Thank you, Eugene
For years I’ve been searching for a home, always running in the hopes of one day finding a place where I wouldn’t face anti-queer bigotry. Eventually, I learned that the bigotry will always exist, but that amazing people could surround me, and we can all work together for a better world.
This year you nominated and then voted for me as the Best Death Doula, for which I am deeply appreciative. But that could never override the fact that y’all have given me a home. While we still have some things to get in order here, I always feel surrounded by love. I’ll close by echoing my departed mentor Dolly Parton “Oh but Eugene, Oregon, you were kind. The love you gave was genuine. You gave me inspiration and the strength to carry on.”
Astrid Jenkins
Eugene
Wihtol and The White House
Christian Wihtol’s excellent article on Kathleen Jones-McCann’s floodway house suggests certain parallels to President Donald Trump’s renovation of the East Wing of the White House.
In both cases, folks ignored the rules, laws and traditions of the place when they began construction, trying to get such a head start that the edifices would stand. They both then appealed to authorities to ignore the laws and to allow them to continue with their projects, both claiming defense, either national or personal. Those they appealed to had substantial or at least credible conflicts of interest.
If allowed to stand, their edifices make bad precedent. Each new president might try to remodel Washington, D.C. in their own interest or image at our expense. Back here in Oregon, along the McKenzie, landowners would feel emboldened to construct their new edifices in the flood plain, placing existing structures at risk of losing their federal insurance. And as happened in Texas along the Guadalupe River, residents or first responders might pay for their lives when the waters rise and help is needed.
The right thing to do, I am afraid, is to level both the ballroom and the floodplain bunker to reaffirm that ignoring the laws doesn’t place anyone above them.
David Cameron Duffy
Eugene
Yes, Chef!
Thanks for the hilarious piece by The Salty Chef in the Oct. 22 issue, with the attack on the seasonal over-the-top corporate pumpkin spice hysteria in this country. I couldn’t agree more with the Chef.
I gotta say this piece was the funniest thing I have read in decades. I laughed and laughed at the sharp and cynical take down of corporate America. Even reading it a second or third time, I laughed again.
Thanks so much for the humor. We all need it during these stressful, uncertain times.
Lee Boutell
Eugene
Meeting Across the Political Divide
Thank you to Aishiki Nag for the excellent piece published online Sept. 16, “Finding Community within Division.” For readers of the print paper who missed this online article, it dives into the Southern Willamette Valley Alliance (or chapter) of Braver Angels, which is a nationwide effort to bring people together across political divides. Nag participated in a local Braver Angels event in Eugene, where participants talked in small groups and practiced listening to what others shared — rather than interjecting or arguing. Because even if we have vastly different political views, values and media sources, we can still try to be in conversation and community with each other.
Are you tired of just complaining about “the other side,” and do you feel ready to actually meet someone from another political party? Local Braver Angels events take place every month in the Eugene area, and all community members are welcome to participate in these free meetings and workshops: Nov. 12 at 6 pm, share your anxieties about the elections and practice mindfulness. Nov. 5 at 6 pm, join a new monthly discussion group to talk about important topics (from immigration to mental health) with a small group of politically diverse community members (free dinner!). Nov. 10 at 6 pm, meet at a brewery to talk one-on-one about hot political topics with someone on a different part of the political spectrum. Learn more at: Swva.braverangels.org.
Laura Ray
Braver Angels, Southern Willamette Valley Alliance
Eugene
Jones-McCann BS
Thanks to everyone at EW for the outstanding reporting on the Jones-McCann home events. The three county commissioners’ actions of approval to date speak very poorly for their values and commitment to the rule of law. My guess as to the next move by Jones-McCann will be to up the ante on her bribes. Look what a few million dollars can buy from Trump — pardons, release from jail, ambassadorships, etc. I’m sure a call to the director of FEMA would get her an exemption. Keep up the great reporting. Without the EW, this event might never have come to light.
Don French
Eugene
Online Letters
Fake Math and Fear Tactics
I am appalled by the misinformation being spread about the excellent CleanLane project. Shame on Ben Botkin for failing to simply read the publicly available Bulk Handling Systems contract. Shame on Lookout Eugene-Springfield for failing to fact-check… in a rush to maybe throw one of the commissioner races?! This stinks worse than the garbage does after Sanipac/Waste Connections has hauled it alllll the way to Medford.
