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Oregon parks ponder what drug laws mean for mushroom foragers

Neither of Oregon’s new drug measures have taken effect yet

by: Hannah Ray Lambert

Posted: Nov 24, 2020 / 02:35 PM PST / Updated: Nov 24, 2020 / 04:54 PM PST

CLACKAMAS COUNTY, Ore. (KOIN) — Fall is a popular time for mushroom foraging in Oregon’s forests, but now officials are trying to figure out what two recently-passed drug measures mean for state parks where visitors might find psychedelic mushrooms.

Voters approved Measure 109 earlier this month, which legalizes the use of psilocybin — a psychoactive compound found in so-called “magic” mushrooms — in therapeutic settings. Measure 110 also passed, and reduces the punishment for personal possession of any drug to a $100 fine, which can be waived if the subject completes a health evaluation. It takes effect Feb. 1, 2020.

“We are concerned that people will misunderstand what’s happened with the ballot measures and think it’s open season on

Recreation

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November 25, 2020

Parks and Recreation Department outlines operational changes

Douglas Clark

| Amarillo Globe-News

Amarillo Parks and Recreation Department officials have outlined a series of operational revisions in the wake of the city’s increase in positive COVID-19 cases and the rising hospitalization rate.

“We’ve made some changes to our operations,” said Michael Kashuba, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department director. “The city is not reducing services, but basically the delivery would be a little bit different, so if someone needs to come to City Hall, we would be delivering things down to them or bringing them up on an individual basis.”

With regard to parks, Kashuba offered the following:

“All of our parks do remain open,” he said. “At this point, we are discontinuing activities that would cause congregation of groups of more than 10. So we have discontinued reservations of park rentals and also athletic competitions. The reason, again, is to reduce those gatherings of greater than 10.”

Recreation

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November 19, 2020

Las Cruces city parks closed, temperature checks at city hall

From Staff Reports, Las Cruces Sun-News
Published 11:59 a.m. MT Nov. 15, 2020

The city of Las Cruces announced that beginning Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, all city parks will be closed, including the skate park, shooting range, tennis and pickleball courts, and dog park (Photo: Courtesy: Las Cruces Police Department)

LAS CRUCES – The city will be making some changes in services in response to the state’s revised public health order that goes into effect Monday, Nov. 16.

Beginning Monday, employees and visitors entering Las Cruces City Hall will encounter temperature checks and screening questions they must answer. Employees will be required to enter through the main lobby from the back door. Visitors must enter through the front door only. If a person has a temperature of more than 100 degrees, they will not be allowed in the building.

All city parks will be closed, including the skate park,

Recreation

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November 15, 2020

Zoo, parks and library announce restrictions following gathering limits – News – The Topeka Capital-Journal

Following limitations on the number of people who can gather at events, the Shawnee County Parks and Recreation Department and Topeka Zoo announced restrictions of their own.

Gianfranco Pezzino, Shawnee County health officer, announced in a Nov. 12 press conference the large event limit dropped from 500 people to 100 people with mass gatherings capped at 10 people. Pezzino said private events and weddings are limited by these restrictions as well.

“Those private parties sometimes act as superspreaders,” Pezzino said at the press conference.

The zoo will require masks when on zoo grounds, even when outside, unless you are eating or drinking, according to a Friday press release. It also requires pre-ordering tickets to attend the Zoo Lights event, and recommends zoo patrons pre-order tickets online for daily admission. Those mandates go in effect Saturday.

“Over the last six months we have seen how important it is to our community

Recreation

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November 14, 2020

Zoo, parks announce restrictions following gathering limits – News – The Topeka Capital-Journal

Following limitations on the number of people who can gather at events, the Shawnee County Parks and Recreation Department and Topeka Zoo announced restrictions of their own.

“Those private parties sometimes act as superspreaders,” Pezzino said at the press conference.

