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HOLES IN THE SYSTEM I am writing to clarify my position on the County Public Safety Measure [see cover story last week]. When the county came to the Eugene City Council asking us to support a public safety district, I did not support it because I felt that would have a negative impact on meeting our own funding needs. I did offer to meet with them to work on a proposal I could support. The county called together mayors and councilors from across Lane County. David Kelly served with me in this capacity. We went to many, many meetings to examine county services and to ask hard questions. We were convinced by the city's own experience as well as from what we have heard from non-profits, treatment and prevention specialists and county departments that there are serious holes in the public safety system that adversely affect the people of Eugene, the people we represent. David and I worked to ensure that prevention, intervention and treatments services were a key part of the public safety system proposal. We supported a funding mechanism that was not accepted by the Board of Commissioners. However after participating in a couple follow-up meetings, I believe the current proposal is acceptable and needed. More than half of the dollars will be committed to the prevention, intervention and treatment services. Both David and I support the County Public Safety Measure. Here is the quote that I gave to EW: "Let me be frank. I know this public safety measure is not perfect but I think it does take some significant steps in the right direction and I encourage the citizens of this community to support it. It won't happen without us. The system is broken and we need to work on solutions for our community and all of Lane County." In return, I want assurance that prevention and treatment dollars will not be diverted to incarceration. I want to reduce the funnel of need, not simply build more jail capacity. I applaud the BCC for committing to an internal auditing process that I hope will ensure that our community gets the best possible service provision for their investment. I also look forward to county leadership that strives to create a more open and positive relationship with our city residents and avoids disparaging comments about Eugene. Eugene voters support valuable services and we are a huge part of the county. I am proud that Eugeneans want a progressive and balanced system of public safety, built on best practices and high performance standards. Kitty Piercy, Mayor of Eugene
IT'S GOOD TO BE QUEEN She does for slugs what Aretha Franklin did for pop music. Welcome Queen Slugretha Latifah Uleafa Gastropodia Jackson, the 23rd in line of a multidimensional sorority of slug queens. From professors, healers, dedicated human services coordinators, accordion-wielding computer geniuses, Southern belle philanthropists, to list only a few — Q. Jackson, our 2006 Eugene slug queen, truly represents our community. I personally wanted to thank the contestants, who were all winners! Sigi Symphona Slug, who really swung it in sequined perfection with an original song with lyrics for the audience and the old queens to sing along! Sigi baby, you're all class! Gimping Gastropedic Goddess, with her crone-wizened long white hair recited poetry and mystified. Radula, dressed in silver, bearing handmade chocolate muffins with hand-carved sugar slugs on top. Slugalishus answered her question stunningly, a hard act to follow. Slugawarma Hereta-Warnya, the global warming masterpiece of wit and charm, mesmerized me with all she prepared and her hot trails of graciousness. Monster Tzu, a 15-inch puppet, with glamorous handsomely strange puppeteer: thank you for revealing yourself and entertaining us. I could only see from the back, but the audience gut belly laughed. You were all stellar! Yes, it was a photo finish, and the Ubiquitous Chain of Slugs crowned Slugretha Latifah Uleafa Gastropodia Jackson. All I can say to her is "I ain't never loved a slug (the way that I love you)!" Thank you to all participants, helpers and fans! Old Queen Frank Slugsnostra, Eugene
DEBI OUT TO LUNCH I lost my appetite last night after surfing to Debi Farr's website to see what our House District 14 representative has accomplished since 2004, when she ran on a pro-education platform that emphasized her huge heart. Well, I wasn't hugely surprised to see that Farr's website offers little evidence that she actually has a heart — much less a huge one — nor gives a hoot about education, as she claims, since during the House vote for K-12 funding (HB 2858), so important to Oregon schools, Debi went to lunch and missed it. That's right folks, Debi went to lunch, so she would not have to vote on a measure that might measure up to her campaign promises for public education. Where was her huge heart then? Perhaps it went to lunch with her, if still actually beating. But more likely it wasn't, having been consumed by her Republican cynicism, along with the voters' trust she inherited when elected. She has, after all, voted with her far-right pals like Karen Minnis more than 98 percent of the time. I wish I could go to lunch with Ms. Farr and, over a big dish of her melted promises, ask her why she persists in thinking voters will continue to abide her deplorable food. Parents and children alike are sick from it and are ready to send it back along with the server. Let's find someone who actually cares about kids. It certainly isn't Debi Farr, and never was. Tom Erwin, Eugene
