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.
Ask Strider: A reader asks whatever happened to Woody the Puppy Intern? Strider has news! Woody has landed on all four paws with a new gig. And Steve, the Ashland.news crossword editor, has a new canine crossword up for solving. The excitement is pupable!
The Oregon Legislature is meeting this week to consider some major cuts to current spending levels as a large revenue deficit looms. That’s because the state’s tax code automatically replicates new federal tax cuts, including ones passed by Congressional Republicans this summer that will reduce state revenue
Michael O’Looney: Trump and the Texas Legislature are responsible for a partisan power grab that has unleashed bitterness and partisan vindictiveness, all in an effort to subvert an electoral system for partisan ends.
Councilor Bob Kaplan: While the cost of delivering kilowatt-hours to our homes has risen, Ashland Electric has been able to hold our rates steady with just one increase of 5.1% in 2021. I’m sorry to say we’re due for an increase, but fortunately it’s not likely to match recent increases elsewhere.
An estimate for the cost to abate asbestos found in the shuttered Lincoln School recently should be available as early as sometime this week, according to Steve Mitzel, operations director for Ashland School District. The cost to remove asbestos would be separate from the as yet-unknown cost for structural repair.
“We are still here” was the theme for Saturday’s Native American Heritage Celebration at Southern Oregon University, hosted by the SOU Native American Student Union (NASU) and SOU Native Nations Liaison Kenwanicahee (Kenwani) Kravitz (Madesi Bandi, Pit River Nation Winnemem, Nomtipom and Nomsus Bands Northern Wintu).
(It’s free)
