Year: 2016

River Trips Provide History

Mike Hurd gives tours of the Willamette

News

A Harrisburg business owner is providing jet boat tours of the Willamette River from a perspective only a local could provide. Mike Hurd is the owner of Scenic Jet Boat Tours and Hurd’s Hardware and Custom Machinery in Harrisburg, just 30 minutes north of Eugene. “I grew up just a mile from the river and always enjoyed fishing and hunting around the river,” he says. Now Hurd gives tours of the Willamette on his 22-foot-long aluminum North River sled.  Continue reading →

The Good, the Bad and the Noodly

Two music writers sound off on the legacy of James Taylor

Music
James Taylor

Sweet Baby James If storied careers are your bag, you’re already a James Taylor fan. When the single “Fire and Rain” dropped in 1970, it is possible that nobody understood what the Boston-born singer-songwriter and multi-platinum artist was alluding to. After all, a human who writes his first song at 14 is a natural chaser of stories, and Taylor’s tale — through depression, self-help, institutions and modesty — is one for the ages. Continue reading →

Liberals Out of Touch

It's time to reconnect with reality

Viewpoint

With the British electorate’s dramatic and unexpected decision to pull out of the European Union, The New York Times reports that “the same yawning gap between the elite and mass opinion is fueling a populist backlash” all across Europe and the United States.  Here at home, election season is upon us and widespread frustration with conventional party politics has been the motivating force behind both the Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders campaigns. The Trump appeal, as with the “Brexit” revolt, has much to do with resentment toward migrants and refugees.  Continue reading →

Hundreds rally at UO to say Black Lives Matter

News

Hundreds of people convened on the University of Oregon campus Friday, July 8, to remember the black lives lost to police shootings in the past few days, including Alton Sterling of Louisiana and Philando Castile of Minnesota.  Addressing a crowd gathered in the Erb Memorial Union amphitheater as rain gently fell on attendees, youth pastor Kim McGrew gave a moving speech that focused on action and implementing change in the face of great negativity. Continue reading →