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HEART OF OUR CITY Those of us who have been downtown for many years or have opened businesses downtown within the last few years are excited to see a renewed interest in what we consider to be the heart of our city. We greet the plans for new retail, living and office space with enthusiasm. It is reassuring that the developers involved are all familiar with this community and have announced an interest in doing something that will make Eugene a better place. We appreciate the potential for this project to open up new opportunities for businesses to occupy well-maintained space that is affordable and viable. Clearly there is a lot of space to fill, and a lot of planning yet to do. As independent retailers, it is our hope that the retail brought to Downtown Eugene will be as eclectic as the city itself. It is critically important to have many different kinds of retail in a given area to make it successful. We hope that the visions of Connor and Woolley and the Guistinas include local retailers who offer shopping experiences that can't be found elsewhere. Local businesses can provide an experience that caters specifically to residents and visitors of Eugene and Lane County. Downtown Eugene already offers many great shopping, dining and entertainment options. With the investment of Connor and Woolley and the Guistinas, those options can blossom more fully. Hopefully what grows will be something that reflects the personality of which Eugeneans have always been so proud. Reisa Maddex, Footwise The Birkenstock Store Stacy Bierma, Harlequin Beads & Jewelry Aimee Allen & Ken Herrin, Letterhead Lisa & Norman Read, Freudian Slip
DOWNTOWN BUZZ There is this buzz in the air, a palpable energy over our downtown revitalization possibilities, with major property owners voicing their intentions. Then there are these passionate creative visionaries such as Don Kahle with his recent thoughts on Eugene as a great riverfront city with a grand parkway flowing through it. This connection between Eugene and its surrounding environment, reconnecting people with nature, seems a natural! Another recent inspiring editorial envisioned Eugene as an arts destination. With the recent additions to our arts community of DIVA, Opus VI and the reopening of the Schnitzer Art Museum we are well on our way. I attended the June First Friday Art Walk and wandered about on foot. It was actually bustling with activities and people. If you haven't been downtown lately, you should check it out. Each new piece that is added to the puzzle draws more anticipation. Eugene feels right on the brink of some good, positive change. Talk of a major grocery store is great, though I personally wish it were a local grocer such as Market of Choice being considered. This all reminds me of the line in the movie Field of Dreams: "If you build it, they will come." We have our collective "Downtown of our Dreams" and similarly, if they build it, we will have to come to make it a success! Let's keep the ideas flowing, the discussion happening and the passion rising! These are exciting times locally, let's work together and enjoy them. Let's make this fun. How about a theme song, maybe "On Broadway,", or Petula Clark's "Downtown"? Just a thought. Tim Boyden, Eugene
SERVING THE RULERS Many officers involved with the Eugene and Springfield police departments have a history of abusing their authority. The recent murder of an unarmed Thurston High School student should make people in this community aware of the importance of monitoring the actions of police who victimize those who they are allegedly supposed to protect. The police and those in authority have always used their power to suppress the efforts made by compassionate people to build a more just society because they serve the interests of the ruling class. The people profiting from the destruction of the Earth and the exploitation of the working class have an interest in maintaining the present order, and when people refuse to listen to their hearts, they die inside. Not everyone who is a police officer is necessarily a bad person, but when people believe that they have authority over others, that often results in the abuse of that power. It's important that officers like Lara and Magaña are held accountable for their actions. Whenever anyone says that they have been hurt, we need to believe what they say. David M. James, Eugene
MUTTS OFF LEASH I often wonder if, during the months preceding our invasion of Iraq, there was anyone in Washington, D.C. who could see that the current situation in the Middle East was the only possible outcome of George Bush's nitwit foreign policy, even if the lies he told to justify the war were true. Of course, it is apparent now that Bush's reasons to support his war effort were nothing but a premeditated effort to mislead a gullible nation into a foreign policy mess he, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the others were just too stupid to predict. Well, Bush has unleashed the dogs of war and they run where they will. And they will continue to run until they, in their own good time, have exhausted their running. How many more must die in their running, how much more taxpayer money must be wasted in their running and where exactly they will find their rest no one can foretell. Almost 2,000 American military personnel dead, along with tens of thousands of Iraqi men, women and children— a monument to George Bush's adolescent ego and his personal God who rides on the back of a high tech cruise missile. Impeach the S.O.B. before he does any more damage! Steve Johnston, Creswell
