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SUE THE CITY! I'm only 15 years old, but I still remember that when our family moved to Eugene in 1994 we enjoyed the Eugene Celebration very much. At that time it used to be free and the only fences in downtown were to keep out car traffic. Then, suddenly, admission pins were introduced, with their prices drastically rising every year, 'til it finally now has reached an outrageous $15. This is preposterous! How can it be called the whole city's celebration when the admission price is so high? Many Eugeneans — large families with low income, minorities, youth, and seniors — cannot afford to pay this entrance fee, which means that they simply are excluded from the party… If this weren't bad enough, during the "Celebration" weekend many of the downtown streets are usually enclosed by fences and guarded by security staff. All the booths and concert stages are set up in parking lots, on streets, and even on sidewalks. This automatically limits people's access to downtown. Last year my family and I had to walk for blocks trying to find an open street, but then, several blocks down that street, there was another barrier. The Eugene Celebration is literally shutting down the city center for people without entrance passes. This is outright unfair! If you want to have a real celebration, then let the people celebrate for free. If it is just another moneymaking enterprise, then move it to some private property. The city streets must be accessible to anyone, regardless of one's ability to pay. I've been to public celebrations in France, Mexico, Lithuania and all of them, no matter how rich or poor the country, were free to all. I think people of Eugene should simply boycott this so-called "celebration" rather than pay the exorbitant price. People should protest and "trespass" the barriers. Moreover, sue the city! Gabriella Anelauskaite, Eugene
TWO GREAT MAYORS Regarding "Publicity Stunt: Torrey Used Write-in to Push Conservative Agenda" (9/16): The "RunJimRun" campaign was ill-advised and unsuccessful. However, it does not diminish the accomplishments of Jim Torrey over the past eight years. There is no better friend to Eugene's kids and schools than Jim Torrey. But for Torrey's demonstrative support for the $34 million city/schools levy two years ago, the 3 percentage point victory wouldn't have happened. Period. While right wingers were slashing and bashing school budgets in Salem, Mayor Torrey visited every county seat in the state, advocating the need of stable funding. When it comes to kids and schools, Torrey gets it. It must come from all that reading to kids in schools. Alan Pittman inaccurately labels Torrey as both "controversial" and "conservative." Wow! How? Torrey convened and/or promoted thoughtful dialogue in Eugene. A mostly symbolic, yet important resolution was passed by the City Council regarding the PATRIOT Act. Torrey — never a friend, at least publicly, of the religious right — didn't give a stage for the anti-gay wackos to bring divisive issues to the city forums. A library was finally built, with support of the business community. A Police Commission was also formed, due to Torrey's ability to bring diverse parties together. If Torrey was "controversial," it must be because he found that balance between the left and the right. That's a very tough balance for a leader to strike in Eugene. Jim Torrey was a great mayor for all of Eugene. Kitty Piercy will also be a great mayor for all of Eugene. Steve Barnes , Eugene
BAD SOLUTION Oona Beall wrote (9/9) encouraging people not to vote because, in a nutshell, there are no good politicians and voting will "only encourage them." This is a bad solution to that problem. She argues that John Kerry will only allow for more sweatshops and injustices for people around the world; there is no difference between Kerry and Bush. No, John Kerry will not be able to instantaneously fix all the world's problems and turn our country into a great, just nation, but he will still be an enormous and worthwhile step forward from Bush. No, Oona, one singular vote wouldn't make much of a difference, just like a grain of sand in an hourglass; however, a hundred people who don't vote, a thousand, a million; that absence really puts a harmful dent in our political process. (How do you think it got so corrupt in the first place?) Everything significant is composed of "insignificant" atoms, quarks, gluons, vibrating strings, and votes. It will take a very long time to cleanse our political atmosphere and our nation's virtues. It will take a lot of patience, but the only way that we won't be able to fix this problem is by not voting. Voting is what gives corrupt politicians power, and voting is what can take it away. Not satisfied with the Democratic or Republican parties? Vote Green Party. Vote Socialist. Vote Libertarian if you have to; but don't just lose hope and let the problem escalate. Third party votes are only pointless because we say that they are. The main political strategy of a politician is to do what the voters would like. If good people with high expectations stop giving up and start voting, the politicians will be forced to live up to these high expectations if they want power; they will do whatever it takes to hold power, including good things. So, Oona, I hope that you and other people of a similar mind take 10 minutes this November to help make a real, viable change in this country. Brendan Coffin, Age 19, Eugene
