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Over the past several years, workers with the Oregon Department of Human Services grew increasingly reliant on a private, out-of-state, for-profit company to house the state’s most vulnerable children – and once Sequel Youth and Family Services earned Oregon’s business, emails show, the state placed a lot of trust in the company making money off the state to ensure the children received the care they needed. OPB political reporter Lauren Dake fills us in.
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The Bend Police Department gives its officers yoga and mindfulness classes, and free health screenings. They say the program doesn’t just improve health, but can make them better police officers. The program has received national praise, and Portland Police are now modeling their own wellness program after the one in Bend. Lt. Brian Beekman tells us how the program works.
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A recent investigation by "Reveal" exposed the human toll of Amazon’s speedy delivery times. "Reveal" journalists found that workplace injury rates are above average for the 23 Amazon warehouses it examined around the country, but the one in Troutdale is by far the worst. Portland Mercury news editor Alex Zielinski spoke to a worker at that facility and she joins us to share what she learned.
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A spike in the population of voles is causing problems for farmers in the Willamette Valley. The rodents are causing costly damage to grass seed, hazelnuts and other crops. Dan Edge, the associate dean for the Oregon State University College of Agricultural Sciences, tells us about the region’s vole problem.
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