YES ON SAFER STREETS
REMEMBER TO RECYCLE
As a frequent bicycle commuter and as
a parent, I’ve been happy to see some of the
safety improvements on the roads around
town over the past few years: improving
bike lanes and creating better crossings for
pedestrians.
I also drive when necessary, and I ap-
preciate the repaving projects we’ve seen
— keeping the streets in decent repair
seems like a no-brainer.
I know that a most of these projects
have been funded by the street-repair
bond measure that we Eugene voters have
passed twice before. This bond is up for re-
newal this Election Day.
It’s probably not perfect, but it’s help-
ing make our city a better and safer place
to get around in. It’s also just good sense to
maintain the streets we have. And it’s one
of a very few sources of money for this
work.
Let’s keep this work going. Vote yes on
Measure 20-275.
Heather Brey
Eugene
Thanks to the article in the Register-
Guard (Oct. 3) about China’s cracking
down on our recyclables, we have the per-
fect opportunity to make a difference.
I’m guessing most people didn’t know
or care where their items went once they
left the curb. Out of sight, out of mind,
many probably thought, and “I’m doing
my part on saving the world.”
Well, folks, you’re not (well, hopefully
a good portion of you are), and now is your
chance to change that. Simply look care-
fully at what you’re putting into your bins,
and if need be check the list from your re-
cycling service provider as to what is to go
in those bins. If what you put in is consid-
ered acceptable, how clean is it?
There are so many things on a bigger
scale that we don’t have control over, but
this is something so simple, so right at our
fingertips and curbs, and yet it can have a
huge impact on our environment and our
lives.
The bottom line, folks, is please take
the time to think about what you’re putting
at your curb and whether it’s clean. I know
many families’ lives are very busy, and
it’s easy to just toss it in the bin and think
you’re doing your part. However, as you
have hopefully read in the article, because
of many people’s carelessness, laziness,
etc., we are going back to the old days of
just throwing things into the landfills.
Kristen Kaminski
Eugene
ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT BUFFETT
Wow, Will Kennedy! Not only are you
likely jealous of Jimmy Buffett’s lifestyle,
you are completely wrong about your re-
view “Raffi for Grownups” (Oct. 12).
Buffett, age 70, gave us two-plus hours
of entertainment with a fantastic group of
musicians backing him up. He opened the
show (at Matthew Knight Arena) express-
ing appreciation to the crowd, acknowl-
edging that we were spending our time and
money to be there, and he made sure we
had a good time. The crowd was great, and
not all of us are Parrotheads or Hawaiian-
shirted ugly Americans who vacation in
white-washed Sandals Resorts.
As to your question about the quality of
the music, you’ve probably never listened
to his extensive discography. His musical
talent combined with his rapport with the
audience made it a special evening. He
played tribute to artists he’s written for,
including Van Morrison and the late Tom
Petty. Some of his lyrics are beautiful and
brilliant, maybe “watery” but not cheap or
forgettable.
What I appreciated most is that it was a
non-political event, and for two hours we
could forget the mess we are in. At the end
of the show, he acknowledged that things
are weird and scary, and sent us home feel-
ing so much better than when we came in.
Finally, Mr. Kennedy, have you ever
been to a Raffi concert? You’ve picked
on two great musicians, who try to show
us all, no matter our age, financial status,
color or gender, how to live our best lives!
Carole Diller
Eugene
LONG LIVE RAFFI!
Hey, Will Kennedy: Lighten up.
I can’t tell if you are dissing Raffi or
Jimmy Buffett (Oct. 12) with your shallow
criticism of one of America’s most popu-
lar and successful songwriters, musicians,
performers, novelists and entrepreneurs.
Also, your comments made it seem
like you have a problem with Raffi’s mu-
sic. His listeners love him, parents and
children alike. Of his latest release, Box
of Sunshine, a multi-decades collection of
songs, his music is described thusly: “Raf-
fi’s valuable messages of multiculturalism
and environmentalism blend together into
a wonderful, family-friendly world vi-
sion.”
His songs for children are smart, often
silly, and sometimes poignant. Raffi’s mu-
sic strikes a chord with his young listeners
and makes them feel good.
The same can be said of Jimmy Buf-
fett and his music for his adult audienc-
es. While many of his mainstream songs
lapse into the silly, feel-good mode, he also
writes songs that cut across cultural lines
and blend poignant messages of hope and
harmony.
