Think Out Loud

A Japanese-language newspaper from the 20th century is being translated into English for the first time. The Oregon Nikkei Endowment is translating and archiving the Oshu Nippo, and will post 300 pages on its website. Lucy Capehart, Director of Collections & Exhibits at Oregon Nikkei Endowment, and Yoko Gulde, the Osho Nippo project coordinator, join us.

University of Oregon emeritus biology professor Charles Kimmel receives a lifetime achievement award from the Oregon Academy of Science for his scientific work establishing zebrafish as a model animal for research. We talk with Kimmel about zebrafish and what we can learn from them about how embryos develop and how studying zebrafish genetics are helping researchers understand a whole range of human disorders, from cleft palates to melanoma to autism.

Fifty years ago Portland State University became the first college in the Pacific Northwest to offer a program in black studies. We talk to department chair Shirley Jackson, and to former civil rights lawyer Charlotte Rutherford, about why the department remains important.

We discuss the latest regional business news with Suzanne Stevens, editor of the Portland Business Journal.

A nonprofit organization called Youth Villages started in Tennessee more than 30 years ago. In that time, it’s helped that state both improve the lives of foster kids and save the state money on the child welfare system. Its key features include: providing services to kids and their biological families at home, supporting foster kids who age out of the system, and relentless data tracking to make sure its programs work as designed. Youth Villages has a small but important and growing presence in Oregon. We sit down with its founder and CEO, Patrick Lawler.

Oregon doesn't have enough placements for foster care children. So, the state is shipping some of the most vulnerable across state lines. And the facilities that many of those kids are going to are operated by a privately run company that used to have a contract with Washington State. Until it was cancelled because of a number of serious problems.

We get opinions and analysis on some of the biggest stories of the week with Camilla Mortensen, Scott Bruun, and Marisa Zapata.

An Ontario non-profit started five years ago to combat negative perceptions of Latinos in the community. Now, Euvalcree runs events and leadership development courses, and works with Ontario city leadership. This week, the non-profit opened an office in Hermiston. We talk with Euvalcree executive director Gustavo Morales.

Oregon’s oldest craft brewery recently announced it is closing its doors next month. BridgePort Brewing cited declining sales, distribution, and revenue among the reasons for its closure. The announcement follows closures from Widmer Brothers, Burnside Brewing, and others. Karl Ockert, one of the founders of BridgePort Brewing, joins us to talk about the state of the craft brewing industry.

What can Oregon’s criminal justice system learn from Norway? Corrections officials and state lawmakers visited Norway a couple of years ago – and then last year 14 Oregon corrections officials and officers visited a Norwegian prison in a unique kind of exchange program. Heidi Steward and Toby Tooley are among those sharing their findings at the Justice Reinvestment Summit in Salem this week. We sit down with them at the summit to get their takeaways and learn about the kinds of changes they want to make right away in Oregon. We also talk with Kim Ekhaugen of the Norwegian Correctional Service, who is in Salem to share with Oregon corrections officials how Norway treats inmates with behavioral and mental health issues, one of the most difficult populations to handle.

A small population of gray whales stick around off the Pacific Northwest coast, rather than make the huge migrations from Mexico to the arctic that most of their fellows do. For the first time, a satellite tracking study was done to find out just where those resident whales spend their time. Barb Lagerquist was the lead author on the study.

Oregon legislators are considering a bill that would require cities to allow triplexes, cottage clusters and other “middle housing” options in single-family neighborhoods. Minneapolis is the first city in the country to vote for a plan allowing such housing to be built in neighborhoods zoned for single family use. We talk with Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender.

A new report on “disrupted learning” from the Oregon Education Association, the statewide teachers’ union, documents student behaviors such as biting, kicking, punching, yelling, cursing and screaming. The report makes the case that “Oregon students and classrooms are in crisis.” We hear from Melinda Ryan, a teacher in the North Clackamas School District and Joe Fulton, a librarian at Linus Pauling Middle School in the Corvallis School District about what disrupted learning looks like where they work.

Retired political scientist and former candidate for Secretary of State Alan Zundel joins us to discuss a legislative proposal that would create a primary for non-affiliated voters. The idea is to broaden electoral participation and make it easier for a candidate who is not affiliated with a political party to get on the general election ballot.

A law passed in 2009 in Oregon requires school sports coaches and trainers to follow strict guidelines to make sure athletes with head injuries don’t return to sports too soon. A series of stories from InvestigateWest and Pamplin Media Group, and the public radio show Reveal looked into how those guidelines are followed across the state, and what we’ve learned about concussions since the law was put into effect. Shasta Kearns Moore explains.

Portland city commissioners are considering a change to city code to add protections for people who are not affiliated with a religion. Cheryl Kolbe is the president of the Portland area chapter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. She joins us to talk about why she’s advocating for this change.

The City Club of Portland says big changes are needed in the city’s unique commission form of government, and the way Portlanders elect their representatives. No other U.S. city of its size governs this way, and the population has tripled since the early 1900s when it was adopted. The City Club spent the better part of 18 months evaluating how the system serves the public, in terms of equity and efficiency. On both counts, the report says, it comes up very short. We get the details from City Club executive director Julia Meier, and a member of the volunteer research team, Portland lawyer, Sarah Carlin Ames.

The quartet mousai REMIX gives a concert this week featuring the work of African-American classical composers. Jennifer Arnold (Viola), Marilyn de Oliveira (Cello), Emily Cole (Violin), and Shin-young Kwon (Violin) join us.

We’ll hear how Marion County public health and law enforcement officials are working together to try to prevent people with mental health problems from ending up in jail. Ann-Marie Banfield is the program manager for acute and forensic behavioral health for Marion County and Troy Clausen is the county’s undersheriff. They will join us after giving a presentation at the Northwest Law & Mental Health Conference.

The agency that grants public funding to Portland’s arts groups is restructuring its giving. Regional Arts and Culture Council will start giving regular annual grants to a broader group of arts organizations. To this point, resources flowed toward bigger institutions, like Oregon Ballet Theater and the Portland Art Museum. RACC is also committing to create a new fund that any institution can apply for, large or small.