Ashland set to part ways with City Manager Sabrina Cotta
"ASHLAND, Ore. - Ashland City Manager Sabrina Cotta is out after the city council voted on a separation agreement at Tuesday night's meeting.
The council meeting included an agenda item that said, "Council to provide direction as to city manager." The council's direction was a separation agreement with Cotta, who became Ashland city manager in 2024."
Downtown Ashland will not be the same with this 'trick-the-eye' mural project underway
"Lights have been turned on downtown Ashland’s most unusual stage: the northwest wall of the historic Elks Lodge building.
Optical illusion painter John Pugh plans to spend the next two months on scaffolding two stories above the sidewalk to create a mural representing the art-centric southern Oregon city."
Watch: President Bailey’s Video Update for September 2026 - SOU Office of the President
How do you think SOU will fare this school year? I earned an MBA there years ago and loved it - but times have changed.
"September 28, 2026
SOU President Rick Bailey offers his September video message from the lawn between McLoughlin and Shasta halls – SOU’s primary student housing facilities and a center of activity as fall term ramps up. He says there, “is a real energy on our campus right now,” recognizing the difficult decisions that have been made in recent months while acknowledging excitement about the opportunities made possible by the university’s Vitality Plan. “This is not a stabilization plan; it’s a transformation plan,” he says. The operational and academic transformations laid out in SOU’s Vitality Plan were recently featured in a cover story in the Chronicle of Higher Education, and the university’s plans have received unanimous support from legislative committees that have reviewed them – “Republicans and Democrats, senators and representatives.” President Bailey points out that even as the Vitality Plan is implemented and opportunities open up across campus, the university will need a “robust pipeline of students coming in.” He asks supporters and community members to encourage families that are university-shopping to explore the advantages available at SOU, and to get involved in campus events – whether athletics, the arts, lectures or learning opportunities. “The more you do that with us, the more you show your commitment to us as a university,” he says."
Why $5.4trillion Nvidia is the cheapest it's been in a decade for investors
With a $5.4 trillion price tag, it is the most valuable company in stock market history.
And Nvidia’s share price has soared on the back of seemingly insatiable demand for its state-of-the-art microchips which power the AI revolution.
But a key measure for valuing firms suggests the tech giant’s shares are actually trading at their cheapest level in more than a decade as doubts mount over how fast its booming profits can continue to grow.
Anthropic AI safety concerns spark debate with Nvidia's Huang
"Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon recently expressed concerns about the direction of AI development, stating that labs are “racing to self-improving superintelligence & gambling with our lives.” This comment elicited a strong reaction from NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, who dismissed the claims as outlandish and deeply untrue, emphasizing the industry’s commitment to safety."
More quality home units for Ashland - or dense pack dwellings that big corporate builds out? Why would the ACC vote to provide no notice to you as a neighbor:
"The Ashland City Council, on Aug. 18, voted to provide no notice to neighbors for most development projects on adjacent or nearby properties, though that decision is under legal review."
Ashland Planning Commission to begin review of 16 housing proposals - Ashland News
"Major provisions of the Sherrell/Dahle proposals are designed to increase the buildable area and number of units allowed on existing and future residential lots. The proposals include:
Sherrell and Dahle believe other recommendations would reduce costs of development and speed up the approval process. The extent to which such goals would be achieved depends on the specific language of the eventual code amendments. Sherrell and Dahle have offered to draft language themselves or in coordination with planning staff."
The 2020 Almeda Fire remains one of Oregon’s worst fires on record.
The Sept. 8 blaze destroyed more than 3,000 homes and businesses in Talent and Phoenix.
Fueled by 45 mph east winds and extremely dry conditions, the fire raced 13 miles from Ashland to just south of Medford before being stopped, according to a Jackson County After Action Report.
Six years after the Almeda Fire, is the Rogue Valley better prepared for wildfire?
Lillo Jimenez, 48, was heading north on Highway 2 near the Estes Fruit Stand about 11 miles north of East Wenatchee when he decided to pass a slower moving vehicle, Trooper Jeremy Weber told the Tri-City Herald.
The Pasco man was believed to be speeding and suspected to be drunk at the time, Weber said.
His Nissan Maxima slammed into a Chevrolet Sonic hatchback heading in the opposite direction, killing Jimenez and everyone in the other vehicle.
Weber said investigators are working to try and find more information about the men, including their ages and where they were from.
They included:
• A L Garcia, 77, of Omak
• Martin Hilario Santiago, 35
• Samuel Dominguez Nieto
• Crecencio Basilio Perez
It’s believed that most of them came from out of the area. Hilario Santiago and Basilio Perez were not wearing seatbelts.
After the crash, investigators found alcohol containers near Lillo Jimenez’s car.
Pasco man believed to be speeding, intoxicated in head-on crash that killed 5
"There are dozens of new Grizzlies milling about the Quad this week at Ashland High School, but one stands out from the crowd at 8 feet tall.
New students and staff were greeted during the first days of school for freshmen and all other students on Tuesday by a 900-pound bronze grizzly bear, which has some protective mama bear energy, if you ask school administrators.
Outgoing leadership seniors chose the location of the bear in the spring when it arrived all the way from China. The statue was installed last week below the staircase of the Quad at the heart of the school campus, home to the Grizzlies, the school mascot."
