Fifteen years after 7-year-old Kyron Horman vanished from Skyline Elementary School in Portland, his disappearance continues to haunt not just the Pacific Northwest, but parents everywhere. In this special episode of Beat Check, engagement editor Julie Evensen and social media producer Destiny Johnson talk to investigative reporter Noelle Crombie about recent news about the case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A trio of journalists joined Editor Therese Bottomly on Monday’s episode of “Beat Check with The Oregonian” to talk about the 2020 street protests that started in Portland after the police killing of George Floyd. Multimedia journalist Beth Nakamura, social media producer Ryan Fernandez, and reporter Zane Sparling (who covered protests for the Portland Tribune) join the conversation. On this episode of Beat Check, we talk about: --The physical dangers journalists faced on the streets from tear gas, munitions, crowding --Direct police violence against journalists --The three chapters of the 150-plus nights of protest --The role of live streamers --The fatal shooting in downtown after a pro-Trump caravan arrived in the city Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First-class airfare to Hawaii. Five-star hotel stays. Lots and lots of food. All of it footed — directly or indirectly — by customers of a large Portland-area utility. A recent Oregonian/OregonLive investigation found that executives with Clean Water Services, Washington County’s sewer agency, have spent years enjoying fancy business trips to Hawaii and meals on ratepayers’ dime. None of the lavish travel spending is accounted for in the agency’s annual budgets. And, despite months of probing questions and public records requests, officials have not yet disclosed the total cost of four Hawaiian trips or provided the receipts on hundreds of thousands of dollars in food spending. On the latest Beat Check, Shane Dixon Kavanaugh talks to Jamie Goldberg about her rigorous watchdog reporting led to this month’s series on Clean Water Services. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Oregonian's Lizzy Acker and Destiny Johnson as they discuss your conundrums for Lizzy's advice column "Why Tho?" This week they discuss the child abuse allegations against a Utah mom, Ruby Franke, who used to run a successful YouTube family channel called "8 Passengers." For a more distilled version of this, check out Lizzy's column, which will publish at Oregonlive.com/whytho the Tuesday following the airing of this podcast! More: Read the most recent Why Tho (and columns past): https://www.oregonlive.com/whytho/ Lizzy’s advice also appears in our weekly advice newsletter. Want to get it? Subscribe now: https://link.oregonlive.com/join/6fk/signup Have a burning question for Lizzy? Send her an email at lacker@oregonian.com or tweet @lizzzyacker! You can reach producer Destiny by emailing her at djohnson@oregonian.com or tweeting her @hello_destiny! Or better yet, text Lizzy your question as a Why Tho? insider. Sign up here: https://www.oregonlive.com/advice/2022/03/read-more-why-tho.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The city of Portland has been grappling with homelessness for decades. Longtime residents remember then-Mayor Bud Clark’s plan to solve the problem in the 1980s. But the plight of unsheltered residents has continued and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated efforts to help the unhoused. Now, governments are poised to spend millions to deal with the issue that residents consistently place at high importance, over potholes and parks. The Oregonian/OregonLive’s full time beat reporter Nicole Hayden joins Editor Therese Bottomly for a conversation about the city, county and Metro efforts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Oregonian's Lizzy Acker and Destiny Johnson as they discuss your conundrums for Lizzy's advice column "Why Tho?" This week they discuss whether you can do anything about someone's troublesome social media posts that are bringing down the vibe of a whole group. For a more distilled version of this, check out Lizzy's column, which will publish at Oregonlive.com/whytho the Tuesday following the airing of this podcast! More: Read the most recent Why Tho (and columns past): https://www.oregonlive.com/whytho/ Lizzy’s advice also appears in our weekly advice newsletter. Want to get it? Subscribe now: https://link.oregonlive.com/join/6fk/signup Have a burning question for Lizzy? Send her an email at lacker@oregonian.com or tweet @lizzzyacker! You can reach producer Destiny by emailing her at djohnson@oregonian.com or tweeting her @hello_destiny! Or better yet, text Lizzy your question as a Why Tho? insider. Sign up here: https://www.oregonlive.com/advice/2022/03/read-more-why-tho.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Intel appears to be doubling down on its key research and development sites in Oregon, with plans to spend billions of dollars to expand its computer chip factories in Washington County. Mike Rogoway, who covers the tech industry for The Oregonian/OregonLive, broke the news of Intel’s plans earlier this month. He joined business editor Elliot Njus on the Beat Check with The Oregonian podcast to talk about the Intel’s big investment in Oregon – and the challenges ahead for Intel, which happens to be the state’s biggest corporate employer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Oregonian's Lizzy Acker and Destiny Johnson as they discuss your conundrums for Lizzy's advice column "Why Tho?" This week they discuss whether you should confront your neighbor about their screaming children when you work from home. For a more distilled version of this, check out Lizzy's column, which will publish at Oregonlive.com/whytho the Tuesday following the airing of this podcast! More: Read the most recent Why Tho (and columns past): https://www.oregonlive.com/whytho/ Lizzy’s advice also appears in our weekly advice newsletter. Want to get it? Subscribe now: https://link.oregonlive.com/join/6fk/signup Have a burning question for Lizzy? Send her an email at lacker@oregonian.com or tweet @lizzzyacker! You can reach producer Destiny by emailing her at djohnson@oregonian.com or tweeting her @hello_destiny! Or better yet, text Lizzy your question as a Why Tho? insider. Sign up here: https://www.oregonlive.com/advice/2022/03/read-more-why-tho.