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Yes, the November 3rd election is approaching, and for us, that means checking Oregon’s campaign finance records.

At the end of the day, these are just people supporting other people, which we can all support.

But we can also report.

These figures show fundraising amounts and some gaps among Corvallis City Council candidates, with Ward 1 candidate Steve Clark reporting the largest total of the committees reviewed.

The amounts should not amount to that much. A lot of it depends on demographics, geography, ward size, and maybe… who you know. The “who you know” part does end up getting a little bit interesting. If you actually get to the end of this campaign.

Steve Clark’s campaign reported $25,575.81 in total contributions for 2026, followed by Ward 1 opponent Bre Irish at $6,615. So Ward 1 had both of the two highest receivers of campaign donations.

The next highest reported totals were Danielle Chambers in Ward 7 at $2,542.50 and Alexis Hammer in Ward 9 at $2,200, then the amounts fall off dramatically, or there are no reported contributions for the candidate.

Those figures reflect contributions reported to the Oregon Secretary of State’s ORESTAR campaign finance database as of October 23rd, 2026. ORESTAR is not an account of everything a candidate may have received.

Also, ORESTAR’s “Total Contributions” incorporates noncash contributions, such as donated goods or services, and nonexempt loans received.

It’s the individual transaction records that offer another view of the election. You know… who is contributing.

We picked out three contributors, all of whom illustrate a different connection to local public life: a homebuilder, a downtown developer, and an attorney whose own campaign for judicial office drew some scrutiny earlier this year.

Pete Slayden, president of Slayden Homes, contributed $3,000 to Clark’s campaign on August 17th. The Crescent Heights at Timberhill development identifies him as its builder. This contribution places a local housing construction business among one of Clark’s larger individual supporters.

Brian Obie, heard that name before? You should have. Brian is the president of Obie Companies, and he contributed $1,000 to Clark on September 29th. The Eugene-based company is developing the Gordon Hotel and Residences at First Street and Madison Avenue downtown.

Both of these transactions were reported as individual contributions. The filings do identify the donor’s business affiliations, but the contributions should not automatically be attributed to their companies.

The third donor we thought was of interest is Michael Flinn, who contributed $500 to Irish’s campaign on September 4th. His ORESTAR filing lists his occupation as lawyer… and his employer as Miller Castleton & Flinn in Albany.

Heard that name before?

Mike Flinn ran for Benton County Circuit Court judge, District 21, Position 3, in the May 19th primary. His voter pamphlet statement described a career divided between 15 years as a deputy district attorney and 15 years in the private sector, with experience in civil, criminal, family, and juvenile law.

Flinn lost to Yema Measho in the election and finished second in the three-candidate race.

These contribution filings all establish payment, date, and the donor’s reported occupation and employer. And that is all they establish.

They serve as a small but interesting snapshot of financial support across the council races: a homebuilder, a developer, and an attorney who ran for circuit court judge… with some controversy.

At the end of the day, these are just people supporting other people, which we can all support. Right?

This article was written by Jesse Grant, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com

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The incident happened in August, and the FedEx employee, now identified by police as Mari, became suspicious when an elderly couple arrived at the store to ship a package out of state.

According to a Corvallis Police Department social media post, the couple was talking to someone on the phone when they arrived and appeared to be receiving instructions.

Instructions that included unusual delivery directions.

Mari honed in on this and alerted her manager about what she witnessed, who then held the package and contacted Corvallis PD.

It turns out the package contained more than $16,000 in cash.

After investigating, the Police Department determined that the couple were victims of fraud… well, almost victims. Thanks to Mari for going above and beyond, and to her manager as well for recognizing the situation and making a decision to alert authorities... the scam was foiled before the cash was sent.

Corvallis PD said in the post that, with assistance from other law enforcement agencies, the money was returned to the elderly couple. Mari was recently recognized by the department for her “observations and willingness to intervene.”

(Photo: City of Corvallis Police Department)

CPD has previously presented its Partnership Award to John Schneider and Megan Gregory-Goplen for performing CPR on a driver after a crash on April 20th.

In this incident, the driver, John Short, had suffered a medical emergency. The bystanders began CPR with instructions from 911 telecommunicator Anna Schulz before emergency responders arrived.

“The individuals we are honoring today chose to act,” Police Chief Jason Harvey said in the June announcement.

The announcement about Mari did not disclose the type of scam the couple almost fell victim to or the package’s intended destination. The mention of other agencies involved most likely refers to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service or the FBI.

We did not reach out for more info.

Although FedEx is a private carrier, scams involving shipments can still fall under federal mail-fraud law, which covers both commercial carriers and the U.S. Postal Service.

Often, scammers in similar scenarios to this may instruct victims to send cash by an “overnight” delivery service to a vacant address, allowing them to collect the package before the victims realize they have been deceived.

Mari and her manager are a solid reminder that our town’s protection can come from local workers and neighbors looking out for one another. She could have turned her head, shipped the package, and moved on with her day.

Instead, she was the one who delivered.

This article was written by Brian Lindensmith, but was approved by all of our writers at The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com

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Samaritan Health Services operates a health insurance operation throughout Benton, Linn, and Lincoln counties.

InterCommunity Health Network CCO (IHN-CCO) administers Oregon Health Plan benefits, Oregon’s Medicaid program, for around 87,000 members across all three of the counties.

The Oregon Health Authority issued a final approval of the Samaritan/MultiCare merger on October 19th, allowing MultiCare to assume control of InterCommunity Health Network CCO as part of the merger.

Public attention has mostly been focused on MultiCare’s $700 million investment in Samaritan, but state regulator documents show some other financial challenges with Samaritan’s Medicaid insurance operations.

IHN-CCO operates through InterCommunity Health Plans Inc., a nonprofit subsidiary controlled by Samaritan Health Services.

According to the Oregon Health Authority’s October 9th regulatory report (linked at the bottom), IHN-CCO has been experiencing financial losses. In 2024, the unit lost $19.5 million, and those losses accelerated to $24.4 million in 2025.

It seems there might be a strategic reason MultiCare would want to take on a struggling Medicaid insurance operator.

MultiCare historically has not operated its own health plans, while Samaritan has experience administering insurance coverage, coordinating patient care, and managing relationships between insurers, medical providers, and patients.

By bringing Samaritan under their umbrella, it provides MultiCare with that expertise, along with an established Medicaid insurance operation.

(Photo: InterCommunity Health Network CCO at The WesternU COMP Northwest's Rural Health Care Equity Fair/Samaritan Health Services)

A better way to explain it might be… MultiCare is not just acquiring hospitals and clinics. It is also gaining an insurance operation that serves a large portion of our region’s population.

