Primary Results
Voters in yesterday’s primary passed Measure 20-306 providing Lane Community College with 121.5 million dollars for facility upgrades along with some additions to the Career Technical Education department which will include a mobile lab for students in the Florence area. Dean of Students for the Florence Campus, Russ Pierson says Florence will also directly benefit with some much needed upgrades as well.
“Iur facilities team is tracking at least 3.5 million dollars in Florence Center projects including an entire overhaul of our HVAC system.”
Pierson says they will also be upgrading security and safety features around the campus. Voters approved the measure 57,678 to 41,467.
Also of note for Lane County voters State Representative seat District 9 will pit democrat Cal Mukumoto against republican Boomer Wright and the district 5 state senate seat will feature democrat Melissa Cribbins against republican Dick Anderson. For the House of Representatives incumbent Peter DeFazio will face Republican Alek Skarlatos.
Sewer Project
This morning the city will begin construction of a sewer extension on Rhododendron Drive from Treewood Court to South Harbor Vista Drive. The work is contracted through Pleasant Hill Development Company LLC. The cost of the project is $86,325 and will consist of 410 lineal feet of 8 inch sewer pipe with cleanouts. The southbound lane of Rhododendron drive will be closed during the work and traffic will be one directional with flaggers. Actual lane closures will begin on Wednesday May 29th between 7 am and 5 pm with short delays possible.
Gas Prices
The price of gas in Florence is seeing a downward trend as oil prices begin a rise. This past week the average cash price of a gallon of regular gas in Florence dropped to $2.20 a gallon. Statewide the price ticked up a cent to $2.40 a gallon according to AAA Oregon. Drivers are experiencing the lowest prices for a Memorial Day Weekend since 2003. Last Memorial Day Weekend Oregonians were paying an average of $3.42 a gallon. Travel is expected to be light this year with many states just now reopening some retail and recreational spaces. AAA for the first time in 20 years will not be issuing a travel forecast.
COVID-19 Death Toll Climbs
Three more deaths attributed to the Coronavirus pandemic were reported in Oregon yesterday bringing the total to 140. The latest are a 70 year old Umatilla County woman and a 69 year old Linn County man and a 69 year old Marion County man all three were listed with underlying health conditions. In Lane County there are currently 65 confirmed cases and one presumptive case as the county inches up towards 8000 conducted tests.
