I am a retired 4J and Bethel Elementary School counselor. I worked with a first grader who blew the head off of their 2-year-old neighbor, showing them “Dad’s gun.” The surviving child is traumatized. Now another school shooting. All school age children are traumatized by a school shooting, anywhere. The suicide rates of children between 5 and 10 years old is on the rise.
Have you spoken with a college-age kid recently? They are terrified by their scientific understanding of the climate catastrophe and the dark future they are headed for. Some are anxious, depressed or addicted.
Those of us who consider ourselves to be adults have created and allowed unsafe behaviors by corporations to put their profits over the health and safety of us all. The gun lobby. The fossil fuel industry. If evil exists, it must be how we prioritize self interest over the deaths of millions.
We have to vote. And we have to get in the streets to disrupt BAU: The golden calf of Business as Usual. We must lead the needed changes from below.
Appreciation to the mayor and Eugene City Council for moving middle housing forward. Now let’s electrify all new building construction and stop digging the hole of climate collapse.
Debra McGee
Eugene
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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