The affiliation is expected to take effect on November 1st, with Samaritan continuing to operate under its existing name and local leadership.

Samaritan says patients and insurance members should not expect immediate changes when the affiliation begins, although longer-term changes remain a possibility.

The Oregon Health Authority has also imposed ongoing reporting and oversight requirements, including financial monitoring and public reporting of capital contributions, provider-network changes, and health care quality.

It’s possible that MultiCare may need to contribute additional funding beyond its promised $700 million investment to support Samaritan’s Medicaid insurance operations. However, the report does note that IHN-CCO was profitable during the first two quarters of 2026. So there’s that…

The OHA publication report can be found here.

InterCommunity Health Network CCO’s website can be found here.

This article was written by Jesse Grant, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com

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Corvallis city workers are planning to return to work on Friday, October 23.

A joint statement from the city and the union was just released after a statement was earlier released by AFSCME Local 2975. Some employees even began returning to work Thursday morning as soon as the ratification vote concluded.

According to the announcement from Oregon AFSCME Local 2975, the union’s bargaining team reached an agreement with city negotiators following an all-day mediation session on Wednesday. Members overwhelmingly ratified the proposal Thursday morning.

It’s pretty much over. The tentative agreement still needs to be approved by the City Council at its next public meeting on November 2.

The joint statement released by the city and union describes the agreement as a five-year contract intended to provide long-term labor and financial stability. Both parties acknowledged that “negotiations were challenging at times,” but said they bargained in good faith toward a shared goal.

(Photo: AFSCME Local 2975 pickets outside City Hall/The Corvallis Inquirer)

The agreement includes a $1,000 ratification bonus, an additional seventh step on the wage schedule beginning in the contract’s fourth year, and no increase to employee health insurance premiums until 2030.

Its announcement also highlighted improved workplace safety language, without providing details about those provisions.

“We are glad that we were able to come to a deal that meets most of our members’ needs, while also addressing the limitations of our city budget,” Local 2975 President Evan Newton said in the union’s earlier announcement.

The joint statement says the agreement positions Corvallis to retain and attract qualified employees. It also acknowledges that the city’s work toward a sustainable budget will continue as employees return to their jobs and labor negotiations wrap up.

The joint statement can be found here on the city’s website.

This article was written by Jesse Grant, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com

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The City has now started the contractor selection process for the planned renovation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park, bringing it one step closer to an $8.5 million project after years of planning and design.

This is an important project for Corvallis as it expands and enhances recreation opportunities, encompasses cultural diversity, and illustrates a benefit of those SDC fees.

The renovation is going to transform large portions of the 29-acre site, all while preserving the park’s natural landscape.

(Photo: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park/Corvallis Parks and Recreation)

Some of the park’s planned improvements listed by the City are a new children’s playground, a water play area, a separated off-leash dog area, a basketball court, wallball, a small skate area, public art, improved parking areas, and an overlook point.

(Photo: Sports Court Area - Design Rendering/mlkparkcorvallis.org)

The project is also supposed to include an upgraded hiking and walking trail system, a new restroom, seating areas, and an entry plaza with interpretive displays honoring Dr. King’s legacy.

Even with all of those extensive improvements, the city’s design calls for more than 80% of the park to remain undeveloped to preserve some ecological features.

(Photo: The Great Lawn Commons - Design Rendering/mlkparkcorvallis.org)

The project funding was originally targeted at $8.5 million, and according to the official website, about $8.4 million has already been secured.

Contributions include a $4 million state grant and a $2 million gift from a lead donor. Another roughly $1.2 million comes from Corvallis Parks and Recreation system development charges (SDC fees). Those SDC fees will help finance a portion of the project.

Additional support has come from community donations and Friends of Corvallis Parks & Recreation. The final construction cost will obviously depend on the competitive bidding process for the contractors.

(Photo: Entry Plaza - Design Rendering/mlkparkcorvallis.org)

The project goes all the way back to a master planning effort in 2017, when community members and staff began discussing how the existing park could not only better serve residents, but also reflect the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

City officials say the park’s importance extends beyond playgrounds, walking trails, and recreational facilities. One of the stated goals is to create a public space that encourages community connections, celebrates diversity, and recognizes the role of activism and social change in Dr. King’s life.

It also looks like plans call for an art curator to work with local artists on installations in the park. The contractor selection process is a step towards making the vision for the park a reality.

It also provides a tangible example of how SDC fees can be put towards a positive use in the community.

For more info, you can visit the official MLK Park project website.

This article was written by K. Hewlitt at The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com

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Corvallis voters navigating candidate questionnaires, endorsements, and promises of fiscal responsibility might appreciate a recent development in local Canadian politics.

Or not.

Brady Rogers is a man who tossed aside those customary declarations of visionary leadership and announced, “I barely want to do this.”

(Graphic: @iambradythecreator / Via instagram.com)

Brady is a 33-year-old engineer and business owner. He won a seat on the Kelowna City Council in British Columbia last week. Official results show he received 12,637 votes, which gave him a fourth-place finish among the eight elected councilors. His honest admitted reluctance ended up proving to be highly electable.

Some of his campaign signs included “Just trying to pay my rent,” “Fine. I’ll do it,” and “How hard could it be?” He obviously has not yet reviewed a municipal agenda packet, but that Dadlife shirt does show some promise… but maybe not his spelling.

Rogers embraced the absurdity so thoroughly that he even produced an attack ad against himself. Some might say that’s an admirable administrative efficiency. He allowed his campaign to handle both promotion and opposition research all in one sitting.

If you read between the lines, no pun intended (or not), there might be something refreshing here about a candidate acknowledging uncertainty before being asked to resolve housing affordability, budget deficits, homelessness, or enact a ban on gas-powered leaf blowers.

Or not.

As we all know by now, municipal government usually requires considerable deliberation. It also requires the fortitude to attend a meeting where someone says, “I’ll be brief,” and then pulls a binder out of their briefcase.

Jokes aside, behind the theatrical uncertainty was an impressive resume.

Rogers worked as a robotic automation engineer and co-founded The Rogerie with his wife, which transforms plastic waste into new products. His campaign website addresses affordability, transportation, homelessness, and the difficulties facing small businesses. All of which might sound familiar.

His explanation for running… “he cares about his city, believes he can contribute, and thinks understanding a problem should precede prescribing a solution.”

