Steve Bass

Thanks to Current for publishing my thoughts.

New Oregon Public Records and Government Transparency Project to serve journalists, media outlets and audiences OPB and Lewis & Clark Law School partnership will improve access to public information for rural as well as urban communities.

OPB is partnering with Lewis & Clark Law School to pair journalists with law students in the pursuit of access to public records.

Beginning this fall, the program will offer free legal support to journalists who hit roadblocks trying to access public records.

It’s disturbing how this was handled or not handled.

Corporation for Public Broadcasting Sues White House to Block Board Firings The media organization said that the White House emailed three of the company’s five directors on Monday, telling them that their positions had been terminated.

news: The Trump administration tried to fire several board members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS. They sued to stop it.

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/29/b...

Oregon lawmakers consider sending kids in foster care out of state, again. Only this time, with less transparency Oregon lawmakers are considering sending kids in foster care out of state, again. Only this time, with less transparency

Oregon once again wants to send foster kids out of state, despite numerous major issues in that past with that practice.

Opinion | Musk Said No One Has Died Since Aid Was Cut. That Isn’t True. (Gift Article) A journey through the front lines of global poverty shows that when the world’s richest men slash aid for the world’s poorest children, the result is sickness, starvation and death.

Elon Musk says that no one has died because he slashed humanitarian aid. I went to South Sudan to check if that's true. It's not. Meet Peter, Achol and Evan, ages 10, 8 and 5. The reckless actions of the world's richest men are killing the world's poorest kids www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Thanks for your reporting on this. Hard to read but so important.

Epic idea

Tesla's shares sinking faster than Russian navy.

My section for Mozart’s Gran Partita with the Vancouver Symphony winds (and strong bass).

Bonneville Power Administration offers jobs back to staff fired by Trump adminsitration Roughly 120 employees were fired from BPA last month - raising alarms from experts in the power grid and Gov. Tina Kotek. They've now been asked to return, but the agency will still be down hundreds of positions since the start of the Trump administration.

Three people familiar with internal operations at BPA confirmed that 89 staff who’d been fired are receiving emails or letters asking them to return to work. About 35 were already hired back in mid-February.

Trump’s timber directives could sway Oregon forest policy, but market effects remain unclear President Donald Trump called on agencies to expand domestic timber supply. That could influence prospective forest polices that are currently in the works, but implications for Oregon's timber industry are less clear.

New executive orders from the Trump administration last weekend call on federal agencies to fast-track logging projects by circumventing endangered species laws, and to investigate whether lumber imports threaten national security.

Guide Dogs for the Blind plans to expand Oregon campus in Boring The planned facility would more than double the number of clients the nonprofit could serve in Oregon.

Guide Dogs for the Blind bills itself as the largest guide dog school in North America, having graduated more than 16,000 guide dog teams from its campuses in San Rafael, California, and Boring, Oregon, since 1942.

Oregon’s researchers ordered to stop their studies by Trump administration face uncertainty, anxiety and frustration Stop-work orders for research projects are landing at Oregon universities from numerous federal agencies.

Since 2022, Lisa Ellsworth has been studying how different communities across the West Coast recover from wildfires.

A federal order has frozen funding, saying it violates executive orders by President Trump.

People of Color Outdoors cultivates community by leading outside gatherings Portland group helps BIPOC communities strengthen their connection to nature. “My main job is to help people gain access to beautiful places and to new skills and activities,” says Pamela Slaughter, the group's founder.

Pamela Slaughter knows what it's like to feel unsafe outdoors. Years ago, she and her daughter faced harassment from a group of skinheads. That experience helped fuel her decision to form People of Color Outdoors, creating a safe, welcoming space in nature through hikes and other activities.

Oregon Rep. Cliff Bentz defends cutting federal spending, discusses Medicaid cuts U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Oregon, said Wednesday that the nation’s spending on Medicaid programs is unsustainable, and he urged patience as Republicans in Congress formulate their plan to dramatically reduce spending on the health care program.

U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, a three-term Republican lawmaker from Ontario, was on Think Out Loud today.

He said the nation’s spending on Medicaid programs is unsustainable, and he urged patience as Republicans in Congress formulate their plan to dramatically reduce spending on the health care program.

Following executive orders, ‘The President’s Own’ Marine Band scraps concert The U.S. Marine Band’s canceled collaboration with Equity Arc was to feature high school musicians of color who competed to perform with the ensemble.

This is disgusting.

www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Estacada city officials dissolve DEI committee, echoing national rhetoric Supporters unsuccessfully asked critics to disentangle the local committee from national politics.

Come for the way national politics trickles down into local governance. Stay for the former Proud Boy leading the Clackamas County Republicans charge against DEI.

Federal workers are being laid off through the weekend. I’ve been in back-to-back calls with people told to clear their desks. I spoke to someone today with MS in rural Oregon who has no idea what other job he can do. He expects more people to be laid off tomorrow, on Presidents’ Day.

Wyden, Merkley urge Trump to reconsider ‘ludicrous’ job cuts at Bonneville Power The Democrats cited OPB’s reporting that BPA could lose nearly 20% of its staff because of buyouts, a hiring freeze and termination of probationary employees coming as part of President Donald Trump’s...

Following OPB's reporting on cuts at the Bonneville Power Administration, Oregon's senators are calling on the Trump White House to halt its actions.

One of several Oregon-based lawsuits against the White House today. Another: OR suing over gender-affirming care order

Attn @nytpitchbot.bsky.social

Opinion | American universities must end DEI and bring back the meritocracy.

by Jared Kushner and RFK Jr.

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Innovate with Current: Visions for Public Media’s Future. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. There’s a saying: “What got you here may not get you where you’re going.” PBS and NPR have rich histories of service to Americans. But, frankly, the speed of change in media poses a serious threat to ...

How will public media tackle an uncertain future? Join us Thursday, Jan. 16, at 1 p.m. ET for a thought-provoking webinar exploring how public media can adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing landscape. Sign up: uwmadison.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

I'm hosting this conversation next week and it should be a great chat — join us!

news: Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes says she's quitting the newspaper after a cartoon depicting Post owner Jeff Bezos and other billionaires genuflecting toward President-Elect Trump was killed

t.co/0TKDRFfxUs

The Atlantic Beefs Up Politics Coverage Under Trump The magazine is recruiting from a crosstown rival, The Washington Post, to bolster its political staff.

scoop: @AshleyRParker and @michaelscherer to The Atlantic

Magazine going big on politics under Trump. More hires coming.

Laurene Powell Jobs personally involved.

Hey, @pbsnews.bsky.social Would be great if you could remember that a lot of your audience is the west coast. I’m watching a segment reporting on a CR which failed in the House several hours ago.

Corporate and billionaire owned meeting is raising the white flag. Bad sign.

Facing layoffs, Bend Bulletin union staff file labor complaint against Carpenter Media Group Earlier this month, Carpenter Media Group laid off two newsroom staff at its papers, and proposed more job cuts at the Bulletin as a way to reduce its operating costs since buying dozens of papers in ...

The unionized staff at the Bend Bulletin said Carpenter Media Group showed up this week at contract negotiations with no one who had authority to actually negotiate.