Eugene Weekly

• Nothing celebrates freedom on the Fourth of July like a police state crackdown! Eugene’s plans to begin “no refusal” blood test weekends with Independence Day Friday has drawn criticism from across the country. “No refusal” means suspected impaired drivers who refuse breath testing will be blood tested for alcohol. Is it legal? A 2013 Supreme Court decision says it is that as long as the police have a warrant for the blood draw. Warrants can be achieved with a quick phone call to a judge. Continue reading →

• Eugene’s daily rag editorialized June 5 that the Eugene Celebration has become “calcified” and “perhaps it’s just as well” that the plug has been pulled this year. Well, we still adore the Eugene Celebration and parade and the only thing that’s calcified is the R-G’s perspective from the outskirts of town. There’s no doubt the celebration, even with its flaws, is much loved in the region, as demonstrated by the immediate community response to fill the void left by Kesey Enterprises. Continue reading →

• No Eugene Celebration or parade this summer? We broke the news on our blog and Facebook page Tuesday afternoon. Sad news for all of us who are big fans and have been going and volunteering for more than three decades now. Maybe our great and quirky parade can be salvaged. It’s the one time each year when our entire, diverse community comes together — north, south, east and west. What happens now? Will the Whiteaker Block Party (which is free) become the new Eugene Celebration? Continue reading →

• Emerge Oregon has been recruiting and training women to run for public office for five years now. The May Primary had 14 Emerge alumnae running for positions around the state, including Dawn Lesley’s challenge to unseat Jay Bozievich in the West Lane commission race, a race so close it’s still undecided. Sheri Moore, who ran against Sid Leiken in the Springfield commission race, is another grad, along with Rep. Val Hoyle. Continue reading →

• Will the status quo hold? Lots of nail gnawing as we watched the local election results Tuesday night. As we go to press Wednesday morning, incumbent Jay Bozievich is only 45 votes ahead of Dawn Lesley in the West Lane County commissioner race and Faye Stewart has only a 33 vote margin to avoid a November runoff with Kevin Matthews for the East Lane County commissioner race. More ballots are yet to be hand counted. If the Bozievich-Lesley contest gets any closer in the final count, it could trigger an automatic recount. Continue reading →

• Election turnout is likely to be awful for the May 20 Primary since there’s not much on the ballot other than County Commission races, so if you’re ever wanted to make a difference, this is your time to shine. Every vote is bigger and badder when the turnout is small. Only about 12 percent of the ballots were in as of May 12. It’s peculiar that Lane County has more Democrats than Republicans and yet we’ve elected a right-wing, anti-environment majority to run the county. Continue reading →

• Look for our election issue and endorsements next week. Ballots will arrive in mailboxes soon for the May 20 Primary Election. You might not find a lot of sexy stuff on the ballot until the November General Election, but the primary has potentially a big impact. For those new to voting in Oregon, nonpartisan races, such as Lane County Commission positions, can be decided in the May Primary if one candidate gets at least 50 percent plus one vote. The commission races, of course, are anything but nonpartisan. Continue reading →