December 28, 2025 • 30 mins
A study at OHSU has found a link between development of a child's brain and air pollution. Oregon sues the federal government to save a consumer watchdog agency. An Oregon Court of Appeals ruling is preventing district attorneys from filing charges that could protect children from dangerous drug situations at home. Protecting yourself from flu and Covid. How to talk with older relatives about driver safety.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Local Voices. I'm brad Ford. A study at
OHSU has found a link between air pollution and development
of a child's brain. Oregon is leading a case against
the federal government to keep a financial watchdog agency alive.
District attorneys in Oregon are working to change a law
that'll keep kids safe. Flu and COVID cases are on
the rise, and there are ways to prevent getting sick,
(00:26):
plus older driver's safety. A study at Oregon Health and
Science University has found exposure to common air pollution alters
adolescent brain development. Structural changes could impact children's health and
well being. Doctor Calvin Jara led the study and joins
us on Local Voices. Your research examined the effect of
(00:47):
air pollution on a child's developing brain. How did you
conduct the research?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
So essentially it is part of the ABCV study. It's
one of the largest longitudinal studies here in the United
States that's looking at, you know, different periods of imaging.
We also collect a lot of different information as far
as you know, how kids are being brought up, their nutrition,
and so we looked at different time points in their
(01:13):
imaging and how air pollution might ultimately be associated with
different structural brain changes and adolescents.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
So the ABCD study is a longitudinal study. What does
that mean?
Speaker 2 (01:26):
So essentially we're tracking children from adolescents starting around nine
or ten up until you know, around eighteen, so we
look at their life course over a longer period of time.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Did your research determine specific changes to an adolescent brain
that was caused by air pollution?
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Essentially?
Speaker 2 (01:46):
When we look at the study, I think what's really
important to think about is that we did look at
air pollution. You know, how air pollution may have an
association with structural brain changes and adolescents. We did find
an association. But what I think is really important to
note is that health doesn't happen in a vacuum. You know,
(02:07):
they're varying things that we should be considering when coming
to environmental health, psychosocial strusters, environmental factors, and how that
all cumulatively can affect the life course and ultimate health
of child, especially our most vulnerable populations.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Does it matter whether the child is in a say,
a rural or urban urban setting, I mean, does the
air pollution have to be especially bad for this to happen?
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Some of the changes that we found, we're at levels
not necessarily higher than what the Environmental Protection Agency deems
as safe. Of course, we found that in more urban
city settings you can have you know, more measurable outcomes.
But we are seeing this sort of broadly distributed across
(02:56):
the US.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
In what ways can the brain be effected by air pollution?
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Well, I think, you know, systemically, when we think about
air pollution, right, you think about I don't know what
some of the first things that come to mind for me,
right is asthma, you know, depending on what you're breathing, right,
I think we're also seeing higher incidences of asthma across
the country air pollution small particular matter, it can get
(03:25):
into the lungs, right, It can then enter the bloodstream
and I think, you know, depending on the size of
the particle, can ultimately cross what we call the blood
brain barrier and that can sort of cause different levels
of inflammation and stressors and different parts of the body.
And so this is something that I think is really
important and interesting to continue looking at.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
So do you think it would be the particular chemicals
in the air pollution then that is causing the change
in the brain.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Well, I wouldn't say that it's directly causing changes in
the brain. I think it's something that we need to
think holistically, right, And all of the sort of things
that we're experiencing throughout the day, and so you know,
when we when we're walking outside and we're breathing in
you know, particular matter, nitrogen dioxide or ozone, those things
(04:17):
are just one small piece of the ultimate health of someone.
You know, you look at genetics, you look at nutrition,
you look at varying levels of you know, social resources
that individuals may have, and so this, all of these
things sort of play important factors into the ultimate health
that we all have.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
So I had imagine these changes wouldn't happen fast, but
they would happen slowly over time.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
I would say, so, And I think that's that's what
I think is an important question that we should be askingting, right,
is how are how are all of these environmental factors
and psychosocial stressors influencing health in accumulative, synergistic manner over
long periods of time. You know, of course, when we
(05:06):
think about something like wildfires for example, right, which I
think is a particular note in this region of the country.
I think in twenty twenty twenty twenty one, the wildfires
here in Oregon, we saw almost a twenty percent increase
of emergency room visits and that can be directly related
to you know, asthma or COPD exacerbations and also the
anxiety and stress that comes across with that. And so
(05:27):
you know, in those sort of settings, we can have
something that is acute. But what we're you know, what
we're kind of talking about right now is the slow
sort of cumulative changes that we can see play out
in someone's health over longer periods of time.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
So why would the effect be different on an adolescent
brain than a mature brain. Is Is it because the
adolescent brain is still forming?
Speaker 2 (05:52):
I think that's a great point. I think that you know,
when we think about the adolescent brain, and it goes
even before that, right, you can think about during pregnancy.
Right there are specific and very sort of sensitive developmental
windows that children and adolescents experience while they're growing and
continuing to grow up that may leave them a little
(06:15):
bit more vulnerable to the impacts of some of the
sort of environmental stressors and factors that we see.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Is there anything that parents can take from this? Is
there anything they can do to help protect their kids
from the effects of air pollution.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
I think this is an ongoing conversation. I think that,
you know, when we are talking about how we can
continue collectively to mitigate against the factors of air pollution,
I think we could think about, you know, looking towards
greener spaces air indoor air filtration. We can think about
(06:50):
continuing to partner with local and state community leaders to
advocate for what healthy air looks like, to continue to
protect essentially our most vulnerable some of the most vulnerable populations.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Yeah, this really does send a message then about the
importance of reducing their pollution in general.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Absolutely, I would say so. And again, I think it's one, ultimately,
one small piece of the puzzle that plays a factor
in you know, the ultimate health of any individual.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Very good, doctor, jar anything else you'd like to add.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Now, I would say that, you know, some of the
key takeaways from the study is that the environment's children
grow up in ultimately play a large role in the
shape and shaping how you know, they develop their brain development.
