Good evening,

My colleague Ashli Blow has been reporting for a while on the obsolete, century-old concrete dam that sits below water level in the Willamette River, near the I-5 bridge.

She’s written about the danger it poses to people floating the river, the burden it puts on emergency agencies and the work of safety advocates to get something done.

Last night, Ashli was at a public open house where the city of Eugene presented plans to possibly remove the dam โ€” a project expected to cost close to $5 million.

Much still has to happen before work crews arrive, Ashli reports, including figuring out where the money would come from. See her story for details of the plan and the reaction of those attending.

Also today:

  • Eugene city councilors want to keep talking about an initiative that would allow renters a chance to purchase their home before it goes on the market โ€”ย even though City Manager Jenny Haruyama recommended they drop the idea. Grace Chinowsky reports on the back-and-forth between councilors and staff over the proposal.
  • Volleyball is on a roll at UO. Sportswriter Lindsay Schnell profiles a Ducks team with an international roster of women and a 20-4 record. The team sits in a tie for second place in the Big Ten, and recently sold out Matthew Knight Arena playing Nebraska in front of 12,364 fans.
  • Springfield Economic Development Agency approved funds to help with renovations of the Memorial Building downtown, which was purchased last year from the agency by an owner of the Drifters Baseball Club. Lillian Schrock-Clevenger has the story.

Whoโ€™s in our Community Voices section today?


Whatโ€™s on your mind? Send us a letter to the editor (350 words or less, please): lte@lookoutlocal.com

Have a news tip on something we should cover: newsroom@lookoutlocal.com

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โ€˜Drowning machineโ€™ dam can come out, city says โ€” if thereโ€™s money

By Ashli Blow

A full removal of the Millrace Low Head Dam would cost about $4.8 million, city staff and partners said at a packed open house. But no agency owns the dam, and thereโ€™s no funding yet.

Continue readingโ€ฆ

With a bevy of international standouts, Ducks volleyball surprises the Big Ten

By Lindsay Schnell

Their roster has players from five countries and seven states. Despite the language barriers, the Ducks are 20-4 and ranked No. 12 nationally.

Continue readingโ€ฆ

Enjoy your evening,

Bob

Bob Passaro has been a reporter and editor since the 1990s. He has worked at The Associated Press, The Post Register in Idaho Falls, Idaho; The Salt Lake Tribune in Utah; and for 14 years at The Register-Guard in Eugene. He also spent about 10 years as co-owner of a design and web development agency in Eugene. And he is co-founder of the obituary platform Elegy.us