By EW editorial staff
• 2024 has been a wild ride for Eugene Weekly. From going under due to the embezzlement by a once-trusted employee to the community bringing us back. We weren’t saved by a big donor giving millions but by you, our readers, giving support, one by one. To answer one question that repeatedly comes up: Where is the investigation? As soon as we knew what had happened last December, we reported the embezzlement to the Eugene Police Department. Investigating and prosecuting an embezzlement is lengthy and expensive — for those who have been embezzled, that is perhaps one reason you rarely hear about “smaller” embezzlements putting businesses under. The business or nonprofit is either embarrassed and can’t afford the investigation — a retainer for a forensic accountant firm is $10,000 or more — or it’s gone under and doesn’t have the finances to pay accountants to go through the files. Our accountants at Kernutt Stokes dove into EW’s financials for months, and the investigation is now in the hands of EPD.
• Back to our wild ride! In 2024, Eugene Weekly’s reporting on drugging allegations at the University of Oregon “revealed gaps in the university’s reporting structures” that the school addressed with “updated training” for people who might receive reports and “putting a team in place that reviews Clery-reportable crimes to determine if the community needs to be alerted to a threat.” Our reporting on Lane Community College’s handling of students with pregnancy-related conditions under Title IX also led to changes at that school. EW, with Catalyst Journalism Project, exposed the investigation into allegations of retaliation and bullying against now-former 4J superintendent Andy Dey. And we continued to report on housing, homelessness and issues that matter to this local community. Finally, our endorsements in local elections were among the most-read stories in the paper — which we love because we spend a lot of time sitting down with politicians! — with no paywall and no subscription, just your fav liberal rag printing 27,000 copies a week!
• So what were the most-read stories in the paper? For reasons we are deeply unclear — but kinda love — the most clicked story was sort-of-retired Arts Editor Bob Keefer’s “The Secret Temple of EWEB” about his journey into, and the acoustics of, the doomed College Hill Reservoir. Maybe y’all love a good secret temple story? This was followed by Best of Eugene (because readers love the love), then the Catalyst Journalism Project stories about the Eugene District 4J superintendent, our election endorsements — even if you disagreed, admit it, you read them. And rounding out the top five was Editor Camilla Mortensen’s ride-along with the Free Souls Motorcycle Club on their annual Rhody Run to the coast. For the full Top 15 (spoiler alert, the embezzlement stories were in there) go to EugeneWeekly.com.
• You may have noticed that your favorite Victorian Gothic bar is closed this week for some renovations. Don’t worry, ’cause Old Nick’s will be reopening better than ever — with a new name to boot! — next weekend. The newly named Sparrow and Serpent has its soft opening Jan. 10 with its monthly Chub Night (with DJ Enrique, Damnit!) and hosts its grand opening on Jan. 11. Goth post-punk band Shadowhouse performs at 8 pm Jan. 11 followed by DJs Barbie Saint, John the Revelator, Spidersound and Vampire Sister. “The bar is going to look so cool,” owner Emily Chappell says. “Picture you walk into a Victorian-styled pub that’s been around since Medieval times. The idea will be that it’s supposed to look like it’s been around for hundreds of years.”
• The death at age 100 of 39th president Jimmy Carter reminds us how much we value those who use their power and influence for good in the world. Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” Together with wife, Rosalynn, who died in 2023 (quick, somebody tell Texas Gov. Greg Abbott), Jimmy Carter volunteered one week a year for Habitat for Humanity until 2020. Meanwhile our president-elect found out this week that a federal appeals court upheld a jury’s finding in a civil case that he sexually abused a columnist in an upscale department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. Nice.
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