PAYING AT THE PUMP Repeatedly, President Bush has put the special interests in the energy industry ahead of the American people. And we're the ones who are paying for it. The U.S. should be leading the development of cleaner, renewable fuels, and efficient technologies — which would create jobs, help clean the air, and curb the emissions that cause global warming. But the Bush administration is pushing an outdated energy policy that promotes special interests and continues our dependence on foreign oil. And Americans are paying more than 20 percent more at the pump. John Kerry has a plan to reduce America's dependence of foreign oil. It invests in renewable energy sources, which will help create new jobs. The plan will create a new partnership to expand the supply of natural gas, and develop and deploy clean electric power from coal. And incentives to consumers will help ensure that 20 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020. This November, we have a choice between four years of failed policies and for more years of the same or a new direction for our country. I'm choosing John Kerry. Karen Schau-Stein, Eugene
BENEFITS OF INVASION This letter is in response to the EW interview (9/9) with Peshwaz Faizulla. Mr. Faizulla has been here for a short time, and yet he can now speak for 300 million Americans, saying we are all the same: uneducated, incapable and unaware. He writes that our president is a demon, and that we are trying to colonize the Middle East. If he is the educated, unbiased journalist he claims, he should also mention other parties like France, Britain, Russia and the Turks who have been there. Faizulla claims we are there for the oil, however he has personally benefitted from this oil invasion, he is free to travel and to speak freely without the death penalty Saddam-style. He should also tell us how many of his fellow Kurds were gassed with so called nonexistant weapons of mass destruction by Saddam. America is not perfect but if were such an oppressive, non-free, terrible place then why do millions from all over the world choose to live here, making America the most welcoming diverse nation ever? If Mr. Faizulla's view were true, then there would be thousands of Floridians grabbing anything that floats to move to Cuba for a better life. As far as women's rights go, are they freer, more equal and happier here or in the Middle East? Faizulla's freedom was bought and paid for with American blood. We fought partly because we don't believe people who are different from us are infidels. Tom Bush , Eugene
RECKLESS DISREGARD George Bush has placed machine-gun lobbyists and oil rich countries in front of our national security. Sen. Bob Graham, former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee revealed the White House blocked investigations of two Saudi officials who funded and housed two of the 9/11 hijackers, allowing them to leave the U.S. after 9/11. They then blacked out 28 pages about the Saudi connection in the 9/11 Commission report. Bush has yet to challenge Saudi Arabia and Pakistan's aid to 9/11 terrorists. He used weak intelligence to mislead America about WMD's and justify attacking Iraq. He then allowed the Pentagon to disregard international torture laws. This is a recruitment poster for budding terrorists. He chose "nation building" over hunting down Osama bin Laden. Now he's refused to extend a 10-year-old assault weapons ban after terrorists killed over 300 people at a Russian school. Allowing terrorists in the U.S. easy access to assault weapons reveals his reckless disregard for our security. We need a Commander in Chief who'll place America's security above lobbyists and make our schools and streets safer. That man is John F. Kerry. Paul Dillon, Corvallis
TERRIFIED OF KERRY Today (9/8) I had a man come into my store who has been back from Iraq for about a month. He is going back tomorrow. He is a contracted worker. His job is to ride along with inexperienced platoons to help keep them safe. He was in the first Desert Storm as well as Iran, and his experience is invaluable to the safety of our troops. Our government has hired many guys like him. He told me 90 percent of Iraqis want us there and are terrified that John Kerry could become president. The only people we are fighting now are small radicals and people from other countries who don't want democracy. If we leave Iraq now millions of people will die. If that is not enough to convince you to vote for George Bush, than you have no compassion. A vote for Kerry is a vote for death. Would you please print this in your weekly newspaper. George Carlson , Eugene
BRAINWASHED I just got back from a visit to Eugene, my old hometown. I live now in California, a state that was ravaged by Enron. You don't see so many Bush lawn signs here. People remember that Ken Lay was W's best friend and number one supporter and that Bush's FERC did nothing to stop the looting of our economy. I talked with many people across Oregon and was disturbed to hear the same lines over and over: "Kerry is no different, no better than Bush. They're both Skull and Bones" [an elite Yale-based secret society]. I heard so many people express indifference toward voting, as if it didn't matter. To me it sounds like folks have been brainwashed into apathy. Kerry has a stellar voting record in the senate. He chaired the Iran-Contra hearings and made that incredible speech in 1971 for Veterans Against the Vietnam War. Is he perfect? Hell no. But we are, in my humble opinion, about to lose our country forever. The draft is looming and an economic depression that will make 1929 seem like a picnic. And behind it all is global warming and environmental catastrophe. In California people are saying that if Kerry wins, the real work begins the next day. C'mon Oregon, vote as if all our lives depend on it. Rob Nelson, Santa Rosa, Calif.
