often, without their knowledge. OPB Editor Rob Manning tells us about how schools are using restraint and seclusion, and who is keeping track.

We spend the hour with one of Oregon’s most celebrated writers and thinkers, Barry Lopez. His new book, “Horizon,” knits together his decades of travel all around the world. It’s a book full of wonder and sadness, hope and despair, about the natural world… and the way humans are changing it.

Lawmakers in Salem are working on several fronts to fix problems with Oregon’s foster care system. Over the last year, we've looked and problems with and possible solutions for the system. OPB reporter Lauren Dake fills us in on some of the bills in Salem, as well as how Oregon is will be affected by the federal Family First Act.

Applications at police departments nationwide have decreased in recent years. The Cadets program at the Portland Police Bureau aims to teach students more about career paths in law enforcement. We talk with two women in the program about their experiences and their thoughts on the future of law enforcement.

The latest issue of Street Roots features a proposal they're calling "Portland Street Response." The newspaper focused on homelessness basically lays out a plan to create an alternative to law enforcement for crisis intervention and nuisance calls. We'll hear from Street Roots executive director Kaia Sand and Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty about the plan and what it would take to actually implement it.

This week, we heard a lot about the planned freeway expansion project in Portland’s Rose Quarter, as the Oregon Department of Transportation started taking public comment on the proposal’s environmental impact. It seems like a good time to talk about how the state’s transportation plans fit in with its emission reduction goals. Angus Duncan, chair of the Oregon Global Warming Commission, joins us to dig into this topic. ODOT declined our invitation to take part in this conversation.

We hear opinions and analysis on some of the biggest local and regional news stories of the week from Eve Epstein, Nkenge Harmon Johnson and Kevin Mannix.

Students around the world are planning to walk out of class Friday to demand action on climate change. We talk with two of the students planning a demonstration in Portland. Jaden Winn is a sophomore at Wilson High School and Charlie Abrams is a freshman at Cleveland High School. As it turns out, Abrams was first on our show sharing his passion about this issue when he was in the 5th grade.

Portland comic book writers Brian Michael Bendis and David F. Walker are working on a new DC comics series set in the fictional Pacific Northwest town of Port Oswego. They talk with us about how their experiences in Portland shaped the series “Naomi,” Bendis’s character Miles Morales in the Academy Award-winning movie “Into The Spider-Verse” and what they think is next for the Portland comic books scene.

The iconic Portland store Music Millennium has been selling records, cds, and tapes for fifty years this month. Owner Terry Currier joins us to talk about how much the music industry, and the shop, have changed in that time.