Helping, Not Complaining
Bastille Day and the Chamber of Commerce came to the Eugene City Council in full strength July 14. No less than three bank CEOs threatened to pull out of Eugene if the city didn’t “clean” downtown of its unsightly homeless and street crazies.
Law firms joined the chorus, and a beautiful 12-year-old girl testified to being traumatized by some guy yelling at her. Although they admitted that crime downtown was down 6 percent, they insisted that perceptions were more important than statistics. And the perception of everyone is that downtown is unsafe.
They concluded by pledging to be ready to do anything to assist the city in “revitalizing” downtown. They outlined no suggestions besides more police, but I think their offer was magnanimous and should be accepted at face value.
Here are some modest proposals. If there are too many homeless downtown, I’m sure some of the speakers could accommodate more than a few tents on their estates. Right? Drug addicts on the sidewalk? Why don’t the bankers set up a competition to see which of them can sponsor the most addicts into treatment? Crazies yelling at respectable customers? What we need is a service — say, vans with crisis workers dispatched to help out on the streets?
All it would take is money — and perhaps a wealth tax would cover it? What would we call it?
Bottom line? We can round up the homeless, addicted, mentally ill and CECOT them. Or tax the wealth and take care of them.
Jack Radey
Eugene
Lousy Corporate Citizenship
The Springfield police officers July 17 were perfectly cordial when they came to let protesters on the highway overpass know the mall would be towing cars parked at the Gateway Mall after 6 pm during the Good Trouble Lives On demonstration. Seems like a bold, anti-customer move on the part of the mall, given the emptiness of the lot (we could see dozens of empty spots from the bridge) and years of declining business. One more reason to choose to shop elsewhere — lousy corporate citizenship.
Amalia Gladhart
Eugene
More Than the Music
The heritage beech tree in the north parking lot of The Shedd Institute on 8th Avenue and High Street is one of the best trees in downtown Eugene. It shades 12 cars on these increasingly hot days, and looking out from under the tree at the other parking lots in view, I see trees that are stressed and failing to thrive. This one, a glorious 100-year-old European beech with bronzy foliage, is four times the mass of its siblings despite having asphalt up to the trunk. It must have tapped into an underground stream.
The parking lot is slated for repavement after the completion of The Shedd remodel, and I am concerned that this tree will be cut down to facilitate easy, cost-effective paving. When considering the value that trees add to the community (in oxygen, habitat, green nature good for mental health, shade that cools the urban core as climate heats us up), removal of this heritage tree is not cost effective.
Even if replacement trees are incorporated into the new lot, many of us will not live to park under their shade. Besides, will the new trees have what it takes to tap into the underground stream, or will they fail to thrive due to lack of water and increasing temperatures?
Go on a field trip downtown, compare this tree to others, and you will discover that not all of The Shedd’s treasures are music lessons and performances inside the building.
Teresa Mueller
Eugene
The City Must Move on Homelessness
This is in response to Nadine Powell’s letter “Trash, Trash, Trash” (EW, 7/17). I understand your frustration with the trash of the unhoused. I have picked up after them on the streets, by the river many times, railroads, parks — I’ve given up!
Until the city of Eugene and Mayor Kaarin Knudson make it their priority to team with a nonprofit and make simple housing a priority, like they do at Community Supported Shelters, and also put a bathroom or two downtown, we will continue to have tons of garbage from the unhoused.
When someone is unhoused, they are trying to survive, exhausted. Their basic needs for garbage, some place to sleep (without being moved), water and a place to pee/poop are not always accessible. (Of course, there will always be a few who don’t care. Most do, but don’t have stable basic needs and resources.) There is still a waiting list for the unhoused, so until we have ample conestoga huts to get them off the streets, out of the parks and river areas, we will need to put up with or have compassion for the unhoused’s garbage.
Gerilyn Van
Eugene
Does the City Work?
It has been over 10 months since I contacted the city to fix the parking issue on West 12th and Charnelton Street. Last year somebody (or some group of people) vandalized the meters in this downtown area and stole them. So ever since then, cars have been parked on these blocks for the whole working hours and there is no space for our clients to park while on business.
