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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 5, 2014)
2 BES 2012 007, 20 T B , 2 11 AR 013 FOO D VOTED # 1 LET TERS BY EW READERS B 20 NIG EST 10 HT LAT EA E - TS Evergreen Nutrition Eugene’s Most Complete Vitamin Store 1653 Willamette evergreennutrition.com 541-485-5100 FREE OFF-STREET PARKING Sparking Downtown Revival Since 2002 M-F 9-6 SAT 10-5 SUN 11-5 34TH ANNIVERSARY SALE - Patio Seating Going on NOW - Down Home Chow - PBR- CHEAP! - Good drinks - Bunch of Pool Tables - Video Games (No Poker) “Go Emerald City Roller Girls!” Scan for our menu 99 W EST B ROADWAY 541-683-3154 WANT TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS? ADVERTISE WITH THE EUGENE WEEKLY CALL US TODAY 541-484-0519 Pandora’s Box Free Glass Hand Pipe WITH EVERY $25 PURCHASE WITH THIS COUPON EXPIRES 6/15/14 541-485-7375 | 142 E. 13TH AVE. | EUGENE | BETWEEN OAK & PEARL 6 June 5, 2014 • eugeneweekly.com Being houseless does not mean that one does not have a home. Where do you feel that you belong? Having compassion does not mean that one is weak. What do you see through the eyes of another soul? When you put your heart into the vessel of a stranger and feel, the barriers that create greed and fear get weaker. Everyone is different, but it’s important to remember that we are all connected. Kelly Wilson Eugene law to pay employees not to come to work. It’s the exact right time to be an unreliable employee. We have the perfect opportunity to wait and see how Portland’s version of this plays out. Let’s slow the F down. When low-income workers start getting laid off to pay for this speeding train wreck, maybe Councilor Claire Syrett and a couple others will help pay unemployment benefi ts. Brian Palmer Eugene NO ROOM FOR HATE - Lots of Ninkasi - Wall Art WEAKENING BARRIERS ORGANIC POT LABEL? In some parts of Oregon, recently passed laws are permitting some of us to feel quite liberated as local publications freely display advertisements of green entrepreneurs ready to stand out among the rest. Remember that although some U.S. states have legalized the use and sale of cannabis, it is still considered federally illegal and therefore cannot be certifi ed organic under the USDA National Organic Program (NOP). Marijuana is not eligible for USDA organic certifi cation because it is not a federally recognized agricultural crop. Under USDA NOP regulation 205.100, what has to be certifi ed: “(c) Any operation that: (1) Knowingly sells or labels a product as organic, except in accordance with the Act, shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $11,000 per violation.” The USDA NOP is a federally affi liated certifi cation program whose regulations are not to be taken lightly. The use of the term “organic,” when describing an agricultural product, comes with a hefty price and places a higher premium on its products than their conventional competitors. Therefore the USDA does take enforcement actions when deemed appropriate. There is, however, an established third- party certifi cation program th at is modeled after the USDA National Organic Program and is now available for OMMP producers and handlers. See the Clean Green Certifi ed Program at CleanGreenCert.com. If you run a dispensary or grow operation why raise another issue that might bring greater scrutiny to your operation? For that reason it might be wise to avoid using the “O” word altogether. Rebecca Brown Eugene DELAY TRAIN WRECK Now I know how hostage negotiators feel. I speak in calm, measured tones to the guy with his gun on the little girl’s head, but my heart is racing while I pray I can slow things down long enough for the nut- ball to realize he shouldn’t pull the trigger. That is how it feels at the Sick Leave Task Force meetings. It is painfully obvious that several members of the task force and the city council have made their decisions and no amount of input or reasoning from business owners with 20, 30, 40 years of experience or anyone else is going to keep them from pulling the trigger. Uncomfortable facts and experience have no place at the table. This is part of a dream come true: Business owners are forced by I’m a little disappointed that the letter “Too Late to Repent” was even printed in your May 15 publication. I guess the editor just wanted to show that this kind of close- minded hate still exists in our local area. I bet Lon Miller is saying some prayers today for all those “sinners” and “perverts” who were able to fi nally get married this past week after the monumental decision to lift the ban on same-sex marriages in Oregon. It really boggles my mind that people can be so hurtful toward others who live a different lifestyle, and then call themselves Christians and cite the Bible to justify their hate. I would look in the mirror, my friend, and ask yourself if you really believe that the Almighty is casting anyone into the Lake of Fire to burn for eternity, for loving another human? God bless you, Lon, for you know not what you do. Jenevie Wiest Eugene BAGPIPES IN KOREA By chance, my wife Silvi and I drove by a site where the local Scottish Highlanders were performing. We stopped to listen. It was thrilling and exciting. It evoked memories for me of one of the special moments I had while in Korea half a century ago. I was at the reviewing stand in Seoul to describe on the air the 4th of July parade held by South Korea with U.S. forces. On the stand was the Korean president (dictator) Syngman Rhee and his caucasian wife. She was Austrian, and her 6-foot-2- inch frame towered over his 5-foot-5-inch height. At one point there was a lull in the passing parade. Then we could hear the faint sounds of bagpipes coming around the bend but still out of sight. When they approached the reviewing stand, with pipes blaring and snare drums rattling, it was an unforgettable moment. They were in kilts that waved in the breeze, and they were led by a big drum major wearing a leopard skin and holding a massive sword up in front of him. A sight not to be forgotten, as I have not. These were the Cameron Highlanders from the Scottish U.N. detachment, and I later went up north to their campsite for a series of interviews with the sound of bagpipes in the background. I hope it is among the reel-to-reel tapes I long ago brought back with me, and which I will monitor when I can fi nd an old reel-to-reel player. George Beres Eugene