MINCED BOVINE I have to say that I don't disagree with Mr. Kyle's views in his letter to the editor (8/5). Carl's Jr. is a large corporation, and as such, very corrupt. The executives probably aren't "people of conscience." So really, it's unlikely that any of them care that one man is making (rather unsupported) claims that their slogans are putting people off their meals. He says that the words "shock and awe" conjure images of spattered blood and broken body parts. He may think of war-related images because of that slogan, but I, as a vegetarian, find that pictures of hamburgers conjure violent images without any reference to the war at all. Really, what you're looking at when you see a nice, big, juicy burger is minced, abused, brutally murdered bovine squished into a short, cylindrical shape, grilled, and then put on a sesame seed bun. (Sorry, Steve, for the unpleasant images.) So maybe that's what Carl's Jr. wants you to imagine with their slogan. It kinda sounds that way to me. Pam Merten, Corvallis
PAVING FARMLAND? NO! We recently became fully aware of the level to which planning has been going into the McDougal land swap. If you are not aware of the proposal please read on; it involves moving the urban growth boundary (UGB), paving farmland and a city park. What is the UGB? It is the waist belt if you will, which helps hold the city in; it was legislated to help protect rural lands. It is a form of planning that encourages urban uses on urban lands. What is the "swap?" The McDougal family owns both pieces to be swapped; 120 acres in the Laurel Hill area inside the UGB and 197 acres near River Road, outside the UGB. The proposed swap puts the area inside, out, and the area outside, in, making the farmland developable now and the hillside property less available for three years. The city of Eugene gains 77 acres (the difference) in parkland. The landowners, according to economic analysis, stand to gain $2.75 million in lesser costs of developing flat land with city cooperation. County residents, farmers, and farm supporters, might view this as a loss. We do. The McDougals bought this land on speculation. They did not buy it to farm or enjoy it, but in the hopes of someday making money. If we continue to loosen the "waist belt," sprawl goes on, speculation is encouraged and continues, and, in this case, class one farmland is paved over. If we maintain the boundary, as many expressed they wanted to in a study done five years ago, we gain stability, farmers can continue to provide food from lands near our city, and we acknowledge again, that cities can grow too big. Growing local food is being recognized more and more as "smart growth." I think this land is open space and could become park land and that mixed use should host small agriculturally centered community. To see that happen, we will need to let this proposal go, so that speculation slows. This proposal has the City Council initiating a metro plan boundary change, sample sales agreements written up, and park/housing development plans being hailed. A lot of money has obviously been invested. The community is now being given a view and asked their opinion, but we got the feeling in the first public session that parks planning staff were too invested to lead an impartial public session. It seemed "the proposal" was only open to park design changes. This needs an impartial discussion leader or facilitator who will treat it as it truly is — a proposal. While no one likes wasting resources, yet that is the risk if the city feels they need to present such polished plans before taking in public opinion. I encourage all who feel a connection to annexed land, parks, farmland protection, and resource land preservation to learn a little more and contact county commissioners and city councilors. Admittedly the players seem big, so it will take many voices speaking out for farmland and good planning. Remember UGB change guidelines say class one soil lands are the last to be brought into the UGB. Farms: yes. Parks: yes. Development on farmland: whoa! Kevin Jones, Eugene
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