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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 22, 2013)
NEWS The American Institute of Architects Southwest Oregon Chapter is hosting the People’s Choice Awards for Architecture again this year at the Eugene Celebration, and as in recent years the display will also include landscape projects. Find the display at the corner of Broadway and Willamette in the Broadway Commerce Center. This year the designs (and voting) are also online at aiaswo.com, according to Scott Stolarczyk, co-chair of the awards committee (sstolarczyk@robertsonsherwood.com). Winners of the competition will be announced at City Club of Eugene Sept. 13. Eugene Coffee Company, which closed its retail business June 7, is back, planning a “soft opening” during the Eugene Celebration parade Saturday, Aug. 24, at a new location at 240 E. 17th in front of Mr. Clean Jeans. Owner is Sue Harnly. The coffee shop had been located at 18th and Chambers for five years and took a break to offer barista classes over the summer. The new store is being funded in part by Kickstarter (see wkly.ws/1j9). As of this week the campaign had raised about $2,500. Call 954-5345 or email eugenecoffeeco@gmail.com. The Lane County Cultural Coalition offers program grants from $500 to $2,500 and will be holding a roundtable grant workshop from 4 to 6 pm Thursday, Aug. 22, at Emerald Art Association, 500 Main St. in Springfield. Deadline for the next round of grant applications is Oct. 15. See laneculture.net or call 556-9095. St. Vincent de Paul is doing its annual Backpacks for Back-to-School supply drive, and we hear donation barrels are only half full this year. Donate school supplies (and/or money) for low-income kids at any branch of the Oregon Community Credit Union or at St. Vinnie’s stores. Call 743-7147 or email askme@svdp.us. Velo Bed and Breakfast is a new bike-tour-friendly B&B at 86211 Bailey Hill Road about 2 miles outside of Eugene. Owners are Misha Dunlap English and Rob English. Misha is a UO law school graduate and former practicing attorney; Rob is a mechanical engineer who came from England in 2006 to work for Bike Friday and later began building his own custom steel bikes under his own label, English Cycles. A photo gallery of the B&B and more information can be found at velobandb.com or call 844-5102. Institutional Stoves has announced that “stoves began rolling off the line” in July at InStove’s first foreign “Factory in a Box” in Afikpo, Nigeria. The local company designs, builds and places eco-friendly cookstoves in refugee camps, schools and orphanages around the world. The new stoves in Nigeria will be used in school kitchens to help feed 20,000 children a day. Wood harvesting for inefficient cooking has contributed to deforestation in Nigeria. See a video at instove.org. Portland business blogger and entrepreneur Rick Turoczy will be the keynote speaker at the SmartUps meeting from 5 to 7:30 pm Thursday, Aug. 29, at the Oregon Electric Station, 27 E. 5th Ave. $12 advance, $18 at the door. Register at the Eugene Area Chamber website. Biz Beat recently had a couple of briefs about enterprises that offer used goods that might otherwise end up in landfills. Part of what drives these businesses is our stagnant economy and the large number of people who are strapped for cash. But there’s something else going on as well, a growing awareness that our throwaway culture is evolving. One indicator is the huge inventory of building supplies that can be found at BRING Recycling, ReStore and even various thrift stores. These stores used to rely on contractor leftovers from booming residential construction projects, but now individuals in the community are making up the difference. Need a new door, window or bookshelf? It makes sense economically and environmentally to check out the recycling stores before heading for the big box retail stores. Send suggestions for Biz Beat items to editor@eugeneweekly.com 8 A ugust 22, 2013 • eugeneweekly.com County spokesperson Anne Marie Levis says Dingle’s original contract when he was hired as senior assistant county counsel allowed for the extra hours because he had worked at other counties and in government. She adds that the APM “doesn’t specifi cally say that it has to be Lane County service.” The APM language reads “Time manage- ment will accrue whenever an employee is in a paid status with the county.” The Dec. 17, 2012 memo from District Attorney Alex Gardner that calls for promoting Dingle from senior assistant to county counsel says, “The appointment directly relates to the County’s Values, especially Integrity, Respect, Pursuit of Excellence, and Stewardship.” — Camilla Mortensen PRO SOCCER FOR A PUBLIC CIVIC STADIUM? Whither Civic Stadium? After a two-year moratorium, the site’s future is once more a live question, and Eugeneans might wonder what part the public can play in answering it — and whether they prefer a big box store or a soccer team. According to Eugene 4J School Board Chairperson Mary Walston, the board is soliciting comments at its 7 pm Aug. 28 meeting at César E. Chávez Elementary School. The board welcomes both oral and written testimony, and the public comment period is early on the meeting’s agenda. Although Civic Stadium’s future won’t be decided just yet, public participation in developing the Request for Pro- posals (RFP) for the historic wooden stadium is crucial. How the RFP gets framed affects what proposals the board will receive. The 4J board would especially “love to hear … what value we should place on community benefi t, and what ‘community benefi t’ is.” In a 5 pm work session preceding the Aug. 28 meeting, the board will discuss a draft RFP. Walston said when this debate was last live most people in neighborhoods surrounding Civic Stadium