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A proposed $24.6 billion merger could bring together Kroger, the parent company of Fred Meyer and QFC, and Albertsons, which has also owned Safeway since 2015. The Pacific Northwest is one of the regions where the two companies compete directly, so the combination could leave Oregonians with fewer choices for grocery shopping. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Oregonian's Lizzy Acker and Destiny Johnson as they discuss your conundrums for Lizzy's advice column "Why Tho?" This week they discuss whether it's appropriate to ask someone not to hang out with someone you mutually know. For a more distilled version of this, check out Lizzy's column, which will publish at Oregonlive.com/whytho the Tuesday following the airing of this podcast! More: Read the most recent Why Tho (and columns past): https://www.oregonlive.com/whytho/ Lizzy’s advice also appears in our weekly advice newsletter. Want to get it? Subscribe now: https://link.oregonlive.com/join/6fk/signup Have a burning question for Lizzy? Send her an email at lacker@oregonian.com or tweet @lizzzyacker! You can reach producer Destiny by emailing her at djohnson@oregonian.com or tweeting her @hello_destiny! Or better yet, text Lizzy your question as a Why Tho? insider. Sign up here: https://www.oregonlive.com/advice/2022/03/read-more-why-tho.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gov. Tina Kotek is convening a panel of local elected officials, business executives and civic leaders to focus on how to best bolster downtown Portland’s economic future. The move comes as Portland’s urban core remains among the nation’s slowest to recover in the aftermath of the pandemic amid blocks of empty offices and storefronts as well as pervasive homelessness, open drug use and public safety concerns. On the latest Beat Check with The Oregonian podcast, city hall reporter Shane Dixon Kavanaugh speaks with Kotek about her initiative.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Oregonian's Lizzy Acker and Destiny Johnson as they discuss your conundrums for Lizzy's advice column "Why Tho?" This week they discuss the freedom to have bodily autonomy and making the right choice for your kids and the judgement that can come from it. For a more distilled version of this, check out Lizzy's column, which will publish at Oregonlive.com/whytho the Tuesday following the airing of this podcast! More: Read the most recent Why Tho (and columns past): https://www.oregonlive.com/whytho/ Lizzy’s advice also appears in our weekly advice newsletter. Want to get it? Subscribe now: https://link.oregonlive.com/join/6fk/signup Have a burning question for Lizzy? Send her an email at lacker@oregonian.com or tweet @lizzzyacker! You can reach producer Destiny by emailing her at djohnson@oregonian.com or tweeting her @hello_destiny! Or better yet, text Lizzy your question as a Why Tho? insider. Sign up here: https://www.oregonlive.com/advice/2022/03/read-more-why-tho.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maxine Bernstein has covered a lot of stories in her more than two decades with The Oregonian and now OregonLive. A recent Saturday run along the waterfront quickly gave way to a long day’s work when she heard reports of a shooting at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center, not far away in Northwest Portland’s Nob Hill District. In this episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, Bernstein and Editor Therese Bottomly walk listeners through the chaotic day, which took Bernstein from Good Sam to the Stadium Fred Meyer to Gresham and then home, where she confronted an unusual ethical challenge. Bottomly recently wrote about challenges that day, July 22, in getting solid and accurate information from official sources to reassure the public, which had been told an assailant was on the loose and Good Sam under lockdown. The Portland Police Bureau gave detailed responses explaining their reasoning in releasing what information they did and describing what they must consider before letting information out to the public. Read the responses here. Bernstein, meantime, was able to confirm key details through the day to keep OregonLive readers informed hour by hour, along with breaking news reporter Austin De Dios, who was at the hospital much of the day. The Oregonian/OregonLive followed the day’s news with a deeper story about the victim, Bobby Smallwood; concerns Legacy Health and other health care workers have about safety; and measures Legacy pledged to take to increase security at its hospitals. Bernstein describes two conversations she had with Smallwood’s father. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A series of headlines has brought bad news about the management of Oregon’s Department of Corrections and Oregon Youth Authority to public attention. Numerous leadership changes have also resulted at the two departments. The agencies are separate divisions in Oregon’s state government but share the responsibility to care for people incarcerated for criminal convictions. The Oregon Youth Authority takes offenders who committed crimes before age 18 (from 12 to 24) and the Corrections Department houses adults. Senior reporter Noelle Crombie, who specializes in criminal justice journalism, wrote about problems of medical neglect in Oregon’s prisons. Prison officials placed on leave Prison medical care under scrutiny Prisoner lost sight in eye Doctor warned about problems at prisons Top officials dismissed Prison medical care plagued by turmoil at the top (with watchdog reporter Ted Sickinger) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Oregonian's Lizzy Acker and Destiny Johnson as they discuss your conundrums for Lizzy's advice column "Why Tho?" This week they discuss the Jonah Hill controversy with his former girlfriend Sarah Brady and what boundaries actually are. For a more distilled version of this, check out Lizzy's column, which will publish at Oregonlive.com/whytho the Tuesday following the airing of this podcast! More: Read the most recent Why Tho (and columns past): https://www.oregonlive.com/whytho/ Lizzy’s advice also appears in our weekly advice newsletter. Want to get it? Subscribe now: https://link.oregonlive.com/join/6fk/signup Have a burning question for Lizzy? Send her an email at lacker@oregonian.com or tweet @lizzzyacker! You can reach producer Destiny by emailing her at djohnson@oregonian.com or tweeting her @hello_destiny! Or better yet, text Lizzy your question as a Why Tho? insider. Sign up here: https://www.oregonlive.com/advice/2022/03/read-more-why-tho.