UO E-clips, Feb. 28

Health center looking for ways to fight deficit (Oregon Daily Emerald): Burdened by low revenues and cost overruns during its 2005 renovation project, the University Health Center is looking to make up for two tumultuous years of budget deficits. In January, Housing Director Mike Eyster replaced Dr. Tom Ryan as the health center's director, and Eyster is now leading the clinic into a season of budget cuts intended to restore the health center to a balanced budget without cutting student services. But the clinic is not yet in the clear. Costs are still increasing: The University is upping the "taxes" it takes from the health center each year, staff turnover is high, and there are design flaws that will cost the clinic almost $1 million to fix - flaws that include private patient rooms that let sound escape and windows that let cold air in, even when closed.

Who's responsible for climate control? (Daily Emerald): Tuesday afternoon, a small crowd gathered in the Browsing Room of the Knight Library to hear a University professor discuss the effects of climate regulation at different levels of government. The lecture, titled "Is Climate Change an International Legal Problem?," was sponsored by the international studies program and focused on climate change and its relationship to legal issues around the world. Professor Hari Osofsky gave a 45-minute speech based on her extensive research on the topic, followed by response from University geography professor Alexander Murphy. The floor was then opened up to the audience to discuss the topic with both Osofsky and Murphy

The good ol' days of just because (The Oregonian): Three years ago, Dave Frohnmayer -- one of the architects of Oregon's public records law and now president of the University of Oregon -- was asked about the frequency with which law enforcement agencies were rejecting legitimate requests for public information. "It surprises me more than a little bit," Frohnmayer said. After 30 years, he reasoned, the cops should be familiar enough with public records law to understand that the reason for a document request is irrelevant." 'Just because' ought to be a legally sufficient answer," he said. Once upon a time, Frohnmayer was a champion of Oregon's public records law. (Heck, he's still honorary chairman of Open Oregon, the freedom-of-information coalition.) More important, so was Oregon's attorney general.

AG says universities can keep pacts secret (Register-Guard): Payments in the sports marketing contracts of Oregon’s two large universities are trade secrets, and the schools can keep the amounts secret, Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers said this week. The secrecy gives the University of Oregon and Oregon State University an advantage over marketing contractors and other schools, an opinion from Myers’ office said, and the value of the revenue as a result outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. The Oregonian newspaper petitioned Myers after the schools released past and present sports media marketing contracts but blacked out the guaranteed annual amounts each receives, along with other financial benefits.

Anchor’s announcement raises fairness questions (Register-Guard): When Rick Dancer announced his campaign for the secretary of state’s office in a three-minute spot at the top of the 11 o’clock newscast on KEZI 9 on Sunday, he got the kind of exposure politicians can only dream about. Dancer himself wrote the lead-in, answered questions from colleague Holly Menino and was allowed to speak about his candidacy without editing. ... Also: “‘Bedtime for Bonzo’ didn’t get much play when Ronald Reagan was running for president because any entertainment program in which a candidate appears would trigger equal opportunity,” said Tim Gleason, dean of the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communications.