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[Update: This article has been edited to include information about a petition to Save Kesey Square.] Before the Eugene City Council meeting Jan. 25, the chants and drums of the Save Kesey Square rally could be heard from the nearby Harris Hall, growing louder as more than 100 protesters walked from Kesey Square to the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza while a council work session was in progress. Continue reading
The daughter of an Alaskan Native airline pilot, who flew back and forth to Alaska, and a Norwegian mother from Minnesota, Sigvanna Topkok endured family fights at home and racist comments at school, as she grew up in several towns across Oregon, from Baker City to the coast. She spent childhood summers in her grandparents’ home village of Ambler, Alaska, where tribal traditions were suppressed in previous generations. “My grandmother was adopted out of the tribe,” she notes. “My dad passed away in a car crash when I was 11. Continue reading
• Eugene City Councilor George Brown told us earlier this week that he will not be seeking re-election to a third term in the May Primary. It’s a decision he’s been pondering for a while, and in earlier conversations we tried to talk him out of it. His progressive, thoughtful voice on the council is in the minority and is vitally important to the future livability and prosperity of our community. But he’s grown weary. Continue reading
No holds barred: There is nothing the ladies in Disenchanted aren’t willing to throw down in an effort to overturn society’s ideal of a Disney princess. From tirades about historical inaccuracies to really dirty Pinocchio jokes, all’s fair in Actors Cabaret of Eugene’s (ACE) production of Dennis T. Giacino’s irreverent musical. Continue reading
There’s something slightly off about University Theatre’s current production of Water by the Spoonful, the Pulitzer-winning second installment in Quiara Alegría Hudes’ trilogy of plays about a returning Iraqi War vet who struggles to reintegrate himself into civilian life in the U.S. Continue reading
An eyewitness is contradicting the account put out by the Bundy Bunch that LaVoy Finicum was on his knees with his hands up when shot by law enforcement. McConnell who says he had been personal security for Ammon Bundy says he was following the pickup truck driven by LaVoy Finicum and seeks to put rumors to rest about Finicum's death, saying he was not on his knees and he charged at law enforcement. Finicum had tried to drive away from law enforcement then ran the truck into a snowbank, according to several accounts. Continue reading
The iconic Eugenean Hershel Bloom died Jan. 25 in New Philadelphia, Ohio. He was an accomplished artist and musician and worked 30 years at White Bird Clinic. More about him in EW next week. Meanwhile, here's a rare video from an earlier time. Continue reading
Update: arrests have been confirmed, one, LaVoy Finicum, aka "Tarpman," is deceased, according to media reports. Santilli has been arrested. See full press release below. Continue reading
Catherine and Cheryl Reinhart, owners of the wildly popular Sweet Life Patisserie, announced via Facebook today that they plan to open a second location at 19th and Agate near campus, where Eugene City Bakery once resided. The Reinharts write that they will share the spot with J-Tea, which is also opening a second location. "Sweet Life Petite" will ideally open in spring of this year, the owners say. Continue reading
Kelly Gneiting, one of the occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge has apparently issues a challenge to Governer Chris Christie (and I'm really hoping that this is as fake as the satirical story about the old birdwatcher pulling a high school wrestling move, but I'm afraid it's not). Continue reading