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UO E-clips, April 19-21
Top stories for April 19-21, 2008: It's time to say so long to the old Williams' Bakery, the Register-Guard reports; the UO's Eric Selker, according to New Scientist, has hailed the Salk Institute's 'cookbook' for the 'epigenomics' advance by researchers at the Salk Institute; there's no site in sight for that new hospital, the Register-Guard says in an editorial referring to how the wanted UO research park site looks unlikely; in the Oregonian, a writer says UO donor and alum Phil Knight of Nike is the lord of all he surveys; the Oregonian also reports that Olympic Trials in Eugene will cap a resurgence for track; wear your boots when you visit UO the next few years, says The Oregonian, in a story about a boom in campus construction; the UO's Susan Rozelle is quoted by the Corvallis Gazette-Times in a story about getting a conviction for murder without the body as proof
Demolition of Williams’ Bakery to begin (Register-Guard): The old Williams’ Bakery is toast. Crews have begun mobilizing to tear down the former home of the longtime local bread maker on Franklin Boulevard so the University of Oregon’s landmark basketball arena can rise in its place. Today, they’re expected to put up fencing around the structure. Once they make sure utilities are shut off and the site is fenced off, the big machines will get to work.
Complete 'cookbook' for running a genome published (NewScientist.com): Get ready to start hearing "epigenomics" as often as you hear about genomics. If the genome is like a list of genetic ingredients, then the rules for how those genes are used and when they are switched on and off is the business of epigenetics. The first full piece of this "cookbook" has now been sequenced -- a plant's epigenome. … Eric Selker, a molecular biologist at the University of Oregon, calls the work a tour de force. (Read the article)
No site in sight (Register-Guard editorial): The failure of Eugene officials to find a site that suits McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center’s needs for a new $240 million hospital has become an issue in the coming mayoral election. Unquestionably, everyone involved in the unfinished five-year journey is frustrated. But it’s unfair to lay the blame for the project’s problems on any one individual or organization. … The University of Oregon’s Riverfront Research Park will not be riding to the rescue. Absent an unexpected breakthrough, Eugene’s chances of landing McKenzie-¬Willamette appear to be fading.
The lord of all he surveys (The Oregonian): Watching Phil Knight bend the University of Oregon to his will reminds me what a blessing it is that the man is such a benevolent despot. Because if this rich guy wanted to be king, I can guarantee you that Howard Slusher, Dave Frohnmayer and all the yellow Labs at the Oregon Legislature would make it happen. Knight has been generally content over the years to reign over the world's most famous athletic apparel company and slap his brand on its most recognized athletes, Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan.
Olympic Trials cap resurgence for track (The Oregonian): Apocryphal or not, the story goes that Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman returned from a 1962 trip to New Zealand and changed American culture. Bowerman brought back the concept that running could be a means to health and physical fitness as well as a way to advance the football or escape the neighbor's dog. The concept caught fire, particularly in Bowerman's home state, where runners are omnipresent on streets, bike paths and forest trails, where a love of competitive track and field has been preserved and nurtured and where a waffle-soled running shoe blossomed into a giant sports-equipment maker.
Hard hats and cranes fill college campuses (The Oregonian): Chris Ramey, who oversees planning at the University of Oregon, has some advice if you visit the Eugene campus in the next few years: "Wear your boots." The university is undergoing the biggest building boom in its history. It completed $480 million in construction projects in the past decade and more are on the way, including a $200 million basketball arena.
Without body, state must prove death (Corvallis Gazette-Times): How can you convict someone of murder without a body? That’s the challenge faced by Benton County prosecutors in the trial of Joel Patrick Courtney, who stands accused of kidnapping, raping and murdering Brooke Wilberger, a 19-year-old college student who disappeared from a Corvallis apartment complex on May 24, 2004. Though Wilberger is presumed dead, her body has never been found. But that doesn’t mean a murder conviction is out of the question -- far from it, legal experts say. “It’s certainly harder if you don’t have a body, but not as hard as you might think,” said Susan Rozelle, who teaches classes in evidence and criminal law at the University of Oregon School of Law.