Tuesday night, June 18, Lane County residents addressed the county commissioners on the proposed spray ban initiative and the right to local community self-government initiative (which legally authorizes citizens to write and pass laws to protect our health, safety and welfare, like the spray ban).
Proponents of the ban told personal stories of health harms endured due to aerial herbicide spray exposure, and the science that backs up their heartbreaking stories. Timber industry advocates refuted their claims.
The real issue here, regardless of where you stand on the practice of aerial herbicide spraying, is that 15,000 county residents signed two petitions to refer these measures to the voters. If you don’t want to ban sprays, vote against the ban, but don’t suggest that the people should be denied access to the ballot box — to be the decision-makers this country so desperately needs us to be.
As a part of democratic government decision-making, the initiative system is the people’s voice. It’s how we legislate, especially when elected officials don’t listen to us.
Yes, commissioners, it is well within your duties to refer these initiatives, so do it. Democracy herself is at stake here.
Michelle Holman
Deadwood
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
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Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
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