You can join Oregon's fight for universal healthcare | Letter to the editor

Assuming a sports team is male in articles does a disservice to fans who support equality | Letter to the editor

My niece wrote me recently that the new thing to say at Portland Fire games is the MNBA – Men’s National Basketball Association, not the NBA. Since the WNBA has a W, she’s saying that men need a gender label too. The headline of Lookout’s article about Sporting Cascades FC said “Eugene’s upcoming pro soccer club.” Since […]

Why I love public art: It's always there | Letter to the editor

The Arts & Business Alliance of Eugene recently described public art as civic infrastructure, as essential to a thriving city as roads and sidewalks. I agree. And there’s something underneath that idea worth saying out loud: public art is always there, waiting for you. That is what I love about it. You round a corner […]

A wildfire expert assessed my backyard: the good, the bad and the flammable

An environmental journalist shares her firsthand account of receiving a “defensible space” assessment of her own backyard by a deputy state fire marshal. It challenged some common assumptions about wildfire preparedness and helped her understand what it means to reduce risk.

Eagles Rest: Get out of town for a hike — without traveling too far

If you are ever looking to get out of town without driving too far, here’s an ideal hike that’s good for a simple picnic or watching the sunset. About 30 miles southwest of Eugene, a forest trail leads to the beautiful mountain overlook at Eagles Rest. The trail begins at a gravel parking area off […]

Trump administration backs off on plan to remove ocean monitoring system

The reversal comes after a bipartisan group of state and federal lawmakers pushed back on the federal plan to dismantle its Ocean Observatories Initiative system, which provides information useful to the fishing and recreation industries as well was scien