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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 2012)
letters TO THE EDITOR and I thought that this was one of the most entertaining I’ve seen, with a talented cast and perfect pacing. True, it’s not subtle or philosophic, and it’s not meant to be. The plot is both warmhearted and absurd, with quirkily funny lines that came in rapid-fi re succession and kept me laughing throughout. Excellent work, LCC students. Paulette Thompson Eugene MATH PROBLEMS Contrary to what Jonathan Seraphim (letters, 2/2) may think, David Cay Johnston, the original author, did not exaggerate his numbers. He was referring to the top 100th of a percent, not the top 1 percent. Bob Cassidy made a factor-of-100 mistake when analyzing those numbers. I did not generalize. Pointing out a factor- of-100 mistake is not a spin. In the same issue, writers argue that public education should be a top community goal. But an enormous amount of the time kids spend in school is learning arithmetic and research skills. So we have Cassidy botching his research and writing a letter with absurd numbers, the editors of the EW publishing the error without comment, Seraphim writing in defense of Cassidy with a letter incorporating two more errors (Romney gets $300,000 per year, not per speech, and Seraphim’s 12.5 percent effective tax rate is less than his), which the editors again publish without comment. If the skills that we attempt to instill in school are important, why do letters that consist of essentially nothing except gross errors in arithmetic and research getting into print? Rob Spooner Oregon Coast Magazine Florence LUNCH is DEMOCRACY AND EMX Where is the support for the West Eugene EmX Extension? There have been two major public hearings on the WEEE, one at the Hilton Hotel on Feb. 8, 2011, and another at the Wheeler Pavilion on April 5, 2011. More project opponents testifi ed at each hearing than did supporters. The Lindholm Company is conducting an ongoing poll by making 200 telephone contacts every quarter. So far Lindholm has collected data for the last fi ve quarters, starting in November 2010. The resulting graph shows project support from November 2010 to April 2011. However, from May 2011 to December 2011, the majority now opposes the project, with an increasing trend. See http://wkly.ws/16v There are a total of 25 EmX decision makers on three bodies, the City Council, LTD board, and the Metropolitan Policy Committee. Nine of the 25 do not represent the public because they are appointed, rather than elected. These non-elected people are the LTD board members and three MPC positions. Six out of the 25 EmX decision makers represented the opposition, and voted NO when action was taken. Considering the hearings and Lindholm poll, who are the re- maining 19 decision makers representing? The non-elected LTD board has the power to raise taxes and to use imminent domain. Do these non-elected powers con- stitute “taxation without representation?” Brian Weaver West Eugene MEASURING ENERGY I am amazed that Eric Briggs (letters, 1/26) concludes that older, mechanical meter technology actually allowed for power to be distributed gratis “due to its limited ability to record fractions of a kilowatt.” Perhaps Briggs failed to consider that any such alleged fractional consumption would have continued to accrue and be rolled over into the following month’s bill. As a Lane County homeowner whose vintage, American-made mechanical meter functioned perfectly well, but which was nonetheless removed and replaced with the so-called “smart” (made in China) meter without cause or warning by EWEB several years ago, I decry the move toward less secure, less verifi able, less sustainable and more disposable technology. It is understood that EWEB seeks to eliminate the valuable (costly) jobs of meter readers, as well as enabling more detailed and intrusive (government) monitoring of its customers. Indeed, the larger threat posed by these so-called smart meters may be to our domestic workforce and privacy. Not that increases in the already dense EMF load are a healthy idea, mind you. “Terror mongers?” Really, Mr. Briggs? Why no uproar about NW Natural’s use of smart meters, indeed? The proven superiority of mechanical meters in served! applications demanding the utmost reliability has a long track record — keeping electrical equipment well removed from natural gas lines is only common sense safety. What is your agenda? Klaus Pressler Eugene FALLINGSKYBREWING.COM Now open 11am everday 1334 Oak Alley REPAIR SALE Sale ends February y 29th Bring in your Birkenstock footwear during the e month of February and SAVE 10% % on repairs* * Sa le limited to cla ssic Bir k e ns toc k , Bir k i ’s, Pa p illio a nd selec ted Tat ami. Lif ts a nd mo difica tio ns exc l u d e d. Note: Footwise-Corvallis Repair Sale starts March 1st PROJECT GLENWOOD I am a secret admirer of Glenwood, the section of town between Eugene and Springfi eld. Glenwood is generally known for being the ugliest, most industrial part of town and for being the location for the city dump. If you take a closer look, though, and walk into the neighborhoods, past the main drag, you’ll notice big old trees, farm ani- mals in backyards, and when it’s foggy the smell of freshly baked bread everywhere. I’m convinced that Glenwood has tremendous potential because of its location between the two city centers, but developers are turned off by its unappealing face. There has been talk of urban renewal for at least fi ve years now, without any action. Now we should learn a bit from downtown Eugene and take it into our own hands and make small incremental changes instead of letting the city do a big overhaul. So I am calling on small business owners and hopefuls, guerilla gardeners, litter-picker-uppers, and anyone who cares to invest a little time and energy into Glenwood. We should all work a little each day to try to make where we live a better place and for now I think Glenwood would be a great project. Olivia LeClaire Eugene WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM SANDALS SHOES CLOGS BOOTS &#SPBEXBZt%PXOUPXO&VHFOF t.PO4BU4VO 'BDFCPPLDPNGPPUXJTFFVHFOF EUGENE WEEKLY FEBRUARY 16, 2012 5