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, environmental reporter Gosia Wozniacka talks to the executive director of Willamette Riverkeeper Travis Williams. His Oregon City-based nonprofit, which aims to protect and restore the river, had spent the past two decades cleaning up trash up and down the watershed. But since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, the organization had watched massive and unprecedented amounts of garbage accumulate in and along the river as a rising number of people experiencing homelessness set up tents, shacks and makeshift cabins along the shore.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Oregonian's Lizzy Acker and Destiny Johnson as they discuss your conundrums for Lizzy's advice column "Why Tho?" This week they discuss "birthday people." For a more distilled version of this, check out Lizzy's column, which will publish at Oregonlive.com/whytho the Tuesday following the airing of this podcast! More: Read the most recent Why Tho (and columns past): https://www.oregonlive.com/whytho/ Lizzy’s advice also appears in our weekly advice newsletter. Want to get it? Subscribe now: https://link.oregonlive.com/join/6fk/signup Have a burning question for Lizzy? Send her an email at lacker@oregonian.com or tweet @lizzzyacker! You can reach producer Destiny by emailing her at djohnson@oregonian.com or tweeting her @hello_destiny! Or better yet, text Lizzy your question as a Why Tho? insider. Sign up here: https://www.oregonlive.com/advice/2022/03/read-more-why-tho.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Climate change is upon us – it’s a reality affecting us personally. Hot days are getting hotter and more frequent in Oregon, across the U.S. and in other parts of the world. Wildfires and “unhealthy air” days are becoming more frequent. As extreme heat becomes common and more severe, it’s leading to more heat-related illnesses, emergency room visits and deaths.  The 2021 heat dome killed 69 people in Multnomah County, which until then had been known for its typically mild summer weather. Five more people in the county died of overheating last year. And this summer, we’re again likely to see temperatures climbing over 100 degrees. CIties, in turns out, are particularly vulnerable to heat – from the way they’re designed to the materials used for decades to build homes and businesses. Local leaders here and across the globe are rethinking how urban development and how to prepare for severe public health emergencies related to extreme heat.  Why and how should Portland best protect its residents from heat? What can people do individually to ease the burden of extreme heat?  Vivek Shandas, a professor at Portland State University in the geography department, studies the impact of climate change on cities and figures out the strategies they can use to reduce those impacts.  He talked about a new effort to map temperatures across the tri-county region, how Portland can require developers to dial down the heat inside buildings and what strategies we can all adopt to prevent heat illness. Read more about what extreme heat does to neighborhoods in and around Portland at The Oregonian/OregonLive: Multnomah County sues big oil, coal companies for $51 billion over deadly heat dome Study after deadly Portland heat dome shows air conditioners not the sole answer in public housing Hundreds sought refuge at cooling centers during record Portland heat wave What the heat dome tells us about Oregon’s future climate Report: 2021’s heat dome produced 53 times the number of E.R. visits for heat illness Historically racist housing policies exacerbating climate change effects in low-income Portland neighborhoods Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Oregonian's Lizzy Acker and Destiny Johnson as they discuss your conundrums for Lizzy's advice column "Why Tho?" This week they discuss the Jonah Hill controversy with his former girlfriend Sarah Brady and what boundaries actually are. For a more distilled version of this, check out Lizzy's column, which will publish at Oregonlive.com/whytho the Tuesday following the airing of this podcast! More: Read the most recent Why Tho (and columns past): https://www.oregonlive.com/whytho/ Lizzy’s advice also appears in our weekly advice newsletter. Want to get it? Subscribe now: https://link.oregonlive.com/join/6fk/signup Have a burning question for Lizzy? Send her an email at lacker@oregonian.com or tweet @lizzzyacker! You can reach producer Destiny by emailing her at djohnson@oregonian.com or tweeting her @hello_destiny! Or better yet, text Lizzy your question as a Why Tho? insider. Sign up here: https://www.oregonlive.com/advice/2022/03/read-more-why-tho.