Think Out Loud

The punk organization Volume Bomb has been around in one form or another for the last 10 years. It’s been organizing and promoting local punk bands ever since it began — with one neighborhood block party. Volume Bomb’s mission has gradually evolved since then, says co-founder Jason Rocksmore. Last year, they incorporated as a 501(c)(3) to better fulfill their goals of supporting local punk bands. The nonprofit aims to not only organize shows, but also to pay the musicians.

This weekend, Volume Bomb is launching its newest program called UnMuted, highlighting queer and female-led punk bands. Some of those Unmuted bands will be performing this weekend at the first annual Pride at Full Volume show in downtown Portland. Rocksmore joins us, along with UnMuted program director Jamie Lynne Powell-Herbold, to share more about how the organization has grown and what they hope the next 10 years bring.

The National Civic League has announced the 10 recipients of its prestigious All-American City award. Woodburn was the smallest of the 10 cities from around the country to receive this honor, and the only one on the west coast. The winning cities were chosen by a panel of judges based on how they demonstrated “innovation, civic engagement, and inclusive collaboration.” Woodburn Mayor Frank Lonergan joins us to share details of the award and what it means to the community.

 Centrally Oregon is a co-working space for artists, writers and other professionals which opened earlier this month in Sunriver. The Bulletin previously reported on its opening and owner Stephanie Gregory’s vision for it. Located inside a 1,400-square-foot warehouse, members have access to dedicated desks, an art studio space and workshops Gregory currently teaches on writing, printmaking, watercolor and more. 

Gregory says she created the business because of her own experiences with working remotely and as a writer and artist in southern Deschutes County who often struggled to find local venues to teach her writing workshops. She joins us to share why she thinks her new space is needed in the region and her future plans for it. Kristine Thomas, the executive director of the Sunriver Area Chamber of Commerce and an aspiring mystery writer who has taken writing workshops taught by Gregory, also joins us for this discussion.

As we approach the 250th anniversary of American independence, “Think Out Loud” has been hearing from guests whose life experiences and personal histories illuminate different aspects of what it means to be an American.

We’ll continue that conversation with Tony Johnson, the chairman of the Chinook Indian Nation. The nation represents five tribes whose ancestral homelands surround the mouth of the Columbia River in present-day Oregon and Southwest Washington.

The nation received federal recognition in 2001, only to have it rescinded 18 months later. Johnson joins us to talk about the ongoing fight for recognition and the nuances of being Indigenous in the U.S.

A Washington State University study found that rates of food insecurity in the U.S. vary among members of different racial and ethnic groups. It found, for example, that only 10% of Asian American adults who live in severe poverty are food insecure, compared to 40% of American Indian and Alaska Native adults living in severe poverty. It also found that low-income white adults had similar levels of food insecurity as low-income Hispanic adults while low-income Black adults faced more food insecurity than both those other groups. 

A household whose income is below 50% of the federal poverty level is considered to be living in severe poverty, whereas a household whose income is 100% to 200% above the federal poverty level is considered to be living in near poverty.

Justin Denney, a professor of sociology at Washington State University, joins us to share more details about the study and how its findings could inform outreach efforts to communities with the greatest food assistance needs.

For the first time in nearly 50 years, Portland is hosting the USA Fencing National Championships. The ten-day tournament kicks off this Sunday, with thousands of fencing athletes from around the world competing for national titles.

Michael McTigue served as the executive director of the non-profit Northwest Fencing for 5 years and now volunteers as a coach. He’s been fencing, competing and coaching for the last 48 years. Sandra Marchant is a national fencing champion who’s coming to town to compete. She frequently travels to Portland to host a women’s-only fencing summer camp called The Athena Project. We’ll hear from McTigue and Marchant ahead of the tournament

For nearly 40 years, Store to Door has helped homebound seniors and adults with disabilities in the Portland metro area by taking orders for groceries and delivering them each week with a team of mostly volunteers. These “Kindness Couriers”, as the nonprofit calls them, will enter clients’ homes - if requested -  to unpack the groceries and stay for a brief chat. Those interactions can help ease feelings of social isolation for the clients, most of whom are low-income seniors living alone. In July, Store to Door will offer the grocery delivery service on a sliding scale, with no cost for clients facing the greatest financial need.

During the pandemic, Store to Door began offering clients free weekly phone calls made by volunteers through its Friendly Caller program. The calls are intended to foster regular social connections that may evolve into friendships between volunteers and the clients they serve. 

Joining us for a discussion about Store to Door and the communities it serves are Program Director Cass Listro; Board President and Kindness Courier volunteer Jeri Janowsky; and Gloria Nussbaum, a Friendly Caller volunteer.

 Next month, the Food and Drug Administration committee will consider easing restrictions on some peptides. Some influencers have claimed these injectables improve muscle growth, create better immune function and slow aging, among other things. However, there is very little evidence to support the benefits of many of these drugs in humans. At the same time, prescription peptides that are already on the market, such as GLP-1s like Ozempic, have seen increasing demand for off-label use. Daniel Hartung is a professor of pharmacy at Oregon State University. He joins us to share more on the FDA processes and off-label prescriptions.

Four times a week, you’ll find Camas resident Martins Licis working out in his home garage. Like many people, he will lift repetitions of weights to build strength. But most people don’t do 600 to 900-pound deadlifts or 500 to 700-pound squats.  

Licis is a professional strongman who is currently training to compete in the Giants Live Strongman Classic in London on July 4 and another international competition three weeks later. The Columbian recently profiled Licis before his return to the World’s Strongest Man, which he won in 2019 and finished in sixth place this year. The four-day competition features grueling feats of strength like pulling a truck along a 100-foot course or throwing 30-pound sandbags over a 16-foot-high bar.  

