By EW editorial staff
• Happy birthday to us! Sept. 16 marked 44 years of Eugene Weekly! OK, to be precise, 44 years ago What’s Happening launched and then transitioned into Eugene Weekly. That’s 44 years of news, snark entertainment and fiercely independent locally owned and produced journalism! While that’s not old in people years, it is quite an accomplishment in newspaper years. It’s a tough time for the news media. We are still reeling from the closure just a few weeks ago of The Chronicle (117 years young!) and more recently, the Highway 58 Herald (5 years and 8 months old). For our birthday, we’d like to be printing and publishing for 44 more years (minimum). If you’d like that too, consider giving the birthday paper a little present. Just like any other kids, we always appreciate cash — but we never say no to chocolate, locally made cards or other yummy snacks. Find us at the Big Red Box building at 1251 Lincoln Street or Support.EugeneWeekly.com!
• We had an absolute blast at Springfield’s Block Party this past Saturday! And when we weren’t greeting readers from our red Eugene Weekly tent, we were checking out the local booths, food and entertainment. Herencia Hispana shared the date, and the gorgeous celebration of Latino culture was not-to-be-missed. But it did make us miss the Eugene Celebration — which reminds us, if you missed the Sept. 12 activities, then don’t miss the Eugene BRiGHT Parade on the evening of Saturday, Sept. 26. You will find us there, as well, we suspect, the prize-winning entry from Comunidad y Herencia Cultural, which will feature dancing and music alongside rope tricks and horses. See them plus a bunch of other brightly lit local groups!
• As the November election draws closer, Donald Trump is tantruming over the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision blocking his efforts to mess with mail-in voting, everyone else in the U.S. — and around the world — is furious over skyrocketing fuel and other prices, courtesy of Trump’s war in Iran, and AI is apparently going to destroy us all if we don’t take steps to regulate it. This is your periodic reminder to vote, damnit. Want to read a bright story about politics? Go to EugeneWeekly.com and read about the local chapter of Braver Angels, who meet to bring different political perspectives together. The next meeting is Sept. 24.
• About voting! Best of Eugene voting is well underway. Head over to Vote.EugeneWeekly.com and vote on all the things you love about Lane County. It only takes a few minutes. There’s some new categories this year — go check them out! It’s 30 years of the OG Best of Eugene. Remember it’s a readers’ poll — you chose the top vote-getters, now choose the winners.
• Since you’ve made it almost to the bottom of Slant, we know you love to read it! We’d love to highlight some local, independent writers — who do you read on Substack? We read the national political commentary of Rachel Bitecofer, the Junction City Community News of Amanda Coers and former legislator Marty Wilde’s “Letters from a Recovering Politician.” What’s your fav local read that’s not an “official” newspaper. (Yes, EW is “official,” and we’re locally and woman-owned, not to mention fairly queer and often weird!) Let us know at EW Asks! on EugeneWeekly.com.
• Birders by the hundreds have flocked since Sept. 13 to a neighborhood near Portland Airport to see an exceptionally rare bird. This is the second time a blue rock-thrush, a small red and blue bird that lives in Asia, has been recorded in Oregon, and the fourth time in all of North America. As of Sept. 16, on eBird.org 323 people had listed seeing it; some have flown from as far as Massachusetts to add it to their life list. One theory is the thrush landed on a ship at sea that was headed to Portland. We prefer the more adventurous notion that Travel Oregon kidnapped the thrush and set it loose to boost air travel and hotel bookings.