Thanks to Public Servants
After attending the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) Member Appreciation Dinner March 7, I feel especially grateful for our public servants and volunteers. This annual event, which benefits Meals on Wheels, highlights the often-overlooked work that keeps our communities running.
This year’s honorees — which include state Sen. James Manning, Assistant County Administrator Greg Rikhoff and Lane County Elections staff — exemplify dedication to public service. Their commitment, along with the countless hours contributed by local volunteers, strengthens Lane County in ways we too often take for granted. From safeguarding democracy to delivering essential services, these efforts make a real impact.
Public service isn’t glamorous, and it’s rarely met with applause. But events like this remind us that our communities thrive because people step up — not for recognition, but because they care. To all who serve, as volunteers and in elected office: thank you. Your work matters, and we see you.
Chris Wig
Springfield
Bravo to 4J
I am proud and grateful to know that Eugene School District 4J has the core values and strength of leadership to join the federal lawsuit challenging the withholding of federal funds if their schools do not comply with the Trump administration’s stance that “diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs violate the Civil Rights Act and are discriminatory.” This phony baloney seeks to whitewash history and eliminate support for the vulnerable, including students with disabilities, houseless students, American Indian students and economically disadvantaged students. Right now we are the only K-12 school district in the nation to be joining the coalition bringing the lawsuit. Bravo to the school board for 4J!
Rogene Manas
Eugene
How did we get here?
I recently read former Mayor Kitty Piercy’s and Dan Bryant’s March 6 EW Local and Vocal Viewpoint on “Eugene SOS (Save Our Services)” regarding “the city of Eugene being faced with a serious budget short-fall.”
One sentence in the SOS article stands out, and that is “the fact remains that without additional revenue the city will have to cut critical services.”
In a front page article in today’s Register-Guard, it was reported that Eugene city councilors will vote on property tax exemptions for a pair of proposed apartment complexes in the Riverfront District. Does the phrase “You can’t make this **** up” come to mind? Why in the world are we still giving property tax exemptions for more apartment buildings that many working class people cannot afford? An even more appropriate question should be, why do you keep doing this when there are so many city services that desperately need funding?
So, Eugene city councilors, please explain why you keep giving property tax exemptions when we need that revenue for city services?
And don’t get me started on the very costly fiasco of the lack of a City Hall for over a decade. Budget shortfall? I wonder why.
Carol Ipsen
Eugene
Shop at MECCA
I thought to let everyone know that MECCA actually has all kinds of sewing supplies, fabric, essentials
and more (Slant, 3/13). Plus, one can find everything for knitting, crocheting and weaving. Everything is donated. Closed Sunday and Mondays.
Planet Glassberg
Eugene
A Seat at the Table
I’m currently a high school sophomore from Happy Valley. I believe that students having agency in the decisions that have the most direct impact on them is essential and conducive to school environments that actually prioritize the inputs of students.
Often, it seems that school board members overlook many student concerns simply because there isn’t enough student input and that leaves many of us to feel like we’re only allowed to have opinions, not choices. For example, our school district is one of many across Oregon who have spent up to $300,000 implementing Yondr pouches (for locking up cell phones) when many students I’ve spoken to have voiced that they’d much rather see our school district invest in things like air conditioning in our classrooms, which would aid our learning.
This is more than just teenagers being stereotypically whiny. This is about us not having a seat at the table. I mean, make it make sense. We’re allowed to work jobs, pay taxes and drive at 16. We have social responsibility that should come with the right to participate in democracy — the same one that most directly impacts us. The status quo must change if we value the voices of youth as much as we say we do. That’s why I implore our legislators to vote yes for HB 3012 so that our students can voice their opinions on the issues that are the most pressing to them.
Sydney Chen
Happy Valley
Support SB 722
We need support for Senate Bill 722, which was up for a hearing March 19. I work alongside renters and allies with the Eugene Tenant Alliance to push for housing reform because we see firsthand how unchecked rent increases push Oregonians to the brink. Seniors on fixed incomes, working families and people with disabilities are struggling as rents skyrocket beyond wage growth. More than half of Oregon renters spend over a third of their income on rent, and 88 percent of evictions are due to unaffordable housing. We are in a crisis — one that demands action!
Currently, buildings under 15 years old are exempt from rent control, allowing landlords to impose unlimited increases. This loophole led to situations like the Prescott Apartments in 2022, where tenants faced massive rent hikes when local incentives expired. Without change, more families will be forced to choose between rent, food and health care — or worse, fall into homelessness.
Oregon leads the nation in cost-burdened renters and unsheltered homelessness. Meanwhile, corporate landlords use AI-driven pricing to push rents even higher. SB 722 would set reasonable, predictable limits on rent hikes, aligning with industry best practices that recommend increases stay below 5 percent.
Housing stability isn’t just a tenant issue — it affects entire communities. When people are priced out, neighborhoods lose workers, schools lose students and businesses suffer. Passing SB 722 is a critical step toward protecting families, preventing displacement and ensuring a fair housing market. We can’t afford to wait — it’s time to act!