But it’s more traditional feats of strength that Licis is particularly interested in these days. In 2022, he launched with his friend and manager the YouTube series “Strength Unknown.” As host and co-producer, Licis has traveled to more than 15 countries to document and participate in ancient strength traditions, from sumo wrestling in Japan to stone lifting in Pakistan, and to meet the people who are keeping them alive. 

Licis joins us to discuss the series, which is currently on hiatus, and how it’s expanded his understanding of strength.

The Menopunks movement started as a documentary. The goal was to debunk claims about hormone replacement therapy through interviews with doctors and hear the stories of Portland musicians who have benefited from HRT. But it’s now grown into a broader effort to advocate for more comprehensive and accessible menopause care. 

A benefit concert series this weekend aims to raise money for the documentary and awareness around hormonal therapy through a resource fair and panel conversation with doctors and healthcare advocates.

Alicia J Rose is a musician, filmmaker and one of the founders of Menopunks. Gilly Ann Hanner is a participant in the documentary and a founding member of the band Calamity Jane, which will perform this weekend with both of its founding members for the first time in 35 years. They both join us with more details.

High Country News recently reported on how residents within the city limits of White Salmon, Wash. have lacked free mail delivery from the U.S. Postal Service for years now. The agency also does not provide free Post Office Boxes for those residents. High Country News’ reporting also revealed that at least 10 other towns in Washington, Oregon and Idaho also lack both free home mail delivery and free P.O. Boxes provided by the USPS. Meanwhile, White Salmon Mayor Marla Keethler has been trying to no avail since 2020 to work with the agency to create a new mail delivery route or provide free P.O. boxes. 

Susan Shain is a freelance journalist based in White Salmon. She joins us to share more details of her recent reporting.

The men’s soccer team from Jordan lost to Algeria  2-1 to on Monday, meaning they won’t go on to the next round of the World Cup. The team has been using the University of Portland’s Merlo Field as its home base for practice and training sessions between games. 

UP men’s soccer head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt says the school boasts one of the best all-grass soccer fields in the Northwest, if not the country, and that it was a “no-brainer” when FIFA contacted him several years ago to see if the university would be interested in hosting a 2026 World Cup national team. It’s also given him the chance to attend Team USA’s matches, including its victory over Australia last Friday in Seattle, and relive his boyhood memories of cheering on the men’s team from the stands 32 years ago – the last time a men’s World Cup game was held on U.S. soil.  

Carlin-Voigt joins us to share those memories and the new ones he’s making at the World Cup.

The law made changes to SNAP, including eligibility restrictions and work requirements for able-bodied adults 64 and younger without children under the age of 14 in their SNAP household. SNAP recipients who don’t qualify for an exemption can meet the 80-hour monthly work rules in several ways, including paid work, volunteering or participating in a SNAP Training & Employment Program. The program helps SNAP recipients with job placement, career coaching, pre-apprenticeship training, tuition assistance and other support provided by WorkSource Oregon and community-based organizations.

This month, ODHS began requiring interviews to check eligibility for households applying for SNAP or renewing their benefits. Nate Singer, Oregon Eligibility Partnership Director at ODHS, shares how Oregonians are being impacted by federal changes to SNAP, along with Matt Newell-Ching, Senior Policy Manager at Oregon Food Bank, and Jesse Aronson, WorkSource Program Manager at Worksystems, the Portland metro workforce development board serving Portland, Multnomah and Washington counties.

In 1951, a group of parents decided to start a school for their children with developmental disabilities rather than having them institutionalized. As those children grew into young adults, the school evolved into a workforce training organization. That organization — now known as Relay Resources — is still creating employment opportunities for people with disabilities more than 75 years later.

The nonprofit provides janitorial, landscaping, document imaging and other services to businesses throughout the Pacific Northwest. They also offer individual career counseling for people with disabilities and help pair those job seekers with employers who are interested in inclusive hiring.

Jennifer Camota Luebke is the president and CEO of Relay Resources. She joins us to talk more about the organization’s work.

The city of North Plains has a population that hovers around 3,500. Like so many small communities in Oregon it has a strong sense of identity and a closeness among residents that other bigger cities just don’t have. 

As part of our effort to cover both urban and rural communities all over the state, we sent out a community survey to find out what people in this Washington county town value and what the biggest challenges they face. We heard predominately about the quality of life here and the challenges of reconciling different views of how to improve life here and plan for growth.

We invited the community to participate in a conversation about North Plains at the Atfalati Ridge Elementary School in North Plains on June 11, 2-26. About 55 people showed up, and many shared what they think makes North Plains and why they think the urban growth boundary should be left alone or expanded. 

Our guests included Robin Doughty, director of the North Plains Public Library; Rowan Maiorano, assistant planner for the city; Daniel Stinchfield, who sits on the UGB Public Advisory Committee; Patti Burns, director of the Senior Center and Vice President of the North Plains Events Association; Lora Dexheimer, founder of the North Plains Food Bank; Russ Sheldon, business owner and former city councilor; and Emily Waldron and Elizabeth Beaupain with Friends of Smart Growth North Plains. 

 ”Words Will Come,” a new work by Portland-based playwright Melody Erfani, focuses on a young Iranian-American girl’s experience with learning, language and identity while navigating dyslexia. 

The production takes a multi-sensory approach, using movement, projections, stage setting and fractured language to immerse the audience in the mind of someone experiencing dyslexia. 

We’ll hear from Erfani about her own experience with dyslexia, and how guiding her young niece through a dyslexia diagnosis helped inspire this theatrical work. 

“Words Will Come” is showing at Shaking the Tree Theater in Southeast Portland through June 28th.