Solar eclipse Sunday visible from Oregon

Something strange is about to happen to the shadows beneath your feet.

On Sunday, May 20, the Moon will pass in front of the sun, transforming sunbeams across the Pacific side of Earth into fat crescents and thin rings of light.

It's an annular solar eclipse, in which the Moon will cover as much as 94 percent of the sun. Hundreds of millions of people will be able to witness the event. The eclipse zone stretches from southeast Asia across the Pacific Ocean to western parts of North America.

In the United States, the eclipse begins around 5:30 p.m. PDT. For the next two hours, a Moon-shaped portion of the sun will go into hiding. Greatest coverage occurs around 6:30 p.m. PDT. The partial eclipse ends just before 7:30 p.m. >>> Animated Map | Share Your Photos

Because some of the sun is always exposed during the eclipse, ambient daylight won't seem much different than usual.

Breakfast at the Bridges starts May 15

Commuters traveling on the River Path on Tuesday, May 15, will be treated with a FREE breakfast of bagels & coffee, FREE bike bells, FREE bike safety checks provided by Arriving by Bike, and bike resources from the City of Eugene.

Commuters can get all this next to EWEB plaza near the DeFazio Bike Bridge.

Breakfast at the Bridges is designed for path users and commuters to grab a quick bite to eat and a cup of coffee, meet City staff, learn more about transportation in Eugene, and get a bicycle safety check all at the same time. This summer’s first Breakfast at the Bridges coincides with the Business Commute Challenge – a fun and friendly week-long competition where local employers and work-place teams join forces to turn the daily commute into a transportation adventure to think outside the car!

Highlanders rally to earn season sweep of Irish

EUGENE, OR - The North Eugene softball team scored three runs in the sixth inning in coming from behind to beat Sheldon 7-5 in a Midwestern Hybrid League game on Friday.

Ashley L'Italien provided the go-ahead RBI with a single to left in the sixth, scoring Kassie Pruett. The Highlanders added one more run in the seventh inning to come away with the 7-5 victory. It's their 12th win in their last 13 games.

Sheldon took a 5-3 lead in the third inning when Sahalie Doe hit a solo home run to right.

North Eugene had a chance to score in the fourth inning. Pruett singled into right field, but Sheldon's Angela Witty's throw home was in time and on target to keep the score at 5-3.

The Highlanders will host Marist on Monday.

It's not just any old full moon this weekend; it's a 'Supermoon'!!

The biggest and brightest full moon of the year arrives Saturday night as our celestial neighbor passes closer to Earth than usual.

But don't expect any "must-have-been-a-full-moon" spike in crime or crazy behavior. That's just folklore.

Saturday's event is a "supermoon," the closest and therefore the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. At 11:34 p.m., the moon will be about 221,802 miles from Earth. That's about 15,300 miles closer than average.

That proximity will make the moon appear about 14 percent bigger than it would if the moon were at its farthest distance, said Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory. The difference in appearance is so small that "you'd be very hard-pressed to detect that with the unaided eye," he said.

The moon's distance from Earth varies because it follows an elliptical orbit rather than a circular one.

Like any full moon, the supermoon will look bigger when it's on or near the horizon rather than higher in the sky, thanks to an optical illusion, Chester noted. The full moon appears on the horizon at sunset. On the East coast, for example, that will be a bit before 8 p.m. Saturday.

Starr-struck: Beavs take first civil war matchup, 7-1

Taylor Starr scattered five hits and a run over seven innings to pace the Oregon State baseball team to a 7-1 win over No. 10 Oregon in a midweek contest Tuesday night at PK Park.

Oregon State utilized a four-run third inning to jump out to a 6-0 lead and controlling position over the Ducks, who ended the game by hitting three batters and throwing three wild pitches. Michael Conforto was hit by a pitch twice before extending his hit streak to 10 games with a single in the seventh.

Starr’s seven innings marked a career-long in just his third start in a now 31-game career. He threw a personal high 96 pitches and struck out a career-best seven, six of which were looking.

Starr’s lone run came in the third, when up 6-0, he issued a wild pitch, allowing Connor Hofmann to score from third.

Starr picked up the win to improve to 4-1 this season and he dropped his earned run average to 3.66 from 4.32.

Conforto and Joey Matthews led the Beavers with two hits apiece. Conforto singled twice for his 12th multi-hit game of the season while Matthews doubled twice for his third of the year.

Community action groups respond to recent KKK propaganda

SPRINGFIELD/EUGENE, Ore. -- Two local community action programs are rallying response to a recent KKK propaganda distribution. Community Alliance of Lane County (CALC) and Back to Back: Allies for Human Dignity (B2B) have organized a counter-leafleting for Wednesday the 18th.

Sunday a neighborhood received fliers accredited to the Ku Klux Klan. Executive Director of CALC Kori Rodley says the group wants to spread a message that "hate activity and language will not be tolerated".

The groups say they will distribute information encouraging individuals to get involved in "combating hate activity". The groups are holding a press conference at Hamlin Middle School parking lot at 4:30 Wednesday afternoon before distributing information. 

No more DMV at VRC after May 12

EUGENE, Ore. - The DMV Express office at Valley River Center Mall will cease operations May 12, leaving central lane County residents with full-service DMVs in West Eugene, Springfield and Junction City.

Oregon DMV indicated staff would be reassigned to full-service offices.

With the closure of the last two limited-service offices - VRC and Tanasbourne mall in Hillsboro, Ore. - DMV will start saving nearly $250,000 per year in rent, utilities, and building and equipment maintenance, the agency said.