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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 2007)
TO THE EDITOR new storefronts that we could be living and working and shopping in, if they only ex- isted. We imagine being able to raise our chil- dren in the downtown, small footprint, com- munity oriented lifestyle we want to give them — a little piece of city nestled in the middle of the natural wonder that is the Willamette Valley — without having to move to Portland like so many of our 30-some- thing, professional friends have done. The good things about downtown Eugene will not disappear with revitalization, be- cause the people that make Eugene so amaz- ing will want to stay and live and work and play there. Kimberly Harper-Kennedy Eugene THE FLIP OF HIP Will Nagy’s Oct. 18 letter touched a long- dormant nerve, and I salute his admirable outlook. My advice? Pay no heed to the arro- gant latter-day hippie woman encountered at the McDonald Theatre’s concert honoring the Grateful Dead. She is merely the flip side of the archconservative fundamentalist right- winger. When the hippie movement first surfaced, we of the Kerouac beatnik era were not quite the establishment, but we were rapidly be- coming passé. All the same, I was delighted with the hippies and flower children, their so- cial revolution, humanism, progressive thinking, “doing your own thing.” After a time, though, they passed the once-distrusted 30 mark and themselves became the estab- lishment, with their own unprecedented rules of conformity. Hairstyle, dress code and be- havior were rigorously prescribed. Oh, yes, do your own thing, but beware if it’s not the same as my thing. Apropos, I really enjoy the jamming Saturday Market drummers in the Morse Courthouse Square. But I harbor a wicked fantasy of waltzing into the group with my djembe or shekere flaunting a traditional short, tapered-neck haircut, business suit, Windsor-knotted tie and an attaché case to carry my claves, maracas and agogos. I chicken out but, in all fairness, I believe they would be totally accepting beyond, at most, a gentle, sidelong rolling of the eyes. Now in my 70s, I like to quote the un- known wag who said, “Sexagenarians are in their sexy years, but septuagenarians are in the septic age.” In my septic opinion, the bot- tom line of all debate, more so the hate-mon- gering woman in question than Mr. Nagy: “I am better than you are.” Jim Wood Eugene Voting No on 20-134 is like telling a sick PDQ to operate on himself. CAN’T ESCAPE It’s happening again: People in our forest valleys are getting sick from timber compa- nies’ fall herbicide poison. We have docu- mented 655,572 acres of Oregon forestland sprayed this year. At this level of saturation, human contact with poisons is not accidental; it is inevitable. We call on the EPA and our elected offi- cials to protect us, and the timber companies to stop this madness. Forestland Dwellers Lynn Bowers Robin Winfree Rural Eugene MEDDLING DOWNTOWN Local government interference stifles de- velopment in downtown Eugene. The con- stant meddling by local bureaucrats has dis- rupted the balance of the downtown real es- tate market. Through the use of subsidies and promises of subsidies, prices have climbed to a point that requires subsidies in order to make projects pencil out. It’s time to break this vicious cycle and vote no on measure 20- 134, the newest $40 million subsidy. The cheerleaders for measure 20-134 falsely claim that it will not raise taxes or cost you anything. Horse pucky! The developers are asking for a 10 year tax exemption for all residential portions of this proposal, which means for 10 years the rest of us will be pay- ing for all the services, schools and roads that are provided to the 400 new residences for free. Remember the Broadway Place apart- ments at Broadway and Charnelton? Those apartments still pay zero property taxes. Please join me in voting no on measure 20-134. Paul Cauthorn Eugene Urban Renewal is the cure for Urban Blight (Of course it costs money. Nothing good is free.) YES on 20-134 C o m e t o t h e Dav is’ o n B ro a dway Tu e s d ay, 1 0 /3 0 at 6p m t o hea r mo re. Pai d fo r by E u gen e C an D o It PAC We b : e u ge n e down t ow n.blo gspo t.co m ( PDLO eugenecando i t@ gm ai l.co m Discover what we can do for you! Come on in and let us tell you about our free SELCO Select Checking. • No monthly service charges • Free SELCO Checkcard • No minimum balance • Free online banking • No per-check charges • Free Bill Payer • Unlimited ATM use Ask about our Identity Protection Package* too. Not a SELCO member? Just swing by and we’ll get you set up in no time. Find out more at selco.org. Landry Eugene Branch Manager selco.org / 541-686-8000 Toll free 800-445-4483 * A small monthly fee may be charged for checking enhancement packages. Membership criteria apply. Smile Federally Insured by NCUA OCTOBER 25, 2007 7
