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• Civil libertarian Raymond Brown, a recently retired educator with the Bethel School District, will be celebrating Independence Day in period costume, reciting the Declaration of Independence by heart at 1, 3 and 5 pm July 4 at the top of Skinner Butte. He will also be flying 25 full-sized flags atop the butte. Continue reading
• Eugene’s City Council will vote Monday, July 8, on suspending the enforcement of a 5-cent charge for paper bags. To change the ordinance before people have a chance to adapt is ludicrous. Without the incentive, people who don’t care about the consequences of their own actions on the planet and our descendants won’t change their behavior. Continue reading
In Afghanistan • 2,241 U.S. troops killed (2,238 last week) • 18,851 U.S. troops wounded in action (18,795) • 1,353 U.S. contractors killed (1,353) • 16,179 civilians killed (updates NA) • $638.9 billion cost of war ($637.4 billion) • $191.7 million cost to Eugene taxpayers ($191.2 million) In Iraq Continue reading
Art and the Vineyard will feature local wineries and dozens of other small businesses in a summer celebration that begins 11 am July 4 and continues through Saturday, July 6. Weather should be a little cooler and we encourage everyone to turn out and experience this unique outdoor gathering of artists, musicians and other performers, authors, chefs, brewers and vintners in Alton Baker Park. The event by the river is also a fundraiser for the Maude Kerns Art Center, Eugene’s oldest nonprofit community center for the visual arts. Continue reading
• Health Care for All Oregon’s Eugene chapter will host the statewide annual meeting of its coalition from 10 am to 3 pm Friday, June 28, at First United Methodist Church, 1376 Olive St. The gathering of HCAO’s 80 member organizations, along with delegates from labor unions, health care providers and other groups, is open to the public. The Eugene chapter will later meet from 7 to 9 pm Tuesday, July 2, at EWEB, 500 E. Continue reading
What’s a “benefit company?” The Oregon Senate has approved a new designation for businesses to register as corporations committed to sustainability. Companies will need to meet certain social and environmental performance guidelines. HB 2296A has passed both houses of the Legislature and is expected to be signed by Gov. Kitzhaber, but the rules and regulations are still to be worked out. Continue reading
• The Incredible Shrinking Oregonian in Portland is cutting home delivery to four days a week, moving from its iconic building, letting more than 90 people go from all floors and levels, already advertising for cheaper, less experienced staff, becoming a “truly digitally focused media company,” as Publisher N. Christian Anderson III puts it in an op-ed piece. The paper will continue to print seven days a week, but parent company Advance Publications Inc. of New Jersey has cut back print days in other cities, often with bad results. Continue reading
• Basic Rights Oregon will combine eating and equality in its annual Bites for Rights fundraiser. On Thursday, June 20, eat at Cornbread Café, The Divine Cupcake, Poppi’s Anatolia, Sweet Life Patisserie and Whirled Pies Pizzeria in Eugene or Interzone, Les Caves Bier & Kitchen or Squirrel’s Tavern in Corvallis to show your support. • Walk, bike or ride the bus Thursday, June 20, for Dump the Pump Day. Who knows, you might just get addicted. Continue reading
Delta Sand & Gravel and Babb Construction are the target of a class action lawsuit by four former employees on behalf of themselves and other current and former employees, according to attorney Alan Leiman of the Eugene law firm Leiman & Johnson, LLC. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene, alleges violations of overtime provisions and other Oregon labor laws. The complaint seeks damages in excess of $3.5 million. Continue reading
• Props to the three city councilors who objected to the rushed vote on the Core Campus tax exemption (see News this week). Councilors George Brown, Betty Taylor and Alan Zelenka held their own in the debate. The majority of councilors seem to doubt Eugene’s ability to attract less extravagant housing projects — ones that could be built without a multi-million dollar tax break. Didn’t Eugeneans just vote down a city fee measure, based in part on their objections to such tax breaks? Continue reading