Alex Baumhardt - Oregon Capital Chronicle
Alex Baumhardt has been a national radio producer focusing on education for American Public Media since 2017. She has reported from the Arctic to the Antarctic for national and international media, and from Minnesota and Oregon for The Washington Post. She previously worked in Iceland and Qatar and was a Fulbright scholar in Spain where she earned a master's degree in digital media. She's been a kayaking guide in Alaska, farmed on four continents and worked the night shift at several bakeries to support her reporting along the way.
How ‘a bunch of kids and people the state gave up on’ rid slavery from Oregon’s constitution
A ballot measure passed in November to remove slavery from Oregon’s constitution began as a project led by inmates and students in a Willamette University class.
2022 brought Oregon less wildfire, more drought and major clean energy investments
A combination of federal and state funding this year helped to promote electric vehicles, renewable energy projects and environmental protections.
Laws protecting workers from heat and smoke will not be overturned, judge rules
A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit brought by three industry groups.
Oregon’s oldest state forest will no longer be logged to provide funding for schools
The Elliott State Forest will no longer be logged to fund Oregon’s public schools but will be a research forest studied for management and conservation.
More oversight needed of community colleges after performance and enrollment declines, audit finds
The Secretary of State’s Office said the commission in charge of Oregon’s 17 community colleges needs to improve student achievement and access.
To combat climate change, Oregon bans sale of new, 100% gasoline-powered cars by 2035
Following California’s lead, Oregon’s Environmental Quality Commission voted to end the sale of new fully gas-powered vehicles in 2035.
Oregon’s overreliance on tuition to cover rising college costs hurts the economy, report finds
Oregon students pay disproportionately high tuition, hindering enrollment and depriving the economy of trained professionals in key sectors.
Port of Morrow agrees to new state regulations limiting nitrogen pollution
The Port of Morrow will invest more than $150 million in treating wastewater to reduce nitrogen levels and to limit where and when it is applied to farmland.
OSU professor awarded $3 million federal grant to produce a sustainable battery without scarce metals
An OSU professor wants to produce a long-lasting battery that doesn’t use lithium, cobalt or nickel and that might store more energy than current batteries like those used in electric vehicles.
Federal energy agency approves plan to remove Klamath River’s dams
The removal of four dams on the lower Klamath River will be the largest such removal project in the world and has been decades in the making.