Dramatic circulation drops in nearly all Oregon newspapers are documented in the new Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association directory. Looking at weekday subscriptions and weekday single-copy sales, The Register-Guard went from 51,040 last year to 43,663 this year.  The Oregonian went from 228,599 last year to 162,599 this year — what’s shocking is the stalwart Oregonian had weekday numbers approaching half a million in the 1990s. The Corvallis Gazette-Times went from 9,815 last year to 8,607 this year. Eugene Weekly, meanwhile, is holding steady. We print 38,000 to 42,000 papers a week depending on the issue and time of year, averaging 40,000, and those numbers have changed little in recent years.

The Laboratory restaurant at 26th and Willamette closed Aug. 3, according to owner Dug Beaird, but the chef will continue his culinary work at Agate Alley Bistro, near campus at 1461 E. 19th Ave. Agate Alley features many of The Lab’s creations on its menu. The Lab opened in 2011 to “allow for experimental fusion from cuisines around the world,” says Beaird who now has a baby boy at home. “It’s time to focus on the Bistro and my family,” he says.

We wrote about the new Mindworks business incubator/co-working space in this column July 3 and the enterprise is holding its grand opening celebration from 4:30 to 6:30 pm Friday, Aug. 8, at 207 E. 5th Ave. above the Tap & Growler and Lucky Noodle. The event will include live music, networking, refreshments and prizes. See eugenemindworks.com or call 515-9330.

Four new brewing tanks arrived at Hop Valley’s Eugene tasting room and production facility this week. The new tanks are from Marks Design & Metalworks in Vancouver, Washington The tanks hold the equivalent of 9,920 six-packs of beer. The next batch of tanks arriving in October will be larger and hold 12,000 gallons each. See hopvalleybrewing.com. 

Lane Preparedness Coalition is offering a free business continuity workshop on the topic of “A plan for tomorrow, regardless of what happens today” from 2:30 to 4:30 pm Wednesday, Aug. 13, at EWEB’s North Building, 500 E. 4th Ave. The goal of this workshop is to help businesses develop a plan of action that, in the event of a disruption or emergency, specifies the key resources and staff, as well as the procedures for re-establishing services and functions. This workshop is intended for business owners and managers. Visit preparelane.org and register by calling 682-5860 or email chair@preparelane.org.

Nominations are due by Aug. 13 for the Serenity Lane Community Service Awards. Categories include addiction professional, community leadership, community youth leadership, human resources/EAP, health care professional and legal professional/uniformed public service. A new category this year is the mayor’s award, nominated by mayors of both Eugene and Springfield. The awards will be presented at a community breakfast Oct. 22 at the Eugene Hilton. See serenitylane.org/csa.