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Difficult Choices

Claire Syrett

The proposed city fee is the subject of much debate in our community. Many community members remain undecided. Voters deserve some clarity about the proposed fee and a response to the critics who say it is not needed.

In Defense of Men

David Duemler

Recently I volunteered at the Lane Peace Center’s annual Peace Symposium, “Rise to End Gender Violence!” Women's empowerment is essential to cultural progress. And violence toward or objectification of women impedes progress. Yet, I also feel compelled to stand up for that other gender, men. 

Sustaining the County Jail

Leonard Epstein

Having worked in two jails and one federal prison, I understand the importance of adequate institutional staffing for safety, security and efficiency. But in conjunction with deliberations about whether to support a tax levy to increase jail funding, I believe citizens would do well to contact their county commissioners about how any short-term funding solution should be coupled with a plan to rein in correctional costs that otherwise will undoubtedly only increase over time.

Biz Beat 5-2-2013

H&H Veterinary Care is a new animal clinic at 354 W. 6th Ave. in Eugene, site of the former City Center Cat & Bird Clinic. Sharleen Henery, DVM, is the new vet and Carolee Horning is her practice manager. Both worked previously at Banfield Pet Hospital. The new clinic cares for dogs, cats, pot-bellied pigs and even goats and other farm animals, says Henery, whose family has a farm in the Lorane area. Call 343-3419.

Activist Alert 5-2-2013

Jan Wroncy

• The Nightingale Public Advocacy Collective is a new nonprofit “dedicated to advocating for the civil rights and well-being of those who experience harassment, discrimination and criminalization due to homelessness and poverty,” says Alley Valkyrie of the group.

Here’s to Bad People

Tony Corcoran

Oregon daily newspapers are hardly worth reading anymore. The bias against public employees, the woeful reporting/analysis of the current legislative session by both The Oregonian and The Register-Guard is bloodthirsty and pathetic.

War Dead 5-2-2013

In Afghanistan

• 2,199 U.S. troops killed (2,194)

• 18,429 U.S. troops wounded in action (18,418)

• 1,353 U.S. contractors killed (1,353)

• 16,179 civilians killed (updates NA)

• $632.6 billion cost of war ($632.6 billion)

• $189.8 million cost to Eugene taxpayers ($189.8 million)

 

In Iraq

• 4,422 U.S. troops killed, 31,926 wounded

• 1,594 U.S. contractors killed (1,594)

• 122,757 to 1.2 million civilians killed* (122,591)

Bier Stein Booms

Shannon Finnell

Talk about starting off strong: When The Bier Stein reopened at 16th and Willamette on Tax Day, it was inevitable that the beloved beer bar would have a good day, but owner Chip Hardy says that the new location has overwhelmingly exceeded expectations. “Our best day ever at the other location we doubled on our opening day, and by Friday it tripled,” he says. “I was completely blown away by so many customers.”

Brew Scholars

Amy Schneider

Ninkasi’s latest brew, crafted with the help of student brewers, is called Sasquatch Legacy Baltic Porter, but it’s not a reference to Bigfoot. The beer pays tribute to Glen “Sasquatch” Falcolner, a longtime Eugene brewer with close ties to the brewing community. He died in a 2002 accident, but his passion for helping other brewers was too powerful to quench, and now his work lives on through the Glen Hay Falcolner Foundation and its scholarship program.

One Percent for the Watershed

Camilla Mortensen

Remember those old Olympia beer ads? “It’s the water.” When it comes to good beer, it really is the water, and that’s why Oakshire Brewing has begun its “1% for Watershed” program, donating one percent of the profits from its Watershed IPA in the lower Willamette Valley to keep the watershed and its water clean and healthy.

Sky-High Aspirations

Nick Poust

Sky High Brewing, located in downtown Corvallis, currently lacks a kitchen, seats not even a fifth of its desired capacity and has a second-floor staircase leading straight into the ceiling a la the Winchester Mystery House, but Scott McFarland, his co-owners and brewer Laurence Livingston were too excited to wait. They didn’t mind opening with a half-finished brewery in August 2012. 

