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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 2015)
If you go online to search for Prudential Real Estate in Lane County you will automatically be rerouted to Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. Billionaire Warren Buffet recently bought Prudential and associated businesses for an undisclosed amount and brought them under his Berkshire brand. Buffett’s purchase is considered to be another indication that the housing sector of the economy is recovering. “It’s a good sign for the market and a great sign for buyers and sellers,” says Eugene-area broker Sally Nunn who was with Prudential and now has new business cards and signs. “I’m loving it already,” she says. “Our agents have access to great technology and resources, locations to refer buyers (now worldwide) and everyone can search online with a great app.” Berkshire has about 32,000 listings worldwide. We did a feature story on As You Like It back on Dec. 18 (see wkly.ws/1wk) and the new “gender- inclusive, body-safe, sex-positive, pleasure shop committed to selling body-safe toys” held its grand opening Jan. 17-18 at 1655 W. 11th Ave. The store features many products from Eugene-based companies such as Good Clean Love, Terra Firma and Painful Pleasure Toys. Owner is Kim Marks who plans to host guest speakers, workshops and other sex-positive events at the store. See asyoulikeitshop.com for more information. Local and regional bicycle businesses and advocates for cycling will be gathering for the Oregon Bicycle Adventure Summit from 2 to 7 pm Sunday, Jan. 25, at Ninkasi Brewing, 155 Blair Blvd. Cost to get in is two cans of food for FOOD for Lane County and registration online is requested at oregonbicycleadventuresummit.com. The event will feature information about rides in the region, bike gear of all sorts, and an opportunity to talk to cycling organizers and activists. To volunteer, call 954-1161 or email shecker@uw.edu. The event is also on Facebook. Eugene-based Ninkasi was distributing its craft brews through the European-based Anheuser- Busch InBev but announced last week it will be switching to Oregon-based Bigfoot Beverage Distributors. The Odom Corporation, based in Bellevue, Washington, will handle western Washington state distribution beginning early February. Last week Ninkasi was honored in San Francisco with a 2015 Good Food Award by Seedling Projects. The award recognizes commitments to sustainability, quality and “strides toward creating a better community.” Beer is one category in the awards, along with cheese, chocolate, coffee and other food- and drink-related products. Warrior Sisters self-defense nonprofit is back on UO campus for winter term, offering free two- hour training courses once a month at the Bean- Moore Dining Hall on campus. Trainings will be held from 5 to 7 pm Mondays, Jan. 26, Feb. 16 and March 9. Find out more at womens-selfdefense.org or email warriorsisters@riseup.net. lighten up BY RAFAEL ALDAVE Memo to the members of the EPUD board: Get it together, people! You were elected to make policy for a public utility — not to create an episode for Saturday Night Live. 6 January 22, 2015 • eugeneweekly.com P HOTO CREDIT: C A ROLIN A REE SE UO STUDENTS ACCOMPANIED BY HUGO SLIM AND CHEYNEY RYAN AT OXFORD EXAMINING HUMAN RIGHTS, TERRORISM AND EDUCATION For many college students, conflicts in the Middle East and tragedies in Africa are something they might click by in their news feeds. But for a group of University of Oregon stu- dents, rules that govern conflicts such as the Geneva Conven- tions aren’t just an abstract theory. For the third year in a row the UO is sending a small group of law students, masters students in Conflict and Dispute Resolution and undergraduates in the Honors College to the University of Oxford for a weeklong seminar and workshop on global justice and human rights. Before the students de- part, Oxford human rights expert Hugo Slim is coming to the UO to give a talk on “Human Rights in an Age of Terrorism” Jan. 27. The students prep for the spring break trip weeks in ad- vance with readings on human rights and theories of social justice. The program “transforms ideas into personal respon- sibility,” says Carmalita Aufderheide, a masters student in conflict resolution with a background in nursing. The students “hit the ground running” the moment they arrive at Oxford, according to Shashank Chauhan, who is getting joint degrees in law and conflict resolution. Through daylong lectures and meetings as well as group projects, they will learn about the limitations and challenges of the theories they have read from those who have been there firsthand. In the previous year and in 2015 the program focuses on Syria. BARBARA AND DAN GLEASON A third-generation Eugenean, Dan Gleason attended Harris Elementary, Spencer Butte Middle School, South Eugene High and the UO, where he got a degree in biology and took a particular interest in birds. After a couple of years as a substitute teacher, he returned to the UO in 1972 for a job, preparing student labs for a variety of biology courses. Every summer since then, even after his retirement in 2004, he has taught a four-week field ornithology course for seniors and grad students. “We’re in the field four days a week,” he notes, “starting at 6 am.” He travels the state to give bird-watching workshops and public lectures. Barbara Gleason grew up in South Jersey and got into birding after graduating from Franconia College in New Hampshire. She moved to Eugene in 1978 and worked in graphic design and illustration. She first met Dan Gleason when she joined the Lane County Audubon Society in the mid- 1980s. “We got together in ’94,” she says, “and got married in ’95.” In May of 2013, the Gleasons filled a vacant market niche when they opened their birding store, Wild Birds Unlimited of Eugene, at 2510 Willamette St. “The franchise is flexible and supportive,” Barbara Gleason says. “They have a biologist on staff to keep us up to date on research. We have access to vendors who are vetted. We order two tons of seed every week.” The store also features binoculars, feeders, books and a staff of five experienced birders for reliable advice. Learn about their free monthly seminars at eugene.wbu.com. UO professor Cheyney Ryan, who spends half his year at the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict, says one of his goals for the program is to ensure everyone accepted can attend and it is 100 percent paid for. Graduate students receive a fellowship via UO alumnus Steve Ray- mund, and undergrads are funded through a fellowship cre- ated by a gift from David Stern, he says. After her experiences at Oxford, Alison Walt, a senior in geography and Arabic, says she traveled to Jordan and saw how the conflict in Syria is playing out there. She says she found herself “better prepared” for how things actually func- tion as aid workers and others trying to help deal with the conflicts and the intricacies of other cultures. Slim, one of the leaders of the program with Ryan, has worked on the frontlines as a humanitarian worker for Save the Children UK and the United Nations in Morocco, Su- dan, Ethiopia, the Palestinian territories and Bangladesh. He researches humanitarian ethics, civilian protection and busi- ness and human rights and has served as a consultant for the Red Cross and been on the board of the charity Oxfam UK. Oxfam recently released a study showing the richest 1 percent of people will likely control more wealth than the remaining 99 percent by next year. Hugo Slim speaks on “Human Rights in an Age of Ter- rorism” 7 pm Tuesday, Jan. 27, at the UO School of Law Room 175. Slim will also meet with classes and participate in an Oregon-Oxford Roundtable on Israel-Palestine during his visit. — Camilla Mortensen HAPPENING PEOPLE BY PAUL NEEVEL
