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• Lane County Democrats gathered Feb. 18 for their traditional endorsement process for nonpartisan May Primary races. No big surprises (Lucy Vinis for mayor, Tony McCown for county commissioner), but no endorsements for any of the three Dems running to replace George Brown in Eugene City Council Ward 1. DPLC Chair Chris Wig is one of the candidates, and to avoid a conflict of interest, he turned over the meeting to Vice-chair Laura Gillpatrick. Continue reading
• Eugene Weekly does not condone or encourage acts of violence or destruction in the name of any cause. We were dismayed to find out that someone threw a large rock through the glass door of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce building in the early hours of Saturday, Feb. 13. The perpetrator also placed several copies of the Feb. Continue reading
• A discussion about Eugene’s Downtown Urban Renewal District (DTURD, to some) at the City Council work session Feb. 8 offered indications of some councilors’ disregard for the public trust. DTURD diverts a portion of property taxes away from city, county and schools for projects intended to improve Eugene’s urban center. In general, the council agrees that DTURD projects, such as upgrading the city’s internet infrastructure, merit further consideration, but only a few questioned the ethics of renewing a program they pledged five years ago not to renew. Continue reading
• As we enter into this election season, it’s time to ponder the question of how much power a non-elected official should have. Appointed City Manager Jon Ruiz appears to be making changes to the new City Hall without keeping the elected City Council in the loop (see News this issue). Maybe the issue of offices seems like no big deal on the surface, but it affects how our government will run in the future and how public money is spent on this project. Continue reading
• Eugene City Councilor George Brown told us earlier this week that he will not be seeking re-election to a third term in the May Primary. It’s a decision he’s been pondering for a while, and in earlier conversations we tried to talk him out of it. His progressive, thoughtful voice on the council is in the minority and is vitally important to the future livability and prosperity of our community. But he’s grown weary. Continue reading
• “Red Barn” is one well-known piece from the great legacy of Oregon artist Mark Clarke, who died suddenly Jan. 11 at age 80. His memorial was Jan. 17 in The Shedd. Remembered both for how he captured his surroundings in oil and acrylic, and for how he and his family lived in this world, Mark Clarke fortunately had been planning a retrospective in the Schnitzer museum on the UO campus next year. We have that to look forward to. Continue reading
• Two remarkable women from our philosophically diverse community will be remembered Saturday, Jan. 16, both starting at 2 pm. Peg Morton will be honored at the First United Methodist Church and Robin Jaqua at the Jaqua Concert Hall at The Shedd. Better go early; both auditoriums are likely to be full. Morton fiercely devoted her life to peace and justice on many levels (see our cover story Jan. 7). Continue reading
• Two remarkable women from our philosophically diverse community will be remembered Saturday, Jan. 16, both starting at 2 pm. Peg Morton will be honored at the First United Methodist Church and Robin Jaqua at the Jaqua Concert Hall at The Shedd. Better go early; both auditoriums are likely to be full. Morton fiercely devoted her life to peace and justice on many levels (see our cover story Jan. 7). Continue reading
• Eyes nationwide have been focused on Harney County this week, but Eugene’s federal courthouse has some interesting ties to the band of armed protesters who have taken over a bird sanctuary in Eastern Oregon. The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge standoff began after ranchers Steve and Dwight Hammond were convicted and sentenced for arson on federal lands. The judge who sentenced them for less than the congressionally mandated minimums was Judge Michael Hogan here in Eugene’s federal courthouse. Continue reading
• It’s a dark and dastardly world out there so we’ve been cranking up the sunshine with some upbeat content in December. Our third annual “I Dream of Eugene” issue last week appears to be a big hit, and if you missed it due to the holidays, our office has extra copies. It’s great to see letters arriving in response to the funny, fanciful and thoughtful dreams we published for the Whiteaker, north Eugene, the city and Glenwood. We like dreams more than New Year’s resolutions. Dreams are visionary and visions have power. Continue reading