• We loved all the responses we got for naming the Hayward Field tower — and Phil’s Phallus Palace was a strong runner up. The “weiner” is: The Phildo. Come get your Eugene Weekly T-shirt. University of Oregon and Nike, please take note — and rethink possible future designs that bear distinct responses to parts of the anatomy that don’t involve footwear. You know what they say about people with big footwear? Big towers.
• Lane County Commissioner Jay Bozievich has recently been sporting his #TimberUnity allegiance, so it’s no surprise that he’s against the cap and trade legislation — especially since he reads news stories from climate deniers on the widely discredited Natural News website. On Feb. 23, Bozievich (also known in Slant as “Commish Bozo”) sent out a resolution opposing House Bill 4167 and Senate Bill 1530, bills in the Oregon Legislature that would enact cap and trade. It’s ironic because Bozievich has said at past Lane County Board of County Commissioner meetings that he opposes resolutions that are used for “virtue signaling.” Then again, it’s not like denying climate change is a virtue.
• What we are reading on social media: Whoever has taken over the Portland District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers social media feeds, we salute you. The posts on Facebook and Twitter are clever, funny and informative — and effective since, on Facebook alone, the Corps’ following has swiftly surged to 5,000, more than double that of the Seattle District’s. From Marty McFly references to explain gigawatts to #humpday haikus like “Jetties be chillin’/ in the spot that be bangin’/ But don’t walk on them,” it’s nice to see government flacks with an excellent sense of humor.
• After a weeklong trial on the fatal police shooting of veteran Brian Babb, a federal jury voted against the Babb family in the $9.3 million civil lawsuit. The court was packed during the final morning of the trial when each side presented closing arguments. After less than two hours of deliberation, the jury unanimously voted that a Eugene police officer, Will Stutesman, did not violate the Fourth Amendment in using excessive force. During the trial, most of police officers who were present at the shooting testified along with Brian Babb’s therapist and members of the Babb family, including Babb’s two children. While the case focused on whether or not Babb was really holding a rifle, the inescapable fact is he never would have died if the police had not responded to a PTSD-troubled veteran who had called his therapist for help with overwhelming, trauma-inducing force.
• Go to The Players Tribune and read Sabrina Ionescu’s letter “Dear Oregon Basketball” to top off your Sabrina week. She was such a star reading a tribute to Kobe Bryant before 20,000 fans in Staples Center in L.A. on Monday morning, then flying back to Palo Alto to join her team in beating Stanford that night while dealing with the stomach flu. While playing Stanford, Ionescu went on to become the first-ever — male or female — NCAA athelete to reach 2,000 points, 1,000 assists and 1,000 rebounds. Let’s hope the Ducks make it to the Final Four in New Orleans.
Correction/Clarification: In our Feb. 13 story on Cosmos Creations and enterprise zones, we wrote that Cosmos did not have to pay property taxes as part of its enterprise zone exemption. Lane County has clarified that “the company was required to continue paying property taxes” and because “it had fallen behind in those payments, Lane County pursued payment as part of the bankruptcy process and was paid in full with interest.”
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