We've got issues.
MISTAKEN IMPRESSION To the Eugene mayor and council: I’m very much in favor of Eugene building a new City Hall, but I don’t believe you have to waste the present building’s combined economic and historical worth in the process to do it. I also don’t think Eugeneans presently understand or would approve of the total cost commitment of your two-phase, headquarters-hindquarters concept if they did. Continue reading
A NEW CIVIC CENTER As the city has scattered its departments, plans for what is called City Hall have dwindled to an executive suite and council chamber. Such a City Hall might be pretty but it’s hard to think of it as significant, and it occurs to me that the city’s space needs could be satisfied in any typical commercial building. Continue reading
NO PLACE FOR INDUSTRY I often disagree with Bob Emmons’ editorial opinions; however, his Viewpoint in the Aug. 21 issue concerning Seavey Loop is right on the money. Based on my years as business development officer for Business Oregon as well as over a decade working on a variety of natural resource and land use issues, I believe Seavey Loop is no place to put industry. The Seavey Loop area is just fine the way it is and it should be left alone. Continue reading
COUNTING Kevin Sullivan made a stab at class analysis in “And Inequality For All,” (Aug. 7), saying “It is near impossible, however, to draw a bead on the wealthiest Eugeneans.” That’s not the “end of story,” however. Colorful income maps for all of Oregon show wealth distribution patterns by sections of neighborhood, city and county. Pie charts break it down for cities. Continue reading
CURSED FONT Your choice of Helvetica Bold typeface on the cover of last week’s issue [7/31] was both alarming and disappointing. I had hoped that EW was more enlightened. But your use of that font shows that further awareness is needed. Helvetica is a curse on society. Aesthetically it is a scar on the landscape. It is drab and modern and completely uninspiring. It is less of a choice than a default. But the gravest danger posed by Helvetica is homogenization. Continue reading
NOT SO LUCKY Sixteen years ago, I retired from the U.S. Navy. I had great comprehensive health care. Now I have high quality VA care and affordable retired military medical and dental health insurance. Continue reading
WHAT KIND OF FORCE? I know it’s tilting at windmills, but I want to express a quibble I have long had with a phrase that policymakers and journalists alike seem to love to employ: “use(s) of force.” The brief article about Eugene Police Department’s “‛sustained’ rate of misconduct,” [7-24] utilizes this phrase eight times. What does the speaker saying “use of force” intend to mean? The common assumption is violent force, i.e., coercive by employing pain and threat. Continue reading
VAMPIRE PLANNING Regarding the proposed Seavey Loop industrial zone land grab: I can’t believe the four Tea Party commissioners and the Springfield City Council are trying to ram this atrocious proposal past the citizens of Lane County, but I guess the success of the Parvin Butte murder has convinced them that they can do anything they want, including destroying our most popular county park, a community of several thousand people and hundreds of acres of farmland. Continue reading
VIOLATION OF POLICY Continue reading
A TRAVESTY AND A WASTE The direction our public officials are taking is the worst mistake made since the 1970s Urban Renewal Renovation of downtown Eugene. The unfortunate direction on the table will outweigh the 40-year scars of urban renewal. • Wasting the existing City Hall building, discarding at least $40 million of equity, spending $11 million to replace it with a smaller version. Total: $51 million. • Leasing space at $1.2 million a year for 10 years ($12 million) to support developers. Total: $63 million. Continue reading