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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 2013)
NEWS >>> CONTINUED FROM P. 6 Biz Beat has been running nearly every week for more than a year now. It’s a humble effort to give some attention to small businesses, nonprofits and the people behind them who are vitally important to our community but don’t always get media attention. Our thanks to the many people who have sent us suggestions. Keep ’em coming. A Togo’s sandwich and salad shop has opened in Eugene. We hear John Anderson, the local entrepreneur whose family owns a truck stop center in Coburg, has opened Eugene’s first Togo’s at 954 Pearl St. and may do more of the West Coast franchises at the truck stop and elsewhere. Call 868-2891 or visit togoseugene.com A fun new toy store has opened in Eugene. The Dancing Weasel is located at 30 E. 17th Ave. Founders and owners of this independent store are Aya Lyddon and Danita Reynolds, two moms with an appreciation of “fantastic, creative, imaginative and educational toys that help improve a child’s quality of life.” The store specializes in high quality toys, books, games, puzzles and other kid-friendly products that cannot be found in big box stores. See dancingweaseltoystore. com or call 246-8781. 2nd Saturday classes are now available to “help women deal with the legal, financial, family and emotional issues of divorce in a logical, yet compassionate way,” says Deb Daniels who is organizing the weekly classes and workshops which are affiliated with a national program. Cost is $25 for four sessions, which includes written materials. See 2ndsaturdayeugene.org or call 239-3504 or 953- 4740 or email deb.daniels57@gmail.com Congrats to Nir Pearlson Architect Inc., celebrating 10 years of local commercial and residential design. Pearlson founded the Eugene firm after eight years of work on large-scale government and commercial projects. His designers include Rachel Auerbach, Roger Ota and Christopher Deel. Find the firm’s new website at green-building.com Emerald FEAST (Financing Eugene Area Sustainable Talent) will be back from 6 to 8 pm Thursday, Jan. 31, at the First United Methodist Church, 13th and Olive. Dinner guests will hear short presentations by local very small businesses and projects and vote for their favorites, who will be awarded funding from the proceeds of the dinner. Cost for dinner is sliding scale, $15 to $25. So far about $1,900 has been awarded in four events, says Cary Thompson of the Helios Network, one of the organizers. See emeraldfeast.weebly.com for more information, email emeraldfeast@gmail.com or call 463-4619. United Way of Lane County is looking for volunteers to set up for the Eugene Polar Plunge that will be from 10 am to 3 pm Friday, Feb. 1, at Maurie Jacobs Park. Volunteers are also being recruited for Sponsors, Inc., Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Senior Meals Program. Call the volunteer connection line at 741-6000, ext. 159. Cultural opportunity grants ranging from $500 to $2,500 are available through the Lane County Cultural Coalition for nonprofits and individuals working on projects involving arts, heritage and humanities. Free local workshops to assist in grant applications will be held from 4 to 6 pm Tuesday, Feb. 5, at Lane County Historical Society, and at 10:30 am Saturday, Feb. 9, at the Florence Library. See http://laneculture.net/wp/ or email kuriator@msn.com A “Breakfast of Champions” benefit for the Pearl Buck Center is being planned for 7:30 am Thursday, Feb. 14, at LCC’s Center for Meeting and Learning, Building 19. Matt Coleman, assistant superintendent of Springfield Public Schools, will be keynote speaker. Registration deadline is Feb. 6. Call 484-4666 or email dena.amend@pearlbuckcenter.com 8 January 31, 2013 • eugeneweekly.com involved in the negotiations, and the individuals who fi led the lawsuit did so as individuals. Paul Conte, the former chair of Jefferson Westside Neighbors, was a key part of the settle- ment discussions. He says that the fact that a city attorney suggested the groups talk toward a settlement and was cc’d on all of the negotiations shows that nothing illegal or wrong happened. A subsequent email from the negotiating lawyer did call the discussions “extortion.” Conte says that the names of the neighborhood asso- ciations have been clear from the start, but “I think that the neighborhoods and the individuals have still suffered from what the R-G ran, this irresponsible article,” he says, “and the council really was irresponsible in launching a formal investi- gation without even asking if there was any evidence.” “In bringing appeals, we were attempting to get the city to follow the law, and everything that we did was perfectly above board and perfectly followed the procedures that were laid out,” Conte says. Pryor did not respond to a request for comment by press time. — Shannon Finnell BUSES PLANNED FOR SALEM RALLY MONDAY Health Care for All Oregon’s Eugene chapter will be join- ing others from 62 statewide organizations Monday, Feb. 4, for a kick-off rally for universal health care in Salem on the fi rst day of the 2013 legislative session. Chartered buses from Eugene are being planned for the rally. See hcao.org, email patbitner@gmail.com or call 484- 6145 or 485-3971. Cost of the bus ride to Salem and back is expected to be $10 and space is limited. Participants are asked to wear red shirts and bring lunches. The buses will leave Eu- gene at 8:30 am. Salem activities will begin at 9:30 am with signing in at Room 50 at the Capitol building, followed by a march and rally until about 11:30 am. Lobbying lawmakers will continue during the afternoon and at 3 pm there