The Farmhouse Brewery

Alex Notman

When Agrarian Ales was planting its first rows of hops seven years ago, an unexpected visitor dropped by. “An 85-year-old farmer stops his pickup and jumps out and has the biggest grin on his face I’ve ever seen,” says Ben Tilley, one of the owners and brewers. The farmer told Ben and co-owner-brewers Nathan Tilley and Tobias Schock that he used to pick hops by hand on that very field when he was a little boy.

Walking the Plank

Shannon Finnell

Head Brewer Steve van Rossem is still finishing the assembly of the brewing side of Plank Town Brewing Company, but the fledgling first brew, Bart’s Best Bitter or B^3, is already a refined recipe.

Back Beat

Alex Notman

Music news & notes from down in the Willamette valley.

Bleeping Indie

Kevin Piaskowski

Tom Van Buskirk and George Langford do whatever the hell they want. With Javelin, the pair of musicians explores a variety of sounds, channeling influences from across the spectrum of musical genres. “We were never interested in making a tight, recognizable sound,” Buskirk says. 

City in the Country

William Kennedy

Spirit Family Reunion is part of a long line of musicians based in New York City while playing the music of rural America. Like Dave Van Ronk, Bob Dylan and The Holy Modal Rounders before them, Spirit Family Reunion brings youthful energy and enthusiasm to antiquated sounds.

Swallowed by a Circus Heart

William Kennedy

Rebecca Loeb is a fresh-faced and breezy songwriter with the voice of a pop star. Her sound ranges from indie Americana to confessional ballads to cabaret-style waltzes — encompassing the quirky whimsy of Regina Spektor, the rootsiness of Patti Griffin and the dry wit of Randy Newman.

That 1 Guy

There are many instruments out there, each with its own timbre, tuning and technique of play. You’ve probably seen or heard some of the weirder ones — dulcimer, tanpura, whamola, etc. — but the Frankenstein creation That 1 Guy brings to the stage will knock your socks off.

It’s a Wilde World

Rick Levin

Pithy, witty and wise, Oscar Wilde remains the toast of the sniff set. Though dead all these long and tedious post-industrial years, Wilde, the foremost icon of soft-soap Victorian sabotage, is always good for a sharp, stinging rebuke to the narcissistic pretensions of the bourgeoisie or some feisty fillip about sexual hypocrisy of the straight crowd.

Letters to the Editor: 5-2-2013

DOING THE IMPOSSIBLE

Frequently, significant events are supported by a long history of effort. That is true with the upcoming visit of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama.

In 1998, members of a diverse community formed under the name of the Universal Peace Celebration Committee. Many civic, business and political leaders endorsed our efforts to bring the Dalai Lama to Eugene and to Oregon for a second visit. Our efforts are now coming to fruition.

Move On

Dan Savage

I am a 23-year-old straight male. My ex-girlfriend and I started dating in high school, when we were both 17, and continued dating until I broke up with her the summer after our freshman year in college because things felt too serious. We continued to have sex, but I blocked out all my feelings for her, while she was open about still wanting to be with me. She started dating someone else sophomore year. I realized then that I still wanted to be with her, and I broke down emotionally and made both our lives difficult while she was dating this new guy.

Plucky, Perverse Puppeteering

Anna Grace

The bawdy, angst-filled puppets have returned. In the style of Sesame Street, but with a whole lot more sex, you can cringe in commiseration as Princeton, a recent college grad, searches for his Purpose.

Man Vs. Nature

Alex Notman

Slabs of redwood, spalted maple, black walnut and butternut — these are printmaker Josh Krute’s inspiration and tools, but it all started with driftwood found at Colorado’s Blue Mesa Reservoir.

Feeling Crotchety?

Lance Sparks

As usual, we begin this month’s wine column with a digression, about thinking and the emergence of taste, eventually returning to wine.

Lost Company

Molly Templeton

It feels oddly rude to complain about a movie like The Company You Keep, with its sprawling cast of oft-underused actors from across generations and its well-intentioned plot, which sweeps Vietnam-era radicals up and drops them into the present. But Robert Redford’s latest film is an unsettled mixed bag.