News, with a little bit of snark (Sept. 29, 2026)

by Robin Bloomgarden

Presenter:  Events are coming up the next three Saturdays—Oct. 3, 10, and 17. 

Robin Bloomgarden: This is Robin’s KEPW News with a little bit of snark. 

Oct. 3, join us for the People’s Emergency Briefing, the latest from the U.K.’s top climate and nature scientists now shared beyond Westminster. 

Experts came together to brief 1,200 of the U.K.’s Parliament and civic leaders on the serious impacts of the climate crisis. This 50-minute documentary lays out the facts and solutions and is designed for community education and engagement. It’s free and open to the public. Suggested viewer age is over sixteen because this stuff is heavy. 

It’s on Oct. 3 from 7:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church at 1685 W. 13th St. in Eugene. It’s sponsored by 350 Eugene, Third Act Oregon, Eugene and UUC’s Earth Action Group. So be there or be square. 

Oct. 10: Join us for a live screening of the People’s Tribunal on U.S. government complicity in Gaza. 

There is a conflict at the heart of U.S. policy. While U.S. laws and international legal frameworks are intended to prevent complicity in human rights abuses. Many legal experts and members of the public have raised concerns that existing accountability mechanisms have failed to address the ongoing crisis in Gaza, as military assistance and diplomatic support continue. 

Important questions remain about compliance with U.S. and international law, and the responsibility of public officials and institutions. 

Through testimony, evidence and dialogue, the People’s Tribunal will explore the role of elected officials and government institutions in shaping U.S. policy toward Gaza. Its purpose is to educate the public, promote informed civic engagement, and build support for policy reforms that strengthen accountability, human rights, and adherence to U.S. and international law. 

When: Saturday, Oct. 10, beginning at 9:45 a.m. to 5 p.m., discussion till 6 p.m. 

Where: Unitarian Universalist Church at 1685 W. 13th Ave. in Eugene, and that’s at the corner of Chambers and West 13th. 

Local organizers: Henry F. Disney Memorial; Veterans for Peace, Chapter 159; Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East, Eugene Chapter; People for Justice and Peace in Palestine. That’s a local group as well. For more information about the Eugene, Oregon Watch event, contact Shelley Corville email PTOct10@proton.me. 

Please let us know how many folks you will bring. We look forward to having you at this important event. We all need to be present with open minds and wide open hearts as well as grounded people’s tribunals are moments where we have an opportunity to come together and begin to experience a different way to take back our power to make change. 

Learn more about the National People’s Tribunal. It’s organised by Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (my old group), Veterans for Peace, and American Friends Service Committee. 

No Kings 4, Oct. 17. The People’s Tailgate: Feed, Fund and Defend.

The Activist Coalition of Eugene Springfield (ACES) will host a No Kings 4 event on Oct. 17, coinciding with the National No Kings Day of Action.

To keep on theme with the U. O v Nebraska football game that day, the event will be celebrated as ‘The People’s Tailgate Feed Fund, Defend, an afternoon built around three ways to plug in: Feed our communities; fund the organizations doing vital on-the-ground work; and defend both those most under attack by the current administration and our democracy itself. 

There will also be a participatory art installation, food, and a brief speaking program. What a day of action for local Springfield and Eugene residents to plug into community defense work 

Who: Organized by Activist Coalition of Eugene Springfield (ACES), open to all. 

When: 12 (noon) to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17

Where: Alton Baker Park, 200 Day Island Road in Eugene. 

Contact info: ActivistCoalitionEugeneSpringfield@proton.me.

Indivisible is also holding No Kings events the same day at Coburg City Hall and Eugene City Hall.

Activist Coalition of Eugene Springfield (ACES) is a coalition of autonomous organizations committed to resisting authoritarianism and fostering democracy by building a broad, inclusive, lasting, independent social movement in Eugene Springfield based on racial, social, environmental and economic justice, and accomplished by building community networks and alliances. 

The League of Women Voters of Lane County has important election information. Make sure you are registered to vote by going to OregonVotes.gov. 

Sign in with your name and birthdate and confirm that your registration status is active and that all information is correct. Of particular importance is your mailing address. If it is incorrect, your ballot can’t get to you. 

If your status is inactive or if you haven’t registered, go to the section on registering to vote. Now you have some time (not much) still to do this. The deadline for voter registration is Oct. 13. 

Because of changes in processing by the Post Office, your ballot will need to be sent to Portland to be postmarked. Make sure that you vote by mail by Oct. 26, a week before Election Day. 

I would suggest you do it two weeks before Election Day if you’re going to be mailing it. 

If you can’t vote by Oct. 26, you can return your ballot to an election drop box. Use OregonVotes.gov to locate the closest drop box. It will also be listed in the voter pamphlet in the front. 

If a post office is more convenient, you can go there, get a manual postmark. You’ll have to ask them to put a postmark on manually and then mail the ballot as usual. Because it is postmarked by Election Day, your ballot will be accepted. 

Ask the postal employees to postmark the ballot in front of you so that you can confirm that it has been done.

But the best bet is a drop box and it doesn’t have to go to Portland. The League encourages you to use vote411.org, the digital voter’s guide of the League of Women Voters. It has nonpartisan information for all candidate races and ballot measures that will be on your ballot. 

We also encourage you to look at the League of Women Voters website, LWVLC.org for information about candidate forums, ballot measure explanations (both in print and video), and our presentations on election security.

Presenter: Robin also offered an editorial comment directed at the City Council and City Manager.

Robin Bloomgarden: Okay. You have stated that no large energy intensive data centers will be allowed within city limits. Sounds great, right? 

Now we have to look at areas just outside of our city boundaries—the small towns and cities in the county who will be easy targets for these giant corporations. 

And if these companies will be using fossil-fuel powered on site generators, how does banning them inside of the city make one whit of difference as to how our already-polluted air quality will be affected by all that? 

These companies may just discharge their toxic waste water directly into streams or the ground. Is this really what we all want to see happening in the future? I sure hope not. 

Next. Now we will have no NDAs allowed across the city, but only for data centers. That was a clever move, (City Manager) Jenny (Haruyama), since you folks had already decided no large data centers were allowed within the city. 

Now, what are we to do about all the other NDAs that you work with? I’m thinking about how the Amazon warehouse was handled. This is still an undemocratic process, cutting us out of the loop on huge projects that could be objectionable, dangerous, and not something that makes life better in Eugene. 

I’m thinking about that whole mess with the Flock cameras, which we told you was a bad idea and you found out we were right—after a lot of time and money was spent and lost.

Who knows literally what other awful stuff is happening behind our backs right now? We sure don’t. 

Another example is how the county handled the whole Goshen recycling debacle. We only found out afterwards, not beforehand, and tons of public money is still being wasted on that one. 

I don’t think you should be working with any companies who demand an NDA in order to do business with them. Jenny, can you make this happen? 

In the future, look at the bigger picture and utilize all the smart talent available to you here in Eugene to help vet stuff like this beforehand. It’s free advice. Use it. 

I’m Robin Bloomgarden.