Author: Camilla Mortensen

Corvallis Play Area Memorializes Young Boy, Native Peoples

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Amy Ray of Indigo Girls examines the native design of the memorial play structure. Photo credit: Camilla Mortensen.

Shawala Point at Riverfront Commemorative Park in Corvallis has a new play structure, one that memorializes the life of a young boy and honors the traditions of local indigenous people.  The 50 or so people who came to the Aug. 4 dedication joined Nigel Rose Weber’s parents to watch as a Grand Ronde canoe family paddled up to Shawala Point on the hot August afternoon. Grand Ronde tribal members later drummed and sang. Native American activist and writer Winona LaDuke participated in the dedication, as did singer-songwriter Amy Ray.  Continue reading →

PBR Loses Mick E Mouse (aka Press Release of the Day)

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Rodeo is a sore point with many animal lovers, and for myself, I can't watch calf roping. But those who love to watch bull riding — one of the few animal sports where the non-human animal tends to win, a lot — will tell you that the bulls are well-cared for atheletes.  This press releasse about Mick E Mouse just … well … let me just cut to the chase on why this is a "press release of the day." Continue reading →

Five Starving Horses Have Hope at Roseburg Rescue

The incident provides a lesson on what to do when you see a starving or neglected animal

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A herd of five starving horses on the outskirts of Grants Pass in rural Josephine County, Oregon were saved when a couple women passing by saw the animals, with their ribs and spines protruding, took pictures and posted them to social media on July 26. Officer David Pitts of Josephine County Animal Control says the women used cell phones to take pictures, and such photos “speak volumes.” The incident provides a lesson on what to do when you see a starving or neglected animal. Continue reading →

20-Year Anniversary of Cascadia Forest Defenders, Battle to Save Warner Creek

The arson was followed by several years of activism to keep the spotted owl habitat from being logged

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Mick Garvin (Center) and Many more fought to save the trees at Warner Creek. Photo credit: Kurt Jensen.

This summer marks the 20th anniversary of the fight to protect Warner Creek from a salvage-logging project that the Forest Service sought to institute after an arsonist lit up 9,000 acres in the Willamette National Forest. The forest was torched in 1991, and the arson was followed by several years of activism to keep the spotted owl habitat from being logged. Continue reading →

EPD Shows Up On Map Of Agencies In Contact with Private Spyware Agency

The hack on Hacking Team has raised debates

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The private Italian spying firm Hacking Team was itself recently hacked and some of its internal documents, invoices, emails and customer lists were made public — the information can be found on WikiLeaks. According to Wired not only has the FBI used Hacking Team’s wares, “many of the other governments who bought the same software are repressive regimes, such as Sudan and Bahrain.”  Continue reading →

Haggen Grocery Store Chain Lays Off Workers In Pacific Southwest, Reduces Hours in Oregon

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Washington-based Haggen bought 146 Albertons and Vons locations in Arizona, California, Nevada, Washington and Oregon earlier this year — you might have noticed your local Albertsons has changed its name and color scheme. More recently, social media posts and newspaper stories have blasted the company for laying off hundreds of workers, in particular the developmentally disabled. Continue reading →