• Convicted felon and recent assassination attempt survivor Donald J. Trump picking J.D. Vance sure surprised us this week. Running up to the 2016 election, Vance called his future running mate “cultural heroin” and “America’s Hitler.” Well, Mr. Vance, you used to call yourself a “never-Trumper.” Would you now refer to yourself as America’s newest Nazi? Just a reminder that Trump had to pick a new VP because his supporters attempted to hang the last one. Grifters gonna grift.
• From the Eugene Weekly Complaints Department: Sorry, we didn’t have room for sudoku this week. Sometimes we have to pull content to run the ads that pay for this free little paper! Wondering just who to complain to? Editor Camilla Mortensen (Editor@EugeneWeekly.com) is your go-to on opinion, news and content. Shalena Cardinaux (Shalena@EugeneWeekly.com) is who to talk to about ads. Want to fundraise to ensure your sudoku never goes astray again? Jody Rolnick is our director of community engagement (Jody@EugeneWeekly.com). If in doubt as to whom you should be sending darts or flowers, Mark Zusman is our interim publisher (think CEO, only for a newspaper) and you can get him at MZusman@EugeneWeekly.com. Finally, if you want to air your views in public, write to us at Letters@EugeneWeekly.com, or if you want a voice on the other end of the line, JJ Snyder, our amazing office manager, will chat with you when you call 541-484-0519.
• From the Eugene Weekly Bragging Department: The Association of Alternative Newsmedia Awards were announced last week, and EW’s story “Crisis Mode,” written by Catalyst Journalism Project interns Anna Kaminski and Winter Wagner, won first place in Solutions Journalism. The story about Lane County’s mental-health crisis response also took third place in Health Care Reporting. Catalyst writer Alexis Weisend took second place in Explanatory Journalism for her story on homeless sweeps, “Fast and Furious.” Our amazing interns were competing against experienced journalists across the country from more than 100 papers — and we are proud of them!
• We had a moment of sadness and sweetness reading the lovely obituary in The Register-Guard for public health advocate Mary Ellen Bennett. The obituary mentions her 2004 appearance as an EW Happening Person, and it reminded us yet again why we do what we do publishing this paper — recognizing the wonderful things you, our readers, do in this tumultuous world.
• The Whiteaker’s Scobert Gardens Park is entering the third stage of redesign proposals, but disagreement remains about the park’s future. The city’s proposal calls for expanding the central lawn and adding a stage, a new play structure and new lights and furniture. In addition to building a restroom just outside the park, the plan also calls for an accessible path around the park, while expanding a south-end fence, to create a space between the park and neighboring homes. “We’re working really hard to be intentional around the choices we’re making and to really take the feedback we’re getting in hand and understand the values that people share so we can deliver something that’s both maintainable and also really welcoming for the neighborhood,” says Emily Proudfoot, with Eugene Parks and Open Space. Park neighbor Sue Dockstader disagrees and says the city has “strategically and deliberately neglected” the park. She’s created a petition calling to respect the city’s equity and inclusion mission along with climate goals. Preview the Scobert Garden Park proposals 5:30 pm July 23 at the park. Read our story on EugeneWeekly.com.
• We followed with anxiety the July 15 fire south of Eugene Airport that swiftly grew to 115 acres on Monday afternoon. Greenhill Humane Society reported that its animals were safely evacuated. It’s a good reminder to have an evacuation plan in place on these hot, red flag warning days.