• Mass shootings, hate rallies, wildfires, climate change, politics in general. Sometimes it feels like bad news fills up our pages. Eugene Weekly has a policy of always trying to make sure we have something bright and fun in our issues as well, whether it’s longtime stalwart Happening People, a new business or everybody’s favorite, the crossword puzzle. This week we decided to devote our cover feature spot to fun, so welcome to EW’s Puzzle Issue! Solve the puzzles and then take a photo and tag us with #EWpuzzled on social media.
• Portland (and Oregon as a whole, most likely) really pisses off the alt right. This state is really white, due to a long history of oppression against African Americans, but it’s also very liberal. It’s Portlandia, and Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer know their rallies will get a lot of headline-grabbing kickback (literally and figuratively) from Antifa. (Brief note to President Donald Trump here: Antifa means anti-fascist, and while Trump would probably love to declare every anti-fascist a terrorist, that’s not going to fly). The last Aug. 17 rally in Portland was met with strong resistance from those who oppose hate and white supremacy. Check out our coverage and photos online.
• Rep. Peter DeFazio has defeated Republican Art Robinson in every election since 2010, but now there’s a new Republican lining up for the challenge to take on DeFazio. Alek Skarlatos of Roseburg has filed for the 4th Congressional District in 2020. This is in addition to Jo Rae Perkins who lost to Robinson in 2016 and 2018 in the primaries. Skarlatos helped thwart a terror attack on a train in France, and he later played himself in the Clint Eastwood movie about the incident. With Robinson’s efforts to collect the pee of all Oregonians and his belief that a little nuclear contamination is good for you, it’s made the race against DeFazio pretty interesting over the years. What’s Skarlatos got?
• Remember Jamie McLeod-Skinner? She ran a strong but unsuccessful campaign against Greg Walden in 2018 for his eastern Oregon congressional seat. Now The Oregonian and Bend Bulletin both report that she is planning to run in 2020 for Oregon secretary of state. Filing date is mid-September for the May primary, sure to include other strong Democrats. She’s a planner, attorney and consultant in water issues and national resources. McLeod-Skinner could be a bridge between that rural-urban divide that the Oregon media keeps talking about.
• What we’re reading: Here’s a new book with political reach both now and into the future. It’s America Is Better Than This by Sen. Jeff Merkley, just out this month. Merkley is talking about his book 7:30 pm Aug. 26 at Powell’s Books in Portland. He writes about the inside story of how one senator with no background as an immigration activist became a leading advocate for reform of the brutal policies that have created a humanitarian crisis on the southern U.S. border. The book also could be another stepping stone on Merkley’s reach for the presidency, not in 2020 but later. If you’re going to run for president, you have to write a book and this sounds like a good one.
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.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519
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