• SEIU Local 503 announced the July 6 death of former Eugene Springfield NAACP president Ibrahim Coulibaly. Coulibaly was also the former chair of the Eugene Human Rights Commission, worked at the Bureau of Labor and Industries protecting workers’ rights and was a vibrant member of the community, championing human rights, immigrant rights and impacting countless people. SEIU is collecting stories about Coulibaly; reach out at Photos@seiu503.org.
• City Club of Eugene tackles local minor league sports at its July 10 meeting — folks will hear from Springfield’s wooden bat baseball team, the Drifters, as well as incoming soccer team Sporting Cascades Football Club, which begins their inaugural season in 2027 at Eugene’s Civic Park. Teeing up to the podium to speak are Knight Jarecki of the Drifters and Sporting Cascades FC president Dave Galas. City Club meets noon at the WOW Hall and airs on KLCC Monday nights at 7 pm. Also in sportsball, we hear President Donald Trump jinxed the American team in the soccer World Cup when he reached out to FIFA to reverse a U.S. player’s suspension. Team USA lost to Belgium on July 6.
• Judging on the calls, emails, letters and folks dropping by, Christian Wihtol’s Bricks $ Mortar cover story on Kathy Jones McCann’s unpermitted house near the McKenzie River and the more than $100,000 she dropped on the election campaigns of three Lane County commissioners touched a nerve. However, on July 7, David Loveall, Ryan Ceniga and Pat Farr all voted to override county staff and overturn their denial. Hopefully voters remember that in November when Loveall faces Springfield Mayor Sean VanGordon for the Springfield commission seat. Ceniga is unchallenged in the general election, Farr’s not up for election this cycle, and Heather Buch, who voted against the override, is also facing a challenger.
• This week in other news… KLCC reports that Newport restaurant Local Ocean has stopped adding a 20 percent gratuity that it started during COVID. The Register-Guard reports that Springfield has for years required garage sales have a permit — the permits are free, but we suspect there’s a lot of unpermitted garage sales since the RG says there’s only been 27 applications in 2026. Over at EugeneWeekly.com, you can find Snowden intern Aishiki Nag’s story about the removal of the fence around the downtown Federal Building to allow for free speech activities, as well as her stories about the University of Oregon’s graduate employee union bargaining sessions.
• Don’t forget, the OG Best of Eugene voting is on the horizon. Don’t get confused by cheap imitations — we’ve been doing this since 1993! Stay tuned at BestofEugene.com!
• As the economy suffers, so do all the folks working hard to stay afloat. Christmas is when we think most about giving, but sometimes it’s Christmas in June and July (also known as the end of the fiscal year). OnPoint Community Credit Union recently gave $10,000 to Willamalane Park Foundation to provide scholarships for kids in Springfield to attend summer camp as part of $500,000 in grants to nonprofits. Children’s Legacy Foundation Network gave $38,500 in grants to 13 Lane County nonprofit organizations like the Lane Diaper Bank and Cascades Raptor Center, “that are strengthening the health, education, safety, and well-being of children and families across Lane County.” United Way of Lane County announced “$800,000 over the next two years to strengthen 18 local initiatives addressing some of Lane County’s most pressing challenges, from food security and childcare access to youth mental health and disaster resilience,” with grants to groups from Plaza de Nuestra Comunidad to Black Cultural Initiative. Lane Arts Council announced its Community Arts Grants, totaling $61,564 in support to Eugene-area arts organizations, artists and projects from former EW graphic artist Chelsea Lovejoy’s mural project to #instaballet and Free Shakespeare in the Park. Earlier in June, Oregon Community Foundation gave $1.5 million in education initiatives to strengthen student success, expand STEM learning opportunities and support the child care workforce — including grants supporting Black Student Success programs across Oregon. Finally, Three Rivers Foundation, the charitable arm of Three Rivers Casino Resort, awarded $850,000 in grants to 83 organizations across Oregon in late June, including HIV Alliance, KidsFIRST and ShelterCare to name a few. Know an org doing good deeds? Let us know at Editor@EugeneWeekly.com.