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Nataki Garrett to Step Down at Oregon Shakespeare Festival

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Nataki Garrett to Step Down at Oregon Shakespeare Festival


Nataki Garrett, the inventive director of the Oregon Shakespeare Pageant, is stepping down after a tumultuous interval that concluded with a monetary disaster so extreme that the nonprofit theater warned that it was unclear whether or not it might have the ability to end this 12 months’s season.

Probably the most distinguished girls of coloration to guide an American theater, Garrett started her tenure in August 2019. She plans to resign efficient Could 31; the choice was reported on Friday by American Theater journal, after which introduced by the theater.

Garrett has encountered a collection of crises throughout her time on the helm of the group, which has been one of many nation’s largest and most prestigious nonprofit theaters. Based mostly within the southern Oregon city of Ashland, it’s a vacation spot theater, which means most of its viewers travels to get there, and it phases a lot of its work in the course of the summer season; earlier than the pandemic, it had been attracting 400,000 patrons yearly.

Garrett confronted not solely the coronavirus pandemic, which compelled the theater, like most others, to shutter in 2020, but in addition the impression of local weather change, which has significantly affected the Oregon Shakespeare Pageant as a result of it has repeatedly been compelled to cancel performances when smoke from wildfires has worsened air high quality.

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She has additionally obtained pushback to her programming, which some longtime theater patrons objected to as overly left-leaning, and he or she employed safety personnel after receiving loss of life threats.

The group has skilled appreciable turnover throughout her tenure — a few of the leaders she introduced in to assist run the pageant have since left — and in January she took on the title of interim govt inventive director after David Schmitz, who Garrett had employed as govt director, departed amid a management shake-up. Final month the corporate started a $2.5 million fund-raising marketing campaign with the dire tagline: “Save Our Season. Save OSF.”

Garrett declined, by means of a spokeswoman, to be interviewed, however issued a press release saying, partly: “We’re at an inflection level in our business, the place outdated enterprise fashions should evolve to ensure that our theaters to outlive. However these challenges additionally pose nice alternatives — to rebuild in a method that displays the place we’re right now and the place we wish to be sooner or later — with actors, employees, audiences, and inventive leaders who mirror the richness of our nation’s range. That is what excites me. That is the work I got here to do.”

The corporate mentioned in a press release {that a} board member, the playwright Octavio Solis, “can be stepping in to assist oversee and assist the inventive management group throughout this transitional part.”

The theater at present has two reveals working, a manufacturing of “Romeo & Juliet,” directed by Garrett, which is described on the corporate’s web site as exploring “the monetary and sophistication divisions of our present time,” in addition to a manufacturing of “Lease.”

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The theater’s board chairwoman, Diane Yu, mentioned in an interview that the fund-raising marketing campaign goes effectively and that she is optimistic that this season’s different reveals, together with productions of “Twelfth Night time” and “The Three Musketeers,” will go ahead; the theater has canceled its vacation present, and Yu mentioned what occurs subsequent 12 months stays unclear, however that “the board is concentrated on retaining this theater viable — it’s essential for the area and it’s essential for the American theater.”



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Oregon

Powerball ticket worth $328.5 million sold in Oregon

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Powerball ticket worth 8.5 million sold in Oregon


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The first Powerball jackpot of 2025 was sold in Oregon and is worth $328.5 million, according to lottery officials.

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The winner purchased the winning ticket in Beaverton on Thursday, Jan. 17, the Oregon Lottery said. The retail location will not be revealed until a winner has come forward.

The winning numbers for the Saturday drawing were: 14, 31, 35, 64 and 69 and Powerball 23.

The winner has a year to claim their prize, Oregon Lottery spokesperson Melanie Mesaros said. After the winning ticket is presented, “it will take time before a winner can be identified due to security and payment processes.”

Oregon lottery winners, with few exceptions, cannot remain anonymous, Mesaros said.

The winner will have a choice between an annuitized prize of $328.5 million or a lump-sum payment of $146.4 million, according to lottery officials, which are both options before taxes.

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Last year, the largest Powerball prize won in Oregon — a $1.3 billion jackpot — was split between a Portland man, his wife, and friend.

Before Saturday, the most recent Powerball jackpot was sold in December in New York and was worth $256 million.

Powerball is a multi-state jackpot operated by 44 states, plus the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Fernando Cervantes Jr., a news reporter for USA TODAY, contributed to this story.

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Cherrill Crosby is the executive editor of the Statesman Journal and The Register-Guard. Reach her at crosbyc@gannett.com



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Oregon’s Dan Lanning visits 5-star recruit Cantwell, top TE Premer during Midwest run

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Oregon’s Dan Lanning visits 5-star recruit Cantwell, top TE Premer during Midwest run


Oregon head football coach Dan Lanning has been a busy man.

But when you’re the man tasked with running one of the top college football programs in the country, burning jet fuel to shake hands and take photos is a big part of the gig. And Lanning was doing plenty of that last week.

A native of Kansas City, Mo., Lanning returned home last week on a two-day tear recruiting some of the top 2026 prospects in the country.

Lanning’s known stops included Lee’s Summit on Jan. 16, where the Tigers have 2027 interior line prospect Zach Harsha (6-5, 260) and 2028 tight end Max Trillo (6-4, 225).

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He was even busier the following day. He had stops at Raymore-Peculiar, where he visited with and offered four-star uncommitted running back DeZephen Walker (6-0, 205) who is believed to be heavily considering Kansas and Nebraska.

