LET TERS
RADIO FOR DUMMIES?
I spoke with Don Hein, station manager
at KLCC, about the abrupt pulling of
Alternative Radio [see news briefs, 1/21].
In lazy defense of his decision on behalf
of NPR, and giving no explanation as to
its “shotgun” demise, he brushed AR off
as “not political … it doesn’t question or
question itself … it’s antiquated.” He went
on to say that KLCC’s target audience is
intelligent, insinuating that AR was for
a less sophisticated, less articulate, less
cultured, less than intelligent crowd. In
Don Hein’s world, AR is for dummies. As
antiquated as Fresh Air, Hein must mean
that the people and views expressed on
AR are so alternative that they’re just not
fi t for the increasingly, and dare I say it,
insidiously conservative, corporatized bent
taken by KLCC and NPR.
David Barsamian offers AR for free,
so it’s not fi nancial, and AR was popular.
Hein explained that his “intelligent” crowd
loved the “fl uff” of Wait … Wait and Car
Talk so much that he wasn’t willing to
replace one twice-weekly slot with AR,
although those two programs represent
HOT AIR SOCIETY
great costs that eat up listener pledge funds.
And although Hein belligerently defended
NPR, saying that it was not corporate,
Wait … Wait is sponsored by the criminal
bailout giant Chase Bank. Joan Kroc, heir
to the McDonald’s fortune, donated $200
million to NPR.
More air time throughout the day is given
to promoting upcoming news programs,
primarily during news programs, yet the
reverse cannot be said about what’s left of
any music or “alternative” programs. Hein
didn’t refute this, he was just dismissive,
laughed and scoffed; to which I told him
that it wasn’t funny, and that he and NPR
were arrogant, insolent, condescending
and plain stupid. Oh, and that I was done
with KLCC.
NPR for Oregonians? Read “one size
fi ts all.” If intelligence is more of the same,
I’ll gladly take an open-minded hike.
Sean S. Doyle
Corvallis
FLAWED REPORTING
There is a dramatic contrast between
The Register-Guard front-page article
by Christian Hill Jan. 23 addressing the
development of Kesey Square and the
Eugene Weekly article by Alex Cipolle Jan.
21. One could assume the R-G is supporting
the commercial development, while EW
is acknowledging the presence of a large
public opposition to commercializing
Kesey Square.
The R-G article is entirely devoted
to the three proposals for commercial
development and makes no mention of
the fl ood of emails to the mayor, city
manager and City Council during the
last month discouraging the sale. I have
attended the gatherings at the City Club
and LCC downtown when the long-term
use of Kesey Square has been addressed
in public forums; the opposition to
commercialization was the dominant
sentiment among those gathered. The
proposals for commercialization deserve
consideration; however, the short window
period of fi ve weeks during the winter
holidays for proposals for alternative
public space development, with a Jan. 15
deadline, has made the initiation of such a
project all but impossible.
The facts regarding the decision
making point to a manipulative process
by City Manager Jon Ruiz to collude
with prospective developers while
circumventing the council and public
review. This collusion appears to be
refl ected in the R-G coverage as well. This
is evident in the absence of any reference
in the R-G article to the “Save Kesey
Square” organizing efforts (see Facebook
page) and no mention of the rally Jan. 25
before the council meeting. In the name
of good journalism and good government,
please provide us with all the information.
The Rev. Gary James
Unitarian Universalist minister
emeritus
Eugene
REDNECK CHECKLIST
In the 21st century, if you use a gun
and John Wayne bravado to get your
way — trespass, occupy federal property,
destruction of federal property, intimidate,
disrupt peace, violate civil rights — you
might be a redneck! And if (apologies to
Jeff Foxworthy):
BY TON Y CORCOR A N
No Grand Bargain
KITZHABER’S DEAL TO PROTECT UNIONS HAS EXPIRED
M
y, how the world of Oregon politics has changed in two years.
