We’re just about two weeks away from the May 21 election. Your ballot likely is sitting on your desk, demanding your attention. Why not just mark it now and run it down to a drop-off box? I’ll wait. Remember, Blobby wants you to vote. Don’t disappoint Blobby!
Of course, if you’re a Democratic voter in Benton County, you might want to spend some time mulling over a couple of primary races that will decide the eventual winner, since no Republican candidate has surfaced. One of those is the race for the House District 16 seat that Dan Rayfield is leaving to run for attorney general. That race features two Corvallis School Board members, Sami Al-Abdrabbuh and Sarah Finger McDonald. Ideologically, the candidates (of course) are similar, but there are differences, as this story from the Oregon Capital Chronicle demonstrates. If I were a Democratic voter (which, of course, I am not, being proudly nonaffiliated), I think the question I would ask is this: Which of these two is most likely to become a successful legislator in the least amount of time?
I have perhaps a morbid fascination when public officials fall prey to completely self-inflicted wounds: The recent business in which Gov. Tina Kotek tried to broaden the role of first lady Aimee Kotek Wilson is particularly interesting, in part because it’s so uncharacteristic of Kotek, who is such a smart operator. In any event, Kotek this week set out to stop the bleeding: At a press conference, she said she was abandoning plans to create an Office of the First Spouse and repeatedly apologized for the brouhaha: “I regret that this hasn’t been very clear, and it’s been a little messy,” she said. “I apologize to Oregonians that I haven’t been as good as I could be at making this a smooth conversation.” I don’t expect this to have a big impact on Kotek’s career going forward, but it will leave a bruise.
If you want more about the first spouse issue, here’s Randy Stapilus, a columnist for the Oregon Capital Chronicle, arguing that Kotek could seize this moment by proposing new rules for what a governor’s spouse can and must not do.
My favorite burger joint, Burgerville, has a new ownership group (its current management team is expected to remain) and, after years of holding pat at 39 locations, is eyeing expansion. (Confidential to Burgerville managers: I have a couple of ideas for new locations in the Corvallis area. Also, those rosemary-garlic fries? Let’s make those year-round. Let’s talk.)
The beleaguered Oregon State women’s basketball team — fresh off a stirring run into the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament — has eight of its players in the transfer portal, and five of those at this writing are headed to other schools. Three players have yet to choose a school. (When players enters the portal, they can decide to try to remain with their current school, but the school is under no obligation to take them back.) Now, OSU’s associate coach, Jonas Chatterton, is leaving for the University of Oklahoma for the same position there. At Oklahoma, Chatterton will join former OSU star Raegan Beers, who’s transferring to the Sooners. Now, this isn’t completely unexpected — there’s nothing to suggest that OSU coach Scott Rueck is going anywhere and Chatterton might think he has a better path to a head coaching job by going to Oklahoma. Still, the timing could be better. Rueck, by the way, has yet to speak on the record about all of this, which is understandable, but he’ll need to weigh in at some point.
The Corvallis School District is trying to craft a budget for the 2024-25 school year to deal with an estimated $10.4 million shortfall. The Gazette-Times reported this week that the cuts could mean that at least 40 certified teachers won’t return to the district next year, including 10 layoffs. It’s tough news, but not entirely unexpected: The state funding formula allocates money to schools largely on the basis of enrollment, and enrollment in Corvallis schools has been declining since the 2016-17 school year. Like many districts around the state, Corvallis has not recovered from the enrollment drop suffered during the pandemic. And the shortage of affordable housing in Corvallis likely has impacted the numbers as well.
Need some good news? How about this: Corvallis’ 2 Towns Ciderhouse is one of three Oregon cideries that won trophies at the prestigious International Cider Awards. 2 Towns picked up a gold and a bronze award. All told, the three Oregon cideries brought home nine trophies, the best showing by any U.S. state since the awards started in 1888. The awards were handed out last week at a ceremony in London.
Oregon State University students and faculty are using three-dimensional mapping and laser imaging technology (known as LiDAR) to create a 3D map of the historic lodge at Silver Falls State Park. The idea is that the map could create essentially a 3D blueprint of the lodge so that it could be rebuilt to exact specifications in the event of a wildfire or earthquake.
Today is “Star Wars” Day (May the Fourth be With You, right?), and so here’s a New York Times story about “Star Wars” fans who have made it their mission to track down the original versions of the films — for example, the one in which Han shot Greedo first — before creator George Lucas went in and started tweaking with the films. No one is saying that Lucas shouldn’t have the right to tinker with his films — but these fans say the original versions should be accessible as well.
Meanwhile, Ahmed Best, the actor who played Jar Jar Binks in “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,” has survived the initial fierce reaction against the motion-capture character and perhaps has had the last laugh: In recent public appearances, Best has earned thunderous ovations. With all that said, the movie — now back in theaters to mark its 25th anniversary — still isn’t that great.
That’s it for this week. In the meantime, Blobby wants you to vote. I bet Jar Jar would want that too.