He says his engineering background taught him to begin with good questions. This complicates the conventional campaign timetable, the one that usually requires comprehensive answers, weeks before anyone has established what the question actually means.

Rogers used self-deprecation and humor to attract attention while offering voters a serious account of his priorities and background. The humor made him conspicuous, but his willingness to explain himself gave the people of Kelowna City something to consider.

Would this approach succeed in Corvallis? It’s untested. A sign reading “I only want to do this for two years… not four” might find an appreciative base of support.

Or not.

Hopefully Brady can pay his rent now.

This article was written by Derek S., a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com

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A driver attempting to cross a picket line made light contact with a striking worker at the Cornell entrance to the Corvallis Public Works complex around 8 am on Monday, October 19th.

We’ve obtained videos of the encounter. The vehicle approached quickly, but did stop at the picket line, then inched forward while a picketer remained in its path, making light contact with one person.

A tipster who provided information about the incident described the location as “the Cornell entrance to the public works complex.” “As there was contact made, a report was filed to the Benton County Police Department,” they wrote.

AFSCME Local 2975 released a brief blurb about the incident on their website that alleges the driver was a member of city management and had received a criminal citation.

“Tensions between management and city workers have continued to grow, coming to a head on Monday morning when a member of city management was given a criminal citation for assaulting a picketer who was participating in protected, legal activity, with their vehicle at the Corvallis Public Works compound,” the union wrote.

That description is the union’s account. We have not independently verified that a citation was issued.

Unions often designate “picket captains” or “safety marshals” to help coordinate picketing. AFSCME Local 2975 says on its website that members practiced picket lines with their “picket captains” on October 5th.

It remains unclear who, if anyone, was assigned that role at the Cornell entrance.

Editor’s note: Audio from the video was removed to protect the names of the people picketing and the driver.

This article was written by Jesse Grant, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com

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The City Council voted at its October 19th meeting to reaffirm City Manager Mark Shepard’s 4% cost-of-living adjustment, which was effective June 16, 2026, as the city faces an employee strike and ongoing questions about its finances.

Ward 5 Councilor Charlyn Ellis was the only council member who cast an opposing vote.

The council scheduled a closed performance evaluation before Monday’s regular meeting. The city’s notice explained that executive sessions allow councilors to discuss matters privately, but any resulting decisions must be made in public.

Shepard received a 5% merit increase in December 2025, following a separate 4% cost-of-living adjustment earlier that year. At that time, his salary before the merit increase was approximately $243,000.

Monday’s decision comes five days after AFSCME Local 2975 workers began striking following unsuccessful contract negotiations.

AFSCME Local 2975 members spoke at the open comment section of the City Council meeting. Mayoral candidate Kasey Haxton and Ward 1 candidate Bre Irish also spoke during the comments section, all in support of the local union worker strike.

(Photo: mayoral candidate Kasey Haxton and Ward 1 candidate Bre Irish at the October 19th Corvallis City Council Meeting)

AFSCME Local 2975 filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the City of Corvallis on October 8th, just six days before workers began striking.

The union alleges that employee reports provided in April and July, along with reports about newly hired employees, omitted work telephone numbers and salary information required under Oregon’s public-sector labor laws.

The vote and the timing of it surprised the union, whose members were on strike seeking a new contract. Although Shepard’s adjustment carried a June effective date, the council’s decision to reaffirm it while workers remained on the picket line added to their frustration.

This article was written by Jesse Grant, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com

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It’s not too little, but it is too late. And as the headline says… we failed you as a publication. If we don’t admit it, then we would be failing you again.

So did The Gazette-Times, and so did The Corvallis Advocate, and in a small town like Corvallis, you have limited choices, and it just so happens all of the choices failed you.

(Photo: Corvallis Chamber of Commerce Candidates Forum/The Corvallis Inquirer)

No one failed readers in terms of opinion, but everyone failed readers in terms of dissemination of information, which we believe is a publication’s duty. Agendas mean zero when readers are the client.

Last week, a Corvallis Reddit post brought some information to light. About a candidate running for City Council. A piece this candidate wrote, prior to their running, and it garnered a lot of attention.

It is local news.

We first found this piece of information on July 10th, and we sat on it. We thought that since we are neutral and don’t endorse candidates, posting anything perceived as negative about a candidate would go against that nonpartisan neutrality.

In hindsight, we were wrong.

It’s not “nonpartisan”; it’s informative to the people of our city, and in that respect, we failed. Not only that, but a reader tipped us off about endorsements from organizations and people we elect, and that finally put us over the edge. More on those endorsements later…

The post is in regard to Ward 6 candidate Brennan Colberg.

We don’t have anything against Brennan, other than our own political beliefs, which don’t matter at all.

Brennan actively participates in city government, which is basically a volunteer job. He stands up for what he believes in, and he is not afraid to say things that go against popular opinion, no matter how that affects votes. A lot of other candidates can’t say that.

This is the piece he wrote and posted on his website:

Source: https://brennancolberg.com/writing/my-bits-2025

- schools are the most inhumane institutions of the modern world and should be marketized as a gentle path towards their inevitable annihilation by superior (& cheaper!) individualized competition

-Corvallis, OR is my home and a great place to live, I ran for city council here once so far and plan to be here until death, actively fixing any key problems to enable this

- Herbert Hoover is one of the greatest people to ever live, having dozens of accomplishments that would make their doers historically notable individually, and his reputation must be resurrected for honor’s sake. the only possibly comparable person is Elon, they are in a unique class together

- America is the greatest country in the world, primarily because of its intertwining freedom culture and unique-becauseextremely-historically-contingent political institutions (most notably the 1st Amendment, 2nd Amendment, Senate, and textual/ original SCOTUS). to spread freedom and prosperity it is most effective to gradually *expand our jurisdiction*, via annexation, first of the Northern Hemisphere and eventually of the world. external regime change doesn’t work because newly spun-up systems are fragile and fake (see Iraq, etc), and because blank-paper systems can’t have our particular strengths. see also “power can’t be given, only taken”

- Christianity and the Bible are actually true, though the latter must be interpreted in its literary context. the most intellectually consistent form of Christianity is individualbeliever Baptism, though the Baptists (I am one) often fall short by deemphasizing beauty/aesthetic. the most funny denomination is Lutheranism, because they believe that church institutions can be wrong but that they were only wrong exactly once (the Baptists correctly extend this to a rejection of broad institutional authority and emphasis on Exit as a peer of Voice)

