The Register-Guard
‘We’ve had to do some creative financing’
A historic fire truck shortage and extensive manufacturing delays are leaving fire departments across the U.S. with aging fleets. ● Eugene Springfield Fire is no exception. ● The department ordered new engines and trucks three years ago and has yet to...
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WHAT TO KNOW FOR CHERRY BLOSSOM DAY
The Oregon State Capitol Mall's Akebono cherry trees are approaching peak bloom just in time for the annual Cherry Blossom Day. Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 146 in 2017, establishing Cherry Blossom Day in Salem on the third Saturday in March every...
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‘When you follow your heart, good things happen’
In February of 2026, Peggy Starr got off the train in Eugene. She had packed her bags in Wisconsin, tired of the snow and feeling trapped in her retirement community, and headed to the town she spent many years of her life in. After two days of travel,...
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Are park goers feeding coyotes at Mt. Pisgah?
Wildlife sightings at Mount Pisgah Arboretum, a park located within the greater Howard Buford Recreation Area, are common. In 2026, sightings of coyotes have been more common than usual. Frequency of coyote sightings in the park has increased...
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Oregon logging could quadruple
The Bureau of Land Management wants to increase logging in western Oregon and public comment is open on the proposal. The “Oregon and California Revested Railroad Lands Act” from 1937 gives the BLM authority to govern 2.46 million acres of federal...
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What’s next for crisis response?
Two organizations have put forward very different plans for what services they would provide if awarded the contract city officials have described as Eugene’s replacement for the CAHOOTS community response program. In late January, Eugene invited...
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Rumored ICE facilities on coast prompt protest
A few dozen protesters gathered at the Eugene Federal Building on March 14 to protest against the federal government’s pursuit of building new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in Oregon. The demonstration was put on by Indivisible...
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CARE IN CRISIS
After United Healthcare group Optum acquired Oregon Medical Group, prompting an exodus of doctors from Eugene-Springfield, state lawmakers took action. The state passed legislation in 2025 to prevent management services organizations, or businesses...
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A LESSON IN PERSISTENCE
Amidst a financial scandal, loss of educators and a huge enrollment drop, South Hills Montessori School, which occupies the former Far Horizons Montessori School, is trying to bounce back. The private school was thrust into turmoil in summer 2025,...
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EVERY 15 MINUTES
Editor’s note: This article contains depictions of fake blood and injuries as part of an educational simulation. Law enforcement bustled around to put finishing touches on the scene, applying fake blood and shoving empty beer cans in the door of a...
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BUILDING UP
The University of Oregon modified its request to build more dorms along the east edge of campus, and public comment is now open on the proposal. UO requested Eugene City Council loosen city land use code so the university can build a series of...
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Lawmakers adjourn
Oregon’s 2026 “short” legislative session concluded March 6. Democrats, who hold a supermajority in Oregon’s legislature, largely celebrated the session, saying they succeeded in their goals of responding to President Donald Trump’s immigration...
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TO RESPOND’
The Oregon Legislature passed a bill creating a legal pathway for those convicted on the basis of discredited “junk science” to prove their innocence. Supporters of Senate Bill 1515 B said it will deliver justice to wrongfully convicted Oregonians and...
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Gwen’s Homestyle Kitchen soul food truck debuts
Chef Distro remembers the first meal he made for himself. He was 6 years old, and his mom was going out for the night. She told him to fix his own dinner. “I cooked some pancakes and eggs, and I fried some mush meat in the pan, and then I had some...
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Breweries have been closing doors
When Professor Tom Shellhammer started working in OSU’s Fermentation Science Program in 2001, he remembers there being around 3,000 breweries in the United States. Each fall, when he would teach his Introduction to Wine, Beer and Spirits class, he...
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ICE ON CAMPUS
Student groups and labor unions rejoiced after the Oregon Legislature passed a bill requiring schools and colleges send alerts when federal immigration is present on campus. House Bill 4079 requires public schools and colleges to adopt policies for...
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Dick’s House of Sport coming to Valley River
Eugene’s Valley River Center plans to welcome a new anchor tenant at the shopping mall. Construction for a Dick’s House of Sport, a retail concept from Dick’s Sporting Goods, is expected to begin this spring. Dick’s House of Sport offers handson...
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What happened to Trevor Naughton?
Michael Trevor Naughton, 42, of Eugene, remains missing, according to the Lane County Sheriff ’s Office. ● Naughton’s vehicle was discovered on Feb. 19 in the Gate Creek area, east of Vida off Highway 126. He left the vehicle the day prior to get gas...
