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As summer nears, people start heading for wineries like King Estate to sit on the patio, drink wine and admire the view of the hills out Lorane Highway. However, out in Oakridge, some residents worry their views and summer days will be spoiled if a gravel mine, an investment of Ed King’s Crown Properties LLC, begins to bite into 46 acres of a hillside known locally as TV Butte on the edge of town. Continue reading
Initiative Petition 28 is either a savior for Oregon schools or a doomsday tax that will ruin Oregon’s economy, depending on what you’ve read. As it turns out, it’s not so simple. IP 28 is a proposed “gross receipts” tax — a tax on a corporation’s sales without deducting costs and expenses — on businesses making $25 million or more in Oregon sales. It would generate $3 billion per year, and the petition to get it on the ballot asks that the money be used for education, health care and senior services. Continue reading
Oregon Department of Transportation is spraying roadsides. Call (503) 986-3010 to talk with a vegetation management coordinator or call 1-888-996-8080 for recent herbicide application information. Hwys. 36, 101 and 126 were recently sprayed. Continue reading
• The city of Eugene received an application for a 10-year property tax exemption under the Multi-Unit Property Tax Exemption (MUPTE) Program and it is taking public comments on the proposal. According to the city, “The Olive Lofts in Eugene is a proposed 5-story, 36-unit housing with ground floor commercial space at 844 Olive Street. Continue reading
At the University of Oregon, if a student is sexually assaulted and tells her or his instructor, then the professor or graduate teaching fellow must report what happened, whether or not the student wants it reported. This is required reporting, also known as mandatory reporting. Reports go to the UO’s Title IX coordinator. The UO's University Senate voted May 18 on new required reporting rules, with proposed rules narrowly defeated. Continue reading
In May 2013, when Lane County was attempting to pass a jail levy — a tax to increase the number of open beds at the Lane County Jail — the focus was on incarceration. Criminals were being released due to a lack of capacity, proponents said. Opponents to the levy pointed out that jail beds don’t stop the revolving door of drug abuse or mental health issues that often land people in jail. The levy passed, and three years later it was so successful in raising funds that the budget committee has voted to reduce the tax. Continue reading
Earlier this year, Gov. Kate Brown sat down with Bethel School District Superintendent Colt Gill and made him an offer he couldn’t refuse: She asked him to join the effort to raise Oregon’s flagging graduation rate — one of the lowest in the country at 74 percent — by becoming Oregon’s first education innovation officer. After 10 years as superintendent of Bethel, Gill will leave that job behind for this newly created position at the state level and “find out what can help turn our graduation situation in Oregon around,” he says. Continue reading
This story begins with a simple request for information. Before long, it veers into murky waters about freedom of information and the public trust, and potential violations of both in Eugene and statewide. The story ends in a snarl of unfortunate answers with, perhaps, a shard of hope. Continue reading
It’s come to light since last week’s Pollution Update that in addition to the warning letter the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) recently sent to the Springfield Target Store (store number 612, located at Gateway Mall) for hazardous waste law violations, the Springfield Target was one of four Oregon Target stores that were assessed a penalty of $6,850 by DEQ on May 13 for failing to obtain authorization for “underground injection control” (UIC) systems. Continue reading
Indie video game developers from as far away as Seattle will showcase their work as part of Indie Game Play Test Night Friday, May 27, at Shoryuken League in downtown Eugene. Event coordinator Britt Brady says it’s crucial that game developers get their projects in front of a game playing audience as early as possible. “Game developers are very close to their games,” Brady says. “Before their game is out, this is a way for indie developers to get the public playing it — see what’s fun, see what people like, find bugs and also promote it.” Continue reading