We've got issues.
My custom each year in this month of November Is taking time out to reflect and remember To treasure my blessings, to offer my thanks For the good things in life, such as not wearing Spanx No need to contain, or squeeze in, or shape up And my breasts do not have to live inside a cup I’m thankful that most of the time I can be Relaxed and at large, or in other words FREE My body is fine as it is, I have learned Though calories eaten exceed those I’ve burned Continue reading
WIGGLE ROOM FOR SENECA I talk to many people in Eugene about air quality and their health. This fall, Beyond Toxics completed our second large door-to-door survey in west Eugene. Among the trends we found, this one is troubling: 37 percent of the parents we interviewed said that they judge the quality of the air before they allow their children to go outside to play. Continue reading
• We keep saying this and it’s worth repeating. Civic Stadium and the 10 acres it sits on are important to the character of this community. In the depth of the Great Depression, citizens of Eugene voted to help build the stadium, along with the support of the Chamber of Commerce, the WPA, the wood products industry and others. Continue reading
I have lived about a half mile from the Kinder Morgan Eugene Terminal (which used to only be publicly advertised as Jerry Brown Co) here on Prairie Road in Eugene since I was in second grade. I attended Irving Elementary in the Bethel School District through fifth grade. My family and I never questioned the terminal or how it operates. But once I became an adult, I realized the huge risk that deregulated railways are and how much fuel rolls by our home every day. I personally became concerned about the safety and health of our community. There are six schools within a five-mile radius. Continue reading
Today, Nov. 21, thousands of elected officials, community leaders and respected elders from around Afghanistan will gather at Kabul Polytechnic University, braving IEDs that already targeted the gathering, to discuss and debate the U.S.-Afghan relationship beyond 2014. Five hundred miles away in Herat, U.S. forces wait to find out if our current tours will mark the last of this 13-year mission or if we keep our Roshan phone contact list up-to-date for the replacements coming behind us. Continue reading
PARKLAND IMBALANCE In his Viewpoint [11/7] “The Civic Solution,” Eben Fodor proposes that the city purchase Civic Stadium with Parks and Open Space Bond funds because south Eugene has a relative deficiency of park facilities. City purchase is also supported by Donna Taggert’s Viewpoint [11/14]. Continue reading
• The fate of Civic Stadium has stirred a plethora of news stories, letters and op-eds and we keep looking for perspectives that get little attention. Jim Watson of Friends of Civic Stadium sent a letter to the mayor and Eugene City Council this week talking about the environmental impact of trashing a huge wooden stadium that’s still in good condition and replacing it with new concrete, steel and pavement. Continue reading
Local media is all abuzz about a proposal to reconfigure Willamette from 24th to 32nd. Writing in the Nov. 3 Register-Guard, Jack Billings clearly identified cyclists as the driver of efforts to alter South Willamette — efforts that would remove one car lane and add two bike lanes. Quoting Billings, “The discussion [about Willamette] is only about bicycles. Were it not for the small but organized bike lobby, there would be no debate about reconfiguration.” Billings doesn’t know the half of it. Continue reading
The Eugene City Council has a decision to make about Civic Stadium and it will be made very soon. The question is: Will the city put in an offer, using the city parks bond funds, and allow Friends of Civic Stadium (FOCS) to refurbish and reopen it for use, or will it step back and allow Civic to be demolished? As a longtime citizen of Eugene, I consider demolition to be a mistake. Both the YMCA (which plans to build housing as well as a new facility) and Fred Meyer, the only current bidders, have plans in place that call for tearing down the 75-year-old building. Continue reading
When I ran for Congress in 1986 I campaigned against the unsustainable timber harvest levels in western Oregon. Back then the Bureau of Land Management was logging 1.6 billion board feet per year on the statutorily unique O&C lands. Continue reading