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Bill aims to keep suspects in custody
Members of Eugene’s Asian American and Pacific Islander community testified before the House Committee on Rules at the Oregon State Legislature on March 2 in support of a bill that would give magistrate judges the ability to consider primary and...
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‘It’s still getting brighter’
A University of Oregon astrophysicist and her team have made a surprising discovery after years of observing a supermassive black hole. It was 2018 when a peer of UO assistant professor and astronomer Yvette Cendes first observed a supermassive black...
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Healthcare workers, academics join protest
Hundreds of protestors gathered at Eugene’s Park Blocks Feb. 28 for a march and rally coordinated by the Eugene Springfield Solidarity Network that encouraged local labor unions to stand in solidarity against U.S. Immigration and Customs...
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Looking for justice
The family of a man who police shot and killed just after Christmas in 2024 has filed a $12.5 million wrongful death lawsuit against Lane County, the State of Oregon and several law enforcement officers. ● On Dec. 27, 2024, three residents of Prindel...
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CLEAN ENERGY FUND
Local environmental groups have launched a ballot initiative to establish a “Eugene Clean Energy fund,” aimed at getting the biggest companies operating in Eugene to pay for local clean energy projects. The proposal, which proponents filed with the...
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‘Our customers have been asking for this’
REI is almost ready to welcome shoppers to its new location in Eugene’s Oakway Center. The store opens Feb. 27. REI Co-Op announced plans to relocate in January 2025. Since then, the company has been preparing the new location in a former Bed, Bath &...
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Colorful disobedience
On any given Sunday, from 2 to 4 p.m., the Eugene Federal Building is alive with color and action. Protesters riding ducks, frogs, and unicorns rally with flags and megaphones. Passing motorists cheer them on as the characters stand against U.S....
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Red Hat Resistance knits to protest ICE
Craft supply shops across Eugene and Springfield are selling out of red yarn. National yarn suppliers are struggling to keep up with demand. Why? The Red Hat Resistance. “It’s getting harder to find,” said Karen Mortensen, owner of Cozy, located in...
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Daisy CHAIN closes
Eugene’s longtime Daisy CHAIN postpartum nonprofit permanently closed Feb. 20. Since 2012, Daisy CHAIN (Creating Healthy Alliances In New-mothering) provided an array of services for people in the early stages of parenting in Lane County. The...
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255 Madison shuts doors
On Feb. 17, the food trucks outside 255 Madison saw a note taped to their windows. “Due to compliance and licensing issues, we are requiring you to remove your food cart from the property at 255 Madison indefinitely by March 5, 2026.” The owners of...
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Black exclusion laws still impact residents
Editor’s note: In honor of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Register-Guard and its sister publication, the Statesman Journal, are embarking on a year-long project exploring the history and culture that define...
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U.S. Supreme Court sides with Oregon in tariff lawsuit
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down some of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Feb. 20, siding with Oregon in a 6-3 decision that will have broad impacts on his presidency. Oregon and 11 other states joined businesses in claiming Trump had exceeded...
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‘This was a clear line for us’
A talk about protecting water scheduled for Feb. 18 was canceled after the host church learned about the speaker’s association with transphobic views. Eugene’s First United Methodist Church planned to host the event as part of Community Rights Lane...
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Why North Eugene students held an anti-ICE walkout
North Eugene High became the latest local school to organize an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement walkout, with at least 300 students marching down Silver Lane then River Road on Feb. 17. ● Students waved signs, yelled chants over megaphones and...
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‘Keep hope alive!’
In 1988 I was still finding my bearings as a newly hired photographer for The Register-Guard. Two weeks after my start day, on May 12, then-presidential candidate Jesse Jackson came to town. Jackson died Feb. 17, 2026. At that time he was one of...
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CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY
Students join Ebenezer Amartey, center, a dancer with Woseiko, a West African drum and dance group from Portland, in a traditional dance to end a “Celebrating Dr. King and Black History Month: HOPE – The Program” assembly at North Eugene High School on...
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Lawsuits, contract delays, complaints
For those watching the turmoil at Springfield Public Schools closely, Superintendent Todd Hamilton’s impending resignation may not have come as a surprise. Over the past eight months, the board failed to renew Hamilton’s contract on time, complaints...
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FALLOUT OVER FEES
The future of Oregon’s Recycling Modernization Act is up in the air after a federal judge said portions of the law may be illegal, and can’t be enforced without full argument. On Feb. 6, Judge Michael Simon issued his initial order in the lawsuit that...
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NEW TAX BREAKS
Eugene is looking for ways incentivize developers to build middle-income housing and living spaces in commercial areas. The City Council on Feb. 11 advanced two new tax exemptions with the goal of lowering the cost of these types of housing...
