The Debrief: Recent Episodes
Erik Neumann
There’s often more to the brief and polished reports we hear on Jefferson Public Radio. Reporters take a deeper look at the stories and events they’re covering. JPR News Director, Erik Neumann leads conversations with regional journalists about the issues and events that impact our community.
The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:
Privacy advocates raise alarm over Southern Oregon surveillance tactics
Thousands assert 'No Kings' at Medford protest
Wool spinning returns to Humboldt County with new wool mill
In Fernbridge on California’s northern coast, a new wool mill is spinning to life. Cate Edwards and her husband Shaun left Kentucky and headed west to chase a dream — bringing wool spinning back to Humboldt County. Once a booming industry, wool production faded with the rise of synthetic fabrics and overseas mills.
The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:
SOU facing another round of cuts amid budget crisis
Proposed budget for elections in Shasta County gives insight into newly appointed clerk
Can this company get polluters to pay for reforesting land after wildfires?
The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:
One year after cuts, Josephine County may restore 4-H, extension service
Klamath County mulls voluntary employee retirement as option to balance budget long-term
Ground is sinking in Tehama County due to depleted groundwater
The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:
Round Valley Indian Tribe sues California and county law enforcement after cannabis raids
Feds will sell Southern Oregon’s only federal courthouse. But new building planned
After a tumultuous year, JCFD5 board candidates push for stability, transparency
A new initiative could reshape homeless services in Grants Pass
The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:
A viral podcast showcases a Medford doctor’s research into whether some children with autism can communicate telepathically. But the fiercest debate isn’t about mind reading — it’s about a method used to help some people spell out words, and whether they are truly speaking for themselves.
A growing number of older adults are ending up homeless for the first time — often after a lifetime of work. With few options, little support and growing health risks, being older and homeless comes with unique difficulties.
Klamath Falls airport wants to land an airline. A new state bill could help.
The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:
After years of drought, Klamath Basin farmers get long-awaited water relief
As Curry County sheriff clashes with county officials, voters to decide law enforcement levy
Oregon lawmakers seek to limit rent increases in manufactured home parks
The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:
'Permanent extinction event’: Humboldt farmers struggle to survive legal cannabis market
Vacancies at the Shasta County District Attorneys office
Grants Pass to choose new homeless campsites
The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:
The Medford Pears? A minor league baseball team courts the city
Loss of federal funding could devastate rural schools and counties
‘A confusing time': Federal firings leave utility assistance programs uncertain
The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:
GOP senator's bill to end vote-by-mail in Oregon faces public backlash
Major legal win for environmental groups in Southern Oregon will protect old-growth forests
Homeless campers in Grants Pass can't be prosecuted until the city meets two conditions
SOU students try to build brotherhood by reviving fraternity
The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:
Fountain Wind Project in Shasta County deemed ‘not necessary’ in state assessment
Grants Pass must wait for judge's decision in homelessness lawsuit
Humboldt extends deadline for farmers to pay cannabis tax. County says it’s the last time
Second Shasta County elections clerk in a row steps down within a year
[Fri 9 AM | NW forest plan; Cal Poly budget; mental health crises; chicks] The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:
Update on the Northwest Forest Plan
Cal Poly Humboldt plans for budget cuts amid enrollment and funding shortfalls
Ninth Circuit ruling is reshaping police responses to mental health crises
The scramble for backyard chickens in the Rogue Valley
The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week.
Top stories include:
Del Norte County launches mobile unit for mental health and substance use crises
Hundreds of Humboldt cannabis growers risk losing permits over unpaid taxes
Shasta County public safety struggles with too few staff, high workloads
The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:
Ashland youth force city to punish Natural gas users
Homeless restraining order extended
Forest Service fires workers
Animal rights violations at Bandon Zoo
The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week.
Top stories include:
Some tribes are using sovereignty to skirt regulations on payday lending
Venturing into the cold for the annual tally of homeless people
Humboldt County Supervisors sign historic agreement for Eel River
The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:
Non-logging forestry work, like planting trees or fuels reduction, is big business in Oregon. But if you’re picturing those doing this work as classic lumberjacks — plaid shirts, big beards, white guys — think again. Foreign guest workers make up much of this labor. And Jackson County is a national center for the industry.
The Trump administration’s planned undocumented immigration crackdown has spread anxiety in some immigrant communities. We asked Southwestern Oregon sheriffs if their policies on immigration enforcement have changed.
