A local transient with a history of physically and verbally harassing local residents has been deemed unfit to stand trial in a Measure 11 assault case. Mathew David Todd, 39, of Medford, was ordered to undergo mental health and substance abuse evaluation and treatment at the Oregon State Hospital.
A workplace discrimination lawsuit against the Ashland Parks and Recreation Department has been partially dismissed, with claims outside the statute of limitations to be removed. The judge ruled plaintiff Laura Chancellor, who worked for the department for 18 years, may refile an amended suit.
After serving their purpose to Ashland Fire & Rescue personnel and the surrounding community, two ambulances formerly owned by the city of Ashland are headed to Guanajuato, Mexico, thanks to a gesture of sister-city friendship and a brotherly labor of love.
Ashland’s emergency winter warming center needs volunteers, and agency officials are hosting a training event for anyone interested in helping at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, at Pioneer Hall, 73 Winburn Way, according to a news release.
Ashland police arrested a man Wednesday evening after he reportedly threatened people on the Ashland Plaza with a knife and threw items at cars, according to a police department news release.
A local accessibility activist has sued the city of Ashland over LED flashers at crosswalks, arguing the signs cause pain and discomfort for individuals like himself with light hypersensitivity.
The city of Medford is leaning on a legal argument rejected by its own municipal court in response to a federal lawsuit filed by former Jefferson Public Radio (JPR) reporter April Ehrlich. Ehrlich, who was working at the time for Ashland-based JPR, was arrested for entering a city park police had declared closed.
Death threats made to Oregon Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Nataki Garrett and other staff that started in January have also been made in the “recent” past — within the past three months — according to David Schmitz, executive director of OSF. Schmitz met with Ashland Police Chief Tighe O’Meara earlier this month, along with a security firm hired by OSF, and said plans are in place to meet monthly regarding security.
An Ashland man has been sentenced to 31 years in prison after a jury found him guilty last month of kidnapping, raping and brutalizing a then-18-year-old woman in 2020. Christian Alexander Sanchez, 30, was convicted by a jury Sept. 16 of 12 felony counts and sentenced Oct. 6.
Two local first responders have filed a $760,000 wrongful injury lawsuit after being struck by a vehicle in a chain collision during a medical response on Interstate 5 on the Fourth of July last year.
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)
