• In the spirit of the nude issue, here is some advice from an experienced nudist if you’re considering dipping your toes into the lifestyle. “Pull your drapes and try it at home,” says Shirley Gauthier, a nudist and member of The Willamettans nudist club for 53 years. On an average day, when you get home after work, “What’s the first thing you do when you walk through the door?” she asks. “You take off your shoes. Well just keep on going,” she says. “Practice nudity and just see how it feels on you.”
• Want the behind-the-scenes story of Eugene Weekly’s new blowup doll collection? Subscribe to “EW Extra” (Tuesdays) for spicy takes on the local scene, “Local and Vocal” (Thursdays) for what’s in the paper this week, “What’s Happening” (Thursdays) for events around Lane County and “Activist Alert” (Wednesdays) for upcoming protests, marches and organizing! Find all the newsletters at EugeneWeekly.com/newsletter.
• Longtime local videographer Tim Lewis, of Picture Eugene, was documenting police activity at Washington-Jefferson Park when he was aggressively approached by a Eugene Police Department officer advising him if he didn’t back away, “I am going to take you to jail.” Lewis says he was troubled not only by that interaction but also by seeing another man, who was with EPD as a public information officer but wearing a vest emblazoned “press,” filming closely. Local news outlet Doublesided Media was the first to report on Lewis’ video of the interaction. EPD said at the time that the PIO was “capturing video for purposes of sending post-operation footage to media. People don’t always know what ‘PIO’ stands for, so ‘Press’ identifies him as someone not involved in making arrests and not a police officer.” Eugene Weekly followed up with EPD who tell us, “We have had incidences of people in non-police units being challenged and put in precarious situations when people thought they were police officers.” However, since the incident “prompted questions and some concerns, which was never our intention, we will switch his wording on the back to ‘videographer.’”
• Fire season is here — a fact made clear by the recent wildfire just outside Oakridge and fire weather alerts. If you don’t have Watch Duty, check out the app, which alerts users to nearby fires at WatchDuty.org.
• Bob Keefer, EW’s arts editor emeritus, has been having a very good year. In 2024 he retired as arts editor to work full time at his landscape and nature photography, which he’s been showing in galleries and museums around the West. So far in 2025, he’s had solo shows at Eugene’s Midtown Arts Center and at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg. This Friday, August 22, a new exhibition of his work opens with a reception from 4 pm to 7 pm at Mindpower Gallery in Reedsport. Bob will give a gallery talk and demonstration at 5:30 pm. Drop by — or read all about it on Oregon ArtsWatch, which ran a story this week about him and his work.
• The Keseys and the Grateful Dead go with the Eugene vibe like the tang of patchouli and Nancy’s Yogurt. Springfield Creamery announced its co-founder Sue Kesey died August 18. Sue, and co-founder and husband Chuck, might be as famous for their probiotic creamy goodness as they are for saving that goodness via the legendary benefit Grateful Dead “Field Trip” concert at the Oregon Country Fair site a little over 50 years ago on August 27.
• Morsels: Lion and Owl has announced it has purchased The Paddock off East Amazon in south Eugene. “Same heart, new home,” the beloved local eatery that started off in an Airstream trailer posted on Instagram.
• Oregon lost a jazz queen August 5 when Nancy King, she of the rose-colored glasses on stage and world-renowned for scat singing, died in Portland. Raised outside Springfield, King, then known as Nancy Whaley, won the Springfield “Miss News Photographer” competition in 1958, and her first instruments were drums. It was in Portland where King made her mark. King sang with the likes of bassist Ray Brown and vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater and Diana Krall. She was named to the Jazz Society of Oregon’s Hall of Fame in 2001, and she received the Jazz Master Award from the Portland Jazz Festival in 2013. King was 85.
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