Author: Laetitia Béraud

To Be or Not to Be Charlie

Pushing the borderlines of free expression

Viewpoint

For every day since Jan. 7 — the day 12 people were murdered at the offices of the French satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo — I could write a book trying to explain the emotional rollercoaster I have been experiencing as a young French journalist. Let me start by paying a tribute to all the victims of the killings that took place in Paris last week. My thoughts go to all who were close to these journalists, cartoonists, employees, police officers, Jews, Muslims, atheists … Continue reading →

New LGBTIQ Center In Lane County

News

A new project is on the way to open a LGBTIQ community center in Lane County. The original Q, the nonprofit Queer Resource for Social Change, closed its doors in December 2009. Since the community center closed in 2009, Q has been hosting an online community resource that highlights cultural events focusing on building community for LGBTIQ people (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and questioning). Q has been using art as a way to create a safe space in the world for trans people since 1997. Continue reading →

Stuff Your Face For Womenspace

News

Fill your stomach for the good cause on Saturday, Aug. 17: Dishcrawl introduces “Neighborfood,” an afternoon celebration of food, family and community in downtown Eugene. Dishcrawl will give a portion of the proceeds to Womenspace, a nonprofit organization providing support to women and children in situations of domestic abuse. Continue reading →

Needles, Volunteers and the Morning After

Block Party volunteers clean up the Whiteaker

Culture

When many residents of the Whiteaker are sound asleep recovering from Block Party, volunteers will gather Sunday, Aug. 4, to clean up after the event. “We try to have the neighborhood look cleaner than it did before the party,” says Zoe Gadsby, the event coordinator. “It’s really hard to get volunteers the next day.” The work of the volunteers at the Block Party cleanup points to an even bigger community effort: picking up needles.  Continue reading →

Sponsors Gets New House For New Start

News

Sponsors’ women’s program has not only hired a new director, but it is also about to get a third house specifically designed for women with children. Sponsors aims at reducing recidivism by providing services to help men and women transition back into the community from jail and prison. Continue reading →

Chickens Can Rest Easy for Now

The people of Eugene care about feathered friends

Culture

With the growing popularity of urban farming come some concerns. What do you do with your chickens once they stop laying eggs?  Last February, the city of Eugene adopted a new backyard farming ordinance allowing urban farmers to keep up to six chickens in their backyard, as well as other smaller barnyard animals. Lately, stories of chickens abandoned by overwhelmed urban farmers have been piling up in the national media, but Eugenean chickens can be reassured: It’s still a non-issue in this area. Continue reading →

This One’s for the Girls

Circus director adds a punch of girl power to the Fair

Culture

Darcy DuRuz created Girl Circus in 2001, an all-age, almost all-female circus that performs every year at the Oregon Country Fair. Featuring performers in a variety of abilities from ballet to aerial silk, Girl Circus offers  high-quality family entertainment. “I really wanted a show that features more girls and women,” DuRuz says. “There’s a lot of underused female talent.”  Continue reading →