By EW editorial staff
• This week in weird shit as a result of the November election: Meta (the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Threads) announced it’s going to get rid of fact checking programs and rely on users to correct inaccurate and false posts. That’s one way to suck up to Donald Trump (that cool million Meta and Mark Zuckerberg gave to Trump’s inaugural fund helps, too). Then there’s the whole Trump-wanting-to-take-Greenland-and-the-Panama-Canal-by-force thing. The good news? Jan. 6 happened and nobody got killed as a result of a violent insurrection. Do you think sending hopes and prayers for democracy will help?
• It’s easy to feel discouraged as inauguration day draws closer. Want to do something? Here’s an option: Get civically engaged. The city of Eugene is looking for board and commission members, everything from the city’s Budget Committee to the Police Commission and the police Civilian Review Board. Go to Eugene-or.gov/86/Boards-and-Commissions for more.
• The Lane County Commission, in a 3-2 vote, elected David Loveall its chair. Loveall, who once patrolled downtown Springfield with an AR-15 style rifle during a Black Lives Matter protest, writes in a press release, “My hopes and dealings in the next year will be to bring a contentious board together in consensus by having more open work sessions so that we communicate together and find passionate agreement.” Hopes and prayers, Commissioner Loveall.
• Creating a Resilient and Sustainable Water Supply for Eugene/Springfield is the subject of the noon Jan. 10 City Club of Eugene program at the WOW Hall featuring speakers from EWEB and Springfield’s Environmental Services and the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission. Topics include EWEB establishing a new water treatment plant on the Willamette River, and MWMC’s successful effort to secure $6 million dollars to construct the “first-ever Class A recycled water facilities for drought and water resource management.”
• While the Pacific Northwest has been enjoying day after winter day of rain and fog, Southern California has run smack into the legacy of climate change in a La Niña year. Santa Ana winds of up to 100 mph are driving out of control wildfires in Pacific Palisades, the San Fernando Valley and in the foothills north of Pasadena, with more than a thousand buildings and homes burned. The apocalyptic chaos has seen fire hydrants running dry, leaving firefighters helpless, and gridlocked roads as people try to evacuate, only to be ordered by police to abandon their cars to be bulldozed out of the way by firefighters and escape on foot. Oh, L.A! Our hearts are with you, and 240 Oregon firefighters — including some from Lane County — are on their way south to lend help.
• As the new year kicks off, we at Eugene Weekly world headquarters are thankful for all the contributions readers have made to support this paper and in memory of longtime Weekly owner Anita Johnson. One goal we have for this paper is for us to stand on our own feet through earning revenue — with contributions supporting increased reporting and printing more pages, and ads supporting the paper’s operations. Not all small businesses can afford ads, nor can all nonprofits. Want more bang for your buck? Take out an ad for your fav nonprofit or small business in the Weekly! Call 541-484-0519 or email Sales@EugeneWeekly.com. Or just drop by 1251 Lincoln Street weekdays between 11 am and 4 pm.