Shelby Slaughter
Shelby Slaughter is a reporter and fill-in anchor at KATU News who focuses on how local policy, infrastructure and emergency response affect day‑to‑day safety and comfort, especially under environmental stress. Her recent work tracks the way city governments and counties respond to extreme heat, hazardous incidents, homelessness and park safety, with a consistent emphasis on what affected residents can do right now. She brings general assignment range to an environment‑oriented beat, connecting weather, public health and neighborhood quality of life through practical, service‑driven reporting.
Cooling Portland and extreme heat coverage
Slaughter’s environmental reporting is anchored by coverage of extreme heat and the city’s Cooling Portland program. In her report on a city program offering free air conditioning units to eligible residents during a heat wave, she explains who qualifies, the application deadline and the specific steps to request a unit, including calling 311 or using the online portal. She highlights that the assistance targets people who cannot afford air conditioning on their own and directs readers to official cooling locations such as libraries and dining halls, framing the story around immediate public‑health needs during dangerous temperatures.
The piece fits into a wider pattern in her work: she treats climate‑driven hazards not as abstract trends but as concrete risks, and focuses on how local programs translate into real relief for vulnerable households.
Safe Parks Ordinance and public space rules
Another recurring thread in Slaughter’s coverage is how cities regulate public spaces in the name of safety. In her story on proposed changes to Portland’s Safe Parks Ordinance, she reports on plans to expand the city’s ability to exclude people from parks for drug use, weapons possession and violence.
The framing centers on city leaders’ efforts to make parks feel safer while spelling out the behaviors that could trigger bans, connecting policy language to the lived experience of people who use those spaces. This approach mirrors earlier work cited by her station, including coverage of week‑long protests at a major public university, where she has examined how authorities manage conflict and maintain access in shared civic environments.
Bridge Shelter and homelessness policy
Slaughter also covers homelessness and shelter policy through a local lens. In her reporting on the Vancouver City Council’s camping ban near the construction site of the new Bridge Shelter, she documents the council’s decision to restrict camping around the facility and shows the site itself, giving visual context to the policy change.
The story focuses on the tension between creating new shelter capacity and limiting where unsheltered people can stay, a pattern in her work where infrastructure projects are paired with rules that reshape how nearby streets and lots are used. This line of coverage sits alongside earlier reporting on the abrupt closure of the Mt.
Hood Senior Living facility, where she has looked at how decisions about housing and care facilities ripple through the lives of residents and families.
Hazmat incidents and emergency response
Emergency incidents and hazardous materials are another area where Slaughter’s general assignment work intersects with environmental and public‑safety concerns. In her coverage of a hazmat chemical leak in Estacada that prompted brief evacuations within a defined radius, she reports on the nature of the incident, the evacuation orders and the geographic boundaries involved. The story shows her tendency to translate technical responses - such as setting a half‑mile evacuation zone - into clear, accessible information for people who live and work nearby.
This sits alongside broader breaking news work, where she has covered ice storms, protests and other disruptive events, consistently tracking official instructions and timelines so residents know what is happening and when it is safe to return to normal routines.
Reporting style and background
Across these assignments, Slaughter leans toward service journalism that prioritizes eligibility criteria, deadlines, contact points and on‑the‑ground impact over political debate. Whether she is explaining how to apply for a free cooling unit, outlining new exclusion powers in parks or mapping out an evacuation zone, her stories give clear, actionable details to people directly affected by policy or emergency decisions. Before joining KATU News in January 2024, she reported in Tucson, Arizona and Ottumwa, Iowa and worked in earlier roles as a multimedia and entertainment reporter, bringing familiarity with both hard news and consumer‑focused storytelling to her current beat. That mix of general assignment experience and attention to environmental stressors makes her a fit for stories that sit at the intersection of weather, public health, public space and local government response.
4 more environment journalists.
Alan Halaly
Alan Halaly is a water reporter at the Las Vegas Review-Journal who treats the Colorado River as a working system, not a backdrop, making its governance, infrastructure and risks central to his beat. He covers how policy decisions and infrastructure projects shape the region’s water future, linking high-level choices on the Colorado River, dams, mining and data centers to everyday consequences under mounting heat and growth pressures. He reports deeply on new laws, lawsuits and regulatory shifts, focusing on on-the-ground impacts. His coverage spans Colorado River cuts, Hoover Dam operations, extreme weather, heat and parks, septic system rules, workplace and public health risks, lithium and gold mines, protected landscapes, data centers, AI infrastructure and public funding. Previously he reported for metropolitan dailies, digital outlets and public media, including the Miami Herald, WUFT, The Daily Beast and Miami New Times, with work recognized by Hearst, ONA and the Society of Environmental Journalists.
Alejandra Borunda
Alejandra Borunda reports on how climate change affects human health for NPR. Her work treats global warming as a direct cause of physical and mental health risks. She covers extreme heat, including undercounted deaths, lost sleep and local efforts to track heat-related fatalities. She also reports on wildfire smoke, hurricanes, disease spread such as dengue fever, trauma, stress and unequal health impacts. Her stories examine how communities protect themselves and recover, as well as practical solutions involving climate-resilient crops, agriculture and diet. Before NPR, she wrote about climate science and environmental issues for National Geographic, including glacier retreat, shade and heat inequity, and shrinking ice-fishing seasons. A former climate scientist, she combines field reporting with scientific data to connect atmospheric research to everyday risks, choices and people’s lived experiences.
Alex Lubben
Alex Lubben is an environment reporter at The Times-Picayune/The Advocate who connects climate risk to policy, industry and community change. He covers Gulf warming, flood protection, coastal restoration, wetlands litigation, industrial projects such as SpaceX’s possible expansion, invasive species and local ecosystems. His reporting tracks how law, politics and corporate decisions shape levees, drainage, marshes and long-term resilience. He also examines climate relocation, housing and labor, showing how hurricanes, floods and wildfires displace vulnerable communities and expose gaps in government systems. He works on a small environment team and brings an investigative background to document work, data analysis, legal and policy research, and field reporting. His work has appeared in VICE News, The Center for Public Integrity, The Nation, Jewish Currents and NBC News.
Alex Wigglesworth
Alex Wigglesworth reports on how climate, land use and public policy shape California communities. She covers the Inland Empire and Mojave Desert for the Los Angeles Times and is part of its environment team. Her beat includes wildfires, megadrought, extreme weather, desert development, conservation, wildlife, industrial hazards, aging infrastructure and regulatory enforcement. She has covered Western Joshua trees, desert tortoises, beaver-led restoration, toxic lead pipes, air-quality concerns after industrial fires and the effects of nuclear war on food systems. Earlier, she was a general assignment reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com. She combines breaking news with detailed reporting grounded in scientific studies, modeling and expert interviews. Her work connects fires, drought and other hazards to climate change, while examining how agencies, companies and land-use decisions affect people and ecosystems.