Get Out

When it comes to density of fun per square foot, your best bet for entertainment is walking, biking or riding the EmX to Eugene’s downtown (free with your student ID). Explore the fun bubble that stretches from Pearl to Charnelton and 7th to 11th, where you’ll find some of the city’s best places to eat, drink, consume culture and shake it into the night. Continue reading 

Community Boom

‘Free tuition’ proposal affects more than just budget concerns

As the school year starts up, the Oregon Legislature is discussing an idea that could swell the average Oregon community college classroom size and make higher education accessible for more students. Senator Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, has been championing a proposal that would make two years of community college free for many high school graduates. “We want to give access to every high schooler in Oregon, either as trade training or college courses,” he says. Continue reading 

Research Corner

Outside the classroom...

It’s a well-known fact that most full-time professors are paid not just to teach but also for research. And while we all know the “publish or perish” cliché, it’s not often that we get to see the research happening right under our noses. Here are just a few of the projects coming out of the UO.   Material World UO chemist takes materials science to a whole new level Continue reading 

Nature’s Playbook

For the people who live on the ground, in the real world, being stuck between House Republicans and these heavy rains is rather like being jammed between a bunch of rock-heads and a really soggy place. The result, of course, is a lot of hurt. Makes it tough to write/think about wine. Continue reading 

Eugene Soccer Joins Timbers Alliance

Eugene Metro Fútbol Club is moving on up, with a new connection, new name and new opportunities for its more than 500 players. EMFC has joined forces with the Portland Timbers and its Timbers Alliance, becoming Eugene Timbers Fútbol Club and, in turn, notably allowing its youth groups to play on a bigger stage.  Continue reading 

It’s About Time – September 2013

It’s that time of year when the birds are getting restless. Migration is stirring in their bones — hollow bones evolved for long-distance flight. We expect thousands of Vaux’s swifts to roost in the old Agate Hall chimney for a week or so on their way south. Watch for the Audubon Society’s Friday night vigils Sept. 20 and 27 when that happens. The equinox on Sept. 22 comes as the change in day length is at its greatest. After equinox the rate of change decelerates until the change is barely noticeable during the season of longest nights. Continue reading 

Transits in Wine

September in western Oregon can be dazzling. It’s a transitional month, pregnant with promises but already yielding the year’s harvest, the bounties of farms, fields and vineyards. This month usually finds Oregon’s vintners trembling on the brink: The vintage can make or break over the next few weeks. Grape clusters hang on the vines, fruit daily richer in color, sugars rising, flavors changing almost hourly. Continue reading