BEST INVESTMENT As a retired community college economics instructor, a former member of the LCC Board, and as a present member of their budget committee, I would like to offer my views on the subject of funding of higher education in Oregon. On Sept. 6, the R-G published an opinion piece by Professor Sriram Khe of Western Oregon University in Monmouth. Professor Khe contends that money spend on higher education should more properly be viewed as an investment upon which the citizens of Oregon may expect a return in excess of their investment. I know from teaching economics for 25 years that most economists would agree with him since one of the best ways to increase the gross domestic production of a country or a state is to educate and train its workforce, and colleges and universities do that. I also know as a former board member at LCC that all 17 community colleges in Oregon have commissioned cost-plus benefit studies that show this to be the case as the return on the taxpayers' investments in higher education exceeds the cost just as professor Khe states in his recent opinion piece. Dennis Shine, Springfield
REEKING TACTICS How tragic that shadow opponents of Sen. Vicki Walker recently used a push-poll which trashed the Democratic candidate. The so-called survey imparted false information about Vicki's party affiliation, stating she's a Republican!. As far as I know, nobody has admitted responsibility for the fraudulent poll — which seems rather cowardly. Vicki's Republican opponent (Jim Torrey) has denied involvement. The push-poll reeks of a Karl Rove-style Republican rotten trick. I hope District 7 voters won't be distracted by mean-spirited campaign tactics aimed at Sen. Walker. You can help defeat the large corporate interests which attack Vicki by working in her campaign. Volunteers are needed in a grassroots effort to beat the big money. Check the Senator's website: vickiwalker.com Take a look at the senator's record of accomplishments in the Legislature, and the wide recognition she's received. Vicki is an energetic, productive, compassionate state senator. Dozens of major public interest groups are supporting Democrat Vicki Walker. I'm ecstatically proud that my labor union (SEIU 503) has endorsed her. Please work for her and send a check if you can. James Jacobson, Eugene
ABSOLUTISM RULES It was nice to read that the workers at EW don't need a union (letters, 9/14) because they have competitive salaries and you pay 65 percent of their basic health care premiums. Should I also assume that your workers also have an established grievance procedure with neutral, third-party, binding arbitration? That these competitive salaries are routinely, regularly, and collectively negotiated with your employees? Am I to assume that issues such as workload and assignments are hashed out between management and labor co-operatively and productively? Unions are first and foremost the worker's voice in the workplace. Salaries and health care benefits cannot make up for that lost voice, no matter how competitive or comprehensive they may be. Unions are the worker's tool for ensuring dignity, respect and fairness. Without this tool, only management determines what is fair, when workers are treated with respect, and who is allowed to retain their dignity. A workplace without a union is a workplace where the few make decisions for the many. A workplace without a union is a workplace where capriciousness, absolutism and injustice rule the day. It is typical of many lefty businesses and organizations in Eugene to believe that their workers don't need a union, or that a union would interfere with the good work that they are trying to do. A union is simply a way for management and workers to discuss, on an equal footing, issues that impact the workplace. Any organization, such as EW, that claims to be progressive, green, feminist, liberal or radical should have a union for its employees. Any workplace that does not should abandon those claims immediately.
David Cecil, Eugene
EDITOR'S NOTE: For the record, we never said EW workers don't need a union, only that we are not unionized. We are managed by committee, and all employees are invited to participate in decision-making.
EUGENE'S SALON I appreciated your coverage of the Salon des Refuses ("Not Your Mayor's Art Show") in the Eugene Celebration Program (9/7). Writer Adrienne van der Valk did a nice job of tying the history of the Eugene's Salon to the 19th-century Paris original. Also, it was great that the Weekly was able to reproduce five of the outstanding works hanging in the show in full color, although I was disappointed not to see the names of the paintings and the artists who painted them. The dramatic oil painting of the Iraqi women brandishing guns titled "Should We Be Silent?" is one of a series of 15 paintings of Iraqi women touched by the current war by artist Marjorie Tracy. (Full disclosure: Marjorie is my wife. We visited Iraq together in 1988.) Could you also fill your readers in on the names of the other four paintings printed with the article, and the names of their artists?
William Tracy, Eugene
EDITOR'S NOTE: Title cards with artist names were not available when the photos were taken. The show continues through Oct. 13 at 164 W. Broadway.
