UO E-Clips, April 25-28

Globe warms for all political stripes (Register-Guard opinion piece by Bob Doppelt): Global warming should not be a partisan issue. After all, everyone in our society generates greenhouse gas emissions and everyone will be affected by climate change. Yet global warming remains a politically divisive issue. I recently found out how true this is when I participated in a meeting with pollsters engaged in national survey research on global warming. One recent national household survey by George Mason University found that people with different political beliefs have different perceptions of global warming.

UO to spend $18 million on arena parking (Oregon Daily Emerald): The University plans to build an $18 million parking structure underneath 13th Avenue near the new arena, a State Board of Higher Education agenda posted online Friday confirms. The agenda also reveals that the University is seeking $20 million from the Oregon University System to complete the latter stages of its baseball stadium, originally said to be financed entirely by donations. The agenda says the first phase of the stadium is "fully funded by gifts and the completion of Phase One provides sufficient facilities to launch the baseball program. Phase Two will be undertaken only after sufficient gifts and other sources of funds are received by the university."

UO plans underground parking for new arena (The Oregonian): The University of Oregon plans to build an $18 million underground parking structure next to a new basketball arena using a combination of donations and previously approved bonds, according to an agenda released Friday for the State Board of Higher Education's May 2 meeting. The 450- to 500-space structure will use $10.2 million in bonds authorized by the 2003 Legislature for a parking structure at Oregon, the agenda said. The other $7.8 million will come from a donor not identified in the agenda. A university spokeswoman said the donor wished to remain anonymous.

Slocum’s legacy lives on in sports medicine (Register-Guard): Last year, when a venerable orthopedic group in Eugene was preparing to open its new $20 million building on Coburg Road, some of the younger doctors lobbied to change the name of the practice. There was nothing wrong with the existing name -- the generic sounding Orthopedic Healthcare Northwest, the product of a merger between Eugene and Springfield orthopedic groups in 1996 -- but the physicians wanted to recognize the contributions of the man who founded the practice with a new name: the Slocum Center for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. … “The investment in the resurgence of track and field here parallels the investment this group has made in its future. Both stand to benefit from each other’s existence,” Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon, said.

Bus to link UO with Amtrak trains (Register-guard): The Willamette Valley’s passenger train service is adding “Thruway” buses that start and finish at the University of Oregon campus in Eugene. The two new bus schedules, 5516 northbound and 5513 southbound, will begin running on May 12 and are in addition to existing train/bus service. They also provide valley travelers with connections to Cascades trains 516 and 513 operating between Portland and Seattle. Bus 5516 will originate at the UO at 11:10 a.m. and make intermediate stops at Amtrak depots in Eugene (11:35 a.m.), Albany (12:35 p.m.) and Salem (1:00 p.m.), arriving at Portland Union Station at 2:10 p.m. Bus 5513 will depart Portland at 3:30 p.m., stop in Salem at 4:30 p.m., Albany 5:05 p.m., Eugene depot 5:55 p.m., and arrive at UO at 6:10 p.m. The new routes are intended to decrease wait times for passengers connecting with trains and buses at Portland and provide new options for travelers between Portland, Salem, Albany and Eugene, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation.

LTD anticipates waiver allowing Olympic Trials service (Register-Guard): Lane Transit District officials say they expect to win an exemption that will allow the district to provide shuttle bus service during the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials that begin in late June at Hayward Field. But a revised federal rule pertaining to bus charter service will be evident on May 4 when LTD and a private company, OC&W Coachways, share in the task of shuttling athletes to and from the Eugene Marathon. Private charter companies also have expressed interest in other events historically served by LTD, such as July’s Butte to Butte race in Eugene and the Oregon Country Fair in Veneta.

Autzen tailgaters lose ground (KVAL.com): The food, the friends, the refreshments. For some Oregon Duck fans, tailgating is the best part of the football game. David Diens and friends usually line up at 6:30 a.m. to get prime parking spots for their three motor homes. They usually get two parking spots each to fit their party. That's no longer possible. To make up for losing 500 spots to the new baseball stadium, fans can now only get one general admission spot. RV's will only be allowed in reserved parking areas, which require a minimum donation of $5,000.