And I think that clean air is a part of
building that healthy foundation for learning, mental health, and all
(07:45):
the things that we want to ultimately see for our children.
Here in Oregon and beyond, when we think about, you know,
what does it look like to build a healthy and
strong young population.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Thanks doctor Jara. That's doctor Calvin Jarra at Oregon Health
and Sciencesity discussing as research that's found a connection between
air pollution and the development of adolescent brains. Oregon is
leading a lawsuit against the federal government to prevent defunding
of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Oregon Attorney General Dan
(08:18):
Rayfield announced the lawsuit align with California, Arizona, Colorado, and
seventeen states plus Washington, d C.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
I'm just going to say, what's on a lot of
people's mind is what the heck is the president thinking
right now? We as elected officials. Our job is to
protect consumers. Our job is to protect our constituents. Our
job is to look out for people in our communities.
Our job is not to see creative nuance lawyerly ways
to defund the agencies that were designed to protect all
(08:50):
of us. But that's what's going on. And this is
a consistent message from our president. This is a consistent
agenda from our president who is focused on reworking our
economy and all you got to do is look at
the pattern to see how this is an attack on
working Americans. You think about it right now, where they're
removing food assistance from vulnerable Americans. You think about it
(09:13):
where they're taking actions that are increasing the cost of
health care that we're paying. They pass hidden taxes in
the form of tarists that are increasing costs for small
businesses and consumers. They're increasing or decreasing what I should say,
taxes for wealthy Americans. And then today, the very institutions
that are supposed to protect us, they're systematically working to
(09:33):
defund them. And that's what's going on right now. And
this is an agency you got to remember this that
has been working on behalf of everyone since twenty eleven
and has provided more than twenty billion dollars of funds
back into the pockets of Americans. This is the same
agency that stopped Wells Fargo when they were taking advantage
(09:56):
of consumers without their consent and opening millions of accounts
without consent. This is the same agency that stopped Naviat,
who was taking advantage of student loan borrowers. This is
the same agency that protects people who have credit cards,
payday lending, mortgages. You name it. This is the agency
that's looking out on behalf of all of us. And
(10:17):
so I can't figure out what the heck the president
is thinking by wanting to defund this. But what I
do know is what Congress was thinking when they passed this.
This is in the wake of the two financial crisis
in two thousand and eight, and they said, we need
a bureau and agency in the corner of Americans and
consumers looking out on their behalf. But what they were
(10:37):
worried about, and this is really important, they wanted to
have an independent agency. They wanted an agency that was
going to be free from political interference, politician proof, if
you will, And that is exactly why the funding is
set up the way it is for this agency. The
funding comes through the Federal Reserve. That way, Congress, when
(11:02):
it's being influenced by all the money that flows into
that all the politicians are being influenced, that can't impact
that enforcement entity. That Consumer WATCHDAG organization is immune from
political pressure. Well, what Congress didn't know, and I don't
think any of us, frankly, could have predicted that you
would have a president that would go to such extreme
(11:22):
links to create this wild legal theory about why you
can't fund this consumer watchdog organization absolutely wild, and that's
why this lawsuit has to be filed today because we
as Americans, we as consumers, need someone who has our back,
and we as attorneys general, can do our best. We
(11:43):
can work as hard as we possibly can, but we
need a federal counterpart, and that's why this lawsuit is
so darn important.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
Matthew Platkin is the Attorney General for a New Jersey.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
This is an absolutely critical case. But we're hearing folks
across the country focus rightly on and affordability crisis in
every state in America. If you're going to combat that crisis,
you can't talk about it one at one side of
your mouth and then the other side gut one of
the few agencies in federal government who's actually doing something
about it. We as attorney's general do this every single day.
(12:17):
We stand up for our residents against powerful interests. Until
two thousand and eight, in the financial crisis, the federal
government didn't have an agency dedicated to that mission. So
they came together and created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
to be your advocate in the federal government and importantly,
to partner with states like ours in bringing cases and
(12:39):
actions against corporations that have preyed upon our residents to
help restack the deck in their favor and address the
fact that the deck frankly has been stacked against them. So,
if you like paying too much and junk credit card fees,
or prefer to be saddled with medical debt, or want
to go to an auto deal and get ripped off,
(13:01):
or get scammed when you go to buy a house
and can't get a mortgage, or pay too much in
student loans, than this move that the Trump administration is
doing is you're gonna love it, because all of those
things will happen as a result of them quote unquote
defunding the Consumer of Financial Protection Bureau, using, as ag
Rayfield said, an implausible and unbelievable legal interpretation that even
(13:24):
the first Trump administration didn't bother to try. Nobody has
seriously considered this to be a valid legal argument that
our nation's federal bank can't fund this agency pursuant to
the terms that Congress put in place specifically to insulate
it from political whims of a president like you're seeing
now and his accolytes like Russ Vote, who have made
(13:46):
it their mission help bent mission to make lives less affordable,
not more affordable, less affordable for residents in our states.