Homeless people in Grants Pass can’t be cited, arrested or prosecuted for camping during the next two weeks. A Josephine County judge issued a temporary restraining order on Monday in a lawsuit against the city over its treatment of homeless people.
Local service providers in Northwestern California worry that the Trump administration’s goals to cut federal spending could have major impacts on countless services in rural communities.
The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week on The Debrief. Top stories include:
- Hoedads in Oregon: History of the timber industry in Oregon
- Northwest forest plan; environmentalists seek protection for old growth forests
- Disability Rights Oregon files a lawsuit against the City of Grants Pass alleging mistreatment of the homeless
The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:
Earlier this month, a levee was breached, which separated Agency Lake and the Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. That re-connected 14,000 acres of wetland habitat to Upper Klamath Lake.
The tiny town of Scotia, California on the state’s remote Redwood Coast was built up entirely around a large sawmill. An attached biomass plant that burns the wood waste for electricity stands in the middle of a climate debate in the region.
The Curry County Board of Commissioners has sued their sheriff in the latest escalation of tensions between the offices.
The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've been working on this week. Top stories include:
Wolves roaming Oregon in search of a meal may soon hear something alarming in the night air: a scene of marital strife from the 2019 film Marriage Story. Or, possibly, the predators might hear crunchy riffs from Australian rock band AC/DC.
On Monday, nearly 5,000 Providence nurses, physicians, midwives and other health care workers at eight hospitals and six clinics across Oregon, including in Medford, gave notice of their intent to strike on Jan. 10.
As Oregonians ring in 2025, nearly two dozen bills passed by lawmakers early last year will quietly take effect. From stricter penalties for drug use on transit, to an easier path to fixing your broken device, to nabbing drivers who don’t yield to school buses, these new statutes cover a lot of ground.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently released its annual report assessing homelessness across the country. California and Oregon continue to have large numbers of people without permanent housing.
The JPR news team gathers for The Debrief, a roundtable recap of the top stories reporters have worked on. This week's top stories are:
Commissioner John West recalled in Josephine County
Preliminary results from Tuesday night show that almost a third of voters in the county participated in the recall election, removing Commissioner John West with 62% of the vote.
Huge anonymous donation helps Ashland School District temporarily avoid fiscal crisis
Ashland School District had been on track to be in the hole by over $1 million at the end of this fiscal year.
Southwestern Oregon saw 30% increase in overdose deaths last year
Finalized data released by the Oregon Health Authority this month shows over 300 people died from overdose in Southwestern Oregon last year, an increase of 30% from 2022.
Many Oregon students find it hard to return to school since COVID
"Students that are chronically absent year after year, they get out of sync with their peers," said Jeff Bullock, school improvement director with the Klamath County School District. "They fall behind academically."
The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they're working on this week. Top stories include:
After reading and discussing the books, a review committee voted to remove two from the Grants Pass High School Library: "All Boys Aren’t Blue" by George M. Johnson and "Flamer" by Mark Curato. The first title is a memoir focusing on the author’s Black, queer identity. The second title is a memoir about the author’s sexual assault.
City of Yreka now has the power to clear homeless encampments, and passed an ordinance to do so. But authorities are waiting for the county’s first adult homeless shelter to open before they enforce the new law.
Shasta County supervisors want the U.S. Justice Department to look into two election system contractors the county uses: Runbeck for printing ballots, and Hart InterCivic for voting equipment.
The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion on The Debrief. Reporters talk about the top news stories they're working on this week.
Topics include:
- The nonprofit Opportunities for Housing, Resources and Assistance (OHRA) in Ashland has hired a new executive director.
- The City of Ashland has expanded its Enhanced Law Enforcement Area (ELEA) from the downtown area to include areas of south Ashland where circumstances of people exhibiting repeated negative behaviors have increased.
- And more...
The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they're working on this week. Top stories include:
The Oregon Department of Education released its statewide data report
California condors are suffering from lead poisoning
The Oregon Bureau of Land Management is named in a new lawsuit
The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the stories they're working in this week.
Top stories include: The PACE center in Grants Pass is closing at the end of the year. PACE is an acronym for "Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly." Also, Medford was the venue for the state’s first legal psilocybin concert.
The JPR news team gathers for The Debrief to discuss the top news stories they are working on this week. Stories include: Jackson County confirms the presence of highly lethal bird flu in the region; Pacific Power turns off a setting in Talent that was apparently causing power outages; and the state delays sending out notifications to homeowners in living in high hazardous wildfire areas.
