“Ironically, a new state law that requires public buildings to dedicate 1.5 percent of the total construction cost to incorporating solar energy could be a major obstacle, says Chang.
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
In reply to: Tear Down the Magnet School Class Barrier (The Boot, 11-22)
I live in proximity to all three magnet schools and my kids could, essentially, have their pick due to the proximity of our home. But.
Posted inOpinion
In reply to: Tebow: When is this toolshed going to start losing? (Bent, 11-27)
You just don’t like the guy?? Because he has faith? Because he gives credit to something you don’t believe in? No, wait, I’ve got it! Because he’s a great football player? I’m confused by your article.
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Gov. John Kitzhaber's Moratorium
A first step to stopping the death penalty in Oregon.
Gary Haugen probably deserves to die for his crimes. At 19 years old he beat the father of his girlfriend to death with a baseball bat and a hammer. But a life in prison didn't thwart Haugen's homicidal tendencies. He and a fellow prisoner murdered another inmate in 2003, stabbing the victim more than 80 times and crushing his skull.
Apparently, Haugen agrees with the sentiment, and the death sentence that was handed down in 2007. Unlike the dozens of others on Oregon's death row, Haugen decided to remove the obstacles and appeals that can effectively stymie the administration of a lethal injection, Oregon's preferred method of capital punishment. Over his attorneys' objections, Haugen effectively set a Dec. 6 execution date. And, until last week, it appeared as though Haugen would get his death wish. The Supreme Court, amid questions of Haugen's mental competence, declined to step in. The death chamber was readied. Press access plans were issued to the media that was clamoring to report on the first death sentence to be carried out in more than a decade.
Posted inOpinion
If Your Poop Doesn't Have This Label It's Not the Straight Poop
A gathering a news makers from the previous week.
Monday, Nov. 14
Dazzling insight: Ex-Penn State football coach and accused child rapist Jerry Sandusky says he's innocent but admits “horsing around” in showers with little boys. In retrospect, he says, “I shouldn’t have showered with those kids” … Meanwhile Jack Raykovitz, president and CEO of “Second Mile,” charity Sandusky founded to help troubled kids, resigns … Flavor of the Week: Newt Gingrich joins Mitt Romney at top of GOP candidate field as scandal-plagued Herman Cain drops 11 points since last month … Lost in space: Cain seems befuddled when interviewer asks him about Libya situation, explains, “I've got all this stuff twirling around in my head” … See you in court: US Supreme Court announces it will rule on constitutionality of President Obama's health care plan … Won't see you on court: NBA players reject proposed new labor deal, vote to disband union; Commissioner David Stern says “nuclear winter” is coming for basketball.
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Tear Down the Magnet School Class Barrier
Admission rules for magnet schools will be under review on December 8.
When magnet schools first came into favor in the 1960s and 1970s, the idea was that they'd promote desegregation by drawing students from predominantly white areas (like a magnet, get it?) to schools in mostly black areas that offered an enriched curriculum in things like science or the arts.
While the success of magnet schools as a desegregation tool was mixed, there was no question the kids who attended them reaped a significant benefit, and the magnet school idea took off. By the start of the 21st Century there were more than 3,000 magnet schools all over the country, in small cities as well as big ones.
As magnet schools became more popular, the challenge became not how to attract students to them but how to fairly determine who got the limited number of spots available. It's a challenge the Bend-LaPine School District has sadly failed to meet.
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In reply to: Any Band > Nickelback: Detroit Lions fans (and the rest of the sensible world) would rather not have this band ruin Thanksgiving (Left Field, 11-9)
The only thing that pisses me off more than the capital gains tax rate is the fact that Nickelback can re record the same song every 4 years with different words and make millions off it!!!
– Travis Ehrenstrom
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In reply to: Riding to the Rescue of the Klamath (The Glass Slipper, 11-16)
So there's $536MM of federal funds and another $550MM in “non-federal funds.” Why do you hoist the canard that this only costs $536MM? What are the other non-federal funds? Where does this other money come from? Who pays that price tag? I can guess and I know I'll be right.
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Sometimes Things Turn Out ALl right
When I arrived, someone told me to look for the man with the big ears, a mole on his face and danced funny. I said, “You mean watch out?” The girl just smiled and shook her head.
That was my introduction to juvenile justice and sure enough, he showed up at 7 a.m. the next day and now, almost four years later, I want to thank him.
When he talked to me, he looked me in the eye like I was a real person. He asked me about my life like he cared. He didn't judge me, but he didn't buy my “It's not my fault!” story either. A kid knows when an adult is being real and he was real. He called me on my B.S., but not like he was playing “gotcha.”
He was the first person who could make me laugh at myself and the first person who asked what I thought about something as if he really wanted to know.
Posted inOpinion
In reply to: Onward, Upward: Meet the unlikely face of Central Oregon's marriage equality movement
Thank you for sharing the story of Bruce Morris and the HDC, their work is appreciated and will not doubt continue “the evolution” toward less separation and more respect for all people.
