EW readers weigh in on a local rent strike and plans for a container ship port in Coos Bay

NOT PAYING RENT IS NEWS?

The “Police Raid Almaden Street Home” article of Sept. 28 is confusing and concerning to me. Why is someone not paying their rent and then demanding they be sold the house newsworthy? Of the EW employees who rent a house, do they support this concept? It was not a “raid.” I expect many notices were given over months. This article is like a Fox News report — short on facts, large on emotional hype.

I feel the saddest part was the renter playing her race card, “in a state historically unfriendly to Black people.” I wish King the best, but your events are color blind. 

Don French

Eugene

COOS BAY PORT AUTHORITY HIDING ITS PLANS

The Coos Bay Port Authority (CBPA) has applied for a $1.2 billion federal government mega-grant to fund a massive multi-modal container ship port on Coos Bay’s North Spit. The Port Authority has been saying forever that this project, which will require blasting miles of bedrock from the bay to enlarge the channel for massive 1,200-foot container ships, will bring unfathomable benefits to the Bay Area.

However, when two local citizens’ groups, including the League of Women Voters of Coos Bay, requested copies of the mega-grant application, the CBPA refused to provide that document. The CBPA is not only being less than transparent about its plans, it seems to be actively stonewalling the public’s right to know before American taxpayers are put on the hook.

One might ask, if this is such a great project, why is the Port Authority keeping its plans secret? Are its grandiose claims exaggerated? Are risks and potential impacts to the Coos Bay ecosystem, its fisheries and the Bay Area’s quality of life being downplayed? Does the CBPA have something to hide from taxpayers and Bay Area residents? Don’t you think it’s high time we and the taxpayers get to see what the CBPA has in store for us?

Ken Bonetti

North Bend