- cars are, mostly, bad, a suboptimal tradeoff that attempts to do too much. cities should be cities and emphasize walking/ biking/transit/density. however, America is unlikely to make any progress while the urbanists are also lefty & cater to criminals, because density relies on social cohesion and ubiquitous safety. the proper model is Singapore’s carceral urbanism: safety and trust first and irrevocably, then density. suburbs basically exist because the conservatives gave up and retreated in the wake of urban crime waves, they are temporal/ spatial bunkers to isolate families safely from chaoscontainment areas in most city cores. this whole pitch could be branded and sold as “traditional American urbanism” to get conservatives to buy in

- energy abundance is important, getting back on the Henry Adams curve is important, this is best done by nuclear and solar, etc etc. however, if you actually read Henry Adams’ book, you realize that the reason he *came up with* the curve is to express concern over the increasing destructiveness of oscillating conflict in the context of higher-energy civilizations, anticipating WWI & nuclear bombs. so it is important in tandem to have full civilizational backups e.g. Mars, spatial colonies, extrasolar colonies ASAP if/as we harness more energy

- commitment is important. early marriage, me living in Corvallis as long as I stay on Earth, etc. allows you to pick one branch of the future tree and intentionally cultivate it to be better than any *would have* been if you just drifted around uncertainly. far underrated - most things and people are limited by expectations. see e.g. Polgar/Suzuki experiments, Parkinson’s Law. having unreasonably high expectations of yourself and others is the most effective way to juice performance. Sowell’s “soft bigotry of low expectations” is universal and reversible: high expectations *will* improve things

- trains/Amtrak are amazing but in practice have a massive overhead of potential. high-speed trains, small trains, far more things should be trains. see e.g. the startup @pipedream_labs (trains for last-mile logistics)

- the highest-leverage human activity is writing, because it forces you to crystallize thoughts so they can be critiqued → improved, and then lets your thoughts colonize other people with no marginal effort from you

- the second-highest-leverage human activity is “social capital building,” which is cringe if you do it wrong (”networking”) but done right mostly means spending time hanging out with people and making (1) more relationships and (2) stronger relationships. this includes working on your personal presentation in all forms. you need other people to do things, it is impossible to exist or function in a vacuum - you should probably try to avoid doing things that do not have exponential returns. any form of learning counts as exponentially returning, because all information is connected and everything is similar. note that most exponentiallyreturning activities have extremely small returns when you start doing them and look/feel like you are completely wasting your time

- Great Man theory is extremely real and mostly exists because of exponential returns on tacit learning. same deal for IQ/ ability: yes heritable, but heritable mainly through memetics, and mainly because some people are put in environments that get them started way earlier and teach them to progress way faster earlier (see again Polgar). not sure it’s 100% nurture but it’s >90%. talent independent of hard work does not exist, but talent *does* exist: it’s the accumulated product of hard work and deliberate learning over decades. this tendency to learn and grow ability is very heritable and therefore clustered in certain subpopulations, but is not inherently tied to genetics, contra most race realists.

- it is more important to focus on right-tail returns of education as a society, because effectiveness is grown exponentially and the drivers of societal outcomes are Pareto distributed; 50% better gifted education beats 50% better remedial education every day of the week. therefore, equity in education is a horrid target

- all classic sins are bad and should be avoided, and anything with short-term gains at the expense of larger long-term costs is also a sin (eg procrastination). the most widely-destructive sin is lying, mostly because it is very normalized and therefore not commonly avoided, and also because it directly targets the sin correction mechanism (to fix a problem you need to confront it and you can’t do that when lying to yourself and/or others)

- most people should not know/care about federal politics or anything that don’t directly affect them and/or that they can’t affect. your info environment is scarce and is upstream of your thoughts and behaviors, use it to consume only good and useful things. reading the Bible is higher alpha than 99.9% of online content

- don’t take yourself too seriously or you won’t be comfortable doing things you’re not already good at (see above re sins [pride; see above re exponentials [for most valuable work you are learning → looking like a fool]) I will update in this thread as I add or retire any bits. If you are human (or AI tbh) and want to hear more about any particular bits (in post or essay form) please lmk

We don’t need to get into his views above on Elon Musk, right-tail returns of education, or global manifest destiny. Those are his views. And you have a right to have your own personal opinions on them. It’s also called your right to vote.

We are apologizing for not posting the information… that we sat on for 3 months.

This is an attempt to make things right.

Is it possible that the organizations that endorsed Brennan did not know about this? Is it possible that The Corvallis Inquirer, the Gazette-Times, and The Corvallis Advocate didn’t know about this?

No. NO. It’s not. We have proof that they all did, including us. And it changed nothing. No local publication published it.

Brennan Colberg’s campaign website lists SAFE Corvallis among his endorsers. SAFE, short for Streets Are For Everyone, advocates for safer streets, walking, cycling, and transit. They are not evil and support worthy causes. And in their defense, Brennan does mention “cities should be cities and emphasize walking/ biking/transit/density”.

SAFE Corvallis’s August 2026 newsletter, under the heading “Together, We Are a Civic Vanguard,” states that “SAFE Corvallis was born thanks to the efforts of Charlyn Ellis and Jerry Sorte.” It traces the organization’s beginnings to summer 2021

Charlyn Ellis is a Ward 5 Councilor.

The group’s announced endorsement process includes candidate applications, interviews, and review of incumbents’ voting records.

A SAFE endorsement might not always be so “safe.” And it puts into perspective any electoral endorsements that offer no guarantee of fidelity to the public interest.

Let’s be very fair in all of this. We asked Brennan for comment on the post, and he gave us his campaign platforms. You can read those anywhere. League of Women Voters is a great place to start.

https://lwvcorvallis.org/videos/

Unlike what most people might have done, Brennan responded on a very hostile and very public forum, an anonymous forum… Reddit. A forum where opinions often override facts. But this original post, as we can confirm, does not. The original Reddit post can be found here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/corvallis/comments/1x4kz4q/brennan_colberg_city_council_candidate_for_ward/

We post opinions every now and then, sure, but since we try not to post opinions on politics… The Corvallis Advocate recently posted its general election endorsements.

While we are against endorsements, as stated above, we have spent countless hours attending speeches, watching videos, reading transcripts, and attending events related to the local City Council elections.

The Corvallis Advocate pretty much nailed it. It is the best-written piece we’ve read in a long time. It encapsulated all the candidates and most likely what everyone was thinking.

The Corvallis Advocate put those thoughts into words. And that’s what a good publication does.

You can read their article here.

It’s a little bit sad to pass the buck in an apology by pointing to another publication’s endorsements, but that’s a hole we dug ourselves into by not going public on July 10th.

