Opinion – Page 409 – Eugene Weekly

Opinion: Page 409

Letters to the Editor: 1-24-2013

A PAINFUL DEATH Sweet Pea has died. Many of you might know him as the kid who sold his artwork out in front of Circle K and the Pita Pit. He was homeless. A few weeks ago, he was violently attacked simply for being homeless. They beat him so badly that they caused severe nerve damage. So badly in fact that he literally could not move without horrible pain shooting through his body. He was homeless and had nowhere to go after they kicked him out of the hospital. Continue reading →

Slant 1-24-2013

Slant 13 years ago

• The city is in a fiscal pickle with major cuts in city services behind us and more to come, but how do we go from sour pickle to sweet pickle? Eugene City Manager Jon Ruiz and his staff have come up with a set of fees (in lieu of new taxes) that would cost each household in the city up to $240 a year, with partial waivers for low-income households. The city is currently facing a $6 million budget gap and the proposal would generate about $7.5 million a year, eliminating the gap and restoring some services that have already been cut. Continue reading →

Foreign Language Squeeze

Budget cuts reduce choice of languages, boost class size

Viewpoint 13 years ago

Eugene public schools have been hit hard by budget cuts. Since the 2008 financial crisis, 4J has made more than $32 million in budget cuts and spent nearly $37 million in reserves. It’s difficult to conceptualize what such continuous loss in school budgets means. To supplement the anecdotal evidence, EW is publishing this column to draw attention to the cuts, compare current conditions to that of past school years, and highlight programs that attempt to fill some gaps. Continue reading →

Canola Questions

Why do seed farmers fear canola in the valley?

Viewpoint 13 years ago

I keep hearing the question, “Why are farmers so worried about canola?” For the last seven months I’ve studied the topic, spoken with diverse farmers, read books on seed-saving and vegetable development, and researched canola. Here’s what I’ve learned and what you should know before the Oregon Department of Agriculture holds its hearing in Salem on Jan. 23: Continue reading →

Let Them Eat Cake

What to do with a three-pound Twinkie

Viewpoint 13 years ago

The doorbell rang. I was grating an organic beet for our dinner salad, which we’d have as soon as Wifey got home from yoga. Ding-dong. A quick rinse swirled magenta beet juice down the sink. Dish towel in hand, I raced to the door. Sometimes the neighborhood tamale maker has her bilingual kid ask if I want to buy any, which I never do because we’re corn and gluten free. “Hello?” I called into the dark. A UPS truck drove away. Continue reading →

Letters to the Editor: 1-17-2013

Letters 13 years ago

CRIMINALIZING SURVIVAL As I write this I am looking at a ticket a friend, who happens to be homeless, received for using a heating vent in one of our many alleys here to warm his hands. His charge? Criminal trespass 2, which carries a $280 fine. It appears that in the minds of the EPD, homeless people who have died from exposure are much preferable to the sight of one warming his hands in an alley. Continue reading →

Slant 1-17-2013

Slant 13 years ago

• Martin Luther King Jr. Day is upon us once again and we are reminded of how far we have come as a nation, and, alas, how very far we still have to go. Our nation takes an entire day each year to honor King’s dreams and quote his speeches, but are we really listening to his message? If so, why the growing disparity between rich and poor? Why are unions constantly under attack and shrinking? Why are women, blacks, Latinos and Native Americans still earning less than white men? Continue reading →

Epidemic of Abuse

Where rape is an occupational hazard

Viewpoint 13 years ago

The U.S. military has a well-kept and shameful secret. It is called military sexual trauma, and it is of epic proportions, with over 3,000 reported rapes or sexual assaults occurring each year. Because of under-reporting, it is estimated that the actual number of incidents is closer to 19,000 per year or an average of 52 per day. Continue reading →

Letters to the Editor: 1-10-2013

Letters 13 years ago

CIVILIZED SOLUTIONS America: 350 million guns, 47,000 psychiatrists. We have a constitutional right to bear arms. We have no constitutional right to health care. America is the most heavily armed nation in the world. America also leads the world in mental illness. Half of all Americans develop at least one mental illness. Half of all cases begin during childhood. Nearly half of all Americans have at least one gun at home. The human brain controls the gun. People will find ways to end their pain. Continue reading →

Slant 1-10-2013

Slant 13 years ago

• A critically important message to American educators, and all the rest of us, came from Dr. Yong Zhao Jan. 4 at the City Club of Eugene meeting at the Hilton. He’s the UO College of Education associate dean for global and online learning. Zhao said American education is copying Chinese education while the Chinese are moving in the opposite direction, copying America. That means more standardization, more centralization and more testing for American kids, practices in China that have hurt innovation and entrepreneurship. Continue reading →