The fact that Buffett has been success-
ful in marketing his products does not
make him an evil capitalist. He gives his
audience what they want. He gives them
their own little boxes of sunshine.
What’s wrong with that? I’d like to know.
Pat Albright
Eugene
ENTITLEMENT OR FREE
SPEECH?
The EW Slant column of Oct. 12 edito-
rialized about a student group taking over
the UO president’s ceremonial “state of the
campus” address. It was to be a piece of
ceremonial PR announcing a big donation
and maybe not all that important or sub-
stantive.
But EW endorsed cutting off the admin-
istrator’s speech because the students were
apparently virtuous members of minority
groups. Wait a minute, EW! Do you really
want to have the university, which is at heart
based on the free exchange of information
and ideas, to be overtaken with a “Who-
ever Can Yell Loudest Gets To Speak” eth-
ic? Might that backfire in the future?
Protest against UO President Michael
Schill and the administration’s policies
are fine — show up with leaflets and post-
ers, make a stir before and after the event,
ask tough questions in the questions-and-
answers portion of the event. But keep-
ing someone from speaking is plainly and
clearly just bullying.
Odd that a newspaper so easily forgets
the First Amendment and the principle of
free speech.
And as I read the 22 “demands,” there’s
something screwy here. Demand 11 is
“freeze tuition, develop a plan to decrease
tuition over the next five years.” But almost
all of the other demands actually call for in-
creased expenditures on a pretty large scale.
Where’s the money going to come
from? The state has been cutting back its
contribution for years, so the only way to
meet the “demands” is to cut back else-
where. Without the protesters giving a plan
for cuts, this looks like a pure fantasy: “If
you really loved me, you give it to me.”
Chuck Kleinhans
Eugene
ABOLISHING SEXISM
I’m glad the University of Oregon is
looking into ways to prevent sexual vio-
lence, but find it disturbing that Title IX is
being used to focus on how college women
can report being raped.
Title IX states: “No person in the Unit-
ed States shall, on the basis of sex, be ex-
cluded from participation in, be denied the
benefits of, or be subjected to discrimina-
tion under any education program or activ-
ity receiving federal assistance.”
I would ask UO why they think this
amendment was created. It seems to me
that the intent is not to deal with rape but
to prevent it from happening — to abolish
sexism in a place where it can be eliminat-
ed, ignored or promoted: education.
I wonder if UO has examined its pro-
grams and monetary output for males vs.
females to make sure Title IX is being fol-
lowed — hopefully not because they think
they may lose funding, but because it is the
right thing to do.
I hear male sports bring in a lot of mon-
ey. This has reached obscene proportions,
from the coaches’ salaries to the throwaway
thousand-dollar uniforms and all the other
perks lavished on these males. The values
of brutality and superiority are encouraged,
while once more women are sacrificed.
Sexism is alive and well right here,
right now, and all too often ignored in our
rape culture.
Jean Denis
Eugene
PAMPHLET APOLOGY
An apology. In the voters pamphlet, I
opposed the bond measure “Bonds to Fix
Streets and Fund Bicycle and Pedestrian
Projects.” I did so on the grounds that the
9-1 spending on paving streets to alterna-
tive transportation infrastructure was not
enough.” It isn’t.
But I went on to say, “This isn’t the
right bond for Eugene.” And for that I
apologize.
Aquila Tax-Free Trust of Oregon, a
New York group who manage Oregon
Municipal Bonds, identifies the Oregon
municipal bond investor as, “Oregon tax-
payers who can benefit from income that
is exempt from federal and state income
taxes.”
The logic is: Lacking tax money for
basic services, the city taxes us to buy a
bond that will provide tax free income to
the richest Oregonians?
Outcomes aside, any bond measure im-
poverishes the community. The $3.8 tril-
lion dollar bond market uses local govern-
ments to funnel money upward to the very
people who then, (Citizens United v. FEC)
control our government from the top down.
That is oligarchy, not democracy.
I want separated bicycle lanes but I can-
not support any bond measure. The other
day, at the City Club of Eugene, I asked
myself, “Who am I? Why am I here?” That
was a difficult question. I realized after-
ward maybe we should all ask ourselves
the same question. “Who are we? Why
are we here?” Try not to leap to an answer.
Sit with it. Then look at this bond measure
again.
Otis Haschemeyer
bike-party.org
Eugene
eugeneweekly.com • October 26, 2017
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