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St. Vinnie’s ‘getting weird’ with Eugene’s Banksy, Suspish
Eugene stands apart from other cities in many ways: A hub for counterculture, an artistic environment and a community welcoming of all the weird, wonderful quirks of individuality. St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County has been a longtime supporter of...
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Concerts, puppets, book swaps, and drag shows
Oh, Eugene. If I was a tarot reader, I would say there is a week of love and romance in the cards for you this February. Valentine’s Day is Feb. 14, which lands on a Saturday this year. That means more time to celebrate the love in your life, whether...
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Guerrero takes stage with Bad Bunny at Super Bowl
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2026 | REGISTERGUARD.COM PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK This year’s Super Bowl game was pretty boring, but everyone’s talking about Bad Bunny’s halftime performance. Eugene music lovers might have spotted Giancarlo Guerrero, the...
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Polar plunge for a cause
John Hairston, the current administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration, will most likely be the Eugene Water & Electric Board’s next general manager. Following closed-door interviews, EWEB commissioners picked Hairston to lead the local...
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‘A BRIGHT MIND’ LOST
The first thing you noticed about Erick Munene Njue was his smile. ● That’s what friends and loved ones of Njue, an international University of Oregon Ph.D. student, said. They described him as kind, humble, intentional, dependable, bright and...
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Knudson signs on to letter to Noem, Homan
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2026 | REGISTERGUARD.COM PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK Eugene Mayor Kaarin Knudson was one of 31 Oregon mayors who signed onto a letter with Gov. Tina Kotek demanding an “immediate halt” to federal immigration enforcement...
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Woman sentenced for crash that killed daughter
A woman who was tried three times for a fatal 2022 crash on Highway 58 pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison plus three years of post-prison supervision. Lane County and the woman reached a plea deal and she was sentenced Feb...
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Oregon’s iconic Abiqua Falls listed for sale
One of the most iconic waterfalls in the Pacific Northwest is up for sale. ● Abiqua Falls, a 92-foot cascade near Scotts Mills that’s graced the covers of magazines, newspapers and websites, was listed for sale, without a price, on Redfin on Feb. 2. ●...
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Truffle dogs, polar plunge, Tina Turner musical
The eNewspaper is an electronic copy of your print newspaper. Enjoy every page by going to registerguard.com/enewspaper or scan this code on your mobile device. You will also find late news and sports in the bonus sections. Check it out today! Are you...
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COMBATING THE COLD
Egan Warming Centers activated 11 days in a row from Jan. 15 to Jan. 25, the longest Egan activation since the program began in 2009. Egan Warming Centers are primarily volunteer-run temporary cold weather shelters that, when open, serve hundreds of...
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Despite contract win, OSEA dreads 87 FTE cuts due to budget shortfall
Eugene School District 4J and the Oregon State Education Association classified union have approved their final contract which includes cost-of-living adjustments and groundbreaking safety language. OSEA represents just under 900 classified employees,...
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‘We literally changed his life’
At age 6, Ronan Lynch gained the independence to choose where he goes. While most parents mark off milestones like taking their first steps, Ronan’s parents Katie and Kevin Lynch never experienced that moment. Instead, seeing Ronan, who is nonverbal...
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Trump actions worry free-speech advocates
The FBI search of a Washington Post reporter’s home on Jan. 14 was a rare and intimidating move by an administration focused on repressing criticism and dissent. In its story about the search at Hannah Natanson’s home, at which FBI agents said they...
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SOLE SISTERS
Temperatures dipped below freezing the night before, but Jennifer Zarazua is out on the running trail Saturday morning nonetheless. For the past half year, she’s been trying to start an all-women running group in Eugene that she calls Sole Sisters. Her...
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Protesters clash with federal agents in Eugene
A tense clash between protesters and federal agents outside the Eugene Federal Building filled the air in downtown with noxious fumes and loud bangs Jan. 27. Just after noon, a “wall” of federal agents, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement...
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Giving on the menu
The smell of marinated meats, salsa, and juicy burgers mingle in the air at 4190 Barger Drive as people begin to line up for food. Eva’s Taqueria and B&B Burgerhouse are just opening for the day, and customers are hungry. As the food truck pod gets...
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WEEKEND KILLING PROMPTS PROTESTS
People gathered outside the Eugene Federal Building Saturday and Sunday to protest the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday. Pretti was an ICU nurse with the Department of Veterans Affairs. A vigil organized...
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How tall can UO build?
