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• Travelers to the coast may have noticed that Alpha-Bit Café in Mapleton closed in mid-February following a farewell sale. Old photos are still being posted on the Alpha-Bit and Alpha Farm Facebook pages. So what happened? The café and bookstore support the Alpha Farm Intentional Community in Deadwood and hundreds of people have worked there over the decades. Continue reading
• Lane County has a new Spanish language radio station, reportedly the first ever on the local FM dial. KEQB, La Que Buena, began broadcasting Feb. 17 on 97.7 FM. The station is owned by McKenzie River Broadcasting and will serve the “almost 30,000 Latinos in Lane County and more in the surrounding counties,” says Program Director Steve King. McKenzie River Broadcasting also operates KMGE-FM (Mix 94.5), KKNU-FM (New Country 93.3) and KEUG-FM (105.5 Bob FM). Continue reading
• Tsunami Books reports its “Eat Local/ Shop Local” sandwich board sign in front of the store was stolen the night of Feb. 18, the same night the Domino’s Pizza opened next door at 2568 Willamette. Coincidence? A new sign will be up soon. Domino’s now has three stores in the Eugene area. Continue reading
• Oregon industrial hemp growers will likely be happy with amendments to House Bill 4060 which passed out of the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources Feb. 11, has had its third reading and is up for a vote in the full House soon. The new hemp rules are significantly relaxed over existing rules and an earlier version of the bill. Growing or handling hemp will still require an annual state license, record-keeping and random testing for maximum THC levels. Continue reading
• Another report on Oregon’s fast-growing economy has come out of the Oregon Center for Public Policy (OCPP) and the numbers look great, except for the disparity. Sound familiar? Oregon’s economy is a reflection of the national economy, and the unequal sharing of prosperity is a hot topic in the presidential primary debates. Oregon’s steady economic growth since 1997 has outpaced the national economy significantly. Only North Dakota with its oil boom has exceeded Oregon between 2001 and 2014. Continue reading
• Last fall’s Community Apple Drive has culminated in the first cider exclusively harvested by the community, and the cider will be released on tap and in bottles beginning this week by WildCraft Cider Works. Apples, pears and plums from backyards, alleys and street sides were collected from August through November to produce 575 gallons of a 28-varietal cider. A percentage of sales will go to local nonprofit conservation groups. A celebration will be held starting at 8 pm Friday, Feb. 5, at Hi-Fi Music Hall, 44 E. 7th Ave. Continue reading
• The independent private Oak Hill School will be the new home of Super Summer, a three-week academic enrichment program for advanced learners and Talent and Gifted students, and will expand to include sixth and seventh grade students. The popular program has been housed at the UO for the past 35 years. Super Summer will begin its permanent residency on the rural Oak Hill campus near LCC June 27. The application process will open Feb. 8. See oakhillschool.com or call 744-0954. Continue reading
• What’s the buzz with the Oakleigh Meadow Cohousing (OMC) project? “We’re still moving forward,” says Will Dixon, the local architect for the controversial project off River Road next to the Willamette River bikepath. “We received re-approval of our tentative PUD application back in October,” Dixon says. “No surprise, the opposition has appealed this once again to LUBA. On Nov. 12 we re-applied our final PUD application. Continue reading
We wrote about changes afoot at Wings Seminars in this column Dec. 10 and we’ve since heard from Wings founder Kris King that the company is for sale following a personal tragedy. “My son died a year ago and I realized I work too much. Working 28 days a month is not the smartest thing,” she says. “I have two offers and three more are coming in.” Finding the right new owner may be a challenge, she says. The new owner “needs to be ethically aligned … I’m not just selling a business. Continue reading
Cowbucker is a new hat business celebrating its grand opening from noon to 6 pm Thursday, Dec. 17, at 222 E. 11th Ave., the former site of Creative Minds Alternative School. This will be the first permanent retail outlet for the business that started with an office in March, followed by a warehouse. Cowbucker offers two styles of hats at this time, including a cowboy/trucker hat, and hats for schools, breweries and states. Three UO MBA students started the business. Continue reading