The University of Oregon has given a fat contract to new president Michael Schill.  He will get almost 800-thousand dollars a year–the ninth-highest salary out of 220 major universities in the nation—even though he has never been a university president.  He has been a law dean at UCLA and the University of Chicago.  As a rookie, he will make about 250-thousand dollars more a year than President Ed Ray makes at OSU, after twelve years there.

Two young men died over the weekend in the water—one at Detroit Lake, and one at Wildwood Falls, near Cottage Grove.  An 18-year old senior at Sprague High School was swimming across the river at Detroit Lake when he went under.  His friends found him, pulled him out, and started CPR.  He died the next day at a local hospital.  A U of O student died when he jumped from the top of Wildwood Falls and did not surface.  Rescuers say at this time of year, be mindful of currents, the cold water, and the distance you plan to swim.  And when jumping, know what you’re jumping into.

Was Nike involved in the FIFA soccer scandal??? Of course, it was.  Did Nike know about the bribes??? Maybe yes, maybe no.  The indictment talks about an unnamed American sportswear company and a 1996 deal to outfit the Brazilian team.  Nike did that deal and even bragged about it.  If it was a crooked deal, it was apparently done between crooked officials and crooked sports marketing companies——so——–Nike may not have known about it.  Nike says it never knowingly paid bribes, and is cooperating with investigators.

Majority Democrats in Salem are trying to broker a deal between more liberal Dems and moderates on the issue of mandated paid sick leave.  At issue is whether businesses with only ten employees will have to give anyone who calls in sick the Monday after the Super Bowl a free, paid day off, or whether the threshhold will be 25 employees.

One Peter Walter in Pendleton has written the city council, asking it to ban smelly farts.  It is probably a piece of political commentary, since he made the request after the council added the strong smell of marijuana to the city’s nuisance code.  Walter says if the city is going after bad smells, farts are the next logical step.  An anonymous source says if a fart ban is not carefully worded regarding animal farts, it could severely hamper the annual Pendleton Roundup Rodeo.