News: Page 371

Kesey Square Closure May Unfairly Affect Unhoused

News
Photo by Trask Bedortha

On May 27 the Eugene Police Department brought the City Council a proposal to close Kesey Square between 11 pm and 6 am, a move that some say is targeting the homeless population. Kesey Square, aka Broadway Plaza, is a city-deemed performance space that sits on the corner of Broadway and Willamette, home to the bronze statue of Ken Kesey. The City Council has not scheduled a vote. Civil Liberties Defense Center attorney Lauren Regan says the proposal to close the public square is repugnant in the face of the human rights image touted by the city of Eugene. Continue reading →

Global Warming Profiteering

News

Oregon is “the hub, for whatever reason, of the for-profit fire industry,” writes journalist and South Eugene High School grad McKenzie Funk in his book Windfall: The Booming Business of Global Warming (Penguin Press, 2014, $27.95). Funk writes not simply of how we are preparing for a warmer planet, but rather he focuses on those who see the melt, drought and deluge of climate change as a market opportunity. Funk will speak at 6 pm Thursday, June 5, at the Eugene Public Library, free.  Continue reading →

Never a Kindness Too Small

Keegan Keppner brings food and attention to Eugene homeless

News
Photo by Todd Cooper

Keegan Keppner sits in a green plastic lawn chair with “Whoville” scrawled on it in Sharpie, the O written as a peace sign and surrounded by hearts and asterisks as if it was decorated by an adoring fan. Keegan’s knees are jammed up in his black sweatshirt and he shifts around to evade the chilliness of the spring evening. Cars roar past the temporary encampment on 8th and Mill.  Continue reading →

Pollution Update 5-29-14

Pollution Update

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality sent International Paper a warning letter on May 16 following a line break at International Paper’s Springfield facility, which resulted in discharge of treated process water into Irving Slough. According to DEQ’s letter, the discharge violated Oregon environmental law, and this violation is classified as “serious.” DEQ determined that the violation was beyond International Paper’s reasonable control, and therefore chose not to assess a penalty. Continue reading →

Blair Bobier in Common Dreams today

News

Corvallis attorney and Pacific Green Party activist Blair Bobier has an essay in Common Dreams today on "The Power and Potential of DIY Democracy." "A seismic shift in the American political landscape has gone largely unnoticed," he writes.  "Yet, the implication of this political earthquake knows no bounds." http://wkly.ws/1rb Continue reading →

Activist Alert 5-22-2014

Activist Alert

• Oregon Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND) will host a discussion about four teen activists and writers who have captured the group’s attention. The free gathering will be at 7 pm Thursday, May 22, at the First United Methodist Church, 1376 Olive St. Call 683-1350 or visit oregonwand.org. Continue reading →

Biz Beat 5-22-2014

Biz Beat

Kush MMD and Reign Inc. have opened a state-licensed and regulated medical marijuana facility (MFF) and wellness center at 221 W. 10th Ave. in downtown Eugene. A ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house was held May 12. The business has a provisional MMF license and “will wait until receiving the official state registration from the state before engaging in cannabis commerce,” says General Manager Lisa Della Croce. Continue reading →