09/17/09 - City Council Newsletter

Home Browse Search

readings, highlighting books that have been challenged or banned. The public is invited to stop by to listen, borrow targeted books, and pin on free “I Read Banned Books” buttons. The events are free. Many people are under the impression that attempted censorship is a thing of the past or that “it doesn’t happen here.” In fact, individuals and groups continue to request -- or demand -- that public and school libraries remove or restrict access to particular books, music, films, and other resources. According to the American Library Association, more than 500 challenges were reported in the United States in 2008. For information about censorship attempts in Oregon, visit www.aclu-or.org/bannedbooks. For more information about the Banned Books Read-Out events, contact the Eugene Public Library at 682-5450 or the Springfield Public Library at 726-3766. Belly-Dancing Performances Advance Hult Presents’ Mission Hult Presents is offering two free belly-dance samplers this week. The mission of Hult Presents is to enrich the cultural life of the community by providing a broad selection of performances by local, regional, and international artists. Providing reasonable access to events, including community outreach programs and arts educational activities, is also an important goal. To meet those objectives, two free belly-dance samplers will be performed on September 17, at the Eugene Public Library at4:00 p.m., and at Borders Books in Oakway Center at 5:00 p.m. At each of the sampler performances, Hult Presents will give away vouchers for $3 towards the cost of a ticket and raffle one pair of tickets to the Belly-Dance Superstars’ performance. The Art of Belly-Dance featuring Belly-Dance Superstars is on October 13 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets start at $18; youth tickets start at $11. For more information, contact Billie Moser at 682-8380. Website Survey Available Regarding Ambulance Funding As an additional means of gathering public input into ambulance funding issues – beyond the series of community forums currently under way – the Fire & EMS Department has made available an online survey that provides information about the issue and offers community members an opportunity to express their opinions and submit comments. The information and survey are available at www.eugene-or.gov/fire. On the website, users can find the same written information that is being provided at the forums, along with the same questionnaire which asks individuals to express their relative approval or disapproval of some long-term ambulance funding options that have been identified by the intergovernmental task force now studying the issue. All community feedback, whether given online or at a public forum, will be compiled and submitted to the task force soon after the completion of the series of forums, which ends October 1. For more information, please contact Glen Potter, Fire & EMS Department, at 682-7118. New Stormwater Plan for River Road-Santa Clara Offers Green Vision The City of Eugene and Lane County are inviting public comment on the River Road-Santa Clara Stormwater Basin Master Plan. The two agencies have worked together to produce a plan that describes the City and County’s proposed approach to managing stormwater in this unique area of mixed jurisdiction in the northwest corner of the Eugene-Springfield metropolitan area. The plan includes data and maps describing the characteristics of the basin, descriptions of the stormwater-related problems and opportunities in the basin, and a long-term stormwater capital improvement plan for River Road-Santa Clara, including projects to address flooding and increase system capacity, projects to improve surface water quality, and projects to replace existing drywells that have the potential to impact groundwater quality. The plan supports previously adopted stormwater development standards and encourages low-impact development practices and alternative “green street” concepts for local street improvements. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 September 17, 2009