These horrifying school shootings like the one this week in Bend seem to create the same flow of news coverage, the same wave of “thoughts and prayers,” and the same mixture of shock, despair and anger – a mixture that was never better captured than by this classic headline from The Onion: “No Way to Prevent This, Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens.”  

The Onion rolled out that headline 39 times beginning in May 2014, with virtually the same story each time, simply updated with details of the latest mass shooting. (I was surprised that it didn’t run the headline and story this week, as far as I could tell; maybe Onion editors feel the same way most of us do. The last time a “No Way to Prevent This” story ran in The Onion appears to be December 2025.)

So I quickly scoured the internet this week in search of somewhat thoughtful stories that perhaps, in some way, could help us break out of these too-familiar tracks.

At my place of employment, Lookout Eugene-Springfield, after discussing if we could add anything of value to the news stampede, we dispatched reporter Ashli Blow. She wrote movingly about the mood in the city the day after the shooting.

The Oregonian/OregonLive has a solid piece that covers all the bases; I include it here for those of you who don’t subscribe to The Oregonian. 

The Associated Press reports that it’s relatively rare for an armed civilian to end a mass shooting by firing on the gunman.

Here’s something from The New York Times: A data scientist who tracks gun violence in schools (pause a moment to let it sink in that there’s enough data in this field to keep a data scientist busy) reports that the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary was the 149th shooting at a U.S. school this year. (Yes, a pause here again is appropriate.) Ready for the kicker? Although the definition of “school shooting” can be slippery, the number of these incidents is declining, and has been for years: There were 235 shootings in 2025 and 336 in 2024. The good news, more or less, is that since 2018, nearly 250 school attacks have been averted by community members, relatives or classmates who noticed warning signs. 

In other news this week:

So long, former White House press secretary Katie Zacharia! Seems like we hardly got a chance to know you. 

The Irish rock band U2 marks its 50th anniversary this year – remarkably, with the same four lads who founded the group a half-century ago. True, this is the band that clogged your iPod with an album you never asked for (but which still has some pretty good songs, like “Raised by Wolves”). But this also is the band that gave us the titanic “Achtung Baby.” Still, it’s worth wondering what the band has left in the tank as it enters its sixth decade. David Marchese asks some pointed questions in the latest edition of the Times’ fabulous podcast “The Interview.”

I’m actually a little surprised that my ballot for the November election hasn’t arrived yet, but I’m pretty sure it’s on the way. If you’re curious about the status of your ballot, you’ll want to know about a new tool that the Secretary of State’s office is rolling out statewide this election: BallotTrax sends you text, email or phone updates when ballots are mailed to voters, received at the elections office and accepted for counting. The Oregon Capital Chronicle explains how you can sign up. One of my colleagues at Lookout signed up and reports that it was a breeze.

In my neighborhood, which normally is blissfully news-free, we’re still trying to figure out what happened to the set of mailboxes just up the street: Something relatively large must have run into them at a considerable rate of speed, twisting the entire structure and driving parts of it to the ground. Your normal-sized Prius probably isn’t up to the task; this would require something larger – I don’t know? A Cybertruck? I’m thinking what you’re thinking: Someone doesn’t want someone else in this neighborhood to get their ballot. 

In a more rational bit of election paranoia, it would be a good idea to mark your ballot as soon as it’s ready and get it on its way. The preferred option would be to use one of the county’s ballot drop-off boxes. If you must mail it, do it as soon as possible – you never know when Cybertrucks might come rampaging through your neighborhood.

What I’m reading: “Wild Thing,” Sue Prideaux’s surprisingly engrossing biography of Paul Gauguin. I’ve just started “The Radiance,” the big-swing novel from Ayad Akhtar; Lauren Jackson interviewed Akhtar for an edition of her New York Times newsletter “Believing.” 

And speaking of books: I have just been informed that a brave author, Kara LaReau, has just published a book intended for middle-school students that is essentially a retelling of Daphne du Maurier’s classic “Rebecca” – but with cats as the protagonists. Before you say, as I initially did, that this seems like a bad idea, this reviewer for the Times says “Licorice” works just fine. 

What I’ve watched: I recently finally saw “Coyote vs. Acme,” the once-mothballed Warner Bros. movie that I wrote about extensively earlier this year. It’s no “Paddington 2,” but it’s still plenty of fun, especially if you have a soft spot for the Looney Tunes cartoons. (The movie, which the studio shelved apparently because it thought it would be a box office dud, has earned $100 million worldwide.)

Speaking of cats, as we were just a paragraph ago, how are your plans coming to install a catio for your feline pal? The Times reports that these outdoor enclosures for cats are a hot topic these days in the real-estate market – but perhaps not as hot as the “Costco door.”

Finally, because you need it this week: The Associated Press has compiled a very nice selection of photos depicting autumn in America. Say what you will about the season, but the colors are nice. 

And what do you know – sure enough, my ballot arrived in my (still-intact) mailbox as I was writing this. Vote early, readers, and we’ll gather here next week.