• The New York Times announced it will no longer be doing election endorsements in New York state and local races — though the Gray Lady will still endorse in presidential elections. It’s kind of a weird decision, and the opinion editor did not give a reason for the change. When The Register-Guard — at Gannett’s push — ceased its opinion pages and thus endorsements, one reason given was controversy. Well, Eugene Weekly is always up for a little good trouble, so we will be doing endorsements for local, state and national elections this fall. And if we had more readers in Manhattan, we might endorse candidates in some of the races the Times will be ignoring. Got any good questions? What about a fun question? Send them to Editor@EugeneWeekly.com.
• Speaking of elections, we see that supporters of RFK Jr. are gaining momentum for getting the Kennedy with the worm in his brain on the November ballot with the formation of the “We The People” party. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is running as an independent, and we’re hoping he doesn’t leave any dead bear cubs in the park if he does a campaign swing through Oregon.
• We want to publish stoner stories in our upcoming cannabis issue in September — or at least the stories you can remember. Maybe it was about the time you shared a bowl with a 35-year-old in Alton Baker Park, after which some old geezer called you a pothead, among other expletives? Well, thank you, old geezer, but now I’m not gonna share my weed with you. Keep them to 150 words max, kids. Email your responses to Editor@EugeneWeekly.com by Sept. 5.
• In case you were planning to drive up to Skinner Butte to catch the view, rock out or get high, Eugene Parks and Open Space closed the parking lot last week after what they are calling “a series of fires and fireworks incidents.” The asphalt lot (really, people?!) will remain closed to vehicles through the end of fire season in early September. Pedestrians and cyclists are still welcome to tramp up to the top.
• We’re always impressed by the plethora of local bands that Eugene boasts. Every day, it seems, a new group takes the stage. Some, however, have decades under their belts. If you’ve ever dipped your toe into the Eugene music scene, you’ve probably heard of Riffle. Timothy Patrick, guitarist and lead of the party band, is celebrating his 40th anniversary of owning Riffle. The quartet — featuring Jim Reinking on drums; Gus Russell on keyboard and bass; and Patrick and Cris Cordero on guitar — plays blues, r&b, rock, country and popular hits. Every Riffle performance is featured in the Eugene Weekly calendar. Do you have local music you want added to our calendar? Email Cal@EugeneWeekly.com with the details of your performance or submit online at Calendar.eugeneweekly.com!
• We went to a memorial service this weekend — it featured the .30.06 rifle that Gene Whitney used to take all the elk he hunted, shots of Fireball in his honor, a whole heck of a lot of Busch Light, a raffle, some good country music and a years and years of good friends and family. One sign of a life well lived is a damn good celebration — something to aspire to, eventually.
• Keep leaving your furniture on the side of the road, free for the taking — EW reporters and interns love free shit. How else could we have found a lovely, plaid, fabric couch that spent its collegiate years in a frat house, making all kinds of memories (in the form of stains). Now it will be returning from whence it came — the streets. Reduce, reuse, recycle, people!