• Two worlds: More than 200 members of this community crowded into Temple Beth Israel in south Eugene Oct. 24 for a wonderfully upbeat meeting on “Local and Global Climate Solutions.” Organized by TBI and the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide, sponsored by Mountain Rose Herbs, and fed by Café Yumm, the meeting brought together speakers from ELAW, the Poland-based Frank Bold foundation, Our Children’s Trust, 350 Eugene, Beyond Toxics, the Civil Liberties Defense Center, as well as TBI Rabbi Ruhi Sophia Motzkin Rubenstein, local climate activist and author Mary DeMocker and natural resource economist Ernie Niemi.

Then, on Oct. 27, a gunman fueled by anti-Semitic hate killed 11 and wounded more at the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh. Donald Trump’s drumbeat of hate and fear is a contributing factor. As the Jewish Federation of Lane County wrote on that day, “In the face of growing anti-Semitism and acts of hate against our community and so many other marginalized groups, it is crucial that we all remain diligent as advocates for community building and as champions of social justice.”

• Kudos to the Eugene City Council for voting 7-1 (Mike Clark opposed) to use the old City Hall block to shelter almost 40 homeless people in the coming cold and wet months. Opposition from some elements of the business community was sure to come, and it did. The city hopes to make this a model site, probably managed by St. Vinnie’s, to help persuade other neighborhoods to shelter the homeless. The City Hall block is planned to eventually hold a new Lane County Courthouse, but winter won’t wait, and it is great to put the space to immediate use.

• Vote, Vote, Vote, Vote, Vote, Vote, Vote, Vote, Vote, Vote. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 6.

• What we are watching: The Amazon series The Man in the High Castle, based on the book by Philip K. Dick, feels terrifyingly real right now, especially now that Trump has announced his latest distraction — his plan to change the 14th Amendment so babies born to non-citizens are not citizens. Seriously? How about a history lesson: The 14th Amendment assured citizenship to freed slaves. Does Trump want people to undergo tests to ensure they are pure Aryans before he lets them in the country? Even though this latest Trumpian announcement is meant as an election ploy to rile up his base, it’s particularly disturbing he would bring up this plan again the very week a synagogue is shot up and a white man with a history of violence shot and killed two African-Americans at a Kentucky Kroger store. And let’s not forget the mail bomber who targeted Democrats and posted hate-filled messages about Dems and minorities online and on his van. If fiction were going to feel real, we’d prefer something like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

• Big Boi, whose son committed to play football at the University of Oregon next year, performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Oct. 25, sporting UO hoodie. The Ducks would go on to lose to Arizona on Oct. 27, 44-15, ruining any dreams of winning the conference and losing their NCAA ranking. But talk about embarrassing, we mistakenly said Big Boi’s son Cross Patton was getting a scholarship to play at UO in last week’s Slant. He’s actually a preferred walk-on.

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