I've partnered with the CFPB, as have all my colleagues,
and a number of investigations, investigations that have brought billions
of dollars back to New Jersey residents for things like
systematic discrimination in the mortgage market or widespread fraud in
(14:09):
the mortgage servicing market. We've worked with them on to
combat the student loan crisis. They've been partners in these efforts,
and we simply will not solve this crisis if everyone
isn't doing everything they can to make their lives, make
our residence lives more affordable. Some of us, those on
this call, and the twenty two members of this coalition
(14:30):
are doing everything we can. I wish we didn't have
to spend our time suing the federal government to get
them to just do what they say they care about
do put their money where their mouth is not defund
one of the few places that's actually trying to fight
alongside us for ordinary Americans and reducing their costs making
their lives more affordable.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield explained why the lawsuit was
filed in Eugene Federal Court.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
The reality is, when we're making decisions where and whether
to file a lot of them, it's based upon the
different attorneys general and the staffing in our offices, and
the way that we look at the different circuits. We
look at important issues, how quickly can we get a ruling,
So a lot of various different factors. Sometimes different courts
have different sets of experiences that might lend itself to
(15:17):
a certain type of case under a given lawsuit that
may be filed. That's kind of the consideration that went
on in this, just like many many other cases that
we file.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
Rayfield said. In twenty twenty four, the CFPB received nearly
nine thousand complaints from more Agonians and provided seven hundred
thousand dollars in relief to consumers.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Here in Oregon. There are monetary value that gets moved
back to our consumers, but then there's also just the
impact of prevention as well as on the other side
of that accountability. So we've really looked at the broader
number societally, and you heard a little bit where we
talked about the partnership that we've had with CFPB. On
(16:00):
different cases. The big number nationally is about a little
bit more than twenty billion dollars that has come back
to consumers. Pretty huge, and depending on each state, obviously
it's going to vary.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
That's Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield discussing his decision to
file a lawsuit against the Trump administration's decision to defund
the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. An Oregon Court of Appeals
ruling is causing cases involving drug and dangered children to
be dismissed. That's happened to twenty cases in Washington County
(16:32):
District Attorney Kevin Barton joins us on local voices. Kevin,
the case that caused this is State v. Stevens tell
us about the case.
Speaker 5 (16:40):
So in September, there was a new case issue by
the Court of Appeals that essentially made it so that
we were unable to prosecute a caregiver who knowingly exposed
a young child to metha fetamine to the point where
that child was infected with methemfetamine at detectical levels in
their system. The court said that that is not sufficient
to be behavior to allow us to prosecute that caregiver
(17:02):
for a crime called criminal mistreatment in the first degree.
That's a big change. For years, that crime is what
we prosecutors and police officers have used to address caregivers
like parents and those who are providing care for kids,
those caregivers who exposed their kids to dangerous drugs and
at levels where it tests positive in their system. Now
(17:25):
we're really left without an adequate tool to be able
to address that problem.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
Did something change with the law to allow this to
happen or is it just the Appeals Court's opinion that
allowed this.
Speaker 5 (17:38):
Nothing changed with the law itself, that's on the books.
That law has remained unchanged for some time. It's the
Court of Appeals that reinterpreted how they apply that law
and for the first time, made it so we cannot
prosecute parents who expose kids to dangerous levels of drugs.
So that type of activism and changing the law really
pulled the rug out from underneath prosecutors and police officers,
(18:01):
and now we're really stuck without adequate tools, which is
why we're going to be approaching the legislature in the
upcoming short session to ask them to change the actual
written law to navigate around what the Court of Appeals
has done. And how they interpret it.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
How is this specifically going to impact Washington County and
cases that.
Speaker 5 (18:20):
You handle well. Right away, we had to do an
immediate audit of all the cases we had pending. When
that new opinion came out from the Court of Appeals.
It meant that we had to take a look at
what's happening right now in front of us, and we
identified twenty pending cases where charges have been filed involving
really young kids, kids as ages as two, three, four
(18:41):
or five elementary school age children who've been exposed to
drugs and infected by drugs such as meth or thc
or fentanyl, and we had to, unfortunately ask the court
to dismiss all twenty of those cases because the Court
of Appeals opinion controls. We also know moving forward that
there is going to be cases that are coming to
(19:02):
us that we are no longer able to file charges
on cases that before September we could, but now because
of this Court of Appeals opinion, we cannot. And that's
what we really want to address by asking the legislature
to fix this problem and make it so that we
have the adequate tools to be able to hold caregivers
accountable who infect kids with the injurious drugs.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
If you heard from other district attorneys in other Oregon
counties dealing with the same issue I have.
Speaker 5 (19:28):
In fact, we are partnering with the Oregon District Attorneys Association,
who represents all thirty six elected das throughout Oregon, and ODAA.
The DA's Association and my office are working with other
district attorneys to put forward a legislative change to the
law so that our legislators recognize that this is an
issue that impacts everyone throughout Oregon, from the Portliamentar area
(19:51):
down to southern Oregon, to the coast and to eastern organ.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Now, well, this appeals court ruling be retroactive for people
who may have already been convicted.
Speaker 5 (20:01):
Well, it does have some applicability for cases that have
been already been filed, but not retroactive for cases that
have already been concluded. So we don't anticipate it will
go back to cases where there's already been a conviction,
although it's possible defense attorney makes an argument that it
ought to and we'll deal with that in court working
with the Attorney General's office, But we anticipate it will
(20:21):
be proactive and prospective meeting, moving forward.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Not backwards or good Kevin, anything else would like to end.
Speaker 5 (20:27):
I just would like to say that I think we
all recognize the mess that was created in twenty twenty
when Oregon made the mistake of decriminalizing drug possession with
bout Measure one to ten, and especially the impact that
it had on the most vulnerable members of our community.
I would hate to see that problem repeated again now
with this new Court of Appeals decision, where we're left
(20:49):
without adequate tools to address a known problem. We all
know that kids would be innocent bastanders in this whole process,
and a child, especially a young kid, that tests positive
for these dangerous drugs, should not be in that living environment,
and the prosecutors and police officers need to have the
tools to be able to hold their caregivers accountable for
that crime.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
That's Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton discussing the impact
of State vs. Stevens and the effects on cases involving
drug and dangered children. In Washington County alone, twenty cases
had to be dismissed. They'll be asking the Oregon legislature
to change the law next year. This is the time
of year when flu and covid cases increase. Doctor Catherine
(21:31):
Glassburg is a family medicine physician with Kaiser Permanente Northwest.
Doctor Glassburg, how is flu in covid season shaping up
this year?
Speaker 6 (21:39):
Yeah, I say, thus far, we're looking at a pretty
typical flu season where rates start to rise right around
the holidays unfortunately, which is a great time for folks
to gather. But also as people gather and as the
flu get stronger and colder weather, we see more spread.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
So flu in covid VAT rates are declining. Do we
know why? And then what's the impact of that?