Either way, we are sorry. The lesson will be carried forward. We are not trying to sway your vote in Ward 6. We are not supporting or hating on Brennan Colberg. It’s just a promise that it will never happen again. Our information is yours. That’s what our platform was built on.

Editor’s update, October 21st: Brennan did thoughtfully respond to this post. Rather than quote it or create another post, we thought it would be best to just paste it here:

“One of my main hobbies is reading deeply on a lot of obscure topics, so I have many thoughtful but unorthodox beliefs on a wide variety of subjects. The City Council election is about managing the city, and I will focus narrowly on that—in particular, on lowering your “water” bill via growing our tax base via private economic development—if elected. In particular, my opinions on geopolitics or education are properly of zero relevance to city priorities, though I’m happy to expand on them or answer any other questions you may have”

This article was written by Brian Lindensmith, but was approved by all of our writers at The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com

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The proposed Snack Time Trail has become the focus of a larger dispute over recreation, neighborhood safety, and OSU’s management of McDonald-Dunn Research Forest.

It will be less than a mile long, and Benton County approved the new Snack Time connector trail on September 18th. Four residents of Upper NW Oak Creek Drive have now appealed that decision, putting the approval on hold while the county Planning Commission considers the case.

It’s not that simple, though. It never is. The dispute for this little trail is more than a two-sided contest.

(Photo: McDonald-Dunn Research Forest/The Corvallis Inquirer)

Snack Time will connect Lower Play Time and Uproute, two already existing trails. OSU describes it as a replacement for an older, eroded trail called Innuendo, with benefits for recreation, forestry operations, education, and research.

The appellants, Daniel Rosenberg, Jennifer Gervais, Steve Cook, and Terri Cook, live along the residential road serving the forest’s Oak Creek entrance. Their objections to the new trail concern traffic, parking enforcement, wildfire evacuation, and whether OSU has followed the conditions governing recreational development.

Their attorney, Zack Mittge, says the county used the wrong approval process, that the underlying permit has expired or become void, and that the proposal fails several land-use standards.

Meanwhile, a community advocacy website, MacTrails.org, is in support of approving Snack Time while removing the condition requiring Innuendo’s closure. Created by forest user Joshua Trenary, it essentially advocates for keeping both trails open.

MacTrails.org is in support of a more connected, accessible trail network in McDonald-Dunn Forest, where hiking, running, mountain biking, and other recreation coexist with forestry, research, and conservation.

www.mactrails.org

In testimony submitted prior to the approval, the homeowners described a narrow road with blind spots and no shoulder, where vehicles share space with pedestrians and cyclists.

“We are not objecting to the existence of recreational opportunities on the McDonald-Dunn forests,” their testimony states. Their position is that neighborhood impacts and permit compliance deserve fuller scrutiny.

The residents are challenging whether the 2017 permit remains valid for this modification and whether county staff can approve Snack Time without first holding a Planning Commission hearing.

County planning staff does acknowledge existing neighborhood concerns, but concluded that the evidence did not establish that this particular connector would materially increase forest visitation or vehicle trips.

Obviously, the homeowners near the trailhead think otherwise.

Under the county’s approval, OSU must close and decommission the older Innuendo alignment within 30 days. Keeping both trails would require a different outcome than the approval currently provides.

The Planning Commission will hear the case, considering relevant evidence and public testimony. MacTrails reports a tentative December 1st hearing, citing a county scheduling update, although formal confirmation is pending.

OSU proposes replacing the older Innuendo trail with Snack Time.

MacTrails advocates for keeping both trails.

Four homeowners want traffic and parking concerns addressed before additional trail development proceeds, along with future permit compliance getting more scrutiny.

This is more about forest conservation, community access, and how to balance those two things when building new trails.

The four homeowner concerns about future permit compliance are fair, particularly where conservation is involved. Their arguments on added traffic to their street… for a new trail less than one mile long, should concern all of us when it comes to community access.

More about the trail can be found at: www.mactrails.org

This article was written by Brian Lindensmith, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com

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With all the local hype surrounding Sew Sisters Fabric Shoppe opening today, we figured it’d be a good idea to be there at 11:00 am for the ribbon-cutting.

We failed.

We stopped at TSA Vintage on the way and lost track of time petting those two fantastically friendly fat cats that live in the store. Priorities. Meow, meow.

11:17 am. We made it. The new shop at 300 SW Madison Ave, the former Adore Salon space, was packed. Even the clothing on display was dressed for the occasion. A sweater decorated with scissors, spools, and other sewing motifs offered a fitting welcome.

(Photo: Sew Sisters Fabric Shoppe/The Corvallis Inquirer)

Inside, shoppers browsed fabrics and sewing supplies while staff measured and cut colorful prints at multiple large cutting tables near the windows.

The opening also introduced customers to the people who can help put those purchases to work. Curious cats had an opportunity to meet alterationists and instructors and sign up for workshops and classes, which drew a line.

The opening lands on an especially busy day in town, with the farmers market drawing its usual crowd, the “No Kings: Vote Early” event at the Benton County Courthouse, and a sold-out Oregon State Beavers game adding to the bustle.

Traffic was already backed up coming into town on Hwy 34 for about 3 and a half miles east of town.

Visitors who made it to the opening also had an opportunity to meet alterationists and instructors and sign up for workshops and classes, giving customers a chance to plan what they might actually do with that fabric before taking it home.

The shop’s opening announcement promised “a whole new world of fabrics, notions, and inspiration,” and today’s turnout suggested a ready audience and a lot of enthusiasm. It was honestly kind of surprising.

Sew much for a quiet Saturday, if that is what you were looking for. It was nice to see downtown peaking again. We should all be grateful for these entrepreneurs and the risks they take to make our community a more vibrant place.

Sometimes, not being able to find parking is a good thing.

This article was written by Jackson Hayes, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com

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Rewind to October 2023, enrollment was down 3.84% from the prior year. 2024… enrollment fell another 3.44%. 2025 declined as well, but slowed to 0.93%. 2026 the decline accelerated to 5.66% this fall.

Surprising, but not surprising. Corvallis School District enrollment fell to 5,429 students this fall, a 5.66% decrease from last year and a much sharper decline than district officials anticipated when preparing the current budget.

Which could be a problem.

(Photo: Superintendent of the Corvallis School District Dr. Ryan Noss via www.csd509j.net)

The October 1st count shows 326 fewer students than the district enrolled last October. Enrollment also came in 143 students, or approximately 2.6%, below the 5,572 students projected in the district’s adopted 2026-27 budget.

