• We had a blast at KLCC’s recent listener appreciation party (we were the ones in the EW hoodies with KLCC tote bags) and now it’s our turn! Items for our Eugene Weekly Day silent auction fundraiser are coming in and we are excited! They are a mix of locally made art, handcrafted goods, experiences, gift packages, collectibles, home items, restaurant gift cards, wine, event tickets, services and other one-of-a-kind items. You are invited to come and celebrate (and bid) noon to 4 pm Saturday, May 30, at Claim 52 with music, pinball and more. Attending the event is free and open to all you Weekly readers but Claim 52 and Seasoned are donating $1 from every pint and every pulled pork sandwich sold to support the little paper that could! Or enter the raffle where a lucky winner will randomly appear on the cover of the Weekly.
• We are halfway through May and Pride month is nigh! Eugene Pride moved from its previous August dates to the more traditional June celebration (June 27), and Eugene Emeralds Pride Night is June 9 (the Weekly is a sponsor!) Props to the city of Boise — after a new Idaho state law banning “non-official flags” forced the city to take down its Pride flag, the city hung a large sign outside its city hall with rainbow stripes and the words “Creating a city for everyone,” and wrapped poles in front of the plaza with pride colors.
• Election results! Sort of! We miss the days when we knew who won what on Election Day or at least the next morning! One hotly contested race that is over was for the Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) at-large seat between Eric Dziura and Alexi Miller — Miller had over 65 percent of the vote at press time. “I want to put EWEB at the center of decarbonization in Eugene,” Miller says. Springfield City Councilor Kori Rodley, holding 59.64 percent of the vote, beat Ky Fireside and KC Huffman for state House District 7, previously held by John Lively who retired. For local measures, the Eugene library levy is easily passing; we are sad to see that the Oregon State Extension levy increase is failing, as is Willamalane’s — when folks see fewer services at Springfield area parks and popular programs like OSU’s Master Gardener training and Master Food Preserver education facing cuts we might see some voters’ remorse.
• This week in online extras! Head to EugeneWeekly.com where intern reporter Will Decker writes about going to the HUMP! Film Festival to review the films and talk to some of the theater-goers about watching adult films in a room full of strangers. Activist Alert, even when it’s not in the paper, is always online with upcoming and current protests and marches!
• Diane Downs is back in the news. If you like true crime and somehow missed this local murder case from the 1980s, check out Ann Rule’s Small Sacrifices (also a TV movie starring Farah Fawcett and Ryan O’Neal). Downs was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of murdering her child and shooting her two other children on a rural road outside Springfield then shooting herself in the arm and driving to McKenzie-Willamette Hospital. The case has many weird twists — the prosecutor adopted the surviving children, and at one point Downs escaped prison— and most recently Downs, now 70, has asked for DNA testing to prove her innocence.