Ashland’s 26th Community Labyrinth Walk to New Year will take place New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in Wesley Hall on the campus of Ashland First United Methodist Church, 175 N. Main St. The “Sacred Walk to the New Year” is nondenominational and free of charge, and all are welcome to the event.
The 21st Grand Menorah Lighting in Ashland Plaza was held Wednesday, Dec. 25, the first night of Hanukkah. The lighting was hosted by Chabad of Southern Oregon and drew visitors from Ashland, Medford, Grants Pass and other areas of the Rogue Valley.
With nightly menorah lightings, gift giving and delicious fried foods to try, the Hanukkah season is soon approaching, and an Ashland synagogue and a Rogue Valley Jewish center will host community events to celebrate the holiday.
Hateful acts directed at Oregonians because of their religion drove an increase in reported bias-related crimes and non-criminal incidents over the past year, according to a report released by the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission.
As doors shut on a downtown store operated by the controversial organization TwinRay, a former follower and family member of another talk to Ashland.news about the experience — including the loss of more than $80,000 in retirement savings pursuing “Ascendantship.”
A man yelled a racial epithet while vandalizing the Chabad Jewish Center of Southern Oregon at 1474 Siskiyou Blvd., according to a post on the Ashland Police Department Facebook page. No date was given in the post, which went up on the site Thursday afternoon, Dec. 14.
Dozens of area residents ushered in a spirited first night of Hanukkah on Thursday, gathering on the Ashland Plaza late Thursday afternoon to light the first flames on the menorah.
The eight days and nights of Hanukkah will light up the Rogue Valley, with the Chabad Jewish Center of Southern Oregon heading multiple menorah lightings and holiday events to celebrate the season. The Chabad will host three public menorah lighting events across the Rogue Valley, starting with a 4:30 p.m. celebration Thursday, Dec. 7, with a 10-foot Hanukkah menorah on Ashland Plaza.
Following the discovery of bags of sand with notes linking to antisemitic websites Monday outside homes in Ashland, Phoenix, Medford and Central Point, one Ashland rabbi is responding with optimism as he looks ahead to planning Hanukkah festivities.
Plastic baggies holding sand and a hate-speech message ended up on doorsteps throughout Phoenix, Medford, Ashland and Central Point late Sunday or early Monday, according to a Facebook post Monday by the Ashland Police Department.
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).
As Oregon lawmakers stare down a deficit of at least $373 million over the next two years — and brace for the possibility of a bigger shortfall in the state’s next quarterly revenue — they asked state agencies to create lists of ways to cut 5% of their approved budgets.
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