OPB's Think Out Loud

Portland author and private investigator Rene Denfeld discusses her second novel,“The Child Finder,” which focuses on a private investigator specializing in missing children and was missing once herself.

The Eagle Creek Fire in the Columbia River Gorge got worse overnight, jumping across the river to the Washington side. It has lead to evacuations and the closure of I-84 in both directions from Troutdale to Hood River. And it has brought hazy skies, bad air, and ash to the Portland metro region. Meanwhile, dozens of other fires are blazing around the state. We check in with fire officials and others about air quality and fire conditions.

This morning, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions formally announced that the Trump administration will rescind Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. The Obama-era policy granted legal protections to nearly 800,000 people who were brought to the United States illegally as children. We get reactions from Laura Ramirez, a local DACA recipient, and Stephen Manning, a founding partner of the Immigrant Law Group.

A recently launched American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon campaign about the role of district attorneys has stoked debate. “They Report to You” points out that many district attorney races go uncontested, which the ACLU of Oregon argues is stunting criminal justice reform. Clackamas County District Attorney John Foote responded by accusing the ACLU of Oregon of behaving like a “radical political action committee.” District Attorney Foote and ACLU of Oregon executive director David Rogers join us for further discussion.

Our latest installment in our "On The Road" series takes us up and down Washington's Long Beach Peninsula, from Cape Disappointment (in which we were not disappointed) to Leadbetter Point State Park.

As students and teachers head back to school amidst an ongoing national conversation about hate groups, history, and racism, some students are advocating for opportunities to discuss issues of race and prejudice in the classroom. We’re joined by Fatmah Worfeley, an incoming senior at Portland State University who works with Momentum Alliance and Grace Didway, an incoming senior at Oregon City High School who works with Oregon Student Voice.

The Oregon Health Authority was recently beset by scandal, after reports that high-level leaders circulated a media plan to smear Portland-based Medicaid provider, FamilyCare. Governor Kate Brown forced out then-director Lynne Saxton, and has since named her replacement. Patrick Allen was previously the director of the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services. He joins us to talk about his new role and what’s in store for the beleaguered health agency.

Nkenge Harmon Johnson, Doug Badger, and John Schrag join us to talk about some of the biggest stories of the week.

Oregon ranks seventh lowest for adolescents vaccinated, according to the findings of a recent Center for Disease Control survey. But the state believes the results aren’t entirely accurate. Oregon Health Authority Epidemiologist Steve Robison joins us to provide context.

As wildfires continue to burn thousands of acres across Oregon, we hear from a few people who have been affected by two of the biggest fires. Sean Gallagher is the superintendent of the Brookings-Harbor School District, which has delayed the first day of school due to the Chetco Bar Fire. Curry Coastal Pilot editor in chief Scott Graves has been covering that fire. And public information officer Ronda Scholting recently came to Oregon from Denver to help with communications for the Milli Fire.

You can think of Jae Park as Oregon's answer to Willie Wonka. But instead of making fanciful chocolatey confections, he runs the OSU Surimi School, a research lab in Astoria devoted to coming up with new and tasty ways to turn processed fish protein — otherwise known as surimi — into everything from noodles and fish cakes to pizza dough. He gives us a tour of his lab.

As school districts around the state scramble to make their drinking water lead-free for the start of the new school year, we revisit the safety of Portlanders residential drinking water and what they can do to check for lead. Perry Cabot with Multnomah County’s lead testing program joins us.

Bethany Barnes joins us to talk about her reporting on a decades-long case of sexual misconduct at Portland Public Schools and the lingering questions about the district’s handling of this and other cases where concerns about teacher behavior have been brought up.

A Portland tattoo artist is one of just two artists in the northwest certified by insurance companies to tattoo nipples on breast cancer survivors. We talk to Mary Jane Haake, owner of Dermigraphics, about her rich history as a tattoo artist. She was the first person to get a college degree in tattooing and she learned cosmetic tattooing from an artist who once covered scars on World War 1 veterans.

A shortage of placements for Oregon foster youth has led to the controversial practice of putting some youth up in hotel rooms while they await a new living situation. Oregon’s Department of Human Services has now partnered with two Oregon nonprofits to launch a temporary housing & support program for unplaced foster youth to address the issue. We hear more about the new program from Sean Suib of New Avenues For Youth and Andrew Grover of Youth Villages.