These figures appeared in an enrollment report prepared by Finance Director Lauren Wolfe for the October 22nd school board meeting. It should be noted that the figures are unaudited… officially, but are probably pretty close, if not spot on.

And yes, they do exclude charter school enrollment.

The report shows that annual enrollment declined in each of the past four years, which we all knew was coming. It’s not just a localized Corvallis problem.

But in terms of Corvallis, rewind to October 2023, enrollment stood at 6,016, down 3.84% from the prior year. 2024… enrollment fell another 3.44%. 2025 declined, but slowed to 0.93%. 2026 not so good, the decline accelerated to 5.66% this fall.

Overall, the district now serves 587 fewer students than it did in October 2023, a decrease of 9.8%.

If you want to get into outliers, kindergarten enrollment dropped 14.6%. The incoming class is also substantially smaller than last year’s 557-student senior class. It’s a continuing pattern in which smaller classes enter the district as larger classes graduate.

The enrollment decline has financial implications. No duh. Student counts help determine state school funding. This new report does not quantify the financial effect of enrollment falling below the budget forecast.

The figures follow the closures of Letitia Carson Elementary and Cheldelin Middle School as part of the district’s consolidation plan to address declining enrollment.

You’re supposed to say “budget pressures” there as well… in terms of school closings, but declining enrollment seems to be the main cause of those pressures.

The report does not identify the reasons for this year’s decline or establish whether consolidation affected families’ enrollment decisions. It probably did to some degree.

The October count remains preliminary and has not yet been validated for submission to the Oregon Department of Education.

I lived in Bend for 4 years. We are all in this journey together. Corvallis is my home, but that news also hit home today. Support your schools. Love wins.

This article was written by Brian Lindensmith, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com

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New details have just emerged about an unfair labor practice complaint filed against the City of Corvallis just six days before unionized city workers began their strike.

The complaint was filed on October 8th by AFSCME Local 2975 with the Oregon Employment Relations Board (ERB). The complaint alleges that the City failed to provide certain employee information required under Oregon’s public-sector labor laws.

(Photo: AFSCME Local 2975 Picket Line/The Corvallis Inquirer)

The case is currently under administrative investigation. The allegations have not been proven, and the Employment Relations Board has not determined that the City violated any law.

According to the complaint, employee reports provided by the City in April and July, along with reports concerning newly hired city employees, were missing work telephone numbers and salary information.

Maybe just a clerical, maybe not.

Oregon law requires public employers to provide labor or union organizations with specific employee information, including certain contact and employment details.

The union alleges that the City’s omissions violated those requirements.

No, the City is not going to go to jail, and the jail is kind of full anyway, based on the early release information that came out last month.

The complaint just seeks corrected employee reports, compliance with future reporting obligations, and reimbursement of filing and representation costs.

The ERB has assigned the case number UP-081-26, and the matter remains in the administrative investigation stage, which means no final decision has been made.

It should be noted that the complaint is separate from the contract negotiations… but its timing was probably not.

The filing itself does not establish why the information was omitted, whether the City disputes the allegations, or whether any omission was intentional. It also could’ve just been a clerical error.

This article was written by Jesse Grant, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com

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The Zev, the infamous planned 13-story residential tower at SW Fourth Street and Washington Avenue, just got its SDC fee bill, and it comes out to just shy of $5 million bucks.

The development will include 262 apartments, ground-floor commercial space, and amenities ranging from a rooftop pool to a basketball court and theater.

The project recently secured $94.8 million in construction financing. Now, the newly issued building permit documents reveal another figure associated with the development. $4,988,788.71 in System Development Charges assessed by the City.

(Photo: The Zev Rendering from ARRIS Studio Architects)

SDCs have become a contentious subject. If you have been following the controversy over transportation fees assessed against food trucks and food-cart pods, with some operators facing charges of approximately $15,000 per truck.

This newly released fee shows an interesting comparison to what larger developments, like the Zev, must pay.

According to the SDC calculation accompanying building permit BLD26-00171, issued in early October, the largest assessment is $2,204,148 for sewer infrastructure, followed by $1,885,727.26 for parks. Water system charges total $607,860.50, while transportation charges account for another $291,052.95.

Together, sewer and parks fees account for approximately 82% of the project’s total SDC assessment.

(Photo: System Develpment Fee Charge breakdown for The Zev)

System Development Charges are one-time fees charged by the city that are intended to help fund the public infrastructure required to serve a new development.

Different types of infrastructure use different calculations. How these calculations are made for small businesses has been the main concern for Common Fields and other food truck operators in town.

We’ll go out on a limb and say there probably won’t be a public outcry for The Zev’s SDC fee calculations.

The City’s calculation also offers a financial incentive for paying up front. Under the lien option, the full assessment is $4,988,788.71. The cash payment option provides a 3% discount and a savings of $149,663.66.

$5 million weighs about 551 lbs. in $20 bills. Getting through the picket lines outside City Hall with that kind of cash might not be worth the savings, though.

Spread across the development’s planned 262 apartments, the full assessment works out to $19,041 per apartment. It’s not a perfect comparison as that does not account for the building’s commercial space. But you get the idea.

A $5 million assessment illustrates the scale of infrastructure charges associated with major development. This particular charge for the Zev also provides an interesting comparison with the ongoing food-truck SDC controversy.

The purpose of SDCs is to have new developments contribute toward the infrastructure needed to support growth, rather than placing those costs on existing residents and utility customers.

How those charges are calculated, how they affect small businesses, and how they affect projects of dramatically different sizes will remain part of a larger conversation.

The City publishes its current rates, calculation methodologies, and other information on its System Development Charges webpage.

This article was written by Jackson Hayes, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com

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Calvary Corvallis can host a “Financial Freedom” class, but when it comes to voting, they have no problem hosting speaker Douglas Frank, who has other ideas on freedoms when it comes to voting.

Douglas Frank is a touring, and “paid to tour” activist who opposes most mail voting and whose claims of manipulated election results have repeatedly failed independent scrutiny.

(Photo: Douglas Frank/YouTube)

Frank has repeatedly criticized mail voting and said in a March 2026 interview with The JoCo Republican: “If everybody was honest, sure, we could do a mail-in election, that’d be fine. But the problem is not everybody’s honest, and people want to cheat.”

The October 20th event brings his message to Calvary Corvallis, a church with an established presence here in town. And it’s not just a church… they also have a college ministry meeting at Oregon State University.