JPR news reporters gather to discuss their top news stories of the week. Stories include: America First is now aboard the Umpqua Transportation District; an Oregon pilot program provides wildfire liability insurance coverage for companies performing prescribed fires; and OSU scientists feed seaweed to cows to reduce methane emissions.
JPR news reporters gather to discuss their top news stories of the week, which include: a verdict has been reached in the case of a kidnapper in Klamath Falls, a former fire chief is launching a legal suit, and residents are upset over pesticide use in Easter lily farms along the Oregon-California border.
Stories of the week: Josephine County proposes a new tax to support the Veterans Service Office; Klamath Falls kidnapping trial update; and the Douglas County clerk race are among the list of news stories JPR reporters are working on this week. The news team gathers to discuss them in The Debrief.
The JPR news team gathers to discuss the top news stories they worked on this week on The Debrief. California is suing a Eureka hospital over a refusal to perform and abortion, two towns are considering bans on psilocybin, and the Redding rodeo grounds may get a new lease (maybe).
JPR Reporter Justin Higginbottom leads the JPR News team in a roundtable discussion of their top news stories of the week.
- OSF has a new Executive Director
- Homeless in Grants Pass (Update)
- Erik Neumann is leaving JPR
JPR Reporter Justin Higginbottom leads the JPR News team in a roundtable discussion of their top news stories of the week.
- OSF has a new Executive Director
- Homeless in Grants Pass (Update)
- Erik Neumann is leaving JPR
The JPR News Team discuss their latest stories on The Debrief. Here's a sample: Oregon's draft wildfire hazard map, protests in Talent over ongoing power outages, and the Klamath River is flowing again through its historic channel for the first time in a century after removal of the final dam in the Klamath Dam Removal project.
JPR reporters discuss their top stories on The Debrief. A combination of botulism and bird flu has led to thousands of birds dying in the Klamath National Wildlife Refuge this summer. Medford Police Department faces charges of unlawful surveillance, and an Ashland lavender shop is rebranding after its supplier mysteriously disappears.
The Boise fire rages near the City of Orleans, California while the Jackson County First District in Talent, Oregon faces bankruptcy. JPR reporters provide a status update during their roundtable discussion of the top news they're working on this week.
In more money problems, Southern Oregon University President announces a plan to sell campus property to cover a budget shortfall created by unexpected technical difficulties in the rollout of the new FAFSA. And the City of Eureka has a mystery developer.
Jackson County Fire District 5 terminated its Chief over a string of sustained allegations. Ballot measures contain new taxes for voters to consider. The Karuk tribe launches a new canoe for the first time in 60 years. And Jackson County faces allegations of an assault on a jailed inmate. Those are among the stories JPR News has covered this week.
We'll add details to these and other events when our reporters gather for a new edition of The Debrief.
We get used to very large wildfires burning very close to our communities. But it's only the beginning of August, with a lot of fire season ahead, and the Park fire on the California side is a source of major concern.
That's among the stories JPR News has covered this week. We'll add details to this and other events when our reporters gather for a new edition of The Debrief. Our panel includes at least a few of the following: News Director Erik Neumann, reporters Roman Battaglia, Jane Vaughan, and Justin Higginbottom, and intern James Kelley.
We also get a visit from Alec Stutson at North State Public Radio, who's been tracking the Park fire.
Our reporters dive into an extended analysis of why school districts are so strapped for cash on The Debrief, our end-of-the-week look back at the big stories.
Also, we knew fire season would not stay quiet forever, and fires are indeed keeping crews busy on both sides of the state line. Even THINKING about fires makes news, as in the state of Oregon's (re)introduction of itswildfire hazard map.
These are among the stories JPR News covered this week.
Sitting around the studio table is News Director Erik Neumann, reporters Roman Battaglia, Jane Vaughan, and Justin Higginbottom, and intern James Kelley.
Well. A FEW things have happened since the last time our news team assembled on the air. In addition to the volume and intensity of national news, we've had lightning storms, some additional fires from those, and concerns over arsenic contamination in Jackson County.
JPR News reporters have been working these and other stories, and they gather once again for a new addition of The Debrief, talking about the week's big stories and their coverage.
