SLANT
• I f you are worried about public safety in Lane County, consider
that this county has received $2,736,425 worth of surplus military
equipment from the Department of Defense — more than any other
Oregon county. That’s according to an Aug. 15 Associated Press
story in The Oregonian . Equipment includes one wheeled combat
vehicle, 91 infrared illuminators, two ordnance disposal robots and
15 rifles. Coming free to cops across America, this surplus stuff
was manufactured with our tax dollars. Watching the para-military
debacle in Ferguson, Missouri, with all their old Department of
Defense hardware makes us really worried about public safety
everywhere. Hopefully, Congress will pass legislation to stop the
lethal giveaways.
• E yes have been on Ferguson, Missouri, since an 18-year-old
unarmed black man was shot by police there Aug. 9. Brown’s autopsy
shows the young man was shot six times by police officer Darren
Wilson. According to The Economist , last year British police fired their
guns three times. Total. None of the shots were fatal. Police shootings
and mass shootings have the same origins: too many guns in America.
• Lane County administrator Steve Mokrohisky has made it though
his first 100 days and so far EW is impressed. Mokrohisky came by
EW ’s offices last week and had thoughtful answers to our questions.
He tells us his job is to objectively carry out the wishes of the elected
officials — and he’s got enough Midwestern sincerity that we believe
him. At the same time, one of the first more public things Mokrohisky
did when he took the job is move ahead with some simple fixes the
county has been stalled on. He made some rooms in the Lane County
Service Building available for public use again and made certain emails
to and from the County Commission more accessible. Transparency
builds trust.
• A s we go to press the marchers in the Eugene Celebration Parade
are prepping their costumes and their dance routines, the SLUG
queens are putting on their finery for the SLUG crawl (see Biz Beat)
and the Festival of Eugene looks like bit by bit it’s come together.
Lane Community College, which itself was once the beneficiary of a
fundraising concert by the Grateful Dead, stepped up and was one
of the contributors toward a post-parade Saturday night concert,
and folks all over town have donated either to the festival or to
the celebration. Look like Eugene loves its celebration and that’s
something the city and Eugene Celebration planners should take into
account for next year.
• I t’s the end of summer and you know what that means … the kids
are going back to school and it’s spider mating season. We are hitting
the time of year when creepy pictures of large brown spiders start
cropping up all over social media with captions like “What the hell is
this?” and “Gahhhhh, this thing just crawled up my wall!” That thing
is most likely a harmless giant house spider or a barn funnel spider
looking to get laid. Normally spiders are pretty reticent, but this time
of year the males come out of hiding as they desperately seek a mate.
Before you drag out any nasty chemicals or squash that innocent bug-
eating arachnid you should know that while Oregon has hobo spiders
(though none documented south of Corvallis, last we checked), they
rarely bite humans. Brown recluses do not live in Oregon, so while
giant brown spiders in your bathroom might creep you out, they are
not going to eat you.
CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION
In our 8/14 cover story “Music on the Mend,” we mistakenly referred
to the Eugene Education Foundation as the Eugene Education
Association. The EEA is 4J’s teachers union, while the EEF offers
community support to the Eugene 4J School District through grants
and donations. To support EEF, visit eeflane.org.
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P lease join us for an
INFORMATIONAL MEETING
about our new community!
ing
Open
Fall
2014
WHAT: Learn about our new senior living
community in Eugene
WHEN: Wednesday, August 27 • 6:00pm
WHERE: Hilton Garden Inn
3528 Gateway Street, Springfield, OR 97477
On the corner of Gateway and Beltline
Snacks and refreshments will be provided.
Please RSVP.
541-636-0665 • CrescentParkSeniorLiving.com
2951 Coburg Road • Eugene, OR 97408
A SPECTRUM RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
eugeneweekly.com • A ugust 21, 2014
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