This program 87 of the To The Point! series.

International   (Mike Riley) The recent election in Iraq, which was heavily disputed due to allegations of fraud, has come under intense scrutiny. A recount has been ordered throwing further doubt on the results.   Will this signal an end to the Ayad Allawi government and a shift in US-Iraq relations?

National   (Richard Donin) The FAA recently imposed a moratorium on all new wind projects in the Mid-Columbia region of Oregon.   The reason?   The wind turbines interfere with a military radar site in Fossil.   Wind farms developed by large corporations and private land owners in Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam, Morrow, and Klickitat counties have time-sensitive binding power purchase agreements and a wide variety of contracts in place that could cost the Mid-Columbia region to lose $2-3 billion dollars in new investments, jobs, property taxes, land leases, and other economic activities if the ban is not lifted.  Did the FAA blindside these projects by shutting them down in such a critical stage, and do the landowners have any recourse? What’s the real story here?

Local   (Matt Wingard) The Portland Police Bureau has been under siege for recent actions resulting in numerous deaths.   Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman requested further review, and the FBI is now beginning an investigation into at least one specific incident, the fatal police shooting of Aaron Campbell, an unarmed man who was shot in the back earlier this year.   If the investigation finds violations of federal criminal civil rights statutes, what can and should be done to get the police bureau back on track?

This program 86 of the To The Point! series.

International   (Mike Riley) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will not accept demands that Israel stop building in occupied East Jerusalem. Will this cause a new flare up in violence or is Israel using this as a bargaining chip to jump start stalled Palestinian – Israeli peace talks?

National   (Richard Donin) On April 16, the Securities and Exchange commission filed a complaint against Goldman, Sachs & Company and one of its employees Fabrice Tourre.   The suit alleges that Goldman, Sachs created a synthetic housing-market bond that was sure to fail, sold the bond to customers, and then conspired with a short seller to bet against it.   Could this one bond and the people involved have triggered the collapse of the financial markets, and one of the worst recessions in recent history, all while Goldman Sachs posted record profits?

Local (Al Young)   The Portland City Council recently approved a plan that would impose new regulations on where and how developers can build along an 11-mile stretch of the Willamette River.   The River Plan, as it’s called, would require developers to set aside 15 percent of their property for landscaping when they start projects, and would require any existing project that expands a business’s footprint would undergo a new city review process.   Many businesses along the river are already crying foul, and rumor has it that Washington is already courting the ports and railyards to move north.   Is the new River Plan the best way to strike a balance between businesses and the river environment, or will it just drive businesses out of the state?

This program 85 of the To The Point! series.

International   (Richard Donin) U.N. Climate Chief Yvo de Boer recently resigned after four years of leading international climate change negotiations.   Some say it was due to the chaos of the Copenhagen summit last year, and the fact that the summit quickly became known as Climate-gate after 1,000 suspicious emails between climate scientists were leaked to the public.   Will these scientists ever be able to regain the trust of the global community, and will the world’s largest polluters be motivated to change now?

National:   (Courtney Clarke) President Obama’s healthcare bill seems to be losing steam, with the recent departure of some supporters on the Democratic side of the aisle.   Does President Obama have what it takes to convince the House and Senate to pass some sort of healthcare reform, or has his window of opportunity passed?

State:   (Jack Ohman) With the rise of internet based reporting, will the newspaper industry survive.

Local:   (Al Young) The City of Portland is taking unspent money from the Big Pipe waste-water project, to use for other purposes, such as bike paths.   The Willamette Week newspaper has documented other cases where the City of Portland is taking money collected for one purpose and using it for other purposes.   Are these the kind of decisions Portland officials were elected to make?

This program 84 of the To The Point! series.

International   (Richard Donin) On January 12th, the worst earthquake in 200 years struck less than 10 miles from the city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, turning an already impoverished nation into a pile of rubble.    Many have compared the disaster in Haiti to the devastation of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, but you can’t really compare a regional disaster to an entire country in pieces, or can you?   When the cameras stop rolling and the celebrities stop raising money for Haiti, will they be able to recover and how long will it take?

National:   (Courtney Clarke) Toyota Motor Corporation has been criticized for its initial response to the consumer complaints of unintended acceleration in some of its vehicles.   In a recent hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee California State Representative Henry A. Waxman, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said Toyota had three responses to the consumer complaints:   First, blame the driver.   Second, blame the floor mat.   Third, blame a sticky gas pedal.   Toyota has now recalled more than eight million vehicles world-wide for unintended acceleration, brake problems and other issues.   Is it too little too late, and have they damaged the brand loyalty?

State:   (Jack Ohman) Oregon voters recently passed Measures 66 and 67, which were supposed to prevent further layoffs in the public school system and fund public services.   Since the measures became law some local businesses have closed due to the retroactive taxes owed, and schools are still being asked

Local:   (Al Young) As we sit here and tape this show, the Metro Council is discussing the urban growth boundary, and voting on agreements with the three Portland-area counties to designate which land will be developed and which will remain rural for the next 40 to 50 years.   Should Metro be picking the winners and losers, and will these property owners have any recourse if they want to but can’t develop their land?

International (Al Young) Five Blackwater employees, all of them U.S. military veterans, were charged Monday with manslaughter and attempted manslaughter in a case where at least 17 Iraqi civilians were killed.   Was it self defense? Were they following orders? Should their superiors be held responsible as well?

National (Mike Riley) Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was recently arrested, accused of trying to trade the Senate seat left vacant by US President-elect Barack Obama. Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was recently convicted on seven felony counts.   Is corruption becoming politics as usual?

State (Mike Riley) The media is having a feeding frenzy with it’s doom-and-gloom headlines every day.   Is all of the negative press actually becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy and creating a deeper recession?

Local (Mike Riley) Vestas, the world’s largest windmill maker has announced that it will create 1,200 new jobs in Portland, relocating its North American headquarters and building a new manufacturing plant.   Solarworld is turning its Hillsboro factory into the largest solar-wafer and cell factory in the United States and adding 1000 new jobs by 2010.   Is the Portland Metro area setting the stage to become a regional leader in global “green-energy” development?