We've got issues.
• Lots of juicy stuff on the ballot that just arrived in our mailboxes and we encourage everyone, as we say on our cover, to “Drop everything and vote.” Check out our endorsements this week. Many of the races and measures will be decided not only on their merits but also on turnout. Statewide polling by the Lindholm Company indicates voters are paying the most attention to the pot legalization, GMO labeling and drivers license measures. Continue reading
• We expect a public announcement about Phil Knight’s big gift to UO will be made at a breakfast meeting Friday, Oct. 17, somewhere on campus, and to which 300 are invited. We broke the story last week about the Knight family preparing to make a rumored $1 billion gift, with strings attached, but the amount could be more or less, according to UOmatters.com. The gift could be the largest ever made to a university anywhere, and if it goes to academic programs and scholarships, as anticipated, it would give UO a tremendous boost where it’s really needed. Continue reading
• National sportscasters were speculating about Phil Knight’s giant gift to the UO during the losing Duck football game, so it must be time for a local announcement. The rumor we’ve heard is that $1 billion from the Knights will go the UO this month with some kind of match requirement. If true, that could help attract a superman or superwoman president, or maybe not. Continue reading
• What’s next for City Hall? We may see some buyer’s remorse from city councilors when they eventually confront the real costs of their decision to tear down our full-block City Hall and built a little City Hall on the rubble. The final price tag of a “light-filled” and truly energy-efficient building could be a lot more than the estimated $11 million for the Phase I construction. Continue reading
• A decision on Eugene City Hall is expected by the City Council after we go to press this week, and it could go either way (see our story last week). City staff and Rowell Brokaw Architects have the advantage of the final word. Rowell Brokaw has a vested interest in making the old City Hall look bad and making the proposed new City Hall look wonderful. But design and environmental issues aside, the elephant in the room is Phase II of a new City Hall. Continue reading
• A group of local architects is deeply concerned about what is planned for Eugene City Hall, and we outline their perspectives this week on page 9. Further discussion on tearing down City Hall has been delayed until the City Council’s Sept. 22nd and 24th meetings and will hopefully be delayed again for re-evaluation. The council and administration have been debating what to do with City Hall for about 15 years, but we have a different city council now, and it will be different again 15 years from now. This is a time for leadership. Continue reading
• ArtsHound on Broadway (and Willamette), our box art contest and project, was a smashing success for September’s First Friday ArtWalk. Thank you to the artists, artwalkers, participating businesses and Lane Arts Council for collaborating with EW. FFAW coordinator Jessica Watson, who’s been on more than 60 ArtWalks, says it was one of the best-attended walks she’s seen. Continue reading
• Our Pop Quiz on City Hall this week is an attempt to look more closely at the predicament we have gotten ourselves in regarding the fate of City Hall. Is destruction imminent? We hear the city has not yet acquired a demolition permit. Meanwhile, some new information is being batted around this week about estimates for remodeling that were done a couple of years ago by Turner Construction’s Portland office. Was the Eugene City Council given an accurate analysis of the true costs of renovating City Hall vs. tearing it down and rebuilding? Continue reading
• We lamented in this column Aug. 14 that Eugene City Hall is about to be destroyed following a split decision by the City Council to abandon the sustainable concept of repairing, rebuilding or repurposing the full city block structure. Rowell Brokaw Architects and city leaders are planning a brief celebration of “Eugene City Hall Past & Future” from 11 am to noon Wednesday, Sept. 3, at the corner of 8th and Pearl. “We will honor the history of the building and look forward to our new City Hall,” reads the announcement. Continue reading
• If you are worried about public safety in Lane County, consider that this county has received $2,736,425 worth of surplus military equipment from the Department of Defense — more than any other Oregon county. That’s according to an Aug. 15 Associated Press story in The Oregonian. Equipment includes one wheeled combat vehicle, 91 infrared illuminators, two ordnance disposal robots and 15 rifles. Coming free to cops across America, this surplus stuff was manufactured with our tax dollars. Continue reading