Letters to the Editor: 4-2-2015
INDUSTRIAL SEAVEY LOOP Continue reading
We've got issues.
INDUSTRIAL SEAVEY LOOP Continue reading
RADAR MEN JIGGLE, TOO Continue reading
PRICE ON POLLUTION In response to the article on 3-5 “A Case for the Climate: PIELC panels ask whether corporations pay for climate change,” I agree with the PIELC panelists who said no they don’t and yes they should! It’s time for corporations to pay for or otherwise reduce their carbon pollution! Currently, the prices of gasoline, electricity and fuels in general include none of the long-term costs associated with climate change or even the near-term health costs. But they could include these costs. Continue reading
THOSE NAKED BONES As I stand grieving, again, before the ever-so-sad spectacle of the naked bones of the City Hall building, I have to agree with Otto Poticha’s memorializing statement in his March 5 Viewpoint, “Standing Naked,” urging “everyone to go and view the City Hall frame, give it a second look and imagine what we could or still can achieve. Please join me in seeking management and decision makers with a deeper and more profound vision the next time we go to the polls.” Continue reading
RAPE IS A DISTRACTION? I continue to be troubled by the way the UO is handling the rape of an 18-year-old freshman by three basketball players. The university keeps telling us they have done nothing wrong. It seems to me that the UO has done everything wrong! Continue reading
OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE I taught and counseled delinquent adolescents for 28 years. Some grew up to be politicians. Most of the others were successfully rehabilitated. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not condemning all politicians; some of them are very decent, dedicated public servants — working to promote the wellbeing of us all. It’s just that the 99 percent give the other 1 percent a bad name. Continue reading
WHAT UBER DOES The Eugene City Council recently voted to have Uber abide by taxi regulations, jeopardizing Uber’s future in Eugene. On the surface this may appear as if the city is acting in the residents’ best interest. Its argument is that taxi licensing ensures that drivers are vetted and accounted for. Yet Uber does state and federal criminal background checks and a 10-year driver history check. What Uber does that taxi companies don’t do is put its driver information on the internet, as well as precisely document every ride online. Continue reading
HARMFUL TESTING Recently I wrote a letter to the 4J School District concerning my decision to opt my children out of the Smarter Balanced state tests. My reasons are that I think the potential harm that taking tests in which over 60 percent of students are likely to fail surpasses any possible benefit that my children will derive from participating. I reserve my right as a parent to make the decision to withhold my children from participating in these tests. Continue reading
HEADS IN THE SAND Continue reading
KEEPING IT UNIQUE Like many of my high school friends in 1980s Eugene, I couldn’t wait to explore the world. So I did. I’ve lived everywhere from Israel to Guatemala to New York City. Recently, my dad moved back to town, so I visited for the first time in ages. We flew into Portland. On the drive down I felt the hills closing in, that familiar feeling of being trapped. Then we started coming down 30th into South Eugene. Continue reading