Timing adds up, even if Douglas Frank thinks the votes don’t. Calvary is hosting the speaker right around election season. It also arrives during an election in a state where voters overwhelmingly approved vote by mail.

The promotional flyer advertises “Mid-Willamette Valley Biblical Citizenship: Putting Faith into Action,” while the event on Calvary’s website is listed as “Elections 101: What Is Our Role as Citizens?” featuring Frank from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Calvary’s Prayer Chapel here in Corvallis.

Admission is free, thank God, though divine transportation apparently isn’t. Donations are encouraged to support his travel. And that’s fair, traveling is expensive now… and it’s not like he got mailed here.

The church promises Frank will help attendees “regain the knowledge and confidence needed to be informed.” This is actually a good event title… being informed is important. And we all know understanding our local elections requires importing a resident of Morrow, Ohio, you know, in order to help us with that information.

The Los Angeles Times reported Frank opposes most mail voting and advocates hand counting.

Reed College researcher Paul Gronke was quoted as saying, “what he’s saying are not facts.”

Independent analysis from Election Insights found that the statistical patterns Frank cites do not show any election manipulation. Its researchers showed how his methods turn predictable relationships between voter registration and turnout into completely unfounded fraud allegations.

Oregon voters approved expanding mail voting to primary and general elections in November 1998 by 757,204 votes to 334,021. The state conducted its first presidential general election entirely by mail in November 2000, according to the Secretary of State’s historical timeline.

Frank’s timely speaker appearance deserves more scrutiny than the reassuring title “Election Integrity 101” provides.

His central election theory alleges that turnout patterns reveal manipulation through a mathematical “key.” In a 2021 examination of his Michigan claims, PolitiFact compared his figures with official records and found major discrepancies in the data underlying his argument.

“Frank offers no evidence for his claim other than a statistical correlation to this key, whose derivation he doesn’t explain.” PolitiFact rated the allegation “Pants on Fire.” They also stated, “The figures he cites as the basis of his analysis are different from those in official records.”

Calvary’s decision to host and promote Frank sits within an existing ministry connecting religion and civic participation. A blend of church and state.

The church’s influence extends to college students through Real Life, its campus ministry. Real Life advertises weekly Tuesday gatherings in Reser Stadium’s Toyota Club. In Toyota’s defense, they just sponsor the venue… the real steering comes from Corvallis Cavalry.

It could be fair to say that hosting Frank does not by itself prove that Calvary has formally adopted his opposition to mail voting. The church’s public promotion does, however, give him a local platform without explaining the not only substantial, but widely accepted challenges to his claims.

A presentation can carry the language of election integrity while promoting distrust of the very system we voted to adopt.

If you want to be informed, go to a candidate’s forum, or maybe The Oregon Secretary of State’s Election Integrity page, which explains ballot security, signature verification, counting machines, and the hand-count audits used to verify voter results.

Or maybe read the ballot, read the news, contact a candidate, or even attend local government meetings.

But for the love of god, please don’t go to a church.

The Los Angeles Times article can be read here.

This article was written by Brian Lindensmith, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com

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Nick wasn’t looking to recover a piece of Pacific Northwest golf history while shopping at Corvallis Community Thrift downtown. All he did was spot some vintage golf clubs and had the thought that his dad might like them.

The decision set off a search reaching back more than a century, connecting the thrift store purchase with the granddaughter of a man who helped establish professional golf in the Northwest.

When Nick’s father, James, received the clubs, they caught his attention almost immediately. The clubs had a name on them, Fred Henwood, and some research showed they belonged to an early Seattle golf professional and a founding officer of the Pacific Northwest PGA.

(Photo: Fred Henwood’s Clubs found at Corvallis Community Thrift)

James wanted to locate Henwood’s family. “There was one thing we wanted to do before anything else. Find his family and make sure these clubs had the opportunity to return home,” he said.

James began reaching out to people in the local golf community. With help from several golf professionals, including Garth Mattson, the search reached Jared Clark, who identified himself as Henwood’s great-grandson.

According to James’s written account, Jared spoke with his mother, Ellen Mary Henwood Clark, and reported back that she was in tears when she heard about the discovery.

(Photo: Fred Henwood’s Clubs found at Corvallis Community Thrift)

James connected with Ellen by phone. “My grandfather made his own clubs,” Ellen said. “He was the sweetest Papa and loved teasing me by calling me Mary Ellen.”

Her memories had little to do with his historic presence in the golfing community. She remembered holding his hand while beachcombing at Seahurst Park along Puget Sound, then returning to his house for grilled cheese sandwiches.

The Pacific Northwest PGA’s historical account identifies Fred Henwood as the secretary-treasurer elected when the association formed in March of 1922. Henwood later served as section president in 1930 and again in 1934.

(Photo: Fred Henwood, circled, at the PGA’s 1934 annual meeting in Chicago. Burke and Koretke, published in Golfdom, January 1935, courtesy of Michigan State University Libraries’ Turfgrass Information Center.)

His granddaughter’s account traces his golf career to a boyhood spent caddying in England. In 1912, he took his savings to a steamship office with Australia as his goal. The money he saved would only take him as far as Vancouver, British Columbia, so that became his destination.

James said their conversation also included a family story about Henwood nearly boarding the Titanic.

James last said the clubs were being prepared for shipment to Santa Barbara, California, where they would be reunited with Henwood’s family.

Sometimes, a willingness to follow a few clues is all it takes to turn an ordinary thing into a story worth telling.

Corvallis Community Thrift Shop gives donated items a second chance, all while supporting local scholarships and nonprofits.

This article was written by Brian Lindensmith, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com

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“No Kings: Vote Early” takes place on Saturday, October 17th, 12 to 3 pm at the Benton County Courthouse, 120 NW 4th St., three days after the county’s scheduled mailing of local ballots.

Organizers say the event is nonpartisan and its main goal is to encourage people to drop off their ballots. All are welcome, and political party affiliation does not matter.

Attendees are encouraged to complete their ballots and return their signed ballot envelopes at the courthouse’s official drop box located in the front of the building.

Who knows, with the new courthouse under construction, this might be one last historic vote for that ballot drop box location.

(Photo: Benton County Courthouse/The Corvallis Inquirer)

Activities planned include a “Boogie for Ballots” dance party, sidewalk chalk art, an “I Voted Early!” photo booth, rock painting, bracelet making, and a food drive.

“We plan to mobilize an unprecedented level of voter participation in the upcoming Midterm Elections,” event organizer George Stevens said in the announcement.

