Slant 9-4-2014

• Our Pop Quiz on City Hall this week is an attempt to look more closely at the predicament we have gotten ourselves in regarding the fate of City Hall. Is destruction imminent? We hear the city has not yet acquired a demolition permit. Meanwhile, some new information is being batted around this week about estimates for remodeling that were done a couple of years ago by Turner Construction’s Portland office. Was the Eugene City Council given an accurate analysis of the true costs of renovating City Hall vs. tearing it down and rebuilding? Continue reading 

Biz Beat 9-4-2014

We hear that nearly 90 percent of the 1,300 beds at the Capstone housing project called 13th & Olive are leased and new leases are expected to be signed through September. The construction work that remains will be completed by move-in around Sept. 23. Continue reading 

Hip Hop’s Greaser

Clean-shaven with slicked-back hair and sporting a perfecto leather jacket,  rising hip-hop star G-Eazy could easily be mistaken for a cologne model. With his retro greaser look, G-Eazy (né Gerald Earl Gillum) has cultivated a unique style for his chosen genre, earning him the title of “the James Dean of hip hop.” Caught between flattered and exasperated by this categorization, G-Eazy is trying to stake his own ground.  Continue reading 

Biz Beat 8-28-2014

Medical marijuana dispensaries in Oregon are rallying to support the measure on the November ballot that would legalize, regulate and tax marijuana use by adults in the state. Lane County dispensaries are sending representatives north to a kick-off event for the group Dispensaries for Measure 91 at 5:30 pm Thursday, Aug. 28, at Opal 28, 510 NE 28th Ave. in Portland. See voteyeson91.com to get involved. Why are dispensaries supporting “competition” from legalized pot? Continue reading 

Slant 8-28-2014

• We lamented in this column Aug. 14 that Eugene City Hall is about to be destroyed following a split decision by the City Council to abandon the sustainable concept of repairing, rebuilding or repurposing the full city block structure. Rowell Brokaw Architects and city leaders are planning a brief celebration of “Eugene City Hall Past & Future” from 11 am to noon Wednesday, Sept. 3, at the corner of 8th and Pearl. “We will honor the history of the building and look forward to our new City Hall,” reads the announcement. Continue reading 

Lane County Area Spray Schedule 8-21-14

• Coast Range Conifers, 335-1472, plans to hire Western Helicopter Services, Inc., (503) 538-9469, to aerially spray Escort, Oust, Oust Extra and/or Surfactant L-11 or LI-700 on 60 acres near Swartz Creek, using a helicopter landing pad on BLM land. See ODF notification 2014-781-00754, call Robin L. Biesecker at 935-2283 with questions.  Continue reading 

Slant 8-21-2014

• If you are worried about public safety in Lane County, consider that this county has received $2,736,425 worth of surplus military equipment from the Department of Defense —  more than any other Oregon county. That’s according to an Aug. 15 Associated Press story in The Oregonian. Equipment includes one wheeled combat vehicle, 91 infrared illuminators, two ordnance disposal robots and 15 rifles. Coming free to cops across America, this surplus stuff was manufactured with our tax dollars. Continue reading 

Activist Alert 8-21-2014

• A free gathering to commemorate the 94th anniversary of women’s suffrage will be at 3 pm Saturday, Aug. 23, at the Eugene Public Library. Kirk Taylor and Livvie Taylor-Young will present a scripted Power Point documentary complete with original music and photographs dating as far back as the 1800s.    Continue reading