• We left the May 19 meeting of the City Club of Eugene fairly confident that our dams, rivers and reservoirs are safe despite the anticipated big earthquake. Erik Peterson, operations project manager of the Willamette Valley for Portland district of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Ray Weldon, professor in the University of Oregon Department of Earth Sciences, talked about how to reduce uncertainty as well as early warnings, family preparedness, measuring risk and the need for more resources to better understand the risk involved. In other words, it is tough to nail down just how confident we should or should not be.
• The protest at Standing Rock is no longer making headlines, but the issue that drove the months-long protest, the Dakota Access Pipeline, is not gone. The Eugene Human Rights Commission (HRC) voted May 16 to support an ordinance advising the city against renewing its current contract with U.S. Bank, which ends in October 2018. U.S. Bank has invested heavily in fossil fuel pipelines, including the Dakota Access and Keystone XL. Those pipelines not only put Native American people and lands at risk of a spill, they also go counter to efforts to combat greenhouse gases and climate change. Forty people showed up a the May 22 Eugene City Council meeting in support of divestment, and 20 people spoke in favor of the city divesting from U.S. Bank. Emily Semple, the City Council’s liaison to the HRC, pointed out previously that there are many reasons to divest from all large banks, U.S. Bank included — she’d prefer to see the city do its money management with local credit unions instead. Eugene Municipal Code requires that city contracts give preference to goods and services produced in state. See our story about last week’s HRC meeting online.
• Proposed changes to the Eugene park rules to ban alcohol in all city parks don’t just prevent neighbors from enjoying wine in the park — they discriminate against the homeless. The ban would allow those who can afford to buy expensive host liquor liability insurance to have parties but exclude those who lack finances. At the May 22 City Council meeting Councilor Betty Taylor said, “We’re legislating against simple pleasures people enjoy,” and that it’s time to “make life pleasant for the people who live here.” Perhaps it’s time to stop criminalizing dogs and beer in the name of cleaning up the town.
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