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Voters last fall delivered a stinging rebuke of Portland’s status quo and handily backed a sweeping ballot measure to reshape the city’s form of government and expand the City Council from five to 12 members. The crucial, painstaking work of delivering that package of reforms is now well underway. On the latest Beat Check, I talk with Portland Chief Administrative Officer Michael Jordan about one of the most consequential efforts in the city’s recent history. (Programming note: This interview took place before news surfaced Wednesday that a pair of Portland city commissioners, Rene Gonzalez and Dan Ryan, are exploring potential changes to the voter-approved measure.) Read More: How best to distribute political power in Portland? Fault lines erupt over charter ballot proposal Portland’s first-ever City Council districts are coming. Check out 3 map options Citing ‘anti-oppressive’ salary model, Portland panel proposes big pay raises for future elected leaders Portland leaders prepare to approve new campaign finance rules, public matching funds with unclear costs Portland Commissioners Rene Gonzalez, Dan Ryan float potential changes to city government overhaul Portland government, elections overhaul will cost millions more than city originally claimed Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Oregonian's Lizzy Acker and Destiny Johnson as they discuss your conundrums for Lizzy's advice column "Why Tho?" This week they discuss if it's okay to pick fruit if it's hanging over a sidewalk or is on a parking strip? For a more distilled version of this, check out Lizzy's column, which will publish at Oregonlive.com/whytho the Tuesday following the airing of this podcast! More: Read the most recent Why Tho (and columns past): https://www.oregonlive.com/whytho/ Lizzy’s advice also appears in our weekly advice newsletter. Want to get it? Subscribe now: https://link.oregonlive.com/join/6fk/signup Have a burning question for Lizzy? Send her an email at lacker@oregonian.com or tweet @lizzzyacker! You can reach producer Destiny by emailing her at djohnson@oregonian.com or tweeting her @hello_destiny! Or better yet, text Lizzy your question as a Why Tho? insider. Sign up here: https://www.oregonlive.com/advice/2022/03/read-more-why-tho.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Oregonian's Politics and Education Editor Betsy Hammond sits down for a one-on-one with Editor and Vice President of Content Therese Bottomly to talk about some of the issues in politics and education facing Oregonians. She reflects on how her team has done exemplary watchdog work in the realm of politics and about how she ended up as the politics expert she is now. Find politics and education stories: https://www.oregonlive.com/education/ https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/ Support this podcast by leaving a 5-star review! You can support our local journalism at oregonlive.com/podsupport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Oregonian's Lizzy Acker and Destiny Johnson as they discuss your conundrums for Lizzy's advice column "Why Tho?" This week they discuss whether or not you get what you pay for with free childcare. Can you ask your free babysitter to clean up after your kid? What degree of mess constitutes this? For a more distilled version of this, check out Lizzy's column, which will publish at Oregonlive.com/whytho the Tuesday following the airing of this podcast! More: Read the most recent Why Tho (and columns past): https://www.oregonlive.com/whytho/ Lizzy’s advice also appears in our weekly advice newsletter. Want to get it? Subscribe now: https://link.oregonlive.com/join/6fk/signup Have a burning question for Lizzy? Send her an email at lacker@oregonian.com or tweet @lizzzyacker! You can reach producer Destiny by emailing her at djohnson@oregonian.com or tweeting her @hello_destiny! Or better yet, text Lizzy your question as a Why Tho? insider. Sign up here: https://www.oregonlive.com/advice/2022/03/read-more-why-tho.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a rare interview, Brian McMenamin, who along with his brother Mike founded the McMenamins chain of pubs, breweries, and other venues in the 1980's, talks to Oregonian beer writer Andre Meunier about what the past 40 years have been like. Hint: a lot of fun. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the Mt. Bachelor ski resort abruptly went up for sale in August, a couple of Central Oregon mountain enthusiasts had an audacious thought: Maybe we should buy it. Before they knew it, the me — who had not met beforehand — put in motion a plan to purchase one of Oregon’s most cherished landmarks. They organized a GoFundMe and formed a company. They hobnobbed with Oregon politicians. They sought out big-pocket investors. They knew the challenge would be daunting. Bachelor is a coveted property, after all. So the corporate titans of the ski industry would be swarming, likely offering bids in the neighborhood of $200 million. But the movement was quickly celebrated as a potential win for the underdog, drawing national attention for its effort to keep the United States’ seventh-largest ski resort out of the hands of corporate America — and in the hands of local ski bums. The group made a major announcement last week regarding their quest to buy Bachelor. Where do things stand? And how did we get to this point? On the latest episode of Beat Check, Jonathan Bach, who covers housing and real estate for The Oregonian/OregonLive, discusses the backstory — and the latest news — surrounding the bid to buy Mt. Bachelor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Oregonian's Lizzy Acker and Destiny Johnson as they discuss your conundrums for Lizzy's advice column "Why Tho?" This week they discuss the perils of public transit and whether they'd approach a stranger. For a more distilled version of this, check out Lizzy's column, which will publish at Oregonlive.com/whytho the Tuesday following the airing of this podcast! More: Read the most recent Why Tho (and columns past): https://www.oregonlive.com/whytho/ Lizzy’s advice also appears in our weekly advice newsletter. Want to get it? Subscribe now: https://link.oregonlive.com/join/6fk/signup Have a burning question for Lizzy? Send her an email at lacker@oregonian.com or tweet @lizzzyacker! You can reach producer Destiny by emailing her at djohnson@oregonian.com or tweeting her @hello_destiny! Or better yet, text Lizzy your question as a Why Tho? insider. Sign up here: https://www.oregonlive.com/advice/2022/03/read-more-why-tho.