letters
TO THE EDITOR
garden, trees, community gardens, calming
hum of the river, etc.
However, I rarely feel safe in this
environment simply because a vast
majority of the bicyclists fail to indicate
their presence as they pass from behind.
Many fl y past as if they have visions of
crossing the Tour de France fi nish line. If
a pedestrian happens to shift his movement
for any reason, they are in danger of being
rammed by an unannounced speeding
bicyclist. Some have passed by so close,
that I have felt that distinct burst of wind
displaced by the rapidly traveling rider
— I am instantly pissed off, as I am
not interested in the real potential for a
completely avoidable injury.
Those who travel with their bikes
on the street can surely understand the
dangers they face each time they compete
with the multitude of cars. Where bicycles
and pedestrians share a common, side-by-
side path, you are “the cars”!
Slow down, announce your presence
and keep your distance, please!
Jay Greenspan
Corvallis
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During the candidates’ debate at
the City Club of Eugene on March 23 I
listened to my County Commissioner Pete
Sorenson as he hypocritically supported
open government and transparency.
This is the politician who was a leader
in the cabal known as “the book club.” One
of the group’s aims was to clandestinely
slide into the county supplemental budget
an appropriation of public funds so that
commissioners could hire political cronies
as assistants. The votes to pass this budget
without public discussion were secretly
lined up by those who ultimately hired
assistants. That sounds nothing like open
and transparent government.
The commissioners were warned by
the county attorney that the book club
was dangerously close to violating the
Oregon open meeting statute. With the
hubris of seniority, these county offi cials
strode forward to the precipice and found
themselves the object of a lawsuit. To date
the entire process has cost the taxpayers of
Lane County about half a million dollars.
Whether one agrees with the reasoning
of the judge or not, the facts have not been
seriously questioned. There were just too
many witnesses in the back room. The
facts themselves indicate that Sorenson has
only recently become so concerned with
open government and transparency.
Like those who continued to support
Nixon after the facts were revealed, there are
many who ignore these facts and continue
to support Sorenson. They do so because of
what he has done for his constituents in the
past. I cannot help but wonder what he has
done to his constituents in the back room.
Michael Miller
Eugene
TRUSTY PETE
It seems like everyone these days
distrusts all politicians, especially those
politicians who have a different view of
how things should be done. There seems to
be little that we all can agree on. To gain my
support, a politician’s commitment to his or
her electorate and their ideals is foremost.
Luckily in the case of Commissioner
Pete Sorenson, we have a candidate who
does both. We live in Pete’s district, and
we’ve seen him go door to door to support
every 4J school measure to help our children
and grandchildren have a more complete
school experience. He’s supported local
labor at every opportunity and voted against
attempts to outsource jobs from people in
this area. He’s fought to keep our district
livable and insisted on environmental
protections. If we’ve had a question about
a local decision or issue, Pete’s been more
than willing to speak with us. He works
really hard to represent our district.
That’s why he needs to be reelected
to continue serving our district with the
same dedication and compassion that he’s
always demonstrated.
Hal Huestis
Eugene
At the Eugene Water & Electric Board, we’re empowering citizens with
resources to save money and energy in their homes and businesses.
For example, Jennie Cupp encouraged her landlord to replace her
windows with ENERGY STAR qualifi ed windows, saving money on her
electric bill, keeping her family warm, and increasing her landlord’s
property value. To fi nd out about EWEB’s energy-saving programs for your
own home, visit eweb.org/saveenergy or call 541-685-7000. Maybe
yours will be the next powerful tale we tell.
6
APRIL 5, 2012
EUGENE WEEKLY
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