UO E-clips, July 4-7

New findings closing gaps in global warming research (Register-Guard, guest viewpoint by Bob Doppelt, director of resource innovations and the Climate Leadership Initiative at the University of Oregon): A buddy recently asked if the effects of global warming could be seen today. Yes, I told him. Scientific studies showing the consequences and trajectory of global warming cross my desk almost weekly. Each tends to eliminate gaps in the science. They also reaffirm the proper course of action. Research published in May, for example, showed that since 1970 the temperature of the upper troposphere -- the region 7.5 to 10 miles above Earth’s surface -- has been rising by about 0.65 degrees Centigrade per decade. This is consistent with most climate change models.

A focus on climate (Register-Guard, editorial): The column by Bob Doppelt on the opposite page today is his 20th in a series dealing with issues of climate change. According to the Yale Forum on Climate Change & The Media, there’s nothing like it in daily newspapers anywhere in the country. Other newspapers have found effective ways to focus on the biggest and most comprehensive environmental challenge facing the planet -- The Daily Astorian’s award-¬winning series on the implications of climate change for Oregon’s north coast comes to mind -- but Register-Guard readers are alone in having a regular column of analysis and opinion devoted to the subject.

Grant may benefit immersion school (The Register-Guard): A federal grant to assist eight dual Spanish/English immersion programs in Oregon could have a ninth beneficiary: River Road/El Camino del Rio Elementary. The grant, written by the University of Oregon’s Center for Applied Second Language Studies well before the River Road plans had gelled, seeks to establish a network of schools with comparatively high poverty rates, providing opportunities for collaboration, training and curriculum-sharing, said Carl Falsgraf, the center’s director.

Bring Constitution into the 21st century (Register-Guard guest viewpoint by Ofer Raban, assistant professor of law at the University of Oregon): On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court made a historic decision interpreting the Second Amendment as bestowing an individual right to keep and bear arms -- a reading that contradicted what had been the conventional wisdom of legislators and courts for many decades. This was a divided decision, but the 5-4 split went far beyond the justices’ disagreement on the constitutionality of the District of Columbia’s gun laws: Their dispute also concerned starkly different visions of constitutional interpretation.

Oregon wrestling supporters aim to save program in court (Statesman Journal): Supporters of University of Oregon wrestling will attempt to get an injunction to stop the university from cutting the sport during a hearing Monday in Marion County Circuit Court. Last year university athletic director Pat Kilkenny announced the school would reinstate its baseball program, inactive since 1981. As part of the reorganization, the university also added competitive cheerleading and cut wrestling. Equity in Athletics in Oregon, a nonprofit representing the returning Oregon wrestlers, filed suit June 6 to stop the university from dropping wrestling as an intercollegiate sport. (KEZI-TV, Eugene, also had a short video clip in advance of today's hearing.)

Trials pit multiple media rivalries (Register-Guard): Those who have experienced a Super Bowl or a Summer Olympic Games might get a chuckle out of this, but here in our small corner of the world the number of media members -- somewhere between 850 and 1,000, depending on your source -- reporting on and working at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials at Hayward Field is believed to be a record for any sporting event, or any event at all, for that matter, in Lane County history. … However, University of Oregon sports information director Dave Williford said 805 writers and photographers -- twice as many as covered the 1976 Trials in Eugene -- received credentials, while 191 are working the Trials for NBC and the Oregon Sports Network combined.

Surface suited for speed (New York Times): One reason for the fast sprint times in the United States Olympic track and field trials here is the track itself. Tracks are not all the same, and this one is exceptionally fast. Years ago, tracks were made of dirt or clay, and a Jesse Owens did not have the fast-track advantages of a Carl Lewis or a Tyson Gay. … The track here was resurfaced in November. That pleased Vince Lananna, the director of the University of Oregon’s track program, because the university has no indoor track facility and the outdoor track is used all year. The surface is polyurethane with granular chips.

Even potato chips feel the pinch of high gas prices (The Oregonian, news article in its entirety): This morning's Bend Bulletin reports that high gas prices have trickled down to that favorite picnic snack: the potato chip. The price of chips and other picnic staples are up in Bend, the paper reports. Economists say just hauling the food over the mountains is enough to bump up local prices. "Transportation has got to be the dominant distinction, because I don't think you are hurting for a number of stores per capita, so it isn't shortage," said Tim Duy, the director of the Oregon Economic Forum at the University of Oregon. Having vacationed in the Bend area recently himself, Duy said he noticed food prices seemed higher locally than in Eugene. "Obviously, you're not on a major highway, and so any sort of travel through Central Oregon is going to be a deviation away from main routes. So that is going to add expense," he said.

UO taps Portland leader (The Oregonian, in its entirety): The University of Oregon has named Wendy Larson, a professor of East Asian Languages, to run its Portland programs. Larson, former dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, will be based in the university's newly refurbished 103,000-square-foot White Stag Block in downtown Portland. Her two-year appointment began July 1. As vice provost for Portland programs, Larson will work with administrative and program directors to coordinate and support academic and resource planning in Portland. She will serve as a liaison between the university and other educational institutions, business, government and nonprofit organizations. She replaces Terri Warpinski, vice provost for academic affairs and community engagement. This spring, the UO moved some programs into the White Stag Block in Northwest Portland at the west end of the Burnside Bridge. The block consolidates offerings in subjects such as journalism, architecture, digital arts, product design and law. A grand opening is slated for this fall.

Future in focus for OHSU waterfront property (Associated Press): For years the Oregon Health & Science University has wondered what to do with the Schnitzer Campus, the nearly 20 acres of undeveloped brownfield property it owns on the eastern corner of South Waterfront. Now OHSU and other schools in Oregon University System know what kind of building they want to put there and may get funding to construct it. The state universities are eyeing the site for the OUS/OHSU Life Sciences Collaborative, a new research and education institute that would house programs and research efforts from OHSU, Portland State University, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University and the Oregon Institute of Technology. It also would provide space for private research firms. A Portland subcommittee envisions a 300,000-square-foot building and will submit a $250 million capital construction request to the Oregon State Board of Higher Education. If the request is accepted, it will go to Gov. Ted Kulongoski for approval. But the subcommittee has no contingency for funding the project if the request is turned down, said Jim Francesconi, a member of the subcommittee. But members say they think it will pass based on what they have heard from Kulongoski.