Eugene Weekly

“My dear friend was injured in a head-on collision three weeks ago by an 88-year-old man whose car had crossed into her lane. Both cars were totaled and both she and he spent time in the hospital. She has a fractured arm, and we all know that means she can do very little for herself right now.

Beginner drivers may get a provisional license in Oregon at age 16 and an unrestricted one at age 18. We also need rules for people at the outer age limit. But removing keys from an elder is just as contentious as Social Security being scaled back. As we age, there comes a time when we simply need to decide we cannot safely drive any longer.”

Read Kim Kelly’s Local and Vocal viewpoint in Eugene Weekly.

Driving Older A dear friend was injured in a head-on collision three weeks ago by an 88-year-old man whose car had crossed into her lane. Both cars were totaled and both she and he spent time in the hospital.

Pen Pals, Boycotts and the Election in Letters You’ve heard of pen pals? My girlfriend from high school (now lives in Oklahoma) and I have evolved into “thrift store pals.” She travels by car frequently, and she’ll stop at every thrift store on…

Professional soccer arrives in Eugene next year. To spread the word, the new team, Sporting Cascades FC, hosts Footy Fest noon to 4:30 pm Sept. 27 at Civic Park. The event features live music from multi-platinum Eugene swing-and-ska band The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, Eugene instrumental surf-rock group Heavenly Oceans, and others. There will also be food trucks and a children’s play area with inflatables. While season ticket holders are admitted free, attendees can pay a deposit on season tickets in advance and receive a 5 percent discount. If fans pay $26 at the gate they can apply that to either single-game or season tickets for the upcoming season.

Read the rest in Eugene Weekly’s What’s Happening Calendar

Fútbol Fanatics Professional soccer arrives in Eugene next year. To spread the word, the new team, Sporting Cascades FC, hosts Footy Fest Sept. 27 at Civic Park. The event features live music from multi-platinum…

Early 2000s R&B and pop music plays on the speakers as shoppers search through rows of secondhand clothing and peruse handmade jewelry and vintage handbags. Located down 5th Street Market Alley, The Racks is a student-run secondhand clothing shop and Y2K paradise.

Walking into the store is like walking into the quintessential early 2000s teen movie. The bright red loveseat resembling a pair of lips surrounded by plush, cheetah-print high heel chairs and the ceiling high glass Vintage Vault full of rare, vintage designer pieces from brands like Dolce and Gabbana and Coach are distinctively Y2K.

Shop ’Til You Drop at The Racks Early 2000s R&B and pop music plays on the speakers as shoppers search through rows of secondhand clothing and peruse handmade jewelry and vintage handbags. Located down 5th Street Market Alley…

The End of Summer is here, and we are thrilled to share this special offer for LYNYRD SKYNYRD at the Cuthbert Amphitheater on Tuesday, September 29th!
2-Packs (reserved seats) and 4-Packs (GA lawn) now available. Get them while you can at ETix.com!

Daniel Dietz’s “Rare and Used: Adventures of a Book Scout’s Apprentice” is a delightful, uplifting page-turner that also poses significant questions central to the human experience, notably the notion of holding on versus letting go. Dietz grew up in the Willamette Valley, and after two decades away, recently returned to Eugene to connect with his aging parents and to raise his own sons in the place he considers home. Once settled in Eugene, Dietz found himself inexplicably drawn to the world of bookselling, a labor of love he learned at an early age from his stepfather, Michael Karn.

Part memoir, part quest, the book unfolds as a celebration of the books — and people — we hold most dear.
Read the Q&A by Nicole Dahmen of the University of Oregon in Eugene Weekly.

Holding On and Letting Go Daniel Dietz’s Rare and Used: Adventures of a Book Scout’s Apprentice is a delightful, uplifting page-turner that also poses significant questions central to the human experience…

I love an underdog. And don’t mistake “underdog” for powerless. Underdogs have dormant superpowers, just waiting for us regular folk to notice and unleash them.

Let’s face it, we love underdogs because they scratch that deep human itch for fairness, hope and justice. When someone with fewer resources and no interest in winning the popularity contest comes out on top, it reminds us that grit can kick privilege in the ass. Hallelujah. We need something to balance out all the sh*theads winning.

Okay, bit of a rant, but there’s a superhero chef peddling sublime simplicity over at Seize the Cafe.

Read the full The Salty Chef column in Eugene Weekly.

Seize the Superhero I love an underdog. And don’t mistake “underdog” for powerless. Underdogs have dormant superpowers, just waiting for us regular folk to notice and unleash them. Let’s face it…

On the racks at Steezy Bus, the past is always in style.

The blue 1992 short school bus draws a crowd wherever it goes. Racks line either side of the interior, another sits outside the front and hangers dangle from nearly every available space. Dresses, jackets and shirts fill the windows. An ottoman for lounging sits behind the driver’s seat, while vintage news clippings and bohemian decor fill whatever spaces the clothes leave behind.

Steezy Bus has so much inventory that most of it lives in a warehouse just outside the Whiteaker, a space that feels like an old saloon filled with vintage masterpieces.

Read the rest in Eugene Weekly.

The Little Bus That Could On the racks at Steezy Bus, the past is always in style. The blue 1992 short school bus draws a crowd wherever it goes. Racks line either side of the interior, another sits outside the front and…

To ensure it gets the rents and profits it wants, a Chicago developer is asking the city of Eugene to let it build an 18-foot-tall pergola/trellis and recreation area on the rooftop of the high-rise student apartment tower that it is already halfway through constructing at Alder Street and 13th Avenue.

The city code caps building heights, including any pergolas and such, at 150 feet in the neighborhood next to the University of Oregon.

The added-on pergola would top the building out at about 169 feet, the plans show.

The developer, CRG, is invoking a new state law, Senate Bill 1537, that requires cities, in special instances, to waive some of their development rules, including height limits.

Read the rest in Eugene Weekly’s Bricks $ Mortar column.

Higher Education To ensure it gets the rents and profits it wants, a Chicago developer is asking the city of Eugene to let it build an 18-foot-tall pergola/trellis and recreation area on the rooftop of the high-rise…

Callee Ackland, Navy veteran and progressive candidate for Springfield’s Ward 4 City Council, says the city deserves fresh voices that focus on people’s basic needs. At 33 years old, she wants to bring a younger perspective to the unpaid nonpartisan position. “I’m doing it because I feel so strongly about this work, about improving living conditions for Springfield’s working families.”

Springfield’s Ward 4 encompasses the central-east portion of the city, extending from Highway 126 to the southern city limits near the Middle Fork Willamette River.

Ackland is running on a principle of better homes, better roads and a brighter future.

Read the rest In Eugene Weekly.

About Springfield Callee Ackland, Navy veteran and progressive candidate for Springfield’s Ward 4 City Council, says the city deserves fresh voices that focus on people’s basic needs. At 33 years old…