• If cities were to be judged by the quality of their public libraries, Eugene would rate very high. That was clear Saturday night, May 4, when library patrons filled the building, paying $150 per ticket for the Eugene Public Library Foundation’s Booked for the Evening fundraiser. This support is key at this time when books are banned and library budgets — including Eugene Public Library’s — are being cut.
• Never Use Alone has a 24/7 hotline for folks using substances. Call 1-877-696-1996 and give your exact location and what substance you are using, and a peer operator will stay on the line with you and call EMS if the user becomes unresponsive. Your information is not stored and is confidential. The recent tragic overdose death in front of Eugene Weekly reminds us of how quickly and easily these deaths happen and how preventable they are. CORE Eugene can also provide naloxone and has, along with Lane County Behavioral Health, provided it for EW to have on hand.
• Online readers will note a peculiar ad on our endorsements page. Miffed at not getting our nod — and being called NIMBY, Ward 1 City Council candidate Ted Coopman took out an ad that tries to make it look like Eugene Weekly did endorse him. That kind of subterfuge is not a good look for a prospective city councilor. We endorsed Eliza Kashinsky in the race and had positive things to say about fellow candidate Ethan Clevenger. As in most reputable news media, EW’s editorial staff does not control advertising, keeping our reporting separate from the ads that keep us afloat!
• It will be a good use of your time to stop in at Maude Kerns Art Center for “Shifting Focus: Photography at Oregon Invitational,” which opens with a reception 5 pm Friday, May 10, and runs through June 7 at the art center, 1910 East 15th Avenue. The show includes work by Barbora Bakalarova and Sarah Grew of Eugene; Tracy Barbutes, Groveland, California; Rob Hammer, Raleigh, North Carolina; Eric Kunsman, Rochester, New York; Willie Osterman, Canandaigua, New York; Osceola Refetoff, Los Angeles; and Nolan Streitberger, Albany, Oregon.
• Longtime Eugene Weekly owner, and its biggest supporter, Anita Johnson, who has never taken a profit, turned 95 this week. She still actively contributes to the paper. Feel free to wish her happy birthday with a note to Editor@EugeneWeekly.com and we will pass it on!
• What do you do with a jerk like Donald Trump? The orange guy has been daring New York Justice Juan Merchan, overseeing Trump’s trial on 34 felony charges, to send him to jail for repeatedly maligning and threatening witnesses and jurors. Jail time sounds great, except that’s exactly what Trump wants to stir up his red-meat MAGA base. In The New York Times on May 6, Jonathan Alter offers a better solution: Forget jail. Merchan should order the contemptuous and contemptible Trump to join other inmates picking up trash in the city’s parks for several hours on Wednesdays when court is not in session. That plan would save jail space and ease the job of Secret Service agents assigned to protect the former president. We like it. And Trump would get to wear an orange jumpsuit.
• Eugene Weekly’s annual Cap and Cork issue is now out, and as if on cue (May is Oregon Wine Month), the Eugene City Club will put a spotlight on the wine industry in the south Willamette Valley May 10. Viticulture in the Valley: The Wine Economy of Eugene features speakers Justin King of King Estate, Morgen McLaughlin of the Willamette Valley Wineries Association and Aaron Schwartz, owner of Julien Sinclair and Headquarters. This City Club meeting is noon to 1:15 pm at the Headquarters Wine Bar and Shop, 325 West 4th Avenue.
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