Just 12 shopping days remain until Christmas. And if we want to send Christmas cards — and I always do, but always run out of time — we probably need to have them done by the end of next week. Good luck!

Speaking about the holidays, you probably already knew that Oregon grows more Christmas trees than any other state in the nation. This story, from Mia Maldonado at the Oregon Capital Chronicle, examines some of the ways Oregon State University researchers are trying to make sure that remains true in the face of threats such as climate change.

Remember back in 2020, when Oregon voters legalized the use of psilocybin — “magic mushrooms,” for those of us who still struggle to correctly spell, let alone pronounce, “psilocybin?” Remember how we all said we were intrigued by the use of the hallucinogenic in clinical settings and might sign up for a session, or at least a couple of microdoses? And now it’s years later, and we still haven’t done that? In this new story, The Guardian explains some of the reasons why that’s the case for the state’s struggling psilocybin providers in this pithy subhead: “Practitioners worry the industry has become too costly, too white and too regulated.” I’m still up for a microdose or two — maybe at some point, I could pick those up at a convenience store? What could go wrong?

Yesenia Amaro of The Oregonian/OregonLive has a good story about how recent enforcement activity by U.S. Immigration and Customs agents has turned Woodburn — the Oregon city with the highest percentage of Latino residents — into what observers called a “sad” and “depressing” place. City officials did declare a state of emergency due to the ICE activity but have since kept a low profile, The Oregonian reported.

It’s a virtual lock: The tax increases intended to pay for the transportation package that this year’s Legislature struggled to pass will be on the November 2026 ballot. Opponents of increases to Oregon’s gas tax, vehicle registration fees and a transit-oriented payroll tax submitted nearly 200,000 signatures — more than twice the number required — Friday to state elections officials. With signatures submitted, the tax increases — which had been scheduled to go into effect next month — will be suspended, which likely will leave the Oregon Department of Transportation in a funding crunch. It also could mean that transportation will become the big topic in next year’s short legislative session. But the speed with which the signatures were gathered suggests that Oregon voters are likely to reject the tax increases next November. Dirk VanderHart at OPB had the story.

Here’s this week’s long read: It’s a riveting piece from The New York Times about how the CIA managed to lose a nuclear-powered device meant to spy on China in 1965 on one of the tallest mountains in the Himalayas. As far as anyone knows, the device is still there. Experts say it won’t explode, and there’s a small chance of radiation poisoning. The main worry is that the plutonium powering the device could be used in a radioactive “dirty bomb” if terrorists were to find the device — and wasn’t this the plot of “Mission: Impossible — Fallout?”

As some of you might recall, I spent a couple of years recently working with newspapers in eastern Oregon, and I found the region much more vibrant than those of us who live west of the Cascades have been led to believe. So I was interested in this recent column about eastern Oregon by Randy Stapilus in the Capital Chronicle. And I might add that I’m frequently surprised at how often my experience in Wallowa and (to a lesser extent) Union counties comes in handy with my new job at Lookout Eugene-Springfield.

Unity Shelter, the organization that runs low-barrier shelters for people who are unhoused, recently finished a major remodeling job on the Men’s Shelter in South Corvallis. The Gazette-Times’ hard-working Cody Mann had a story on the shelter’s reopening. (Full disclosure: I serve on the organization’s board.)

Need two more items to stuff into your overflowing file about the pettiness of the Trump administration? No? Here goes anyway: The administration (at least the State Department) has determined that Calibri is too “woke” of a typeface. (This NPR story has a terrific headline, by the way.) And next year’s list of days when entrance is free to national parks no longer includes Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth — but now includes President Trump’s birthday (which coincides with Flag Day, but still).

Remember just a couple of weeks ago, when the Weekend Reader reported that “six-seven” was the word of the year? Well, The Atlantic reports it’s dead now. Adults killed it, just like they killed Beanie Babies.

The recent inaugural Ashland Sarcasm Festival was a success, with 17 sold-out shows and performances by a number of comedians. And as much as I like Ashland, I have to confess that it’s a relatively easy target. But now that I think about it, so is Corvallis. A sarcasm festival might be a good fit for Corvallis. Any takers?

Happy 100th birthday, Dick Van Dyke! I always thought he should have been a bigger movie star, but he seems happy with his career. Still, his scene in “Mary Poppins Returns” was about the only moment when I thought the movie truly jumped into life.

Alan Taylor at The Atlantic is offering his annual Space Telescope Advent Calendar, featuring jaw-dropping photographs of the universe. The Saturday image, featuring galaxy cluster MACS J1149.5+2223 — as if you need an introduction — is suitably spectacular.

Is a journalist on your Christmas gift list? Probably not — the number of working journalists in the United States has been on the decline for decades. But I pass along this list of Christmas suggestions for ink-stained wretches (or whatever the digital equivalent is of “ink”), compiled by the Nieman Lab at Harvard, just in case something on the list might be a good fit for that person who’s always so hard to buy for.

And remember … just 12 more days to fill the stocking. Let’s gather here next weekend and compare shopping notes.