Good evening,
Ashli Blow reports today that embattled PeaceHealth executive Dr. Jim McGovern is no longer working for the health care network. The former chief hospital executive for Oregon came under fire as PeaceHealth pursued plans to oust a local doctors group from its emergency departments and amid allegations he had inappropriately tried to intervene in patient care.
University of Oregon President Karl Scholz says more budget cuts are likely at UO โ to the tune of about $65 million. Grace Chinowsky has a story about the announcement, which went out in a campus-wide email today. โSignificantly lowerโ out-of-state enrollment and tuition revenue were cited as reasons.
The Budget Committee at Bethel School District unanimously OKโd a $164 million budget proposal yesterday. Education correspondent Lilly St. Angelo reports that it’s a bit smaller than last year โ and includes the shuttering of Shasta Middle School โ but Bethel has avoided the larger cuts and layoffs faced by Eugene 4J and Springfield.
Justice correspondent Jaime Adame filed a few items today:
- A lawsuit between CAHOOTS operator White Bird Clinic and a group founded by former employees has been settled. White Bird had alleged an employee downloaded documents without permission before resigning and starting the new group.
- A third defendant in a string of home burglaries targeting Asian business owners in Oregon and Washington has pleaded guilty. Steven Alexander Quiroga-Solano, a 27-year-old Colombian national, will be sentenced in July on a conspiracy charge.
- A Connecticut man charged with coercing sexual images from an 8-year-old Eugene boy and others pleaded guilty to two counts of producing child pornography Wednesday.
In our opinion section today:
- Eugene resident Shannon Wilson urges voters to say no to Measure 120, which would raise the gas tax and motor vehicle fees. She says it falls too heavily on the backs of working people.
- Joan Kleban of Eugene supports the Lane County Watersheds Bill of Rights, saying “big businesses will not change their ways until made to do so.”
- Cathy Briner notes that the women who founded Eugene’s library in 1901 did not have the right to vote. But she says that today everyone should vote to support the Eugene library levy.
- Eugene’s Ted Coopman says candidate endorsements by the Democratic Party of Lane County are meaningless.
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DAILY DIGEST

Top PeaceHealth executive is out following ER turmoil
By Ashli Blow
Dr. Jim McGovern, the organizationโs chief hospital executive for Oregon, is leaving his role after internal emails surfaced.

UO projects $65 million budget gap, freezes hiring
By Grace Chinowsky
University of Oregon officials said they will work with stakeholders over the next six months to decide how to balance its budget, UO President Karl Scholz announced Monday.
Enjoy your evening,
Bob



