Erika Bolstad
@erikabolstad.bsky.social
Journalist, doc filmmaker and author of Windfall. Portland, Ore. Currently: Monumental, a feature-length doc. Find The Windfall Dispatch on Substack. erikabolstad.com
I work at a public library. People who want to use AI seem to have no trouble doing so. People who don't want to use AI have a harder time. I crowdsourced and then finalized this document "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI" and then gave it a short URL: notoai.org Please pass along if it's useful
Theodore Roosevelt’s racist rhetoric complicates his legacy in North Dakota www.newsfromthestates.com/article/theo...
Theodore Roosevelt’s racist rhetoric complicates his legacy in North Dakota
North Dakota’s leaders spent decades building up former President Theodore Roosevelt as a hero, highlighting his Badlands experience and conservation efforts. But for Native Americans, who lived on th...
newsfromthestates.com
This is just heartbreaking news. Zane was one if the participants in The Elk documentary, chosen for his delightful just-the-facts onscreen presence and love of journalism and Portland. My condolences to his friends, family and colleagues. www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...
Zane Sparling, reporter for The Oregonian/OregonLive, dies of cancer at 33
“He wanted his identity to be a reporter, and that’s what it was,” his father said.
oregonlive.com
The Grant County Court, equivalent to a county board of commissioners, greenlighted the formation of a library district on June 15, after local voters approved it by wide margins in the May primary.
Voters save Grant County’s only library
New taxing district will back John Day library after county commissioners announced funding cuts last year
opb.org
Proposed memorials have become flashpoints in a wider struggle over history and political power
As US turns 250, Trump adds fuel to battles over monuments and memory
theguardian.com
From Erika Bolstad: Nearly a year into President Donald Trump's second term, Democratic attorneys general have filed 71 lawsuits against the administration. https://stateline.org/2026/01/07/democratic-state-ags-will-lead-opposition-to-trump-in-new-year/
Democratic state AGs will lead opposition to Trump in new year • Stateline
One year into President Donald Trump's second term, Democratic attorneys general have filed 71 lawsuits against the administration.
stateline.org
Alissa's tenure at NYT has carved out so much space for documentaries, and here she addresses the threat of A.I. on our understanding of "truth" and how nonfiction filmmakers are fighting back: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/m...
Can You Believe the Documentary You’re Watching?
nytimes.com
“In the first 3 weeks of the government shutdown, the BLM has approved 308 applications for permits to drill (APDs) on national public lands. The majority of those permits (245) are in NM, with another 38 in WY. The rest of the permits were issued in Utah, Texas, North Dakota, Montana, & Oklahoma.”
Interior department issuing hundreds of oil and gas drilling permits during government shutdown - Center for Western Priorities
New tracker monitors Trump administration permitting activity DENVER—As the government shutdown enters its fourth week, a new analysis by the Center for Western Priorities finds the Trump administrati...
westernpriorities.org
This is an article about Portland and coffee, but every time I sat down to write it I felt like it needed to tie into right-wing threats to the city too. Then the morning it came out, Trump sent the military authorized to use "full force," so I think my intuition was right. slate.com/life/2025/09...
It’s Called America’s “Weirdest” City. But Just Wait Until You Hear What’s Going On in Its Coffee Shops.
Biking is just better with a caffeine buzz.
slate.com
From @erikabolstad.bsky.social: States are scrambling for the money to fill potholes, plow roads, maintain bridges and pay bus drivers as they confront inflation- and tariff-driven cost increases and declining gas tax revenues. stateline.org/2025/09/25/s...
States scramble to plug transportation funding holes • Stateline
States are scrambling for the money to fill potholes, plow roads, maintain bridges and pay bus drivers as they face inflation- and tariff-driven cost increases and declining gas tax revenues.
stateline.org
Following an immigration raid at an active wildfire in Washington state, wildland fire professionals are raising alarms that the leadership team in charge of the fire response may have sent their crews into an ambush. stateline.org/2025/08/31/f...
Firefighters question leaders’ role in Washington immigration raid • Stateline
Wildland firefighters were stunned when federal immigration authorities last week raided an active wildfire response in Washington state, arresting two firefighters and sidelining crews for hours.
stateline.org
States fast-track wind, solar permits and contracts to beat Trump’s deadline stateline.org/2025/08/27/s...
States fast-track wind, solar permits and contracts to beat Trump’s deadline • Stateline
Across the country, state leaders are racing to fast-track wind and solar projects before the expiration of federal tax credits to support clean energy.
stateline.org
NEW: Frustrated by oil companies mysteriously withholding large amounts of royalties, North Dakota mineral owners lobbied for change. Instead, lawmakers provided an oversight program that, owners say, fails to address the issue it was created to solve. With @northdakotamonitor.com
They Can’t Get Answers From the Oil Industry. North Dakota’s Oversight Program Hasn’t Helped.
Frustrated by oil companies mysteriously withholding large amounts of royalties, North Dakota mineral owners lobbied for change. Instead, lawmakers provided an oversight program that, owners say, fail...
propublica.org
A statue of a Confederate general that demonstrators toppled and burned in D.C. in 2020 will be reinstalled, the National Park Service announces.
