The June 27th program with Jon Ruiz, our new City Manager, has been moved to Friday July 18, because of a conflict with his duties at the opening of the Olympic Trials.

Replacing the City Manager on the 27th will be a special program by the City Club exploring our community values regarding policing in Eugene. Four panelists, led by Charles Dalton, will lead off our conversation by answering two questions:

• What kind of community/police relations do we want and are trying to build in Eugene?
• How can we get there from here?

City Club intends this program as a positive public forum and an opportunity to add "clarity and vision" and perhaps some useful direction to an unresolved local problem.

Why does war still exist when it seems to have little utility compared with its costs? Why is it such a persistent feature of human existence? Are humans biologically doomed to have wars? Are there cultural factors that cause war or exacerbate our tendency to fight? Is there any hope that humans will kick the habit? Are activists wasting their time when they go on peace marches? What should people do to stop war? How could countries better avoid confrontations?

War has been examined from many angles, and much has been learned about factors that cause it and actions that could prevent it. Cramer will survey some of the leading findings.

Jon Ruiz was sworn in as City Manager of Eugene on April 14, 2008 after leading efforts related to downtown development, economic development, finance and budget, regional transportation planning, and the development of a sustainability plan as Assistant City Manager in Fresno, California.

Known for his style of bringing diverse points of view together to solve problems, Ruiz comes to Eugene with an election for mayor and downtown development still as question marks, and tens of thousands of visitors expected for the Olympic Team Trials.

Each year, City Club of Eugene presents its coveted Turtle Award to a person or persons who have distinguished themselves in a turtle-ish manner. No, this is not a special award to the slow or awkward who crawl on all fours. It has absolutely nothing to do with people who have unique hexagonal patterns on their hard exteriors. The turtle metaphor is meant to emphasize those who have fearlessly stuck their neck(s) out -- often at great personal risk -- to improve the well-being of our community.

Since 1991, we've had 23 such awards and so far no severed necks.