• Congressman Peter DeFazio showed remarkable restraint in dealing with Art Robinson at the City Club of Eugene forum Oct. 19. Former chair of the Oregon Republican Party and candidate against DeFazio in District 4 from 2010 through 2016 — and a certified wingnut — Robinson identifies himself as a scientist and says we need more scientists in Congress. But he’s a climate change denialist who proceeds to say there is no proof that humans are affecting the climate and that “thousands” of scientists agree with him. At this point, it’s tough to sit still and listen to him. But the most important response in this democracy is to vote for DeFazio for the 4th Congressional district, hoping that he will chair a committee once again.
• A little election weirdness in Coos Bay, as long as we are talking about DeFaz. The ballots there were printed with his name and info in smaller type than his opponents’. The condensed font went out on 44,867 ballots, and DeFazio’s campaign is “gravely concerned,” a press release says, that Coos County voters will be unable to clearly make out DeFazio’s name and the parties that nominated him. The campaign understands it was a “formatting error.”
• The Oregon Ducks got walloped by Washington State Cougars last Saturday, Oct. 20, losing 34-20. In good news, however, the Ducks recruiting team managed to sign Cross Patton. He’s the son of Big Boi — yes, the hip-hop legend who was a member of Outkast. Big Boi made the announcement on his Instagram. It’s kinda cool that we’ll have someone bigger than Phil Knight at Autzen. Check out eugeneweekly.com to see some of Patton’s highlights.
• Rebuilding City Hall is still proceeding at a glacial pace. (What’s the saying, “Demolish in haste, repent at leisure”?) But some good is coming of Eugene’s awkward city planning. The City Council has voted to place a temporary supervised homeless camp with a day-use area on the site. Councilor Mike Clark, who was the sole vote against, voiced concerns the city would be laughed at for putting the shelter there. Nah, Mike, they are still too busy laughing at us for the whole, “Whoops we tore down our City Hall thing.” See more coverage online.
• We can’t say this enough: Vote! Also, where are The Register-Guard and other news sources getting the idea that vote by mail doesn’t work because millennials don’t know where to buy stamps? Every young person we ask looks at us like we’re stupid and says they get them on Amazon and, of course, at the Post Office.
This post has been updated.
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
Comments are closed.