Opinion: Page 354

Letters to the Editor: 12-3-2015

Letters

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 →

Slant 12-3-2015

Slant

• It was disturbing to see that the Egan Warming Centers were not activated during the most frigid nights we’ve seen so far this season, and we’ve heard reports of frostbite cases among the homeless on Eugene streets. “We have exhausted our pool of willing and able volunteers and several host sites are not available,” organizers reported. Continue reading →

Progress By the Inch

Viewpoint

Once again, at this time in the month of November In the mood of Thanksgiving I stop and remember To offer my thanks for the good things in life  Like my health and my freedom, my cat and my wife   I’m thankful of course for the freedom to marry Which we won back in June — by one vote (kinda scary) The judges supreme made it clear, five to four That we can’t deny people this right anymore   There’s still some resistance, just look at Kim Davis Continue reading →

Letters to the Editor: 11-25-2015

Letters

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 →

Slant 11-25-2015

Slant

• The Seneca biomass incinerator is back in the news. EWEB President Steve Mital called the 2010 secret EWEB contract a “mistake” in his comments on the Register-Guard website last week. It seems Seneca locked in a long-term price for its electricity generation and now that energy costs have dropped, EWEB is losing money and you and I, the ratepayers, are subsidizing this wood-fired monstrosity. But the real cost in human health is more difficult to quantify. Continue reading →

Living in a Bubble

Jump Shots From Israel

Viewpoint
The author (far right) poses with some of his teammates

Jump Shots From Israel Sokolov Avenue is bustling outside of my studio apartment in Ramat Hasharon, Israel, just north of Tel Aviv: pizza joints, tech vendors, hair salons and Western clothing boutiques. The towering McDonald’s logo above (sigh) competes with the palm trees; in the distance, the Tel Aviv skyline resembles an American city. The robust high-tech infrastructure boasts abundant free wifi, and texting via “WhatsApp” is the medium of communication — no matter your age! Continue reading →

Grab Your Climate Cape

Join The Show To Push The World In A New Direction

Viewpoint

It’s not often you can, quite literally, don a hero’s cape for Planet Earth, and even less often that it would be plastic, and unheard of that this would land you in a global art festival, but here’s your invite: Thanksgiving weekend — on the eve of the most important meeting ever, when world leaders gather in Paris for climate talks — Eugene will mount a march and collaborative art event so creative and bold that we’re featured in the ArtCOP21 Global Climate Art Festival curated throug Continue reading →

A Revised Rate Plan for EWEB

Time to go back to the community

Viewpoint

As president of the Eugene Water & Electric Board of Commissioners, I have read hundreds of comments in opposition to management’s recent rate restructuring proposal. The proposal clearly offended the community. It did not take into account how important the two-tiered energy charge structure is to customers who sacrifice comfort to save money. Similarly, our customers who recently invested in efficiency measures or solar energy rely on the tiered pricing to help pay themselves back. People are telling us that it’s not just the money. Continue reading →