Oregon US Sen. Jeff Merkley on Congressional effort to stop dismantling of nearly $400 million ocean monitoring system

Portland artist and US Air Force veteran chronicles the experience of Black military service members

In just a few weeks, our nation will commemorate the 250th anniversary of its independence. As we approach this historic milestone, “Think Out Loud” hears from guests whose life experiences and personal histories illuminate different aspects of what it means to be an American.   For the second installment of this series, we’ll hear from Ebony Frison, a Portlander, artist, and U.S. Air Force Veteran. After her time in the military, her art has largely included archiving photographic work by Newton Carroll. Carroll was a Black American military photographer whose work depicted  military members from segregated U.S. Army units during World War II.   What she found in those nearly 90-year-old images, was faces and expressions and experiences of those service members that mirrored her own time in the military. Her ongoing series, “Black Valor,” uses archival photos and documents to log her family’s connection to the U.S. Military and chronicles stories and images of Black life that are missing from official historical narratives.

OHSU Doernbecher head physician on the challenges of providing neonatal care

Recent reporting from InvestigateWest [https://www.investigatewest.org/oregon-health-science-university-shelved-plans-to-expand-its-overcrowded-newborn-intensive-care-unit-nurses-fear-babies-wont-get-needed-care/] found that overcrowding in the neonatal intensive care unit at Oregon Health & Science University is raising concerns among staff and patients. Plans to expand capacity by building a new wing of OHSU’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital have largely stalled despite rising demand [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41372-026-02619-8] for neonatal intensive care nationwide.   Dana Braner is the physician in chief at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. He joins us to talk about the challenges hospitals are facing in providing neonatal and pregnancy care.

Oregon US Sen. Jeff Merkley on Congressional effort to stop dismantling of nearly $400 million ocean monitoring system

ON MONDAY, OREGON DEMOCRATIC U.S. SENATOR JEFF MERKLEY AND ALASKA REPUBLICAN U.S. SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI LED A GROUP OF DEMOCRATIC SENATORS [https://www.merkley.senate.gov/merkley-murkowski-lead-bipartisan-push-to-protect-u-s-ocean-monitoring-systems/] TO URGE THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION TO STOP ITS PLANS TO DISMANTLE A NEARLY $400 MILLION OCEAN MONITORING NETWORK. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS [https://www.opb.org/article/2026/06/15/ocean-observatories-national-science-foundation/]REPORTED ON THE LETTER SENS. MERKLEY AND MURKOWSKI WROTE TO THE NSF, WHICH WAS SIGNED BY NINE OTHER U.S. SENATORS, INCLUDING SENATOR RON WYDEN OF OREGON AND SENS. PATTY MURRAY AND MARIA CANTWELL OF WASHINGTON. MORE THAN TWO DOZEN DEMOCRATIC U.S. REPRESENTATIVES SIGNED ONTO A SEPARATE LETTER, PER THE AP’S REPORTING, TO WARN AGAINST THE “ILLEGAL DECOMMISSIONING” OF THE OCEAN OBSERVATORIES INITIATIVE.    THE OOI IS A NETWORK OF 900 SENSORS ANCHORED OFF OREGON [https://ceoas.oregonstate.edu/ocean-observatories-initiative-ooi], WASHINGTON, ALASKA, NORTH CAROLINA AND IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC. FOR MORE THAN A DECADE, THE INSTRUMENTS HAVE TRANSMITTED REAL-TIME DATA THAT HAS HELPED DETECT COASTAL FLOODING EVENTS, MANAGE SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES, TRACK MARINE HEAT WAVES AND MORE.  A MEMO FROM THE NSF [https://oceanobservatories.org/2026/05/nsf-ooi-descoping-update-for-the-community/] POSTED LAST MONTH SAID THE “MAJOR DESCOPING” IS ALREADY UNDERWAY FOR THE ARRAY OF INSTRUMENTS MANAGED BY OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY, WITH THE REMOVAL OF MOST OF THE REST OF THE NETWORK EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED NEXT SUMMER.   SEN. MERKLEY JOINS US TO DISCUSS HIS AND OTHER DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS’ EFFORTS TO PROTECT THE OOI, ALONG WITH OTHER FEDERAL ISSUES AFFECTING HIS OREGON CONSTITUENTS.

