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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (April 7, 2011)
NEWS BRIEFS Garden of… s ! g n i v Sa Look for dozens of sale items throughout the store! All Baskets Down To Earth All Natural 2XU:RYHQZRRG6HD*UDVVDQG:DWHU +\DFLQWK)LEHU%DVNHWVFRPHLQDYDULHW\ RIVW\OLVKQHZGHVLJQVZLWKDZLGHUDQJHRI IXQFWLRQDOLW\3OXVWKH\¶UHYHU\GXUDEOH Compost 3HUIHFWIRU DPHQGLQJJDUGHQ VRLOVFUHDWLQJ \RXURZQSRWWLQJ PL[RUPDNLQJ QXWULHQWULFK FRPSRVWWHDV 25 % OFF ([FOXGHV%ROJD%DVNHWV 25 % OFF Down To Earth Bio-Fish Blend watchers say, this invitation for input might signal that the standard under an Obama-appointed board may get a little looser in the future — unions and employees may have greater rights to use a company’s email. — Camilla Mortensen BIKING AROUND BELTLINE ODOT plans to provide a bike connection over or under Beltline in North Eugene as part of its $202 million I-5 Beltline interchange project. “The bike path will be connected from the south side of Beltline to the north side of Beltline,” said ODOT’s local spokesman Rick Little. ODOT engineers haven’t decided yet on an underpass or an overpass, according to Little. With all the interchange on and off ramps, “its not an easy design,” he said. ODOT is designing the bike/pedestrian link now to fit in with the road project, but the path won’t be built until 2014. Not all ACTIVIST ALERT • The Oregon Conservation Network is planning its annual Environmental Lobby Day from 9 am to 4 pm Thursday, April 7, at the state Capitol in Salem. This free event will start with expert training on OCN’s priority bills, including banning plastic checkout bags, protecting children from toxic BPA, and expanding the bottle bill, among others. That afternoon, participants will put their new skills to use, directly lobbying lawmakers. Register at http://wkly.ws/11p • Oregon House co-speakers Bruce Hanna (R-Roseburg) and Arnie Roblan (D-Coos Bay) will have a joint town hall meeting in Cottage Grove. According to Hanna, “These joint town halls are an excellent chance to have a very rich conversation about all the issues facing Oregon.” The meeting is Saturday, April 9 from 9:30-11 am at the Cottage Grove Community Center, Shepherd Room 700 E. Gibbs Ave. the federal funding for the interchange project is secured, but Little said ODOT is confident it will be. “At this point it’s not a concern.” Once ODOT engineers come up with a draft design in the next few months, they plan to share it with members of the local bike community to get feedback, according to Little. “It’s all going to start happening here pretty quick,” he said. A way to get around the Beltline freeway wall that cut north Eugene in half has long been sought by local bicyclists. Busy Coburg Road offers only a long and dangerous detour. The path would connect to existing paths and bridges leading to the riverfront path systems and Gateway Mall and could be heavily used by commuters to businesses on Chad Drive, employees going to lunch and errands, neighborhood residents and/or recreational cyclists heading to rural routes. — Alan Pittman SHELTERCARE HOUSING AT RISK A non-profit that houses poor families has taken a big hit from a county budget cut. ShelterCare has lost $300,000 in county funding that it used to pay for family housing. ShelterCare director Susan Ban said that this loss of funding means it will lose 11 units of their facility, which is located out on Highway 99. The reduction of 11 units, which serve about 81 families with children affects around 277 individuals, Steven Manela, division manager for Lane County Health and Human Services said in a March 28 viewpoint in The Register-Guard. The county claimed the cuts were necessary due to the hard economic times. The county, through its Human Services Commission, had approximately $2.9 million more in requests from local agencies than they had in their budget. Of the county’s $102-million discretionary general fund, the county’s primary operating fund, only 6 percent is spent on public health and welfare. Public safety accounts for 63 percent. Conservative county commissioners, which now hold a board majority, have pushed to dedicate WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM 7-7-2 - One of our top fertilizer blends 8VHGWKURXJKRXW WKHJURZLQJVHDVRQ WRSURPRWHYLJRURXV JURZWKEHDXWLIXO EORRPVDQGSOHQWLIXO IUXLW Classic “D” Handle Digging Fork or Spade 6ROLGRDNKDQGOH 'XUDEOHFDUERQVWHHO &RPIRUWDEOHVWXUG\ GHVLJQIRUDOOW\SHVRI JDUGHQWDVNV 20 % OFF % 20 OFF $OO6L]HV 6DOHSULFHVWKURXJK 6XQGD\$SULO WK 2OLYH6WUHHW 0RQ6DW 6XQ WK :LOODPHWWH DISCOVER YOUR INNER CHILD H oop Dancing Who says workouts are boring? Come try something new with Hoop Dancing. Lead by Tara, this series of four classes will take us from hooping basics to moves that will impress the inner kid in us all. Classes will be at the Y Mondays, April 25 th -May 16 th 1:30-2:30pm or 6:45-7:45pm. Four sessions: $40 Member $48 Non-Member Space is limited, so make sure to sign-up in advanced at the Y. 15 years and older, please. EUGENE FAMILY YMCA www.eugeneymca.org EUGENE WEEKLY APRIL 7, 2011 9
