Ted Taylor's blog

The Tango Center in Eugene will be closing June 30 after a six-year run, according to its founder Greg Bryant, who announced the closing in a letter to the editor sent in too late for this week's Eugene Weekly.

“It’s no secret,” he said today (Thursday), “but I haven’t contacted the (other) press yet.”

The Tango Center is North America's largest Tango facility, he said, “and the first new downtown partner dance hall in Eugene in 50 years.” The building housing the dance studio on Broadway was recently sold to the Lord Leebrick Theatre, and Bryant said he’s happy the building will remain dedicated to the arts.

In his letter, Bryant said “Our primary goal was to repair downtown. My wife, Olga Volchkova, and I knew that urban repair only happens when people actually fill a space with public activity. We picked the worst stretch of downtown, the spot that needed the most help. We also wanted to offer something different: a place where people could do something, and learn to do something — not simply a place to watch and listen.”

The farewell events at the Tango Center will be Saturday, June 27, for the last big Saturday dance, or Milonga, with an introduction lesson at 8 pm. The last big Bailonga, an all-night affair, starts at 8 pm Tuesday, June 30. See www.tangocenter.org for more information.

Anyone with access to the Internet today can get an education in just about any field for free, and some of the online lectures are by internationally renowned academics, the brightest lights in higher education. Curious about neuroeconomics, underwater vehicles, game theory, animal behavior, nanotechnology? Check out http://lecturefox.com or www.ted.com to mention just a few.

At least one Eugene residential real estate broker is encouraging his clients and friends to take a leap and sell their lower- and middle-priced homes now, then use the proceeds and their good credit to buy bigger, nicer homes. The idea, which got some play on a recent MSNBC web report, is that the expensive homes are the best bargains on the market right now, and they will rebound in value in a few years, providing a net gain. While a smaller house might be worth $20,000 less now than two years ago, a larger house might be picked up at a $100,000 discount.

It’s risky business, of course. Home prices could tumble again, or not recover for many years. And big houses, like big SUVs, are big resource gobblers, carry big debt, and most are inconveniently located in terms of biking, walking and busing.

We ponder some of those empty and for sale mini-mansions in the hills and wonder if they might not make better co-ops, communes or ashrams than single-family homes. Those huge garages would make great spaces for green, home-based enterprises, many of which are allowed under Eugene’s residential zoning rules.

We’re hearing rumors that The Register-Guard will be announcing another round of layoffs in Tuesday morning’s paper (June 9). None of our sources would go on the record, but it’s clear that today (Monday) was a bad day at the daily.

We hope the cuts, if they happen, are not deep. Eugene needs a strong daily paper.

Have you seen anything in our print or web content that gets you riled up? How about EPD's love affair with Tasers, or county funding of jail beds, or doctors' reluctance to use email, or the local arts scene? Rant away here.

The Joint Ways and Means Committee of the Oregon Legislature is holding a public hearing at 1 pm Friday, May 1, at PLC 180 on the UO campus. The committee is considering measures to deal with a funding gap estimated at $3 billion, affecting every organization that relies on state support. Public testimony is limited to three minutes per person. Sign up before the meeting.

Agencies are looking at budget cuts of up to 30 percent. Among the actions being considered are taking most of the interest (approximately $400,000 to $500,000) from the Mental Health Housing Trust Fund, which is now used to develop new housing for people with severe mental illness, both at institutions and in the community, according to an email alert from Kappy Eaton of the League of Women Voters.

Ways and Means Committee members are touring the state to hear from the public about the proposed draft budget. More information is available at www.oregonddcoalition.org/node/363

Lane Bus Project, with help from EW and the Healthy Climate Partnership, is holding a Brewhaha political forum at 7 tonight (April 7) at Cozmic Pizza, 8th and Charnelton. The event is affectionately named "Cap and Trade-aganza — Clash of the Climate Titans" and will feature some of the biggest names in Oregon politics, including Congressman Peter DeFazio and former secretary of state Bill Bradbury. The moderator for the evening is Eugene attorney Dan Galpern of the Western Environmental Law Center.

The question that will be posed tonight is: Should Oregon have a cap and trade system of its own? Arguments for and against are expected, and we should learn a bit more about the bigger picture of climate control systems.

What is cap and trade? According to the Oregon Environmental Council, cap and trade is when a regulating body places a cap on the amount of emissions that a group of polluters is allowed to emit. “The cap is set lower than current emissions and gradually ratcheted down over time. The total amount of emissions permitted under the cap is divided into allowances, say one ton of pollution equals one allowance. These allowances are allocated to polluters who are then free to buy or sell them, while staying within the limits of the cap. Polluters who are able to reduce their emissions at low cost can sell their extra allowances to polluters who face higher costs.”

Currently, Senate Bill 80, sponsored by Gov. Kulongoski, directs the Environmental Quality Commission to set a cap on greenhouse gas pollution in Oregon from electricity generation, transportation, and other activities. “It allows for greenhouse gas emission allowances and offsets to keep greenhouse gas pollution within a state, regional or nationally established cap,” according to the Bus Project. “It would require reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and registration.”

Find more info at www.lanebus.org or www.busproject.org

House Bill 3100, also known as the Metolius Protection Act of 2009, will be discussed by the Land Use Committee of the Oregon House of Representatives at a public hearing at 3 pm Tuesday, April 7, at Hearing Room E at the State Capitol building in Salem.

The act stems from a recent vote by the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission that designated the Metolius River area as an Area of Critical State Concern because the LCDC called it, “a unique area with outstanding values that are important to all Oregonians, and that those values are threatened by current and future plans for large-scale development in and around the basin.”

Two destination resorts are reportedly being planned for the Metolius Basin. The largest, on property atop Green Ridge owned by the Ponderosa Land & Cattle Company, would be more than five times the size of Black Butte Ranch, and be the largest resort in Oregon.

Community members are encouraged to weigh in with their opinions on the bill during the hearing. Each speaker will be given two minutes to address the committee, and each speaker should submit 25 copies of any written material at the time of testimony. The discussion on the bill is scheduled to continue into the April 9 hearing so interested community members will most likely have both days available to speak.

Any questions or comments about the bill, the hearing or the procedure surrounding speaking at the hearing can be directed to the Office of the Land Use Committee at (503) 986-1734. One website dedicated to saving the area is www.metoliusfriends.org and the site includes links for contacting public officials.

(With thanks to Topher Vollmer.)