July's arrival brought a fresh, hot dose of summer reality. Not only did the heat wave bring a succession of record-high temperatures, but we also saw some significant new fires, insurance changes due to wildfire, and an investigation into inappropriate behavior from a Josephine county commissioner at a public meeting.
The wildfire situation brought about the annual restoration of the JPR Wildfire Tracker to our website.
The JPR News team discusses the latest news in The Debrief.
Jackson County leaders are surveying the public about proposals for a new county jail, and a Northern California town celebrates America's rails. Those are among the stories JPR News covered in a hot week in the region. There's plenty more going on, including Shasta County getting a new clerk. News Director Erik Neumann assembles the reporting staff for a new lookback, in The Debrief
There's plenty more going on, including Shasta County getting a new clerk.
JPR News Director Erik Neumann assembles the reporting staff for a new lookback, in The Debrief.
California allocated 2,800 acres of land to the Shasta Indian Nation. The Shasta County Board of Supervisors hired a former deputy district attorney as its new county clerk. And a wildfire map now categorizes some communities in Jackson County as "high hazard."
That's among the stories JPR News covered in the week spring slides into summer. There's plenty more going on, including a hike in fire danger as temperatures climb.
JPR News Director Erik Neumann assembles the reporting staff for a new lookback, in The Debrief.
On the Debrief, JPR reporters discuss the stories they’ve been covering this week. Once again, the newsroom is busy with the arrest of a local nurse for drug theft, conflict on the upper Rogue River, and funding for the Josephine County 4-H Extension Service District.
News Director Erik Neumann and reporters Jane Vaughan, Roman Battaglia, and Justin Higginbottom assemble.
Grants Pass can't seem to stay out of the news about federal court proceedings. While the Supreme Court mulls a homeless camping case, a pair of educators asked an appeals court to reinstate their lawsuit against the Grants Pass School District, which had dismissed them (and later rehired them).
That is just one story that kept JPR News reporters busy this week. The list only grows from there. News Director Erik Neumann gathers reporters Roman Battaglia and Justin Higginbottom for another edition of The Debrief.
Pause is not the same thing as stop, and stop does not mean rolling back. The distinctions are important, because theUS Postal Service has agreed to pause its process of reallocating mail flows between regional centers. The process has already sent mail processing functions from Medford and Eugene to Portland and slowed some mail down. Senator Ron Wyden complained about the situation in Medford this week.
That's just one story of many covered by JPR News reporters, who gather once again to discuss the week's news: it's a new edition of The Debrief.
On the Debrief, JPR News reporters gather in the JX studio to add some details to the week's issues and events, and what it took to cover them. This week's stories include a Douglas Fir tree die-off in southwestern Oregon,restricting natural gas use in Ashland, and a look at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's 2025 season.
Our panel of reporters consists of Jane Vaughan, Justin Higginbottom, and Roman Battaglia.
Each week JPR's hardworking reporters gather in the JX studio to add some details to the week's issues and events they've covered. Stories include a new kitchen internship program at a Medford homeless shelter and more news on Rogue Valley post offices.
Our panel consists of JPR News Director Erik Neumann, Jane Vaughan, Justin Higginbottom, and Roman Battaglia.
The JPR News team gathers to discuss the stories they've been working on this week, including PFAS chemical contamination at small water systems in California, and Jackson and Josephine County primary voters could have big impacts on the structure of their county governments.
Those are just two of the stories covered by JPR News reporters in a typically busy week. They assemble in the JX studio to add details to the issues and events, and what it took to cover them.
Our panel consists of JPR News Director Erik Neumann, Jane Vaughan, Justin Higginbottom, and Roman Battaglia.
The JPR News team gathers to discuss the stories they've been working on this week, including PFAS chemical contamination at small water systems in California, and Jackson and Josephine County primary voters could have big impacts on the structure of their county governments.
Those are just two of the stories covered by JPR News reporters in a typically busy week. They assemble in the JX studio to add details to the issues and events, and what it took to cover them.
Our panel consists of JPR News Director Erik Neumann, Jane Vaughan, Justin Higginbottom, and Roman Battaglia.
The JPR reporters gather in the JX studio to add some details to the week's issues and events, and what it took to cover them.
This week's stories include student protests at Cal Poly Humboldt, nurses picketing at Providence in Medford, and the Klamath County Sheriff's race.
Our panel consists of JPR News Director Erik Neumann, Jane Vaughan, Justin Higginbottom, and Roman Battaglia.