Twenty-two months ago The Oregonian reported that John
Kitzhaber, then preparing to run for an unprecedented fourth term
in November 2014, held a press conference to announce a “grand
bargain.” In a series of backroom meetings, Dr. John had persuaded
rival union and business groups sponsoring several competing proposals to back off
from going to the November ballot two years ago. In response to Kitzhaber’s public
call for a mutual stand-down on looming 2014 ballot measure fi ghts between unions
and business interests, the state’s largest public employee unions and sponsors of
right-to-work and dues check-off measures agreed to formally withdraw 12 measures
from the 2014 ballot measure process.
The decision to avoid competing ballot measures followed an agreement reached
in February 2014 between the Service Employee International Union and many of the
state’s largest hospitals. Following that agreement, an additional fi ve ballot initiative
petitions were withdrawn. As a result of Kitzhaber’s efforts, the state’s major public
employee unions agreed to drop several proposed initiatives that would raise taxes on
well-to-do individuals and larger corporations. In exchange, business groups dropped
proposed measures that would weaken unions by allowing public employees to opt
out of paying union dues. Kitzhaber said at the time: “Instead of spending millions on
ballot measure battles, we have an agreement that provides an opportunity for people
to work with one another on solving Oregon’s biggest problems.”
Fast-forward to 2016. The national scene speaks for itself. Even if you possibly
could have predicted this Republican presidential primary fi asco two years ago, the
only person who would’ve believed you would have been your cellmate at the state
hospital. And even he wouldn’t untie your straight jacket! Here in Oregon, Dr. John
is gone and there is no grand bargain in sight. Instead we are likely to see a full array
of ballot measures targeted to turn out single-issue voters. In addition to an initiative
to raise Oregon’s minimum wage to $15 per hour over three years, you will also see
a measure to require English to be Oregon’s “offi cial language” and a measure to
prohibit public funding of abortions.
And Jill Gibson, Portland businesswoman, is sponsoring Initiative 69, the so-called
“Public Employee Choice Act” — the current version of the right-to-work (right to
starve) measure. The unions have responded with their own version of a minimum
wage increase as well as a gross receipts tax proposal that is polling very well. There
are campaign fi nance reform initiatives that are approved to circulate, as well as clean
energy initiatives — hell, there’s even an initiative to get rid of Daylight Savings
4
JANUARY 28, 2016 • EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
Time! The 2015 Legislature even sent a referral that allows the city of Damascus to
disincorporate! Doesn’t Syria have enough problems?
The anti-union, right-to-work issue took a different twist last week when the U.S.
Supreme Court announced it would issue a decision this summer on Friedrichs v.
California Teachers Association. Although progressives breathed a sigh of relief over
the Supreme Court’s previous handling of challenges to the Affordable Care Act and its
protection of same sex couples’ right to marry, Freidrichs is the case that public sector
unions have been trying to make go away — because it could make the whole public
sector “right-to-work.” Conservatives
es have continually argued that public
sector unions are political in nature, , because their employers
are the government, and that dues going
ing to politics violates
employees’ right to abstain from political
litical activity. But
the court ruled that an individual’s s right to belong
or not belong to an organization had
ad to be weighed
against the threat to labor peace if “free riders” got
the benefi ts of a contract without contributing.
ontributing. Signing
up union members could get a lot harder
arder if the alternative
is a free ride. Since Wisconsin’s 2010
10 public sector right-
to-work law (it also barred dues deduction
uction and limited the
scope of negotiations), AFSCME has lost two-thirds
of its members — dropping from over 60,000 to
20,000. The Wisconsin Education Association
Council has lost 30 percent.
Now, what anti-union forces couldn’t
ldn’t win
at the ballot box, they might get through
rough
the courts. Last week, Chief Justice
stice
John Roberts and the Supreme Court
urt
signaled it will set American union
n
rights back 50 years, doing just what t
George W. Bush put him there to do. .
Here in Oregon we’ll face a right-to- -
work ballot measure attacking public
employees in a similar fashion, but t
it might be moot by November. Stay
y
tuned.
Tony Corcoran of Cottage Grove is a former state
ate senator
and a retired state employee.