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Local Tax Catastrophe: HP’s Big Win Hangs Benton County Out to Dry
On the Ides of May, Benton County was rocked by financial catastrophe. The Oregon Tax Court, ruling in favor of Hewlett Packard’s tax appeal, agreed that their property has been overvalued since 2008, effectively reducing the value of HP’s campus by $117 million, and requiring the county to pay a $9.5 million settlement. All 53 ...
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Advocate Staff Burger Picks: They’re Not All Beef… But Some Are
If I had a nickel for every time I’ve been asked “Hey Johnny, what kind of burgers do you and yours get into?” I’d be a rich man. Our favorite compact fallback, the burger ranges from healthy to downright deadly—and Corvallis has more than a mouthful of great choices. Whether you’re looking for a new ...
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Rape and Oregon: Welcome to the Third World
Nicholas Kristof, a Willamette Valley native, wrote an article published in The New York Times on Jan. 12, 2013 titled “Is Delhi So Different from Steubenville?” In it he says, “Gender violence is one of the world’s most common human rights abuses. Women worldwide ages 15 through 44 are more likely to die or be ...
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Artist Profile: Rachel Urista
Local artist and Temporary Artists’ Guild member Rachel Urista’s nature-inspired pieces embody her passion for bright, vivid colors and fantastical imagery. Urista moved to Corvallis from California with her husband almost three years ago, looking for a change of pace. She began taking her art in a new direction: art journaling, which is similar to ...
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Don’t Trash the Good Stuff: Some Migrating OSU Students Toss the Coolest Things
Majestic herds of students prepare once again to migrate home for the summer and leave behind the accumulated comforts of their temporary habitats—furniture, dishes, towels. Those living in OSU dorms have Campus Recycling and Surplus Property to aid them in recycling and donating unwanted goods. Over 20,000 pounds of material made its way to local ...
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BFF Cupcakes: Mobile Cupcakery Hits Downtown in June
New York City, San Francisco, Portland, and finally, Corvallis. That’s right, we’ve hit the big time. Come June, our fine city will have its own cupcake cart, which will sell its scrumptious treats at the Saturday market and downtown by Starbucks on select days. Husband and wife cupcake aficionados Cheyne and Sha Sha Willems—aka BFF ...
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Coops Be Crazy: Chicken Abodes Inspire Creativity and Craftsmanship
One Oregonian trait I’ve always been in awe of is craftsmanship coupled with determination. Activities I would consider hard work are considered mere hobbies. People follow their whims with a shrug of their shoulders and a year later there’s a giant raised garden bed in their yard, or a new craft brewery on the scene, ...
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Shalimar Drinks, Shalimar Draws: Drink and Draw at the Majestic Theatre, June 5, 7:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
I went to Drink and Draw. At the Majestic. I heard it was a place with no cover where they have a selection of art supplies and alcoholic beverages and hard surfaces, and sometimes even models, and I said “Sign me up.” Then I found out you aren’t supposed to sign up, you just show ...
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Corvallis Water Management Focuses on Conservation
Five hundred researchers assembled last week in Bonn, Germany for the Global Water System Project Conference, “Water in the Anthropocene” where they made recommendations focused on the “science, governance, and management of water resources.” They warned that in as little as two generations and without global change, billions of people will face severe challenges accessing ...
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A Day in the Life of a Barista: Flavor, Timing, and How to Measure Your Day in Trees
It’s 5:15 a.m., and 28-year-old Garrett Esary is just rolling out of bed. He may or may not have time to comb his handlebar mustache and throw on his newsboy cap before rushing out the door and walking his three-minute commute to work. Lucky for him, being the café manager, roaster, and barista at Coffee ...
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There’s Something in the Water: Corvallis Fluoridates… 75% of Oregon Doesn’t
Last week’s election results in Portland suggest the issue of fluoridated water remains one of the most contentious public health issues of our time. While the initiative failed 40 percent to 60 percent (after nearly a million dollars spent on both sides), it highlighted a startling fact: Portland, the 28th largest American city, remains the ...
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Changing Lives, One Tomato at a Time… 1: Acre, 7: Teen Workers, 200: Fed Daily
Each Saturday at 5 a.m., a small group of teenagers in Corvallis wake up with smiles on their faces happy to greet the rain or cold and staff a booth at the farmers’ market to sell some produce. Sound like any teenagers you know? They are part of the Workforce and Education Department of Community ...
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Ninjitsu at the Golden Naga: My Walk on the Ninja Side
Everyone kneels and faces a candlelit shrine on the opposite wall. Class starts with a bowing ceremony. A few aspects of ninja class—or more accurately Ninjutsu Bujinkan class—are what I expected. Almost everyone is dressed in black, their clothing like stealthy versions of the traditional gi worn in other martial arts. The instructor, Dennis King, appears ...
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“Into Darkness” Delights and Disgusts
Star Trek. These two words don’t usually evoke images of fistfights and young 20-somethings brooding over drinks at the bar. But J.J. Abrams’ Into Darkness boldly takes Star Trek where no Star Trek film has gone before—into action scenes after countless action scenes, fists pounding and guns a-blazin’. It’s not that Captain Kirk never pounded ...
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The Face in the Rearview Mirror
In your car or on your bike, if that face in your rearview mirror looks extremely angry, its frowning eyes slits and its horrible teeth bared, with muscles bulging as if about to pounce and tear your heart out and stomp on it—then it’s a recent-model pickup truck. The actual driver of the pickup might ...
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Habitat Restoration in Your Own Backyard: Certification Offered by the National Wildlife Federation
It’s easy to bemoan lost habitat for wildlife, especially here in the Willamette Valley where our major export is lawns and more lawns. But there’s a simple way to help: turn your backyard into wildlife habitat certified by the National Wildlife Federation. Only a few ingredients are needed: a food source, such as native plants, ...
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More People Have Cell Phones Than Clean Water
Humanity is on the precipice of one of the most significant changes in our evolutionary history. For the first time ever, more than 95% of the worlds population has a cellphone and more than 40% of households have access to the internet. More people have access to a cell-phone than have access to running water, ...
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Energy Efficient Light in Corvallis
Increasing energy efficiency and reducing light pollution is a priority in Corvallis. Adam Steele, franchise utility specialist with the City of Corvallis, said it is “standard practice that we look for energy efficient lighting.” As an example, he sites the remodel of City Hall’s parking lot where inductive decorative lights were added. The effort is ...
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OSU Research Finds EPA Pesticide Warnings Effective: Cases of Pet Toxicity Continue to Decline
With June fast approaching local gardeners are gearing up for their yearly battle with the common garden pests, slugs and snails. The most common tool for combating these pests are metaldehyde and iron-phosphate based Molluscicide. Researchers, from OSU, writing for the National Pesticide Information Center, recently released a meta-analysis looking at the previous 11 years of ...
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Corvallis Venues: Where Do I Perform?
Are you a local musician and want to share your talent, but are unsure where to play or how to get that first gig? With respect to such quandaries, I want to give readers a feel for the musical landscape of Corvallis. While not a conclusive word on places to perform, I hope the following ...