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Sites of former meth labs are known for their toxicity, but the risk doesn’t end with labs. The Oregon Health Authority says that homes once occupied by heavy meth users can be contaminated, too, and must be cleaned carefully. Continue reading
In the midst of the city’s budget crisis, the Library Journal rated Eugene Public Library a three-star library. The journal looks per capita at circulation, visits, program attendance and public internet terminal use and ranks libraries across the U.S according to their budget class. By the Library Journal’s metrics, a three-star rating equates to being in the top 3 percent of a library’s budget class in terms of cost-effectiveness. Continue reading
“Oregon is a hotbed of auditing,” says Michael Eglinski, a performance auditor from Kansas. But Eugene, Oregon’s second-largest city, doesn’t have a performance auditor. For years, Eugeneans have tried to evaluate whether the city is big enough, and its operations complex enough, to warrant a performance auditor. Continue reading
Construction on Capstone’s 13th and Olive student housing project is continuing, but representatives from the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters (PNWRCC) say that after complaints from workers employed by multiple contractors, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) and other agencies are investigating the project. Continue reading
Oregon’s vote on marriage equality is approaching T-minus one year and counting, and Oregon United for Marriage (OUM) is thriving. Eugeneans will mark the countdown with several house parties in the area and 100 throughout the state. The statewide campaign has hired a new director, and a Students United for Marriage chapter has been active in Eugene since late September. Statewide, petitioners have gathered 104,908 of 116,284 signatures required to make the November 2014 ballot. Continue reading
The UO plans to introduce mandatory, online workplace harassment prevention training for its faculty, staff and GTFs in the next week. The two-part training includes a section by United Educators, the UO’s insurance company for issues of harassment and discrimination cases, and training developed by UO itself. It includes comprehension exercises interspersed in both parts. Continue reading
We couldn't make this up. From People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals: October 23, 2013 Group Wants to Debut New Tongue-in-Cheek Attack of the Pigeons! Video Short at UCLA Bruins Game Continue reading
Oregon's first statewide Drive Less Challenge kicks off Oct. 21 and runs (and bikes and walks and carpools) through Nov. 1. The aim is to reduce vehicle miles traveled by 500,000 miles. Sign up at DriveLessChallenge.com/challenge to participate, and you can get an informational kit; you can even request a couple of freebies like leg straps for biking and pedometers. For more Eugene-centric information, like connecting with carpools and figuring out your best bike routes, check out point2pointsolutions.org. Sponsors Bike Friday and Wells Fargo are donating prizes. Continue reading
The walls are rising all over Eugene, from Courtside and Skybox apartments (built in 2011) to the 13th and Olive Capstone complex under construction to the towering future Core Campus development at East Broadway and Ferry. Another big student housing project is being proposed for the Laurel Hill Valley neighborhood. Now real estate and development experts are wondering: Is Eugene’s student housing market a bubble destined to pop? Continue reading
There’s a rich and rocky story beneath Willamette Street. Historical streetcar tracks and basalt paving stones exposed during repaving delayed heavy construction for a week and a half while the city sought an archaeological excavation permit to remove them, and the incident has city staff thinking about a new approach to digging up Eugene’s buried tracks. Eugene’s transportation history includes both electric and horse-drawn trolleys, which ran until 1927. Continue reading