will be a closing meeting and debriefi ng. Buses will return to Eugene late afternoon. The rally is in support of Rep. Michael Dembrow’s pro- posed Affordable Health Care for All Oregon Act. “Are you satisfi ed with your [health care] plan for 2014?” asks Marc Shapiro, Lane County chairman of HCAO, in an email message to supporters. “We pay more than twice as much as any other country, live fewer years and rank 37th for medical care outcomes. If this isn’t what you want for health care in Oregon, do join our rally.” Next local HCAO meeting is 7 pm Thursday, Feb. 21, at EWEB. Those who can’t join the rally but want to be heard can call their legislators through the Capitol switchboard at (503) 986-1848. DISC GOLF CLUB PLANS ‘ICE BOWL’ The Eugene Disc Golf Club (EDGC) and local disc golf- ers and fans are gathering at 7:45 am Saturday, Feb. 2, at Dex- ter State Park east of Eugene for the second annual Ice Bowl. Entry fee is $20 and all proceeds will go to FOOD for Lane County. Last year’s inaugural Ice Bowl raised $2,020 and more than 1,400 pounds of food for the hungry. Tourna- ment director Matt Benotsch notes that 26 percent of Lane County children are “food insecure,” one of the worst rates in the country. The local Ice Bowl is part of a national effort by disc golf organizations to raise money for food programs. Benotsch says last year’s event in Cottage Grove drew 109 participants and he expects 135 to 150 this year. The event is also an opportunity for disc golfers to learn more about the three-year project under way to build an 18-hole disc golf course at Alton Baker Park in Eugene. The city approved the course in the fall of 2011 and it’s still under construction, but players got a preview last spring when temporary baskets were set up. The course is designed to not confl ict with other uses of the park, such as the bike path. More information can be found at eugenediscgolfclub.net or call 345-4155. The next meeting of the club will be at 6:30 pm Tuesday, Feb. 5, at the Rogue Ales Public House, 844 Ol- ive St. — Ted Taylor HUMANE LOBBY DAY CONFR ONTS LEGISLATION Animal lovers and supporters of humane treatment alike will gather in Salem on Feb. 12 for Humane Lobby Day, where they can learn about fi ve new bills, among others, that will affect the welfare of animals. “It’s a great opportunity for people who care about animals to let their voices be heard,” says Scott Beckstead, Oregon se- nior director with The Humane Society of the United States. “Although we’re a state with a proud tradition of promoting animal welfare, we have these antiquated laws.” Beckstead says that the fi rst pro-animal welfare bill will establish some “common sense measures” on wildlife trap- ping. The bill proposes a ban on trapping for recreation, com- merce and fur harvesting, while continuing to allow trapping for wildlife protection, public safety and agriculture. Under current laws, hunters can place traps close to residential areas and go without checking the traps for long periods of time. “Depending on what you’re trapping, you can go up to 30 days without checking,” Beckstead says. The second Humane Society-supported bill will strength- en the penalties for animal neglect. According to Beckstead, neglect is currently only a misdemeanor, even if the animal dies as a result. The Oregon Humane Society opposes three new bills that seek to repeal the ban on hunting bears and cougars with radio-collared dogs. Beckstead says that hound hunting was rejected in Oregon and other states because it violates the concept of fair chase and creates unnecessary suffering for both the hounds and the prey. Humane Lobby Day will start at 9 am at the Oregon State Library in Salem, where the group will discuss the legislation in question and then meet with state senators and representa- tives to voice their viewpoints. Those who would like to par- ticipate need to preregister online to schedule meetings with elected offi cials. “The message here is that there are important develop- ments with regards to animal welfare,” Beckstead says. “If people really care about getting the strongest protection for animals, they need to get involved.” To participate or to fi nd out more, go to wkly.ws/1f6 — Amy Schneider POLLUTION UPDATE Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) sent Robert Saltsgaver, Jr. a warning letter on Dec. 17 for sig- nifi cant violations of Oregon environmental law stemming from illegal disposal of an estimated 4,800 to 6,600 waste tires and construction and demolition debris at 31841 Cedar Creek Road, Cottage Grove. The letter notes that such illegal disposal can lead to contamination of soil, surface water, and groundwater, and requests corrective actions. DEQ sent Rosboro, LLC a warning letter on Jan. 11 for exceeding the total suspended solids (TSS) limit in its Clean Water Act permit by 42 percent on Dec. 11 at its Springfi eld facility. As noted in DEQ’s letter, high TSS levels block light from reaching underwater vegetation, which slows plant pho- tosynthesis and reduces the amount of dissolved oxygen re- leased by plants into water. The City of Springfi eld recently visited the site where Wil- lamalane Parks and Recreation District is constructing its Middle Fork Willamette Loop Path in response to a water pollution complaint by a local resident. The city summarized its observations during the visit in a Jan. 15 letter to Willa- malane consultant OBEC Consulting Engineers, which in- cluded inadequate soil coverage at multiple locations immedi- ately adjacent to the river, “posing an immediate potential for polluted discharge.” OBEC is in the process of addressing the problems identifi ed by the city. — Doug Quirke/OCWAP.org