“Over the last six months we have seen how important it is to our community

Recreation

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November 13, 2020

Course set for Fayetteville’s parks, trails next year

FAYETTEVILLE — The city’s parks won’t have as much money to work with next year because of the covid-19 pandemic, prompting a focus on nature-oriented outdoor events.

However, trail use and construction is going strong.

The proposed Parks Department budget is $5.5 million, about $700,000 less than the $6.2 million budgeted this year.

The budget for trails is separate from parks, and the trails coordinator works in the Engineering Division.

A large part of the revenue for parks comes from half the city’s 2% hotel, motel and restaurant sales tax. The other half goes to tourism.

That sales tax revenue for parks has dropped about $529,000 so far this year, according to the department. From January to September, the Parks Department garnered about $2.2 million. It received about $2.7 million for the time period last year.

Other revenue loss this year can be attributed to a lack of participants in

Hotel

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November 8, 2020

Residents to be surveyed about parks | Manchester

MANCHESTER — A number of residents can expect to receive a survey in the mail next week as the town continues to ask for feedback about what the community wants out of its parks and facilities.

A community interest and opinion survey will be mailed out to random households the second week of November, town officials said. Adult residents will be asked to rank and prioritize items relating to Manchester’s parks, recreational programming, facilities, and areas of potential investment.

Town officials announced that the master plan was moving forward last month, and they’ve already started receiving feedback from the community that they hope will help establish priorities for the future development in the town’s parks system and associated programs.

The weekend before Halloween, parks staff hosted a “Trick or Treat for Parks” event across town where kids and their parents could participate in activities and make recommendations about what they’d

Recreation

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November 6, 2020

Encampments, conditions at Seattle parks draw scrutiny as coronavirus pandemic drags on

Calling the situation in many of Seattle’s large parks “a spiraling public-health and public-safety crisis,” more than a dozen business and neighborhood groups sent a letter Monday to the mayor and City Council lobbying them to act.

Scores of tents have cropped up at parks across Seattle, the letter said, also arguing there has been an uptick in trash, drug use, violence and maintenance problems in outdoor spaces. The letter asked Durkan and the council to create an interdepartmental team to address the mounting challenges.

“These issues are complex, but that does not absolve the city of responsibility,” the letter said.

There are more people living in parks than before the pandemic, outreach workers and those who are camping there agree. They say more housing is needed to bring people inside, with some saying they’re being demonized for issues outside their control.

The city’s 485 parks have become more important

Recreation

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October 27, 2020

Ontwa Township seeks input on parks plan – Leader Publications

ONTWA TOWNSHIP — Area residents still have time to make their voices heard regarding the future of Ontwa Township parks.

Ontwa Township is currently seeking input on its five-year parks plan. A five-year plan allows the township to assess the parks’ current conditions and plan for the community’s future recreational needs. Additionally, the plan will enable the township to apply for grants and receive funding for various park, recreation and trail projects through the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

As part of the planning process, Ontwa Township is seeking community input through an online survey that can be accessed at ontwatwp.org, edwardsburgchamber.org and edwardsburgpublicschools.org. A hardcopy of the survey can also be accessed at the Ontwa Township Office, 26225 US-12, Edwardsburg.

Once community input is received by the end of this month, the planning commission will host a public hearing to draft its new five-year parks plan, and the plan

Recreation

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October 23, 2020

Lawsuit filed over displacement of homeless from Minneapolis parks

Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid and the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court District of Minnesota on behalf of seven individuals and others like them who were evicted from their homes in city parks over the past few months. The lawsuit names Hennepin County Sheriff Dave Hutchinson, Mayor Jacob Frey, Superintendent of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board Al Bangoura and Park Police Chief Jason Ohotto.

Plaintiffs are asking officials to put an end to evictions and compensate those who’ve been affected by the sweeps.

According to the complaint, one of the plaintiffs, Henrietta Brown, woke up around 4 a.m. one rainy September morning to police officers shaking her tent and shining a bright light in her face. They told her she had 30 minutes to get out.

Brown said she never received an eviction notice and was not prepared to leave. She managed to

Recreation

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October 21, 2020