UO E-clips, July 22

Arena backers rally for alley (Register-Guard): University of Oregon officials, coaches, athletes and supporters turned out in force Monday night to urge the Eugene City Council to approve a small but important transfer related to the UO’s proposed sports arena. Seventeen people spoke in favor of the UO’s request of the city to vacate, or abandon, the 7,997-square-foot alley that runs parallel to Villard Street, between East 15th and East 13th avenues, plus a 13,650-square foot right of way at East 13th Avenue and Franklin Boulevard. “This is no minor decision,” UO President Dave Frohnmayer told councilors.

The world to come (High Country News): In the world to come, there will still be oak trees and pine trees and the golden leaves of aspen in the fall. The sweet sounds of birdsong will still wake us on spring mornings. In the world to come, the beauties of nature will still be found. But what will be lost? That was the uncomfortable question that a group of ecologists was asked to consider at a recent meeting of the University of Oregon’s Climate Leadership Initiative. Our charge was to anticipate the alterations in southern Oregon’s natural environments that could result from climate change. To guide our deliberations, we examined the projections of three leading climate models for such variables as monthly mean temperatures, total precipitation, snowpack and the risk of wildfires.

15-year-old wows crowd with piano (KPIC Channel 4): A young Brazilian girl is making a big name for herself in the music world, and Saturday night she brought her piano talent to Douglas County. Priscilla Dantas is an amazing 15-year-old girl, who grew up in extreme poverty in Recife, Brazil. … "We want to bring her here because she has this amazing talent that you saw this evening, and our intention is for her to enroll in the school of music at the University of Oregon, where Brazilian professor Alexandre Dossin is going to tutor her and mentor her and be her professor."

Hundreds mourn, remember Doxey (San Diego Union-Tribune): Whenever Todd Doxey would get into a high-pressure situation, those around him would marvel at his cool. “I remember when things weren't going right and I was getting excited, Todd would say, 'Coach, we got this,' and he made sure we did,” Hoover High basketball coach Ollie Goulston said. It became the theme of yesterday's funeral services for the 19-year-old former Hoover Cardinal and University of Oregon sophomore-to-be attended by 2,500 at The Rock Church in Point Loma. The two-hour service included eulogies, music and a video about the football-basketball standout. Last week, a crowd estimated at more than 2,000 attended a Celebration of Life at Hoover following Doxey's death July 13 in a swimming accident on the McKenzie River near the Oregon campus.