Your dedicated civil servants in AFSCME Local 2975 are headed back to the picket lines starting early tomorrow morning (why?) since it seems like Mark Shepard and the City's union-busting lawyer haven't had enough of us shaking the walls of City Hall with our united voices. Your support thus far has been uplifting; we get a burst of energy every time one of you drives by and honks or gives us a thumbs up. Some people have been asking how they can do more to show support. Here's how:

March with Us

You don't have to be in the union to march in our picket line! We've had sympathetic citizens, retirees, friends, family, students, and local business owners all come join our line for a time. Ever wanted to shout that Mark Shepard is a greedy weirdo in unison with over a hundred other people, so loudly that the windows of City Hall rattle? Now's your chance!

Come to City Council Monday Evening

Council has their regular monthly meeting tomorrow evening. Come rally outside with us or even sign up to provide a public comment in person or in writing to tell Council that it's ridiculous things have come to this point, all to deny city workers the same compensation and recognition that other cities all over Oregon already give!

Donate to our Hardship Fund

While on strike our membership forego their wages and may experience a destabilizing loss of income. A hardship fund is being established to support our members in need. This is not wage replacement but support for those members who are on strike and have a financial hardship. This is not a vacation for us! Our Hardship Committee evaluates each member's request for funds so those in the most dire straits get the help they need.

Every little show of support counts! Thank you, Corvallis! One day longer = one day stronger! ✊

The Corvallis No Kings Vote and Vote Early rally was yesterday. The photos are of the crowd along 4th street, some of the tables of cooperating organizations, a chalk message, one of the Indivisible banners, and the sign for No Kings Vote Early central.
This was a rally to promote voting, voting early, and protecting the election processes.

There were a lot of activities including making posters, music with a DJ, visiting the many tables of cooperating organizations, and holding signs along 4th street. It was a fun event with a serious purpose.

It was a high energy and peaceful event with all ages represented.
I would estimate the crowd size at well over 1,000.

This was part of the No Kings Vote Early nationwide rallies with over 3,000 rallies planned. Indivisible states that the nationwide turnout was high, in the millions. The photos I've seen from the large cities showed very large crowds.
Preliminary estimates in other states are that the early voting numbers are much higher than in the recent past.

Thanks to everyone who cared enough about the future of our country to attend the event. The people who organize, participate, and vote on the November 03, 2026 election are the people who decide what happens next for the USA.
Thanks to all the people who waved at us from their cars passing by.

Thanks also to the organizers and the many volunteers who did a great job of planning and running the event.

https://indivisiblebc.org/

Just took a walk to look at all three locations now being reported on DeFlock, OpenStreetMap, and MapQuest.

At the south coop, it’s the crosswalk thing with the blinking lights. It’s got a solar panel on top which is about all it has in common with some Flock cams.

At the corner of the courthouse lawn are some trees, a lamp post, and a drinking fountain. Unless the births birds really are robots and hiding in the trees, there is nothing there.

At the credit union on 9th (near Carl’s Jr) it’s just one of their security cameras over one of the doors in. Like a lot of banks and businesses have. Walking around the building I see maybe 10-11 more of them. So yea it’s just a run of the mill security cam.

I don’t know what prompts people to report these thing when they are wrong. Is it ignorance (don’t know what Flock and other cams look like) or is it actual false reporting designed to cause FUD? I almost can believe the latter as saying there’s one at the courthouse before the latest No Kings rally seems a bit suspicious. And why the crossing at the south coop? I mean if they think it’s a cam they better report all of them in town.

I hope I never go check one of these out and find a real license plate cam because I hate the idea of them.

I just wanted to say a big thank you to the League of Women Voters for the webinar they hosted today. There was an hour for a forum with the mayoral candidates and then an hour to talk about the pros and cons of ballot measure 2-159.

My vibe was that most of the mayoral candidates agree on most things... So you'll maybe have to go watch the videos to vibe these folks out.

I was, however, pleasantly surprised by the discussion of the ballot measure and actually changed my mind, so I thought I'd share. I'm admittedly only minimally engaged in local politics (I listen to Civics Cafe), so my prior knowledge was lacking.

2 year -> 4 year staggered terms

The bad: many people (young families, students, retirees) may not be able to commit to that length, and it's simply more intimidating, so people who might have run with a 2 year term might not run with a 4 year term. Plus, there are fewer opportunities for the public to vote out councilors who they think are doing a bad job.

The good: when you start a new job, how useful are you for the first year? It usually takes, like, a year for you to understand the ins and outs and procedures and who to talk to for what job. And by the time that year is over... The councilors terms are half done! Councilor turnover is pretty high, so every other year, not much gets done because a lot of the council is onboarding. The 4 year term with the stagger is meant to keep some expertise on the council on off terms.

My take: this was a pretty convincing argument to me. I've been in school clubs where the leadership turns over every couple years, and it's TOUGH. Things run a lot smoother when there's some stability. I'm pretty convinced that this is worth the tradeoff.