Raymore-Peculiar running back DeZephen Walker

Raymore-Peculiar running back DeZephen Walker. / Photo by David Smith, SBLive

He also headed to Illinois, where he swung by Lincoln-Way East to visit with quarterback Jonas Williams, who agreed with the Ducks on Aug. 3, 2024,

A trip to the Springfield, Mo. area was also on the docket, as Lanning traveled to Nixa High School to again meet with the country’s No. 1 2026 offensive lineman, Jackson Cantwell, on Jan. 16. The 6-8, 315 offensive tackle has offers from just about everyone in the country, though he has spoken highly of Lanning and his relationship with the Ducks coach – making Oregon one of the favorites for his services.

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Cantwell was honored by the Kansas City Chiefs on Jan. 18 during their AFC Divisional playoff game against the Houston Texans after he was selected to represent the Chiefs at the ‘Nike Ones’ showcase during Super Bowl weekend in New Orleans.

Lanning concluded his trip with a little basketball in Hutchinson, Kan., where he watched Great Bend tight end Ian Premer (6-6, 215) – the top tight end in the 2026 class – take on Hutchinson. Premer, a three-sport star in football, basketball and baseball, impressed with 22 points in the game.

The Midwest swing adds to a busy month for Lanning, who also has been spotted with Utah No. 1 athlete Salasi Moa and recently secured a visit with top 2026 quarterback and Nashville native Jared Curtis.

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People with disabilities are extra vulnerable in major disasters like wildfires, says Oregon advocate

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People with disabilities are extra vulnerable in major disasters like wildfires, says Oregon advocate


FILE – Scorched wheelchairs rest outside Cypress Meadows Post-Acute, a nursing home leveled by the Camp Fire on Dec. 4, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. The staff was able to safely evacuate all 91 patients.

Noah Berger / AP

Jake Cornett, Executive Director and CEO of the advocacy group Disability Rights Oregon, says he will forever be haunted by Ashlyn Maddox’s death during the 2021 Oregon heat wave.

The Portland woman, 36, was disabled and living in a group foster home. She was dropped off by a medical transport company, but the company didn’t make sure she made it safely into her air-conditioned home. She ended up wandering around for hours in the heat, and died only 50 feet from safety.

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Cornett says, “These deaths are preventable with the right planning, the right strategy for mitigation, the right preparedness and a response plan that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and respects the needs of people with disabilities.”

Jake Cornett, executive director and CEO of Disability Rights Oregon.

Jake Cornett, executive director and CEO of Disability Rights Oregon.

Courtesy of Ramsey Cox

Cornett spoke with “All Things Considered” host Geoff Norcross about Oregon’s ability to help people with disabilities during a natural disaster, such as the deadly wildfires burning in the Los Angeles area.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.


Geoff Norcross: If we were to transport those fires in Southern California here, would we see a similar catastrophe for people with disabilities?

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Jake Cornett: Surely, we fear that the same disasters we’ve seen play out in the catastrophes in the lives of people with disabilities in LA would play out right here in Oregon as well. And I don’t think this is just a theoretical question. It’s only a matter of time before we have major wildfires along Highway 20, very close by in Portland and in other major cities throughout our state.

Norcross: What is the obligation of local governments to provide for people with disabilities when disaster strikes? I guess I’m asking if the Americans with Disabilities Act applies here.

Cornett: Absolutely. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that cities, counties, the state and the federal government are taking into account what the needs are of people with disabilities, and providing accommodations for those needs when engaging in disaster planning.

Norcross: Getting information out to people quickly in a disaster is so critical, especially for something that’s as fast-moving as the LA wildfires. For people who are deaf or blind, can you talk about how that’s extra complicated?

Cornett: Absolutely. You know, emergency response notification systems that happen on your phone are a great tool if you have a phone, or if you have the technology to make your phone provide you the information you need. And that’s particularly important for folks who are blind.

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I think about a blind person who may not have the same visual access to information as others. If police run around your neighborhood and put a notice on your door that says “get out of town, there’s an evacuation order, you’re under wildfire threat,” that notice on your door might not be enough because you can’t access that information.

And this is where cities, counties and the state really have an obligation to adjust to how they communicate so that it’s effective for all people with disabilities.

Norcross: And again, when you say obligation, you mean a legal obligation, not just because it’s the right thing to do.

Cornett: Absolutely. There’s a legal obligation to do that under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Norcross: Even if an evacuation order gets to affected people quickly, there’s this expectation that most people will get in their car and they will leave. How does that expectation leave people with disabilities in even greater danger?

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Cornett: Yeah, that’s another huge issue for people with disabilities, especially when it happens quickly like the LA fires. People think evacuating is getting in the car, driving quickly away to safety.

But many people with disabilities don’t have access to a car, or they can’t physically drive a vehicle. They’re totally reliant on others to transport them to safety. So just providing that notice is not an adequate way to ensure that we are saving the lives of people with disabilities in the way it needs to be done.

Norcross: Is there an event here in Oregon that you can point to that shows us how situated we are to help people with disabilities when disaster strikes, good or bad?

Cornett: Here in Oregon, we’ve seen hundreds die or have serious injuries because of heat in the past few years. Climate change is real. We live in a warming environment, and it’s having a really disproportionate impact on seniors, on people with disabilities and people with underlying medical conditions.

And I’ll forever be haunted by a story of a 30-something year old woman who was dropped off by a medical transport company, but didn’t wait in their air-conditioned van to make sure that she got inside her home where there was air conditioning. Instead, they took off. She wandered around for hours before dying of heat, just 50 feet from her adult foster home.

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These deaths are preventable with the right planning, the right strategy for mitigation, the right preparedness, and a response plan that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and respects the needs of people with disabilities.



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