strongly op- posed selling the land for a Fred Meyer, but the board also “had many emails from people further away in Santa Clara, saying, ‘Just sell it to the highest bidder — get as much as you can for it.’” The question is now whether the school district and com- munity are better served by a short-term addition to the dis- trict’s coffers or a long-term investment in the community’s future. Unlike two years ago, however, the Eugene-Spring- fi eld area is now home to a professional soccer team, Lane United Football Club, which needs a stadium. Lane United FC President Dave Galas says he really missed walking down to Civic Stadium to watch baseball, and he started the team in part to answer the question, “Who’s going to play there?” The Lane FC proposal would call for Civic to be purchased by the city and thus stay in public hands. In the meantime, Galas says, “We’re getting a lot of inter- est from a lot of different fronts: hotels wanting to affi liate with the team … all the way to the city of Springfi eld ask- ing us what it would take, what we can do, to locate a USL [United Soccer Leagues] team in Springfi eld.” Former Seat- tle Sounders player and member of the philanthropic Jaqua family Nate Jaqua is ambassador for the team. Galas and Lane United FC hope to see Civic Stadium re- newed but “are open to whatever comes our way.” The team plays its second game at 7 pm Friday, Aug. 23, at Sheldon High School. Tickets are $5 at the gate. — Ira Allen JUDGES CALL ON CONGRESS TO END SEQUESTRATION Federal Judge Ann Aiken of Eugene has joined 86 other federal district court chief justices in a letter to Congress calling for an end to sequestration, the mandatory 10 percent federal budget cuts that have followed years of fl at funding. The federal judiciary, facing budget cuts of $350 million in 2013, has lost more than 2,000 staff members, reducing personnel to 1999 levels at a time when workload has in- creased. In addition, furlough days due to sequestration are expected to total 8,600 by the end of this year. “We have experienced fi rsthand the effect of those con- straints and funding reductions,” reads the letter. “They have forced us to slash our operations to the bone, and we believe our constitutional duties, public safety and the quality of the justice system will be profoundly compromised by any fur- ther cuts.” The letter was sent Aug. 13 to Senate President Joe Biden and to House Speaker John Boehner, along with Senate and House leaders and committee chairs. “These staffi ng losses are resulting in slower processing of civil and bankruptcy cases, which impacts individuals and businesses seeking to resolve disputes,” reads the letter. “Funding cuts to the Judiciary have also put public safety at risk. The Judiciary employs nearly 6,000 law enforcement offi cers — probation and pretrial services offi cers — to su- pervise individuals in the community after they have been convicted of a crime and subsequently released from prison, as well as defendants awaiting trial.” The four-page letter goes on to talk about reduced secu- rity at courthouses and the reduction in funding for court- appointed attorneys. “Exacerbating the problem,” reads the letter, “is the fact that the Judiciary has no control over the number and nature of cases in which court-appointed coun- sel must provide a defense.” “We look to Congress to recognize the uncontrollable nature of our workload and to provide the resources neces- sary for the Judiciary to perform its essential functions,” the letter concludes. Find the full letter on our blog this week. — Ted Taylor OPPORTUNITY VILLAGE TO BEGIN CONSTRUCTION Opportunity Village Eugene’s ribbon is snipped, and now it’s time for construction. Following the Eugene Celebration Parade Saturday, Aug. 24, residents and volunteers will head to the site at 111 N. Garfi eld and begin constructing its shel- ters. “When this succeeds, this can go nationwide,” future resident Mark Hubbell says. At the ribbon cutting, organizers reported that in addition to the construction, they’re working on even more service- related plans for the village, including an educational pro- gram called “The Academy.” “Our small community is looking forward to working and doing outreach to other communities, our neighbors,” Hubbell says. Organizers say they’re talking with Occupy Medical about bringing its bus to the site on a weekly basis, and they plan to accept donations at the site and help home- less people access supplies and support. “We want to do a lot of outreach, going out in the community and giving back,” Hubbell says. Villagers will begin accepting donations a couple of weeks after the village opens, including bedding, hygiene products, fi rst-aid supplies, bike-related tools, baggage and offi ce supplies. “We greatly appreciate any kind of help that the community might be able to provide,” Hubbell says. Those who want more information about donating can text him at (458) 205-1985. A couple of months after the village opens, villagers and volunteers will start teaching each other skills in The Acad- emy program. Steering committee member Wayne Martin says that the curriculum will range from basic computer skills and resume writing to bike repair and gardening to self-care like yoga and nutrition. “Our hopes are that this is not just going to be a place to live and spend time; this is going to be a place to live and learn and grow,” Martin says, eventually allowing residents opportunities to transition to permanent housing. For some, it will be an opportunity for a fresh start. “A couple of years ago, I had everything,” future resident Ei- leen Fonseca says, but she got sick and spent the last two years couch-surfi ng, without stability or a long-term place to stay. “This is the biggest gift that I could ever ask for.”
