Biz Beat 12-27-2012

We hear the Eugene Airport is super busy over the holidays with more than 1,800 people departing the day after Christmas, up about 17 percent over last year. Cathryn Stephens, deputy airport director, predicts Dec. 27 and 30 will also be big days for arrivals and departures. She says the more typical departure rate is about 1,100 a day. 

“Survival Skills for Artists” is a 10-week course geared toward visual artists who are “seeking the tools to move their art into the professional art arena,” offered by the city of Eugene’s Cultural Services in cooperation with LCC. Classes meet evenings between Jan. 8 and March 12 at the Hult Center. Tuition is $125. See hultcenter.org or call 682-5000 or stop by the Hult Ticket Office weekday afternoons.

Need access to capital? Email spam often touts free “stimulus” money for small businesses, but Oregon residents can apply for legitimate microloans (below $35,000) through Entrepreneurial Development Services (eDev). Individual Development Accounts (IDA) is a program that provides matching small business grants to individuals who submit a business plan, take a financial literacy course, complete 30 hours of training, and otherwise qualify. BJ Jones of the Backstage Bakery in Cottage Grove recently completed the IDA process. eDev has offices at 1445 Willamette St. in Eugene and the phone number is 463-4627.

Community Mediation Services, a Eugene-based nonprofit, has a new home at 93 Van Buren St. and will be offering its annual 40-Hour Basic Mediation Training on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays beginning Feb. 8. The training is designed to provide “conflict transformation” skills for the workplace, home or in community volunteer service. Early registration by Jan. 25 is $625. See communitymediationservices.com or call 344-5366.

Bicycles donated to St. Vincent de Paul are being refurbished and resold for $15 to low-income individuals and families, and some are being given away for free, according to Shane Ayrsman, St. Vincent’s mechanical coordinator and former owner of Revolution Cycles in Eugene. More than 150 bikes have been inspected and repaired, many of which would have gone into metal recycling or left to rust. Unwanted bikes can be dropped off at St. Vincent’s donation centers around the valley. See svdp.us or call 345-0595.