• Every week we run our Activist Alert in print, online and in a newsletter! As the news on war in Iran, proposed drastic increases to logging of our public forests, ongoing attacks on the rights of trans community members and more stress us out, we turn to those helpers who fight back and ways to get involved. Events on the horizon include a Critical Mass Bike Ride kicking off at 6:30 pm on March 27 at Kesey Square, there’s a May Day Celebration at noon April 26 at the Park Blocks, and New York Times columnist (and one-time Oregon gubernatorial candidate) Nick Kristof gives the 2026 Rep. Peter DeFazio Annual Lecture at 6:30 pm April 16 at the University of Oregon Global Scholars Hall. Got an event? Send protests to Editor@EugeneWeekly.com and enter events in our What’s Happening Calendar at Calendar.eugeneweekly.com.
• On the protest note, word is the fence around the Federal Building is nigh and awaiting permitting from the Eugene city manager. We have questions: Will the fence make it safer for anyone except ICE? Will it make it harder to observe detentions of immigrant community members? What does it say about free speech? Eugene City Council is on break until April. On that note, those who are wondering about the March 28 No Kings Protest in Springfield, it makes perfect sense to have a protest where so many of our Latino neighbors live!
• There’s a rare contested race for Lane County Circuit Court judge in the May primary election — incumbent Amit Kapoor is being challenged by attorney Katina Saint Marie. Kapoor, on the bench since 2020 has a campaign site, AmitKapoor2026.com. In addition to his law degree, he has a master’s in sociology and has taught at Lane Community College. Saint Marie also has a doctorate in English literature in addition to her law degree, and you can read more about her and who’s endorsing her at KatinaForJudge.com.
• It is in fact election endorsement season! Ballots go out at the end of April and Election Day is May 19. We have been reaching out to candidates, and they have been calling us. Got any questions we should ask? Send them to Editor@EugeneWeekly.com.
• In our March 12 sidebar story, “Dishing Out Dollars,” on major Lane County donors, we wrote that Ed King gave $3,600 to the campaign of Lane County Commissioner Laurie Trieger in 2020. Doublechecking the record shows that King gave Trieger $1,000 and his King Estate Winery gave $3,600 in an in-kind donation.
• On Saturday, March 14, a press release went out saying to avoid 14th and Patterson — there was a gathering of 1,000 people. It wasn’t a protest, it was a University of Oregon student (frat-related) pre-St. Paddy’s Day party. A later Eugene police press release noted that the “special response team” was called in and six folks were arrested at the house that “appeared to be the greatest source of activity.” They were charged with “prohibited noise” and “unruly gathering.” A check on the Eugene Municipal Court site shows all the folks arrested at that house were women. Meanwhile, the release doesn’t mention anyone partying in the street getting charged with minor in possession. Weird.