The Shedd Institute
www.theshedd.org - 541-434-7000
The Carl Woideck
Jazz Heritage Project
Live at the Blackhawk:
Miles Davis, 1961
Thursday, November 21
MONSTER CHAIN
That wonderful old Civic Stadium might
be torn down to put in a Fred Meyer makes
me feel ill. The Register-Guard is no help,
headlining an article on page one of the
Nov. 16 edition: “Freddy’s Pitch.”
It’s way past time to stop calling these
stores by the cutesy/folksy moniker
“Freddy’s.” Way back in 1985 they
devoured Salt Lake City’s Grand Central
Stores. In the 1990s they consumed Los
Angeles’ Ralph’s chain and Seattle’s QFC,
already making it the nation’s fi fth largest
food and drug purveyor. And then ol’
“Freddy” merged with Kroger!
Fred Meyer stores are a monster chain
of big-box discount stores a la Walmart and
K-Mart. That 4J School District would sell
this magnifi cent wood structure, a structure
given to them by the city for recreational use,
to help with a short-term budget problem is
absolutely outrageous. The stadium is on
the National Register of Historic Places!
A big-box discount joint that smells like
plastic and polyester would nonetheless
result in plywood-boarded windows of lost
small specialty shops which make south
Eugene so livable. This has happened all
over America. Don’t let it happen here.
Please note that “Freddy’s Pitch” is
all about looks. Are we collectively that
stupid!? Ever hear the old adage “You can’t
tell a book by its cover”?
Letting the YMCA auction the grand old
building so it can be demolished to cram
in more housing is just as nuts. Let’s show
some foresight. Save Civic!
Ronald B. Duber
Eugene
PLAN FOR WALKERS
Remember when it was cool to
smoke, cruise the boulevard or just go
for a Sunday drive without purpose?
Well, that was yesterday. Today we need
to take responsibility for ourselves, our
neighborhoods and the planet. The redesign
of South Willamette Street must be one
where people can enjoy walking. Currently
that is not the case.
More than one-third of adults are
not just overweight, they are obese and
have related conditions that include heart
disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain
types of cancer, some of the leading causes
of preventable death.
We have neighborhoods for cars and
not for people, maximizing the sale of
goods of various kinds. We have not built
the places we live with an eye toward
future generations.
From 2001 to 2009, the average annual
number of vehicle miles traveled (VMT)
by young people (ages 16 to 34) decreased
from 10,300 to 7,900 per capita — a
drop of 23 percent — and is expected to
continue to drop. Many of America’s youth
prefer to live places where they can easily
walk, bike and take public transportation.
Let’s plan for future generations now.
Richard Hughes
Eugene
Brooks Robertson
John Standefer
Friday, November 22
Workshop: Sat, Nov 23, 10-noon
Shedd Theatricals 2013
proudly presents
REBEL AGAINST TESTING
Garbage in, garbage out (GIGO): If
you enter nonsense data into a computer,
that’s what comes out. That’s what the
standardized testing machine amounts to.
If these tests are so precise in measuring
students and teachers, how come they
change them every few years, then compare
the new scores to older scores? Now, the
Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and
Skills (OAKS) test will be replaced by the
Common Core Test. Here we go again.
But that doesn’t stop politicians from
wanting more tests. It certainly doesn’t
stop the giant testing corporations from
making “new” tests every few years and,
of course, making billions in profi ts.
But more and more people are saying,
“Enough!” Over 875 school districts in
Texas, representing 91 percent of Texas
students, signed a resolution to reassess
high-stakes testing. In Snohomish, Wash.,
over 550 students opted out of testing
recently. Those parents spearheaded HB
1293, the Parent Right-to-Know Testing
Transparency Bill.
Portland high school students walked
out of school last spring, refusing to
Camelot
Dec. 5-22
A Jazz Kings Christmas at The Shedd 2013
Button Up Your Overcoat!
December 12 evening & 15 matinee
eugeneweekly.com • November 21, 2013
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