When the Supreme Court of the United States talks about a Southern Oregon city, that's big news. And SCOTUS did indeed talk about Grants Pass this week, hearing oral arguments over the city's treatment of homeless people.
That's just one of the stories covered by JPR News reporters in a typically busy week.
They gather in the JX studio to add some details to the week's issues and events, and what it took to cover them. Our panel consists of JPR News Director Erik Neumann, and reporters Jane Vaughan, Justin Higginbottom, and Roman Battaglia.
COVID is still with us, and so is controversy over the response to the disease. Medford's Asante Health System faces lawsuits from employees who were dismissed after refusing COVID vaccines.
That's just one of the stories covered by JPR News reporters in a typically busy week. They gather in the JX studio to add some details to the week's issues and events, and what it took to cover them. Our panel consists of JPR News Director Erik Neumann, Jane Vaughan, Justin Higginbottom, and Roman Battaglia.
Homelessness is handled differently in the various communities of our region. Grants Pass gets its day before the U.S. Supreme Court later this month, while Medford got a favorable ruling from a lower court on a case filed over the city's camping rules.
That's among the issues that hit the airwaves this week, as monitored and reported by the crew at JPR News. They assemble in the studio once again to hash out the week's big stories and the coverage of them, in a new edition of The Debrief.
JPR News Director Erik Neumann, with reporters Roman Battaglia, Jane Vaughan, and Justin Higginbottom.
The Ashland School District cites declining enrollment as part of the reason it has let go of several education assistants and paraprofessionals.
That's just one of many stories reported by JPR News this week, and our staffers gather to discuss the happenings and their coverage in a new edition of The Debrief.
News Director Erik Neumann kicks things off, with JPR reporters Justin Higginbottom, Jane Vaughan, Roman Battaglia, and Kelby McIntosh.
There's a lot of news to cover in a busy week for the JPR newsroom. Our reporting staff talks over the doings of recent days, including news that Oregon’s housing agency willreplace instead of rebuild dozens of modular homes in Phoenix meant for wildfire survivors, in a new edition of our podcast The Debrief.
JPR reporters, Jane Vaughan, Roman Battaglia, and Justin Higginbottom, gather for the conversation.
Spring has sprung, and the Bard is back. Those are two items generating activity in the JPR newsroom this week. The start of previews for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival season came on the same evening as the vernal equinox. And correspondent Juliet Grable discusses the repatriation of land to Northern California’s Yurok Tribe.
There's plenty more news keeping the reporting staff busy, and we hear of the week's work in the latest edition of The Debrief. JPR reporter Jane Vaughn huddles with the team to discuss the coverage of the current news.
The JPR News team has details of specific funding for Southern Oregonemerging from the recent legislative session, and the response from the Oregon Secretary of State to a claim that Jackson County is violating elections laws. These news items and more get an airing in the latest edition of our reporters' roundtable, The Debrief.
JPR News Director Erik Neumann joins reporters: Roman Battaglia, Justin Higginbottom, and Jane Vaughan.
Nothing like an election to keep a newsroom busy, and we had one of those this week. California started the election season locally with its participation in the Super Tuesday primaries, yielding interesting results up and down the ballot, including a potential shift in leadership inShasta County.
The election is far from the only news of the week, as you hear in the latest installment of The Debrief podcast. JPR News Director Erik Neumann leads the discussion, with participation from some or all of the JPR reporting staff: Jane Vaughan, Justin Higginbottom, Roman Battaglia, and Kelby McIntosh.
When your coverage area extends from Mendocino to Eugene--JPR's does--there are few dull moments in the news business. This week featured a number of notable events from the various parts of the region, including a legal update on one of the more than ten deaths from an alleged tap water in fentanyl IV bags at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center.
JPR reporters cranked out many stories this week, and they gather to compare notes in a new edition of The Debrief, our reporter-roundtable podcast. JPR News Director Erik Neumann leads the discussion, with all available reporters participating: Roman Battaglia, Jane Vaughan, Justin Higginbottom, and Kelby McIntosh.
The news is coming fast and furious in JPR country, keeping our reporters busy on the beat. The union representing firefighters in Jackson County Fire District 5 is having issues with the way the district is being run. Crater Lake State Park is having issues with Aramark, the company that runs its concessions, and Grants Pass proposes a tax to fund public services.
