COVID-19

The first day of school looked a bit different for staff and students in Eugene today [Friday], but after 18 months of changing protocols, teachers are well prepared.

The University of Oregon is helping provide free voluntary COVID-19 testing at K-12 schools this fall, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Oregon’s new mask mandate is causing problems for some businesses, especially bars. 

Springfield Public Schools will require masks indoors this school year, following state COVID guidelines, according to the board meeting held in person on Monday night.

Lane County Public Health was notified of a large COVID-19 outbreak at a memory care facility on the Oregon coast.

A group of Native American women from Utah have spent the past year promoting healing across the U.S. by dancing in what’s called a jingle dress. The garment – with makes a distinctive rustling cascade when in motion - hearkens back to another crisis, the Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918.  KLCC recently caught up with the performers of the Jingle Dress Project, as they toured the Pacific Northwest.

As temperatures reached record highs over the weekend, the cooling centers at the fairgrounds in Eugene had more than 120 visitors taking respite from the heat.

COVID-19 has shuttered or limited virtually all performing arts venues, including those in Oregon. But many community theatres have not only weathered the pandemic; some have managed to raise funds to renovate and update their facilities, in anticipation of big re-openings. 

The 2021 legislative session is winding down and gaining momentum as lawmakers jockey for funding priorities in their districts. And this week, legislators might expel one of their own members. We get an update from KLCC's Chris Lehman.

Through the Memorial Day weekend, venues drew crowds to stadiums, race tracks, and theaters…which included an outdoor musical in Roseburg.  Performers and audiences alike hope to see the curtain fall on the pandemic, and rise on normalcy once more.

After the COVID-19 pandemic canceled it last year, the Lane County Fair is back for 2021.  

After elevated COVID-19 risk levels across Lane County postponed it this month, the Oregon Asian Celebration will now be held jointly with another decades-old event in July.  

After making most of its study abroad options virtual due to the pandemic, the University of Oregon is reopening opportunities this summer for students to study outside the US.

Barbara Dellenback speaks with University of Oregon Professor Phil Fisher on a national survey of the affects of the pandemic on families with young children. The conversation covers topics including schooling, housing, shopping for necessities, and the lack of social interactions.

Oregon Community Foundation announced today it is giving $40 million in state-funded grants to summer enrichment programs. 

Allergy season can be particularly bad in our area because “The Grass Seed Capital of the World” is in Linn County. The broad, deep landscape of the southern Willamette Valley also retains pollen. How might the unseasonably warm weather we’ve been having impact allergy season this year?

The Eugene Emeralds are gearing up for a new baseball season and fans can expect changes when going to PK Park.

Due to a steady increase of new COVID-19 cases, Lane County is moving back up to the High risk category for coronavirus restrictions. The governor’s office announced the change will go into effect this Friday.

The Eugene Ballet moved to its new location at 16th and Pearl about two months ago. As KLCC’s Karen Richards reports, it’s artfully stretching into a place designed for its needs.