Biz Beat 3-26-2015

We hear Cousin Jack’s Pasty Co. was invited to provide meat pie food props for the Eugene Opera production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. “To [General Director] Mark Beudert and the cast and crew of the Eugene Opera, I say bravo for a fantastic performance and a big thank you for allowing us to participate,” says David Clark, who owns the local business with his wife, Kim Clark. “Like the arts, our small business is constantly pressured with ever increasing costs. To be quite honest, over the years we have struggled to be profitable.” Cousin Jack’s sources many of its ingredients from Oregon producers such as Knee Deep Cattle Co., Deck Family Farm, Anderson Ranches, Organically Grown Co., GloryBee Foods, Mycological Natural Products, Mountain Rose Herbs, Lochmead Dairy, Larsens Family Creamery, Tillamook Creamery, Mohawk Meats, Albany Lox Co., Emerald Fruit and Produce and Winter Green Farm. “Buy local is not just a bumper sticker,” Clark says. “Buy local is a reminder of the absolute power your money has here at home.” Call 521-7496 for more information.

Most cannabis confabs are expensive to attend, but the Oregon Hemp and Cannabis Convention and Trade Show in Portland Saturday and Sunday, March 28-29, only asks a donation of two cans of food. Organizers say this will be “the first and largest free event of its kind since Oregonians passed Measure 91 in 2014.” The educational event will be held at the Portland EXPO Center, 2060 N. Marine Dr., and will be open from 11 am to 7 pm both days. Speakers include author Doug Fine, attorney Courtney Moran and other experts on industrial hemp and cannabis, including issues of security and insurance. See oregonhempconvention.com or call the convention director at (971) 388-4392 for more information. The Eugene contact is kathy@kathyging.com. No consumption of cannabis products is allowed at the EXPO Center.

A “Lane County Sustainability Report” is on the agenda of the GreenLane Sustainable Business Network’s monthly meeting at 11:30 am Wednesday, April 1, at the Eugene Hilton downtown. Lane County Commissioner Pete Sorenson is the speaker. Lunch is available for purchase.

Employees at Down To Earth Home, Garden and Gift have been composting food scraps at work, and the company has been participating in the city of Eugene’s Love Food Not Waste (LFNW) program for the past six months. Rexius bags the compost and now Down to Earth is selling and distributing bags of LFNW compost and donating a portion of the proceeds to the School Garden Project, a local nonprofit that helps Lane County schools create, sustain and use onsite gardens by providing resources, professional consultation and educational programming. “We’re all about helping our community grow and preserve their own food; composting and soil building completes the loop,” says Rachel Klinnert, general manager at Down To Earth. The compost is being sold for $4.49 a bag at the two Down to Earth stores in Eugene.

Evergreen Nutrition has announced that the Eugene-based company will be having an online store soon, hopefully in May. The store, with its retail outlet at 1653 Willamette St., expects to have about three quarters of its inventory online. Categories will include vitamins and minerals, herbs, homeopathics, sports nutrition and natural hair and body care products.

A free workshop on “Franchising: Own Your Own Business” will be at 6 pm Thursday, April 2, at the Eugene Public Library downtown. Leading the discussion will be Blair Nicol of FranNet Pacific Northwest who will explain the differences between franchising and starting your own business; how to evaluate franchise concepts; what you should know before buying; and the risks and rewards of franchising. Sponsored by the library, LCC Small Business Development Center and SCORE. Call 682-5450 or visit Eugene-or.gov/library for information on this and other workshops in April.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

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None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

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Thank you for standing with us!