Confederate general statue toppled in 2020 to be reinstalled in D.C.
The bronze statue depicting Confederate Gen. Albert Pike, which was torn down and burned by protesters in 2020, is being restored, the Park Service said Monday.
nbcnews.to
Now, state lawmakers have passed a bill which allocates $3.4 million to support criminal defense clinics. They had previously approved $2.1 million in one-time funding in 2024.
Oregon law schools to receive funding for criminal defense clinics
There are currently defense clinics at Willamette University in Salem, Lewis & Clark College in Portland, and the University of Oregon in both Portland and Eugene.
opb.org
New signs at incarceration camps raise historical erasure concerns asamnews.com/2025/06/19/d... via @AsAmNews
New signs at incarceration camps raise historical erasure concerns – AsAmNews
The Trump administration’s directive aimed at historical sites stirs debate over history of Asian Americans.
asamnews.com
Hey, check it out! Monumental (the doc I'm directing) is featured here! Curious about it or want to contribute to its production? Click the link!
Film Independent@filmindependent.org · last yr.🎬🔍 This month’s Fiscal Spotlight deal with institutions and how to move them forward in one way or another. These films tackle the myth of the American West, the ideals of a progressive church and a trailblazing dancer. 👩💻 Read more #ontheblog: filmindependent.org/blog/fiscal-...
Cities are finding some cheeky runarounds to flag bans: www.sltrib.com/news/politic...
Salt Lake City may have found a way to avoid the state’s ban on pride flags
Salt Lake City adopts official versions of the pride and other flags just hours before a new Utah law banning unofficial flags from schools and government buildings takes effect.
sltrib.com
In recent weeks, both Idaho and Utah have enacted bans that prohibit Pride flags from being displayed on government property, pitting lawmakers in the Republican-dominated legislatures against the more progressive capitals of Boise and Salt Lake City.
Stateline@stateline.org · last yr.Bills in more than a dozen states would prohibit Pride flags at city halls, schools and state buildings. stateline.org/2025/05/05/g...
“ She’s like, don’t be afraid, just document. Get a camera, take pictures, take videos and document what is going on there.” lapublicpress.org/2025/05/meet...
Meet the Pasadena day laborers who built their own media to combat Trump's immigration lies
Radio Jornalera gives immigrant workers a microphone and multimedia platform and their voices are reaching millions.
lapublicpress.org
Scientists are worried that “last year’s events could point to a kind of climate feedback loop in which rising temperatures cause natural ecosystems to deteriorate, releasing more carbon into the atmosphere and causing the planet to warm even faster.”
Chelsea Harvey@chelseaeharvey.bsky.social · last yr.Hmmm, maybe it’s time to rethink the bar exam? stateline.org/2024/07/26/l...
Law school grads could earn license through work rather than bar exam in some states • Stateline
States are rethinking their reliance on the bar exam as the sole means to ensure qualified lawyers enter the profession. Oregon led the way with an alternative pathway to practicing law: Instead of si...
stateline.org
Los Angeles Times@latimes.com · last yr.State Bar of California admits it used AI to develop exam questions, triggering new furor
How an influx of high-paid tech workers and a post-Great Recession building slump led to a doubling of the number of people living on the streets in Seattle. "Affordable housing didn’t physically disappear. But to low-income renters, it might as well have." www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
Where did Seattle's affordable housing go?
In one decade, Seattle turned into a vastly riskier place to live for poor people. It became nearly impossible to afford even the cheapest market-rate housing.
seattletimes.com
"Seven of the 11 jurors chosen either worked in the fossil fuel industry or had family members who did." www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
Greenpeace ordered to pay Dakota Access Pipeline operator hundreds of millions in defamation suit
A North Dakota jury awarded damages to Energy Transfer, the company that runs the Dakota Access Pipeline, after finding Greenpeace liable in a high-stakes defamation case.
washingtonpost.com
This time last year I wrote for @flaminghydra.com about why the National Weather Service is a treasure whose info we should all use — especially as inclement weather grows more frequent. There are now multiple reports of mass firings at the NWS/NOAA: flaminghydra.com/issue-20/
Trust government weather / Follow your pen
Today: Diana Moskovitz, investigations editor, writer, and co-owner of Defector; and Jim Cooke, art director, illustrator and designer for digital journalism and print media, currently at Los Angeles ...
flaminghydra.com
Fascinating.... “If you think the goal in life is to make money by hook or by crook and commodify human dignity, you have valued money over love.” harpers.org/archive/2025...
A Good Company, by Justin Nobel
Searching for my publisher’s radioactive oil waste
harpers.org
So glad Mark Perrault is safe! Bravo to all the compassionate and thoughtful TriMet bus drivers who, on the daily get us where we’re going safely. And remember to always thank your bus driver! www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/0...
Portland bus driver who de-escalated hijacking recounts harrowing 12 minutes
TriMet driver Mike Perrault hugged the man accused of pointing a gun to his head.
oregonlive.com