Adriana Grant
Springfield
It Starts April 5
I got up this morning humming a song I hadn’t thought about for years yet the whole melody was still stuck in my brain. It lifted up my spirits, made me happy — “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.”
Art, it’s all around us folks whether it’s music or: that beaded bracelet or opal stone pendant that you wear, that imaginative ocean scene intricately embedded in thick fabric art hanging above your fireplace, that colorful uniquely designed cup you sip coffee from, that sculptured stainless steel sea bird that struts on your mantle, that photograph of an Oregon lighthouse, that artfully designed water color above your kitchen sink, that sparkling stained glass sunset, that fragrant soap emanating from your skin, that brightly colored fish painted on a piece of ceramic tile hanging in your bathroom, that colorful tie dyed tee shirt you like, and that Bigfoot statue in your entryway. All these crafts are for sale and on display at Oregon’s first outdoor crafts market — Eugene’s Saturday Market.
You’ll find not only uplifting artwork, but also a tempting array of exotic foods to eat while you watch local musicians performing on the Saturday Market stage. Folks, this exhilarating art scene can be enjoyed — free.
You get the idea.
For a fun filled day I suggest you travel downtown to Eugene’s Saturday Market on its opening day, April 5. It is your opportunity to experience a 50-year tradition
Joe Blakely
Eugene
Follow the Stock Markets
When asked about the stock market and if there would be a recession on Air Force One, Donald Trump replied, “Who knows?” Based on that genius response, I suggest you follow the markets with your own eyes
Good luck to the U.S.
Glenn Jones
Eugene
ONLINE EXTRA LETTERS
Tax the Rich
The obvious way to significantly reduce the federal budget would be to cancel the $4.5 trillion tax cut for the wealthy and large corporations. That by itself would pretty much do it.
All the extreme, thoughtless, heartless flailing by Elon Musk and Donald Trump, increasingly upending lives and basic government functions, won’t save anywhere near as much as ending the tax cuts would. The more they take from everything else, the bigger the tax cuts they can give themselves without raising the deficit.
Some think the midterm elections are our best chance to interrupt this treasonous hijacking of our democracy. But you can be sure the entire Trump machine is acutely focused on subverting those elections. They can see as well as anybody the threat that poses to their plans. This is why they are intimidating the press, firing watchdogs, weaponizing DOJ, tightening voting restrictions, etc.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth just cancelled cyber-security efforts against Russia, infamous for election interference, because they know they need all the help they can get. The fact that they have manipulated the social media titans into their scam is profoundly alarming, as this is where a huge number of Americans get their (dis)information.
I also don’t know what to do, but we need to avoid wishful thinking as we are up against a highly strategic, amoral, organized kleptocracy, whose quest for absolute power is going virtually unchecked by the dishonest cowards who control Congress, and whose deliberate efforts to question the legitimacy of the courts will only escalate.
Rick Moser
Eugene
Musk is not Stark
For years, Elon Musk has been likened to Tony Stark — a visionary, a genius, a man pushing the limits of human potential. But the comparison flatters Musk far more than it should.
Stark begins as a libertine technologist, a self-interested billionaire whose inventions fuel destruction. Then comes his moral awakening: the realization that unchecked innovation without accountability breeds catastrophe. He reins in his empire, submits to oversight and ultimately sacrifices himself for the greater good.
Musk, by contrast, remains an unrepentant disruptor. He builds electric cars but flouts regulations. He warns of AI’s dangers while accelerating its development. He reaches for Mars while dismissing concerns about labor exploitation and social decay. His ventures, though grand, serve no higher purpose beyond his own ambition.
To be clear, the world needs brilliant, risk-taking entrepreneurs. But it also needs them to grow up. It needs them to recognize that progress unmoored from responsibility is no progress at all. If Musk were truly the Stark of our age, he would understand that technological power, without restraint or moral weight, leads not to salvation but ruin.
Instead, we get stock market gamesmanship, social media chaos and a man-child billionaire chasing spectacle over substance. The difference between Musk and Stark isn’t intelligence, but conscience. One embraced his limits. The other refuses to acknowledge he has any.
Joshua Purvis
Eugene
Don’t Gut Public Education
The Trump administration, emboldened by billionaire allies like Elon Musk and the wildly unqualified Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, has taken a sledgehammer to public education. By illegally gutting the Department of Education and firing nearly 50 percent of its staff, they have effectively shuttered the agency responsible for ensuring our children’s legal right to a quality and equitable education.
This is a direct assault on democracy, economic stability and the future of our nation. Without public education, authoritarian control grows, misinformation spreads and inequality deepens. History has proven that undereducated populations face higher crime rates, weakened workforce potential and economic decline.
We cannot sit idly by. We’re in a fight for our country, for the USA. What can we Eugeneans do? Demand that Congress intervene — call Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley as well as Rep. Val Hoyle — and insist they restore education funding and curb Trump’s overreach. Join Indivisible Eugene and CALC to mobilize against these attacks. Fight locally — protect funding for Lane County schools and combat disinformation at school board meetings. Register and mobilize voters — Trump’s grip on power hinges on voter apathy. Support grassroots efforts to expand turnout in 2024.
Our children’s future — and the future of our democracy — depends on it.