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The anti-LNG groups that recently brought you a paper maché Gov. Kate Brown are heading to Salem to protest liquified natural gas pipeline and export projects slated for Oregon's lands and waters. Press release is below. Photo credit: Rising Tide Raging Grannies & Youth to Hold Intergenerational Protest Against LNG at Capitol Continue reading
• The Lane County Poverty And Homelessness Board meets from noon to 1:30 pm Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Carmichael Conference Room, Lane County Youth Services Serbu Campus, 2727 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Call 682-3798 for more information. Continue reading
Cascade Manor rises two and three stories above the sidewalks on 29th and 30th avenues in south Eugene, and the large campus of up-scale retirement apartments and assisted living is often mentioned in discussions about the controversial plans to rezone and develop the nearby South Willamette neighborhood into a more urban area with high-rise buildings. “There is a common misconception that Cascade Manor has something to do with the city’s rezoning effort but they absolutely do not,” says Lauren Witt, a spokesperson for Cascade Manor. Continue reading
Five-term Eugene City Councilor Betty Taylor says she considered not running again for her Ward 2 seat because of her age. Her 90-year-old brain still functions just fine, but she worried that if she ran again, voters might favor a younger, less qualified candidate. Then she got over it. “People are more intelligent than that,” she says with a laugh. Continue reading
For the first time since 2003, Eugene School District 4J has increased its year-to-year enrollment, according to school officials. With an additional 217 students this year over last year, it’s the largest increase since 1996, says Kerry Delf, 4J associate director for communications. 4J Superintendent Gustavo Balderas says the increase is partly due to the onset of full-day kindergarten, which started districtwide for the first time this year. Some new students are also transfers, he says. Continue reading
From the Billy Graham Rapid Response prayer vans to the Oct. 9 visit by Barack Obama shutting down a section of I-5 and the rush of hundreds of pro-gun advocates from out of town, it’s safe to say the citizens of Roseburg are dealing with two traumatic crises. First, the Oct. 1 shooting that killed eight students and their instructor at Umpqua Community College before the killer committed suicide, and now the powerful and consuming reaction of the rest of the nation flooding into this rural town of nearly 22,000, an hour south of Eugene. Continue reading
Kids read in a Head Start classroom — Head Start serves 1,120 children and their families in Lane County. Photo by Todd Cooper. Colton Thompson is 6 years old. He has a mop of light blonde hair and a mischievous look in his eyes. He goes to school in Springfield. Continue reading
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) recently visited Bright Oak Meat Company’s Marcola Road facility in response to a complaint of “a strong and pervasive odor” originating from the facility. Odor no longer appeared to be an issue by the time of DEQ’s visit, and the company attributed the problem to animal viscera not having been transported off-site by a waste hauler. DEQ asked to see waste and wastewater monitoring records during its visit and discovered that Bright Oak was not conducting required monitoring, in violation of Oregon law. Continue reading
• ODOT is currently spraying roadsides. Call Tony Kilmer at ODOT District 5 at 744-8080 or call (888) 996-8080 for herbicide application information. Hwys. I-5, 99 and 126 were recently sprayed. Hwy. 36 will be sprayed soon. • Weyerhaeuser Company, 746-2511, plans to aerially spread urea fertilizer pellets on 1,877 acres south of the McKenzie River near Ritchie Creek, Haagen Creek and other tributaries. See ODF notification 2015-771-13224, call Brian Dally at 726-3588 with questions. Continue reading
In Afghanistan • 2,363 U.S. troops killed (2,363 last month) • 20,071 U.S. troops wounded in action (updates NA) • 1,616 U.S. contractors killed (1,599) • 16,179 civilians killed (updates NA) • $716.1 billion cost of war ($713.4 billion) • $286.4 million cost to Eugene taxpayers ($285.4 million) Against ISIS • $6.4 billion cost of military action ($6 billion) • $2.6 million cost to Eugene taxpayers ($2.4 million) Continue reading