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California’s budding population of invasive common watersnake could make it up to Oregon due to similar climate and suitable habitat in the Willamette Valley, according to a recent study at University of California, Davis, that projected possible areas of infestation. Continue reading
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) sent Delaware-incorporated Jordan Cove Energy Project L.P. a warning letter in late June for excavating residual sludge waste (generated by the Weyerhaeuser mill that used to be at this site) and incorporating that waste into berms associated with the Jordan Cove project (located on Coos Bay). DEQ’s letter requests that Jordan Cove Energy Project submit a permit application for its activities by July 31. Continue reading
• Freres Timber Inc., (503) 859-2111, plans to hire Western Helicopter Services, Inc., (503) 538-9469, to aerially spray 69 acres near upper Lake Creek with glyphosate, imazapyr and additives. See ODF notice 2014-781-00704, call Robin L. Biesecker at 935-2283 with questions. Continue reading
Lane County has sent out its agenda for July 8, and for followers of the paid sick leave debate, there's an interesting item under the County Counsel's section, which calls for exempting county workers from Eugene's paid sick leave proposal. COUNTY COUNSEL A. Announcements Continue reading
Word went out this week through the Oregon Country Fair family and elsewhere, that Stephen Gaskin had died. Google his name and find an extensive obit at the New York Times. Here's an interview from 2011. Continue reading
• The Metropolitan Policy Committee will meet from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm Thursday, July 3, at Coburg City Hall and public comment time is early on the agenda. The panel deals with issues of local and regional transportation planning, air quality, cable TV and other metro issues. Find the agenda at lcog.org or call 682-4283. Continue reading
Emerald Valley Weatherization is going through transition to new ownership. The Springfield business, founded in 1993 and now owned by Lonnie Lee Stringer and Carla Dee Stringer, canceled some of its pending work orders last week and shut down its website, but is back in business this week, according to Kristin Mason, who tells EW she and her husband are taking over and buying the business. Mason is the daughter of Carla Stringer and says Lonnie Stringer, her stepfather, was wanting to sell but a pending deal fell through. Continue reading
Studies have shown the links between neonicotiniod pesticides and pollinator deaths, but some jurisdictions have been quicker to ban the bee-killing chemicals than others. The city of Eugene banned them on its properties in February, but the June incident in Eugene where 17 sprayed linden trees killed more than 5,000 bees and other pollinator species calls attention to the fact that the city ban does not apply to private properties or all properties under the city’s management. Continue reading
Vanilla Ice, Rob Lowe, Courtney Love: The list of 1990s icons interviewed for National Geographic Channel’s three-night series The ’90s: The Last Great Decade? is as quirky and odd as that peculiar era of jelly shoes and grunge. The episodes — which will be seen in 171 countries and aired in 45 languages — also include local videographer Tim Lewis and former Eugenean Tim Ream as well as footage from their documentary of the Seattle World Trade Organization riots, Breaking the Spell: Anarchists, Eugene and the WTO. Continue reading
Eugene’s City Council will meet in September to talk about local food security — reliable access to healthy and nutritious food. “It’s kind of a multi-level problem,” says Deb Johnson-Shelton, Lane County Food Policy Council president. “The more quality food you make accessible at more affordable prices, the healthier the nutritional environment is for everyone.” Food insecurity is strongly correlated with household income, she says. Continue reading