By My Sense of Times Intertwined Deep with the Great Blacks

Making communities of color visible

I wanted to be white for three weeks in 4th grade (1965)because I was being rejected, being the only black kid in class in my elementary school in Bel Air. After three weeks I realized, wait, there’s nothing wrong with me, it’s them.  My home training countered the non-lessons I was getting: Slaves were smart. Slaves resisted every step of the way. We were the slaves that taught ourselves to read, when it was a death sentence.  Continue reading 

Gary Johnson and the Free Market

A conversation with the Libertarian presidential candidate

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson is, for some Lane County voters, a possible alternative to Bernie Sanders. But while Johnson told EW during a recent phone call that he believes climate change is man-made, he also believes a free market economy is part of the fix. “I do believe that climate change is occurring,” the affable former governor of New Mexico Johnson says, and that it’s human caused.  Continue reading 

Rock Like an Egyptian

Death Valley Girls play Luckey's

Bonnie Bloomgarden of Los Angeles’ Death Valley Girls says her band’s latest release, Glow in the Dark (out now on Burger Records), was inspired by ancient Egypt.  “We were asked to play a show for a mummy exhibit,” Bloomgarden tells EW. “These mummies had been in Chicago since 1890 until they came here to L.A. We realized this potentially could be the first time ever that they heard rock ‘n’ roll.” “What if we had the power to wake them?” Bloomgarden continues. “After we wrote the songs we thought, ‘Well, we’ve got to record them now.’” Continue reading 

INSPIRING STORY

INSPIRING STORY What a great article on a great man, someone I’ve never met but long admired [“Citizen Terry,” 8/25]. Someday when I am done working I will show up on his doorstep offering to help. Truly inspiring. Made my day, and these can be disheartening days.  Thanks, Rick Levin! Amy Isler Gibson, Eugene   NOT SO THRIFTY  Continue reading 

Restaging the Past

Oregon Shakespeare Festival 2016 takes on tough social issues ranging from abortion rights to the Vietnam War

So often we accept the history served to us. We hold collective truths about our past to be self-evident: Jane Roe and her legal team were brave, honorable women fighting for reproductive rights. Vietnam was a worthless war the U.S. never should have been involved in. Classic theater works are important, but generally not very fun.  Continue reading 

Lane County Area Spray Schedule 9-1-16

• The Kester family (541-520-0131) has engaged JR Helicoptors of Yakima, Washington, (509-452-3300) to spray 40.4 acres with a mixture of glyphosate, Polaris SP, SFM Extra and surfactant. Located near Hawley Creek and 1/2 mile north of Cottage Grove-Lorane highway. Starts Sept. 15 and ends Nov. 15. Notification # 2016-781-10253.  Contact Oregon Department of Forestry Brian Peterson (541-935-2283). Continue reading 

Local coffee spot, Perk Coffee and Espresso has moved locations to join Shadowfox

• Local coffee spot, Perk Coffee and Espresso, formerly on Willamette Street, has moved locations to join Shadowfox at 76 W Broadway. The new and improved space, now offering beer and wine, will be host to open mic nights, creative art gatherings, and First Friday events, Shadowfox tells EW. Shadowfox received a loan from the Art and Business Fund and the City of Eugene, which the art gallery says allowed it to improve the space and move in Perk. Continue reading 

ArtsHound

¡Viva La Cultura! If you lived in town for an extended period, you’ll notice a sort of pipeline runs between Oaxaca, Mexico, and Eugene, Oregon, with locals, snowbirds, writers and artists crossing paths back and forth across the border. Additionally, Lane County has a slow-but-steadily growing Hispanic population, increasing from 7.4 percent in 2010 to 8.5 percent in 2015, according to the most recent U.S. Census data. Continue reading 

It’s About Time

September is the month of hiking

September is the month that hikers in western Oregon look forward to more than any month. Rainless days are almost guaranteed, mosquito levels drop off quickly and tourists thin out after Labor Day. This year there are a few qualifications to what is typically our best month for backpacking. Mosquito levels may be slow to disappear in the high country because there haven’t been enough freezing nights. Continue reading