Since the encampment at Washington Jefferson Park was removed on March 16, the park has been closed. The city of Eugene has estimated the renovation cost to be $810,000 or more. I can’t make sense of why this is so expensive. In my opinion that money could have been better put to use by providing services to our homeless, rather than kicking them out into our community.
Now they roam our streets lacking basic human needs like access to a bathroom, handwashing stations and clean water. This has made many of our neighborhoods, specifically in downtown Eugene, unsafe and unpassable to people walking down the street. As of now a portion of the park is still fenced off from the public, until the park reopens sometime this winter.
We have an estimated 3,000 homeless with more than 2,000 of them unsheltered every night. I strongly believe that the money should be used to do more, perhaps by hiring a group of people with resources and information to actually help the homeless instead of further displacing them.
Jose Tafolla
Springfield
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.
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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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