Camas artist Lara Blair creates and celebrates tiny art and the stories behind them

DURING THE PANDEMIC, LARA BLAIR [https://www.larablairartstudio.com/] FOUND HERSELF WITH A LOT OF TIME ON HER HANDS. WITH HER CAMAS PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO SITTING IDLE, BLAIR REMINISCED ABOUT HER CHILDHOOD AND TWO THINGS THAT BROUGHT HER JOY AS A 10-YEAR-OLD: DONUTS AND DOLLHOUSES. THANKS TO HOW-TO VIDEOS SHE SAW ON YOUTUBE, SHE SOON BEGAN MAKING SCULPTURES OF DONUTS FROM CLAY, ADORNED WITH SPRINKLES AND SURREAL, WHIMSICAL ELEMENTS SUCH AS TINY PEOPLE WITH ROPES CLIMBING UP THEIR FROSTED, CANDY-COLORED SIDES.    TODAY, BLAIR WORKS FULL TIME AS A SMALL-SCALE ARTIST CREATING INTRICATE DIORAMAS, SHADOW BOXES, COMMISSIONED PIECES AND OTHER TINY, SCULPTED WORKS [https://www.larablairartstudio.com/exhibition-works] SHE SELLS ONLINE OR AT GALLERY 408 IN CAMAS. THE COLUMBIAN [https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/jun/02/tiny-art-big-buzz-gallery-408-in-camas-to-unveil-mini-gallery/] RECENTLY PROFILED BLAIR AND A MINIATURE VERSION [https://www.gallery-408.com/mini-gallery] OF THE ART GALLERY SHE DESIGNED AND HELPED CREATE WITH THE GALLERY’S CO-OWNERS FEATURING TINY, PAINTED CANVASES AND SCULPTURES BLAIR AND OTHER LOCAL ARTISTS, INCLUDING PORTLAND PAINTER BIANCA YOUNGERS [https://www.biancayoungersart.com/about], CONTRIBUTED.     THE MINI GALLERY WAS INSPIRED BY A CONVERSATION BLAIR HAD WITH RACHAEL HARMS MAHLANDT, A PORTLANDER WHO CO-CREATED THE PDX SIDEWALK JOY MAP [https://www.opb.org/article/2025/08/08/portland-oregon-sidewalk-joy-art-installation-galleries-neighborhoods-culture/] THAT HAS SINCE EXPANDED WORLDWIDE [https://worldwidesidewalkjoy.com/the-map]. HARMS MAHLANDT WAS ONE OF THE FEATURED GUESTS ON BLAIR’S NEW PODCAST, “TINY WORLDS, BIG STORIES.” [https://www.youtube.com/@tinyworldsbigstories/featured] BLAIR AND YOUNGERS TALK WITH US ABOUT MAKING SMALL-SCALE ART THAT CAN SPARK DELIGHT AND CHILDLIKE WONDER FOR ITS CREATORS AND AUDIENCES ALIKE.

Southwest Washington married couple retired from U.S. military reflect on what it means to be an American

IN JUST A FEW WEEKS, MILLIONS OF AMERICANS WILL CELEBRATE THE FOURTH OF JULY WITH THEIR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS AT BARBECUES, PARADES AND OUTDOOR CONCERTS UNDER FIREWORKS. THIS YEAR’S CELEBRATIONS WILL TAKE ON ADDED SIGNIFICANCE AS OUR NATION COMMEMORATES THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF ITS INDEPENDENCE.    AS WE APPROACH THIS HISTORIC MILESTONE, “THINK OUT LOUD” HEARS FROM GUESTS WHOSE LIFE EXPERIENCES AND PERSONAL HISTORIES ILLUMINATE DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN AMERICAN.   WE START BY HEARING FROM BRYAN AND MICHELLE STEWART, A MARRIED COUPLE IN BATTLE GROUND, WASH. BRYAN AND MICHELLE RETIRED AS COLONELS IN THE U.S. ARMY AFTER NEARLY 60 YEARS OF COMBINED SERVICE AT MILITARY BASES IN THE U.S AND ABROAD. THEY BOTH SERVED IN AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ. BRYAN WAS ALSO DEPLOYED TO THE NATO HEADQUARTERS IN BELGIUM. MICHELLE WORKED IN BOSNIA, WHERE SHE HELPED IDENTIFY MASS GRAVE SITES AND ASSISTED WITH THE U.S.-LED EFFORT TO END THE WAR. SHE ALSO SERVED AS THE CHIEF OF STAFF AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY.    MICHELLE AND BRYAN STEWART JOIN US TO TALK ABOUT HOW THEIR MILITARY SERVICE HAS SHAPED THEIR VIEWS ON PATRIOTISM, SACRIFICE AND OUR COUNTRY'S FOUNDING IDEALS.