Author Archives: Jerry Curry

Oregon Metro GDP, 2016

Hot on the heels of metro level household income data, we now get the annual metro GDP figures as well. In stepping back and looking at the bigger picture, the metro GDP growth looks like one would expect. There is a good reason for that. More in a minute. Oregon is outperforming the typical state […]
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Air Pollution | Mental Health Program – OPB’s Think Out Loud

The University of Washington’s Julian Marshall joins us to explain the significance of a 10-year air pollution study that found that air quality improved overall, but was worse for people of color, regardless of income. In Lane County, people struggling with mental health can now fill out a voluntary mental health consent form, providing medical details […]
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Editorial: Monument battle a tangled web of claims – Opinion

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s memo to President Donald Trump recommending that the president modify 10 national monuments created by his predecessors, including shrinking the boundaries of four, is fraught with factual errors and may be on shaky legal ground. Any attempt by the administration to change the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is sure to trigger a […]
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Up in smoke

Wildfires will displace both hunters and the hunted this fall as burning forests and backwoods public-safety closures push men and beasts into new haunts. Big-game animals such as deer and elk do fine in the face of wildfire, often showing uncanny abilities to stay ahead of encroaching flames or finding green oases amid a fire’s […]
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New rules for Oregon Promise grant

Last-minute change to state scholarship was frustrating, confusing. When the class of 2017 graduated high school, the state Legislature had yet to decide new rules on who qualifies for the Oregon Promise grant. Now, educators are sure there are some Central ­Oregon students who were counting on the grant to pay for community college that […]
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Behind the numbers: State testing in Central Oregon

Huge fluctuations in participation, proficiency at some rural high schools. As recently as the 2015-16 school year, the majority of La Pine High School 11th-graders took the state standardized Smarter Balanced test. Last school year, zero did. Numbers alone aren’t enough to tell the story behind state standardized test results. Source: Behind the numbers: State […]
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Editorial: Richardson makes good decision about state audits

When Dennis Richardson was running for secretary of state, he promised audits of Oregon’s Business Energy Tax Credit program, the Columbia River Crossing and Cover Oregon. But when he came out Tuesday with his 2017-18 audit plan, they were not included. Oregonians should not be outraged. He is making intelligent choices about prioritizing the auditing […]
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Firefighters battle blazes without protection

No respirators certified for wildland firefighters. Every now and then when Brock Shelton is out fighting a wildfire, the wind will shift suddenly, making it hard to breathe. His eyes will start to water. “You’ll go from breathing clean air to all of a sudden you’re like, ‘Oh man, I better get out of here,’” […]
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Study: Alcohol abuse among older Americans is a growing problem

In the summer, Henry Wrenn-Meleck likes to sit on the stoop of his building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, observing the passing urban parade. One day in late July, “one of my neighbors could see something was wrong,” he recently recalled. “I was sort of rolling around, obviously in a lot of pain. […]
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Sheriff Mike Reese | Implicit Bias And Public Safety | Parole And Probation  – OPB’s Think Out Loud

We talk with Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese to hear his response to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s remarks in Portland Tuesday. Last year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Oregon helped to organize an event in Portland aimed at increasing understanding between police and communities of color. The second event will be held next week. Portlander […]
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