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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (July 23, 2015)
The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts in our changing times, to have the best possible chance of surviving and thriving down to the seventh generation? Then come to the “Birth and the Human Future Conference” and learn more. The conference will take place from 9 am to 5 pm Friday, July 31, at the Centro de Fe at 540 Adams in Eugene. Registration and the showing of the movie MicroBirth will start at 8 am. Lunch will be served. Go to birthandthehumanfuture.org for more information or to register, or email lisbebrown@msn.com. Marion Toepke McLean Dexter lay in store, this should be a front page story. I’m talking about the rezoning of single- family R-1 properties on tiny Portland Street between 29th and 30th to allow for seven-story apartment buildings. What a surprise, many of them are owned by the neighboring Cascade Manor retirement complex! I’m talking about fi ve-story buildings on both sides of Willamette from 24th to past 32nd avenues. Is this what Eugene wants? This story is waiting to be heard! Annette Gurdjian Eugene Shedd Theatricals 2015 proudly presents Walter Donaldson & Gus Kahn’s madcap 1928 musical comedy THE MISSING STORY THE SABOTAGE OPTION Those who suggest that all hope is lost [cover story, 7/16] are governed by the same blind faithfulness to science that brought on climate chaos. Just as we have no way of predicting the long-term waterfall effects of industrial activity, we also have no way of predicting the earth’s ability to regenerate and restore itself. There are now wolves in Chernobyl and thriving aquatic ecosystems in a former dead zone of the Black Sea that was healed after the collapse of the Soviet Union. If humans allow the earth room to breathe, it is capable of repair beyond what science could ever imagine. Resistance to powerful and destructive forces is not unprecedented. If we have learned anything from resistance movements throughout history, it is that with coordination and strategy even the most formidable oppressors can be toppled. What answer will suffi ce when our children ask why we didn’t physically halt the machines doing the destruction? A handful of key nodes of infrastructure are primarily responsible for catastrophic climate change. At this stage, sabotage is a more viable option than accepting defeat. Dillon Thomson Eugene STORY NEEDS TELLING I am a regular reader of EW and value your coverage of important local issues that concern many of our citizens (Federal Courthouse, new Eugene City Hall, MUPTE, Civic Stadium, Capstone, etc.). I am surprised that I have not seen anything in your publication about the South Willamette Special Area Zone (S-SW), encompassing an area from 22nd to 33rd avenues and Lincoln Street to Amazon Parkway. This issue is not to be confused with the plan to change the number of lanes on Willamette Street. Considering the number of people and properties that S-SW impacts in one of Eugene’s most pleasant neighborhoods (474 lots between 22nd and 33rd will be rezoned by the city), and the changes that The Register-Guard ran a front page story Sunday, July 19, about Eugene proposals to bulk rezone for development a large swath of residential property off South Willamette. Nice to see the coverage, but from the neighbors I’ve talked to the point is not whether these neighborhoods should be demolished for fi ve-story versus three- or four-story apartments and condos. And neighbors understand the benefi t of growth within urban boundaries as opposed to encroaching on farmland or natural areas. Rather, by circumventing the R-1 zoning in the Rosewood and other established neighborhoods, the homes (including many smaller low-cost rental houses) could be bought up and demolished quickly without individual application for rezoning. And the expensive apartments and retirement condos that would go up where the houses, trees and lawns are removed would have lasting impact. The planners foresee bringing thousands of new residents to streets close to Willamette (streets already saturated with R-1 homes) to live in these “dense” large buildings. If the current neighborhood character and abundant urban vegetation and wildlife don’t tabulate much to the planning commission, consider the infrastructure of this area. No new parks or public investment is envisioned. Large streets and major public transportation are found in other parts of the city. In West Eugene as the EMX rail line is completed, dense growth might be accommodated. But Willamette, Crest Drive and 29th Avenue are already bumper-to-bumper during busy times of day. These south Willamette neighborhoods are already “developed,” and zoning changes here should be looked at one by one, not with a bulk move that is a land speculator’s dream come true. Ralph McDonald Eugene July 31-August 9 The Shedd Institute 868 High Street, Eugene, OR Tickets $20-$36 (discounts available) 541.434.7000 theshedd.org/Whoopee The Mildred Baker Fund for the Arts sub-fund of the Western Oregon Arts Foundation at the Oregon Community Foundation Whoopee! Is presented by arrangement with, and the music and dialogue furnished by Tams-Witmark Music Library, Inc, 560 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022. Oregon Festival Of American Music 2015 FINE AND DANDY In The Age Of Jazz 1921-34 LACK OF RESTRAINT After at least a 30-year hiatus, I attended the Oregon Country Fair July 10 and enjoyed the still familiar assortment of Shop Space Available contact Eli Howell 541-600-0081 August 7-16 541.434.7000 theshedd.org The Shedd Institute Eugene, ORegon 120 Cleveland St. Unit 6 EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • JULY 23, 2015 5
