PORTLAND, Ore. — On any given day in Oregon jails, 40 or so people remain in custody without a public defender to represent them in court. Some have waited weeks for a lawyer, others have waited months. Several hundred more people charged with crimes b…
Transit agencies dangle discounts and perks to woo riders
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, ridership plummeted on Green Mountain Transit, Vermont’s largest public transit agency. “Like just about every transit agency in the country, the demand for transit disappeared,” said Jon Moore, general man…
Few states seem ready to raise age to buy semi-automatic rifles
Many people have noted a common thread between the recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas: In both cases, the attackers were 18 years old and bought AR-style, semi-automatic rifles legally. The perpetrators in two other mass shoo…
Abortion bans may add to uncertainty over embryo donation
Abigail and Rachelle Henderson, 15-year-old twins from Buffalo, New York, were conceived in vitro and carried to term by their mom, Rebecca. Trevor and Aubrey Gassman, now 9 and 8 years old, who live in Oregon, were born of embryos created during the i…
What if hospice services weren’t just for the dying?
Gloria Foster wasn’t ready for hospice, even though, with a prognosis of less than six months to live, she qualified for it. She was debilitated by diabetes and congestive heart failure, and was living with both a pacemaker and a device to help pump bl…
Environmental concerns challenge states’ space ambitions
As companies such as SpaceX drive the growing commercial space industry, states and counties across the country are touting themselves as great places to launch satellites and other cargo into space. “The demand for launch is increasing,” said James Ca…