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About The Bulletin. (Bend, OR) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2021)
A8 The BulleTin • Wednesday, OcTOBer 13, 2021 EDITORIALS & OPINIONS AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER Heidi Wright Gerry O’Brien Richard Coe Publisher Editor Editorial Page Editor Comment on Bend proposal for homeless shelters S iting camps and buildings for the homeless has proven to be volatile for the city of Bend. As much as some people want to help the homeless, others don’t want that to happen near them. Neighbors have been concerned about a hotel for the homeless the city purchased on NE Division Street. And the possibility that there might be a managed camp on NE Ninth Street near Bend High School has produced pronounced opposition. Now the city is looking for public comment on a rule change to allow more freedom to accommodate the homeless. It raises some interesting issues for neighborhoods with cov- enants, codes and restrictions, or CC&Rs. The biggest change is that various forms of shelters for the homeless — group shelters, multiroom shelters, outdoor shelters — could be located in all zones of the city with the ex- ception of heavy industrial zones. Under the city’s current rules, shel- ters are only allowed in commercial zones. Another change is that homeown- ers would be able to have a person live on their properties in an RV or manufactured dwelling. Permits would be required for electricity, water and sanitation. And the per- mit for the home could only be for a year. It could be renewed twice. The city calls this “a hardship shelter.” The city already allowed something similar temporarily as a reaction to the wildfires of 2020. There are caps in how many peo- ple such a homeless facility could serve. For instance, building occu- pancy set by the state building code regulates how many people can stay in group shelters already. A group shelter is like Shepherd’s House on Division Street in Bend. It has a 30- bed capacity. This city has gotten some ques- tions already about what these code changes might mean for neighbor- hoods with CC&Rs. Presumably some neighborhood associations with CC&Rs in Bend would use those agreements to attempt to pre- vent hardship shelters and other shelters in their neighborhoods. Enforcement of CC&Rs is a private matter, not a matter for the city. “CC&Rs are private covenants between private parties, not be- tween a governmental entity and a homeowner,” City Attorney Mary Winters, wrote in an email. “Thus, a homeowner’s association or a single homeowner might enforce a cove- nant against a homeowner. CC&Rs are placed on title as a restriction by a seller, developer, HOA, or by consenting owners of a subdivision or community, and are recorded in private deeds. We do not address claims that a CC&R may restrict an otherwise valid use, as the City … cannot legally interpret, enforce or otherwise address or resolve private covenant issues.” She also added, though, that a CC&R that conflicts with a statute or ordinance might not be enforceable. There is more detail to these pro- posed code changes than we are listing here. Go to tinyurl.com/ Bendcodechange for more infor- mation. You can email Susanna Julber at the city if you have ques- tions sjulber@bendoregon.gov. State gets better at answering the phone W hen it came to paying job- less benefits during the pandemic, Oregon was one of the slowest in the country. The Oregon Employment Depart- ment needed an upgraded computer system before the pandemic struck. And the sudden increase in claims created a terrible backlog. It was one of the worst backlogs in the country. Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, a Demo- crat, took the unprecedented step of calling on the leader of the state’s de- partment to resign. Gov. Kate Brown called for her resignation soon after. That didn’t fix the problems. In October of 2020, the state still owed hundreds of millions to people who lost their jobs in March and August, The Oregonian reported last year. We have repeatedly criticized the department’s performance. So it’s only fair that we acknowledge that this week it was reported that it has made some real progress in, well, an- swering its phones. At its worst, peo- ple could be on hold for more than 3 hours. Now, the department is get- ting to 90% of its calls in 15 minutes. Almost 80% of calls are answered within 5 minutes, The Oregonian reported. Of course, it’s not all due to im- provements at the department. The state is paying jobless benefits to many fewer people now — 32,000 a week down from 320,000 at the be- ginning of the pandemic. editorials reflect the views of The Bulletin’s editorial board, Publisher heidi Wright, editor Gerry O’Brien and editorial Page editor richard coe. They are written by richard coe. My Nickel’s Worth Well done with roundabouts Bend