Activist Alert 4-23-2015

• The Oregon Legislature’s Joint Committee on Ways and Means is holding a public hearing on the state budget during its meeting from 6:30 to 8 pm Thursday, April 23, at Springfield City Hall Council Chambers. Find budget materials and meeting schedules at wkly.ws/20a.

• A free lecture on “Framing the Torture Debate — How Narrative Influences Power” by Ajit Maan will be at 7 pm Thursday, April 23, at First United Methodist Church, 1376 Olive St. Sponsored by Women’s Action for New Directions. Mann is author of Counter-Terrorism: Narrative Strategies.

• A free community forum on “Human Rights and the Crisis of Youth Homelessness” will be from 11:30 am to 3 pm Saturday, April 25, at First Congregational Church, 24th and Harris in Eugene. Keynote speaker will be Casey Trupin, coordinator of the Children and Youth Project in Seattle. His talk is tentatively titled “Young and Homeless: Human Rights and the Elimination of Child and Youth Homelessness.” Local advocacy groups and agencies will table, offering information on work they are doing with children and youth who are homeless. Call 485-1755 to pre-register or for more information.

• The fourth annual Laughter for the Trees! event in support of Forest Web will be from 7 to 10 pm Sunday, April 26, at The Axe & Fiddle, 657 East Main St. in Cottage Grove. Alex Ihnat will serve as emcee of skits, songs and stand-up comedy. Free, but donations accepted. Email forestweb.cg@gmail.com for more information or to get on the mailing list.

• Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy will hold her monthly Mayor’s One-on-Onecommunity outreach meeting from 5 to 6 pm Tuesday, April 28, at Safeway, 145 E. 18th Ave. The meetings are generally held on the fourth Tuesday of each month at different locations around Eugene.

• The Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council features biologist Jeff McEnroe of the Roseburg BLM talking on “Beavers: Education, Relocation and Restoration” at a meeting from 5 to 7 pm Tuesday, April 28, at Axe & Fiddle, 657 E. Main St. in Cottage Grove. McEnroe’s research suggests that beavers could be the single greatest tool for restoring watersheds and building resilience to climate change. Free with optional food and drinks.

• A public hearing on a plan to increase stormwater fees by 6.5 percent will be at 2 pm Wednesday, April 29 in the Public Works Engineering Lyle conference room, 99 E. Broadway, 4th floor. Contact Eric Jones at 682-5523 or find more information at eugene-or.gov/swfees.

• April 30 is the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and one local event is the “Seed Walk” April 30 through May 3. Volunteers will place 58,183 sunflower seeds along an 11-mile route between south Eugene and Coburg. A seed will be placed every 12 inches and each seed represents one of the 58,183 Americans killed in the Vietnam War. The public is invited to participate and the event kicks off at 10:30 am Thursday, April 30, at the corner of Pearl Street and 11th Avenue. A website organizing and documenting the event can be found at wkly.ws/209 or call Bruce A. Hindrichs at 214-4797. “To include Vietnamese killed in the war, the trail would extend to the Canadian border,” Hindrichs says.

• The Cottage Grove Blackberry Pie Society will host a public forum on South Lane School District Board candidates from 6 to 8 pm Thursday, April 30, at Bohemia Elementary School, 721 South R Street in Cottage Grove. Call 521-2887 or email blackberrypie@gmail.com.

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!