A LITTLE OVER a year ago, I wrote about The Wine Lounge at the Jacksonville Inn. Well, things have changed since then, and I think it’s time for another visit!
The space is now home to The Gold Room, where craft cocktails have taken center stage. They’ve updated the […]
AMID GLOBAL STORIES of environmental decline, pollution, and ecosystem disruption, the revival of the Klamath River offers a remarkable story of resilience and renewal.
Once one of the West Coast’s most important salmon-producing rivers, the Klamath suffered a dramatic ecological decline after hydroelectric dams were constructed along its […]
THE REAL ESTATE MARKET has entered a more challenging environment for both buyers and sellers. The average long-term mortgage rate jumped at the beginning of October to its highest level in nearly three years to 7.59%. A year ago, the average rate was 6.34%. It is the sixth […]
NO, I’M NOT talking about my local, neighborhood hoodlums: the ones with feathers who brazenly stop traffic on Third Street with bold displays of avian bravado.
I’m talking about gratitude.
Gratitude is a big deal. Bigger than the conversations you don’t want to have with family over the cranberry sauce. Bigger than Black […]
YOU MAY NOT KNOW the face, but if you listen to local radio you definitely know the voice. You’ve been listening to it for 38 years. Brian O’Connor has been a mainstay of local radio since KTMT gave him a weekend slot, in 1988, when he […]
AS NOVEMBER settles into Jacksonville and the first strands of white lights begin to glow across our Historic Core, town prepares to step into its most beloved season. Victorian Christmas has always been more than an event here—it is a living tradition, a celebration of heritage, community, and the unmistakable charm […]
AS WE rake up fallen leaves and put our gardens to bed for winter, our thoughts turn to the upcoming holiday season. My family faithfully follows several traditions, including a family Thanksgiving at our home. The holidays are a very nostalgic time for me, […]
WE LOVE MOVIES almost as much as we love dogs! So, one might think (to paraphrase Charles M. Shultz), that for us, “Happiness is a warm puppy, plus popcorn.”
But it ain’t necessarily so. The fundamental design of drama includes a quirky fait accompli that strikes hardest in […]
ONE OF THE HAPPIEST moments of the 2026 Britt Season happened in August this year, when a grant from the Jacksonville Boosters Foundation enabled us to finally buy a riding lawn mower!
Since 2009, Britt has managed the Upper Britt Gardens 365 days per year with the […]
THERE MAY BE no better time to discover Southern Oregon wine country than fall. The vineyards are coming alive with the excitement of harvest, the hillsides begin turning brilliant shades of gold and red, and the crisp autumn air makes a day of wine tasting especially inviting. […]
I’M PART OF a very loose coalition of people who take daily walks in Jacksonville. You might have seen me; I’m the guy with the big headphones. Until recently, the best part of any walk was running into Belita Palu-ay, the “coolest person in town,” per my wife and […]
I THOUGHT I KNEW the names of most of the wineries within an hour of Jacksonville.
As it turns out, I was wrong.
One short ride with Robbie Ross, co-owner of Wine Hopper, introduced us to Dwell, put Wanderlust on our must-visit list, and reminded me that Southern Oregon’s wine […]
JACKSONVILLE HAS plenty of places for a great meal, but sometimes what you really want is a giant slice of pizza, a cold drink, and a 25-cent game of pool.
That is exactly what we found at Brickline Pizza Co.
More than a few of our friends had told us […]
WE HAD VISITED Daisy Creek Vineyard once nearly five years ago, but somehow never made it back. That’s especially embarrassing considering how many times I’ve run or biked right past it over the years. Recently, we decided to change that, hopping on our bikes on a Friday afternoon […]
THE FIRST TIME I NOTICED IT, I was in the second grade. Mrs. Rice divided us all into small groups for a project. I was very unhappy with this forced communal activity. “Ugh!” I thought. “Why can’t I just do it by myself?”
