Toilets Fix the Problem
The city needs to fund and maintain portable toilets along the river bike path and other parks as well. The amount of human excrement all over our public spaces, particularly along the bike path, is an urgent public health hazard. At least in the summer when the parks are more heavily used, a port o’potty every mile or so would dramatically reduce this situation.
In a middle-class first-world city, the lack of public bathrooms-whether elderly, unhoused, ill or just small bladdered — is deplorable and easily fixed. “You can jail a revolutionary, but you can’t jail the revolution.” — Fred Hampton.
We’ve got your back until all are free.
Lauren C. Regan
Eugene
Failed Leaders
Since CAHOOTS went away, the city has been told we need those services back by the community time and time and time again. Instead of listening to the expertise of our community members, the city council, mayor, city manager and even the fire chief have kept talking about how we don’t actually need those services. Apparently, they know our needs better than we do and have no desire to even have continued conversations about the reality of our needs.
They gave a contract to an organization that doesn’t provide real crisis care. Now, a veteran is dead, as reported in July 23’s guest viewpoint by Berkley Carnine. The city manager’s office wasn’t even aware of the situation when I called to ask about a statement, which is par for the course.
Sadly, I have no faith that our current city leadership can look up from their papers long enough to see the mistakes they have made. I have even less faith that they have the ability to publicly acknowledge their failures and do the right thing, fully fund WVCC to bring CAHOOTS-level care back to our community, which deserves it. When will our needs actually matter to city leadership and how many folks in addressable crisis will have their lives ruined before that day?
Astrid Jenkins
Eugene
Land Use Enemy No. 1
While I share the author’s respect for Gov. Tom McCall’s legacy and the protection of Oregon’s natural landscapes, their critique of Gov.Tina Kotek’s housing policies overlooks the harsh economic realities facing working-class Oregonians.
Claiming there’s “more than enough land” inside existing urban growth boundaries (UGBs) works on paper but fails in practice. Urban land is scarce, fragmented and extremely expensive. High land costs and infrastructure fees make building genuinely affordable homes impossible for non-profit developers without massive public subsidies. Treating the UGB as fixed artificially chokes supply, spiking rents and worsening homelessness. Oregon now ranks 1st in the nation for unsheltered homelessness among families with children — with a child unsheltered rate 14 times the national average.
Claims that the Department of Land Conservation and Development is opening the floodgates to “unaffordable bedroom communities” and unchecked developer profit severely mischaracterize its ongoing rulemaking. The state’s directive is highly targeted. Far from enabling random sprawl, it permits limited, infrastructure-backed housing changes only in existing, town-like unincorporated areas — explicitly requiring that new housing align with local income levels.
True stewardship of Oregon means balancing environmental conservation with housing justice. A livable community requires both green spaces and roofs over people’s heads. Kotek isn’t the enemy of our land-use system — she is doing the hard work of modernizing a 50-year-old framework to meet a severe emergency. Tom McCall famously charged us with making our communities better — and right now, that means ensuring our neighbors can afford a place to live.
Tony Foy
Eugene
Fairly Stressful
This post is not for anyone specific, but maybe for the whole lot of you people! Beautiful, fun, creative, intelligent people!
No disrespect, my Oregon Country Fair attendees. But I have never seen so many people that I love get so stressed out about an event that is supposed to be fabulously fun! I have seen people cry over packing. I have heard about the Fair family dynamics. Now mind you, I have not been since 2003, except for a rare thought-provoking evening after all of the people were gone, and not a hippie or goer in sight.
My diagnosis is this, my party people: because of the history of the land, all the past people, all the energies released, all the dusty feet, and music and tapestries, sold goods and food and focused “freedom” for all from near and far. In my opinion, there is a mass of heavy energy that wants to try to rob you guys from having a good time! It wants to stress you out, create arguments, make normal people do weird, inappropriate things. It wants to try and integrate “the man” to force control. It wants to take your wonderful energy and steal it.
Stay steadfast, my strong, open-minded, loving hippies! Remember to enjoy yourselves! Take care of each other! Be mindful of your fellow humans. Keep each other safe and yet let each person breathe! Watch the OPB documentary about the Oregon Country Fair. It’s wonderful.
Most importantly: Stop stressing out, and party on!!!
Sasha Norris
Eugene
A Data Center in Eugene?