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (22:05):
I think generally we are seeing more vaccine hesitancy. I
think the pandemic remains. You know, it was a really
tough time for folks, and what's grown out of that time,
I think is an acceleration of folks hesitancy around getting vaccinated.
We're certainly seeing that and that fewer folks are getting
vaccinated for both illnesses and for fluid particular. It being
(22:28):
a seasonal virus, we can really affect change. The more
folks get vaccinated, the more folks that are vaccinated prior
to rates going up, the lower the rates will be
because more folks will be protecting themselves and the folks
around them.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
So for people who have concerns about the vaccine, what
would you say to them.
Speaker 6 (22:48):
Oh, it's very safe, you know, nothing's really changed on
that front, honestly, very very low risk of complications. You know,
nothing is without risk completely. But there's a much higher
risk of our population health worsening from this illness, folks
who are older, folks who have chronic conditions that may
(23:11):
cause them to have a very complicated course with the flu,
hospitalizations and deaths. That's a much higher risk than the
individual risk of a single flu vaccine.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
So essentially, the vaccine, while it may not prevent me
from getting the flu or covid, it'll prevent me from
getting as sick as I might if I didn't have
the vaccine, right.
Speaker 6 (23:34):
So, and it can be tough because sometimes folks with
a respiratory illness, they just have mild symptoms. You may
not know you know, if you have the flu or
if you have covid, but if you're around others who
are more vulnerable or just you know, have some bad luck,
they may get quite ill. So you're protecting yourself, but
also your loved ones, your workplace, your community if you.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Make that choice, especially people who might be or vulnerable
maybe with other risk factors, that kind of thing. What
should families know before traveling or getting together for the holidays.
Speaker 6 (24:08):
Yeah, well, it is important to gather with loved ones
if that's important to you. But if you are having
resertory symptoms, whatever it is, it is probably spreadable, right,
So if you have cold or flu symptoms, you may
be sharing it with your loved ones. And the way
to avoid that if you choose is to wear a
(24:30):
mask that makes it a lot less likely, or to
socially distanced, which we all know all about now, so
that hasn't changed.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Yeah, talk a little bit about some of the healthy
behaviors to avoid getting sick. There's steps we can take
to avoid getting the flu in covid.
Speaker 7 (24:48):
I joke all the time.
Speaker 6 (24:49):
It's really boring, but it comes down to hand washing,
vegetables and exercise. Right. So having a winter action plan
around your healthy habits so that you're you know, keeping
your immune system strong with good nutrition and regular activity
will absolutely lower your risk for developing my old and
(25:11):
severe illness and then particularly with spread of respiratory illness,
Covering your cough. You know, we joke with kids, right
there's a vampire cough. So coughing into your the quotum
of your elbow, and washing your hands before you prepare
food and just generally absolutely helps the spread. So those
(25:33):
are just some of the things you can do.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
And one thing that's really obvious is if you're sick,
don't go right.
Speaker 6 (25:41):
So if you you know, it's tough. I know it's
tough for folks to particularly if they're struggling financially, right,
It's tough to stay home if you don't have sick leaves,
et cetera. But if you have that ability and you
have that choice and you're able to stay home and rest,
it certainly is the best way.
Speaker 5 (25:59):
To get better.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Doctor Glasburg, thanks for joining us on Local Voices. That's
doctor Catherine Glassberg, a family medicine physician with Kaiser Prominente Northwest,
discussing flu and covid and how vaccines can help keep
a virus from making you or your love one sick.
Older Drivers Safety Awareness Week was held this month. Mindy
McCart Withodan joins us on Local Voices. Mandy, what should
(26:22):
older drivers and their families consider.
Speaker 7 (26:24):
Older driver safety Aware. This week is really about helping
families have that open, honest conversation so that their loved
ones can stay safe and stay independent on the road.
Driving isn't really about age, It's about ability and as
we get older, normal changes in stuff like vision, reaction time,
(26:50):
and even medications. How medications affect us can impact driving.
So the earlier really families can start talking about those
changes makes those conversations a little bit easier. And if
anyone ever feels unsafe writing with an older loved one,
(27:13):
it is very important to say something I know that
a gentle conversation today can maybe prevent a crisis later.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
Now. Odot has the Oregon Driver Fitness Program. What's that.
Speaker 7 (27:25):
ODOT's Driver Fitness program has many tools for families, caregivers,
older adults, and medical providers, including an online self assessment
tool that really can get a conversation starting. So if
you have an older family member that maybe is feeling
(27:45):
like they're driving is getting a little bit worse, you
can share that self assessment tool with them and have
them complete that and it may really kind of gives
them that extra push to maybe out and find some
other resources on how to get around.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Is it a good idea to ride with older drivers
just to see how they're doing.
Speaker 7 (28:10):
Absolutely, family members are the are the best people to
start those conversations. Like I said, if you feel unsafe
writing with your loved one and you know, say something,
have that conversation. It's going to be a lot easier
coming from a loved one than it is coming from
probably somebody that you might have crashed into or a
(28:32):
law enforcement officer. And there's also tools about, you know,
help giving your loved one the ability to kind of
self assess themselves, as well as resources for medical providers.
If you are feeling like your words aren't being heard
(28:53):
by your loved one, you can always reach out to
their medical provider and have them do an assessment on
their family member and the.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
O DOT resources. Are they available on adot's website.
Speaker 7 (29:06):
Yeah, we have lots of resources on our website. It's
called Older Road Users Resource Guide. Just put it in
Google and I'll pop right up. We also have our
partners at NITZA, which is the National Highway Transportation Safety Office.
They also have a ton of resources on their Older
Driver's website as well. We want older drivers to drive
(29:28):
safely for as long as possible, and we want families
to have the tools to support them.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
Mindy, thanks for joining us on Local Voices. That's Mindy
McCart from ODT discussing resources for older drivers and their
families to assess an older driver's ability to stay behind
the wheel. Thanks for listening to Local Voices. I'm Brad Bard.
