Justin Higginbottom
Reporter | Jefferson Public RadioJustin Higginbottom has worked in print and radio journalism in Utah as well as abroad with stints in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. He spent the past year reporting from Thailand, India and Myanmar where he covered the Myanmar civil war. He’s also been a contributor to NPR, CNBC, The New Republic, and Deutsche Welle (Germany’s public media organization). Now he’s happy to be back in the West where he enjoys public lands and skiing. Justin can be reached at higginbottomj@sou.edu.
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Oregon’s Measure 114 passed by a razor thin margin in 2022. Although it’s not on the ballot this year, it’s still a topic in upcoming local elections. -
A logging company has canceled a proposed road within a Bureau of Land Management project in Josephine County. Activists had claimed that construction of the route threatened old-growth trees. -
This year Oregon became one of only a handful of states with a licensed paralegal program. The goal is to help people get legal assistance in family and housing law. -
Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford is facing multiple lawsuits by former employees claiming that the hospital discriminated against them for not taking the COVID vaccine. -
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing new rules requiring national wildlife refuge managers to promote biological diversity and environmental health. Some Southern Oregon farmers worry that could stop activities like farming on refuge land. -
The Environmental Protection Agency has announced the first-ever national drinking water standards for chemicals known as PFAS. Announced April 10, those rules will impact Oregon. -
Old-growth trees provide vital wildlife habitat, help forest ecosystems and store massive amounts of carbon. But some activists in Southern Oregon claim the Bureau of Land Management is allowing the logging of old-growth trees despite recent calls by the Biden administration for protection.
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The Medford City Council will vote Thursday on an ordinance to use $1.4 million in Department of Justice funding on new radio equipment for first responders and public works employees. -
A community in Red Bluff, California was recently notified that their water had alarming concentrations of chemicals called PFAS. Data shows that the site has had high levels of contamination for several years.
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New research shows that over half of California’s rural hospitals are losing money. Forty-four percent of rural hospitals in Oregon have a similar status. -
State wildlife officials have killed more than 100,000 fish that were infected with a newly-identified parasite. It’s the first time that organism has been linked to illness in Oregon trout. -
The Oregon Public Utilities Commission has now rejected all three of the state’s natural gas operators’ plans to meet greenhouse gas emission targets.
