• We wrote last winter that the future of Janelle McCoy as executive director of the troubled Oregon Bach Festival was “unclear” (EW Feb. 21). McCoy was widely seen as instigating the still-unexplained 2017 dismissal of popular artistic director Matthew Halls, drawing unfavorable publicity around the world. Now McCoy’s future with OBF is completely clear: She is to be laid off at the end of this summer’s festival. The June 21 announcement by Sabrina Madison-Cannon, dean of the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance, deftly solves two problems at once: The festival can meet a $250,000 budget cut ordered by the UO while pushing McCoy out the door without having to fire her. We look forward to seeing how Madison-Cannon helps OBF rebuild. See our story on the layoff last week at EugeneWeekly.com.

• As we went to press, it appeared that House Bill 2020, also known as Clean Energy Jobs, was dead. Senate President Peter Courtney surprised state senators and the legislation’s supporters Tuesday, June 25, when he killed the climate bill. EW talked with state Sen. Lee Beyer, D-Springfield, and it sounds like the combination of the Republican senators hiding in Idaho rather than voting and not enough Democratic support killed the bill. Renew Oregon, a coalition of organizations supporting climate legislation, told EW the dissenting Democrats were Sens. Betsy Johnson of Scapoose, Arnie Roblan of Coos Bay and Laurie Monnes Anderson of Gresham. Sources say Boeing was lobbying Monnes Anderson to vote against the bill. Beyer said that citizens could put a climate policy bill on the ballot, though it wouldn’t be as nuanced. Unless Courtney has a joker up his sleeve, it appears he’s let Republicans dictate policy once more, just as when Democrats conceded on gun safety and vaccinations in exchange for a quorum to vote on the Student Success Act. Time for new leadership in the Oregon Senate?

• University of Oregon economics Professor Bill Harbaugh, whose UOMatters blog seems to terrorize UO administrators, offers an interesting idea to deal with part of the current budget crisis. Why not eliminate baseball and transfer all the expenses of the Jaqua Center to the Athletic Department?  Sometimes called the “Jock Box,” the Jaqua Center houses advising and tutoring for athletes, so it seems reasonable that the Athletic Department pay for it. As for baseball, it seems unlikely that it will go away. Harbaugh says the UO just hired a new baseball coach for at least $500,000 a year, at the same time that it is sharply cutting budgets for the arts and the Labor Education Research Center. There’s something wrong with that picture.

• As Trump’s anti-immigrant machinery ramps up — who knew it could get worse, but it has — Springfield-based Molina Law Group is sponsoring a free immigration clinic noon to 5 pm July 6. It’s “in response to the Trump administration’s recent announcement that they will be focused on deporting millions of undocumented families in the coming weeks.” Molina Law says that, “Everyone who participates will receive valuable legal information about what to do in case of ICE contact, as well as an analysis about any applications they may be eligible for now or while in ICE detention to be protected from deportation.” Call 844-654-2889.

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