A new free breakfast and lunch program at Ashland schools got off to a slow start but is now offering meals to more than half the K-12 students. Ashland qualifies to offer the free meal program because it has a childhood poverty rate that exceeds 50%, based on federal guidelines.
It’s the end of a pizza era as The Grotto Pizzeria in Talent served its last slice of pizza Saturday, Sept. 7. After more than 20 years of slinging pizza pie dough, the pizza restaurant at 302 E. Main St. said goodbye. The new owners taking over the spot will be Morrton’s Sports Pizza Bar in Medford, which will call the location Morttons Too.
Mason’s on Main, recently opened at 345 E. Main St., offers an eclectic mix of dishes at budget-friendly prices in hopes of providing Ashlanders a gathering place in touristy downtown. Owner Mason Goche said patronage is steadily increasing since their opening in March.
For its August meeting, Southern Oregon Climate Action Now, a local nonprofit concerned about the climate crisis, swapped out its typical meeting space at the Medford Public Library for The Farm at Southern Oregon University Tuesday evening.
The Ashland Food Co-op recently made a big change to its back line in the kitchen, where food prep for the deli happens. It removed the last of its gas range appliances, installing three new induction ranges. The highly efficient electric appliances heat pots and pans directly using magnets. In making this switch, the co-op is moving one step closer to its goal of “carbon neutrality” (net-zero carbon emissions) by 2030.
The end of summer is approaching, and so is the deadline to apply for summer EBT benefits. The program offers $120 per child to help cover grocery costs, over and above Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamp) benefits. The application deadline is Sept. 2.
The Black Sheep Pub & Restaurant on Ashland Plaza will close its bright, red doors on Aug. 18, the same day it holds the last of its popular Celtic jam sessions. The business, which is up for sale for $120,000, has served customers in downtown Ashland since 1991.
The new eatery at the corner of Main Street and Water Street, across from Ashland Plaza, has reclaimed wood countertops, hanging pots of herbs at each corner, a few small Meyer lemon trees, specially made charcuterie boards and the beginnings of vines reaching to climb up the posts. Co-owners Sierra Campbell and Dax Willard are aiming to turn their recently-opened Le Petit Café & Crěperie into an oasis filled with greenery and quality food that will become a hub for the Ashland community.
There’s one kind of dining-out experience where slow service is never an issue: dinner theater. In a unique culinary and entertainment fusion, dinner theater kitchens set themselves apart from classic restaurants by seamlessly blending dining with live performance. And, after nearly 40 years in business, Oregon Cabaret Theatre has it down to a T.
The newly named Rogue Theater Company theater, The Richard L. Hay Center, “stands as a testament to Richard’s enduring legacy ….” After designing hundreds of sets for local and nonlocal theaters and festivals alike, “Dick” is honored with a dedicated theater in his name.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc lobortis enim non odio vulputate, sit amet dapibus ligula dictum. Proin consectetur fringilla dapibus. Pellentesque et dolor iaculis, ullamcorper turpis faucibus,
Ask Strider: A worried older brother asks our advice columnist’s advice. And a dog’s guardian wants to know if there is any hope getting their hat-hating dog to calm down. As always, Strider tries to give words that help!
After a successful production of “The Vagina Monologues” and raising more than $2,000 for Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon, Ashland actor and director Lia Dugal intends for “The Climate Monologues” to premiere in Oregon in late 2025 or early 2026 at the Bellview Grange in Ashland.
It’s complicated.
Herbert Rothschild: Whether visualization and intention by themselves can effect broad social change is impossible to determine, but the question merits sustained consideration.
(It’s free)
