• Fifty years of the Oregon Country Fair! That’s what we are celebrating in a special insert in this issue!
• Bill Harbaugh, the University of Oregon economics professor best known for his newsy, funny and caustic blog UO Matters, has thrilled us to the bone by announcing his “candidacy” for University of Oregon provost — the position soon to be vacated by Jayanth Banavar. On his blog Harbaugh says he’s running on a platform of transparency and relief from the reign of athletics. “UO should tax Duck coaches’ salaries, not subsidize them,” he writes. “The tax revenue should go towards the university’s academic, cultural and extension missions.” He says he’ll do the job for just half of Banavar’s $500k salary. If only the job of provost were an elected post, he’d have our vote in a heartbeat.
• If every Lane County voter could have heard the April 26 City Club of Eugene forum on the courthouse bond measure, we would wager that the “yes” votes would win. Steve Mokrohisky, county administrator, and Joe Berney, county commissioner, spoke for the bond measure, and retired Judge Jim Hargreaves against. We agree with Berney’s assessment that we need a courthouse and that Hargreaves is wrong when he says we need a new courthouse, but not this proposal. Seems likely that Hargreaves would never find a new Lane County courthouse he favored unless he designed it.
• Garth Brooks fans proved he’s got friends in low places in the Willamette Valley. Tickets for his June 29 show at Autzen Stadium sold out in less than two hours — setting a venue record by selling all 60,000 seats. Although his shows typically sell out quickly, he also has a tendency to offer a second show. We’ll see if the UO lets the country music mega-star play a second show.
• Gov. Kate Brown and her staff must not have seen the Instagram photos of James Nash from Enterprise, Oregon, standing with his gun over a dead hippo, dead zebra, dead crocodile and more before she appointed him to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission. A big-game trophy hunter on the OFWC? The photos have been removed from the site, but the wildlife conservation community in this state is pissed off and raising money for attack ads on the governor. A Senate committee will consider this nomination on May 8. They should turn it down.
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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