Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (April 17, 2014)
The Shedd Institute www.theshedd.org - 541.434.7000 Ungar-Mason Family Band Saturday April 26 look at things that way, then we might still have parks to walk in as time goes by. Benton Elliott Eugene DAM FAILURE SECRECY Several years ago I went to the monthly “mayor meets with citizens” meeting held in the Albertson’s store at 18th and Chambers. I asked Mayor Kitty Piercy about the inundation potentials if the dams upstream of Eugene broke and whether the location we were at was out of harm’s way, or would we still have to go to higher ground. She did not respond, not even to say she did not know or it was none of my business. On March 18, I went to the Army Corps of Engineers dam inundation meeting in West Fir. Their maps show that 18th and Chambers would be inundated but it would be near the edge of the fl ood. I didn’t write down the precise edge but it wasn’t far up Chambers Street beyond 18th. Nearly all of Eugene north of 18th Avenue would be fl ooded in a dam collapse, but the Feds refuse to post this publicly, with the excuse that bad people might want to use it to hurt us. However, even if bad guys did crack the dams, those downstream would have a “need to know” how far uphill to run. Perhaps the real reason the dam inundation maps are not public is the embarrassment to the real estate industry. The value of the new yuppie complexes being built (and publicly subsidized) would be much less if it was widely understood how deeply they would be submerged in a dam failure scenario, whether from an earthquake, fl ood or act of violence. Mark Robinowitz sustaineugene.org/dam.html ABOUT THAT SIGN Our sign [see “WTF?” last week] has, indeed, become a point of contention in the community and, as such, I’d like to shed some light as to our rationale behind its creation. Firstly, the phrase, “Welcome to the [heart] of Little Portland” is by no means some part of a serious campaign to reclassify the city (or downtown) as some kind of diminutive Portland. The intention of the sign is twofold. First, it is a tongue- in-cheek reference to the large number of Portland-based businesses popping up in our area. We are literally surrounded by them: Sizzle Pie, Urban Waxx, Townshend’s Tea, Voodoo Doughnuts! This is by no means a bad thing, but I think it’s important to create awareness about from where all of this new business is coming. Secondly, this phrase was a bit of an inside joke: Folks often come into The Barn Light and remark, “It’s so Portland in here!” which we fi nd comical, because we are actually a Eugene-based business amongst, as I say, a crowd of Portland- based ones. Again, I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing to be compared to businesses in Portland. The last thing that I would add is that, frankly, I’d rather put a sign outside that makes people stop and think for a moment — and elicits some kind of reaction — as opposed to a boring sign, the sole purpose of which is promoting our product or brand. In fact, I’m pleased to see the kind of response this has generated. It’s good to see this kind of civic pride in a part of town that has lacked it for so long. Thomas Pettus-Czar Co-owner, The Barn Light WATCHING OUT FOR US Time and again since our Lane Board of County Commissioners election four years ago I’ve told myself I should be down there at the courthouse watching what they’re up to now — whether it’s selling coast lakefront county forest parkland for Commissioner Leiken’s ex-business partner to log; or signing off on another McDougal scam; or handing off two downtown city blocks of county property to an ex-mayor without receiving a single competitive bid; or watching their hand- picked county administrator fi re senior county land use attorneys who are a little too sympathetic with local folks. But who’s got the time? Answer: Kevin Matthews. Kevin has Chris Botti Thu. May 1 Hult Center Black Prairie Saturday May 3 Coming to The Shedd (full, updated listing at theshedd.org) 4.26 The Ungar-Mason Family Band 5.1 Chris Botti (Hult) 5.2-11 The Jazz Kings: Bésame Mucho 5.3 Black Prairie 5.7 Laughter and Reflections with Carol Burnett (Hult) 5.9-11 TAC International Film Festival 5.9 Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers w/ Edie Brickell (Hult) 5.19 Chamber Music Amici: Guy Few 5.23-24 SheSings 2014 5.31 Moombah! Skyscraper Caper 6.11 Chamber Music Amici: Lane County 6.12 Dave Douglas Quintet 6.19-29 MUSICAL: George & Ira Gershwin’s 1926 jazz age farce OH, KAY! 7.1-10 MUSICAL: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes 7.1-10 OFAM 2014: Son of Hollywood! eugeneweekly.com • A pril 17, 2014 5
