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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (June 12, 2021)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | JUNE 12, 2021 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 CHANTELLE MEYER , EDITOR | 541-902-3520 | CMEYER @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM Opinion The First Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibit- ing the free exercise thereof; or abridg- ing the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peace- ably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. “I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” —Thomas Jefferson (1800) Government not helping with employment challenges (Editor’s Note: Viewpoint submis- sions on this and other topics are al- ways welcome as part of our goal to encourage community discussion and exchange of perspectives.) took root during the New Deal era that began in the mid 1930s and was dominant well into the 1970s, erod- ing at a varying pace since then. That old culture was centered around fair wages and working con- I picked up the May 22 and June 5 ditions. A “social contract’ existed editions of the Siuslaw News. There between labor and capital, mediated were 24 “Help Wanted” ads in each from local restaurants and fast food outlets. Most ads By Edward T. Monks sought help for multiple jobs: “all positions,” “team mem- Retired attorney bers” and “crew members.” Florence and Eugene Two local restaurant owners have told me of the difficulties they are having finding help because by a government enforcing a mini- experienced workers are not willing mum wage, 40-hour work week, the to return to work when those work- right to collectively bargain, etc. ers are making as much or more The Great Depression had been money collecting unemployment met with government-initiated benefits. works programs designed to engage The situation demonstrates how private industry in hiring unem- national and statewide policies, spe- ployed workers under reasonable cifically regarding unemployment conditions to build important public compensation, have significant projects. downstream consequences, includ- The Public Works Administration ing in this little community. (PWA in the alphabet soup of New The situation also demonstrates Deal programs) played a significant changes in the politics around our role in the building of many, many economic culture that have occurred enduring projects, including the in recent decades. The old culture Lincoln Tunnel, the Grand Coulee Guest Viewpoint Dam and, locally, the Siuslaw River Bridge. Take a short walk up to the bridge — still useful and beautiful 85 years after it was opened on March 31, 1936. Contrast the PWA’s creations with the governmental response to the more recent economic calamity caused by the pandemic. The government sends out “stim- ulus” checks and provides un- employment compensation in excess of earned compensation in return for … sitting on the couch. The old culture of “let’s work together to produce something of great and enduring value” has given way to a new governmental attitude: “let’s give ‘em stuff!” The old culture produced the bridge over Yaquina Bay and the Coos Bay Bridge. The new culture produced … better vid- eo game scores. The new approach is not healthy for the larger society or the individ- ual. It does not encourage people to be part of something bigger than themselves. It does not recognize the inherent dignity in participating in the larger community. It is the wrong path to take. LETTERS (Editor’s Note: Viewpoint submissions on these and oth- er topics are always welcome as part of our goal to encour- age community discussion and exchange of perspectives.) The Great Florence Climate Debate I have been following the climate debate in Siuslaw News’ editorials over the last month. There seems to be a push to have the City of Florence directly involved in the cli- mate change issue. Florence is a community that financially benefits (and is dependent on) unneces- sary emissions — tourists who travel here for pleasure, dune vehicles, motor boats, RV travel, camp fires, etc. For the city to promote tour- ism — and then claim not wanting these activities — is a contradiction that could hurt our local businesses and our neighbors’ livelihoods. Over the years, I noticed some local wineries (like Pfeifer) install “green” solar systems, showcasing them, encouraging tourism as a talking point, and also get- ting an economical payback for doing so. In some small towns they put up a working solar system display to spark interest (and to attract tour- ist interest). I’ll ask this question: Which would help attract commerce to our city and also make people aware of possible solutions — a city manifesto regarding climate change, or increasing our visual demonstration that Florence is installing solar panels, solar-powered sig- nage, and even small wind turbines (that are fun to watch and can even be an art form)? Green is marketable and cool. I think there is an oppor- tunity here for both sides, to reduce emissions and pro- mote our city on its green ef- forts. The investments could be cost neutral over time. I agree with parts of Jerry Sanford’s editorial (“Enough of This Climate Change and Land Use BS,” June 9). I’m a great fan of Greta Thunberg, but I am not a purist that will give up campfires, a grilled hamburger or travel. I think environmental effort is a personal thing; I do what I can. I believe it is not some- thing that can be effectively forced on people. I also think that until you are negatively hit on what I’ll call “weather change” (not “climate change,” which tends to focus on cause, not effect), people’s opinion will not be