JPR reporters gather and compare notes in a new edition of The Debrief, our end-of-week podcast. JPR News Director Erik Neuman presides, with reporters Justin Higginbottom and Roman Battaglia.
Sweating the decisions in the November election? It's ALREADY "Election Day" for the California side. We focus on the local moves on recalls and ballot measures this week, with plenty more where that came from.
The JPR News team assembles for another edition of The Debrief to discuss the week's big stories, and what it took to cover them. News Director Erik Neumann convenes the assembly, with reporters Roman Battaglia, Justin Higginbottom, and Jane Vaughn.
If people have trouble showing up in court, one option is to take the court to them. The City of Medford enters this zone with Community Outreach Court, covered by JPR's Roman Battaglia this week.
It's just one of several stories keeping our reporting staff busy of late. The reporters gather to share stories, and stories of covering them, in a new edition of The Debrief.
JPR News Director Erik Neumann presides, with reporters Kelby McIntosh, Jane Vaughan, Justin Higginbottom, and Roman Battaglia at the table.
The famous lithia water drinking fountains in downtown Ashland have been shut off. We'll learn more about why and what happens next. Also, Josephine County is not the most populous county in the region, but it makes news at a high per-capita rate. Case in point: the idea of letting rural landowners choose not to subscribe to local fire protection services.
These stories and more are in JPR News coverage this week. JPR reporters gather for the latest edition of The Debrief. News Director Erik Neumann presides, with Justin Higginbottom and Roman Battaglia.
We're rich with environmental news. As of this week, all four of the Klamath River dams slated for demolition have been breached or removed outright. And there's a proposal to guarantee the Shasta River has enough water for a healthy Habitat.
JPR reporters gather for another edition of The Debrief, with News Director Erik Neumann sitting down with reporters Jane Vaughan and Justin Higginbottom.
The U.S. Supreme Court will talk about Grants Pass sometime this year. The court decided to hear the appeal of the ruling that forces the city--many cities, actually--to let people camp in city parks if no shelter is available.
That is just one event in a newsy week, one that also includes flooding in Humboldt County and a contentious casino proposal in Medford. JPR reporters have stayed busy, and they gather to discuss the stories and their coverage, in a new edition of our podcast The Debrief.
News Director Erik Neumann sits down with reporters Justin Higginbottom, Jane Vaughan, and Roman Battaglia.
Ah, January. New year, new plans, new energy... and enough snow to stop things cold for a little while. The region joined the rest of the country in taking a winter pounding this week, covered by our reporting staff.
That is just one item the JPR News department focused upon. Our people assemble to discuss the coverage of the week's news, in a new edition of The Debrief. The podcast features some combination of News Director Erik Neumann with reporters Jane Vaughan, Roman Battaglia, and Justin Higginbottom.
There are some big stories in the news this first week of 2024. The Medford Police Department confirms their investigation into the alleged theft of controlled substances at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center, and a court case from Grants Pass could potentially go all the way to the Supreme Court.
For perspective on the week's events, we assemble our reporting team for another installment of our podcast, The Debrief. JPR News Director Erik Neumann sits down with reporters Jane Vaughan, Roman Battaglia, and the brand-new Justin Higginbottom to discuss the news, and the coverage of it.
Winter arrives with many of the same issues that faced us in the fall, just with lower temperatures. Case in point: Ashland moving toward an ordinance that specifies where people can and cannot camp and rest within city limits, an effort to contain homeless people in certain zones.
That's just one of the stories covered by our reporters this week. They gather to talk about what got covered and how it got covered, in a new edition of The Debrief. JPR News Director Erik Neumann sits down with reporters Roman Battaglia and Jane Vaughan for an overview.
The opening of new affordable housing in Talent did not mark the end of post-Almeda fire rebuilding, but it marked a significant step. And JPR was there, covering the story.
JPR reporters put in legwork on a bunch of happenings around the region this week, and they get to talk about the coverage and the work in a new edition of our podcast The Debrief. JPR News Director Erik Neumann and reporter Jane Vaughan sit down at the microphones for the session.
Holiday festivities are starting, but people continue to make news, and JPR continues to cover it.
Our regional news reporting this week includes a chat with the recently-installed head of the federal VA Health Care facility in Roseburg, a scan for forever chemicals in Redding's water (negative), and a check-in on Humboldt County's efforts to regulate vacation rentals.
These and more are up for discussion in our regular reporting meeting, The Debrief. JPR News Director Erik Neumann presides, with reporters Roman Battaglia and Jane Vaughan.
