JPR Featured

Homelessness used to mainly be a problem for bigger cities. But nowadays, a mixture of high housing costs, the pandemic, and a lack of mental health services, means homeless camps are popping-up in smaller towns too.

Cal Fire has publicly signaled a commitment to rebalancing its priorities. But a monthslong investigation by The California Newsroom, a public media collaboration, found that the department continues to fumble key responsibilities related to forest management and wildfire mitigation.

Solar power installations on home rooftops are surging in Oregon and Washington state. Alongside, you may have noticed an uptick in ads pitching rooftop solar, or even gotten an in-person solicitation. Some of the sales pitches contain dubious or potentially misleading claims. And now, consumer watchdogs are urging homeowners to do their homework before signing any contract.

In hearings so far, the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a violent, pro-Trump mob has outlined how it believes the former president and extremist groups carried out the attack that day. But Jan. 6 was the culmination of years of political violence. Oregon and other states served as a training and ideology testing ground for the groups who would go on to play leading roles in the insurrection.

While patrons of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival stayed away during the pandemic, others came, once the first waves of the public health crisis receded. Many were there to go mountain biking or on wine tours, or were simply passing through on their way to somewhere else.

The Klamath Basin has been plagued by drought and a lack of water for years, and issues persist. The effects are far-reaching for tribes, ranchers, farmers, waterfowl advocates, and people who rely on residential wells.

Legislators propose a $1-billion-a-year down payment program for first-time buyers, given the high cost of housing and rising mortgage interest rates, in exchange for a partial stake.

About 10% of Cal Fire’s workforce quit the agency last year. “We are at critical mass, guaranteed,” one Cal Fire captain said. Workers’ comp cases for PTSD are routinely denied, and many crews are fatigued from working weeks at a time with no time off.

California schools received more than $33 billion in COVID stimulus money. Some districts won’t say how they’ve spent it.

What will eventually be Eugene’s largest transitional shelter site is roughly halfway completed. Everyone Village in west Eugene is aiming to provide 100 spaces on its acreage, and give residents a safe and secure environment.

A CalMatters investigation found that schools had wildly different approaches to stimulus spending — from laptops to shade structures to an ice cream truck. No centralized database exists to show the public exactly where the money went.

No technology even comes close to the speed and sensitivity of insects and animals when it comes to detecting odors. Now, engineers in Washington have built a moth/drone cyborg called the “Smellicopter” to tap into that insect superpower. It combines the mobility of the drone with the scent sensitivity of moths to detect chemical leaks, explosive devices and even people buried under rubble.