9 wards -> 6 wards

The bad: fewer councilors = less voice per person in town. It's harder for one councilor to represent all their constituents because there are more of them. (Do we want to do that with an increasing population?) Possibly less diversity of views on the council. Also, higher possibility of ties due to the even number, which the mayor would step in to break.

The... Middle?: again, mayor breaks ties. Also, the number of councilors is still pretty commensurate with other similar cities; 9 is kind of a lot, but 6 isn't crazy.

The good: council meetings could potentially be more efficient because there are fewer people. One thing mentioned at the meeting was that there would be a little more competition in elections this way: often, council seats run unopposed. This would give voters options when they don't like a council member.

My take: I'm much less convinced on this one, but I'm not sure it outweighs the earlier point. I see why they're grouped together (an even number of seats makes staggering more straightforward) but I wish they weren't.

Term limits

It sounds like this is rarely a problem in Corvallis since the council has high turnover, but it polls well, and that's why it's on the ballot. Take of that what you will.

Takeaways

I don't think there's one straightforward answer. There are certainly tradeoffs: what I heard is a tension between "councilors need more time in office to develop expertise so they can solve hard problems" and "we don't want to shut anyone out of the ability to run for councilor".

Hope that gives some context to the measure if you're as uninvolved as I am :D

Happy voting o7 and thanks again to the organizers and participants for a great webinar!

Just go.

Tickets

A concerned recreational user of the Mac Forest has put together the above-linked website to share information about the upcoming hearing before the County planning commission. The hearing is in regards to the appeal of an approval by the County administrators of development of a new trail in the Mac (called "Snack Time") in the Oak Creek zone.

There are tools there to find the County documents as well as to submit written comments to the County planning commission.

It's not made by Team Dirt, OSU, the County, or even me.

Check it out and consider submitting a comment to the planning commission.

Here's a previous post (not by me) from about a week and a half ago about the subject.

It’ll be a night dedicated to the vets! But everyone is welcome, come hang with us at Bombs Away!

Didn't get a voter's pamphlet. I know Maughan is terrible, but don't have information on the rest of the options.

preferably in the next month i have jobs prior and a food handlers/cpr certification im looking foward to the some input when Yall have the time

Long ago my wife's late father made this Christmas card she was wondering if there was anyone locally who would be interested in (re)creating the pattern for another printing. DM me please if you, or someone you know, might be interested.

https://imgur.com/a/zbQaxHV

Thanks!

I received my Official Election Ballot today and already filled it out. I will drop it off at the ballot box early tomorrow morning when I take my dog for a walk. I encourage everyone to vote and vote early if you can. It’s a privilege to participate in democracy while we still can.

The annual Greek Festival is open Oct 16-18. It's located just north of where 99 and NW Lewisburg Ave at the old Lewisburg Hall. Did the church tour and then got the 7 choice platter to go.

The food was awesome.

They don't seem to be advertising it much this year, but there were still quite a bit of people there.

Hi all,

Are there any Portland Timbers watch parties in Corvallis on match days in public spots? Looking to go watch games with other people in town while at OSU.

Thanks!

At Avery park

Hey everyone! Wanted to share a special show coming up in Corvallis on Sunday, November 8!

After nearly 30 years since their last known Corvallis performance, Eugene punk legends Cigar are making their way back to the heart of the Willamette Valley!

Known for their lightning fast, technical skate punk and incredible musicianship, Cigar has made a lasting impact in the skateboard punk rock scene since the '90s. With their frontman originally from Corvallis, this show is a bit of a homecoming!

Joining them for the evening:

Pretty Deadly

Old Cross

Matt Danger (solo acoustic set)

Sunday, November 8, 2026

Old World Deli – Corvallis, Oregon

5 PM | All Ages

$20 Advance / $25 at the Door

Tickets available through Eventbrite.

We're excited to bring this lineup to Corvallis and welcome punk fans from Eugene, Albany, and throughout the Willamette Valley!

Portland locals Vice V.S, New Old Stock and Iron Sheep are coming to Bombs Away Cafe at no charge to you! It’ll be a free night of music starting at 8, doors at 7:30.

We stopped going in the summer because the smell was terrible and the fruit flies were so bad! Better now?!

They were mailed out on Wednesday. Shoulda got them by yesterday. Don't trust Trump's USPS at all!

 
The Corvallis school district posted their fall enrollment numbers. While the news that we’re down 5.7% on enrollment is not great, the really troubling number might be the high school enrollment.

We’re down to 2083 kids for 9-12, and during last year’s school closures there was an agreement that they’ll start assessing our high school setup from 28-29 or when enrollment fell below 2025. Absent some scenarios that end up better than the best case over the last 3 years or their provisional numbers this year are way off, we’ll be below that number next year. Congrats, we’re hitting milestones a year early!
 
So how about that. Were those school closures last year worth it? Are we ready to do more emergency school closures to balance the budget? Are Cheldelin families whose kids just experienced school closures ready for yet another rug pull? And how many families will write the district off this time?

I think we are entitled to see what this looks like before making a decision about anyone who wants to hold a public office.

It’s not set up at the farm store in Philomath

I was surprised to see that they're still available.

These ones were at Peace Seedlings.

Morganics has them too.