• Driving into Eugene Weekly on the Winter Solstice, we stopped by Blue Valley Bistro’s coffee box off Highway 58 in Pleasant Hill, after getting our dog treats and coffee, the barista said, “No charge,” because a customer earlier had handed her a $100 bill and said use it to buy people coffee this morning. That gift probably made the day of a lot of workers and commuters — it did ours. It’s also a reminder that there are gestures and gifts, monetary or not, we can give to people we don’t even know.
• Speaking of giving, this issue is our annual Give Guide where we suggest nonprofits for you to support with end of year (tax deductible) donations. We wish we had more pages so we could feature even more of the remarkable groups for you to support. Did we not include your favorite group this year? Write us a letter at letter@eugeneweekly.com and tell your fellow readers who you think they should give to. And please support our advertisers because their ad money buys us the pages we print!
• If you’re looking for an escape from the chaos of the daily news, try tuning into the Oregon women’s basketball team. They are fun. Nearly 9,000 fans watched them beat Mississippi State in a nationally televised game played in Matt Knight Arena. On Dec. 20, they trounced Air Force 82-36 with Sabrina Ionescu setting the NCAA career record for triple-doubles. The big question: can the Ducks beat UConn and Notre Dame to win the national championship this year? Maybe.
• Even scarier than the Jim “Mad Dog” Mattis resignation as Trump’s secretary of defense is the news that cancerous nodules have been found and removed from the lungs of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We’re told that they were caught early and she is missing no time on the bench. She must stay on the court as long as Trump stays in the White House. Do we need to donate a lung?
• Also, to all, a Happy New Year!
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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