An enhanced law enforcement area for the south side of Ashland was approved Tuesday by Ashland City Council with one nay vote. The second ELEA for the south side, which will need a second vote before going into effect, was established under the same existing rules as the downtown ELEA.
The sun shone on a frosty Lincoln Field early Tuesday morning as members of Ashland School Board met virtually by Zoom in a special board session to set the price value range of the 4.12 acres at a range of $1.745 million and $2.25 million, based on an appraisal of the property and compared with Medford prices.
City Corner: The Homeless Services Assessment Report … evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the current homeless response system. It identifies the most pressing needs and suggests potential opportunities for improvement.
The city of Ashland has opened a comment window seeking public input on the potential to allocate portions of federally awarded funds to renovations at 2200 Ashland St., according to a release from the city. The city of Ashland could reallocate $112,112 to support renovations at the 2200 Ashland St., such as the installation of a sprinkler system, fire egress modifications, laundry shower and additional restrooms, the release said.
Ashland’s largest social services hub has announced the hire of Dan Cano as its new executive director, according to a news release from nonprofit Opportunities for Housing, Resources & Assistance. Cano served most recently as Vocational Services Director at Transitions-Mental Health Association in San Luis Obispo, California.
The night before Thanksgiving the city of Ashland announced it has secured a partner and a location to open its severe weather shelter, the city announced late in the day Wednesday, Nov. 27.
A series of technical restrictions that has long bedeviled Ashland city staff seeking to stand up a winter shelter may be solved enough to provide an interim shelter as soon as next week, according to a presentation by City Manager Sabrina Cotta at Tuesday’s council meeting. Council also voted unanimously to support the proposal of a six-month pilot program to provide long-awaited storage facilities for the dusk-to-dawn sleeping area.
After months of continuous work, members of the 2200 Ashland Street Ad Hoc Master Plan Committee presented a plan to Ashland City Council for the first time Monday, leaving the council to begin the difficult conversation of how to fund the plan’s recommendations.
The Ashland City Council wrestled Monday with prioritizing a list of potential actions to help the city contend with homelessness. After lengthy discussion, staff was instructed to return in six months with additional information on adding public restrooms, storage, a livability team, street outreach and the potential for public device-charging stations.
A thought-provoking discussion Sunday about Ashland’s evolving homeless situation was overshadowed by fears the country is on course to treating it more as a criminal issue. Guest speaker Echo Fields, a retired Southern Oregon University sociology professor who has been actively involved in homeless issues, said the country appears to be reverting to 19th century laws that penalized the poor.
As of Nov. 3, Ashland Community Food Bank has a new director at the reins. Catie Mahoney will serve in the role with guidance from outgoing director Amey Broeker, who will officially retire on Dec. 31 after serving in the food bank role since 2022.
The Ashland City Council will review a proposal from a potential provider to oversee its extreme weather shelter during its regular business meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
The Ashland Independent Film Festival has added a second screening showcasing Indigenous filmmakers on Sunday, Nov. 23.
Three and a half years into the war with Russia, Ashland violinist and longtime music teacher Faina Podolnaya is still finding ways to help Ukrainian refugees.
Herbert Rothschild: As the number of ads in The New Yorker has shrunk, it seems as if the wealth of its readership has concentrated, just as one might concentrate the flavor of a sauce by reducing it on the stovetop.
Local artist MaryAnn Shank will share the thoughts behind her newest novel “Sor Juana, My Beloved” at Bloomsbury Books Jan. 26. Shank is a finalist of The Isabel Allende Most Inspirational Book of the Year 2025 award, awarded by the International Latino Book Association.
(It’s free)