Fast forward to my adult life, which has been […]
OREGON’S NEW housing laws are changing how certain residential projects are reviewed and approved throughout the state. House Bill 4037 and Senate Bill 974 are intended to increase housing production by creating more predictable approval processes, establishing government review timelines and limiting some local requirements. […]
OCTOBER IN JACKSONVILLE is pure magic. The maples and oaks turn gold, the air cools just enough to make a warm drink feel perfect, and our National Historic Landmark District glows in the kind of autumn light photographers dream about. This year, that beauty carries even deeper meaning as Jacksonville celebrates […]
DEAR FRIENDS, with another Britt season in the books, it’s time to take a moment of gratitude. Every year, I’m amazed and humbled by the community that shows up for Britt: the attendees, the volunteers, the orchestra musician hosts, the performers, the full-time and seasonal staff, and so many […]
FALL HAS FINALLY ARRIVED in the Rogue Valley. The season’s beautiful colors, showing off in all their glory, mark a welcome change for the inhabitants of our little village. It’s time for sitting in front of a fire with a good book while waiting […]
A FEW “explanatory statements” (or “clues”) to launch this literary effort:
THERE ARE PLACES you visit once, and then there are places that quietly become part of your family’s traditions. Tucked high in the Cascade Mountains just 40 miles east of the Rogue Valley, Lake of the Woods Resort is one of those destinations that has been bringing […]
SOUTHERN OREGON’S fire-prone environment raises questions about the role of flammable plants in spreading wildfires. Examples of highly-flammable plants include ornamental juniper, Leyland cypress, Italian cypress, rosemary, arborvitae, eucalyptus, and some ornamental grasses. Care should be taken to not place highly flammable plants adjacent to […]
AS SUMMER gives way to the first golden edges of fall, Jacksonville enters a season that feels tailor made for reflection, celebration, and community pride. The past few months have been nothing short of extraordinary, and September promises to carry that momentum forward with events that highlight our history, our flavors, […]
IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE that Britt’s 2026 season is coming to an end this month. It’s been a glorious summer, and there are still a handful of shows remaining, plus a couple of special events.
Pink Martini kicks off September. Listening to Pink Martini always makes me feel like I’m […]
THIS HAS BEEN another hot and dry summer that we are ready to let go of. I’m happy to see September and look forward to cooler fall weather. As we start the countdown to the end of fire season, I am grateful to have […]
EXCURSIONS to our local Motion Picture Palace have, for us, become much less alluring these days. There’s nothing wrong with the venue per se (although our increasingly vintage bodies prefer the comfy home sofa and the boob-tube). But if we’re being honest about it, a pair of […]
THERE ARE FEW PLACES in Southern Oregon where you can truly grasp the scale and beauty of the land quite like standing on the launch site at Woodrat Mountain.
Perched high above the Applegate Valley near Ruch, Woodrat is a place where the earth seems to fall away […]
IF YOU’VE SEEN Nick Garrett-Powell this year—chances are you have, since he plays more than 200 shows per year—you’ve probably assumed that what you’re seeing, either as half (with Andy Casad) of the Fret Drifters, with Shae Celine as Nick & Shae, doing his mesmerizing solo […]
CYCLE OREGON is rolling into Jacksonville this August, and our little town is about to shine in a very big way. As riders crest the hills and glide into the valley, they’ll discover what we already know—Jacksonville is at its best in late summer—alive with music, history, hospitality, and that unmistakable […]
WILDFIRE SAFETY has become an increasingly important consideration for homeowners across Oregon, especially in Southern Oregon where dry summers, steep terrain, and large areas of forest create elevated fire risk. While homeowners cannot control the weather, they can take meaningful steps to reduce the likelihood […]
WE HAVE AN EPIC AUGUST planned for you at Britt! Every season is a little bit different—the rhythm of booking shows means we can never really predict when we’ll see our busiest month of the season, and this year, August takes the cake with thirteen shows running the gamut […]
THE TERM “prognostication” refers to predicting, forecasting, or prophesizing events in the future.
Well, we don’t do that. We suck at that.
But just for you, Dear Readers (because we have to blame somebody), we’ve invested hours burrowing through Hollywood’s dusky Marketing Underworld looking for movies that studios hope […]
THE HOT, DRY DAYS of summer are upon Southern Oregon. As I write this column, we are not experiencing a water shortage, and we are not in imminent danger of a fire devastating Jacksonville. However, thoughts of drought and fire are always on our […]
TO SEE John and Jean Mazzei play music is to experience pure joy—wrapped in a whirlwind of jazzy numbers, torch songs, pop tunes, witty banter, boas, faux fur, soul patches, and blazing red sport coats. It’s the embodiment of a good time, Jean out front commanding […]
AFTER SITTING DOWN with Andrea Breault last month, I realized I learned a lot more than I expected. So much so that it felt like too much for one article. So, we are making this a two-part series.
