The city sold the former EWEB steam plant for $1. That’s folksy! My grandfather sold my mother his Ford Galaxy 500 for $1. “A way to avoid taxes,” he said. “Wow!” I thought. I was 10. I also remember feeling uncomfortable. The Galaxy 500 was gold, and any fool could tell it was worth more than a dollar.
And I’d learned taxes were used to provide services to everyone. Weren’t my grandfather and mother stealing money from people? My mother was ethical, and I had a tough time understanding their collusion to defraud the government for a couple of bucks.
The steamplant sold for $1 to Mark Miksis and Mark Frohnmayer. I thought, “Wow!”
I also thought, “Hmmm.”
My grandfather didn’t sell his Ford Galaxy to just anyone for a dollar. But there is a difference between my grandfather and mother’s conspiracy to defraud and the selling of the steam plant. Both involve stealing from the public. But my grandfather owned the Galaxy. He took the major loss.
Did the city own the steam plant? All of Eugene owned the steam plant. It was our asset. When individuals defraud the government, the government holds them accountable, theoretically. When the government defrauds the people, what agency holds them accountable? If a middleman sold my grandfather’s car to his pals for a buck, my grandfather would have “learned him good.” When the city defrauds the public, how is it held accountable? How does it learn?
After the IRS audited my grandfather, he never defrauded the public again.
Otis Haschemeyer
Eugene
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.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
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!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519
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