is in love with roundabouts. And why not. They move traffic in an efficient and safe manner. The opening of the Empire Avenue cor- ridor was fantastic … green space, sidewalk, canal crossing, ease of ac- cess. What’s not to like? Soon the newest roundabout will open on Purcell Boulevard and Butler Market Road. I look forward to this and I ex- pect it will live up to high standards set by the excellent engineering and construction crews. In short, The Roadmen! Well done. — James R. Shores, Bend Redmond School Board earns an “F” The Redmond School Board has decided to use district funds to hire an attorney to fight the governor’s mandate for masks and vaccinations. They want, “local control.” The gov- ernor used epidemiologists, virolo- gists, and infectious disease special- ists in formulating plans to control the pandemic. Who does the Red- mond School Board use — the board members? The school board declined to fire a teacher who chose to put her per- sonal comfort before the safety of her students when she refused to wear a mask for the few hours a day she is in class. In doing so, the school board sends the lesson to students that they do not have to follow rules if they don’t like them. They could have taught students that they sometimes may be asked to do something they don’t especially like for the common good. Lesson opportunity lost. Rather than hiring an attorney, the school board could use those funds to provide more comfortable masks, school supplies, school programs, etc., but instead, they choose to use school funds to attempt to subvert the governor’s mandate and give themselves more power. Shameful and dangerous. — Pamela Robbins, Bend Need substance on homeless solutions On Oct. 8, The Bulletin’s editorial made a request to hear from people who support and oppose the city’s homeless policies. I think this is hard to do because the city councilors have not put forth solid, unambiguous proposals. The Guest Column by the Bend City Council, in recent paper, was unsatisfying. It talked about creat- ing facilities to house 500 people. Not only does that represent less than half the homeless population there was no detail provided. Sixty to 80% of the column was not much more than empty rhetoric that filled space. I do not believe that camping, managed or otherwise, is a long-term solution. The campers are harming nobody is a lazy attitude that has re- sulted in the increase in campers that we have seen in the past two years. A city of Bend document distrib- uted at the Project TurnKey Open House held in July, expressed that homeless policy solutions should in- clude rapid rehousing, transitional housing, and permanent support- ive housing. I think that fleshing out the details for each of these items is a good place to start. We need some substance. — Frances S. Miller, Bend Keep parks green One of the most important things a community can offer everyone, in exchange for their tax dollars, is beautiful public spaces. Regardless of income or neighborhood, all can enjoy the parks, the rivers, fountains and other landscaped public areas. Portland is a perfect example of what happens when you let your public spaces go. Water for public use is more im- portant than golf courses and, even hobby farms. If used wisely, water can support all. Just don’t trash the city in the name of conservation. — Bruce Brothers, Bend Efforts to help the homeless are appreciated Thanks for the nudge, Bulle- tin editors! I’d like to acknowledge our Bend City Council, Deschutes County Commission and espe- cially their staffs for their investi- gations, conversations and creative responses to the needs of un-housed Central Oregonians. The Home- less Emergency Task Force and the Homeless Leadership Coalition (representing regional agencies, stakeholders and citizens working directly on homelessness) are also digging deep, targeting services, re- source sharing and strategic initia- tives. The intersecting circumstances contributing to increased homeless- ness are complex. There is so much to be done. As a community mem- ber, I commit to educate myself on these causes and conditions; to not react, but reflect. Our region, which is growing rapidly, can grow with compassion. Let’s keep working for our un-housed friends, together. — Ruth Williamson, Bend Letters policy Guest columns How to submit We welcome your letters. letters should be limited to one issue, contain no more than 250 words and include the writer’s phone number and address for verifica- tion. We edit letters for brevity, grammar, taste and legal reasons. We reject poetry, personal attacks, form letters, letters sub- mitted elsewhere and those appropriate for other sections of The Bulletin. Writers are limited to one letter or guest column every 30 days. your submissions should be between 550 and 650 words and must include the writer’s phone number and address for verification. We