Kudos to Rick Steves for his July 3 PBS travel show on the Alps. He often mentioned global climate change and what it is doing to our planet, pointing out shrinking glaciers, etc. That’s the way we have to keep talking about it, forcing our political leaders to act.

• Eugene’s Lox, Stocks and Bagels announced on social media July 5 that they would no longer supply wholesale bagels to the city of Creswell. Despite that city’s refusal to grant a permit, a July 4 parade with ties to right-wing extremists the Proud Boys marched through downtown Creswell. The Chronicle newspaper published a photo of a man in a Proud Boys hat flashing a white supremacist hand sign from his parade vehicle. While the parade went largely without incident — Lane County sheriff’s office said it will issue citations later — both official and unofficial fireworks events that night apparently led to several decent-sized grass-fires around Creswell. 

• Moving past speculation, there’s a candidate for Oregon governor in 2022 who has actually announced — and she’s a doozy. Kerry McQuisten, Republican mayor of Baker City, describes herself as a former marketing and business development executive turned award-winning publisher. She’s 49 years old, says “Oregon needs a huge course correction” and, if elected, would be the first governor from eastern Oregon since Elmo Smith in the 1950s. Need a reason not to like this Fox News darling? McQuisten encouraged the Baker City City Council to pass a resolution that blames Gov. Kate Brown’s COVID-19 restrictions for creating an “economic, mental health and criminal activity crisis” in the city. On the Democratic side we continue to hear praise for Multnomah County Commissioner Deborah Kafoury, but she has not said if she wants the job. Tell us your favorite pick for governor of Oregon after Brown in 2022.

• “Oregon Legislative Wrap Up: What Got Done in the 2021 Long Session” is the City Club of Eugene topic on July 9. Speakers are Rep. Ron Noble, Rep. Dan Rayfield and Rep. Andrea Valderrama. This program will air on the City Club Facebook and YouTube pages starting at noon on July 9. We’re looking forward to this important civic organization meeting again in person. That should soon happen.

• What we are watching: Sweet Tooth on Netflix. OK, a post-apocalyptic show about a half-deer, half boy and a deadly virus doesn’t sound that great on paper. After all, who would believe a virus could shut the whole world down? But Sweet Tooth is both charming and thought provoking in this COVID reality we have been living. It was worth watching right after we finished Cobra Kai (seriously, we grew up and liked Johnny?). 

• Someone needs to tell Hobby Lobby the U.S. isn’t a theocracy. On July 4, the right-wing, anti-abortion corporation took out a full page ad in The Register-Guard and papers around the country with quotes about how the U.S. is a Christian nation from the Founding Fathers to presidents to Supreme Court Justices. Pissed-off readers took photos of the ad and posted them on Facebook and Twitter — that’s how EW saw it because our own Sunday copy never showed up. C’mon, Gannett, we need a good daily paper, can you please help the RG grow, not kill it?

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