YES, IT IS TRILLIONS A letter in EW Sept. 14 claims the Bush regime's fiscal deficits are merely in the billions, not the trillions. Unfortunately, the true financial crimes are in the trillions. Several trillion dollars has been added to the federal debt over the past five years. Even more astounding, an estimated $4 trillion is "unaccounted for" and has gone missing, allegedly. U.S. Secretary of War Donald Rumsfeld held a press conference on Sept. 10, 2001 (the day before the "new Pearl Harbor") to admit that the Pentagon could not track $2.3 trillion. This information is still on CBS's website, yet the media, the Democratic Party and even the peace movement do not call attention to this reality. It is well documented that government spinmeisters are fond of releasing damaging news just before other events that distract from the airing of inconvenient truths. The day after this admission, the staff of Resource Services Washington, an Army accounting division, were reportedly among the victims when Flight 77 flew into the recently reconstructed and strengthened sector of the Pentagon. The only 2004 Presidential candidate to discuss any of this was Dennis Kucinich, who raised the issue of the missing trillions in his campaign speeches. To be fair, these missing trillions started under the Clinton administration; it is not a partisan political problem. The scandal is merely worse now under Cheney and Bush. Catherine Austin Fitts, assistant secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the first Bush administration, has an excellent website about the missing trillions at www.whereisthemoney.orgPlease also visit www.oilempire.us/trillions.html for accurate information on a scandal too big for the media to mention. Mark Robinowitz, Eugene
PIRATE BEHAVIOR The world certainly is different after 9/11, and I am having difficulty with the glorification of pirates when we are supposed to be at war with terrorism. While there doesn't appear to be an agreed upon definition of terrorism either legally (especially internationally), politically, or environmentally, pirate behavior has many more similarities than differences with the descriptions given for contemporary international terrorists. For instance, international terrorists, like the 17th and 18th century pirates, prefer to be based in places that tolerate them. Sea-going piracy is still active today in places like the coasts of Africa, and there is no reason to believe it will ever be eliminated from occurring anywhere in the world. The same can be said about international terrorism. I don't believe anyone wants to be a fun cop, but some considered thought about terrorism realities is needed. Unfortunately, we are not in Disneyland anymore, Toto. So, it's hard for me to get all gushy over pirates when we are now living in a world faced with escalating threats of terrorism. Bob Hibschman, Eugene
DEALING WITH ENEMIES Tom Hinkle's excellent "enemy" letter (9/7) got me to thinking about the definitions and actions appropriate when we are thinking about how to deal with enemies. How do we decide who is a friend, acquaintance or enemy? Friend and acquaintance are pretty easy, but enemy can get very complicated. Do we let ideologues like the Bushies make that decision? Do we let a political party make that decision? Do we let friends make that decision? Do we let the media make that decision? Do we let 9/11 make that decision? Do we let facts or lies or propaganda make that decision? Should we put enemies in jail or shun them or kill them or fight them? Perhaps if we decide not to have enemies and let government or the U.N. deal with the problem using police, courts, negotiation, etc.? Perhaps closing all U.S. foreign bases and bringing all U.S. troops home will eliminate all major U.S. enemies? Perhaps having global disarmament of weapons of mass destruction? Perhaps ending U.S. policies of financial and military aggression, bombing, killing people all over the world without making sure they are really enemies will work? If we did that perhaps the U.S. would have so many friends that enemies would no longer be a serious problem? Bob Saxton, Eugene
NORMAL POLICE I rode in my second Critical Mass the last Friday in August and was pleased that unlike the first I did not experience an intimidating police presence. Maybe the power of the EW press convinced the police to moderate their presence. On this ride the police were where you would normally expect to see them, such as congested accident-prone intersections. At one intersection, one of the riders rode through a red light, impeding traffic with the right of way; he also seemed to be urging the stopped cyclists to follow him. An officer who was watching the intersection ran up, tapped him on the shoulder and appropriately issued a citation in a prompt and courteous fashion. A little later two other cyclists and I were riding single file in the far right of our lane when an automobile driver began honking at us and shouting; he accelerated and shot by within inches of our left shoulders. A pity the police did not witness it, but they cannot be everywhere. I remain thankful for what appeared to be a normal police patrol presence at the time of Critical Mass. Ed Gunderson, Creswell
SEEKING TRUTHINESS I am a big fan of Stephen Colbert, who coined the term "truthiness." Wikipedia defines truthiness as "the quality by which a person claims to know something from the gut without regard to evidence, intellectual examination, or actual facts" Colbert comically exhorts, "Don't think about it. Just feel the truth!" I did laugh when I read the truthy article about Eugene's City Hall, "Doomed to Demo." But the following week when working with the media to advertise an upcoming community forum, a few reporters used the many inaccuracies found in that article in their interview questions, and it no longer seemed funny. Colbert's point is that "truthiness" is destructive in political dialogue. "Factualness" would be much more beneficial to the community. For example, the article inaccurately claimed a $200 million cost for the project. The project cost models ranged from $109 million to $135 million for various options to fully consolidate City Hall and accommodate growth to at least the year 2030. The article said the design team recommended almost quadrupling the size of the current building. The difference between the amount of space currently occupied by city offices throughout the downtown and the amount recommended for a new building is 22 percent, an increase to address a lack of meeting space. The article tapped the anti-worker vein with false claims of plans for larger offices when many staff, perhaps most, would receive smaller but more open and efficient workspaces. Please go to www.eugenecityhall.comto read the architectural studies and reports on citizen input on master planning issues. Ellen Teninty, City Hall Master Planning Design Team EDITOR'S NOTE: Looks like we added up the cost numbers wrong (see correction in news briefs) but we won't be surprised if the final cost years from now doesn't hit $200 million.
