Ashland photographer Christopher Briscoe has returned to Ukraine for the fourth time, once again immersing himself in the stories of a nation enduring war with remarkable resilience. Briscoe will give a presentation about his work in Ukraine at a March 18 meeting of the Southern Oregon Photographic Association.
The Brothers Reed have played a major role in the Rogue Valley music scene. After guitarist and singer Aaron Reed was diagnosed with a brain tumor, musicians and bands in town were looking for ways to help out. Doors to The Rally for Reed benefit concert open at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 2, at the Holly Theatre in Medford.
Daniel Molina: My college professor and classical theater mentor, Lawrence Ballard, was the first person to tell me about Ashland. He said, ‘Any actor who is serious about classical work knows Ashland is the place to be.’”
Erik Oline, a 2017 graduate of Ashland High School, finished the Yukon Quest 450 dog sled race Feb. 6. The race started and finished in Teslin, Canada, and covered 450 miles through the beautiful wintry Yukon Territory. Erik brought home the “Red Lantern” award, which is given to the final finisher of the race.
Curtain Call: After university studies in Indiana and Colorado, and pursuing his career playing with several orchestras, Jerry Su returned to Southern Oregon in 2022 to audition for the second E-flat clarinet position with the Rogue Valley Symphony — and got the job.
Some rural Talent residents say the recent Southern Oregon snowstorm gave them more practice than they’d have liked to test out their assortment of doomsday supplies and survival skills — a more than three-and-a-half-day-long exercise in relying on the array of off-the-grid infrastructure put in place over the past decade.
Stephen Bacon has been proprietor of Bellwood Violin on Hersey Street in Ashland since 1985. He just wrapped up 40 years of service to the community on his 70th birthday by selling his business to employee Will Scharen, a professional trombonist who is quickly learning the strings trade.
Curtain Call: Alysia Beltran will begin her third season with OSF later this year, and you can see her now as one of the lead actors in “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre.
While many eyes on Monday were focused on the transition of power in the halls of Washington, D.C., mid-day at the Historic Ashland Armory, attention was on a different transition, as the emcee role at Ashland’s annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration changed hands for the first time in over two decades, with Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Kamilah Long assuming hosting responsibilities from longtime emcee D.L. Richardson.
Editor’s note: Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne covers city government, including its ongoing efforts to find ways to shape policies around homelessness. For better insight into the issue, Rothborne spent a night in early December in the shelter when it was operated by Jobs with Justice in Calvin Hall at First Presbyterian Church of Ashland.
One of Southern Oregon University’s most elite programs – its Honors College – is on its way out as part of $10 million in cost cuts detailed in the Resiliency Plan approved by the Board of Trustees in September.
Trisha Vigil: While closing the government may seem a national rather than a local issue, to Rogue Valley residents, it is clearly a local issue.
A proposed ballot initiative to eliminate Oregon’s estate tax is moving forward, even as the state braces for a massive loss in federal funding due to cuts related to Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. The estate tax generated $423 million for Oregon in 2024-25, a critical revenue stream as the state faces an estimated $15.1 billion in federal cuts, primarily from two programs that benefit low-income Oregonians: Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The art exhibition of a renowned American artist living in Ashland has opened at the Langford Art Gallery in Phoenix. The exhibition “Beneath the Surface” features dozens of paintings by artist Abby Lazerow. The artist describes her work as “the search for human connection.”
Ashland’s 15th annual SOPride Festival brought together students, educators, activists and dozens of local groups on Saturday, Oct. 4 for the event’s parade in downtown Ashland.
Saying the Trump administration directly contravened her Saturday order blocking the federal government from mobilizing National Guard troops in Portland, a federal judge on Sunday evening issued a broader order barring the federal government from relocating National Guard members to Oregon from any state.
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