letters
TO THE EDITOR
emanating from the NZ environmental
community that called for an end to logging
on all government lands, with virgin forest
logging to be banned within a year.
For decades now, there has been
essentially no logging of native species
on NZ government lands. The equivalent
in Oregon would be to ban all Douglas
fi r, western red cedar, western hemlock
and ponderosa pine logging from State
and federal forests. That is hardly what
Andy Stahl and Congressman DeFazio are
proposing for Oregon O&C and National
Forest lands.
New Zealand has provided a role
model by banning the logging of all native
old growth. The proposals by Stahl and
DeFazio would be destroy many thousands
of acres of Oregon’s ancient forests, our
most precious natural heritage.
Steve Raymen
Walterville
STAHL AND CREATIVITY
I’m supporting Andy Stahl because
we need to restore integrity to the South
Eugene county commissioner’s seat.
Pete Sorenson and his supporters
would like to pretend that it matters who
fi led the public meetings lawsuit against
Sorenson. It doesn’t. What matters is that
Sorenson tried to hide his secret budget
group meetings by calling them the
“book club” on his calendar. Then, when
he got caught, Sorenson refused to take
responsibility for his mistakes. And we,
as taxpayers, got stuck with the $250,000
legal bill. Thanks Pete.
Andy Stahl has spent years fi ghting for
what he believes in, including protection
for our old growth forests and for foster
children. Andy’s honest about where he
stands. No hiding behind “book club”
smoke screens.
Now the county fi nds itself in a huge
fi nancial mess. Congressman DeFazio has
a plan that would help. It protects all the
old growth timber on O & C lands but
allows some logging of second growth,
which creates jobs and county revenues.
Andy Stahl worked with DeFazio
to develop the plan. Stahl is creative.
Sorenson’s response: He doesn’t like the
plan. So, you can vote for Sorenson and
ride over the fi nancial cliff.
Personally, I’ll put my faith in
DeFazio. And I’ll give my vote to Andy
Stahl.
Doug Barber
Eugene
SCIENCE IS OUR GUIDE
Smart meters can operationalize our
community goals of conservation and wind
power, only if we make night-time power
signifi cantly cheaper than day-time rates.
That’s complicated. Before we commit to
new meters, let’s settle this question so we
know the real dollar and energy savings at
stake.
There’s concern about health risks.
EWEB’s report says there are more than
25,000 scientifi c studies investigating the
potential health impacts of radio waves.
Scientists even devised elegant ways to
test cumulative effects over time. They
evaluated retired radio operators, whose
careers exposed them to 30 years of radio
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
waves at much higher doses than what
smart meters emit. No pattern was found.
These results — based on evidence and
scrutinized by peer review — are hard
to argue with. Despite its imperfections,
science is our best guide. It acknowledges
the unknown and responds with fresh
questions on behalf of the public interest.
While we’re debating time-of-
day pricing, millions of smart meters
will be deployed in other communities.
Scientists will report on these full-scale
experiments. Firms will compete for
contracts by designing better smart meters.
Future meters will cost and emit less, be
more secure, and offer better features.
Meanwhile, overnight energy storage,
which meets the same goals, is becoming
cost effective. Savvy consumers of
information and technology will see the
benefi ts to waiting.
Finally, EWEB won’t install smart
meters where they’re not wanted. While
this doesn’t address all health concerns,
the
compromise
shows
EWEB’s
responsiveness to feedback. Three cheers
for public ownership of our utility!
Steve Mital
Candidate for EWEB Board
Offi ce visits starting at $99
Same Day Appointments
Justin Montoya, MD
1410 Oak St, Ste 102 in the Keiper Spine building
541-228-3270 • www.prohealthfamilymedicine.com
Wellness Centered Dentistry
Safe Removal of Mercury Fillings
Rob Whicker DDS • www.wcdentistry.com
4725 Village Plaza Loop, Ste 101 • 541-868-2008
SLEAZY TACTICS ABOUND
Election season is characterized by an
overabundance of persuasiveness on the
part of untrustworthy sources.
Citing the 2008 “Operation Chaos”
push by Rush Limbaugh, the local daily
recently urged readers not to fall for the
similar cynical manipulation of primary
elections by current candidate Matthew
Robinson (editorial, 4/28). Those on the
Republican right seem to feel that it’s
perfectly appropriate to temporarily attest
themselves as Democrats; to gerrymander
voting districts; to monkey with voting
machines and voter registration rolls;
whatever it takes, including thinly veiled
exhortations to assassination, so that their
team can score.
But these people who rationalize
dirty-tricksterism in the name of winning
don’t stop at the elections line. They follow
through with questionable — legal, but not
honorable — tactics aimed at bringing
down sitting offi cials. They have a proud
history of magnifying trivial matters (sex
in the White House); bringing contrived
lawsuits (Ellie Dumdi, Aaron Jones of
Seneca Timber); running anonymous
attack ads (Gang of 9); utilizing whatever
weapons of mass distraction will suffi ce to
grab the fi ckle attention of the public.
Those who doubt my assertions need
to read It’s Even Worse Than It Looks
by Mann and Ornstein. I’m supporting
DeFazio, Sorenson, Handy, Piercy and
Obama.
Republican sharks exploit the self-
questioning attitude of play-fair Demos,
who tend to eat their own. The R-G showed
its inconsistency in editorializing against
Matthew Robinson’s sleazy tactics, while
also pitching support for Sorenson’s and
Handy’s opponents. Apparently politicians
don’t have the monopoly on fl ipping and
fl opping.
Vip B. Short
Eugene
The Emerald City Jazz Kings in
Siri Vik
Where Or When
The Life & Lyrics
of Lorenz Hart
Fri, May 18
Sun, May 20
On The Road
with Jimmy Van Heusen
Thu, May 10, 7:30 pm - Sun, May 13, 2:00 pm
Mike &
Nancy Oft Rose
The Shedd Institute
Carrie
Rodriguez
Saturday, March 12
05.10-13 The Jazz Kings:
On The Road
05.12 Carrie Rodriguez w/ Luke Jacobs
05.18 & 20 Siri Vik: Where or When -
The Life & Lyrics of Lorenz Hart
05.31 Hugh Laurie (SOLD OUT)
06.02 Ledward Ka’apana
06.08 Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks
Tickets/more info: 541-434-7000 - theshedd.org
868 High Street (E Broadway & High), Eugene
EUGENE WEEKLY MAY 10, 2012
5