Think Out Loud

Parent advocacy group drafts revised screen time, AI policy for Portland Public Schools

When the parent advocacy group Schools Beyond Screens sent out a survey to local parents regarding their thoughts on the ways PPS utilizes educational technology and screens in classrooms, parents issued remarks that too many videos were used in classrooms, and video games and screens were being used as rewards. There were also concerns about the use of “learning apps,” and many parents called for more paper-based learning. Some raised concerns that classroom technology usage didn't align with the rules surrounding tech in their homes.   The organization took this feedback, what they learned from the district and their own experiences as parents to create a draft revised tech and AI policy for Portland Public Schools. We’ll hear from Miranda Rake and Holly Hofkamp, two of the co-founders of the Portland chapter of Schools Beyond Screens, about what the draft policy entails.

City of North Plains navigating community division and government crisis

Residents in the Washington County city of North Plains [https://northplains.gov/] have been sharply divided for years over whether and how much to expand its urban growth boundary. City leaders passed a plan in 2024 that was overturned in a popular vote [https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2024/05/north-plains-residents-reject-citys-growth-plan-in-a-vote-that-will-resonate-across-oregon.html] and in the same election ushered in a new anti-growth majority on the council. In less than 2 years, the majority of those councilors have resigned [https://www.opb.org/article/2026/06/16/north-plains-separates-from-city-manager/], along with the mayor and two subsequent replacement mayors.   North Plains also saw the departure of its city manager and had two interim city managers resign one after the other. The current interim has a contract that expires on Sept. 1.   In June we went to North Plains [https://www.opb.org/article/2026/06/19/north-plains-community-grappling-withcompeting-visions/] to talk to people inside and outside of the city limits to hear about their different ideas about growth and maintaining their rural identity — and the other issues fueling the turnover in local government. [https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2026/08/this-is-a-crisis-small-oregon-city-appoints-short-term-city-manager-amid-staffing-exodus.html]   Austin De Dios [https://www.oregonlive.com/staff/austindedios/] is a politics reporter focused on Washington and Clackamas counties for The Oregonian/Oregonlive, [https://www.oregonlive.com/] and he joins us to share the latest on the community and city government of North Plains.

How Spokane was able to effectively prepare for evacuations from wildfires

Earlier this month, the Spokane Complex Fires ripped through neighborhoods in the city, damaging more than 800 structures [https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2026/aug/14/fire-managers-put-cost-of-fighting-spokane-fires-a/#:~:text=He%20also%20said%20the%20number%20for%20lost%20or%20damaged%20structures%20from%20the%20three%20fires%20stands%20at%20833.%20Of%20those%2C%20615%20were%20from%20the%20Old%20Trails%20fire%2C%20160%20from%20the%20Autumn%20Lane%20fire%20and%2058%20from%20the%20Fairview%20fire.] and forcing evacuations of more than 65,000 residents. One person died [https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2026/aug/14/a-woman-died-while-evacuating-the-old-trails-fire-/] from medical complications she suffered while evacuating from a nursing home. Despite the loss of homes and other structures, the injury impacts of the fires were less severe, thanks in part to the city’s second-ever evacuation drill in April. Sarah Nuss is the Director of Emergency Management for Spokane. She joins us to share more details about the drill and its effectiveness in helping get tens of thousands of individuals out of danger safely.

Ken Kesey’s iconic psychedelic bus leaves Oregon for first time in nearly 60 years

In 1964, Oregon author Ken Kesey and a group of friends, known as the Merry Pranksters, embarked on a cross-country road trip from California to New York aboard a 1939 customized school bus. They painted the bus in psychedelic colors, added a rooftop platform and made other modifications. The bus known as Furthur became a symbol of the countercultural ethos of the ‘60s, from protesting the Vietnam War to ushering in the LSD-tinged anthems of the Grateful Dead in San Francisco.    And now, for the first time since 1969, Furthur has left its home at the Kesey family farm outside Eugene to open a new generation of hearts and minds. As first reported by the New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/09/us/kesey-furthur-bus-san-francisco.html?searchResultPosition=1] earlier this month, the bus is returning to San Francisco as the centerpiece of “Forever Grateful, Golden Gate Park,” [https://haightstreetart.org/pages/forevergrateful-ggp-furthur] a Grateful Dead-themed exhibition in San Francisco opening on Sep. 5. The Oregon nonprofit Furthur Down the Road Foundation [https://furthurdowntheroad.org/] has been working for years to raise funds to restore the bus, which it hopes to start after the exhibit ends in late October.    Ken Kesey’s son, Zane, joins us to discuss Furthur’s legacy, the plans for its restoration and what lessons he thinks this countercultural icon can offer us today.

How OHSU’s field surgical team prepares to respond to emergencies

When a climber was trapped under a boulder on Mount Hood over Memorial Day weekend, the field surgical team at Oregon Health & Science University responded [https://news.ohsu.edu/2026/06/11/ohsu-field-surgical-team-flies-to-treat-trapped-patients-onsite]. The team is trained to operate on patients outside of the hospital to free them from collapsed buildings, crashed cars and other emergency situations.   Justin Regner [https://www.ohsu.edu/providers/justin-l-regner-md-facs] is the trauma medical director and division head of trauma, critical care and acute care surgery at OHSU. He oversees the field surgical team and joins us to share more about its work.