Regarding “Downtown Businesses Thank City for Nixing City Hall Shelter” (EW blog Nov. 15): Call me naive, but I see the “stakeholders” as the ones who risk, literally, freezing their butts, fingers and toes in Eugene’s winter cold.
Maj. Thomas Egan comes to mind. So does Mama Carrie.
Talk about being “fragile.” I suggest that Downtown Eugene business owners try surviving one night on the street, much less weeks or months on end, and you’ll discover just how fragile you are.
As a resident of downtown Eugene, I support businesses in the downtown core. But I do not support patronizing self-interest, no matter how “fragile,” parading as wisdom of “we the sheltered” telling our unsheltered and truly fragile co-Eugeneans where to go.
There will always be perfectly reasonable reasons why we can’t respond to obvious human needs. But people locked out of the House of Economic Belonging beg a clear and unified moral response — no matter how inconvenient — from the people (and businesses) that hold the power to rally blessed remedy and mobilize common justice.
While downtown Eugene may want to work “in partnership with our elected and public officials to solve problems together,” why not include members of the unhoused community in the conversation? While they are part of the problem for you, you are part of the problem for them.
And their problem is life-or-death. Just ask Maj. Egan. Or Mama Carrie.
Mary Sharon Moore
Eugene
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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