News: Page 454

Pollution Update 3-21-13

Pollution Update

The City of Eugene has referred Pacific Recycling to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for enforcement regarding violations at its facility on Cross Street near Roosevelt Boulevard. The referral concerns two different Clean Water Act violations. First, Pacific Recycling has failed to submit a plan to the city regarding how it will reduce high pollution levels in stormwater discharges from the site. The city has sent Pacific Recycling three separate letters since November 2012 seeking such a plan, to no avail. Continue reading →

War Dead 3-21-2013

War Dead

In Afghanistan • 2,181 U.S. troops killed* (2,170) • 18,333 U.S. troops wounded in action (18,311) • 1,316 U.S. contractors killed (1,316) • 12,793 civilians killed (12,793) • $622 billion cost of war ($619.9 billion) • $183 million cost to Eugene taxpayers ($183 million)   In Iraq Continue reading →

Confrontation on Campus

News

Students Against Imperialism were performing a "direct action in solidarity with Mexico and Palestine" when UO adjunct instructor James Olmsted confronted them at the EMU amphitheater on March 14.  Students videoed the confronation in which Olmstead says, "I am the dominant paradigm. If you want the country back. Start a fucking war and take it back. Get a gun. Shoot me. Continue reading →

Activist Alert 3-14-2013

Activist Alert

• The Oregon Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of Haugen v. Kitzhaber during its annual visit to the UO School of Law. The arguments will take place at 10:30 am Thursday, March 14, in room 175 of the Knight Law Center, 1515 Agate St. in Eugene. The proceedings are open to the public, a capacity crowd is expected and an overflow room will be available. Video of the proceedings will be available on the law school’s website later in the day. Continue reading →

Carlos Barrera

Happening People

A native of Mission, Texas, Carlos Barrera traces his family history back to Spanish colonial times in the mid-1600s. “Half the town is related to me,” he says. “The Rio Grande River is three miles away.” After earning a bachelor’s in fine arts from Pan American University in nearby Edinburg, Barrera became an electrician and an electrical contractor. He worked three years in Austin, then 21 years in the San Francisco Bay Area. “I was the go-to person for historical renovation,” he says. Continue reading →

Bursting at the Seams

Lane County Farmers Market looks for room to grow

News

For a market that doesn’t include any sardine vendors, the briny fish is often thrown into descriptions of the Saturday Lane County Farmers Market: “People are packed in there like sardines.” “I think the site has been a real problem,” Jack Gray of Winter Green Farm says. He says they could sell more produce if they could just have a little more room. Plus, the crowded walkways might be discouraging some potential customers. “Basic accessibility is really bad for families or anyone with physical disabilities of any sorts,” Gray says. Continue reading →

Critics of City Fee Getting Organized

News

Claiming support from both liberals and conservatives, a small group of Eugene citizens has organized a Political Action Committee (PAC) to campaign against Ballot Measure 20-211, the proposed fees for city residences and business that will be on the ballot in May.  Citizens for Truth, Justice, and the American Way (CiTJAW) has a website at votenocityfee.org and the PAC directors are Bonny Bettman McCornack and Paul Nicholson, both former city councilors. David Monk is the treasurer. Continue reading →

4J Board Faces High ‘Level of Skepticism’ to Schedule Change

News

Eugene’s 4J School Board agreed last week to convene a work session this week to address issues that have arisen over moving all district high schools to a common 3×5 schedule. The proposal to address the schedule change came after the Eugene Education Association (EEA) asked the board to postpone the move, citing opposition by a majority of high school teachers, and more than two dozen parents, teachers and students spoke against the change at a packed meeting. The board also addressed the latest budget shortfall projections and proposed cuts to services in a number of programs. Continue reading →