We've got issues.
The Safe Legally Entitled Emergency Places to Sleep (SLEEPS) folks are challenging the closure of free speech plaza — a fence is now closing off the free speech plaza to prevent more protesting. (Would you like some paprika to sprinkle on that irony?) At least one protester has been cited. Here is the latest SLEEPS press release we've received; we'll be updating if we hear more: 12:30 pm Thursday, Dec. 13: Continue reading
Just 20 minutes from the heart of Eugene sits Jasper Mountain Center, an internationally recognized nonprofit where kids who are hurt and troubled, often by severe trauma or abuse, can live and attend school in a safe environment while getting the help they need to heal. After volunteering there since 2008, Gregory Ahlijian wanted give more to the center and the kids he works with, so he wrote a book and has been donating all of its proceeds plus its production costs to the center — so far about $44,000. Continue reading
Hey walkers, bikers and drivers: Tomorrow you get a chance to practice some perfection in commuting. EPD's "downtown team" is "educating the public" tomorrow by focusing on traffic violations in the Broadway and Willamette and Broadway and Olive areas between noon and 5 pm. From the press release: Continue reading
The Eugene City Council heard public forum comments Monday, Dec. 10, on the three options for City Hall: move to EWEB’s riverfront building, stay at the same 7th and Pearl site and build a new building, or rebuild and beautify the existing city hall using parts of its skeleton. (See wkly.ws/1a9 for more information.) Most of the 17 speakers advocated keeping city hall downtown; two spoke in favor of the EWEB site. Continue reading
The U.S. News and World Report is famous for their college rankings — did anyone else proudly show their parents the "dorms like dungeons" listing for UO when living in the residence halls? Anyhow, now they're publishing a list of "underperforming schools," which means the schools' reputations are better than U.S. News thinks they should be based on academic indicators. UO is on that list. Continue reading
Red Agave is closing, and the last night to grab their grub is tomorrow, Dec. 8. From their press release: Continue reading
Tomorrow possession of less than an ounce of marijuana becomes legal under Washington's state statutes. The Seattle PD created "Marijwhatnow?" the best press release in the history of police press releases by way of explaining the ins and outs of the new law, and now it's the Portland PD's turn to help the Oregon populace: Continue reading
A lot of you probably read the Savage Love a few weeks back in which Dan Savage asked LGBT folks whose straight friends worked for marriage equality during the past election to send in a picture and a small description of what they did. Continue reading
When southeast Eugene voters mark their ballots in this election, they will make a familiar choice: four-term City Councilor Betty Taylor or an opponent? Taylor, a veteran progressive, is seeking her fifth term on the council, while Social Security Administration counselor Juan Carlos Valle is running in his first public election. Continue reading
Here's a video from New York about not riding your bike in the bike lane. This is exactly why you need to know your rights — don't miss the surprise ending! In other bike news, the number of bikes sold in Italy has overtaken the number of cars for the first time since WWII. Continue reading