05/26/11 - City Council Newsletter

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Eclectic Saxophone Quartet Concert at the Library The Downtown Eugene Public Library will host a free concert of world music by the Eclectic Saxophone Quartet on First Friday, June 3, at 6 p.m. This special concert kicks off Summer Reading 2011, a series of events for all ages united by the theme “One World, Many Stories.” Local music lovers will recognize talented players Rich Berg, Charlene Decker, Annalisa Morton, and Jonathan Neher who perform with the Eugene Symphony, the Oregon Mozart Players, the Swingin’ Marmalukeys, and other groups. On the First Friday of each month, the Downtown Library stays open until 8 p.m. For more information, call the Eugene Public Library at 541-682-8316 or visit www.eugene-or.gov/library. Neighborhood of the Year Announced at Annual WE-gene! Awards Celebration nd The South University Neighborhood Association (SUNA) was awarded 2011 Neighborhood of the Year at the 2 annual WE-gene! Awards on May 19. Sixteen neighborhood associations and several community groups were recognized during the event. In all, over 100 people celebrated the work of neighborhood associations, individuals, projects and groups who contribute to Eugene’s safety, beauty, community connection, and care for its most vulnerable neighbors. SUNA was recognized for its responsiveness to neighborhood concerns and its collaborative work with the University of Oregon, City departments, and property owners and managers in addressing impacts from campus- area parties and alcohol-related behaviors. Among the community organizations recognized were the Eugene Storefront Art Project, Egan Warming Center, Metropolitan Affordable Housing, Bailey Common Ground Garden /Friendly Area Neighbors and Mayor Piercy Hill Road Safety Committee and the Common Ground Garden.. For the WE-gene! Awards, each Eugene neighborhood is invited to recognize a person, organization, business or project that made a positive contribution to its neighborhood. Neighborhoods also nominated themselves or another neighborhood for Neighborhood of the Year. This year, three neighborhoods – Downtown Neighborhood Association, Friendly Area Neighbors and SUNA - were nominated to receive the award. For more information about the annual WE-gene! Awards, please contact Rene Kane at 541-683-6243 or Cindy Clarke at 541-682-5272, both of Neighborhood Services in the City Manager’s Office. Contact South University Neighborhood Association Chair Carolyn Jacobs at 541-683-8556 or carolyn.i.jacobs@gmail.com for more information on the South University Neighborhood Association. New Program and Website Makes it Easy to Play Outside The Oregon Recreation and Parks Association (ORPA) has created The Outdoor Seekers program and website to make it easy and fun for kids and their families to play outside. The Outdoor Seekers program is an outgrowth of the Oregon Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights which identifies 10 outdoor activities in which every child has a right to participate. Recreation Services is a member of ORPA and its staff was instrumental in creating the Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights. The Outdoor Seekers program has gathered all outdoor recreation information in one place so that people interested in finding something to do outside won’t have to check each individual agency’s website. The website also has a downloadable activity “passport” that’s a great way for kids and their parents to keep track of activities and determine how many of the 10 “rights” to outdoor activities – such as following a trail, climbing a tree, or playing in a nearby park – they have completed. When they’ve completed all, they get a fun prize. For more information, go to www.outdoorseekers.com or contact Craig Smith at 541-682-5334. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 May 26, 2011