Activist Alert 9-24-2015

 • Lane County is taking public comment on its draft 20-year Parks Master Plan, which will guide the management of county parks from 2016 to 2036. This is the first comprehensive update to the original 1980 master plan. The draft plan is available at city libraries and an open house runs from 6 to 8 pm Thursday, Sept. 24, at Harris Hall, 125 E. 8th Ave.

• A free gathering to discuss the “sharing community” will be at 6 pm Thursday, Sept. 24, at the Eugene Public Library downtown. One example to be discussed is the new Eugene Toolbox Project, a nonprofit tool-lending library that supports local households and neighborhoods. 

• Sponsors counselor and author Garvar D. Brummett will read from his book The Scent of Jasmine Cools the Rage at 7 pm Thursday, Sept. 24, at the First United Methodist Church, 1376 Olive Street. The book is his memoir of addiction and homelessness. 

Veterans for Peace will meet at 9 am Friday, Sept. 25, at Theresa’s Place Café, 650 Main Street in Springfield. Contact vfp159@gmail.com. 

• The play Mercy Killers will be performed by Broadway actor Michael Milligan at 7:30 pm Friday, Sept. 25, at Very Little Theatre 2350 Hilyard Street. Tickets are $20 at the door, $15 online at wkly.ws/22g. Sponsored by Health Care for All Oregon-Eugene and Encircle Films.

• The Oregon Secretary of State is holding a public hearing on the new Motor Voter law from 6 to 7:30 pm Thursday, Sept. 24, at Eugene Public Library downtown. 

• A symposium of “Drought in the American West: Is This the New Normal?” runs 8:30 am to 5:30 pm Friday, Sept. 28, at the UO Knight Law Center. Lawyers and academics from Oregon and around the country will speak. See wkly.ws/22g for a schedule and registration. Free for students and faculty, $25 for others. 

• A rally and paddle against liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipelines and facilities will be from noon to 6 pm Saturday, Sept. 26, at Ferry Road Park in North Bend. Eugene climate activists will join other groups from around the state to “keep Pacific Connector and Jordon Cove out of the Coos Bay estuary.” Buses will leave Eugene’s First United Methodist Church parking lot, 1376 Olive Street, at 8:45 am Saturday. Email deveaulee@yahoo.com to reserve space. Shared cost of the bus ride is $15.