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Downtown merchants in Eugene are getting a head start on the holidays with a number of events before Thanksgiving, including a tree-lighting ceremony and entertainment from 5:15 to 6:30 pm Friday, Nov. 20, on the east Park Blocks. Many downtown shops will remain open until 8 pm. Continue reading
• “Growing our Local Food Economy Part II” is the topic at City Club of Eugene noon Friday, Nov. 20, at the Downtown Athletic Club, 999 Willamette. This program looks at “exploring mixed-use land use for the food industry” and speakers include Jason Lafferty, Shawn Donnille, Terri Harding and Melissa Fery. One issue to be discussed is the city’s proposed expansion of the urban growth boundary to create industrial lands — which could be used for food processing facilities. Continue reading
• Robin Jaqua died Nov. 8 at age 94, and women and children in this area and beyond lost a fierce and effective advocate. She was well known for her generosity to the Relief Nursery and many other great programs in the arts, athletics and more, but she was best known to a significant segment of Eugene and Springfield as the leader of Jungian analysts. After 25 years of raising her family of four, she earned her Ph.D. from the UO and then went on to Switzerland to the C.G. Jung Institute. Continue reading
• Two local events dealing with sexual violence are planned. The first is “Learn, Listen, and Speak Out: A Community Response to Sexual Violence” from 7 to 9 pm Thursday, Nov. 12, at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 1465 Coburg Road. Free. The second is a mental health conference, “Addressing Sexual Violence in Our Community: Roadmap to Prevention” from 8 am to 5 pm Friday, Nov. 13, at Valley River Inn, 1000 Valley River Way. Some scholarships available. Contact grace@ccceugene.org. Continue reading
The scams are back. Local businesses are once again getting calls about Best of Eugene awards and offers to ship the awards, for a price. These offers from out of state are copyright violations at best and total scams at worst. One fellow who is soliciting fake awards says he works for Eugene Weekly. He’s calling the businesses he sees in our Best of Eugene issue and asking for credit card numbers. Of course we have never charged any business for the awards we give out. A variation on this scam involves websites where businesses can see the awards they are buying. Continue reading
We all love Best of Eugene, readers and writers alike. We love seeing joyful social media posts when winners open the pages of this issue and see their names in print. We love the crazy photo shoots. We love all the hilarious and inappropriate votes we get to read. Continue reading
• Eugene voters gave a marginal nod to the five-year library levy on the ballot this week, but the low voter turnout indicates that either this issue is not real high on the public’s priority list, or voters were conflicted and undecided. Normally, library measures in Eugene get a more enthusiastic response, and we remember the community coming together in grand fashion to build our downtown library in 2003, followed by campaigns to fund its ongoing services and branch libraries. Continue reading
• The documentary Exposed: USDA’s Secret War on Wildlife will be shown at 6 pm Thursday, Nov. 5, at Bijou Art Cinemas, 492 E. 13th Ave., along with The Imperiled American Wolf. A discussion will follow with cinematographer Paul Garrett and Brooks Fahy of Predator Defense. See encirclefilms.org. Continue reading
Barbara’s Soaps is back at Saturday Market and will have its usual booth space at Holiday Market, according to owner Barbara Hascall and confirmed by Kimberley Cullen, Saturday Market’s general manager. Complaints about excessive aromas coming from the booth have apparently been resolved, though details about the mediation have not been disclosed. “To create a safe place that is conducive for effective mediation, it is standard procedure at the Center for Dialogue and Resolution to agree to confidentiality at the start of each session,” Cullen says. Continue reading
• The Eugene Public Library levy on the Nov. 3 ballot is getting a surprising amount of attention on both sides. What’s not to love about libraries? Well, a lot of folks who are grumpy about Eugene city government are thinking a “no” vote will send a message to city officials that reforms are necessary. Maybe so, and we talked about this last week, but we think we can have it both ways by supporting the library and demanding changes in city policies and practices. How do we support the library and other essential services in the General Fund? Continue reading