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month, The Oregonian and OregonLive broke the news that hackers had accessed Oregon DMV data, including what state officials described as personal and sensitive information on 3.5 million drivers license and state ID holders. That’s most Oregonians. And everyone potentially affected was advised to keep a close eye on their credit report for possible fraud. So how did this happen, and what exactly do Oregonians need to do to protect themselves? We asked James E. Lee, the chief operating officer of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit that advises identity crime victims — or anyone who wants guidance on how to protect their personal information — free of charge. The center offers online chats at its website, idtheftcenter.org, and runs a toll-free hotline at 888-400-5530. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Oregonian's Lizzy Acker and Destiny Johnson as they discuss your conundrums for Lizzy's advice column "Why Tho?" This week they discuss how to live in the moment when you're feeling stuck in life. For a more distilled version of this, check out Lizzy's column, which will publish at Oregonlive.com/whytho the Tuesday following the airing of this podcast! More: Read the most recent Why Tho (and columns past): https://www.oregonlive.com/whytho/ Lizzy’s advice also appears in our weekly advice newsletter. Want to get it? Subscribe now: https://link.oregonlive.com/join/6fk/signup Have a burning question for Lizzy? Send her an email at lacker@oregonian.com or tweet @lizzzyacker! You can reach producer Destiny by emailing her at djohnson@oregonian.com or tweeting her @hello_destiny! Or better yet, text Lizzy your question as a Why Tho? insider. Sign up here: https://www.oregonlive.com/advice/2022/03/read-more-why-tho.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Downtown Portland is the city’s economic, cultural and transportation hub. And its future remains far from certain. In this episode, The Oregonian/OregonLive's business reporter Mike Rogoway and city hall reporter Shane Dixon Kavanaugh discuss the city center’s ups and downs, its peril and promise. Read More: The Oregonian/OregonLive’s 2021 ‘Downtown in distress’ series. Are people coming back to downtown Portland yet? Here’s what the numbers say Pills, petty crime, despair: A ‘perfect storm’ batters heart of downtown Portland Portland’s oldest food cart pod will reopen as 300-seat beer garden ‘Open-air drug use is at an all-time high’ in downtown Portland: Police turn to citations as fentanyl crisis explodes Fences come down at Portland’s troubled O’Bryant Square this fall. What comes next? Portland Ritz-Carlton tower nears completion with few apparent hiccups, defying odds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Oregonian's Lizzy Acker and Destiny Johnson as they discuss your conundrums for Lizzy's advice column "Why Tho?" This week they discuss who is the "bad guy" in a situation with a pregnant bridesmaid and possible bridezilla. What do you think? More: Read the most recent Why Tho (and columns past): https://www.oregonlive.com/whytho/ Lizzy’s advice also appears in our weekly advice newsletter. Want to get it? Subscribe now: https://link.oregonlive.com/join/6fk/signup Have a burning question for Lizzy? Send her an email at lacker@oregonian.com or tweet @lizzzyacker! You can reach producer Destiny by emailing her at djohnson@oregonian.com or tweeting her @hello_destiny! Or better yet, text Lizzy your question as a Why Tho? insider. Sign up here: https://www.oregonlive.com/advice/2022/03/read-more-why-tho.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The past year has brought tremendous change in Oregon’s newspaper landscape, with the closure of the Mail Tribune in Medford and the struggles of the Register-Guard and Statesman-Journal under corporate ownership. Business reporter Jeff Manning took a extensive look at the decline of the two longstanding daily newspapers in the Willamette Valley. He found the corporate ownership of the papers resulted in diminished newsrooms and resources for reporting. Just six people remain in the Register-Guard’s newsroom, for instance. Since his article was published, the Albany Democrat Herald and Corvallis Gazette Times, which share ownership, announced they would reduce print publication to just three days a week and move to the postal service for delivery. The Oregonian/OregonLive moved to four-day home delivery 10 years ago, while still publishing seven days a week. On this episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, Editor Therese Bottomly discusses Manning’s findings with him and also Regina Lawrence, lead author on last year’s report, “Assessing Oregon’s Local News and Information Ecosystem 2022.” Along with co-author Agora Journalism Center Director Andrew DeVigal, Lawrence described in detail the decline of local newsrooms as well as the cost to local communties in terms of civic engagement and public oversight. Both Lawrence and Manning point to bright spots as well: increased collaboration among Oregon news organizations and the rise of some online-only newsrooms around the state such as the Salem Reporter, the Oregon Capital Chronicle, YachatsNews and more. As well, locally owned EO Media Group moved to establish a new Rogue Valley publication and the Grants Pass Daily Courier expanded into Medford as well. What happened to Medford’s Mail Tribune newspaper? What happened to Salem and Eugene newspapers? Some bright spots as new news sites emerge Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What should you do if you find out your hairdresser is sending violent memes to public figure on social media? Is that cause to break off your relationship with them? The Oregonian's Lizzy Acker is here to give you advice for life on this and more. She's joined by producer Destiny Johnson and they talk out this conundrum (and share stories) that will be distilled into her popular advice column Why Tho, which comes out on Tuesdays on Oregonlive.com. Come spend ~30 minutes with your new internet BFFS. More: Read the most recent Why Tho (and columns past): https://www.oregonlive.com/whytho/ Lizzy’s advice also appears in our weekly advice newsletter. Want to get it? Subscribe now: https://link.oregonlive.com/join/6fk/signup Have a burning question for Lizzy? Send her an email at lacker@oregonian.com or tweet @lizzzyacker! You can reach producer Destiny by emailing her at djohnson@oregonian.com or tweeting her @hello_destiny! Or better yet, text Lizzy your question as a Why Tho? insider. Sign up here: https://www.oregonlive.com/advice/2022/03/read-more-why-tho.