When the “Eugene Weekly” announced days before Christmas that it was laying off its entire staff due to suspected embezzlement, the news shook supporters of Eugene local journalism and sparked a rally to revive the scrappy alt-weekly with community donations, volunteer labor and renewed hope.
But just as the paper was getting back on its feet, another shock landed this spring: Oregon’s governor initially declined to extradite the former business manager charged in the case, despite her recent arrest in Ohio.
The decision, which was reversed May 27, has put a national spotlight on EW once again and raised new questions about how the state weighs justice against cost when deciding whether to bring accused criminals back to face trial.
Embezzlement timeline
In December 2023, EW shut down and laid off its entire staff, citing the alleged embezzlement as the cause. Months of investigation and community fundraising followed, and by February of 2024, the paper returned to print…