Former timber town in rural Oregon faces extreme debt

DA races in Oregon go uncontested for the first time in decades

ELECTION DAY IN OREGON IS NEXT WEEK. OREGONIANS MUST SUBMIT THEIR BALLOTS BY TUESDAY, MAY 19TH [https://www.opb.org/elections-2026/]. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF MEASURES AND CANDIDATES RUNNING IN LOCAL AND STATEWIDE ELECTIONS, BUT AS REPORTED IN BOLTS [https://boltsmag.org/oregon-uncontested-da-elections/], NOT A SINGLE DISTRICT ATTORNEY RACE IS BEING CONTESTED. OREGONIANS WILL ONLY HAVE ONE OPTION IN DETERMINING WHO WILL PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN HOW CRIMINAL JUSTICE IS HANDLED IN THE STATE.   DANIEL NICHANIAN IS THE FOUNDER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF BOLTS. HE JOINS US TO SHARE MORE ON WHY MANY INCUMBENTS AROUND THE STATE AREN’T BEING CHALLENGED AND WHAT WE LOSE AS VOTERS WHEN RACES GO UNCONTESTED.

Former timber town in rural Oregon faces extreme debt

A SERIES OF CASCADING PROBLEMS, INCLUDING FINANCIAL MISMANAGEMENT, INDUSTRY FAILURES AND QUESTIONABLE CITY CONTRACTS HAVE PUSHED LAKEVIEW, OREGON INTO MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF DEBT IT CAN’T PAY OFF. LIKE MANY FORMER TIMBER TOWNS, LAKEVIEW HAS STRUGGLED TO REBOUND FROM THE COLLAPSE OF THE LOGGING MILLS THAT ONCE POWERED ITS ECONOMY AND HELPED THE COMMUNITY SURVIVE IN AN ISOLATED CORNER OF SOUTHERN OREGON. OPB REPORTER BRYCE DOLE JOINS US TO EXPLAIN HOW LAKEVIEW GOT INTO THIS PREDICAMENT, AND WHAT RESIDENTS ARE TRYING TO DO TO GET OUT OF IT.

Two perspectives on Southern Oregon University’s latest financial crisis

AS JEFFERSON PUBLIC RADIO [https://www.ijpr.org/education/2026-05-08/southern-oregon-university-will-create-own-plan-for-institutions-long-term-vitality] REPORTED, THE  SOUTHERN OREGON UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES VOTED UNANIMOUSLY LAST FRIDAY TO CREATE ITS OWN PLAN FOR LONG-TERM FINANCIAL STABILITY RATHER THAN ADOPT ENTIRELY THE STEEP CUTS AND REVENUE-RAISING MEASURES THE CONSULTING FIRM DELOITTE HAS RECOMMENDED. SOU IS FACING A DEFICIT OF MORE THAN $12 MILLION WHICH IS EXPECTED TO GROW TO NEARLY $17 MILLION BY 2030.    SOU HAS UNTIL NEXT MONTH TO ADOPT A FINANCIAL STABILITY PLAN IN ORDER TO RECEIVE $15 MILLION IN EMERGENCY FUNDING APPROVED BY OREGON LAWMAKERS IN MARCH. DELOITTE’S PLAN [https://sou.edu/president/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2026/05/SOU-Option-Path-to-Sustainability_5.4.2026.pdf] CALLS FOR CUTTING FOUR ACADEMIC PROGRAMS, INCLUDING MUSIC AND CREATIVE WRITING, AND RECONFIGURING OR CONSOLIDATING NINE OTHER PROGRAMS IN SUBJECTS LIKE NATIVE AMERICAN STUDIES AND PHILOSOPHY.   This is the latest financial emergency the university has faced in recent years it’s attempted to address through workforce and academic cuts. Last September, for example, the SOU Board of Trustees approved a plan [https://www.ijpr.org/education/2023-04-21/sou-board-of-trustees-unanimously-approves-fiscal-realignment-plan] to slash more than $10 million over four years by eliminating more than 20 academic majors and minors. SOU President Rick Bailey joins us for a perspective, along with Sage TeBeest, a creative arts program assistant at SOU and the president of SEIU 503 Sublocal 84, which represents classified staff at the university.

