News Briefs

Bus registration for Springfield School District students is now open. In addition to enrolling for school each year, students eligible to ride the bus will need to be registered to ride the bus for each school year. The district provides transportation services for elementary students who live more than 1 mile from their schools and for secondary (middle and high school) students who live more than 1.5 miles from their schools. Many students with special needs qualify for special transportation if they cannot access school without it. Special transportation must be included in the child’s individualized education plan (IEP).

Registered bus riders will receive an electronic student badge that can easily be attached to their backpack and will be scanned as they enter and exit the bus each trip. The Stopfinder App from Transportation Services before accessing your student’s transportation schedule. Please watch for a Stopfinder invitation, which will be sent to your primary email address on file in ParentVue. Stopfinder can be downloaded for free from the Apple Store or Google Play.

Angling impacts

In a recent survey, Oregon generated $8,614,226 in annual fishing license revenue from non-residents. This accounted for 25.7% of the state’s fishing license revenue that year. From the late 1960s through the 1980s, the share of annual state fishing licenses held by non-residents remained steady at 15% or less each year. However, since the 1990s, that figure has increased: after a brief decline due to COVID-19, the proportion of licenses held by non-residents spiked to a record-setting 22.3% in 2022, or nearly 9.4 million total.

This rise in non-resident licenses not only represents steady growth in the fishing tourism industry but is also a boon for wildlife conservation and management. Additionally, travelers from out of state support fishing destinations’ economies by patronizing local businesses: in 2022, recreational fishing, directly and indirectly, supported more than 690,000 jobs and generated nearly $138 billion in local business sales across the country.

Spider Woman

Stumptown Stages will begin its 20th Anniversary Season with “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” This Tony Award-winning best musical - with a brilliant book by Terrence McNally and a dynamic score by the team that brought us the musical “Cabaret” - Kander & Ebb, presents a harrowing tale of persecution juxtaposed against a dazzling spectacle of liberating fantasy.

It was the winner of seven 1993 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score - and five 1993 Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Musical and Outstanding Music. Fun Fact: Kiss of the Spiderwoman is currently in pre-production for a Hollywood film featuring Jennifer Lopez!

All Performances will take place at Portland’s Winningstad Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway. Tickets and Subscriptions are on sale at http://www.stumptownstages.org or 1-800-915-4698 tinyurl.com/22t6u2n7