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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 23, 2014)
The Shedd Institute www.theshedd.org - 541.434.7000 The Magical Moombah! It Could Always Be Worse! Saturday, January 25th at 10 am & 1 pm!! ings to move two blocks away? I suppose it’s just consistent with our all-American tear- down and throw-away society. Civic Stadium could have been protected by placing a conservation easement on the property. It can still be done with willing owners. Jan Nelson, board member, Northwest Land Conservation Trust, nwlct.org BAIT AND SWITCH Peter Bauer’s refl ections on Oregon’s public education system in “Unrecognizable Schools” [Viewpoint, 1/9] were right on the mark. Measure 5 has scuttled our public schools! The only thing he failed to mention was the unstated purpose behind Measure 5. Measure 5 sponsor Don McIntire and his lobbyist Bill Sizemore, who has since been convicted for racketeering for promising property-tax salvation for fi xed-income seniors to naive voters. After all, Measure 5 promised full state funding for public education, and homeowners would pay less. The hidden agenda was the transfer of tax responsibility. Before Measure 5, homeowners and Oregon businesses each paid 50 percent of the tax burden. After Measure 5, homeowners were saddled with 60 percent of the tax burden. It was a real “bait-and-switch” con game that, unfortunately, Oregon’s students have been suffering from since 1990. Hal Huestis Eugene ROLES IGNORED I wonder if Anna Grace saw the same play at Oregon Contemporary Theatre last week that I saw this evening [review, 1/16]. The play I saw, Tribes, had roles for six actors, each expertly portrayed. I was especially intrigued by the interactions between Billy (Karsten Topelmann) and his brother Daniel (Colin Gray) as they were pivotal to the play’s heart-wrenching ending scene. Interestingly, Anna Grace ignored Colin Gray’s role entirely. She also failed to mention Daniel and Billy’s sister Ruth (Melanie Moser). It makes me wonder if Anna Grace really saw Tribes at all. Kathleen Gray Eugene Mamo A NEED FOR VIGILANCE Nathan Aweau - Jeff Peterson Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” There seems no better time to remember this than during the 41st anniversary of one of the greatest strides in women’s health care in the U.S. Roe v. Wade granted women freedom from infringement by the state in matters of their reproductive health. Its anniversary reminds us to look back with gratitude, and to look forward with vigilance. We need vigilance to protect against the politicians who want to inject themselves into a woman’s personal and complicated medical decisions. We need vigilance to put an end to the “pro-life vs. pro-choice” debate and admit that these labels do not refl ect the complexity of the issue of abortion. And we n eed vigilance to continue to make strides against those pushing back on the rights affi rmed by Roe. Our incredible allies in Albuquerque, N.M., who defeated a 20-week abortion ban, and the Texans who came together to support Sen. Wendy Davis during her 11- hour fi libuster are prime examples. But we can all do something. We can all be vigilant. Roe v. Wade is more than a court case. It’s a landmark turn in U.S. history. Let us never forget this as we move forward with an ever-greater sense of vigilance. Kiran Varani-Edwards Eugene Saturday February 1 SALEM DOES POOP RIGHT I recently moved back to Eugene after a job stint in Salem. Took my two dogs to the South Eugene dog park — awful experience. Here is why. At the Keizer dog park, the only one fenced in the Salem/Keizer area, people pick up after their dogs, every time! Yes, there is much social gathering, chatting, trail walking or running, but there is always poop being picked up. If you were eugeneweekly.com • January 23, 2014 5
