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Chelsea Biondolillo
Chelsea Biondolillo
News Intern
Jordan Harper
Jordan Harper
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Luke Hammons
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Marie Smith
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Rhanden Lind
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Sara Hossaini
Sara Hossaini
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Bob Beck
Bob Beck
News Director
Irina Zhorov
Irina Zhorov
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Willow Belden
Willow Belden
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Rebecca Martinez
Rebecca Martinez
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Grady Kirkpatrick
Grady Kirkpatrick
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Pat Gabriel
Pat Gabriel
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Tom Wilhelm
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Chris Lehman

Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.

Chris is a native of rural Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He was born in the upstairs bedroom of his grandmother's house, and grew up in a 230 year old log cabin in the woods. Chris traces his interest in journalism to his childhood, when his parents threatened to take away his newspaper if he didn’t do his chores.

In addition to working full time in public radio for the past decade, Chris has also reported from overseas on a free–lance basis. He's filed stories from Iraq, Burkina Faso, El Salvador, Northern Ireland, Zimbabwe and Uganda. He lives in Salem with his wife and child.

Read Chris's blog, "Capitol Currents: Dispatches From Salem."

It's All Politics
2:47 pm
Thu April 4, 2013

Oregon Weighs Own Gun Measures After Mall Shooting, Newtown

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Credit Chris Lehman / Northwest News Network
Gun rights supporters rally at the Oregon Capitol in February.
Credit Don Ryan / AP
Flowers and balloons sit at the entrance of the Clackamas Town Center mall in Portland, Ore., on Dec. 19, a week after a gunman opened fire inside, killing two people and himself.
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Originally published on Thu April 4, 2013 6:20 pm

Oregon state lawmakers have scheduled a marathon public hearing Friday on four gun control bills. The proposals include a ban on guns in schools and criminal background checks for private gun sales.

Opponents are lining up against the measures, but some gun control advocates say the proposals don't go far enough.

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U.S.
2:41 pm
Wed September 19, 2012

Why Does China Want A Mural In Oregon Destroyed?

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Credit Chris Lehman for NPR
This pro-Tibet mural in downtown Corvallis is at the center of a dispute between the town's mayor and the Chinese government.
Credit Chris Lehman for NPR
Businessman David Lin stands in front of a mural depicting a self-immolating monk he commissioned in Corvallis, Ore. The Chinese consulate in San Francisco sent a letter to Corvallis' mayor requesting the mural's removal.
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Originally published on Wed September 19, 2012 6:09 pm

The mural in downtown Corvallis, Ore., is big: 10 feet high and 100 feet long. One side shows a peaceful countryside setting in rural Taiwan. The other shows police beating protesters in Tibet and a Buddhist monk setting himself ablaze in protest.

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Religion
1:26 am
Tue September 11, 2012

Episcopal Church Woos Latinos To Congregations

Credit Chris Lehman for NPR
The Rev. Roberto Arciniega, head of Latino ministries for the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon, says the denomination must reach out to Latinos to stay relevant in a multicultural society.
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Originally published on Tue September 11, 2012 7:57 am

Latinos are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the United States, but only 5 percent of all Hispanics attend a mainline Protestant church. The vast majority are Roman Catholic.

For the Episcopal Church, those numbers are an opportunity.

The denomination is seeing fast-growing pockets of new Latino congregants. Episcopal churches in Nevada and Washington, D.C., are seeing considerably higher attendance from Latinos. In Oregon, there were only 150 Latino Episcopalians 20 years ago. Now, there are more than 800.

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Business
10:01 pm
Wed February 15, 2012

Retirement Communities Find Niche With Gay Seniors

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Credit Chris Lehman / for NPR
Michael Stotts (left) and Rod Dolan, together since 1977, settled at the Rose Villa retirement community in Portland, Ore.
Credit Chris Lehman / for NPR
The Rainbow Vista retirement community in Gresham, Ore., bills itself as "100 percent gay owned and operated."
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Originally published on Thu February 16, 2012 6:43 am

When Pat Matthews turned 65, her declining health led her in search of a place that could offer increasing levels of care as she grew older.

And Matthews had one other requirement: She wanted to bring Carol Bosworth, her partner of nearly 20 years. At the very first place they visited, that was a problem.

"They didn't say we couldn't come. But they said that we would be best off if we were sisters," Matthews says. "We crossed them off our list, because that's not the way we want to live."

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