You can hear past episodes on the iHeartRadio app under
the podcast tab. Local Voices is a public affairs presentation
(29:55):
from iHeartRadio
Speaker 2 (30:00):
No.
Welcome to Local Voices. I'm brad Ford. A study at
OHSU has found a link between air pollution and development
of a child's brain. Oregon is leading a case against
the federal government to keep a financial watchdog agency alive.
District attorneys in Oregon are working to change a law
that'll keep kids safe. Flu and COVID cases are on
the rise, and there are ways to prevent getting sick,
(00:26):
plus older driver's safety. A study at Oregon Health and
Science University has found exposure to common air pollution alters
adolescent brain development. Structural changes could impact children's health and
well being. Doctor Calvin Jara led the study and joins
us on Local Voices. Your research examined the effect of
(00:47):
air pollution on a child's developing brain. How did you
conduct the research?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
So essentially it is part of the ABCV study. It's
one of the largest longitudinal studies here in the United
States that's looking at, you know, different periods of imaging.
We also collect a lot of different information as far
as you know, how kids are being brought up, their nutrition,
and so we looked at different time points in their
(01:13):
imaging and how air pollution might ultimately be associated with
different structural brain changes and adolescents.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
So the ABCD study is a longitudinal study. What does
that mean?
Speaker 2 (01:26):
So essentially we're tracking children from adolescents starting around nine
or ten up until you know, around eighteen, so we
look at their life course over a longer period of time.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Did your research determine specific changes to an adolescent brain
that was caused by air pollution?
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Essentially?
Speaker 2 (01:46):
When we look at the study, I think what's really
important to think about is that we did look at
air pollution. You know, how air pollution may have an
association with structural brain changes and adolescents. We did find
an association. But what I think is really important to
note is that health doesn't happen in a vacuum. You know,
(02:07):
they're varying things that we should be considering when coming
to environmental health, psychosocial strusters, environmental factors, and how that
all cumulatively can affect the life course and ultimate health
of child, especially our most vulnerable populations.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Does it matter whether the child is in a say,
a rural or urban urban setting, I mean, does the
air pollution have to be especially bad for this to happen?
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Some of the changes that we found, we're at levels
not necessarily higher than what the Environmental Protection Agency deems
as safe. Of course, we found that in more urban
city settings you can have you know, more measurable outcomes.
But we are seeing this sort of broadly distributed across
(02:56):
the US.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
In what ways can the brain be effected by air pollution?
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Well, I think, you know, systemically, when we think about
air pollution, right, you think about I don't know what
some of the first things that come to mind for me,
right is asthma, you know, depending on what you're breathing, right,
I think we're also seeing higher incidences of asthma across
the country air pollution small particular matter, it can get
(03:25):
into the lungs, right, It can then enter the bloodstream
and I think, you know, depending on the size of
the particle, can ultimately cross what we call the blood
brain barrier and that can sort of cause different levels
of inflammation and stressors and different parts of the body.
And so this is something that I think is really
important and interesting to continue looking at.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
So do you think it would be the particular chemicals
in the air pollution then that is causing the change
in the brain.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Well, I wouldn't say that it's directly causing changes in
the brain. I think it's something that we need to
think holistically, right, And all of the sort of things
that we're experiencing throughout the day, and so you know,
when we when we're walking outside and we're breathing in
you know, particular matter, nitrogen dioxide or ozone, those things
(04:17):
are just one small piece of the ultimate health of someone.
You know, you look at genetics, you look at nutrition,
you look at varying levels of you know, social resources
that individuals may have, and so this, all of these
things sort of play important factors into the ultimate health
that we all have.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
So I had imagine these changes wouldn't happen fast, but
they would happen slowly over time.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
I would say, so, And I think that's that's what
I think is an important question that we should be askingting, right,
is how are how are all of these environmental factors
and psychosocial stressors influencing health in accumulative, synergistic manner over
long periods of time. You know, of course, when we
(05:06):
think about something like wildfires for example, right, which I
think is a particular note in this region of the country.
I think in twenty twenty twenty twenty one, the wildfires
here in Oregon, we saw almost a twenty percent increase
of emergency room visits and that can be directly related
to you know, asthma or COPD exacerbations and also the
anxiety and stress that comes across with that. And so
(05:27):
you know, in those sort of settings, we can have
something that is acute. But what we're you know, what
we're kind of talking about right now is the slow
sort of cumulative changes that we can see play out
in someone's health over longer periods of time.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
So why would the effect be different on an adolescent
brain than a mature brain. Is Is it because the
adolescent brain is still forming?
Speaker 2 (05:52):
I think that's a great point. I think that you know,
when we think about the adolescent brain, and it goes
even before that, right, you can think about during pregnancy.
Right there are specific and very sort of sensitive developmental
windows that children and adolescents experience while they're growing and
continuing to grow up that may leave them a little
(06:15):
bit more vulnerable to the impacts of some of the
sort of environmental stressors and factors that we see.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Is there anything that parents can take from this? Is
there anything they can do to help protect their kids
from the effects of air pollution.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
I think this is an ongoing conversation. I think that,
you know, when we are talking about how we can
continue collectively to mitigate against the factors of air pollution,
I think we could think about, you know, looking towards
greener spaces air indoor air filtration. We can think about
(06:50):
continuing to partner with local and state community leaders to
advocate for what healthy air looks like, to continue to
protect essentially our most vulnerable some of the most vulnerable populations.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Yeah, this really does send a message then about the
importance of reducing their pollution in general.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Absolutely, I would say so. And again, I think it's one, ultimately,
one small piece of the puzzle that plays a factor
in you know, the ultimate health of any individual.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Very good, doctor, jar anything else you'd like to add.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Now, I would say that, you know, some of the
key takeaways from the study is that the environment's children
grow up in ultimately play a large role in the
shape and shaping how you know, they develop their brain development.
And I think that clean air is a part of
building that healthy foundation for learning, mental health, and all
(07:45):
the things that we want to ultimately see for our children.
