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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (April 2, 2020)
letters VIRTUAL HARMONY Last night 36 socially distanced musi- cians and singers met online for the best international multi-house jam I’ve ever been to. Local organizer Steve Gibson (Cross Current band) had invited some of his professional musician friends to join our intrepid group of mostly amateurs and wannabes, and we sang our hearts out for three hours together-apart. People from Canada, New Zealand, Virginia and Wisconsin all joined in with us. While a lead would sing, the rest of the group would be muted and play- ing and singing along in our own living rooms. I found myself singing out loud- er, and to more songs — no one could hear any mistakes. In between songs, we were unmuted and chatted about the song, which gave us the feeling of actually being there with each other. There is a learning curve with the software, but our group is heavily weighted towards the grey hair end of the spectrum, and we did just fine. So add music jamming to the list of things that can be virtualized while we carry on. Elena Rae Eugene WHAT HOAX? Regardless of whether there is a glob- al pandemic or not, the Earth needs pro- tection from the human species. When we “locals” advocate for the places we love, and folks in different places work to protect the places they hold dear, we can create a patchwork of active safe- keeping that has the potential to create a MOVEMENT! #CommunityRights The COVID-19 virus has created for us a “timeout” opportunity to do some E U G E N E W E E K LY . C O M With the departure of Eugene School District 4J Superintendent Gus Bal- deras in late June, the 4J board must select a replacement. The board is planning to hire a one-year interim su- perintendent from within the ranks of current 4J administrators. In this time of uncertainty, the temptation to fast- track the process is understandable. However, the question must be: What is the prudent process and timeline? Because of the recent controversy in the selection of Jim Torrey to replace Evangelina Sundgrenz, it is essential that the board garner public trust. This means that the process must be trans- parent; must provide authentic oppor- tunity for quality community input; and must provide a confidential way for cur- rent district employees to voice their pertinent experiences with any in-house district candidates. To take meaningful and serious steps to secure public trust, the board must allow for a reasonable timeline. Because the board will be accepting only in- house candidates, the need to rush the process is unnecessary; the new interim superintendent will not be an outsider, but one familiar with 4J’s systems and issues. It is imperative for the 4J board to create a hiring process and timeline that is deeply committed to public trust. Roscoe Caron Eugene CORPORATE GREED WINS AGAIN Democrats rule the House of Repre- sentatives. Instead of steadfastly creating a bill that prioritizes the three main prin- ciples of (1) giving aid to their declared constituency of workers and the middle class of up to $2,000 per person for at least four months, like Canada did; (2) immediate cash infusion to the health care system; and (3) assurance to the millions of small businesses to keep their workers on payroll, they instead opted to cater to their corporate over- lords. Yes, the same corporate overlords that control the Republican Party. And they added the fourth and most insidi- ous element of a corporate bailout of in- dustries that are so cash rich that they don’t need no stinkin’ bailout money. They settled for a measly one-time payment of $1,200 (are you kidding me?) for the peons who are the backbone of this once great nation and agreed to give their corporate masters the keys to the treasury. I will bet you a dollar to a doughnut that you used to believe that the Demo- cratic Party represents the working peo- STAY HOME Asian Food Market Largest Selection of Asian Groceries Seaweed, rice, noodles, frozen products, deli, snacks, drinks, sauces, spices, produce, housewares, and more. We carry groceries from Holland, India, Pakistan and Polynesia SAVE LIVES Sushi & Asian deli take-out Wood eld Station SHOPPING CENTER 29TH AVENUE 5 OAK STREET SOUL SEARCHING RESTORING TRUST AT 4J WILLAMETTE STREET In this week’s letters (3/26), Brian Palmer demonstrated just how fast the lame excuses of Trump supporters be- come obsolete. He called COVID-19 fake, saying that “only” 170 people have died. As I write this, the death toll is 10 times that: more than 100,000 confirmed in- fections, and that number is probably low because testing is so inadequate thanks to the sheer incompetence of Palmer’s hero, Donald Trump. At the rate we’re going, that number will prob- ably be over a million by Trump’s Easter “no problem” fantasy, and yes, deaths will be over 100,000. Trump’s cuts to CDC, the U.S. Public Health Service and the National Secu- rity Council’s pandemic response team have led to this disaster. The Obama administration left him a detailed pan- demic playbook which apparently got lost on a shelf somewhere after 20 Janu- ary 2017, and gathered dust. This disaster could have been miti- gated, if not for Trump’s obsession with destroying all things Obama out of pure spite. Gary Frazier Eugene very necessary soul searching. Let’s re-examine the roles we must play as stewards of our planet home… and work to create a world worthy of our elders, children, and future generations. Michelle Holman Deadwood Sunrise www.sunriseasianfood.com M-Th 9am-7pm•F 9am-8pm•Sa 9am-7pm•Su 10am-6pm 70 W. 29th Ave. Eugene • 541-343-3295 We are committed to the health and safety of our employees, clients, and communities we serve and send our well wishes to everyone during this challenging time. While we deeply value in-person interactions with clients, our attorneys and staff will be working from home in order to do our part to stop the spread of COVID-19. We are well-equipped to serve the legal needs of this community virtually. Count on our team for high-quality legal services, including answering your questions, filing documents with government agencies and courts electronically, and ensuring your transaction requirements are addressed in a timely manner. We will continue to be flexible and responsive amid this rapidly evolving situation. To get connected with our experienced attorneys, call (541) 686-9160 or info@eugenelaw.com A P R I L 2 , 2 0 2 0 3
