City/Region Digest.

Byline: The Register-Guard

LOCAL

LCC phone upgrade changes numbers

Lane Community College has a new phone number.

The college has done away with its old switchboard-based system and adopted one that allows callers to dial directly to a person or department. Direct service recently was required by a new federal law and will improve emergency response time.

LCC's main number is now 463-3000. The 463 prefix has replaced most other prefixes used on the main campus in Eugene, but numbers for LCC learning centers at area high schools haven't.

Lane centers in Florence and Cottage Grove also have retained their previous numbers, but also have new numbers with the new prefix.

For the time being, callers can get a direct-dial number by calling the main number and speaking with an operator. New numbers will be listed in the next edition of the Lane County phone book and on new publications and announcements issued by the college.

The LCC Web site, www.lanecc.edu, also will be updated with the new numbers. That work is under way, but has not been completed.

The previous switchboard number for the college, 747-4501, will remain in operation for one year. Other former numbers will expire in 90 days.

Forum to feature governor candidates

Candidates for the governor's office will appear at a forum Thursday at Lane Community College.

Nine of the 12 gubernatorial hopefuls will appear in the LCC performing arts theater. The event begins with opening statements from each candidate from 1:30 to 2 p.m., and a question period from 2 to 3 p.m.

Three candidates have said they won't be able to attend. They are Republicans Jack Roberts of Eugene and Ron Saxton of Portland and Democrat Ted Kulongoski of Portland.

Those who indicated they will attend are Republicans Kevin Mannix and Juan Carlos Cortes, both of Salem; Jada Mae Langloss and Roger Weidner, both of Portland; and Lee Schindler of Albany; and Democrats Bev Stein and Caleb Burns, both of Portland, Jim Hill of Wilsonville and William Allen of McMinnville.

Questions will cover budget and finance, jobs and training, diversity, child care, health care, financial aid and taxes. The forum is free and open to the public.

UO event to honor women's history 

The University of Oregon's Center for the Study of Women in Society will host a daylong event next month to expose high school students to new perspectives on gender and history.

Women's History Day, set for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 8, will give students a chance to attend workshops led by UO professors. Workshop titles include "Women, Empowerment and Discrimination in Muslim States," "Teen Girls and the `Scream' Films," "Jewish Women in the Middle Ages" and "Confess or Deny? Witches' Choices in 1692."

Mary Spilde, president of Lane Community College, will deliver the keynote lecture at 9:30 a.m. in the Alumni Lounge at Gerlinger Hall. The event is organized by the Feminist Humanities Project, an initiative of the center aimed at incorporating the historical study of women and gender into humanities teaching and research.

Registration is $5, and must be completed by March 1. Teachers can register groups or individual students. For more information or to register, contact Jan Emerson at 346-2263 or [e-mail] .edu.