UO E-clips, Nov. 8-10

White Stag Block historic rehab project honored (Daily Journal of Commerce): Portland’s White Stag Block (which is home to the UO's presence in the city) has been honored as one of nine historic rehabilitation projects in the United States to receive the 2008 J. Timothy Anderson Award for Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation. The project last month was honored with a “Timmy” award for Best Sustainable/Green Historic Rehabilitation by the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association at the organization’s 2008 Fall Forum conference in Boston. The award, which was named for late architect and preservationist J. Timothy Anderson, recognizes excellence in the rehabilitation of historic buildings that use federal historic rehabilitation tax credits. The awards are co-sponsored by the National Trust Community Investment Corp. The three-building White Stag Block project, developed by Venerable Properties, recently received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold certification.

OHSU names Allan Price head of foundation (Associated Press): The Oregon Health & Science University Foundation has named a University of Oregon executive as its new president. Allan Price is a higher education veteran who has been vice president for university advancement and a member of the senior executive staff at the University of Oregon since 2001. He managed Campaign Oregon, the largest and most successful philanthropic effort in state history, raising $823 million against a $600 million goal. The 53-year-old Price will take over the nonprofit fundraising affiliate of OHSU at the end of December.

Credit card crunch time (Register-Guard): Tristy Bemiller was just 18 and a student at Lane Community College when she got her first credit card. She said she used it “for surviving, pretty much,” pulling it out at restaurants, clothing stores, the supermarket. Bemiller, now 28, said that over the years she got more credit cards to pay off the earlier ones. In all, she had racked up $18,000 in debt on 12 credit cards. ... “This is a big deal,” said Tim Duy, an economist at the University of Oregon. Consumers helped get the economy moving again after the 2001 recession. “They can’t do that this time. They’ve got no money,” he said.

Havazelet, Kessler win Oregon Book Awards (The Oregonian): Barry Lopez and Ehud Havazelet (creative writing, UO) provided an emotional end to the Oregon Book Awards Sunday night. Lopez received the Charles Erskine Scott Wood Distinguished Writer Award from artist Rick Bartow, a Newport native and longtime friend who is of Yurok and Wiyot tribal descent. Bartow sang a song that he said was "a result of three years of concentrated prayer" because "I only know one way to honor Barry Lopez and that's with heart and guts." Bartow presented Lopez with a blanket and the two embraced in the Fields Ballroom of the Portland Art Museum. … Other UO winners in their categories were Steven W. Bender (law), who won the Frances Fuller Victor Award for General Nonfiction … and Lauren Kessler (journalism) of Eugene, the winner of the Sarah Winnemucca Award for Creative Nonfiction for "Dancing With Rose: Finding Life in the Land of Alzheimer's.

Businessman, UO backer Randy Pape dies (The Oregonian): Prominent Eugene business executive Randy Pape, who had battled cancer for much of the past 11 years, died Thursday at age 58 after suffering a heart attack. Pape served since 1983 as president and CEO of The Pape Group Inc., which owned and operated heavy equipment dealerships and a host of other operations in seven Western states. The company, founded by Pape's grandfather in 1938, is one of the largest privately held operations based in Oregon, employing about 2,000. Pape was also president, chairman and co-founder of Liberty Financial Group, the parent company of Eugene-based LibertyBank. Born and raised in Eugene, Pape earned a bachelor's degree in business and finance from the University of Oregon in 1972. He was an avid supporter of his school, serving as a trustee of the University Foundation and chairman of the University's "Campaign Oregon." The university named him an Emeritus Trustee in 2007. "The university is a better place because of Randy's involvement," said David Frohnmayer, UO president.

How to spur action on climate change: Behaviorists weigh in on how to motivate change. A green-themed soap opera, perhaps? (Christian Science Monitor): Not-so-great news about the planet arrived apace in October. The US government released its Arctic Report Card for 2008. The compilation of observations by 46 scientists from 10 nations concluded that arctic temperatures were 9 degrees F. higher this fall than normal. (Last year was the warmest ever recorded in the Arctic.) Shrubs are colonizing what was once permafrost. Snow geese are expanding their range northward. Receding sea ice -- this year’s loss was second only to last year’s record melt -- may be hurting animals like walruses and polar bears that rely on it. Many see the news as evidence of an ongoing environmental disaster. But while “green” has become an all-too-common prefix, meaningful action is scarce. Has the environmental movement failed to win hearts and minds? Now behavioral scientists are joining environmentalists to address the problem of climate change and human attitudes toward it … Later this month, the second annual Behavior, Energy, and Climate Change Conference will convene in Sacramento, Calif. … “Humanity has never experienced a situation in which the entire world is placed at risk because of human activities,” says Bob Doppelt, director of the Climate Leadership Initiative at the University of Oregon, Eugene, and author of “The Power of Sustainable Thinking.” “Humans are basically in charge of the climate, and we’re not doing a very good job.” Meeting the challenge calls for changing the way we think, he says.

Roseburg works to encourage downtown dwellers (Roseburg News-Review): Virginia Elandt, recently hired by Roseburg as a planning intern, is no stranger to small towns. She was born and raised in Weyauwega, Wis., a town of 1,200 located about a two-and-a-half hour drive northwest of Milwaukee. … Not that long ago, downtown Roseburg store owners often lived in apartments above their stores. They, and other downtown dwellers, walked to work, walked to nearby shopping and walked to nearby parks, said Community Development Director Fred Alley. The city of Roseburg has recently received a grant it will use to help restore that way of life in its historic downtown. With the grant, the city has hired a recent college graduate to research how to better use upper stories of downtown buildings. The grant came from a program called the Resource Assistance for Rural Environments, or RARE program. It is a collaboration between the University of Oregon and AmeriCorps, said RARE director Megan Smith. In its 15th year, the program matches college graduates who have an interest in community and economic development and natural resource management to small Oregon cities that need help in those areas.

Oregon Quarterly essay contest open (Associated Press): Oregon Quarterly, the magazine of the University of Oregon, is inviting submissions to its 10th annual Northwest Perspectives essay contest. The nonfiction contest is open to previously unpublished writing about ideas affecting the Northwest. The winner in the open category will receive $750 and publication in the Summer 2009 issue of Oregon Quarterly, which is distributed to nearly 100,000 readers. The student winner will receive $500 and publication in the Autumn 2009 issue. Olympian marathoner and native Oregonian Kenny Moore, author of "Bowerman and the Men of Oregon," will judge this year's contest. (Submission guidelines)

UO arena plans satisfy conditions, earn permit (Register-Guard): A Eugene hearings officer has approved a conditional use permit that could allow the University of Oregon to begin work on its $227 million basketball arena.The approval, released Friday, is a crucial step that puts the UO close to the starting line in its years-long effort to begin construction on the 12,500-seat pavilion, which would be the most expensive college arena ever built. If no one appeals the decision, the UO could start work before the end of the year. Hearings officer Anne Corcoran Briggs found that the university’s construction plan and a traffic mitigation plan worked out between the UO and the Fairmount Neighborhood Association largely satisfy the requirements for a conditional use permit.