Construction workers from the Olive Plaza and other areas and maybe others from the Chapter at Eugene Student Apartments (formerly Capstone)? Who knows. I contacted the city three times, no action. Only one response last year saying they will see what can be done.
The meter checkers or parking enforcement don’t come in the area. Seems like the city staff is on an eternal vacation or on a free joy ride. I don’t know where our tax money goes. The city keeps on increasing taxes and fees, but very bad service — ever since COVID-19. Shame on the city manager and the City Council. They keep on giving tax-breaks to big developers (for example, MUPTI) and keep increasing taxes on homeowners, and don’t provide needed services.
The city engineers don’t know what they are doing with the traffic signals. Many of them are not designed to work for the best, efficient movement of traffic. Many of the streets have not been fixed for decades where some streets keep on getting repaved. Nobody in the city government seems to know or care.
City manager: If you are working, fix the problems!
Arun Toké
Eugene
A Pro Protest Response
In response to Doyle Srader’s viewpoint “On Protests” in EW’s June 26 edition, here are some outstanding reasons to indeed protest:
1) It’s our First Amendment right to peaceably assemble. Gathering to voice our opinion without ill consequence is a cornerstone of democratic society, and an action that is often met with violence in many parts of the world. Imagine telling the people protesting in Hong Kong a few years ago, some who were killed or imprisoned for it, that we don’t bother because it doesn’t change anything. The very fact that we can protest means that we should exercise that right when we feel so motivated.
2) Turning out for a protest galvanizes the causes and individuals leading the way for change. Protesting can be seen as a public pep rally, motivating those who are working tirelessly behind the scenes to do the slow work. Change is often incremental, and can feel unrewarding by those lifting the heavy burden. In this age of instant gratification, we must remember that hard-earned results are ever more gratifying. If you feel a protest movement isn’t producing any change, perhaps see it as an opportunity to step up and help out.
3) Passion is rare in this world. When you feel passionate about something, follow where it takes you. To the street, to the voting booth, to your local leader’s email inbox — make some beautiful noise. Together we can raise a chorus for change.
Sara Meyer
Eugene
Questions to Ponder
Every year our property taxes are raised. Why are the builders of new apartment buildings given 10 years with no property tax? Does that mean they would not build in our area without this giveaway? When does our community of homeowners get a break?
Marlene Pearson
Eugene
Many Thanks
My sincere thanks to Bob Bumstead and all the McKenzie Flyfishers for saving the North Fork (EW, 7/3). A river that I, too, cherish. My thanks to Mason Williams for connecting rivers with music and taking the show on the road. And my thanks to them all for letting me tell their incredible story.
Bob Warren
Eugene
ONLINE EXTRA LETTERS
It Is What It Is
In Donald Trump’s limited lexiconic universe, one word emerges as dominant: hoax.
This is because it is the shoe that fits perfectly. All of his life has been nothing else than that.
Vip Short
Eugene
End the Bullying
It’s about time that one of the pillars of our financial system stops merely reacting to Donald Trump’s threats and issues a pre-emptive ultimatum of its own.
The Federal Reserve Board, all seven governors, should convene an emergency meeting next week and release the following signed statement: “If the President of the U.S. fires Jerome Powell, each of the Governors will immediately resign. Additionally, our seven deputy governors will resign and not succeed us in our positions. We also call on the U.S. Senate to withhold confirmation hearings on new governors and deputy governors until and unless the White House issues a written declaration in support of an independent Federal Reserve and refrains from future interference with its legal mandates and operations.”
Without solidarity, all of us are doomed to even more bullying from Trump. End it right now.
John Tietjen
Corvallis
He is Chronic
With so much talk in the recent news of Donald Trump’s chronic venous insufficiency, why haven’t they talked about his other problems, like, chronic intellectual inadequacy, and his worst failing, congenital moral absence (his father had it before him).
Neither of which, unfortunately, do anything to explain the fundamental moral and intellectual vacuum of those who voted for him. I want to live long enough to see how they rationalize, to their children and grandchildren, their inexcusable contribution to the attack on democracy.
When we have managed to “right the ship of state,” we need to consider the lessons of those who won WWII and hold those associated with the current administration accountable.
I vote to call it “Nuremberg Redux.”