Eugene Weekly

MAKE IT POSSIBLE I have been reading with concern of the proposals and letters to the editor concerning the future of Kesey Square. I have been living in a senior apartment community, Olive Plaza, in downtown Eugene. Many of us walk for our exercise and refreshment. There are no places where we can go and sit. There is no green, no small park near the area where we live. A new City Hall park is much too far away. Kesey Square remains the one place where we could go, but the benches have been removed. Continue reading →

PUBLIC BONFIRE NEEDED Each morning as I ride the bus to downtown, it takes me through the center of the Capstone project. Almost every morning, including some recent ones where a burn ban is in effect and, memorably, when the Egan Warming Center was shut, there is a gas bonfire burning in an empty courtyard that is gated off from the public. No one who really needs to stay warm could access it even if they wanted to. In my mind it has become symbolic of the taxes that I, as a lucky homeowner, get to pay to support this city. Continue reading →

FAIRGROUNDS SHELTER Let’s consider the Lane County fairgrounds as a possible site for sheltering the unhoused. The fairgrounds, close to central Eugene and on a bus route to downtown, comprise 55 acres of land, many of which get little use outside the main events held there annually, such as the fair itself, the logging expo, home shows, etc. Almost all the sheltering projects developed in the last few years are in the Whiteaker neighborhood. It would be fairer to spread the burden throughout Eugene. Continue reading →

A TWIST ON MUPTE If Multiple-Unit Property Tax Exemption (MUPTE) tax waivers are not giveaways to developers, as City Councilor Chris Pryor would have us believe in a recent Register-Guard commentary, then they are bribes we can little afford to bestow. How many more levies will be sent to the ballot to make up revenue shortfalls because of the city’s agenda of largesse to developers?  Continue reading →

SLEEP FOR SURVIVAL Refusing to lift the camping ban is not only unconstitutional, but inhumane. Contrary to popular beliefs, unhoused does not mean unemployed. An unhoused citizen who works at night would not be eligible for rest at one of the “dusk to dawn” camps. Working the night shift is difficult as it is, but the increased struggle for obtaining sleep can actually cause safety issues in the workplace.  Continue reading →

MISGUIDED TAX The most hated tax in English history was called a head tax in which the lord of the manor and peasants were taxed at exactly the same amount. It’s remarkable that EWEB has seen fit to revive that very same concept with a basic charge of $20 a month, which they propose to increase to $25 a month whether you live in a mansion in the hills or in an apartment on 6th Avenue.  Continue reading →

LIBRARY LEVY HAS BIG BENEFITS As director of the Eugene Public Library, and on behalf of the whole team here: Thank you, Eugene voters, for your decision to expand library services. And thank you to all the levy supporters who helped spread the word and get out the vote. The library levy approved on Nov. 3 will increase community members’ access by adding hours, programs, materials, and technology, particularly at our neighborhood Bethel and Sheldon branches. Continue reading →

THE BEST SOLUTION I served as a volunteer citizen Eugene Budget Committee member when we made the agonizing decision to reduce library hours. The City Council opted not to continue our longstanding library levy during the recession. We carried the library hours on General Fund dollars and reserves as long as we could. We pared back the cuts from closure of both branch libraries to only reduced hours. No one wanted to cut those library hours, but it was the best of several bad options.  Continue reading →

TIME TO WEIGH IN Have you protected your right to vote? The Nov. 3 ballot will include three very important issues. They are the Eugene Five-Year Library Local Option Levy, renewal of the Springfield Fire and Life Safety Local Option Levy and South Lane County Fire & Rescue District Obligation Bond measures.  Voting is our opportunity to make our voices heard on the questions that matter to our communities. We all need to weigh in. Continue reading →

DON’T PUNISH LIBRARY Voting “no” on the library levy is no way to correct the problem of misguided tax policies and benefits to special interests. It would not convince our politicians to mend their ways nor would it improve the current funding mechanism. Instead, it would punish library users, including students, computer users and residents who need expanded access to a local branch. Clean up the bathwater, but don’t throw the baby out. Sara van Dyck, Eugene   Continue reading →