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• As Tom Wolf once wrote, “a grand jury would indict a ham sandwich.” But apparently a grand jury won’t indict a cop. On Nov. 24, a grand jury in Missouri did not indict police officer Darren Wilson for shooting and killing Michael Brown, an 18-year-old unarmed black man. As riots erupt in Ferguson again and across the country, we support both the anger of the protesters and the calls for peace. Continue reading
• The fundraising effort to save historic Civic Stadium as a community center for kids’ sports, soccer and other activities is close to a Dec. 1 deadline and we urge everyone to contribute financially or volunteer to help raise money. USL Pro and W-League soccer at Civic would be a big economic boost for Eugene and Lane County. Soccer is popular across the economic divide, filling stadiums in the Northwest, and Eugene could be next. Continue reading
• What happens if the kicker kicks next year? Our news brief this week talks about how the Constitution-mandated tax rebate could be a big problem for the state budget. What we hear through the English ivy vine (Eugene’s equivalent to the grapevine) is that Phil Knight might be holding back on giving the UO big challenge bucks this year because it could trigger the kicker and the state could lose up to $300 million in the next biennium, hurting education. Crazy scenario. Continue reading
• It was ugly out there across America Tuesday night, but let’s give a cheer for Oregon, Washington and California, the left bank. Our state voted for legalized marijuana, for equal rights for women and against top-two primaries. We made some mistakes such as voting against increased student financial aid and denying legal driving to immigrants. We held the Democratic Legislature and supported reasonable people like Phil Barnhart, Peter DeFazio, Jeff Merkley and John Kitzhaber. Continue reading
• Time to get those ballots filled out and in the mail by Thursday, Oct. 30. Ballots also can be dropped off at Lane County Elections at 10th and Lincoln, or in one of the white ballot boxes downtown or on campus. Deadline is 8 pm Tuesday, Nov. 4, and postmarks don’t count. See our endorsements round-up in this issue and for more information, dig out last week’s EW from the recycling bin or go to eugeneweekly.com. Continue reading
• 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