Eugene Weekly

• The Oregon Legislature wrapped up its short session last week, and with the leadership of Dems, some decent legislation made it through, and some bad bills got shelved. The governor might not sign every bill into law. The graduated and tiered minimum wage hike is inadequate, as we noted last week, but it’s a step in the right direction. Legislation to phase out coal-fired electricity by 2030 is another step, but let’s keep in mind that burning trees is also a nasty way to generate power. Continue reading →

• The insurance industry won what could be a temporary victory in the short session of the Oregon Legislature when a bill to increase the 29-year-old cap on damages on wrongful death lawsuits died quietly without a Senate vote. Two Lane county senators, Lee Beyer and Chris Edwards, said they would not support the change even though their caucus and governor did support it. The bill had passed the House easily. The present cap on non-economic damages in wrongful death cases is $500,000, passed in 1987 and never adjusted for cost-of-living increases. Continue reading →

• Lane County Democrats gathered Feb. 18 for their traditional endorsement process for nonpartisan May Primary races. No big surprises (Lucy Vinis for mayor, Tony McCown for county commissioner), but no endorsements for any of the three Dems running to replace George Brown in Eugene City Council Ward 1. DPLC Chair Chris Wig is one of the candidates, and to avoid a conflict of interest, he turned over the meeting to Vice-chair Laura Gillpatrick. Continue reading →

• Eugene Weekly does not condone or encourage acts of violence or destruction in the name of any cause. We were dismayed to find out that someone threw a large rock through the glass door of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce building in the early hours of Saturday, Feb. 13. The perpetrator also placed several copies of the Feb. Continue reading →