Activist Alert 9-19-2013

• The Many Rivers Group Sierra Club is planning a program on the topic “On the Road to Wilderness” from 7 to 9 pm Thursday, Sept. 19, at the The Eugene Garden Club, 1645 High St. Contact sally.nunn@ore gon.sierraclub.org

• State Treasurer Ted Wheeler will be keynote speaker at the League of Women Voters noon luncheon Thursday, Sept. 19, at the Hilton. Reservations required, call 343-7917. Wheeler plans to talk about “Building Oregon’s Future” through strategic investments in higher education and job training.

• A gathering for health care reform will be from 6 to 9 pm Monday, Sept. 23, at Cozmic, 8th and Charnelton. Live music, food, talk about universal health care. Suggested donation is $5. Call Pat Bitner at 485-3971 or Ruth Duemler at 484-6145.

• Congressman Peter DeFazio will hold 16 town hall meetings across southwest Oregon. The first is 10 am Wednesday, Sept. 25, at the Siuslaw Public Library in Florence, followed by a focus on senior issues at 1 pm at Petersen Barn Community Center, 870 Berntzen Road in Eugene. Later that day at 2:30 pm he will be at the Willamalane Adult Activity Center, 215 W. C St. in Springfield. He will return to Eugene to meet at 5:30 pm at the Hilyard Community Center, 2580 Hilyard St. The full schedule is posted at defazio.house.gov.

• The documentary Take Back Your Power will be shown free at 6 pm Tuesday, Sept. 24, at Cozmic, 199 W. 8th Ave. The film discloses “questionable industry practices in support of implementing networked control systems for power plants,” and “links smart grids to billing mistakes, invasive monitoring and even human illnesses,” according to local activist Kathy Ging who says she bought 15 copies of the DVD to hand out to local officials. Hosted by FamiliesForSAFEMeters.org, call 342-8461.

• The Eugene Downtown Neighborhood Association will meet from 6 to 7:30 pm Wednesday, Sept. 25, at the Eugene Public Library to talk about plans for artistic lighting installations downtown and the Capstone, Core and Northwest Credit Union projects. Councilor George Brown plans to speak. See DNAeugene.org.

• Sens. Lee Beyer and Floyd Prozanski and Reps. Phil Barnhart, Paul Holvey and John Lively will hold a town hall focused on health care from 6 to 8 pm Wednesday, Sept. 25, at the UO Law School, room 175, at 1515 Agate St.

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!