• Good election news for progressives here — and around the country. Eugene City Councilor Lyndsie Leech trounced her opponent for the Ward 7 seat in the Tuesday, Nov. 7, special election, drawing 58 percent of the vote to conservative Barbie Walker’s 42 percent as of press time. It was an election that shouldn’t have happened, spurred by a vicious recall against former Councilor Claire Syrett for her support of public transit. Happily, Ward 7 voters saw through the scam this time and elected another councilor who supports progressive causes. Nationally, abortion rights scored unexpectedly big wins from voters in Ohio, Virginia and Kentucky. Don’t let those Biden-Trump polls get you down.
• We are happy to see former Weekly intern, Lane Community College grad and former Oregon Daily Emerald editor Hannarose McGuinness’s byline in The Register-Guard. We take a lot of pride in Eugene Weekly interns going on to journalism careers, and McGuinness will be contributing a local voice and news coverage to the daily paper. It’s November, which is the start of the giving season — feel free to check out Support.EugeneWeekly.com for how to contribute the our internship program’s stipend. And keep picking up the paper and telling advertisers you saw them in the Weekly because that supports your independent local news source, too!
• Corrections/clarifications: in our Nov. 2 article celebrating 50 years of the Hoedads Reforestation Cooperative, we mistakenly quoted a former Hoedad as saying she was one of the few Hoedads who was not a lesbian. She was actually referring to one of the two all-women Hoedad crews, Half and Half, which was primarily a lesbian crew. Sources tell us there was a big brouhaha about it on the Hoedads’ Facebook page.
• The summer harvest is in, and the Willamette Farm and Food Coalition is back with the 13th annual Fill Your Pantry event, noon to 4 pm Sunday, Nov. 12, in the Agricultural Pavilion at the Lane County Fairgrounds, 796 W. 13th Avenue. There will be upward of 36 vendors this year, and you can get your supply of veggies, bread and other foods for the winter. It’s a great way to support small farmers and food businesses in Lane County.
• Eugene Weekly is once again collecting clothing and winter supplies for White Bird Clinic to distribute to those in need. Every year we are awed and touched by all things readers bring in to help community members to stave off the cold from warm used coats to handknit hats and scarves. Think wool blankets, tents or anything else someone might need to survive Oregon’s cold wet nights. Drop them off at 1251 Lincoln Street weekdays between 9 am and 5 pm.
• Two important community names showed up in The Register-Guard’s obituaries this past weekend. For some, obits are tragic, but for others they are glances into lives well lived. And obituaries often tell us a detail of history it behooves us to remember. For instance, the obituary of Debbie Mohr, published Nov. 5 in memory of her death this past August, told us that when she married DeNorval Unthank Jr. of Portland, interracial marriage was illegal in the state of Oregon. The couple, who were targeted with a cross burning while at the University of Oregon, were legally married in Vancouver, Washington. That was 1951, and the anti-miscegenation law was repealed later that year.
Another important obituary in the RG tells us, sadly, about the death of Ron Eachus at age 76 from a heart attack while hiking in Bhutan. Eachus was Oregon Daily Emerald editor, UO student body president and a fierce opponent of the Vietnam War. He spent his life working for the people at the bottom, trying to make the world a better place. His memorial service will be from 2 to 5 pm Saturday, Jan. 6, at the Salem Convention Center, 200 Commercial Street SE. As the obituary said, “All are welcome to attend and celebrate Ron’s life”.
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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