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starting last year, The Oregonian turned its investigative spotlight on itself. The result was Publishing Prejudice, a disturbing look at the news organization’s history of racism in its reporting and its editorial advocacy. A recent installment covered The Oregonian’s reporting after the 1948 Vanport Flood, and in particular its failure to humanize its disproportionate impact on city’s Black residents. People displaced by the flood moved into Portland’s Albina district. But in the years that followed, The Oregonian cheered on the systematic destruction of the district, which had become the heart of Black Portland. One publicly funded project after the next — Interstate 5, Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the headquarters for Portland Public School — forced out hundreds of Black residents. On this episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, reporter Rob Davis interviews Sharon Gary-Smith, who was displaced from her home in the Albina district in 1961. She discussed what it was like to return to the street where she grew up, the types of word choices The Oregonian made and what she wants to see from the newspaper going forward. The Publishing Prejudice series Letter from the Editor: An update on newsroom diversity initiatives Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why Tho? The Podcast goes behind the scenes of Lizzy Acker's advice column for The Oregonian. Listen each week as Lizzy, producer Destiny Johnson and occasional guests dissect reader questions for future columns. New episodes come out every Thursday right here in the Beat Check with The Oregonian feed. In the first episode, Lizzy and Destiny talk about some of the best and worst advice they've ever gotten and what advice they'd give to their younger selves. They also go through Reddit's popular forum r/AmItheAsshole and give their opinions. More: Find the full archive of the Why Tho? advice column here: https://www.oregonlive.com/advice/2022/03/read-more-why-tho.html Lizzy’s advice also appears in our weekly advice newsletter. Want to get it? Subscribe now: https://link.oregonlive.com/join/6fk/signup Have a burning question for Lizzy? Send her an email at lacker@oregonian.com or tweet @lizzzyacker! Or better yet, text Lizzy your question as a Why Tho? insider. Sign up here: https://www.oregonlive.com/advice/2022/03/read-more-why-tho.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Heat pumps are soaring in popularity due to their energy efficiency and ability to reduce utility bills. Brian Stewart, the co-founder of Portland-based nonprofit Electrify Now, talked about why heat pumps beat gas stoves most of the time and how to afford one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

But will it be a home run? The Portland Diamond Project has so far struck out on its years-long efforts to bring Major League Baseball to Portland. But now they’ve got a new site on the South Waterfront, fresh energy from city leaders and a pitch to the Oregon Legislature, not to mention swoon-y renderings of a new stadium along the Willamette. Sports columnist Bill Oram and ECONorthwest economist Mike Wilkerson join Beat Check with The Oregonian to make sense of the numbers behind the proposal, the unknowns (who is behind that ownership group?) and what comes next. Wilkerson, a consultant to the Portland Diamond Project, says building a new stadium downtown could be a game-changer for Portland, the city that he recently and regretfully said was on the verge of a “doom loop” thanks to downward trends in population growth, the commercial real estate market and more. Stay tuned until the end of the episode to hear Oram and Wilkerson make it very clear where their own personal baseball allegiances land. Related coverage: Is a picture worth almost a billion dollars?OHSU responds to South Waterfront ballpark proposalEconomist warns of Portland ‘doom loop’ Subscribe to Beat Check anywhere you listen to podcasts to get new episodes each week. You can support local journalism by becoming a subscriber to The Oregonian/OregonLive. Explore more of our podcasts and sign up to get newsletters for the latest news and top stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why Tho? The Podcast goes behind the scenes of Lizzy Acker's advice column for The Oregonian. Listen each week as Lizzy, producer Destiny Johnson and occasional guests dissect reader questions for future columns. New episodes come out every Thursday right here in the Beat Check with The Oregonian feed. More: Find the full archive of the Why Tho? advice column here: https://www.oregonlive.com/advice/2022/03/read-more-why-tho.html Lizzy’s advice also appears in our weekly advice newsletter. Want to get it? Subscribe now: https://link.oregonlive.com/join/6fk/signup Have a burning question for Lizzy? Send her an email at lacker@oregonian.com or tweet @lizzzyacker! Or better yet, text Lizzy your question as a Why Tho? insider. Sign up here: https://www.oregonlive.com/advice/2022/03/read-more-why-tho.