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Good morning, Northwest.

The “OPB Politics Now” podcast has dropped separate 30-minute interviews with Oregon gubernatorial candidates Tina Kotek and Christine Drazan this morning.

You can find links to those in the podcast section of the newsletter just below 3 Things To Know.

We start this morning’s newsletter with coverage from court of a Benson High School student accused of a chemical attack.

Here’s your First Look at Thursday’s news.

— Bradley W. Parks

Top story

Judge orders Benson student to remain in mental health facility, for now

A Benson Polytechnic High School student who was charged with domestic terrorism will remain at a local mental health facility and out of the state’s custody following a dramatic hearing at Multnomah County Circuit Court yesterday.

The move disappointed prosecutors, who argued during the two-hour hearing that the student — who allegedly released toxic chemicals at Benson in an attempt to kill himself and others — posed a safety risk and should be at a juvenile detention center.

Prosecutors during the hearing revealed for the first time that multiple employees of the Parry Center for Children, where the teen has been receiving treatment, are also parents of Benson High School students. Judge Amy Holmes Hehn eventually decided that the student should return to the Parry Center, but would have to change facilities as soon as possible. (Joni Auden Land)

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3 things to know

• Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and her opponent for the governorship, Republican state Sen. Christine Drazan, weighed in this week on Portland Public Schools’ proposal to close schools. (Bryce Dole)
• Portland City Council made the first step yesterday toward restricting aerial drone delivery services, a system that Amazon has begun rolling out in cities across the country. (Alex Zielinski)
• The team behind the Central Oregon Children’s Museum announced yesterday it had secured a permanent home in Bend’s growing Central District. (Jen Baires)

Kotek, Drazan election 2026 interviews with OPB

Democratic Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and Republican state Sen. Christine Drazan sat down with OPB for separate interviews in recent days ahead of their gubernatorial rematch Nov. 3. Click the links below to watch or listen to our conversations with each candidate:

• Gov. Tina Kotek, Democrat
• Sen. Christine Drazan, Republican

Or click the button below to head to our “OPB Politics Now” page, where you’ll find the candidate interviews and more episodes of the show. (Lauren Dake, Dirk VanderHart, Elizabeth Miller)

Listen Now

Northwest headlines

• New art building seen as bridge to unite PSU programs, communities (Natalie Pate)
• New book ‘Seeking Kenny: A Wrestler’s Journey’ chronicles extraordinary life of Oregon wrestling champ (Jess Hazel)
• Corvallis city workers strike over union contract negotiations (Nathan Wilk, KLCC)
• In bitter rematch, Oregon’s 4th Congressional District candidates clash over their own records, immigration (Rebecca Hansen-White, KLCC)
• Oregon unemployment ticked down slightly in September on strong growth in construction (Zac Ziegler, KLCC)
• Oregon elections chief urges early voting as test of USPS service shows slow mail service (Alex Baumhardt, Oregon Capital Chronicle)
• Galaxy blank Timbers 2-0 as Portland’s autumn cold streak continues (AP)

Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation

“Think Out Loud” airs at noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today’s planned topics (subject to change):

• A historian’s perspective on where we are as a nation
• Rogue Valley faring better than other Oregon wine regions amid industry-wide downturn
• Salmon are returning to the Upper Klamath River after 100 years

One more look

Docktober invites folks to join citizen scientists in peeking under docks

On a sunny fall day on Washington’s Puget Sound last October at what appeared to be a typical dock, Luan Roberts lay down on her belly, positioned her head over the edge and peered down.

Her mission is to get more folks involved in the emerging citizen science known as “dock fouling” with Dock of the Month Club meetups around Puget Sound.

This month, she’s inviting everyone to join the Docktober global bioblitz to document wildlife living under docks worldwide. (Ian McCluskey)

Learn More

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/10/15/tina-kotek-christine-drazan-interviews-first-look/