Here in Oregon and beyond, when we think about, you know,
what does it look like to build a healthy and
strong young population.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Thanks doctor Jara. That's doctor Calvin Jarra at Oregon Health
and Sciencesity discussing as research that's found a connection between
air pollution and the development of adolescent brains. Oregon is
leading a lawsuit against the federal government to prevent defunding
of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Oregon Attorney General Dan
(08:18):
Rayfield announced the lawsuit align with California, Arizona, Colorado, and
seventeen states plus Washington, d C.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
I'm just going to say, what's on a lot of
people's mind is what the heck is the president thinking
right now? We as elected officials. Our job is to
protect consumers. Our job is to protect our constituents. Our
job is to look out for people in our communities.
Our job is not to see creative nuance lawyerly ways
to defund the agencies that were designed to protect all
(08:50):
of us. But that's what's going on. And this is
a consistent message from our president. This is a consistent
agenda from our president who is focused on reworking our
economy and all you got to do is look at
the pattern to see how this is an attack on
working Americans. You think about it right now, where they're
removing food assistance from vulnerable Americans. You think about it
(09:13):
where they're taking actions that are increasing the cost of
health care that we're paying. They pass hidden taxes in
the form of tarists that are increasing costs for small
businesses and consumers. They're increasing or decreasing what I should say,
taxes for wealthy Americans. And then today, the very institutions
that are supposed to protect us, they're systematically working to
(09:33):
defund them. And that's what's going on right now. And
this is an agency you got to remember this that
has been working on behalf of everyone since twenty eleven
and has provided more than twenty billion dollars of funds
back into the pockets of Americans. This is the same
agency that stopped Wells Fargo when they were taking advantage
(09:56):
of consumers without their consent and opening millions of accounts
without consent. This is the same agency that stopped Naviat,
who was taking advantage of student loan borrowers. This is
the same agency that protects people who have credit cards,
payday lending, mortgages. You name it. This is the agency
that's looking out on behalf of all of us. And
(10:17):
so I can't figure out what the heck the president
is thinking by wanting to defund this. But what I
do know is what Congress was thinking when they passed this.
This is in the wake of the two financial crisis
in two thousand and eight, and they said, we need
a bureau and agency in the corner of Americans and
consumers looking out on their behalf. But what they were
(10:37):
worried about, and this is really important, they wanted to
have an independent agency. They wanted an agency that was
going to be free from political interference, politician proof, if
you will, And that is exactly why the funding is
set up the way it is for this agency. The
funding comes through the Federal Reserve. That way, Congress, when
(11:02):
it's being influenced by all the money that flows into
that all the politicians are being influenced, that can't impact
that enforcement entity. That Consumer WATCHDAG organization is immune from
political pressure. Well, what Congress didn't know, and I don't
think any of us, frankly, could have predicted that you
would have a president that would go to such extreme
(11:22):
links to create this wild legal theory about why you
can't fund this consumer watchdog organization absolutely wild, and that's
why this lawsuit has to be filed today because we
as Americans, we as consumers, need someone who has our back,
and we as attorneys general, can do our best. We
(11:43):
can work as hard as we possibly can, but we
need a federal counterpart, and that's why this lawsuit is
so darn important.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
Matthew Platkin is the Attorney General for a New Jersey.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
This is an absolutely critical case. But we're hearing folks
across the country focus rightly on and affordability crisis in
every state in America. If you're going to combat that crisis,
you can't talk about it one at one side of
your mouth and then the other side gut one of
the few agencies in federal government who's actually doing something
about it. We as attorney's general do this every single day.
(12:17):
We stand up for our residents against powerful interests. Until
two thousand and eight, in the financial crisis, the federal
government didn't have an agency dedicated to that mission. So
they came together and created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
to be your advocate in the federal government and importantly,
to partner with states like ours in bringing cases and
(12:39):
actions against corporations that have preyed upon our residents to
help restack the deck in their favor and address the
fact that the deck frankly has been stacked against them. So,
if you like paying too much and junk credit card fees,
or prefer to be saddled with medical debt, or want
to go to an auto deal and get ripped off,
(13:01):
or get scammed when you go to buy a house
and can't get a mortgage, or pay too much in
student loans, than this move that the Trump administration is
doing is you're gonna love it, because all of those
things will happen as a result of them quote unquote
defunding the Consumer of Financial Protection Bureau, using, as ag
Rayfield said, an implausible and unbelievable legal interpretation that even
(13:24):
the first Trump administration didn't bother to try. Nobody has
seriously considered this to be a valid legal argument that
our nation's federal bank can't fund this agency pursuant to
the terms that Congress put in place specifically to insulate
it from political whims of a president like you're seeing
now and his accolytes like Russ Vote, who have made
(13:46):
it their mission help bent mission to make lives less affordable,
not more affordable, less affordable for residents in our states.
I've partnered with the CFPB, as have all my colleagues,
and a number of investigations, investigations that have brought billions
of dollars back to New Jersey residents for things like
systematic discrimination in the mortgage market or widespread fraud in
(14:09):
the mortgage servicing market. We've worked with them on to
combat the student loan crisis. They've been partners in these efforts,
and we simply will not solve this crisis if everyone
isn't doing everything they can to make their lives, make
our residence lives more affordable. Some of us, those on
this call, and the twenty two members of this coalition
(14:30):
are doing everything we can. I wish we didn't have
to spend our time suing the federal government to get
them to just do what they say they care about
do put their money where their mouth is not defund
one of the few places that's actually trying to fight
alongside us for ordinary Americans and reducing their costs making
their lives more affordable.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield explained why the lawsuit was
filed in Eugene Federal Court.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
The reality is, when we're making decisions where and whether
to file a lot of them, it's based upon the
different attorneys general and the staffing in our offices, and
the way that we look at the different circuits. We
look at important issues, how quickly can we get a ruling,
So a lot of various different factors. Sometimes different courts
have different sets of experiences that might lend itself to
(15:17):
a certain type of case under a given lawsuit that
may be filed. That's kind of the consideration that went
on in this, just like many many other cases that
we file.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
Rayfield said. In twenty twenty four, the CFPB received nearly
nine thousand complaints from more Agonians and provided seven hundred
thousand dollars in relief to consumers.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Here in Oregon. There are monetary value that gets moved
back to our consumers, but then there's also just the
impact of prevention as well as on the other side
of that accountability. So we've really looked at the broader
number societally, and you heard a little bit where we
talked about the partnership that we've had with CFPB. On
(16:00):
different cases. The big number nationally is about a little
bit more than twenty billion dollars that has come back
to consumers. Pretty huge, and depending on each state, obviously
it's going to vary.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
That's Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield discussing his decision to
file a lawsuit against the Trump administration's decision to defund
the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. An Oregon Court of Appeals
ruling is causing cases involving drug and dangered children to
be dismissed. That's happened to twenty cases in Washington County
(16:32):
District Attorney Kevin Barton joins us on local voices. Kevin,
the case that caused this is State v. Stevens tell
us about the case.
