Good news for Tina Kotek that the Oregon League of Conservation Voters is endorsing her now rather than waiting until closer to the gubernatorial election. OLCV monitors the Legislature very closely, following who understands this thing called governing, so their endorsement is a big deal. It should generate early money to counter the national fundraising done now by apparent tech-industry darling Nicholas Kristof. We just noted that he received $50,000 from Melinda Gates, as well as $50,000 from WeWork co-founder Miguel McKelvey (also the son of one of EW’s founders).  

• What we’re watching: “Gifts to the City,” the City Club of Eugene’s annual holiday program, airs noon Friday, Dec. 17. Ten people with “unique perspectives on Eugene” are invited to “offer their gifts.” They are  Silky Booker, president, Oregon Black Business Alliance; Gabe Casteel, tiny home builder; Karin Clarke, gallery owner; Ayisha Elliott, writer and podcaster; Roger Benson, founder of Bent Spoke; Ryan Moore, Springfield-Eugene Tenant Association; Lyllye Reynolds-Parker, retired University of Oregon counselor; Helen Shepard, raining SLUG queen; Sandra Shotridge, Native American activist and MLK award winner; and Beth Stein, executive director, Nearby Nature. Former City Club President, retired pastor and housing activist Dan Bryant will introduce the gifters. The program will air on the City Club Facebook and YouTube pages.

• What The New York Times calls a “rift” between Oregon’s senior Sen. Ron Wyden and his son Adam Wyden filled lots of space in the Sunday, Dec. 12 Times as well as the Twitter-verse before that. In short, Adam, the owner of a hedge fund, disapproves of the tax increase for the rich his powerful father, who chairs the Senate finance committee, is proposing. It’s easy for us to pick a side on that one. Dad is right. We should all be paying our fair share.

• Major League Baseball owners have locked its players out over labor negotiations, but the league might not lock the Emeralds team away from Eugene. The Eugene Emeralds have to build a new stadium that meets MLB’s standards by 2024 or Eugene will lose the team. But the Ems announced Dec. 12 that Lane County staff is moving forward with exploring a public-private partnership model with the Ems to build a stadium at the Lane County Fairgrounds. The good news is that it’s an investment in Eugene’s downtown that could result in more concerts and community events (although the new Matt Knight also promised us more concerts and didn’t totally deliver). Can’t but help wonder if the Ems regretted leaving historic Civic Stadium in the first place?

• While we’re talking about sports, we were shocked to see that Duck football’s newest head coach Dan Lanning will make $4.1 million in his first year. When Mario Cristobal first got the job at the University of Oregon in 2017, his first year salary was $2.7 million. If only that sort of wage adjustment happened for ordinary workers. 

* The biggest problem with our annual Give Guide is that it’s too small. This year we mixed some new names in with the old and tried to add everyone who asked to be mentioned because the support of you readers means so much to them (and us). We realize that not everyone can spend cash, and urge you to volunteer as well — the Egan Warming Centers can always use more people. And the donations of warm clothing, tents, gloves and socks that have been pouring into Eugene Weekly’s offices at 1251 Lincoln Street are warming our hearts as well as the bodies of those in need. The donations for White Bird Clinic’s Stay Warm Drive go directly to the people who need it. And finally, as you ponder who might need your support, remember you can subscribe to The Register-Guard, donate to KLCC and hey, sure, Eugene Weekly can always use contributions to print more pages!

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