• The growing popularity of tiny houses is leading Keith Schneider of Eugene’s Bohemian Cottages to expand from construction into all-day, do-it-yourself seminars locally and across the nation. Schneider and his crew have built or remodeled about 35 custom-crafted tiny dwellings over the past eight years, most 200 square feet or smaller. It’s a successful business model, he says, but it also helps provide affordable living space at a time when “there’s a serious housing crisis in Eugene and Lane County.” Schneider gave free mini-seminars at the recent home show at the Fairgrounds and will be doing all-day seminars locally March 26, April 22 and July 1. A free drop-in “Kickstarter Launch Party” promoting the seminars and the business will be from 4 to 8 pm Friday, March 24, at 521 Market Street in Eugene. Call 541-914-3349 or see photos at how2buildtiny.com.
• Discount Motorcycle Parts at 995 Tyinn Street in west Eugene reopened March 11 under new owners, Mike and Shery Wellington. Hundreds of people showed up to support the new ownership and to reminisce about the former owners, Steven and Annette Skinner, who were killed in a traffic crash Aug. 27. “The community suffered a terrible loss with the unexpected deaths of the Skinners, who started DMP in 1992,” Shery Wellington writes in a social media post. “I feel like we are the ‘benevolent caretakers’ of this shop and its customers.” A plaque honoring the Skinners was dedicated at the shop March 12.
• Tree Bressen and Stuart Ramsing will be teaching a six-week learning series on “The Subtle Art of Powerful Leadership” at RAIN Eugene (Regional Accelerator & Innovation Network), 7-8:30 pm Monday evenings starting April 17. Leaders from nonprofits, businesses and other organizations are invited to participate. Registration is $90 for the full six-week series. Bressen says, “We are asking people to contact us if cost is a barrier to attendance because we expect to give out several partial scholarships at half price,” and RAIN has a grant that will fully fund two younger participants (ages 18-24) to attend for free. Information at treegroup.info/leadership.
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