• The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is facing a $32 million deficit in the next two-year budget cycle, and cuts are looming. The agency is in a bind due in part to its reliance on revenues from fishing and hunting licenses. It’s a quandary. Fishing license fees have gone up while there are fewer fish to catch, so fewer people go fishing. And hunting is no longer such a big part of Oregon’s culture, at least not in urban areas. But ODFW is a key player in protecting Oregon’s fragile waterways that are under pressure from our growing population and climate change. It’s in Oregon’s best interest that we adequately fund ODFW and also the Oregon Water Resources Department, and the logical way to do that is a combination of increased commercial and recreation fees (they are still a bargain) and new general funds appropriated through the Legislature. If cuts are needed at ODFW, district and field biologists must be protected, along with programs affecting water quality and endangered species. A public hearing on the state budget is coming up in Springfield Thursday, April 23. See Activist Alert this week.
• We share the jubilation in the newsroom of The Seattle Times for the Pulitzer Prize they just won for their tough and continuing coverage of the Oso landslide stories. That daily newspaper is not going away, unlike our disappearing Oregonian in Portland. It’s all about putting real resources into content and believing in the importance of print.
• Jon Krakauer’s new book Missoula strikes fiercely, in the classic Krakauer style, at a crisis of sexual assault and the official response in this Montana college town with its beloved athletes. Sound familiar? Our concern is that the media response will once again ignore the universality of the problem, instead trashing only Missoula. The story could be “Eugene” or “Corvallis” or “Seattle” or “Tallahassee,” but maybe this is the route we have to take to see a societal response.
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