• What we’re reading: Bob Woodward’s Fear: Trump in the White House. We’re skimming this book because we’ve already been told so much of what Donald Trump says. The detail is both boring and brilliant and we need to know it.
• Jim Ludwick, a founder of Oregonians for Immigration Reform, spoke to a record crowd at City Club of Eugene on Sept. 14 and his talk was more about fear than fact. Advocating for Measure 105, he pushed all the anti-immigrant buttons. Reyna Lopez, executive director of PCUN, should have had more rebuttal to his comments on this measure that would take away Oregon’s 30-year sanctuary law. It’s up to the media to put out the fact and rebut the fear-mongering.
• As we go to press, Republicans in Congress are dancing as fast as they can to make it look like they’re investigating an attempted rape charge against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh while not investigating anything at all. This is the same GOP that endorsed Roy Moore — who had a thing for little girls back home in Alabama — for the U.S. Senate. Can’t we expect basic decency from the party that once claimed “family values” as its own?
• Yes, Oregon had its first person killed by a cougar in the wild. No, don’t freak out. The death was tragic but cougar attacks are extraordinarily rare. And half the time when someone thinks they saw a cougar or a cougar print, it’s a dog print or a fat house cat. That said, if you do see a cougar in the wild, experts say to stay calm, don’t turn your back, do maintain eye contact and make yourself look very big. Don’t run away; instead act like a predator, not prey. See more cougar coverage online at eugeneweekly.com along with our latest Ducks football updates.
• We are kinda sorry we ever did a satire issue saying we were sold to a consortium of the Christian Broadcasting Network, Eagle Publishing and Breitbart News called FML. We thought our silliness was over the top — it was April Fools Day, after all. Nope, turns out readers believed it, and some think Eugene Weekly was bought by Sinclair Broadcasting (umm, that’s television folks). The Register-Guard was sold to GateHouse Media, Sinclair owns KVAL and runs KMTR but EW is still independently and locally owned — just as we have been since we first started as What’s Happening!
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
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