edit submissions for brevity, grammar, taste and legal reasons. We reject those submitted elsewhere. lo- cally submitted columns alternate with national columnists and commentaries. Writers are limited to one letter or guest column every 30 days. Please address your submission to either My nickel’s Worth or Guest column and mail, fax or email it to The Bulletin. email submissions are preferred. email: letters@bendbulletin.com Write: My nickel’s Worth/Guest column P.O. Box 6020 Bend, Or 97708 Fax: 541-385-5804 Ex-CEO says she never asked for a raise; other women still should BY HELAINE OLEN special to The Washington Post F ormer PepsiCo chair and CEO Indra Nooyi is something of an icon for women’s business em- powerment. Nooyi, born in India, stands out for both her achievements and the context in which she rose: Women make up fewer than 10% of Fortune 500 CEOs, as do minorities. During and after her tenure at Pepsi, Nooyi has talked about her struggles as a mother, daughter and wife in a work- place designed for men. Her new book, “My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future,” intends in part to ease the way for other women to ascend the cor- porate ladder. Too bad Nooyi marred the message. During a recent interview with the New York Times Magazine, Nooyi was asked about her salary, which topped $31 million in her final year at Pepsi. Amazingly, Nooyi said she never re- quested a raise. She found asking for a salary increase “cringeworthy,” adding: “I cannot imagine working for some- body and saying my pay is not enough.” On the one hand, terrific! It’s great to know at least one (former) CEO in our country is not outrageously greedy, and decided that $31 million in annual sal- ary and stock options was enough. On the other hand, most of us are not CEOs. Women working full time earn only 83 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earn (and the dis- crepancies are worse for Black women and Latinas). Very few workers, male or female, are compensated as well as Nooyi was. If the head of a Fortune 500 company and one of the world’s most iconic brands finds asking about her pay “cringeworthy,” what hope is there for the rest of us? This is a terrible model for women, and Nooyi knows it. When I spoke with her on Friday, Nooyi made clear that she had been speaking about herself specifically. Nooyi also said that PepsiCo’s board compensated her fairly and that it had outside help in doing so. Compensation consultants are a noteworthy detail and were not men- tioned in the Times interview. Good that she clarified. But still: Most work- ers don’t get that level of outside assis- tance (if any). We’ve got to speak up for ourselves. And even when women are professionally successful, speaking up can be difficult. Nooyi’s comments hit a nerve be- cause they reflect a broader pattern. Men are generally more upfront and less apologetic than women about their financial needs, whether in seeking in- formation on colleagues’ earnings or willingness to change jobs in search of greater pay. And if female workers overcome the social hurdles to speaking up for them- selves, they are likely to be financially punished for doing the exact same things men do. Research shows that women are less likely to receive raises when they request them and that they are often judged less likable for ask- ing. Negotiating during job interviews has even been found to hurt women’s chances of getting hired. In her book, Nooyi talks up the fi- nancial need for women to work but also writes that at several points early in her career earnings were not her most important priority. “I got a small raise but I wasn’t thinking about the money,” she says of one early triumph. “Money was not my driver,” she writes about her early years as a rising corporate star at PepsiCo. Only much later, she writes, did she discover that a number of male colleagues were receiving better com- pensation. In her book, Nooyi stumps for na- tional paid family leave and greater in- vestments in child care. As for unequal pay, Nooyi writes, “HR should have been flagging these issues and system- atically addressing them.” In recent years, of course, several big companies, including Salesforce, have moved in this direction — conducting pay audits in efforts to close gender and racial pay gaps. More employers should join them. Systemic action will be more effective at implementing and sustain- ing change than expecting vast num- bers of people to address a potentially unfair situation one by one by one. Nooyi’s successes should be lauded. But workers should also keep in mind, even if we love our jobs — and life is better if we do — that most of us pri- marily work for money. We shouldn’t apologize for or downplay that fact. The cost of doing so is too high. e Helaine Olen is the author of “Pound Foolish: Exposing the Dark Side of the Personal Finance Industry.”
