Days are getting darker but mornings will be brighter when the time changes on Nov. 7. No sooner does Halloween wrap up than the holiday season begins. With the now infamous “supply chain” issues slowing some commerce down, send us some recommendations for local craftspeople and Oregon-based shopping, or your favorite nonprofits to support. Write Editor@EugeneWeekly.com with your suggestions or send in a letter to the editor Letters@EugeneWeekly.com for publication.  

• Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley celebrated his 65th birthday Oct. 24 with considerable style. First, he ran a marathon. Then he raised money for the Blue Wave Project to help elect a more progressive Senate, as of course, he says, he is frustrated with the balance of power in this Senate. If you want to contribute, it’s Blue Wave Project, PO Box 14172, Portland, 97203. Happy birthday to this senator who makes us proud to be Oregonians

• Candy conquers COVID! Sort of. We know at least one household in southeast Eugene that handed out treats to 54 kids on Halloween. Never before have more than 30 tricksters come to that door. Maybe it was a rush after the confinement of COVID, maybe it was just because more families with young children are moving into the neighborhood or maybe it’s the result of the push to not shame older kids for being kids and having fun trick or treating. We like the theory that the dangers of COVID are dying down and we can practice our hallowed traditions again.

• “Seeking Solutions: The State of Our Homelessness Crisis” is the Nov. 5 City Club of Eugene topic.  Speakers are: City Councilor Randy Groves; President and CEO of the Eugene Chamber of Commerce Brittany Quick-Warner; and Heather Sielicki, co-lead for Everyone Village. In August of this year, 2,222 people had no home to go to in Lane County. That’s the bottom line for this program which airs on the City Club Facebook and YouTube pages starting at noon on Friday

• Though his Pulitzer Prize-winning prose may be poetic, Nicholas Kristof need not apply: Oregon is seeking nominations for a new Poet Laureate. According to a release from the Oregon Cultural Trust, the Poet Laureate “fosters the art of poetry, encourages literacy and learning, addresses central issues relating to the humanities and heritage, and reflects on public life in Oregon.” Candidates for the two-year position must not only be current residents of the state, but must have lived here 10 years. That seems to exclude gubernatorial candidate Kristof, who is having a hard time arguing with a straight face that he’s been a resident of Oregon for even three years, since he voted in 2020 as a resident of New York state.

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