ODFW warn about bears in Ashland seeking key food sources | Local | kdrv.com
ASHLAND, Ore. - Bears are showing up in Ashland neighborhoods because mountain berries, a key food source, are scarce or completely gone this year.
The bear sightings in late August are happening because the animals are hungry, not because of their typical fall feeding frenzy that usually starts in September and October. A weak snowpack last winter and lack of spring rain meant berries didn't grow well this summer.
Bears have historically searched for food in northwest Ashland neighborhoods near the wildland areas during fall and spring. Now they're appearing in the southern parts of town and closer to Interstate 5.
Anthropic Books $35 Billion To Nvidia-Backed Lambda For Cloud Capacity
"This contrasts with past vendor financing risks, as Nvidia backs a strong ecosystem amid soaring AI compute demand. Anthropic alone has committed $180 billion to capacity recently. The deal underscores that energized, leased data center capacity is now the scarcest AI asset, attracting long-term commitments from industry giants."
"A volatile ride for Nvidia and equity markets until past the mid-term results - then NVDA should soar." Steve Forbes - and Jim Kramer.
Nvidia wants to run the world’s robots. China is an eager customer.
Nvidia’s chips aren’t just for training chatbots. The company is also betting big on artificial intelligence for real-world objects like robots, cars and drones—and China is emerging as a major customer.
The business of physical artificial intelligence already generates some $10 billion in annual revenue at Nvidia. While that is still a fraction of the company’s overall revenue, which totaled $303 billion in the four quarters ended in July, Chief Executive Jensen Huang says it will grow 10-fold within the next decade.
Mt. Ashland ski area names Rachel Canada as new GM | Local | kdrv.com
Mt. Ashland Ski Area is owned and operated by the nonprofit Mt. Ashland Association under a special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service.
ASHLAND, Ore. - Mt. Ashland Association hired Rachel Canada as the new general manager of Mt. Ashland Ski Area, starting Sept. 1.
Canada brings more than 20 years of experience in mountain operations, leadership and resort management to Mt. Ashland. She most recently served as director of mountain operations at Willamette Pass.
Here's how much you'd have if you invested $1,000 in NVIDIA stock in 2010
"Every time you use an AI chatbot, generate an image, or watch a company tout its artificial intelligence ambitions, there is a good chance NVIDIA’s chips are doing the work underneath.
That role has made NVIDIA the most valuable company on earth, worth about $5.25 trillion after another blockbuster earnings report in late August. Put $1,000 into NVIDIA at the start of 2010, and by late August 2026 you would be sitting on roughly $510,000."
Ashland city manager rebuked in council review - Ashland News - Community-Supported, NonProfit News
"Ashland City Manager Sabrina Cotta has barely met City Council performance expectations and was dinged on her communication skills in a review obtained Thursday by Ashland.news through a public records request.
Cotta, who has been on extended leave since Aug. 17 and is expected back by Sept. 14, has been given 30 days from Aug. 18 to come up with a strategic plan to improve communications to better handle the rash of controversies that have recently flared up.
Some examples of failing to change course include public outcry about the move of some city administrative offices, including Cotta’s, from City Hall, which had a cracked rafter, to the Ashland Community Center and the “trespassing situation” at the Community Center when local resident Jim Falkenstein found a door wide open on a weekend."
"Just days ago, Nvidia put money into Starcloud, a startup building the same kind of space data centers SpaceX (SPCX) is now chasing. And Starcloud is arguably ahead. It already has an Nvidia chip running in orbit and trained an AI model up there late last year. It has also filed to launch 88,000 satellites of its own. SpaceX, on the other hand, has yet to put a single Starmind satellite in space. As I covered when the two first partnered, SpaceX has committed to using Nvidia’s chips exclusively for its Starmind satellites, with Musk calling them simply the best. So Nvidia is backing both the giant and the smaller challenger, and it already owned roughly $21 billion of SPCX stock as of June 30. Whichever of them ends up leading the market, the chips inside will carry Nvidia’s name."
This Charming Small Town Was Just Named The Best Place To Live In Washington
"Some towns earn their reputation quietly, and Wenatchee, Washington is the perfect example of a place that’s been wonderful all along while everyone else was looking the wrong direction.
It just got named the best place to live in Washington, and honestly, the only surprising part is that it took this long for people to notice."
Nvidia CFO says about half of its data center business comes from customers beyond hyperscalers
"“This was a masterpiece quarter with stunning guidance that speaks to the massive demand Nvidia is seeing in the AI Revolution,” Dan Ives, partner and senior managing director at Yorkville Ives, told me. “The guidance for next quarter was well ahead of whisper numbers, and this will be a spark that is a boost for tech stocks and the broader sector.”
During the earnings call, CFO Colette Kress offered a data-driven rebuttal to the AI-bubble narrative. Rather than simply asserting that demand is durable, Kress argued that Nvidia’s growth is increasingly diversified beyond hyperscalers such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Meta."
Amazon’s adding another 2 million of Nvidia’s GPUs to its AWS data centers. | The Verge
Here's how much traders think Nvidia will move off earnings — and in which direction
"Bullish calls are trading notably more expensive than puts, and the ratio of open call contracts to puts suggests traders are more actively preparing for a rally than a sell-off. The highest concentration of trading is happening in puts and calls tied to the 220 strike, where 226,000 call contracts are open versus under 80,000 puts."
PS - Jensen Huang on CNBC Jim Kramer today - 3 PM PDT.
