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.
State leaders send forestry department extra $47.5 million to cover mounting wildfire costs
Spending on wildfires this year has topped $250 million, with experts saying Oregon's fire season will wrap up in mid-October.
Oregon officials concerned about federal proposal to move liquid nuclear waste through state
Thousands of gallons of liquid nuclear waste are slated to be removed from the Hanford Nuclear site in Washington via train through Oregon.
Southern Oregon tribes sue feds over offshore wind energy plans
Leaders of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians said they will drop their lawsuit if the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management delays its October auction for developers.
School district slated to lose timber revenue under conservation plan spends big to sue state
The Jewell School District in Clatsop County plans to “bet the farm” to overturn a habitat conservation plan that threatens the district’s timber funding.
Feds award Oregon $11.5 million, perhaps millions more to come, to improve literacy instruction
Millions of dollars will be funneled to Oregon school districts through a competitive grant process that's intended to boost the share of students who can read proficiently.
Oregon House Republicans target forests for wildfire reform as grass and shrubland burns
Three prominent Republicans are calling for legislative action on wildfire policy that targets scaling back forest conservation and logging restrictions.
Number of diverse teachers in Oregon on the rise, but retention remains a challenge
The number of racially and ethnically diverse teachers in the state has grown by about 4% during the last decade and doubled among first-year teachers.
Solar industry, nonprofits say state regulators, private utilities are stifling rooftop solar
Solar companies are concerned that proposed changes in how utilities pay rooftop solar installations for the power they generate could stifle demand for new installations.
Energy demand from data centers growing faster than West can supply, experts say
In a webinar hosted by regional transmission authorities, data centers were called a “major challenge” for the energy industry, as well as extreme weather.
Gov. Kotek asks Biden to protect Oregon’s ‘Grand Canyon’ if Congress does not
Kotek wants the Biden administration to designate the Owyhee Canyonlands in southeastern Oregon a national monument if Congress won’t vote to protect it.