Oregon documentary highlights Columbia River bar’s jetty system and its importance to the Pacific Northwest

Oregon documentary highlights Columbia River bar’s jetty system and its importance to the Pacific Northwest

The Columbia River bar is a fierce, yet beautiful body of water, spanning across Oregon and Washington. With over 2000 shipwrecks reported since 1792 [https://www.opb.org/news/article/graveyard-pacific-maritime-oregon-astoria/#:~:text=Since%20the%201800s%2C%20the%20Graveyard%20of%20the%20Pacific%20has%20claimed%20over%202%2C000%20ships%20and%20hundreds%20of%20lives.], it is also known as “The Graveyard of the Pacific.” In 1855, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began the construction of a jetty system, as a means to tame the dangerous ocean currents from the Pacific. Oregon filmmakers Brett Eichenberger and Jill Remensynder’s new documentary “Taming the Mouth [https://tamingthemouth.com/],” chronicles this history and how it reverberates today on this vital waterway in our region.

West Coast is especially vulnerable to landslides according to new University of Washington database

Roughly 6.5 million people in the U.S. live in areas that are highly susceptible to landslides. West Coast residents - including on the Oregon Coast and Washington’s Puget Sound - face the second greatest exposure to landslides, after Appalachian communities in and around W. Virginia.    University of Washington researchers made these findings using the Landslide Exposure Database [https://www.designsafe-ci.org/data/browser/public/designsafe.storage.published/PRJ-6361/%2Fpublished-data%2FPRJ-6361%2FProject--landslide-exposure-database-led%2Fdata%2F01_Landslide_Exposure_Database_(LED)?doi=10.17603/ds2-6zgt-4694], an online tool they spent three years creating and recently made publicly available. The scientists say the database provides the first-ever building level assessment of landslide susceptibility across the U.S. for nearly 130 million homes and buildings.   The database also accounts for socioeconomic data, revealing an urban-rural divide to how natural disasters can impact communities. For example, residents in rural areas who are vulnerable to landslides may have fewer financial resources to move or recover from landslides compared to urban residents living in homes perched on hillsides in affluent neighborhoods.   Joe Wartman is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at University of Washington and the director of the Natural Hazard and Disaster Reconnaissance Facility. He joins us for more details.

Oregon lawmakers urge state corrections department to curtail use of solitary confinement

It’s not uncommon for adults in custody in the U.S. to find themselves in solitary confinement for a range of behaviors, both violent and non-violent infractions. The practice is well-documented as being psychologically and socially damaging [https://www.nami.org/blog/how-solitary-confinement-contributes-to-the-mental-health-crisis/] and to worsen the mental health outcomes for those subjected to it. The Oregon Department of Corrections is facing a class action lawsuit [https://www.opb.org/article/2026/06/11/oregon-class-action-lawsuit-solitary-confinement/] over the practice.  And separately, a group of lawmakers has sent the agency a formal request to adopt U.N. standards known as Mandela rules, which would sharply curtail the use of isolation as a common form of discipline. Rep. Farrah Chaichi, D- Beaverton/Aloha [https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/chaichi/Pages/biography.aspx], led this effort and she joins us to share more about the lawmakers’ letter, the DOC’s response and what she sees as the next legislative steps.

Oregon Esperanto speakers share a universal language

Languages have evolved over time, but it is rare when one is just created. Nearly 140 years ago, a Polish linguist did just that. Esperanto was made with the intent to be a universal second language for international communication. It is difficult to measure just how many people speak the language, but it does have speakers across the globe.   In the Pacific Northwest, speakers will gather next month for the 45th anniversary of the Northwest Regional Esperanto Conference in Seattle. We're joined by three members of the Esperanto Society of Portland: Izaak Zawyrucha-Moore, Alaine Warfield and Bruce Sherwood. They share why they've chosen to learn this language and what it has meant for them.

Rage rooms: where customers pay money to smash bottles, electronics and more

Portland entrepreneur Mark Maher says it was around March 2025 when he and his family got to experience firsthand the thrill of smashing ceramic plates, glass vases, TVs and other electronic devices. That experience took place at a friend’s rage room in Boise, Idaho, where customers book sessions to don goggles, gloves and other safety equipment to obliterate objects in a controlled, safe environment.    Soon after, Maher opened Rage Room Portland [https://rageroomportland.co/], which celebrated its one-year anniversary this month by opening its second location inside Stickmen Brewing Company in Tualatin.      Business is also booming at OutRaged Rage Room [https://www.outragedroom.com/aboutoutragedragroom], which opened in Vancouver in 2019. Owner Tera Gale says her three themed rage rooms are usually booked back to back on the weekends, with individuals or groups of up to 15 people paying to smash not only electronics and glassware but also personal objects they might find cathartic to destroy, such as a wedding dress from a failed marriage.    Gale and Maher join us to share what they think is behind the appeal of rage rooms, where the adage, “you break it, you buy it,” is taking on new meaning.