The CleanLane project will produce valuable, carbon-negative renewable natural gas for local transportation fleets. It will extend the life of our Short Mountain landfill and create long range savings for taxpayers, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.
Waste Connections, which owns Sanipac and EcoSort, has been circulating fake math and fear tactics about CleanLane for months to keep our trash flowing into the landfill and our cash flowing to their companies. Huge corporations prioritize their stakeholders’ short-term profits over the long-term community benefits of CleanLane. Don’t be fooled. These dirty tactics are last-ditch attempts by dinosaurs to keep burning the dinosaurs. Let’s support smart solutions, including CleanLane, that invest in quality of life for future generations.
Dawn Lesley
Eugene
Drinking a Toast to their Disruption
It was disgusting to read in the Oct. 28 “Best of Eugene” issue that King Estates Winery placed third in the winery category. Perhaps Eugene readers are unaware that for 10 years now, Ed King has not ceased to threaten and harass the town of Oakridge with an open-pit gravel mine and rock crushing operation in the midst of their community. In spite of unanimous opposition, he and his lawyer Bill Kloos continue to hammer at this poor former mill town, attempting to make a comeback as a mountain biking destination.
They don’t need or want a polluting noise factory in their community!
King is a rich man, and the reason this pestering of Oakridge has gone on so long is that he also seems to own a few of our county commissioners. Corruption? You’re looking at it. See Ashli Blow’s excellent article in the Oct. 26 Eugene Lookout for details.
If you buy King Estate Wine, you are kicking the people of Oakridge in the teeth, drinking a toast to their disruption. Boycott King Estate Winery!
Phil Robbins
Eugene
Worst Fears or A Mixed Bag?
Fair prediction: hullabaloo two days after, since that is about guaranteed.
I’m writing this past Sunday, observing war preparation, constant attacks on voting rights and threats to do this or that, and not nicely.
We have our results: what happens now, not next, though some sustained momentum is required, will determine your future.
Was a 70-30 or more repudiation of a criminal regime achieved? Did cretins find defeat? The people we elect, at all levels, cannot continue as before, especially if faced with worse fears being realized.
Don Heady
Eugene
A Path Has Room for the Slower Traveler
A shared path reveals what we believe about one another. Some people move quickly. Others need time, a cane, or a careful step. A child may stop without warning. Nobody should have to prove speed or strength to deserve safe passage.
After a stroke in March 1992 left my left side paralyzed, I had to relearn how to walk. That experience changed how I think about the space we give other people.
My Christian faith draws me to Jesus’ command to love our neighbors, not simply to avoid colliding with them. For me, love becomes practical when the stronger or faster person chooses patience without resentment.
Good rules and clear signs matter. So does the ordinary courtesy of slowing down, communicating before passing and remembering that a public path belongs to people with different abilities.
I cannot judge the details of Eugene’s facilities from afar. But the principle should be familiar everywhere: accessibility is not a favor granted to slower travelers. It is part of what makes a shared place genuinely public.
Douglas B. Vandergraph
Fort Collins
Public Money and Public Accountability
As a current resident of Opportunity Village in Eugene, Oregon, I read Rob Davis’s reporting for ProPublica, published in The Oregonian and covered by The Register-Guard, concerning subsidized housing and public funding. Reading about these issues on a broad scale was deeply troubling. Living inside this system gives me a perspective that numbers can’t show. I am writing as a taxpayer, someone who works, a University of Oregon graduate and a professional who never imagined needing this kind of housing. I know how fast life can change. For many, the distance between stability and homelessness can be shockingly short. I’m grateful that Opportunity Village has provided me with stability and a place to reclaim my dignity. At the same time, public money should come with public accountability. As a resident, I have witnessed situations that raise serious questions for me about the treatment of residents and compliance with fair housing protections. These concerns should be examined carefully and addressed appropriately. Nonprofit shouldn’t just be a tax status. It should mean serving people, respecting residents, and keeping the public trust. As we talk about public funding, I hope we don’t lose sight of the people behind the statistics. Behind every dollar there is a life affected.