Eugene Weekly

In 2003 the Lane County Commission voted to move to a “last resort” program in using herbicides on county roadsides. The plan to put a moratorium on pesticide use was in response to concerns for human health as well as concerns for Willamette River steelhead and Chinook salmon. On Sept. 9, with impetus from Commissioner Jay Bozievich and with the encouragement of pro-pesticide group Oregonians for Food and Shelter, the county’s Integrated Vegetation Management Program “last resort” policy will be up for discussion.  Continue reading →

Weyerhaeuser is a name long associated with timber, but back in 2010 the company became a REIT — real estate investment trust. Local land-preservation advocates from LandWatch Lane County say that Weyerhaeuser is one of the many landowners in the region moving property lines around on forestland to allow more houses to be built on what’s called an “impacted forest zone” on the edges of towns in Oregon. Continue reading →

The Lane County Commission acted against Eugene’s paid sick leave ordinance before the city had its public hearing on the issue. The three ordinances that the county rushed to vote contain a typo in a reference to Oregon law, and they are similar to model legislation to preempt sick leave put forth at the state level by the corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Continue reading →

Beyond Toxics has been calling attention for years to what it says are the “disproportionate environmental and human health effects” of the Seneca biomass burning plant on nearby communities. Seneca Sustainable Energy is located in the West Eugene Industrial Corridor, an area with a higher-than-average number of low-income and Latino residents, according to Lisa Arkin of Beyond Toxics. Continue reading →

After allegations of a sexual assault by three Duck basketball players surfaced in May, UO President Michael Gottfredson announced he would appoint an independent review panel “to examine our practices for preventing and responding to sexual violence.” UO psychology professor Jennifer Freyd then emailed Gottfredson and suggested he appoint Oregon’s U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall to the panel. He did not. Continue reading →