Eugene Weekly

Joann Ernst has had a turbulent career; but turbulent or not, she has proven she can stand her ground. Now, she’s entering the fray for the East Lane County Commissioner race to change the perception of civic engagement in the county. “I think Lane County has lost the trust of the people because they don’t seem to have a voice. I’d like to bring that voice back,” Ernst says. Kevin Matthews and Jose Ortal have also indicated they will file for the May 2014 primary. Continue reading →

Clean drinking water is a logging issue in Oregon, where so many of our watersheds are on forest lands. In the furor over the DeFazio forest bill — or more properly the O&C Trust, Conservation and Jobs Act — river advocates say that the need to protect water for fish, wildlife and humans gets lost as people argue over county payments, timber jobs and board feet.  Continue reading →

More than 20 percent of Lane County residents are on food stamps — that’s 80,657 people in a county with a population of about 350,000 who need federal assistance to eat and to feed their children. Local mapper and retired government employee Joe Kosewic has been mapping food stamps and other social issues to graphically draw attention to the challenges faced by the poor and the homeless. Continue reading →

The name may not be familiar, but the ideas might be refreshing in relatively conservative east Lane County. Jose Ortal is one of the challengers eyeing incumbent Faye Stewart’s East Lane County commissioner position in 2014. Also on the record planning to file are former EWEB commissioner Joann Ernst and longtime environmental land use activist Kevin Matthews. Continue reading →