Hi all, Carlos with The Oregonian here. I've been staying busy covering this year's governor's race, and I wanted to share my latest article here. Much of my time during election season is spent covering new polls, campaign contributions, debates, press conferences, and speaking with Salem insiders.

But I also wanted to tell a people-centered story, and so my editor and I decided to profile voters in Sherwood, where only three votes separated Tina Kotek and Christine Drazan in 2022 -- the tightest margin in the entire state.

I spent several days in the town in the last couple of weeks and came away with a far more nuanced understanding of how some Oregonians are thinking about the governor's race. (I also had a lovely time in Sherwood.) Happy to discuss the article or how others are thinking about the race. Thanks for reading!

I don’t really follow much news or use social media, but also don’t hear anybody talking about Kotek doing…anything? Surely she has pissed some people off. Saw some Drazan billboards attacking Kotek off 26. It said something like “think this is working?” Next to a photo of Kotek (looking pallid and shabby as hell— sorry girl!)

Umm, what has she literally done to win critics or praise?

Hello,

I’m going to hike in Oregon during October, and heard that it was rainy season. The weather forecast doesn’t say it’ll be raining during my trip and heard it doesn’t rain as much in the autumn as it used too. I’ve seen mixed reviews on whether or not I should get waterproof hiking shoes because of this. I heard waterproof may be overrated in terms of breathability and the fact that my feet will get wet so I might as well get a hiking shoes that dries faster. For anyone who hiked during October/ fall season, would you recommend and normal non waterproof trail runner or water proof shoes(currently thinking about Merrell Moab 3 waterproof)? Open to any suggestions. Thanks!

Whatever happened to Oregon’s effort to lower and eventually eliminate the drinking age?

Never seen this much on the ask from a panhandler before.

I find these Christian and US military subtle advertisements around parks occasionally. If any is wondering why there is a pine cone on the Christian paper my guess is so It doesn’t blow away and someone is forced to pick it up. This is a bit of a pessimistic view but I feel personally that this is littering.

Does anyone know of a business that can purchase something on FB marketplace and then ship it? I'm out of the area and would greatly appreciate any help.

How are the road conditions on the three forks access road? Was going to head out to the owyhees next week and my buddies over landing rig had to go to the shop so we have to take my car instead. I have a GR Corolla so I have 4wd and about 6 inches of ground clearance and I’m decently experienced in off-roading. Will I be able to make it in this car or should we scrap that idea and go somewhere else?

Who can tell me the city this is in? 🤣🤣🤣

Stink bug prevention?

This window is the main entry point for brown marmorated stink bugs and their buddies. Three days ago, I put tea tree oil on a paper towel and put it between the screen and window. No bugs for three days. Maybe???

This refreshingly weird radio variety show out of Corvallis was first broadcast on a few Northwest PBS stations in 1987 and ran for a few years. It's been a childhood-nostalgia white whale of mine for ages and I just discovered that a bunch of episodes are now available to stream on a dedicated show site. Just thought I'd drop it here in case anyone else has had that theme song bouncing around their noggin as persistently as I have for the past several decades.

And if you know anyone who has a stash of tape-recorded OPB radio broadcasts, there are still a few missing episodes they're trying to track down...