changed. When in- creased forest fires from ex- treme weather and drought destroy a home of someone you know, or a toxic algae plume destroys your water source, maybe then some opinions may change. I just think there may be some common ground to work on “green” issues that could benefit both sides of the debate. Personally, I’d love to give up having a red meat ham- burger once a week — if I could just find a place in town that served a good en- vironmentally safe Falafel. Right now, I just can’t find one. I hope the City of Florence and all involved will consider economically viable invest- ments towards “green.” — Steve Williams Florence Sleuthing for truth Thomas Fred “Sam” Spayd has borrowed Humphrey Bogart’s “Maltese Falcon” detective character’s “Sam Spade” name, but I’m afraid he’s terrible at sleuthing. If he’d done the simplest of searches, he would have discovered that annual hu- man-generated carbon diox- ide is a thousand times worse than Pinatubo and Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull. In his May 29 Letter to the Editor in the Siuslaw News, Sam attacked climate change with an arsenal dense with inaccuracies, derisively ques- tioning whether our carbon problem is indeed the “most pressing issue of our time.” I must admit, until Jan. 20, I worried more that U.S. President Donald Trump would start a nuke war with Kim Jong-un and North Ko- rea. Still, Mike and his wife Pat have called attention to global warming for 90 consecutive Fridays outside Florence City Hall. Mayor Joe Henry has continued to claim climate change is sole- ly “political.” This past week, The Atlan- tic magazine published An- dri Snær Magnason’s, “The Gods Were Right,” about Iceland’s Geldingadalir vol- cano, erupting since March, and climate denialist my- thology. Sam should know this. We live in Cascadia, a tsu- nami zone. Inexorable sea level rise increases tsunami danger. There were two 5.9 earthquakes on June 4, off Gold Beach. Here’s a few more facts: Trump lost 2020’s elec- tion by seven million votes. COVID-19 won’t go away, “Just like a miracle.” Don’t drink or inject peroxide, swallow or insert UV light tubes. Clearcutting won’t reduce forest fires. Trump (30,000 documented lies/ misstatements of fact while in office), Kevin McCar- thy, and Mitch McConnell are perhaps perennially “truth-challenged.” NASA scientists could tell Sam, the moon landing was real. — Frank Smith Florence USPS# 497-660 Copyright 2021 © Siuslaw News Siuslaw News Published every Wednesday and Saturday at 148 Maple St. in Florence, Lane County, Oregon. A member of the National Newspaper Association and Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. Periodicals postage paid at Florence, Ore. Postmaster, send address changes to: Siuslaw News, P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439; phone 541-997-3441; fax 541-997-7979. All press releases may be sent to PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com. Jenna Bartlett Chantelle Meyer Front Office For Advertising: ext. 318 Publisher, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 313 541-997-3441 For Classifieds: ext. 320 DEADLINES: Wednesday Issue—General news releases, Monday noon; Classified line ads, Monday 9 a.m.; Legal Notices and Display Ads, Friday noon. Saturday Issue—General news releases, Thursday noon; Classified line ads, Thursday 10 a.m.; Legal Notices and Display Ads, Wednesday 5 p.m. NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In Lane County — 1-year subscription, $79; 6-month in-county, $56; 10- week subscription, $25; Out of Lane County — 1-year subscription, $102; 6-month out-of-county, $69; 10-week subscription, $35; Out of State — 1-year subscription, $134; E-Edition Online Only (Anywhere) — 1-year sub- scription, $65. Mail subscription includes E-Edition. Website and E-Edition: TheSiuslawNews.com Siuslaw News Office: 148 Maple St./PO Box 10 Florence, OR 87439 Office Hours: Monday to Thursday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday: 8 a.m. to noon Letters to the Editor policy The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the editor as part of a community discussion of issues on the local, state and national level. Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed letters must be signed. 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Email letters to: cmeyer@thesiuslawnews.com WHERE TO WRITE President Joseph Biden The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 TTY/TDD: 202-456-6213 www.whitehouse.gov 900 Court St. NE - S-417 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1705 Email: Sen.DickAnderson@ oregonlegislature.gov Oregon Gov. Kate Brown State Rep. Boomer Wright (Dist. 9) State Sen. Dick Anderson (Dist. 5) 160 State Capitol 900 Court St. 900 Court St. NE Salem, Ore. 97301-4047 Salem, OR 97301 Message Line: 503-986-1409 503-378-4582 Email: Rep.BoomerWright@ www.oregon.gov/gov oregonlegislature.gov U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden 221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-5244 | 541-431-0229 www.wyden.senate.gov U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley Lane County Dist. 1 Commissioner Jay Bozievich 125 E. Eighth St. Eugene, OR 97401 541-682-4203 Email: Jay.Bozievich@ co.lane.or.us 313 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753 | 541-465-6750 Florence City Council www.merkley.senate.gov & Mayor Joe Henry Florence City Hall, 250 U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio Highway 101, Florence, 97439 (4th Dist.) 541-997-3437 2134 Rayburn HOB ci.florence.or.us Washington, DC 20515 Email comments to Florence 202-225-6416 City Recorder Kelli Weese at 541-269-2609 | 541-465-6732 kelli.weese@ci.florence.or.us www.defazio.house.gov
