Council Asked to Allow Legal Camping

Winter is coming. But Eugene’s Opportunity Village, a housing for the homeless pilot project now slated for a site near North Garfield Street and Roosevelt in the Whiteaker, won’t be up and running for at least four to six months. That’s why Safe Legally Entitled Emergency Places to Sleep (SLEEPS) representatives are urging the City Council to repeal Eugene’s camping ban through the winter and designate specific camping areas.  Continue reading 

A Home For The Holidays For Those In Need

Everyone should have a place to spend the holiday season, and an initiative from Mayor Kitty Piercy is going to try to make that happen. In an attempt to help the homeless, Piercy has the goal of raising $40,000 to assist 40 families in need. The program, called “A Home for the Holidays,” will strive to give these 40 families housing. St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County has joined forces with Piercy in an effort to accomplish this feat, and Oregon Community Credit Union has already come up with $20,000 toward the goal.  Continue reading 

Pollution Update 12-13-12

Seven more local facility’s industrial stormwater pollution control plans for are up for public comment this week. These plans are for facilities that have applied for Clean Water Act permit coverage under the new industrial stormwater permit issued by Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and that took effect July 1. Comments are due by 5 PM on Dec. Continue reading 

Mind your Ps and Qs (and Crosswalks)

Hey walkers, bikers and drivers: Tomorrow you get a chance to practice some perfection in commuting. EPD's "downtown team" is "educating the public" tomorrow by focusing on traffic violations in the Broadway and Willamette and Broadway and Olive areas between noon and 5 pm. From the press release:   Continue reading 

Public forum on new City Hall features many pro-downtown speakers

  The Eugene City Council heard public forum comments Monday, Dec. 10, on the three options for City Hall: move to EWEB’s riverfront building, stay at the same 7th and Pearl site and build a new building, or rebuild and beautify the existing city hall using parts of its skeleton. (See wkly.ws/1a9 for more information.) Most of the 17 speakers advocated keeping city hall downtown; two spoke in favor of the EWEB site. Continue reading 

University of Oregon: An underperformer?

The U.S. News and World Report is famous for their college rankings — did anyone else proudly show their parents the "dorms like dungeons" listing for UO when living in the residence halls? Anyhow, now they're publishing a list of "underperforming schools," which means the schools' reputations are better than U.S. News thinks they should be based on academic indicators. UO is on that list. Continue reading 

Activist Alert 12-6-2012

• Springfield City Club will host James Whitty, manager of ODOT’s Innovative Partnerships and Alternative Funding, at 11:45 am Thursday, Dec. 6, at Willamalane Center, 250S. 32nd St. Whitty will talk about funding road and highway improvements in the future as vehicles become more fuel efficient and fuels taxes shrink. City Club meets for lunch on the first and third Thursday of each month.  Continue reading 

Biz Beat 12-6-2012

In February or March 2013, The Bier Stein will move from its location on East 11th Avenue to Midtown, the building at 16th and Willamette that was formerly home to June. Bier Stein owner Chip Hardy says The Bier Stein has purchased the building and has begun remodeling so it can accommodate a single business. Its new location will almost sextuple The Bier Stein from 2,100 sq. ft. to 12,000 sq. ft. The extra space will also provide a room from which Hardy and company will begin packaging and shipping beer from online sales. Continue reading 

Pollution Update 12-6-12

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is accepting public comments this week on industrial stormwater pollution control plans for more local facilities that have applied for Clean Water Act (CWA) permit coverage under the new industrial stormwater permit. Comments are due by 5 pm on Dec. 13, and the facilities are: All American Fabricating, Emerald Forest Products, Forrest Paint Co., Gheen Irrigation Works, Gibson Steel Fabricating, Hearthside Food Solutions and Valley Landfills, (Benton County). Continue reading