CORRUPT STRATEGY Last night (June 28) Bush gave a primetime speech. He said that we are fighting terrorists in Iraq so we don't have to fight them here. That would make sense if the Iraqis had been in on 9/11. In reality, we brought the terrorists to Iraq. This is a morally corrupt strategy. It is cruel beyond belief to invade a country under control of a brutal dictator so the long-suffering citizens become subject to attack from the world's most violent terrorists instead of us. Weren't the Iraqis suffering enough under Saddam? At least he kept the rest of the terrorists at bay. By the way, didn't we prop up Saddam in the first place? Didn't we lie to the Iraqis at the end of Gulf War I when the first Bush said we would support them if they rebelled against Saddam? It is a miracle that all Iraqis have not joined the terrorists by now. We have turned their country into one giant terrorist training camp. Bush won't send in enough troops to defeat the terrorists but he will leave enough troops to be targets. Oh, I forgot, our volunteer army isn't large enough to defeat the terrorists in Iraq on their own. The president told us that we will leave Iraq when the Iraqis can fight the terrorists on their own. This would just be a cruel joke were it not for the fact that tens of thousands of people are dying and that there are real terrorists running loose. How are the Iraqis supposed to defeat the terrorists if they don't have an air force, artillery or armored units? So far, we can barely give them enough pick-up trucks to follow our troops into battle. Let's hope the Iraqis have a stronger sense of mortality than we do and help us out of this mess. Our president has put our future in their hands. Charles Dalton, Eugene
LCC DOWNTOWN I moved to Eugene in 1970 from Seattle. In those days, Seattle was in the middle of a complete economic collapse and Eugene was just beginning the "revitalize the downtown movement." Over the past 30 years, many changes have been made to Eugene's downtown. It would be great if the task were finally to accomplish a worthy and recognizable city center. In planning for the new improved heart of the city, there is one feature that has been there for years and has benefited many of Eugene's residents. That is the LCC downtown facility. I would hope that this be included in the grand plan. My vision for a new LCC Adult and Continuing Education Complex would be to establish a partnership between the UO and LCC to include the following features: Combined adult and continuing education classes from both the UO and LCC. A 500-seat theater and lecture hall with excellent acoustics. Plenty of well-lit, acoustically friendly classrooms. A comprehensive language lab. A comprehensive computer lab. Install the KLCC broadcasting studio on the top floor. Move the LCC Culinary Arts School into the building. Include a satellite, UO/LCC art gallery. Set up a state-of-the-art recording and public access television studio. Construct the building around a well-landscaped interior courtyard capable of accommodating small concerts. Partner with the Downtown Athletic Club and develop a good quality childcare facility. Install a joint UO/LCC full-on bookstore. A facility like this would produce a hub of activity from 7 am through midnight, seven days a week. It would not only add to the heart of downtown, it could be the brains of downtown. George Rhoads, Eugene
FREE RESPONDS After reading Lance Jacobs' letter to the editor (6/16), I feel compelled to respond. Mr. Jacobs contends that I am a violent individual who attempted to burn an entire lot of SUVs. I have stated many times that the nature of the fire was largely symbolic, and that every precaution was taken to minimalize the risk to life that a fire can represent. As for the accusation that a much greater fire was intended, I can only say no intelligent person would believe they could burn an entire lot of vehicles with less than two gallons of gas. Jacobs is correct that the action did not stop the use of SUVs. I was never under the impression that it would. The goal of the arson was to draw public attention to climate change and foster debate on the issue. Here we are, five years later and I would say the action was proven successful. Finally, Jacobs is correct. Property destruction is a form of violence. It involves the smashing, burning or destroying of valued property. If that is violence, then we certainly must open the definition to include corporate destruction of forests, oceans, rivers and other ecosystems, for those certainly are not acts of love. I continue to stand by my actions without apology. You may judge me or my actions. But, what makes an individual act of sabotage more serious than crimes committed by governments and transnational corporations? Why is the destruction of an SUV more noteworthy than climate change and the accelerated rate of extinction worldwide? Let's put moral outrage in its proper perspective. Jeffrey "Free" Luers, State Prison, Salem
