Today’s Newsmakers at Noon took a hard look at some of the stories raising questions about Oregon’s priorities—from a record-breaking wildfire season and a struggling economy to an extraordinary federal plan to protect one owl species by killing another.
Oregon’s wildfire season continues to take a devastating toll, with more than 2.3 million acres burned and 23 large fires still burning. We also discussed the human element behind some fires, including the case of an Ontario newspaper employee accused of intentionally setting nine fires on six different days.
Against that backdrop, the federal government is continuing a controversial plan intended to protect the threatened northern spotted owl by killing hundreds of thousands of invasive barred owls over the coming decades. Is this responsible wildlife management—or another example of government intervention creating increasingly extreme solutions?
Oregon’s economic picture isn’t much brighter. The state’s unemployment rate has reached 5.2%, reportedly tying it for the highest rate in the country. We talked about what that number says about Oregon’s business climate and whether state leaders are addressing the policies contributing to the problem.
On the national front, Kellogg’s says it is moving ahead of schedule in eliminating certain artificial colors from cereals including Froot Loops and Apple Jacks, another development in the push led by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to remove synthetic dyes from America’s food supply.
And apparently COVID politics still aren’t going away. We reacted to a viral social-media video showing women turning their COVID booster shots into a political statement, complete with praise for Anthony Fauci and criticism of RFK Jr. Years after the height of the pandemic, why does a personal medical decision remain a political identity marker for some Americans?
Links from Today’s Show
- Oregon’s Record Wildfire Season – Right Now Oregon
https://rightnoworegon.com/2026/08/10/oregons-record-wildfire-season-scorches-past-2-3-million-acres-as-smoke-and-strain-grip-the-northwest/ - Oregon Unemployment – RedWaveOR
https://x.com/RedWaveOR/status/2087070762465210406 - Oregon’s Fire Season Has an Arson Problem – Oregon Roundup
https://oregonroundup.substack.com/p/oregons-fire-season-has-an-arson - COVID Booster Viral Video
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DLypUFPjt/
