• The Eugene Celebration may be in some sort of permanent holding pattern, but nothing holds a good SLUG queen down. The old queens and guest judges of the Society for the Legitimization of the Ubiquitous Gastropod crowned Markalo Parkalo (aka Mark Roberts) Aug. 14. Roberts is a mediator and board president of the Lane Independent Living Alliance. We applaud his focus on single-payer health care for all Oregon. Long may the SLUG queen rain.
• As we go to press with our story on Housing First, we are chagrined to hear that the homeless protest camp known as Occupy the Right to Sleep (OURS) keeps facing eviction from the Oregon Department of Transportation and losing its Bucks port-a-potty. How is it OK for construction companies to park their potties on the street but not OK for the unsheltered to have a clean bathroom?
• Here’s one more layer on the presidential-nomination parfait. If Hillary Clinton falters because of her emails or the Clinton Foundation or something else, Joe Biden’s team is considering a run for only one term, borrowing from President James Polk, who pushed the country to the Pacific. Ralph Nader recently suggested that California Gov. Jerry Brown is still watching what happens; a one-term promise also would serve him well. And we continue to love “the Bern,” Bernie Sanders, who is speaking to huge numbers, mostly unreported by the mainstream media.
• We keep harping on this, but it is so important: Endless stories and editorials in the mainstream media tell how Oregon needs to recruit tech and other kinds of entrepreneurs to keep the engine firing. Seldom does anyone mention the most important recruiting tool — high-quality public education to bring smart people who care about kids, their own and others. Let’s hear that story.
• 2016 election rumors are rumbling that State Treasurer Ted Wheeler is considering challenging Portland Mayor Charlie Hales, who was one of the American officials recently invited to the Vatican to talk with the pope’s climate team. We need to know more about Wheeler’s motives or, better yet, the motives of those encouraging him to run.
• The September/October issue of Sierra, the magazine of enviro group Sierra Club, is out, and it has a nice feature on the top eco-conscious schools. Number one is UC Irvine with waste diversion, good mass transit and a goal of carbon neutrality by 2025. The University of Washington and Lewis and Clark College represent the Pacific Northwest in the top 10 as numbers eight and nine. Portland State is number 20. The Beavers kick some Duck butt coming in at number 40 and Southern Oregon University is number 84. The University of Oregon isn’t on the list of 153 self-reporting schools Sierra lists. Ouch. President Michael Schill has his job cut out for him restoring the UO’s dignity on a number of levels. Let’s get our green credentials back, UO!
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