On a 4-2 vote, the Ashland City Council on Tuesday approved the first of two required readings of an ordinance to control time, place and manner of camping in Ashland. The ordinance will control occupation of public spaces and enforce behavior, rather than status, and does not seek to punish those who are homeless, the acting city attorney told the council.
Oregon is in the throes of a full-blown housing crisis, facing a current deficit of 140,000 units. “Our Affordable Housing Challenge” is the topic of a free public discussion from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 2, in the Gresham Room at the Ashland Public Library.
Sunday night’s forecast low of 30 degrees triggered the opening of Ashland’s severe weather shelter at 2200 Ashland St. for the first time this season — only three days after a training for potential volunteers was held in the space. Saturday afternoon, the city announced the severe weather shelter would open both Sunday and Monday nights, Nov. 19 and 20.
A small number of Ashland residents turned out Tuesday morning to talk to city councilors and staff about issues on their minds. To escape the late fall chill, Southern Oregon University hosted the event at the Hannon Library with SOU President Rick Bailey and other university staff in attendance.
More than 1,100 Oregon households have received help from a $150 million wildfire recovery program the state set up after residents lost their homes during the devastating 2020 Labor Day fires. Three years later, the area is still recovering from the wildfires, which burned more than 1 million acres and destroyed or heavily damaged more than 4,300 homes in an eight-county region of Oregon. A full recovery is still years away.
What can you do to keep a roof over your head? To answer that question, organizers of an annual forum on housing resources invited a plethora of organizations seeking to help offer answers on such issues as homelessness, rent insecurity, legal conflicts with landlords or buying a home for the first time.
An update on cleanup and redevelopment plans for the 61-acre Croman Mill site on the city’s southern end was given to the Ashland City Council at its business meeting Tuesday evening. The site is so important to the city’s future planning that the council has asked for quarterly updates as planning proceeds.
Rogue Valley Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit developer of affordable housing, is closer to building two eco-conscious homes at the Beach Creek subdivision in Ashland. Habitat has submitted design plans to the city, and Jackson County recorded the deed transfers.
Landlords are filing more court evictions monthly than they did before the COVID pandemic, though the number of evictions trended down after the Legislature passed a law giving tenants more time to make up late rent. House Bill 2001, which took effect in late March, requires landlords to give tenants 10 days notice when filing for eviction for nonpayment of rent, rather than the previously allowed 72 hours.
The city of Ashland is exploring potential changes to its camping ordinance with an eye for balance between the competing interests of homeowners, local businesses and recent legal precedent — all without sacrificing compassion for homeless people.
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.
Charles “Al” Huth: We can expand our potential to build true knowledge by altering what we spend time focusing on in our daily lives. In short, search for the Truth.
Herbert Rothschild: Apparently, Kissinger insisted on recording practically every word he said. His aides later commented that he needed to keep track of which lie he told to whom.
On a 4-2 vote, the Ashland City Council on Tuesday approved the first of two required readings of an ordinance to control time, place and manner of camping in Ashland. The ordinance will control occupation of public spaces and enforce behavior, rather than status, and does not seek to punish those who are homeless, the acting city attorney told the council.
Andrew Gast, general manager of the Mt. Ashland Ski Area, had hoped that this Saturday would be opening day for skiing this season, but he admitted defeat on Thursday, despite the latest snowstorm. Things are now day to day, while he, a couple hundred employees and untold numbers of skiers wait for more snow.
Oregonians who packed a legislative hearing on the state’s addiction crisis and flooded the Legislature with passionate testimony this week have vastly different viewpoints, but on one thing they agree: The status quo is not working. Some want to repeal Measure 110, the state’s voter-approved drug decriminalization law. Others say it needs to be tweaked.
(It’s free)
