Spanning the State: Oenophile Edition

Carla Axtman

Spanning the State was on hiatus for the last couple of weeks because..well, so was I. My daughter has been studying abroad in Vienna, Austria. I went over to visit her. This was my first time in Vienna and I truly hope not my last. What a beautiful city. No wonder Mozart wrote so much good stuff while in residence there, one can't help but be inspired.

But now it's back to business. So let's Span the State!

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Calling all oenphiles! If you consider the Huffington Post travel blog a reasonable source, Oregon's own Willamette Valley is the #5 wine destination in the world. While we're especially good if you're a pinot noir lover, it would seem our pinot gris, gewürztraminer and riesling are considered excellent as well.

The student body president at Northwest Christian University in Eugene recently came out of the closet as an atheist. NCU senior Eric Fromm said he chose to attend the Christian university because of its strong communications program. Fromm also said that he no longer wishes to hide his atheism from others and wishes to take his peers to task for their "inability to accept those who don’t fit their Christian pattern".

A bellweather of sorts has appeared in the Molalla River Basin: the reappearance of Oregon chub. The tiny fish are a threatened species in Oregon. In fact ODFW’s Native Fish Investigations Program has unsuccessfully conducted surveys at more than 50 locations in the lower Willamette since 1991 in an attempt to locate this species, so finding it now is a big deal. Non-native fish species, such as largemouth bass and bluegill, devour the tiny fish and are common in the off-channel and slow flowing habitats preferred by the chub. With the resurgence of the species, scientists say that we'll likely see more salmon and trout in those waters.

The drive-in movie theater on 99W in Newberg is getting some spit and polish. The drive-in was one of five selected to receive an $80,000+ digital projector system through Honda’s Project Drive-In. The system will be installed in a new projection booth being built by the theater owner. The project is already slightly delayed: the extended nice weather in Oregon allowed for the theater to stay open later in the season than usual.

Finally (and in the name of shameless self-promotion), I've got something extra fun happening this week. Some of you might know that besides being a political pontificator, I'm also a fine art landscape photographer. I've a show opening tomorrow in Eugene at The Gallery At The Watershed, with an artist reception on Friday starting at 7PM. All of the work is from Oregon. Stop by and say hello.

By Carla Axtman Nov. 11, 2013