It was a short week for a lot of us, with the Labor Day holiday on Monday. But we've learned the hard way that the world can pack a lot of activity into four days, this or any week. The stories that kept JPR reporters busy this week get a bit of after-diagnosis in our weekly roundtable.
The top of the list this time: those public meeting agendas that tell you your council/commission/board is meeting... with no other details. New Oregon law adds some requirements for further detail.
The Debrief brings together News Director Erik Neumann and some reps from our reporting staff of Roman Battaglia, Jane Vaughan, and Ella Hutcherson. Listen for the details of what it took to put this week's headlines on the air.
It's been that kind of a month: just when California was ready to open US 199 (Redwood Highway) across the state line again, Oregon had closed the road on its side, due to encroaching fire and evacuation warnings. Fires and smoke and their effects continue to make news, but there are other things happening, including a plan to rebuild defective housing meant for people burned out by the Almeda fire back in 2020.
That's the basic framework for our weekly gathering of JPR reporters, The Debrief. News Director Erik Neumann discusses the stories of the week with some combination of reporters Jane Vaughan, Roman Battaglia, and Ella Hutcherson.
Fires didn't make all of the news of the week, as you'll hear in the latest version of our reporter roundtable, The Debrief. JPR News Director Erik Neumann sits down with our local reporters to add detail to the week's news coverage.
News Director Erik Neumann visits with some combination of reporters Jane Vaughan, Ella Hutcherson, and Roman Battaglia review the week's news.
News Director Erik Neumann tees things up, with some combination of reporters Roman Battaglia, Jane Vaughan, and Ella Hutcherson.
The Debrief, a discussion of the week's news gathering. JPR News Director Erik Neumann chats with reporters Jane Vaughan and Roman Battaglia to review the week's news.
News Director Erik Neumann chats with reporters Roman Battaglia, Jane Vaughan, and Ella Hutcherson review the week's news.
News Director Erik Neumann sits down with reporters Jane Vaughan, Roman Battaglia, and Ella Hutcherson and review this week's news.
JPR reporters gather to talk about fire danger, water issues--one of the Klamath dams is already gone--and more. News Director Erik Neumann sits with reporters Jane Vaughan, Roman Battaglia, and Ella Hutcherson.
Reporters Roman Battaglia and Jane Vaughan have been working on the stories of the week. They gather to share details on their news coverage and what's been happening in our region.
California Report co-host Madi Bolaños drops in to join the news-behind-the-news discussion
News Director Erik Neumann talks with KLCC reporter Karen Richards, and JPR reporters Jane Vaughan and Roman Battaglia about this week's news.
JPR's Jane Vaughan report's on wildfire survivors who were hoping to move into new modular homes in Phoenix, and Roman Battaglia covers a recent public safety drill in Medford.
Ryan Haas of Oregon Public Broadcasting covered the trial and verdict against Pacific Power in the September 2020 fires; he's part of the mix of reporters on this week's edition of The Debrief
News Director Erik Neumann sits down with reporters Jane Vaughan and Roman Battaglia for our latest session. We get a special visit from Dirk Vanderhart, who covers the currently deadlocked Oregon Legislature for JPR and other stations.
Reporters Roman Battaglia and Jane Vaughan have been working on the stories of the week. They gather to share details on their news coverage and what's been happening in our region.
Any week with an election is bound to be a busy news week. So it is for this week in the region, with ballots returned for a plethora of races and measures on the Oregon side. Some--like Ashland's vote to change the allocation of the meal tax--may take a while to get to a final count. Also, Chinook salmon is being re-introduced in the Klamath Basin for the first time in a century.
JPR's reporters scooped up the goods for newscasts and the website. The Debrief gives our team a chance to talk about the stories behind the stories. News Director Erik Neumann and reporters Jane Vaughan, Juliet Grable and Roman Battaglia gather for the overview.
The trial for a rare Ashland homicide wrapped up, just days after another news story rocked the town: the boss at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is leaving.
Nataki Garrett announced her departure just minutes after the last edition of The Debrief, our regular reporter roundtable on the big news stories of the week. "Slow news day?" We didn't have a single one this week.
News Director Erik Neumann and JPR reporters Roman Battaglia and Jane Vaughan visit about the big stories and the process of coverinAshland homicideg them.
The suspect in an Ashland murder went on trial this week and an upcoming election features some controversial ballots. Those are just two of the stories making news in the region on a busy week.