Speaker 5 (16:40):
So in September, there was a new case issue by
the Court of Appeals that essentially made it so that
we were unable to prosecute a caregiver who knowingly exposed
a young child to metha fetamine to the point where
that child was infected with methemfetamine at detectical levels in
their system. The court said that that is not sufficient
to be behavior to allow us to prosecute that caregiver
(17:02):
for a crime called criminal mistreatment in the first degree.
That's a big change. For years, that crime is what
we prosecutors and police officers have used to address caregivers
like parents and those who are providing care for kids,
those caregivers who exposed their kids to dangerous drugs and
at levels where it tests positive in their system. Now
(17:25):
we're really left without an adequate tool to be able
to address that problem.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
Did something change with the law to allow this to
happen or is it just the Appeals Court's opinion that
allowed this.
Speaker 5 (17:38):
Nothing changed with the law itself, that's on the books.
That law has remained unchanged for some time. It's the
Court of Appeals that reinterpreted how they apply that law
and for the first time, made it so we cannot
prosecute parents who expose kids to dangerous levels of drugs.
So that type of activism and changing the law really
pulled the rug out from underneath prosecutors and police officers,
(18:01):
and now we're really stuck without adequate tools, which is
why we're going to be approaching the legislature in the
upcoming short session to ask them to change the actual
written law to navigate around what the Court of Appeals
has done. And how they interpret it.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
How is this specifically going to impact Washington County and
cases that.
Speaker 5 (18:20):
You handle well. Right away, we had to do an
immediate audit of all the cases we had pending. When
that new opinion came out from the Court of Appeals.
It meant that we had to take a look at
what's happening right now in front of us, and we
identified twenty pending cases where charges have been filed involving
really young kids, kids as ages as two, three, four
(18:41):
or five elementary school age children who've been exposed to
drugs and infected by drugs such as meth or thc
or fentanyl, and we had to, unfortunately ask the court
to dismiss all twenty of those cases because the Court
of Appeals opinion controls. We also know moving forward that
there is going to be cases that are coming to
(19:02):
us that we are no longer able to file charges
on cases that before September we could, but now because
of this Court of Appeals opinion, we cannot. And that's
what we really want to address by asking the legislature
to fix this problem and make it so that we
have the adequate tools to be able to hold caregivers
accountable who infect kids with the injurious drugs.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
If you heard from other district attorneys in other Oregon
counties dealing with the same issue I have.
Speaker 5 (19:28):
In fact, we are partnering with the Oregon District Attorneys Association,
who represents all thirty six elected das throughout Oregon, and ODAA.
The DA's Association and my office are working with other
district attorneys to put forward a legislative change to the
law so that our legislators recognize that this is an
issue that impacts everyone throughout Oregon, from the Portliamentar area
(19:51):
down to southern Oregon, to the coast and to eastern organ.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Now, well, this appeals court ruling be retroactive for people
who may have already been convicted.
Speaker 5 (20:01):
Well, it does have some applicability for cases that have
been already been filed, but not retroactive for cases that
have already been concluded. So we don't anticipate it will
go back to cases where there's already been a conviction,
although it's possible defense attorney makes an argument that it
ought to and we'll deal with that in court working
with the Attorney General's office, But we anticipate it will
(20:21):
be proactive and prospective meeting, moving forward.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Not backwards or good Kevin, anything else would like to end.
Speaker 5 (20:27):
I just would like to say that I think we
all recognize the mess that was created in twenty twenty
when Oregon made the mistake of decriminalizing drug possession with
bout Measure one to ten, and especially the impact that
it had on the most vulnerable members of our community.
I would hate to see that problem repeated again now
with this new Court of Appeals decision, where we're left
(20:49):
without adequate tools to address a known problem. We all
know that kids would be innocent bastanders in this whole process,
and a child, especially a young kid, that tests positive
for these dangerous drugs, should not be in that living environment,
and the prosecutors and police officers need to have the
tools to be able to hold their caregivers accountable for
that crime.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
That's Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton discussing the impact
of State vs. Stevens and the effects on cases involving
drug and dangered children. In Washington County alone, twenty cases
had to be dismissed. They'll be asking the Oregon legislature
to change the law next year. This is the time
of year when flu and covid cases increase. Doctor Catherine
(21:31):
Glassburg is a family medicine physician with Kaiser Permanente Northwest.
Doctor Glassburg, how is flu in covid season shaping up
this year?
Speaker 6 (21:39):
Yeah, I say, thus far, we're looking at a pretty
typical flu season where rates start to rise right around
the holidays unfortunately, which is a great time for folks
to gather. But also as people gather and as the
flu get stronger and colder weather, we see more spread.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
So flu in covid VAT rates are declining. Do we
know why? And then what's the impact of that?
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (22:05):
I think generally we are seeing more vaccine hesitancy. I
think the pandemic remains. You know, it was a really
tough time for folks, and what's grown out of that time,
I think is an acceleration of folks hesitancy around getting vaccinated.