If you missed Part 1, Andrea is my now go-to “wine […]
Soul Matters – July 2026
FOUR YEARS AGO, all the major pieces of my life shifted: marriage ended, nest emptied, house sold. It’s been Transition Central for a while now. A long while. I’ve used this time well, sorting head and heart and finding a lot of healing and growth. But now, four plus years later, […]
AS WE REACH the midpoint of 2026, Southern Oregon’s real estate market has continued its transition toward a more balanced environment. Following several years of rapid appreciation, limited inventory, and strong competition, the first half of 2026 has brought a slower market yet greater stability […]
JACKSONVILLE is gearing up for one of the most joyful, heritage-rich celebrations we’ve hosted in years—the Jacksonville Jubilee, happening Saturday, July 11, 2026, in the heart of our historic downtown. This one day summer festival brings together everything people love about Jacksonville: history, music, community, and a little bit of magic. […]
EVERY BRITT SEASON is different, and this year our calendar is heavily stacked in late July and August—and that means lots of opportunity for you to catch some amazing shows in the coming weeks! I always love pitching a few of my personal must-sees to you, […]
WE OFTEN USE THIS COLUMN to tell you what’s coming up, so that we can manipulate you into considering it.
But not this time. This time we’re going to tell you that you’ve already missed it. And, also that you haven’t. (This will become less paradoxical in a few paragraphs. We […]
HELLO EVERYONE! As you might have noticed, I have been absent from my desk in City Hall since February 23rd. After postponing it for longer than I should have, I recently had a very successful spinal surgery. I’m happily back in my office again. I want to […]
SUMMER IN SOUTHERN OREGON is all about long, warm days, cool rivers and lakes, outdoor music, mountain scenery, wine country, and small towns that come alive in the evenings. Get your shorts, sandals, sunscreen and sunglasses on, uncover your boats and boards, and enjoy our favorite Summer […]
JEFF KLOETZEL’S CROSSROADS came in 2009. After two decades in Hawaii, where he’d worked in real estate and established himself as a go-to guitar player in the tight-knit island’s music scene, he’d chucked it all—“I packed everything up, gave notice at my job, gave notice to […]
SOUTHERN OREGON’S RENTAL MARKET has been undergoing a transition. After several years of rapid rent growth and historically low vacancy rates following the COVID housing surge, landlords across Jackson County are now facing a much different environment. Rents are leveling out, vacancies are lasting longer, […]
JUNE AT BRITT is all about the Britt Festival Orchestra, and this year is a banner season: we’re welcoming the BFO’s fifth-ever Music Director, Norman Huynh! Norman rose to the top of an extraordinary list of candidates and finalists, and we feel so lucky to be welcoming him to […]
JACKSONVILLE IS stepping into June with the full charm, color, and character that only a true three-trolley town can offer. Our trolleys have become more than transportation—they are part of the Jacksonville experience, weaving together our history, our wine country, and our year round celebrations in a way that feels uniquely […]
IN 1985, when Sally Field received her “Best Actress” Academy Award statuette for the film Places in the Heart, she turned her tear-filled eyes to the Hollywood audience and said, “I can’t deny the fact that you like me. Right now, you like me!”
How could we not?
Field […]
Jacksonville, OR – Monday, April 27, 2026: This summer, Britt will host a special community event, Honoring Britt’s Founder: A Dedication and Picnic Celebration, recognizing the life and legacy of founder and longtime music director John Trudeau, whose vision helped establish Britt as a cultural cornerstone of Southern Oregon.
The celebratory evening will take place on […]
ODDS ARE GOOD that you saw Bryan Oliver play music in 2025. After all, if you add up solo performances, gigs with his “Bryan Oliver Trio” and the weekly open mic he hosts, Oliver played 127 times last year—none of which would’ve been possible, he says, […]
IT’S SPRING AGAIN … Mother’s Day, my birthday, baseball: the best time of year in my book. I will be celebrating all of those things with my son, who will be meeting me in San Francisco after completing his junior year in North Carolina. Mother’s Day at the ballpark with my […]