First an Amazon warehouse, then a data center? According to a recent Lookout newsletter, Yes.
No one who reads the Eugene Weekly needs to be told (See Robert Emmon’s excellent “Land Use” guest viewpoint in the July 16 issue). These facilities use enormous amounts of arable land, energy and water, but for what? Critical research and advanced education, or boundless consumerism and movie, video game and music downloads?
Well, the old Hynix operation, where the data center is being considered, might already have ruined the soil, and there is a hint of NIMBYism in resisting it. So, what if Eugene could use this opportunity to become a showcase for emergent green technologies, such as requiring the use of solar, pumped storage, wind and/or geothermal power instead of fossil fuels, plus atmospheric water generation instead of ground and river water. And what if transportation to and from the site were restricted to electric shuttle bus or rail? Could we make a purse out of a sow’s ear? Doubtful.
There is the thorny issue of needs vs. wants. How do we encourage people (including our own governor) to reduce, reuse, rethink and remake the world to be the just, sustainable, and peace-loving paradise that it could be? Becoming a showcase for viable, Earth-conscious change might be a good start.
Jack Cooper
Eugene
ONLINE EXTRA LETTERS
Lifelong Economics
Economics in life is the balance of three isms: capitalism, communism and socialism. Capitalism seeks to maximize owner/shareholder value/profit and influence. Communism seeks to maximize worker/labor value/compensation and influence. Socialism seeks to maximize consumer/customer value/needs and influence. Pure-ism of any always leads to violence and destruction. The economic quality is how well these three competing forces are balanced: owners, workers and consumers.
Take an Oregon tax district. The elected board of directors hires a general contractor, defines the products and services to be produced and hands over taxes and fees to fund it. Public agencies are businesses run by one hired district manager taking profit out in labor compensation and influence. The manager hires staff and conducts the contracted functions within the confines of expectations, regulations and funding. In broad terms, the taxpayer is capitalistic, the labor union is communistic, and the general public is socialistic. Each is fighting to maximize its value and influence.
What keeps this interaction civilized is morality. America’s is decaying, starting with parenting, moving into schooling, and ending in adulthood, where consequences become visible. Fixing parenting and schooling will lead to a better future, but we have to deal today with the failing adulthood epidemic. Expecting public agencies to provide solutions is contrary to what motivates that business form. The solutions will need to come from us individually working together and accepting all three isms will always be involved.
Keith Stanton
Florence
Liberty
Us Americans infuse our thinking with hazy concepts to justify our behavior. Words like republic, democracy, capitalism, left and right swirl about our consciousness. We cling to these perceptions in order to define our beliefs. And our A.I. driven media is there to shape that thinking and keep us divided.
If you believe in a representative government, consider the following: In addition to the 2026 trillion-dollar defense budget, our secretary of defense just requested Congress for $67 billion in addition $ 30-plus billion already spent to fuel our war on Iran. Yet Congress did not authorize this war. Plainly stated: Our Congress was asked to fund a war it did not sanction.
Perception is everything in our culture. Libertarianism is a term we aspire to, yet it seems to be a commodity like justice. There seems to be only one political force in our government, the market. The Democrat and Republican parties are franchises.
The market runs on money. Follow it! Two commonalities link this war with the one before that and the one before that: Oil. Weapons.
“That’s libertarians for you — anarchists who want police protection from their slaves.” ― Kim Stanley Robinson.
Michael Foster
Eugene
Had Enough?
Under the leadership of Trump, this country is now of Trump, for Trump, by Trump. He has stated he is not concerned about the economy of the people.
White House, Congress, Supreme Court controlled by the Republicans or should I say, Trump.
The Republican Party has sold its soul to Trump; they do as Trump says.
The cabinet is made up of jesters or should I say, jokers.
The desire to get even is the sole purpose of Trump. “Vengeance is Mine sayth Trump.”
The “Cult”, MAGA, wanted a non-politician as President; well, how is it working out?
We are NOT United; we are divided, more so than the Civil War.
When it comes to voting, I hope the people don’t prove Will Rogers correct: “The American Voters have a short memory”.
Oregon has a Republican running for Governor who is pro-life, backed by the Oregon Right to Life. She states she will follow the law; she backs Trump, so be questionable of her word, like Trump’s, whose word means nothing; elected, her word could mean nothing.