The JPR reporting staff kept eyes and ears on the events, and they gather for another session of The Debrief to unpack further info on the stories of the week and their coverage. KLCC reporter Karen Richards joins JPR News Director Erik Neumann and reporters Jane Vaughan and Roman Battaglia.
JPR News Director, Erik Neumann leads a conversation with JPR reporters about the issues and events that impact our community. Listen for a deeper look at the stories unfolding in our region. This week's topics include a look at harassment and bullying complaints in the Ashland Parks and Recreation Department, the start of the trial against the man accused of murdering a Rogue Valley teenager, and a wildfire insurance map bill heads to Gov. Tina Kotek's desk.
All that work to bring California condors back to the wild, and now they're threatened by bird flu. The recent release of the big birds in Yurok country forces some regional attention to the issue.
That's just one item on the agenda for our regular JPR reporter discussion, The Debrief. News Director Erik Neumann sits down with reporters Roman Battaglia and Jane Vaughan to talk about the work behind the scenes to get the stories on the air.
All that work to bring California condors back to the wild, and now they're threatened by bird flu. The recent release of the big birds in Yurok country forces some regional attention to the issue.
That's just one item on the agenda for our regular JPR reporter discussion, The Debrief. News Director Erik Neumann sits down with reporters Roman Battaglia and Jane Vaughan to talk about the work behind the scenes to get the stories on the air.
Just a week before the planned season opening, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival dropped a huge bit of news: the season and the festival itself were in financial trouble, and needed an infusion of cash to keep going.
The emergency fundraising campaign tops the list of stories we covered at JPR News this week. We run down the list in another installment of The Debrief, our reporters' roundtable. JPR News Director Erik Neumann sits down with reporters Roman Battaglia and Jane Vaughan to discuss the big news and its coverage.
We started talking about elections on the news this week. Actually, we never really stop, do we? But local elections are approaching in some of our communities, and Shasta County currently has no way to run elections.
That's just one of the issues covered by JPR News this week, and we unpack that and the rest in this week's edition of The Debrief.
News Director Erik Neumann chats with reporters Jane Vaughan and Roman Battaglia about the week's happenings.
We could spend an entire session of The Debrief just talking about Shasta County elections. The county supervisors spent most of a day and an evening on the issue, and that was just this week's meeting.
That's among the issues up for discussion. News Director Erik Neumann huddles with reporters Jane Vaughan and Roman Battaglia to air some perspectives on the stories making news in JPR country this week.
If he clears a background check, Shasta County will hire a new county CEO who wants to break California into pieces.
That's just one of the stories making news this week, a week in which the weather alone provided plenty of news. In addition, cannabis prices crashed, and crews began planting seeds along the Klamath River, where the dams are slated to be demolished.
News Director Erik Neumann discusses these stories with JPR reporters Roman Battaglia and Jane Vaughan in the latest edition of The Debrief, joined by guest David Benda of Redding's Record-Searchlight.
Snow has made a fair amount of news in the region of late, but weather aside, there's been plenty to cover. Stories include Shasta County elections, and a move by county supervisors--who already ditched Dominion Voting Systems--to require all votes to be hand-counted.
That's just one of the issues in this week's edition of The Debrief, our end-of-the-week look back at the news.
News Director Erik Neumann and reporters Roman Battaglia and Jane Vaughan discuss the hot issues of the moment.
News Director Erik Neumann and reporters Roman Battaglia and Jane Vaughn reassemble for another session of The Debrief.
JPR News Director Erik Neumann sits down with reporters Jane Vaughan and Roman Battaglia to talk about the stories, and the issues in covering them.
JPR News Director Erik Neumann sits down with JPR reporters Jane Vaughan and Roman Battaglia and OPB reporter Lauren Dake to discuss the issues and political environment surrounding the 2023 Oregon legislative agenda.
The Mail Tribune of Medford shut down all news operations after more than a century publishing under that name. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival announced a management shakeup, Rogue Retreat's new boss surveys his domain, and county commissioners have to replace State Sen. Dallas Heard, who resigned. JPR News Director Erik Neumann sits down with reporters Jane Vaughan and Roman Battaglia to talk about the stories.
Klamath River Dams are topic number one; demolition work on four dams could begin later this year. JPR News Director Erik Neumann and Correspondent Juliet Grable have both spent some time covering what's happened so far.