Lookout PM: Hot and hazy

Good evening,

Weird weather out there today. The haze this morning was likely smoke that had drifted in from wildfires burning in central Oregon, air quality experts said — particularly the Akawa Butte Fire near Sisters. Our environmental/public health correspondent Ashli Blow had an update today on air quality and fire conditions in Lane County.

By the way, we have a new page on our site where we compile information and reporting on the local 2026 fire season. We hope it can answer questions ranging from “Where is that smoke coming from?” to “What should I put in a ‘go bag’ in case I need to evacuate?” This is where we also will monitor the status of any fires burning in the county (currently, nothing major). It’s a work in progress. Feel free to send any feedback, and we’ll try to make this page as useful as we can.

Monique DeSpain, the Republican who is challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle in Oregon’s 4th Congressional District, was competitive with Hoyle this spring in fundraising. Lookout senior correspondent Ben Botkin reports that both campaigns have roughly the same amount of cash in the bank, as of June 30.

A comic shop in 5th Street Public Market is among five finalists for a Will Eisner Comic Industry Award for best retailer — in the world. Arts and culture reporter Annie Aguiar writes that the Eisner awards are basically the Oscars of the comics world. And the winner is … well, we’ll find out on Friday.

For the second time this month a judge declared a mistrial over Lane County prosecutors’ failure to turn over all evidence to defense attorneys in a timely way. The latest case involved a shooting in December 2024 at City Nights, a bar downtown. Jaime Adame has the story.

About five years ago the Oregon Legislature did away with truancy citations statewide — that is, school districts would no longer be able to fine the parents of a child who failed to show up for school. With attendance lagging, Oregon’s poorest county, Malheur, brought the citations back. It now has the highest attendance rate in the state, 83.5%, nearly 20 points above the state average. Our colleagues at the Oregon Journalism Project took a look at the data.

Who’s in our Community Voices section today?

Tom Derungs of Eugene has written a guest op/ed reflecting on the 30th anniversary of the Warner Creek road blockade near Oakridge, when a tenacious group of environmental activists won a victory against the practice of salvage logging. Derungs also has details on a celebration of the event that is planned in Eugene next month.

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DAILY DIGEST

Wildfire smoke brings haze, degrades air quality in Eugene and Springfield

By Ashli Blow

The air quality index has climbed to the upper end of the moderate range, inching toward “unhealthy for sensitive groups” as wildfire smoke drifts into the valley.

In campaign money race, congressional challenger DeSpain competitive with Hoyle

By Ben Botkin

As the 4th Congressional District race heads to a rematch, Republican candidate Monique DeSpain started July with almost as much cash on hand as Democratic incumbent Rep. Val Hoyle.