Matt Witt: “Talent voters are facing a stark choice as several local residents have published previously undisclosed information about a slate running against Mayor Darby Ayers-Flood and four current council members.”
Leslie Eldridge: “And I have dedicated myself, with the help of my colleagues and the community, to forming a “more perfect” parks and recreation system. But Measures 15-210 and 15-211 would move us away from this goal.”
Emily Simon and Precious Yamaguchi: “Our community’s history of racism needs to be confronted and exposed. Without this confrontation and exposure, the work that this community and City Council have been doing to root out our racist past and embrace an anti-racist culture will fall far short.”
Marni Koopman and Jim Hartman: “What does climate action look like? It’s pretty spectacular, actually. Clean energy for renters and low-income residents. … Our hard-earned dollars going to local companies for clean energy, and circulating within our local economy.”
Jay Dunn: “My sense is that those who are threatening violence are likely not audience members of OSF, but rather small-minded bigots spoiling for stories to lash out against who have zero stake in the wonderful programming OSF has and continues to offer.”
Magdalene Sullivan: “There is, in this valley, an abundance of theaters performing contemporary plays, and a great number in Oregon at large; to say nothing of the country. The number of Shakespeare theaters and festivals in the United States is far smaller.”
Robert Schenkkan: “When aesthetic disagreements become death threats, when the artistic director needs a security detail in order to go out in public, then clearly a major line has been crossed. This is criminal behavior. So, first and foremost, this kind of violence must be stopped, and the rhetoric that encourages and supports it must be rejected.”
Marsha Price Chevalier: “OSF culture cannot and probably should not try to compete with big city theaters focused on constant innovation and social controversy. I think innovation and social controversy are still viable in Ashland but that OSF’s core mission needs to be revived to give the festival the stability it needs.”
Joi Riley: “The lives of Talent’s least wealthy residents were uprooted and flung in all directions by the Almeda Fire. They have not returned to normal, and won’t, without this one-time opportunity afforded the Urban Renewal Agency by post-fire legislation, designed specifically, to make all of us all whole again.”
Diarmuid McGuire: “This historic bill has been passed by both chambers (a miracle in itself) and, on Tuesday, was signed into law by President Joseph Biden. But what’s on the table for you, me and our Ashland community? Where is the beef in this sandwich?”
Longtime SOU Professor Edwin Battistella, author of several widely known books, retires this month after 22 years at the university. In this profile, he reflects on all he has achieved and what he is looking forward to next.
Senior-ranking Southern Oregon University faculty and staff who are already considering retirement in the next 18 months are being asked to make their decision official by Jan. 12 to lessen the estimated blow of upcoming cuts to rightsize the university from its projected $13 million to $14 million deficit by summer 2024.
Jim Hatton: “People tend to worship the material as if the material had power in and of itself. Nothing can be further from the truth.”
Chris Honoré: “How to possibly comprehend that after four years of observing the Trump administration, which I considered a train wreck, 74 million Americans still voted for him?”
The Havurah Synagogue will host a benefit concert featuring renowned pianist Alexander Tutunov, the Siskiyou Violins, and concert violinist Faina Podolnaya on Thursday, Dec. 15. Proceeds will benefit Ukrainian refugees now living in the Rogue Valley.
The authors of a natural history book about the Klamath Mountains will discuss the geological feature at a free talk from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Southern Oregon University Science Building, 1250 Ashland St., Room 151.
(It’s free)