We're certainly seeing that and that fewer folks are getting
vaccinated for both illnesses and for fluid particular. It being
(22:28):
a seasonal virus, we can really affect change. The more
folks get vaccinated, the more folks that are vaccinated prior
to rates going up, the lower the rates will be
because more folks will be protecting themselves and the folks
around them.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
So for people who have concerns about the vaccine, what
would you say to them.
Speaker 6 (22:48):
Oh, it's very safe, you know, nothing's really changed on
that front, honestly, very very low risk of complications. You know,
nothing is without risk completely. But there's a much higher
risk of our population health worsening from this illness, folks
who are older, folks who have chronic conditions that may
(23:11):
cause them to have a very complicated course with the flu,
hospitalizations and deaths. That's a much higher risk than the
individual risk of a single flu vaccine.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
So essentially, the vaccine, while it may not prevent me
from getting the flu or covid, it'll prevent me from
getting as sick as I might if I didn't have
the vaccine, right.
Speaker 6 (23:34):
So, and it can be tough because sometimes folks with
a respiratory illness, they just have mild symptoms. You may
not know you know, if you have the flu or
if you have covid, but if you're around others who
are more vulnerable or just you know, have some bad luck,
they may get quite ill. So you're protecting yourself, but
also your loved ones, your workplace, your community if you.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Make that choice, especially people who might be or vulnerable
maybe with other risk factors, that kind of thing. What
should families know before traveling or getting together for the holidays.
Speaker 6 (24:08):
Yeah, well, it is important to gather with loved ones
if that's important to you. But if you are having
resertory symptoms, whatever it is, it is probably spreadable, right,
So if you have cold or flu symptoms, you may
be sharing it with your loved ones. And the way
to avoid that if you choose is to wear a
(24:30):
mask that makes it a lot less likely, or to
socially distanced, which we all know all about now, so
that hasn't changed.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Yeah, talk a little bit about some of the healthy
behaviors to avoid getting sick. There's steps we can take
to avoid getting the flu in covid.
Speaker 7 (24:48):
I joke all the time.
Speaker 6 (24:49):
It's really boring, but it comes down to hand washing,
vegetables and exercise. Right. So having a winter action plan
around your healthy habits so that you're you know, keeping
your immune system strong with good nutrition and regular activity
will absolutely lower your risk for developing my old and
(25:11):
severe illness and then particularly with spread of respiratory illness,
Covering your cough. You know, we joke with kids, right
there's a vampire cough. So coughing into your the quotum
of your elbow, and washing your hands before you prepare
food and just generally absolutely helps the spread. So those
(25:33):
are just some of the things you can do.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
And one thing that's really obvious is if you're sick,
don't go right.
Speaker 6 (25:41):
So if you you know, it's tough. I know it's
tough for folks to particularly if they're struggling financially, right,
It's tough to stay home if you don't have sick leaves,
et cetera. But if you have that ability and you
have that choice and you're able to stay home and rest,
it certainly is the best way.
Speaker 5 (25:59):
To get better.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Doctor Glasburg, thanks for joining us on Local Voices. That's
doctor Catherine Glassberg, a family medicine physician with Kaiser Prominente Northwest,
discussing flu and covid and how vaccines can help keep
a virus from making you or your love one sick.
Older Drivers Safety Awareness Week was held this month. Mindy
McCart Withodan joins us on Local Voices. Mandy, what should
(26:22):
older drivers and their families consider.
Speaker 7 (26:24):
Older driver safety Aware. This week is really about helping
families have that open, honest conversation so that their loved
ones can stay safe and stay independent on the road.
Driving isn't really about age, It's about ability and as
we get older, normal changes in stuff like vision, reaction time,
(26:50):
and even medications. How medications affect us can impact driving.
So the earlier really families can start talking about those
changes makes those conversations a little bit easier. And if
anyone ever feels unsafe writing with an older loved one,
(27:13):
it is very important to say something I know that
a gentle conversation today can maybe prevent a crisis later.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
Now. Odot has the Oregon Driver Fitness Program. What's that.
Speaker 7 (27:25):
ODOT's Driver Fitness program has many tools for families, caregivers,
older adults, and medical providers, including an online self assessment
tool that really can get a conversation starting. So if
you have an older family member that maybe is feeling
(27:45):
like they're driving is getting a little bit worse, you
can share that self assessment tool with them and have
them complete that and it may really kind of gives
them that extra push to maybe out and find some
other resources on how to get around.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Is it a good idea to ride with older drivers
just to see how they're doing.
Speaker 7 (28:10):
Absolutely, family members are the are the best people to
start those conversations. Like I said, if you feel unsafe
writing with your loved one and you know, say something,
have that conversation. It's going to be a lot easier
coming from a loved one than it is coming from
probably somebody that you might have crashed into or a
(28:32):
law enforcement officer. And there's also tools about, you know,
help giving your loved one the ability to kind of
self assess themselves, as well as resources for medical providers.
If you are feeling like your words aren't being heard
(28:53):
by your loved one, you can always reach out to
their medical provider and have them do an assessment on
their family member and the.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
O DOT resources. Are they available on adot's website.
Speaker 7 (29:06):
Yeah, we have lots of resources on our website. It's
called Older Road Users Resource Guide. Just put it in
Google and I'll pop right up. We also have our
partners at NITZA, which is the National Highway Transportation Safety Office.
They also have a ton of resources on their Older
Driver's website as well. We want older drivers to drive
(29:28):
safely for as long as possible, and we want families
to have the tools to support them.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
Mindy, thanks for joining us on Local Voices. That's Mindy
McCart from ODT discussing resources for older drivers and their
families to assess an older driver's ability to stay behind
the wheel. Thanks for listening to Local Voices. I'm Brad Bard.
You can hear past episodes on the iHeartRadio app under
the podcast tab. Local Voices is a public affairs presentation
(29:55):
from iHeartRadio
Speaker 2 (30:00):
No.
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