The University of Oregon plans to build a series of dormitories up to six stories tall on the east edge of campus where university land abuts the Fairmount neighborhood. UO’s plans for its next generation of student housing go against current city...
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The orgins of the name Oregon
Editor’s note: In honor of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Register-Guard and its sister publication, the Statesman Journal, are embarking on a year-long project exploring the history and culture that define...
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ROOM FOR ONE MORE
Through collecting shoes, the Kohl family is looking to grow their family. Anna Kohl knew next to nothing about Down Syndrome before her daughter’s diagnosis. When Anna and Zach Kohl found out their youngest daughter, Addy, had a genetic difference...
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Springfield mourns for lost school jobs
About 100 people gathered in front of Springfield Public Schools district office on Jan. 21 to protest cuts to certified staff members. Springfield Education Association’s “Solidarity and Action Vigil” drew teachers, students and community members to...
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Lane Fire Authority taking levy ask back to voters
THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2026 | REGISTERGUARD.COM PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK Lane Fire Authority will try again to pass a local option levy this May, with the district’s board voting unanimously to send it back to the ballot at its Jan. 20...
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SC measles outbreak tied to West Coast cases
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2026 | REGISTERGUARD.COM PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK Cases in the nation’s largest current measles outbreak are still ticking up after officials said infections have spread from the South into the Pacific...
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More than 1,000 march on MLK Day
More than 1,000 people marched to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and call for immigrant rights on Jan. 19 in an event organized by Eugene-Springfield NAACP. The crowd gathered in the icy morning at Autzen Stadium. Despite the freezing temperatures,...
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Cases heading to the courtroom
More than a dozen high-profile cases involving Lane County residents are scheduled to go to trial in 2026. Among them are people charged with murder, burglary and aggravated theft, attempted murder, child abuse, and more. The cases include an Oregon...
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Machado gains little in White House visit
WASHINGTON – Venezuelan opposition leader Marina Corina Machado got her courtesy luncheon with President Donald Trump on Jan. 15 but gained little else politically after the White House secured a $500 million deal for Venezuelan oil through ongoing...
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4J board approves another $18M in cuts
Eugene School District 4J will eliminate over 100 positions and cut some well-loved programs to balance its budget. The 4J school board voted unanimously in favor of the district’s Phase II budget cuts, which include cuts to programs like Eugene...
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Car fans welcome
A new car and coffee club in Eugene is open to all, even if you don’t own a vehicle. Eugene Car Club held its first event on Jan. 10. Although modestly attended by about 20 people, founder Peter Kincaid is hopeful it will take off in the coming...
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CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT
Despite the futuristic look of his coffee roaster, John Danza claims the mechanisms of the machine are actually quite simple. He’s been working the roaster since 6 a.m., turning batches of matte green beans into the dark, shiny ones he uses in his...
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4J proposes next $18 million in cuts
Eugene School District 4J has identified another $18 million in net cuts as it grapples with a $30 million budget deficit. ● The majority of the $18 million in reductions would be done through eliminating up to 159 full-time equivalent staff positions...
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Pedaling safely
Drivers may find themselves with limited street parking options along Polk Street if Eugene goes ahead with plans to add bike lanes to the road in the coming years. ● In Eugene’s 2017 Transportation System Plan, the city identified Polk Street from...
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Loveall shares vision in annual State of County
Lane County Commissioner David Loveall’s vision for county government is to provide more robust law enforcement, while people outside of government to play more active roles in creating jobs and helping each other. Chair of the Board of Commissioners...
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2025 in photographs
The last 12 months included political turmoil, tragedy and heartbreak. But there was also joy, beauty and celebration as the community joined together to further shared dreams. Gatherings and the rituals of everyday life, protests, memorials, weddings...
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Eugene’s 2025 First Citizen
Growing up in Boulder, Montana, Brian Obie never thought his life would be what it is today, nor did he expect to be named Eugene’s 2025 First Citizen by the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce. Obie is a developer whose name is plastered across much of...
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Path to nowhere
Miles of popular hiking trails at Silver Falls State Park will remain closed for an extended period following a series of storms that brought significant damage. Shellburg Falls Recreation Area, just to the south, was also damaged and has one trail...
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New office space used to be a Eugene DMV
Editor’s note: This holiday season, the staff of The Register-Guard decided to take a closer look at creative reuse in a series of stories we’re calling “That used to be what?” These five stories aim to tell the history and present use of some of the...
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Company says cuts from bill caused closure
A Medford-based solar power company blamed federal cutbacks from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act when it notified the state that it was closing as of Dec. 26 and laying off 109 employees. Purelight Power CEO JD Beck filed a notification to the state as...
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