“Our democracy is strongest when everyone who is eligible to vote knows their options for voting, makes a plan, and then follows through on that plan and votes.”

His message aligns with Benton County election officials’ recommendation to return ballots early and use secure drop boxes whenever possible. For those voting by mail, the county recommends mailing ballots by October 24th, three days earlier than the state’s recommended October 27th mailing date. Better safe than sorry.

Official drop boxes close at 8 pm on November 3rd. Mailed ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and received within seven days after mailing.

Organizers say the event follows No Kings’ commitment to nonviolence, with de-escalation training and a designated safety lead.

Voters can track their ballots through My Vote, linked from the Benton County Elections website, or contact the Elections Office at 541-766-6756 with ballot questions.

This article was written by Jesse Grant, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com

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Corvallis city workers represented by AFSCME Local 2975 are now on strike, after a final mediation session ended without a contract agreement.

Workers are now picketing outside City Hall.

(Photo: AFSCME Local 2975 Picket Line/The Corvallis Inquirer)

The union represents 246 city employees. Workers serve in departments including Public Works, the library, Parks and Recreation, and Community Development, along with some civilian positions supporting police and fire operations.

In the union’s account of Tuesday’s mediation, an offer was submitted that they believed matched what management had identified as affordable.

“We made an offer equal to what management itself said it could afford. Management rejected it and broke off talks. We are ready to return to the table at any time,” the union stated.

The City posted a strike contingency operations page found here.

Police, fire, ambulance, and 911 response will remain unaffected, and buses are expected to operate normally.

Public Works administrative offices and Community Development counters will close to the public, with development staff available by appointment. Residents should expect slower responses to some requests, less frequent street sweeping, and possible reductions in park and restroom maintenance.

Recreation programs, Municipal Court, and scheduled City Council meetings will continue, along with online payments and permit services.

(Photo: AFSCME Local 2975 Picket Line/The Corvallis Inquirer)

The city’s published September offer included cost-of-living increases totaling 12% over three years and an increase in employees’ share of medical and dental insurance premiums from 7% to 10% in the final year. The city valued the final proposal around $7.8 million.

This article was written by Jesse Grant, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com

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City workers and management are scheduled for their final mediation session on Tuesday, October 13th, just one day before AFSCME Local 2975 intends to begin a strike unless a contract agreement is reached.

The latest round of negotiations ended on October 8th, without a settlement. In the Union’s bargaining update, they claim city management arrived without a proposal, prompting its bargaining team to submit a mediation package that morning.

The union characterized management’s response to that package as offering less than its September 10th proposal. That account has not been independently confirmed with the city, and both sides have been viewing the numbers in their own subjective ways.

(Photo: AFSCME Local 2975)

The unresolved issues include wages, additional pay steps, hazard pay, and health insurance costs. The previous contract expired June 30th, and negotiations have been underway since January.

The union is requesting back pay to July 1st as part of their negotiations. July 1st was when their old contract expired. They have even added a live counter to their website showing how much back pay they are owed based on their raise request.

Support has been visible downtown. We noticed more than a few stores with “Proud to Support City of Corvallis Workers” signs in their windows this weekend. Local 2975 says that more than 20 downtown businesses had displayed those posters.

Labor disputes often come down to last-minute resolutions. SEIU Local 503, which represents classified staff at Oregon State University, announced a tentative agreement just hours before those workers were scheduled to strike.

There is no assurance that the city’s negotiations will follow the same course.

For now, the strike remains scheduled. Tuesday’s mediation is the last announced opportunity to reach an agreement before workers head to the picket line.

This article was written by Jesse Grant, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com

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A city’s main values are pretty easy to articulate. Most of the time. Political candidates articulate them in their campaign platforms all the time. Those values become much more difficult to reconcile when changes are proposed to the neighborhood.

Some of our neighborhoods have a lot of tension building up from all of the proposed changes on the way.

(Photo: “14-story Corvallis” 4th and Washington/The Corvallis Inquirer)

Those tensions will come to the big screen at Whiteside Theatre on Monday, November 16th, when Corvallis Housing First hosts a screening of Fault Lines, a documentary that examines the political, bureaucratic, and profoundly human dimensions of the housing crisis.

The screening will be followed by a bonus discussion with Corvallis Housing First Executive Director Andrea Myhre and a guest speaker about the film’s local and statewide implications.

Fault Lines, directed by Nate Houghteling and Yoav Attias, approaches San Francisco’s housing predicament through three intersecting narratives: a single father seeking stable housing, an activist pursuing legislative change, and a neighborhood group resisting a proposed development.

While the film focuses on these issues in a different city, all three narratives can be easily applied to our own. I know we’ve had direct discussions with activists and neighborhood groups resisting a project.

This film seems to bring a technical subject into intimate focus. Planning procedures, zoning restrictions, and ballot measures become consequential forces in people’s lives. Together, these stories examine how the aspiration to provide housing encounters the institutional machinery governing its construction.

This is one of the reasons we choose to constantly report on planning commission decisions and those RMU zoning change submissions. It’s the machinery behind the government mechanisms to build more affordable housing. If it ends up being affordable, that is…

The published reception of Fault Lines includes an endorsement from New Yorker staff writer Nathan Heller, who described it as “lucid, useful, fair-minded, engrossing, and above all humane.”

In the San Francisco Chronicle, G. Allen Johnson’s reporting explored the filmmakers’ effort to make a seemingly intractable crisis comprehensible. Comprehensible by way of understanding the mechanisms of scarcity, and how that may help audiences recognize where intervention is possible.

Using Census estimates, the city reports that 22% of Corvallis families could not afford the rent for a two-bedroom, and about a third could not afford a three-bedroom apartment.

Affordability helps determine who can remain here, establish a household, and participate in the city’s future. It can also dictate the number of people who work here but do not live here.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because AFSCME bargaining-team member Bailey Adams raised the same issue at the October 5th City Council meeting, saying only about a third of the city union’s workers live in the city they serve.

Fine, Corvallis and San Francisco differ in scale. But the screening is being held here because it invites a shared question. How does a community reconcile its attachment to familiar surroundings with the needs of people seeking a place within them?

Traffic, infrastructure, displacement, and affordability require examination. So does the cumulative consequence of delay.

The deeper dilemma in all this is one of civic belonging. Existing residents can defend a neighborhood they know. People priced out of that neighborhood… have a less tangible presence in the deliberation.

The discussion following the Fault Lines screening might offer us an opportunity to consider that asymmetry.

Registration and event details are available through Corvallis Housing First’s screening listing.

This article was written by Derek S., a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com

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