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re excited to announce that the Beat Check with The Oregonian podcast is coming back starting Monday, May 29. But it’s going to sound a little different. We’ll still take you behind the headlines of the biggest news stories in Oregon. But now, it’ll be with a new crew of hosts. You’ll hear from reporter Shane Dixon Kavanaugh who covers City Hall, Gosia Wozniacka who covers the environment, Elliot Njus who’s the business editor and Therese Bottomly, vice president of content at The Oregonian/OregonLive. They’ll take turns hosting every week and share insights and analysis from The Oregonian’s hard-working journalist and subject matter experts. They’ll dive deep into the topics that matter to you. So join them, every Monday, for a new episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What would you do if someone you loved vanished and was never heard from again? That was the case for several families we interviewed on the first five episodes of The Unidentifieds podcast. In previous episodes, we explored the rapidly expanding use of genetic genealogy in finding the identities of long lost souls whose remains were found in Oregon. We told the stories of a nomadic Navy veteran, a young woman who liked to sing, a girl who wore a pink plaid coat and mother of pearl ring, and a little boy whose time on earth was too short. They all vanished in Oregon. But they were all also found in Oregon. Their stories told, and their names said aloud once again, thanks to the help of passionate experts, their families and advances in DNA technology and genetic genealogy. On the final episode of The Unidentifieds, hosts Regan Mertz and Dave Killen unpack the emotional toll on families and how getting answers about their loved ones’ fates – even if decades later – brings closure. The investigators and scientists who worked on the cold cases reflect on how each person’s story lingers in their memory, long after the cases were solved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In September 1979, two hikers discovered human remains on a rocky slope above a little-used trail near Multnomah Falls. They found bones, a skull and a few personal belongings: gold-rimmed aviator glasses, a yellow cap with black felt letters reading “NT” and a chewed-up checkbook from First National Bank of Oregon. But there was no wallet or other identifying information. Based on the bones and hair found at the scene, investigators determined the body likely belonged to a man, between 20 and 35 years old, with a thick, curly beard. A news brief that ran in The Oregonian noted that the remains “had been exposed to the elements for quite some time.” Police sent the skull and mandible to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., for an anthropological exam, which concluded that the person who died was likely African American. But who did the remains belong to? Police had no leads. No one had been reported missing. For decades the bones sat in a box at the Oregon State Police medical examiner’s office in Clackamas. Now, more than four decades after the remains were first discovered, John Doe 79-1862 has a name. On Episode 5 of The Unidentifieds, hosts Regan Mertz and Dave Killen travel to Multnomah Falls and explore its labyrinth-like trail network. They talk to investigators assigned to the case in 1979 and to experts who explain how the cruel legacy of slavery has affected genetic genealogy efforts to connect Black families to lost relatives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On August 2, 1986, two U.S. Forest Service workers were out collecting timber data on a remote logging road in the Mt. Hood National Forest near Government Camp when they stumbled upon a human skull, bone fragments, and a single tooth. Investigators took photos of the scene and the remains were transported and inventoried at the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office. The coroner estimated that the skull had been in the woods for about a decade, which meant the person had died around 1976. Investigators released those details to the public and they got dozens of leads through a tip line. But to no avail, the case went cold. It was just another body found in Oregon’s woods unclaimed, unidentified. On episode four of The Unidentifieds, hosts Regan Mertz and Dave Killen go back to one Oregon case that found a resolution weeks before the world shut down in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Regan and Dave take listeners to the dense woods near Government Camp to revisit the decades-old case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the first two episodes of The Unidentifieds, we explored two decades-old cold cases involving remains found in southern Oregon. We learned how DNA and genealogical sleuthing gave a little boy and a young woman their names back. But what is genetic genealogy? It goes far beyond the 23andMe gift card you received a few holidays ago from a relative. In Episode 3, hosts Regan Mertz and Dave Killen look at the process of genetic genealogy itself and how advances in DNA technology have made it an enormously powerful tool for investigators. They delve into the history, science and practice of genetic genealogy and how investigators are using it to solve decades-old unidentified human remains cold cases in Oregon and around the nation. Regan also delves into the world herself and takes an Ancestry DNA test to learn more about her genetic makeup. Learn more about The Unidentifieds here: https://www.oregonlive.com/theunidentifieds/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the morning of July 11, 1963, a fisherman made a horrifying discovery: He stumbled across the concealed remains of a 2-year-old boy. The tiny body was wrapped in blankets, tied with wire and held down by iron weights in the Keene Creek Reservoir along Oregon 66 east of Ashland, Oregon. Officials moved the body to a cemetery where his tombstone read, “Unknown Baby Boy 1961-1963.″ The investigation was given case number 63-2301. For more than 50 years, it wouldn’t get much further than that. By 2020, the case was the oldest known unidentified human remains case in the state of Oregon. On Episode 2 of The Unidentifieds podcast, hosts Regan Mertz and Dave Killen take listeners on a trip to the Siskiyou Mountains where the remains were found, talk to a former investigator who pursued the case, and introduce you to Cece Moore, Parabon NanoLabs’ chief genetic genealogist. Moore is one of the nation’s foremost experts in the field. In this episode, we learn how a Facebook message, a DNA match and genealogical sleuthing gave a little boy his name back. Subscribe to The Unidentifieds anywhere you listen to podcasts and give it a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts. Better yet, tell a friend about the show if you enjoyed it. Look for Episode 3 on April 24. