The Talent Tomato was born 65 years ago, and the Talent Historical Society is throwing a party to celebrate the anniversary and the man who helped make it possible. The Talent Museum, 105 N. Market St., will host David James and his band — The James Consortium — at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 28, for an evening of music and memories.
Three Oregon school districts and an education service district have received $20 million from the U.S. Department of Education to hire more mental health staff. Phoenix-Talent schools will get more than $2.6 million.
The NWS office has issued a high wind warning for South County, including the area around Ashland and Talent, effective until 4 p.m. Thursday. The high wind warning is for south winds 35 to 45 mph with gusts up to 65 mph expected.
Talent City Manager Jordan Rooklyn has proposed a new urban renewal plan that would provide one-third of the funding contained in the previous plan that was rejected by the City Council in August.
The death of black bears whose bodies were found in trees in Talent earlier this year remains under investigation by Oregon State Police and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Four Talent city councilors running for reelection as the “Forward Together” slate appear to be headed for reelection, according to the latest vote totals as of Saturday, Nov. 12. Mayor Darby Ayers-Flood, also part of the Forward Together team, continued to hold a 27-vote lead.
Talent Mayor Darby A Ayers-Flood had a slight lead over election challenger Mark Anderson Wednesday, with the two candidates separated by only 23 votes, according to election data on the Oregon Secretary of State’s website.
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.”
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.”
A draft urban renewal plan should be scaled back and the revised plan put before city voters next spring, the Talent City Council unanimously decided at a meeting Tuesday, Aug. 16. Staff was instructed to prepare a resolution formalizing those decisions for adoption by the council at its meeting starting at 6:45 p.m. today, Aug. 17, its second meeting in two days.
The Say Their Names T-shirt memorial at Railroad Park in Ashland was vandalized again this week, but a group of community members long invested with maintaining the shirts have organized an event for Sunday, April 2, to rebuild the memorial.
Obituary: Jefferson Straub, 78, passed away Feb.25, 2023, in the arms of his wife, Kelly Nash Straub. A celebration of Jeff’s life will be held at the Ashland Congregational Church at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 6.
Herbert Rothschild: “When they covered the 20th anniversary of our invasion of Iraq, our mainstream media were as craven as they were during the run-up to the invasion itself.”
Productions of all kinds and sizes abound at the Oregon Fringe Festival, which will begin its five-day run of unfiltered creative outpourings in Ashland on April 26. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the festival is produced by the Oregon Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University.
Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument officials are accepting applications for the annual Artist-In-Residence program through April 17. Selected artists receive a residency at the monument during the early summer months, where they will spend time creating art while surrounded by the monument’s natural beauty.
Ashland Rotary will host its annual Easter egg hunt event at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 9, at Lithia Park near the pickleball courts, according to a news release.
(It’s free)
