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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 22, 2011)
letters TO THE EDITOR STEPPING UP GREAT GIFT IDEAS 4-*11&34t40$,4t)"54"/%.03& Dave Taube (letters, 12/8) questions whether supporters of the unsuccessful Measure 20-182 — which would have provided much-needed supplemental funding to the Eugene public schools — have really stepped up and contributed to the Eugene Education Fund (EEF). While I can’t speak for everyone who voted to support our schoolchildren and teachers, I can offer my personal perspective. Yes, my wife and I have donated a sum more than equal to what our additional income tax share would have been if the measure had passed. And yes, we fully intend to make a similar contribution each of the next four years (and, most likely, beyond), given our commitment to public education. I realize not everyone can do this, but I hope those able to do so will continue to use EEF to donate to the Eugene schools. Moreover, the fact that EEF — for the fi rst time in its history — went over the $1 million mark in receipts after Measure 20-182 failed suggests that we were not alone in increasing our contribution. And I know the donations made to my daughter’s school via EEF saved at least one teaching position. Not much, admittedly, when you consider the scores of other 4J teachers and staff who lost their jobs due to the draconian budget cuts that were forced upon our students and our schools. But at least those of us who supported public education in May have the satisfaction of knowing that we tried to address the ever-worsening budget reductions our schoolchildren face. Keith A. Eddins Eugene SHOCKING DISCREPANCY FOLLOW YOUR FEET TO FOOTWISE FOR LAST MINUTE GIFTS W FOLLOW IS THE TIME FOR FEET NEW TO SHOES YOUR COMFORT 4 DECEMBER 22, 2011 Downtown Eugene &#SPBEXBZt 'BDFCPPLDPNGPPUXJTFFVHFOF .PO4BU4VO EUGENE WEEKLY Downtown Corvallis 48.BEJTPOt 'BDFCPPLDPNGPPUXJTFDPSWBMMJT .PO4BU4VO This is about the “class war” that we lost. The economist David Cay Johnston in his book The Fine Print has a great deal to say about how inequitable our economy is. We all know there is a wide discrepancy between incomes now, but few know just how wide that is. David’s description is really shocking. He says that for every $1 that the 99 percent of us earn, the top 1 percent earns $7,500. He didn’t tell what the 1 percent just below them earns, but he did have a nice graph to show the earning curve. These are the people that the GOP says are the ones who create jobs. I wonder why they are not doing that. I think the government ought to take some of that money away from them and create jobs by building bridges and funding other worthwhile projects. Bob Cassidy Eugene UNSAFE TRAPS In August, Maggie, the beloved dog of the McCurtain family died a horrible and unnecessary death just feet from her yard in Gresham. Maggie was strangled to death, her neck broken in a lethal conibear trap. The trap was set with our tax dollars by the USDA’s Wildlife Services Division to kill nutria. See predatordefense.org for more information on Maggie’s story. It could have happened here. In January 2010, EWEB used the same lethal traps to kill nutria along the canal at the Walterville Pond, a popular dog-walking spot and an area with several homes with children and pets (see EW 1/21/2010). According to Predator Defense, “nationally, Wildlife Services reports killing approximately 500 dogs and 1,325 cats in 2010, but claims these animals are unowned and feral.” Predator Defense believes the number of pets killed by Wildlife Services is grossly underreported. Conibear traps are inhumane and indiscriminate and should be outlawed. Lyllian Breitenstein Springfi eld FORGOTTEN PIZZA Any self-respecting pizza debate must include Mezza Luna. Best crust, creative toppings, nicest staff. Plus, customers don’t give you dirty looks for bringing your kids. PRI tries too hard and for me, La Perla will always be overshadowed by the memories of ice cream sundaes, a bass drum and a whole room of strangers singing “Happy Birthday.” RIP Farrell’s. Kevin O’Brien Eugene IMAGINE IF YOU CAN Imagine: A market for all, regulation as protection, corporations are not people, real food and sustainable agriculture, the moral and social role of unions, offsetting global climate change, protecting and preserving nature, more funding for ending hunger and homelessness and for all levels of education, rebuilding infrastructure WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
