We've got issues.
In December of 2015, Eileen Chanti’s preschool program for unhoused children, First Place Kids, looked in danger of closing. The program had recently lost a staff member, and Chanti only had six months to find funding before she ran out of money. Since then, Chanti says, an outpouring of donations from the Eugene community has saved First Place Kids from having to close. Continue reading
Orlando has a welcoming LGBTQIA community, but so does Eugene. Local John O’Malley made this point while addressing a small crowd and TV crews Sunday, June 12, outside The Wayward Lamb — a dedicated queer space and bar in downtown Eugene. “It affects all of us,” said O’Malley, the Lamb’s marketing manager who also helped found the bar. “It happened in Orlando; it could happen anywhere.” Continue reading
A Junction City biogas plant that’s already received millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies is now more than $325,000 behind on its property tax bill and is fighting Lane County in court over making good on what it owes. JC-Biomethane opened its plant in 2013 with the promise it would generate electricity to power homes by burning off gases from food wastes. The plant is the first in Oregon to use wastes from businesses and restaurants to generate power, according to records and interviews. Continue reading
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) fined Junction City $1,000 last week for discharging elevated levels of ammonia to Flat Creek from its wastewater treatment plant in December, January, February and April. The city’s discharges take place pursuant to an expired Clean Water Act permit issued by DEQ in 2007. Continue reading
Mark Baker, longtime reporter, "Living Here" columnist and member of the Baker family, appears to have parted ways with The Register-Guard. The daily paper is owned and primarily run by the Baker family, and Mark Baker is is the youngest grandchild of Alton F. Baker Sr., The Register-Guard's publisher from 1927 to 1961, according to an RG newstory about Baker's hiring as East Region reporter in 2002. Continue reading
[Above: John O'Malley of The Wayward Lamb (front row, second from left) with staff and supporters.] Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old American man, shot and killed 49 people at a nightclub in Orlando in the early morning hours of Sunday, June 12; many more were injured. The shooter was also killed, bringing the toll to 50. It is the largest mass shooting in U.S. history. The nightclub was PULSE Orlando, a dedicated queer space and venue in Orlando. Continue reading
[Above: The former home of Cascade Presbyterian Church on Willamette in South Eugene.] There’s no question that the crisis of the unhoused, the homeless, people on the street, "travelers" — however we want to designate those in need — has reached a critical mass moment in Eugene and Lane County. Of this group, kids and teens are the most vulnerable. Continue reading
• Vaxxed: From Cover Up To Catastrophe will be playing at the David Minor Theater starting June 10. According to the movie’s description, “Vaxxed is an investigation into how the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the government agency charged with protecting the health of American citizens, concealed and destroyed data in their 2004 study that showed a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. Continue reading
• Good Food Easy/Sweetwater Farm will be opening a farm stand at the Creswell Bakery at 182 S. 2nd Street in Creswell beginning 10 am to 2 pm Saturday, June 11, then ongoing each Saturday throughout the summer. Erica Trappe of Good Food Easy says, “We are a major supplier of produce to the bakery, so now customers will be able to purchase the same fresh local ingredients they enjoy on the bakery menu.” Continue reading
John Belcher has a simple dream: to walk down his street to a neighborhood natural foods market and buy cheese. Belcher, co-chair of the River Road Community organization, is working with members of the River Road neighborhood and building owner Lutfi Thabet to bring a much-needed grocery store to an area of Eugene with few options in terms of healthy, fresh produce. Continue reading