Morning Lookout: Cuts coming to LCC

Good morning, Lookout Eugene-Springfield,

The budget woes continue for Lane Community College, and administrators are proposing $4.2 million in reductions for the next school year, as Mike McInally reports. This includes a reduction of 20.5 full-time equivalent positions and “suspensions” of LCC programs in health information management and criminal justice.

I grew up just down what is now I-86 from the Corning Museum of Glass, and it was one of my favorite places to visit. You could watch artisans making cool stuff, and if you were lucky, you might walk away with a small glass trinket. That’s one of the reasons I enjoyed reading Annie Aguiar’s story of The Bongfather, a local glass artisan famous for his water pipes. If you know nothing about glassblowing, she explains the process, and Isaac Wasserman’s images are just as amazing. And if you finish the story and want to learn more about the art form, I highly recommend watching “Blown Away” on Netflix.

It hasn’t been a great winter for snow lovers in this part of Oregon. Tyson Alger looks at how those who would prefer to be in a white wilderness rather than a dry valley are dealing with a less-than-white season.

Regarding the pending change at PeaceHealth’s RiverBend hospital to ApolloMD emergency room physicians, the Lane County Medical Society writes in a guest opinion: “We have heard significant concern from members of the local medical staff and health care workforce regarding the potential impacts of major transitions in physician staffing, especially in regards to specialty care consults and quality of care.”

Stories you might have missed Thursday …

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Pay your respects to ‘The Bongfather,’ a Eugene paraphernalia artisan

By Annie Aguiar

Kris Uhlhorn is the founder of Special K Glass, a glass-blowing studio focused on artisan bongs made for a dedicated audience of collectors. He’s part of a long tradition of glass blowing in Eugene.

LCC budget plan trims $4.2 million, ‘suspends’ two academic programs

By Mike McInally

Some Board of Education members asked for a vote on specific program cutbacks, but others disagreed — another example of the board’s disagreement over governance issues.