OHSU researchers connect tinnitus with elevated serotonin activity in the brain

IT’S ESTIMATED THAT 1 IN 10 ADULTS EXPERIENCE TINNITUS [https://www.ata.org/about-tinnitus/why-are-my-ears-ringing/], OFTEN DESCRIBED AS A PHANTOM RINGING NOISE IN THE EARS. THE CONDITION CAN DEVELOP DUE TO HEAD TRAUMA, HEARING LOSS, EXPOSURE TO LOUD NOISE OR AS A SIDE EFFECT OF CERTAIN MEDICATIONS.   THERE’S NO CURE FOR TINNITUS AND ITS ORIGINS HAVE LONG BEEN A MYSTERY. BUT NEW RESEARCH [https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2509692123] FROM OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY HAS LINKED TINNITUS WITH ELEVATED SEROTONIN LEVELS IN CERTAIN REGIONS OF THE BRAIN. WHILE FAR FROM A CURE, THE DISCOVERY COULD ONE DAY HELP SCIENTISTS UNDERSTAND HOW TO REVERSE THE CONDITION THROUGH BRAIN CHEMISTRY.   LARRY TRUSSELL IS A PROFESSOR OF OTOLARYNGOLOGY AT OHSU AND INTERIM DIRECTOR OF THE OREGON HEARING RESEARCH CENTER. ANGIE GARINIS IS AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF OTOLARYNGOLOGY AT OHSU AND A MEMBER OF THE OREGON HEARING RESEARCH CENTER. SHE’S ALSO A PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR AT THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR REHABILITATIVE AUDITORY RESEARCH AT THE PORTLAND VA.   THEY BOTH JOIN US TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THIS NEW INFORMATION COULD MEAN FOR PATIENTS WHO SUFFER FROM TINNITUS.

Three of Oregon’s minor parties weigh in on the state of democracy under two-party system

The near total dominance of the two major political parties is nothing new. Democrats and Republicans have distinct ideological and political differences, but for some, it’s their similarities that drive them away from both.  Many voters are not affiliated with any party. In fact, those unaffiliated voters number more than either of the major parties by a substantial margin. Most of the remaining registered voters [https://sos.oregon.gov/elections/Documents/registration/2026-may.pdf] are members of the other minor parties: The Independent Party, the Constitution party, the Libertarian Party, No Labels, the Pacific Green Party, the Progressive Party, We the People Party and the Working Families Party.   In next week’s Oregon Primary [https://www.opb.org/elections-2026/], all voters will be sent ballots that include local and state candidates for nonpartisan offices and measures. But for those who are unaffiliated or a member of a minor party, no partisan candidates will appear, and they cannot vote for any of the major party candidates. Minor parties do not have their primary process funded by taxpayers, as the two major parties do.   A public opinion survey from January 2026 by DHM Research showed significant frustration [https://oregonbusinessindustry.com/januarypoll/] with both major parties. And a recent national survey of voter opinions of Congress indicated contempt [https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2026-04-22/disapproval-of-congress-ties-record-high-in-new-gallup-poll] for both Democrats and Republicans. But what does all this mean for minor parties, if anything?   We ask representatives from three of those minor parties to share how they think two-party rule is working for the electorate at large and what changes they’d like to see to include more voters more often. Our guests are Annie Naranjo-Rivera with the Oregon Working Families Party [https://workingfamilies.org/state/oregon/], Sonja Feintech with the Libertarian Party of Oregon [https://lporegon.org/] and Sal Peralta with the Independent Party of Oregon [https://www.indparty.com/].