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In Afghanistan • 2,287 U.S. troops killed (2,286 last week) • 19,464 U.S. troops wounded in action (19,447) • 1,452 U.S. contractors killed (1,452) • 16,179 civilians killed (updates NA) • $673.1 billion cost of war ($671.3 billion) • $278.3 million cost to Eugene taxpayers ($277.6 million) In Iraq • 4,423 U.S. troops killed, 31,936 wounded • 1,604 U.S. contractors killed (1,604) • 126,337 to 1.2 million civilians killed* (126,311) Continue reading
• John Nichols and Bob McChesney will speak on “Dollarocracy: The Money and Media Complex that is Destroying America” at 7 pm Thursday, Nov. 14, at the UO Knight Law Center, Room 175. The event is sponsored by the Wayne Morse Center on campus. Their new book The Death and Life of American Journalism investigates the role of money and the control of news media. Continue reading
It’s too late to register for the Regional Prosperity Summit that began Thursday morning, Nov. 14, at the Ford Alumni Center, but the event carries over at 8:30 am Friday at Hilton Garden Inn, 3528 Gateway St. in Springfield. Contact Beth Forrest at 682-5882 or email beth.l.forrest@ci.eugene.or.us. Continue reading
• Welcome to our annual Best of Eugene issue, sometimes affectionately called the “Beast of Eugene” since it is our biggest honking issue of the year and demands brain-numbing weeks of labor by our writers and photogs, and thousands of ballots submitted by our readers. This is our fattest Beast issue ever at 76 pages with near-record ad revenue, so we have to thank our loyal advertisers as well. They recognize that EW print ads provide the most bang for the buck. You simply have to be in EW to build a crowd for your business or event. Continue reading
• ODOT is holding a series of open houses about intercity passenger rail service between the Eugene-Springfield area and Portland-Vancouver, Wash., and providing input on the evaluation results. The next meeting will be from 5 to 7 pm Thursday, Nov. 7, at the Linn-Benton Community College Calapooia Center, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW in Albany. See OregonPassengerRail.org or contact Jill Pearson, (503) 986-3313 or info@oregonpassengerrail.org. Continue reading
Eugeneans are still pondering the boom in student housing and wondering when it will end. In light of the overbuilding (see our cover story Oct. 10) we predict several big projects on the drawing board will be shelved before groundbreaking. College enrollment has peaked, so the big out-of-state investors have been counting on drawing tenants from existing apartments and houses all over town. That’s happening to a degree, but Eugene is not a typical college town. Continue reading
• What do Eugeneans want to see happen at Civic Stadium? The public, as documented in a recent Lindholm Company phone survey, appears to favor selling it to the city and preserving the historic stadium as a soccer field and public park. The survey found that 60 percent of respondents supported selling Civic to the city and 28 percent opposed. We wager that more people will come around, especially as the prospect of swapping an important historic recreational site for a big-box store right in the middle of town looks worse and worse. Continue reading
• Author R. Sheldon Lewis will read from book The Torah of Reconciliation at 6:30 pm Monday, Nov. 4, at Temple Beth Israel, 1175 E. 29th Ave. Free, donations welcome. Sponsored by Jewish Events Willamette-valley (JEW) and Temple Beth Israel. See JewishEventsWillamette-valley.org. Continue reading
Residential property sales are up significantly in Lane County, comparing last September with this September, according to a Regional Multiple Listing Service report passed along to us by Prudential broker Sally Nunn. The median residential sales price is up 15 percent, the number of new listings is up 15 percent and the number of closed sales is up 16.8 percent. Neighborhoods leading in average price change are Mohawk Valley, Springfield, McKenzie Valley, River Road, Coburg/I-5 and southwest Eugene. Continue reading
• Wolves have endured a rocky reintroduction to Oregon, but with new legislation enacted this summer, wolves stand a better chance of surviving when they will disperse elsewhere into Oregon. OR-7, the famous Oregon wolf affectionately known as Journey for his 1,000-mile trek from the Wallowa Mountains to Northern California, was the first to do this, and more wolves could follow his example, eventually settling in the Crater Lake area or even the Willamette Valley. Continue reading