350 Eugene, a local climate activist group, will hold its fall gathering from 7 to 8:45 pm Thursday, Sept. 10, at First United Methodist Church, 1376 Olive Street. The group is planning for the Paris 2015 United Nations climate summit Nov. 30 to Dec. 11. A global climate march is being planned in November.
• Lane County’s Large Events Task Force will hold a business meeting from 6 to 8:30 pm Thursday, Sept. 10, at 3050 N. Delta Highway in Eugene. No public input time is scheduled. The task force will be making recommendations to the County Commission regarding large gatherings on county parklands, such as Buford/Mount Pisgah. Comments at this point should be directed to county commissioners.
• Local civil rights activists are joining the last leg of a long march, the NAACP’s “America’s Journey for Justice.” The NAACP and Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) are staging a send-off for local marchers at noon Thursday, Sept. 10, at the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza, 8th and Oak. Eric Richardson, president of the Eugene-Springfield NAACP, will join the march with Sally Crum and Aloha Heart, two members of the newly formed Springfield-Eugene SURJ group. The March left Selma, Alabama, Aug. 1 and will conclude in Washington, D.C., Sept. 16.
• “Civic Education in Oregon” is the topic at City Club of Eugene at noon Friday at the Downtown Athletic Club, 999 Willamette Street. Superintendents from around Lane County have been invited to speak, including the new 4J Superintendent Gustavo Balderas. $5 for non-members. Next week, Sept. 18, the topic will be the South Willamette Special Area Zone.
• The next Wheels by the Willamette event will be from 4 to 6 pm Friday, Sept. 11, on the D Street Path in Springfield. Free bicycle tune-ups will be offered by Hutch’s Bicycle Store and free bike and pedestrian materials, including maps, will be offered to the attendees to learn more about biking and walking as transportation options in Springfield.
• The annual Sept. 11th Interfaith Service will begin at 6:45 pm Friday, Sept. 11, at First Christian Church, 1166 Oak Street. The theme will be “Forgiveness” and speakers will be Mayor Kitty Piercy, Commissioner Pete Sorenson, Ibrahim Hamide of the Eugene Islamic Center, Quaker activist Peg Morton and others. Call organizer Arun Toke at 342-4956 for more information.
• 15 Now Eugene is calling for an end to poverty wages by advocating a phased-in $15 minimum wage. The group is holding a rally at 2 pm Sunday, Sept. 13, at the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza, 8th and Oak. Speakers will represent SEIU, Community Alliance of Lane County (CALC), Oregon for Bernie Sanders 2016, 15 Now Eugene, and 15 Now Portland. The local group is also asking the Eugene City Council to pay all city workers and contract employees at least $15 per hour. For more information, 15 Now Eugene meets at 3 pm every other Sunday at AFSCME Hall, 7th and Charnelton. Find the group on Facebook.
• Native Americans whose livelihoods and traditions depend on salmon are gathering at noon Wednesday, Sept. 16, on the Capitol steps in Salem to protest the city of Cascade Locks’ plans to sell 100 million gallons of Oxbow Spring water per year to Nestlé Bottled Water Co. The Wanapum Fishing People from four tribes are raising issues about water quality, climate change, drought and the Treaty of 1855. Call 374-2007 for more information.
• Eugene entrepreneur Hollis Shostrom has spent most of his life in a wheelchair and has been putting his scientific brain to work designing a superior power wheelchair that he says will “improve the lives of people living with disabilities.” In high school in Ashland, Shostrom won the state championship in model bridge building four years in a row and says he’s been thinking about flaws in wheelchair design ever since. His new enterprise is called Perpetual Motion Design, and he is raising money for a prototype through gofundme.com. The link to his campaign can be found at wkly.ws/22d. As of this week he has raised $860 toward a goal of $20,000.