The little red boxes across town should be filled once again on Thursday as the Eugene Weekly was slated to put out its first print product in six weeks.
Following an alleged embezzlement from within the organization, EW was forced to halt its print production in late December, announcing it had laid off its entire 10-person staff right before Christmas. While working to untangle the mountain of debt and mismanaged accounts, EW staff have been working since to put news up in a limited capacity online. Managers estimated that EW lost between $100,000 and $200,000.
With the help of the Eugene community and donations from across the country, EW had raised more than $150,000 as of Wednesday to help the publication get back on its feet, according to Camilla Mortensen, the paper’s editor-in-chief.
As the donations started rolling in, managers knew they needed to set a print date, Mortensen said, saying she was anxious to see the publication’s recognizable red newsstands back up and running.
“It stabs my heart when I walked by these empty boxes,” she said.