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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 20, 2005)
Today Thursday Friday * ^ <» High: 64 High: 65 High: 71 Low: 43 Low: 44 Low: 47 Precip: 0% Precip: 30% Precip: 10% IN BRIEF Governor aims to improve non-highway systems SALEM — Gov. Ted Kulongoski nudged lawmakers to pass his $100 million bond program to upgrade non highway transportation systems, in cluding ports, airports and rail lines. At a Portland news conference Tuesday, Kulongoski said his “Con nect Oregon” plan is needed to strengthen the state’s ties to nation al and international markets. “Rail, air and marine are not competitors with our highway sys tem; they are interconnected with our roads, bridges and highways,” Kulongoski said. The plan is seen as a follow up to a $2.5 billion highway and bridge upgrade program approved by the 2003 Legislature. — The Associated Press” $3.5 million grant awarded for UO special education BY ADAM CHERRY NEWS REPORTER The University announced Thurs day that the College of Education has received a $3.5 million federal grant to help states measure the success of disabled students once they’ve left high school. The University’s new National Post School Outcomes Center, the only one of its kind in the nation, is fully funded by the grant and will serve as a techni cal assistance program for states striv ing to meet new federal requirements on monitoring the post-secondary suc cess of students involved with special education programs. “It gives us an opportunity to find out what’s happening to youth when they get out of high school,” NPSO Project Coordinator Jane Falls said. “We’re helping schools to be able to know how they’re helping to prepare young people for life. ” Falls, an educational consultant for the College of Education’s Western Re gional Resource Center, is one of a number of experts from the college’s Special Education program involved with NPSO. “A number of states are doing this kind of work and designing their own system,” Falls said. “What we’re trying to do is understand the ways that states are doing it and advise those who’ve not yet started.” The center will ultimately work with all 50 states and 10 federal jurisdictions as the government’s leading assistance vehicle for the new requirements. NPSO is currently having “ongoing conversations” with Kansas, Maine and Oregon, said NPSO Director Michael Bullis, professor of special ed ucation. He estimated that the center will start working more directly with states by summer. Bullis added that the project will last five years, after which the University may need to compete again for funding. “There’s a probability that we will continue to be funded if this area re mains a priority with the federal gov ernment,” Bullis said. College of Education Dean Martin Kaufman said the idea behind the proj ect is the improvement of special edu cation programs. “(The center) allows us to work with state departments and, through them, local school districts to allow them to improve the outcomes that in dividuals with disabilities are able to access,” Kaufman said. Sources said the federal grant is a further affirmation of the College of Education’s success. US News & World Report ranked the college’s Special Ed ucation program as third-best program of its kind in the nation. “The college of education has long been a leader in working with people with disabilities and trying to work out ways for them to participate in the broadest way possible in society,” Se nior Vice President and Provost John Moseley said. “They are already one of the leading if not the leading research group of this kind in the country. ” Kaufman said the project will help strengthen the College of Education. “What we keep doing is building a performance track record of success, and success begets success if we con tinue to invest in a research agenda,” Kaufman said. “There is competition for superior students and faculty of ex cellence. Having these centers con tributes to our competitiveness and, ul timately, our success.” “It’s a very important grant in that it builds on expertise that they have de veloped over many years,” Moseley said. “I’m very excited and, frankly, not surprised that they got it.” adamcherry@ dailyemerald, com Impostor: Officials look into prevention measures Continued from page la still under investigation. For this reason, Psychology Department Head Marjorie Taylor has been asked by police not to comment. Taylor did say that she has alerted psychology graduate stu dents, faculty and staff. She is also following up to determine if such an incident can be prevented in the future. Hall said impersonation becomes criminal when an impostor pretends to be a public servant or uses the character as a means to gain something. Vaifale told police he is only a high school graduate and is currently an un employed care worker, Hall said. The EPD wants to know if Vaifale has done anything inappropriate while trying to pass as a member of the University community. If anyone has any information, they should contact Hall at 346-2904 before 4 p.m. emilysmith@dailyemerald.com ■ Pulse Opera Ensemble puts local twist on a comedic classic di JIAMi UNltKliUK PULSE REPORTER Swapping 13th century Italy for post-gold rush Oregon, the UO Opera Ensemble will perform an updated version of Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi” starting Friday at Beall Concert Hall. The performance caps a double bill of two short comedic operas. The show opens with Rossini’s “La Cam biale di Matrimonio” sung in Italian with English supertitles, followed by the adaptation of Puccini’s classic in English. Adding a local twist to Puc cini’s opera was ensemble director Charles Tlirley’s idea. “I was inspired by visiting Flo rence,” said Turley, who is also an assistant professor of voice in the school of music. But the Florence that inspired Turley wasn’t the revered Italian city where Puc cini’s opera takes place; it was Florence, Ore. While visiting the Siuslaw Pioneer Museum, Tlirley got the idea to re-imagine the play during the logging industry’s Gay ’90s heyday. The adaptation of “Gianni Schic chi,” tells the story of a wealthy lumber baron who dies and wills his fortune to the Presbyterian Church. His family hires a local con man, Johnnie Skeekie (Gianni Schicchi in the original) to help rewrite the will. Skeekie redrafts it so the family inherits most of the fortune, though he leaves a tidy sum for himself and his daughter. Though many details have been changed to reflect the adaptation’s 600-year leap forward, the story re mains intact, as does the opera’s memorable music, like “O Mio Babbino Caro,” which Turley said is one of several well-known arias in the opera. Rossini's “La Cambiale di Matri monio (The Marriage Contract) ” is set in colonial England and tells the story of a merchant who falls on hard times financially. He borrows money from a wealthy Canadian business associate and arranges for the busi nessman to marry his daughter in ex change for his debt. He is unaware that his daughter has already prom ised herself to another man, forcing the young lovers to deal with the creditor when he unexpectedly ar rives in England. Turley will conduct both perform ances. The production opens Friday and runs through Sunday. Perfor mances begin at 7 p.m. in Beall Con cert Hall at 961 E. 18th Ave. Tickets, available at the door, cost $10 for gen eral admission or $5 for students and senior citizens. joshlinterem@dailyemerald.com Dinner @ 4:45,5:30,6:15 -Includes 19 different cuisines from around the world! Show @ 7:00pm -Performances from: -Korea -India -China -Japan -Brazil -Bulgaria -Guinea -Zimbabwe -Central African Republic Tickets availbie at UO ticket office General $12 UO Students $8