WALKER ON EDUCATION Oregonians can depend on Democrat Vicki Walker's experience and commitment to education. Sen. Walker was appointed as a commissioner to the national Education Commission of the States — the only major education group that does not exclusively serve special-interest groups. As a legislator, she has worked tirelessly to secure funding for education, effectively preserving the full school year for Oregon students and preventing teacher layoffs. Oregon faces some challenges in financing the future of education, but Walker has proven that she knows how to get things done. She is the "pro-education" candidate in this race, and we need her continued efforts in our state Legislature on behalf of Oregon's children. Lane County voters overwhelmingly voiced their trust in Walker when they elected her to the Oregon State Senate in 2002, and she hasn't disappointed us. Her dedication to Oregon's children is clear. Please join me in sending Vicki Walker back to the Senate this November. Kristin Strommer, Eugene
RARE OPPORTUNITY In an article (8/17) about Eugene's City Hall, "Doomed to Demo," Alan Pittman does a disservice to well-informed public debate. He insinuates bad faith where there is professionalism and goodwill. He pronounces a lack of public interest in a process that is young and growing. The City Council has insisted on transparent decision-making and invested in public involvement as an integral part of the multi-year City Hall Complex Master Planning. There are engaging questions about what to do and how to do it to create long term community-wide benefit. It is a rare opportunity for a community to create a public space that represents, welcomes and functions for all of us. To that end, design team staff attends neighborhood association meetings, community events, civic meetings, holds public forums, conducts interviews, works with the media and maintains a comment line and a website. This month, we are holding focus groups for underrepresented voices on the subjects of multiculturalism, youth, and accessibility. We will also speak with people at the Eugene Celebration and at the American Institute of Architects September chapter meeting. Go to the website, www.eugenecityhall.comand let us know how to reach you personally or work with us to sponsor education and discussion at an organization in which you participate. As Winston Churchill said, "We shape our buildings, and thereafter they shape us." Dana Ing Crawford, Eugene City Hall Master Planning Design Team
'ART FAG' NOT RIGHT Regarding John Dooley's interview (9/7) with Joe King of the (non-queer) The Queers: Am I offended by the term "art fag"? It's been around forever, and it isn't mocking homosexuals per se, just pretentious artists. Yet "fag" wasn't reclaimed like "queer" was, and it just doesn't sit right. Should I lighten up? Regardless, King's list of hated subcultures is curious, and it includes his own — punk rockers. He hates himself, so I guess don't have to. Never mind. Aaron Rosenberg, Eugene
NOT VERY LIBERATING Since 9/11 we have heard a lot of talk about freedom from Bush, only to have our freedoms diminished more in the past six years than in America's entire history. Freedom is a loose term. Freedom means different things to different people. The poor and rich perceive freedom differently, as do the powerful and the powerless. Both the landlord and tenant enjoy certain freedoms. The landlord and the tenant also tolerate certain losses of freedom. Bush and his immediate cronies are no longer free. Bush, Cheney, Rove and the like cannot go to the grocery store for a bag of Doritos without armed escorts and advanced planning. They cannot take their spouses for a spontaneous drive in the car along the open highway without a full on motorcade of militia. Bush Co. can't even take a simple stroll FIVE feet outside the security perimeter of their roaming citadel. Sound like freedom to you? The Bush team lost the freedom to speak impromptu. These mere mortals spend half the time writing scripts and the other half reading the scripts they wrote. No real time processing. Reading their scripts to hand-picked audiences, team Bush lost the freedom to socialize in mixed company. This is the social equivalent to having only one TV station or one radio station. Not very liberating. Everything they say and do is recorded, analyzed and often condemned by the majority both domestically and globally. This must take a stressful toll on one's psychosis. What does this punishing lifestyle do to a person's value system? The people in power who speak as though they are the protectors of freedom have none. For us common citizens to turn to these caged prisoners to protect our freedom, we may as well take swimming lessons from the drowning. Michael Grossman, Eugene
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