Monday Mailing
Year 20 • Issue 07 21 October 2013 1. EPA Report Covers Stormwater Management Practices for Vacant Lots and Brownfields 2. Charities Question Donation Bins 3. Look Who's Accused of Secretly Paying To Prevent Labels on GMO Food 4. Economic Impact – Tools and Templates 5. In Portland, Craft Beer Thrives at Low-Brow Bars 6. Mobilizing Community Partnerships in Rural Communities: Strategies and Techniques 7. New NACo Report: Digital Coast: Tools to Promote County Resilience 8. Webinar to Discuss the Impact of Downtown on Economic Development, October 23, from 2-3pm ET 9. Inside 23andMe Founder Anne Wojcicki’s $99 DNA Revolution 10. The Young Girl Who's Best Friends with African Wildlife 11. Funding Opportunities.
Quote of the Week: Always remember that the future comes one day at a time. ~Dean Acheson
Oregon Fast Fact #72: The John Day River has more miles of scenic waterway than any river in the United States. The river's total length is 281 miles.
1. EPA Report Covers Stormwater Management Practices for Vacant Lots and Brownfields This EPA report presents information to assist communities, developers, and other stakeholders in determining the appropriateness of implementing stormwater management practices that promote infiltration at vacant parcels and brownfield sites. The new guide walks decision-makers through a series of questions to determine whether infiltration or other stormwater management approaches are appropriate for a specific brownfield property. Strategies for reducing or eliminating these risks can include removing contaminated soil or waste materials, treating soils on site, placing a cap or barrier over contaminated areas, bioremediation, or monitored natural attenuation. To access the full report, click here. 2. Charities Question Donation Bins A Chicago-based nonprofit environmental group with a dubious record of giving has moved into Eugene’s used-clothing donation marketplace, and locally established nonprofit groups hope people will steer clear of the newcomer’s distinctive green collection bins. Gaia Movement — which for years has earned a failing grade by a leading national charity watchdog organization — began setting up its bins in Lane County last month, and has big plans to expand throughout the state. “The idea is to put a collection bin in every neighborhood and community in Oregon,” said Kevin Escobar, a Portland resident who serves as Gaia’s operations manager in Oregon. Escobar, who said he used to be an executive for Portland-based Voodoo Doughnut, has this year overseen the placement of about 90 Gaia clothing donation boxes in the state, most of them in the Portland area. Ten such bins have appeared outside businesses in Eugene and Page 1 of 6