Eugene Weekly : Views : 2.22.07

Viewpoint:
Forces of Destruction
Measure 37 is only the latest assault on land use laws
BY BOB EMMONS

Thanks to Eugene Weekly and reporter Alan Pittman, voters have a well-researched and graphically captivating picture of the statewide land abuse fiasco purchased — on the cheap — by a handful of developers, corporations and speculators (“Looming Sprawl,” 1/25). Left unsaid is that Measure 37 has opened a gaping and potentially lethal wound in a land use program already suffering the death of a thousand cuts — institutional corruption in which parasites like Greg Demers and the two McDougal brothers have been thriving for decades. [Read More]

 

Viewpoint:
Community Tattoo
A 12-step program for getting unbranded
BY JERRY DIETHELM

I was at the City Council meeting the night Rob Hankins sold them the T-shirt he was wearing that proclaimed Eugene “The World’s Greatest City for the Arts and Outdoors.” He drew his line in the air, so to speak, and all the chickens were mesmerized, patriotically aroused but clueless that they were being branded by a master — who, it turned out, was about to leave for a better paying job in Ohio. I quickly checked for my wallet and was reminded of the pre-Google encyclopedia salesmen who always began their phone pitch with, “Do you believe in education in the home?” [Read More]