Author: Audrey Black

Safe Spaces for LGBT Veterans

Oregon Veterans’ Affairs focuses on LGBT-sensitivity

News
Cole Hickman

According to the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group, there are about 15,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) military veterans living in Oregon — roughly the population of Coos Bay. With that in mind, the state Legislature on June 6 passed a bill creating a dedicated LGBT coordinator in the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA). The bill puts the state in alignment with national Veterans Health Administration (VHA) directives that have, in the past two years, sought to be inclusive and supportive of LGBT identities. Continue reading →

Add Freeks and Stir

Culture

I can’t think of a more queer place to spend my Friday night — save re-animating Liberace for a wild cavort on the Riviera — than Freek Nite at Cowfish in downtown Eugene. “Whatever Freek Nite means to you, go for it. There’s no wrong way,” says Rhea Della Vera, who produces and promotes the weekly dance party that runs 9 pm to close. Continue reading →

Pretty in Pink

Saying goodbye to G.L.A.M.

Performing Arts
Anthony Barber, aka Diva-Simone Slaughter. Photo by Trask Bedortha

After four years and three venues, G.L.A.M. arrives at its grand finale and celebration, a pink party at Luckey’s Club Saturday, Aug. 1, to send off the whole G.L.A.M. family in style. The drag show Eugene has grown to love began as Gays, Lesbians And More, offering a positive venue to queer folks and their allies. “It was about people who didn’t have a space,” says producer/emcee Anthony Barber, aka Diva-Simone Slaughter, who has performed in Eugene since “Baby Got Back” was the flavor of the week. Continue reading →

Transient Room Tax Questions Raised For Airbnb, VRBO

News

Short-term rental companies such as Airbnb have enjoyed popularity in the past few years, but they exist in a “legal gray area” when it comes to paying taxes for temporary lodging providers in Lane County. EW reported on this nebulous legal area last summer (“Airbnb Flies Under the Radar,” 6/24/14). Until now, no action has been taken to clarify proper procedure. Continue reading →

Artist Spotlight: Meesha Goldberg

Visual Arts
‘Keeper,’ oil on canvas. Meesha Goldberg. Photo by Trask Bedortha.

Suspended deep in a block of ice, her long braids coiled around a pair of hand axes, Meesha Goldberg is determined to break free. This is not a magic trick. It’s a self-portrait. You wouldn’t guess from her work that Goldberg has been painting for only about two years, but discipline and nocturnal solitude have aided her well, along with a background in figure drawing and poetry that translates vividly to the canvas. Continue reading →

The Freedom of Two Wheels

Motorcycle road trips in Lane County and beyond

Travel

Of the many patches strewn across Billy Scannell’s black leather motorcycle vest, it’s certainly the one saying “Dr. Asshole” that demands immediate explanation. “The doctor part is because I have a Ph.D. in physics,” Scannell says. “The other part should be self-evident.” Here is a man who could easily be mistaken for one of The Black Widows accosting Clint Eastwood in Every Which Way but Loose. Continue reading →

Talking off-podium with Russian authors Akhmetev and Neshumova

News

On their first ever trip to the United States, prominent Russian literary figures Ivan Akhmetev and Tatiana Neshumova will present a series of lectures at the University of Oregon, starting Friday, Oct. 3. Here’s a taste of what they have to share. For more details see our What’s Happening Calendar. Russia has a rich history of samizdat, or reproducing forbidden literature by hand. What shape does that take now? Continue reading →