Author: Amy Klarup

Changes To Federal Cider Rules Benefit Oregon Cider Makers

Federal legislation is broadening definitions and easing off taxes

News

Instead of reaching for a glass of champagne this New Year, grab a hard cider and toast to Oregon’s booming hard cider industry. Recent changes in federal legislation, co-sponsored by Rep. Earl Blumenauer and Sen. Ron Wyden, have smoothed the process for craft cider makers by broadening definitions of hard cider and easing off taxes. These changes are especially relevant to Oregon, says Lee Larsen, CEO of 2 Towns Ciderhouse in Corvallis, because Oregon has around 6 percent of the market share for hard cider, while the national average is 1 percent. Continue reading →

Eugene Program For Unhoused Kids Needs Funding To Continue

News
Children Learn, Play And Eat Lunch In The First Place Kids Classroom. Photo by Amy Schneider.

At First Place Kids Early Childhood program in south Eugene, Eileen Chanti works with young children who don’t have homes. Chanti, the program’s director, says that the unhoused children of Lane County are “the most vulnerable population in our community.”  Due to a recent loss in funding, the First Place Kids Early Childhood program is losing one of its two staff members this week, reducing resources for unhoused families who often can’t meet the mandatory enrollment requirements of other early childhood programs. Continue reading →

Book Review: You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)

Books

As a person, Felicia Day has a kind of lovable oddness that translates perfectly onto the page, as exemplified in her memoir, You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost). Known best for her appearances in Joss Whedon productions as well as her web series The Guild, Day has written a memoir that is humorous, self-deprecating and strikingly inspirational. The book describes her wayward childhood as a homeschooled oddball who educated herself mostly through reading whatever she could find. Continue reading →

Festive Felt

Learn needle-felting skills with Willamalane

Gift Guide
Leslie Seese’s needle felting class is Dec. 5 at Springfield’s Dorris Ranch

Unless explicitly discussed beforehand, EW doesn’t recommend giving pets as gifts. Too often, holiday puppies and kittens grow up to become shelter dogs and cats.  We do, however, endorse checking out the cute critters made by needle-felt artist Leslie Seese or, better yet, you can learn to make them yourself at her class in December. Needle felting is a craft that involves poking wool with very sharp needles to tangle the wool fibers so that they take on a desired shape — a heart, snowflake or reindeer, for example. Continue reading →