All staff pick

We dream off a permanent publicly run, staffed and funded shelter for the unhoused, or series of shelters across Lane County.

We could fund it by asking businesses like local breweries to “round up” on their purchases and donate to supporting a shelter and staff.

Ted Taylor Editor

My three dreams: We will dig a trench and bury the railroad tracks through Eugene, eliminating the noise and creating parks and open space. We will revive the Emerald Canal proposal and turn Amazon Creek in town into something like San Antonio’s Riverwalk. And I imagine an overhead tube system for all-weather bicycle commuting above the car traffic.

Amy Schneider Special issues editor

My dream is not particularly noble, perhaps even frivolous. But that’s OK. I’ll leave the serious dreaming for another day.

I dream of flying in a hot air balloon, floating high above Eugene and seeing everything, from the glittering Willamette River to the craggy peak of Spencer Butte. Apart from a few sketchy websites, there doesn’t seem to be a nearby company that offers hot air balloon rides, so I dream of a place opening in Eugene that provides affordable journeys into the air for all in Lane County.

Oh, and while we’re dreaming, I want to ride in a solar-powered hot air balloon, because apparently that’s a thing now. My dream may not be practical but at least it’s planet-friendly. That counts for something, right?

Camilla Mortensen Associate editor

I dream of a warm, bright animal adoption center located downtown, where nonprofit rescues could bring their adoptable cats, dogs and bunnies to a central location for people to meet them. Let’s put it near Kesey Square so every day the square is home to people playing with puppies.

Alex V. Cipolle Arts editor

A locally owned late-night bookstore. Yes, that’s the kind of crazy, hedonistic nightlife I dream of for the Whit. We have some fantastic local bookstores in Eugene — J. Michaels Books, Tsunami Books, Black Sun Books, Smith Family Bookstore — but not one stays open past 7 pm (most close by 5:30 pm). Seattle has the Elliot Bay Bookstore and Portland has Powell’s; they stay open until 11 pm and are vibrant cultural centers. A late-night bookstore would create an alternative nightlife that doesn’t revolve around drinking culture, a contentious issue in the Whit. We have both a large recovery scene and a large literary scene in Eugene, not to mention several institutions of higher education, so let’s give them a home where they can get their cultural salon on after sundown without having to sidle up to the bar.

Rick Levin staff writer

My dream for Eugene is that a burgeoning population of wealthy neo-conservative greedheads goes to work behind the tattered veneer of Eugene’s make-believe hippie culture, hiding beneath the warm, fuzzy blanket of pointless liberal pomp and Summer of Love bullshit while secretly they turn the city into a reactionary outpost where the poor drown in meth and murder, and the smugly well-to-do string pretty Christmas lights across their castles in the hinterlands while humming about the high ideals of peace, love and understanding. My dream is that Eugene, forever believing itself free-spirited, actually becomes the smiling face of the new American fascism, where endless emotional arguments about hurt feelings and identity politics finally drown out all reason. My dream is that Eugene become Seattle, or maybe Portland — a city of commodified hipness that sells itself out to the highest bidder (with tax breaks, of course). My dream is that Eugene never wises up and peeks behind the curtain. My dream is that Eugene becomes what it is.

I Dream of The Whit

I Dream of North Eugene

I Dream of Glenwood

I Dream of the City

I Dream of Kesey Square

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!