Things are looking brighter, and while we need to remain vigilant, we are also looking for the positive spots in this rotten pandemic. A couple weeks ago we wrote about a young couple buying and running the Espresso 58 coffee stand in the middle of COVID-19. What other businesses have launched and are beating the odds? Let us know, we’d like to point them out! Drop us a note at Editor@EugeneWeekly.com or call 541-484-0519.
• The U.S. reached the grim milestone of 500,000 COVID deaths in the U.S. this week, but because case counts have gone down (and vaccines continue to roll out) Lane County will move from extreme to high risk for COVID-19 for the first time since December, according to new data from Oregon Health Authority and confirmed by Gov. Kate Brown. This means starting Feb. 26, some businesses, including gyms and restaurants, can open with limited indoor capacity — but the virus is still out there. Here is a reminder that you can support restaurants by getting takeout and eating outside, and as far as crowding the gym goes, get outdoors! Nice spring weather is around the corner.
• Lane County gets a new source of professionally reported and written news Sunday, Feb. 28, as Highway58Herald.org goes live. The nonprofit subscription website will be led by former Register-Guard Managing Editor Doug Bates, a 2006 Pulitzer Prize winner. We welcome the new voices.
• It turns out there are no “Styrofoam” cups. A letter we published Feb. 4 (“Let’s Ban Styrofoam”), calling for a Lane County ban on single-use polystyrene food containers, missed an important distinction, Dow Chemical Co. tells us. “Styrofoam” is Dow’s registered trademark for extruded polystyrene. Styrofoam, a Dow spokesman says, is not used to make disposable food containers, which are manufactured by other companies using a different material, expanded polystyrene. Food containers “are not and never have been made of Styrofoam brand extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam,” he says. We’ve corrected the letter online.
• Alas, another report about the tree that was cut down by vandals on the top of Spencer’s Butte comes from Aurore Moursund Maren, a Eugene native now living on Lopez Island, Washington. Last week we wrote about her idea to give the wood from the Douglas fir to local artist Tim Boyden to create a memorial for the tree. She writes that by the time Eugene Parks and Open Space was approached about this idea for the tree — which “was murdered,” she emphasizes — “the tree’s body had been justly distributed… buried, back into nature, its limbs and trunk distributed to be nesting material for birds and other wildlife.” Maren now suggests that “perhaps a collective outpouring of poems, photographs and stories could be gathered. Perhaps on a virtual forum… at first… then perhaps a show, an outdoor show, say, at Art in the Vineyard.” That sounds like a fine tribute to a fine tree. Let’s proceed.
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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