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are so many unidentified human remains in the United States that the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System calls it “the nation’s silent mass disaster.” Roughly 4,400 human remains are found every year, and nearly one-quarter of those remain unidentified after one year. Some people were never reported missing. Some went missing decades ago. Some remains are incomplete, parts of them still out there like missing pieces to a puzzle. Cases run cold. The unidentified remains are placed in boxes and left on evidence room shelves, waiting for another shot at an investigation. Or maybe just a chance to be remembered. And that’s if their cardboard tombs are not lost or forgotten first. In Oregon, there are 120 unidentified persons cases. Cold cases exist in 33 of Oregon’s 36 counties. Regan Mertz spent months delving into this issue for The Oregonian/OregonLive. She obtained and reviewed missing persons case files, interviewed current and former law enforcement officers, anthropologists and experts around the country. She also interviewed family members of missing people. This is The Unidentifieds, a podcast that investigates four long-forgotten cases in Oregon and how online genealogy and forensic anthropology helped families get closure. Cases that long seemed hopeless, now seem solvable. People who’ve existed for decades as lonely, nameless phantoms can, if nothing else, get their identities back. In episode one, Regan and co-host Dave Killen go on a trip to southern Oregon’s Redwood Highway, where in 1971 a father and son discovered what looked liked a human spine and ribs while on a camping trip near mile marker 35. Upon initial investigation, the remains appeared to belong to a young woman, 18 to 20 years old, tall and slim. But the case went cold. And the remains became known as Jane Doe 79-940. Listen to episode one of The Unidentifieds to learn how genetic genealogy helped solve this 47-year-old case. And subscribe to The Unidentifieds anywhere you listen to podcasts and give it a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts. Look for Episode 2 on April 17. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re taking a short break from Beat Check while we prepare to bring you a new six-part limited series called The Unidentifieds. You can listen to the first episode of The Unidentifieds right here in the Beat Check feed soon. Or search for The Unidentifieds wherever you listen to podcasts. Here's a little more on what it's about: There are 120 unidentified human remains in Oregon – cases exist in all but three counties. Most were discovered in the Pacific Northwest wilderness, parts of their skeleton scattered in between rocks and twigs, and most go unfound and unidentified for decades. The Unidentifieds, a narrative podcast hosted by Regan Mertz and Dave Killen for The Oregonian/OregonLive, tells the story of four of those cold cases and how online genealogy and forensic anthropology helped families get closure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an unprecedented move, the Oregon House of Representatives approved a $200 million funding package to address the state’s housing shortage and homelessness crisis. On the latest Beat Check, The Oregonian/OregonLive’s homelessness reporter, Nicole Hayden, explains where the funds will go if the bill is signed into law as expected. Related reading: ‘Unprecedented:’ Legislature expected to OK $200 million for emergency housing, homelessness -- Elena Neale-Sacks Subscribe to Beat Check anywhere you get your podcasts to hear new episodes each week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Preliminary results from a new state survey on wood combustion show more people are using fireplaces and woodstoves in urban areas in Oregon, despite efforts by state and local governments to decrease their use. Why the increase? And just how dangerous are wood stoves and wood-burning fireplaces to our health and the health of the planet? John Wasiutynski, the director for Multnomah County’s Office of Sustainability, talked on the Beat Check podcast about the pollution impacts of wood combustion and about why it’s so difficult to get people to stop using wood burning devices.  READ MORE: Budget cuts jeopardize program providing heat pumps for low-income Oregonians Oregon attorney general’s office joins lawsuit against the EPA over wood-burning stove standards Limiting winter fires helps Portland’s toxic air, and it’s the law Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last month, Eugene became the first city in Oregon to ban natural gas appliances in new homes. Within days, the utility company NW Natural launched a campaign to overturn the ban. On the latest Beat Check, The Oregonian/OregonLive’s environmental justice reporter, Gosia Wozniacka, talks about her recent reporting into NW Natural, and what its fate might be as cities throughout the state and country move toward full electrification. Related reading: NW Natural in existential fight as Oregon eyes electrification -- Elena Neale-Sacks Subscribe to Beat Check anywhere you get your podcasts to hear new episodes each week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For years, staff, volunteers, and auditors have sounded the alarm about conditions at the Multnomah County animal shelter. Finally, it will undergo a 5-month review. On this week’s Beat Check, The Oregonian/OregonLive’s deputy politics editor, Jamie Goldberg, explains what exactly went wrong at the shelter and what the county plans to do to fix the problem. -- Elena Neale-Sacks Subscribe to Beat Check anywhere you get your podcasts to hear new episodes each week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oregon’s beer landscape is constantly shifting. On the latest Beat Check, The Oregonian/OregonLive’s beer reporter and newsletter writer Andre Meunier sits down with Andrew and Elena to talk about the latest trends. Hear why huge festivals like Oregon Brewers Festival are making way for smaller ones, low ABV and nonalcoholic beers are taking off, and more. -- Elena Neale-Sacks and Andrew Theen Subscribe to Beat Check anywhere you get your podcasts to hear new episodes each week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices