We've got issues.
A RIVERFRONT VISION Following the UO Foundation’s disappointing renege on its winning bid to be the project manager for the Willamette riverfront EWEB development, I am encouraged by new voices promoting again the notion of a last chance for the city of Eugene to “take control of a project that will affect us forever” and buy that property from EWEB. Continue reading
DE-GREENING EUGENE I haven’t read anything about the trees downtown that are slated to go down this summer. The one by the Eugene Public Library on Charnelton is doomed, but there are 10 trees on 11th and Olive, across from The Kiva, that will go when the bulldozers come to demolish Musgrove Mortuary. One of them has already been dug up and moved. Continue reading
ONLY ONE OF MANY I am writing to applaud Camilla Mortensen’s as always thorough, informed and situated story May 28 about sexual assault survivors and the UO. The article demonstrates how sadly typical it is for something truly terrible to happen before anything is done that could prevent future tragedies. The UO, caught between worries about perceptions of prospective students, their parents and, above everyone else, donors, hoped this would just go away. It did not. Continue reading
REMEMBERING THE RIV This is about “The Hammered Lamb” cover story May 14. It may or may not be true that it is the first-ever gay/gay-owned bar. In the 1970s, there was a gay bar/disco here — the Riviera Room — on 10th between Willamette and Olive, just down from what was then Seymour’s Cafe (where the Cabaret Theatre is now). This was a seriously gay bar, but I have no idea if the owner was gay or not; the employees certainly were. Continue reading
DRAW OF THE CASCADES There’s a trickle on the back side of Belknap, up there in the wild Cascades. Up where it wanders west towards Clear Lake. Up where it joins the slick parade of the marching McKenzie River. Up where time and trout are one. Where you can hook and land eternity in one prismatic flash of sun. Up where a school of fish becomes a mess of fish. Up where living takes up all your time. Up where the Doug firs set their skirts a-swish. Continue reading
A LITTLE NOW, OR MORE LATER Please join me in voting “yes” on Lane County’s vehicle registration fee. It is needed, fair and Lane County’s only practical option. Continue reading
UNDERMINING RIGHTS As the administration raises pressure on Congress to pass Trade Promotion Authority to seal the deal on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, I wanted to bring your attention to a letter written to Congress by President Obama’s mentor at Harvard, Laurence Tribe, and a group of senior legal experts. In the letter, they raise very serious and real concerns about the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system under TPP. Continue reading
A BETTER MUPTE The Eugene City Council will soon meet to discuss reviewing and revising the Multi-Unit Property Tax Exemption (MUPTE), which enabled the construction of multi-unit housing in the downtown area including the controversial Capstone project, 13th & Olive. I hope the council will either allow MUPTE to sunset or redefine its parameters for mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly, commercial developments. Continue reading
EWEB LISTENS Being a public utility means listening to your customers. The Eugene Water & Electric Board did that last October when its elected commissioners adopted the first smart meter “opt-in” program in the nation. Customers who want to take advantage of new services (enhanced energy monitoring, new billing options, remote start and stop of service, better outage and leak detection, etc.) can choose to have a new meter installed to enable enhanced services. Continue reading
STOP THE PIPELINE Holy crap, a pipeline in Oregon! At last, a climate hero boldly speaking up to protect Oregonians' air, water, land rights and economy! Thank you, Rep. Peter Buckley from Ashland! Telling the truth and boldly facing reality is so very unpopular in the political world. So far, no other Oregonian elected has joined citizens opposing the fracked gas export projects two Canadian companies are trying to force into Oregon. Continue reading