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With the fall semester underway, schools across Oregon are facing a shortage of teachers. That shortage is especially severe when it comes to bilingual teachers, even as the demographics of some communities continue to change. A program at Western Oregon University is reaching into Oregon’s communities to train more bilingual people to become teachers and getting them into classrooms in local communities. Full story here

Two years ago, Oregon voters agreed to stop charging people carrying small amounts of illegal drugs with a crime. Now, that decision is a controversial talking point in the midterm elections.

As students return to class, schools everywhere are dealing with the ongoing consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic: a growing achievement gap, youth mental health crises, even violence in the hallways sometimes. But many students in East Portland’s David Douglas School District  are coming back into the classroom with a little bit of additional support.All of the district’s elementary schools have added a new assistant principal of restorative practices.Full story here

You might not know the name Bob Stacey, but if you live in Oregon, you probably feel the impact of his work every day. When he died this week at age 72, U.S. Rep. Earl Blumeauer said “Oregon just lost the most important person that most people have never heard of.” He had a major impact on how dense our neighborhoods are, how we get from place to place -- and he even battled a notorious religious cult.Full story here

 Indigenous people have traveled on trails through the woods of the northwest for millennia. Some were adopted by early fur traders, and for a time, were major paths for turn-of-the-century logging operations. But many of those early trails have been almost completely forgotten. Oregon Field Guide Producer Ian McClusky has been working to unearth the history of one of these forgotten trails. Full story here.

There aren’t many college students who are headed back to class with an Olympic gold medal in their trophy case, but Jade Carey is not an ordinary college student. The 22-year-old gymnast and Oregon State sophomore won gold for her floor routine at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. This summer, she added two more major accolades to her already sterling gymnastics career: last month, she won vault at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Tampa. She was also recently named the USA Gymnastics Athlete of the Year.Full story here

The days of Astoria as a sleepy coastal hamlet are in the past. The city has seen an influx of new restaurants, businesses, and housing in recent years. The Astoria City Council is now looking to implement a new system development charge program in the city. The city would create a structure of fees that developers pay for the right to build in Astoria, which would then go into a special fund to help pay for the infrastructure improvements the growing city needs.Full story here

Eugene recently took a big step towards becoming the first city in Oregon to require most new housing to go all-electric. It’s a bold step in the fight against climate change that’s already been adopted in cities like Seattle, San Francisco and New York.

Portland police announced this week that they have made an arrest in the high-profile 2019 murder of local anti-fascist activist Sean Kealiher. The arrest brings new light to reporting that OPB did last year in “Dying for a Fight,” a nine-part podcast investigating the unsolved killing.

We’re entering day six of a heat emergency across much of Oregon and Washington, with temperatures still hovering near or above 100 degrees. It’s uncomfortable for all of us, but for the most vulnerable people in the Pacific Northwest, it’s dangerous.

The new documentary film, Sam Now, is about the complexity of family. It’s narrated by Portland filmmaker Reed Harkness, who directed the film. And it stars his half brother, Sam Harkness. The two grew up making home movies together, but in 2000, Sam’s mom Jois suddenly disappeared.Eventually, the two set out to find her – and made a film about it. The resulting story spans over two decades. It touches on the ways trauma can pass down through generations, and the stories we tell ourselves about why our families are the way they are. Full story here

Beginning Monday, we’re going to see temperatures peaking into the triple digits across much of the state, and that heat is expected to stick around all week. It might be a good time to cut out of the city and get outdoors: go find your local shady river. We've got some advice and some picks of places to check out.

Portland's Albina neighborhood was once a hotbed of blues, r&b, fun, soul, and gospel music. The Albina Music Trust has been working in recent years to preserve that legacy, and introduce that music to new audiences. This weekend at the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival, they're taking it live, onstage

Paseo is a free festival being put on by the Portland Parks Foundation in the South Park Blocks and Director Park this weekend. It features music, dance, spoken word and other performances, as well as vendors, activities and mutual aid groups, like Don’t Shoot Portland and Snack Bloc PDX.Full story here.

Several years of hot summers in Oregon have created fertile conditions for swarms of insects like grasshoppers and crickets. It’s bad news for farmers and ranchers already struggling with drought. In 2021 alone, Oregon, agriculture officials estimate 10 million acres of rangeland in 18 counties were damaged by bugs.Full story here

Jan Haaken's 2020 documentary film “Our Bodies Our Doctors” focuses on the current generation of physicians performing abortions in Oregon and Washington. The film features candid conversations with medical staff and patients, along with rarely seen footage of abortions being performed. In many ways, the film foreshadows our current moment. Full story here.

For over 30 years, Leroy Sly Scott was a member of Portland’s Sunnyside community. He was houseless, but you could often find him, right there, on the stoop outside the Belmont Market.  Leroy died in 2020, but you can still find him on that block today. The Portland Street Art Alliance recently commissioned a mural there, honoring Leroy and Portland's houseless community.

We’re approaching the time of year when rain and cloudy days give way to warmth and sunshine.  The season brings to mind a piece of music by Portland sound artist Crystal Quartez called Sonic Blooming.

Political observers say they’ve never seen anything like the gloom Portlanders are showing about the shape of their city. The dour mood poses an interesting question in an election year that – nationally at least – appears to be headed in Republicans’ direction: What happens when residents of the state’s most fervently Democratic city decide that something is urgently wrong?

Today is Orthodox Easter. For Orthodox Christians, it’s their holiest day of the year — more than any other religious holiday. But today is also the two-month anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As the brutal war continues to intensify, the celebration will be laced with grief and uncertainty in Ukrainian Orthodox communities across the world — and here in the Northwest. Full story here