Letters to the Editor: 10-3-2013

A RECLAIMED MEADOW Like the “wild” sweet pea and fennel, I am a transplant to this area. While I am not a true old-timer, I have been a resident of Oakleigh and McClure Lanes for the last 24 years. Everyday my 80-year-old mother-in-law and I walk my young daughter along Oakleigh Lane to and from our neighborhood school. Continue reading 

Letters to the Editor: 9-26-2013

PROGRESSIVE PROJECT I am speaking up to support Oakleigh Meadow Cohousing (OMC). The proposed cohousing should be supported as a project for ecologically and socially sustainable dense cooperative housing, which, as a Ph.D. in urban studies, I can say is a model being adopted widely around the world as an alternative to sprawling growth.  Continue reading 

Letters to the Editor: 9-12-2013

FROM THE MAYOR Our wetlands are an incredible community asset. They’re a wildlife resource, home to thousands of waterfowl and other birds, rare and endangered wildflowers, reptiles and amphibians.  • They’re a clean water resource, filtering out pollutants that flow into waterways from roads, parking lots and rooftops.  Continue reading 

Letters to the Editor: 9-5-2013

FESTIVAL A LABOR OF LOVE Bringing a world-class event like the Kaleidoscope Music Festival to Lane County has been a labor of love for OneEleven Music. We’re local people committed to our local community.  The first year for any music festival, especially in a new venue, is bound to have bumps. We expected that and worked to accommodate concerns in advance and will continue to improve.  Continue reading 

Letters to the Editor: 8-22-2013

WHEN DISASTER STRIKES Kudos to Camilla Mortensen and Micah Griffin for their scoop [cover story, 8/15] on what’s rumbling through town. After the Lac Mégantic disaster I looked around, too. On tracks off Cross Street, the Carson Oil Co. was filling a truck with ethanol shipped by the Renewable Products Marketing Group, a Midwest distributor. It’s highly flammable. Lots of oil cars were nearby.  Continue reading 

Letters to the Editor: 8-15-2013

I WANT MY UO BACK In years past I have taken great pride in claiming the UO as my alma mater. Sadly, as the UO has morphed into the University of Nike, I am no longer proud. This last gross expenditure of funds on the amenities for the so-called “student-athletes” is merely the latest in a long list of misspent money.  Continue reading 

Letters to the Editor: 8-8-2013

KICKED DOWN THE ROAD I have camped and built shelters in the wetlands of the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, my place of birth, since I was a child, and I have camped all across the U.S. in some of the most beautiful national parks. I have camped in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Montana and Yosemite, not to mention (because I have forgotten) many other tourist, hiking trails and scenic places in California, Colorado, Utah and Arizona. Continue reading 

Letters to the Editor: 8-1-2013

COUNTY DEBACLE When Faye Stewart voted as Board of Commissioners chair, on a shotgun basis, to proceed with hiring Liane Richardson as “permanent county administrator,” Stewart said he “didn’t think they could find anyone better than Richardson.” Stewart chose a “wired” hiring process instead of a normal public approach. Richardson was hired for Lane County’s top position without an open process, without basic background checks, without even signing an employment application.  Continue reading