Eugene Weekly

CHECK THE FACTS Continue reading →

VAL’S VALUES I am proudly casting my vote for Val Hoyle, a pragmatic progressive running for Oregon secretary of state.  Under Val’s leadership as Oregon’s house majority leader, we got expanded sick leave coverage, we closed a giant loophole that used to allow people to purchase guns without having a background check and we passed a clean fuels bill. She led all this while successfully representing a rural, blue-collar district.  Continue reading →

JOIN THE REVOLUTION Today I went to my first political rally. “A Future to Believe In,” the signs read. The hour and a half in line followed by the event had me believing those words, because I got to hear Bernie Sanders and his New York accent preaching his gospel from less than 100 feet away.  Continue reading →

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN In the last year, the world has lost two powerful women in the struggle to end not just aerial spraying but the use of pesticides on all land. A year ago, Audrey Moore left us after making her mark with the first pesticide ban ordinance to get on the ballot in Oregon! And last week we lost Jan Wroncy, who so graciously took me under her wing after my first aerial spray exposure. She and others taught me the history of aerial spraying in Oregon, and it’s not a pretty one. There have been too many casualties on the way.  Continue reading →

VOTE ON CITY HALL We now have a proposed new city hall planned for the next 100 years. It looks like a breadbox surrounded by windows — and is earthquake proof. The estimated price is about $25 million. We need to think “outside the box.” We need an advisory vote on the November ballot to authorize spending $10 million to purchase the current EWEB building. This vote would indirectly approve the selling of the EWEB building by the commissioners for $10 million.  Continue reading →

HIS MONEY, OUR DEMOCRACY Bob Macherione, leader of the “Our Money Our Transit” opposition to the new West Eugene EmX bus line out W. 6th, 7th and 11th avenues, complains that the EW March 17 article “Don’t Let a Loser Win” shows “what is wrong with the U.S. and especially Eugene politics today: the lack of civil public discourse with others who may not agree with your point of view.” (Letters, March 31) Continue reading →

VOTE FOR LIVABILITY I’ve lived in Eugene almost five years and one of the things I love best about this place is the one- and two-story homey feel of this friendly small town. I intend to stay.  Unfortunately, powers-that-be are working to turn our downtown into Portland’s Pearl District. Yuck! Every time I turn around, City Council has said OK to another eight to 10 or 12 story apartment building close to or inside downtown. Save Kesey Square. The South Willamette scheme is a whole other discussion. Continue reading →

DONE WITH HIDING The fencing of places where homeless people camp isn’t really about trash. If it was, the city would be providing trashcans and portable potties at locations all over Eugene, along with a lot more managed shelter. Instead it spends money on services that people have to walk to, carrying all of their possessions, and policing to keep them from camping. Continue reading →

A BETTER INVESTMENT I work with an organization that delivers food to Eugeneans experiencing homelessness, including those who sleep in Washington Jefferson Park. The city of Eugene just spent $67,000 to build fences that push these individuals out of the park. The reasons cited by the city have to do with safety and health hazards. To respond: Continue reading →