CORVALLIS NOT IDEAL I agree with Paul Nicholson's Viewpoint (6/16) that subsidizing Whole Foods will just add to the list of fruitless projects that started with the Eugene Downtown Pedestrian Mall. However, he is wrong to suggest that the grass is greener in downtown Corvallis. Thirty years ago, most Corvallis residents could walk downtown and find multiple department stores, supermarkets, hardware stores, lumberyards, car dealers and other businesses selling the practical necessities of modern life. Today, downtown Corvallis mostly consists of non-chain restaurants and specialty boutique stores. Even though I enjoy patronizing many of these businesses, Corvallis residents are being forced to drive out of town for common products that used to be available within walking or biking distance. The Corvallis no-growth activists have succeeded in stopping all shopping mall developments and so far they have stalled out the proposed Lowes' and Home Depot big box stores. Modern retail stores are only being built outside of Corvallis. The net result is additional environmental damage from more people driving out of town for necessities. Even though the population has not grown significantly over the last 30 years, increased traffic has caused bumper to bumper congestion on Highway 20 and the widening of Highway 34. The Corvallis First Alternative food co-op has planned for future competition from Whole Foods by opening a second store within walking distance of customers. I just wish more businesses would think this way. Thomas Kraemer, Corvallis
REPLICATE DEADWOOD Imagine that there's a good way through our current drought and the longer-term crises brought on by our changing of the planetary climate. In my imagination, those who identify themselves as conservatives return to the principles of conservation, a la Teddy Roosvelt, and join with us environmentalists on behalf of the land air and water. It's not such a far-fetched notion. We have, in Lane County, an incomparable example of just such an alliance. The Deadwood Creek watershed restoration project has been in place since the '80s. Hard work over many years by John Sundstrom, then the West Lane Water-and-Soil Conservation District Commissioner, and many others, led to a compact among all the contending parties: Forest Service, BLM, timber companies, small woodlot owners and environmentalists. The watershed restoration plan has already stabilized and extended riparian areas while allowing for reasonable harvest of private lands. Despite being chronically under-funded, it has improved conditions for all concerned, including the salmon and steelhead. The streams and the riparian areas which surround them will weather current drought conditions far better than they would've without the restoration plan. We need many more such restoration projects in our other watersheds. We could do far worse than to study the Deadwood Creek plan and try to replicate it elsewhere. Paul Prensky, Springfield
YUPPIE EMPORIUM I came across your online EW surfing the net. The Whole Foods Viewpoint article caught my eye. Here in Amherst, Mass., Whole Foods came to town several years ago and bought out Bread & Circus, our local natural foods grocery. Bread & Circus always bought from local growers as much as possible. WF claimed they would continue that practice. Bread & Circus supported local community fund-raising. Again WF announced they would be similarly active locally. Many years have passed and our great local store has morphed into an incredibly over-priced, designer, yuppie, supposedly natural food emporium. This year the store was doubled in size, the majority of it devoted to wine, cheese, chocolate and fancy coffees. Items in bulk seeds and grains were reduced, the bulk herb section practically eliminated and shoved into an awkward corner. The dairy product area discontinued using all local suppliers for eggs, milk and butter. Throughout the store local cottage industry products were replaced with more expensive items shipped in from out of state. Instead there is now an elaborate makeup area in cosmetics and stacks of conventional magazines at the registers. Much of the fresh food deli items are now prepared offsite along with many of the baked goods. As for involvement in community fund-raising, Whole Foods is notorious among local school fund-raisers as being the only large grocery that has not participated in any programs over the past 10 years. Make no mistake, Whole Foods is big business, devoted to profits and governed from Texas — no matter what the public relations people say. Kristine Sinicrope, Amherst, Mass.
WHAT PRICE A DUNE? A certain acreage of dunes in Florence has fallen to the Lane County Board of Commissioners due to back taxes, and is being put to appraisal for possible sale to benefit the Parks Department. So, what price a dune?! When modern "civilization" and the daily news have shredded our minds, what better than a dune to restore us to sanity and serenity — this stretch of rippled sand and dune grass, this wind, sun and star-swept vista to the sea — to return us to wholeness, imbedded in nature, our origin. It is urgent we have a public hearing in Florence at the earliest possible. It is unthinkable to sacrifice, for a temporary boost in the Park's budget, this treasure for the generations! Aldine Rubinstein, Eugene
SILLY AWARD I nominate Emily Wille (6/23) for silly letter of the week award. I'm sure her son was not the only top graduate from South Eugene high school who couldn't find a job this summer. Listen, my dear, jobs are always hard to find in Eugene. Be glad that he is in Northwestern University. I'm sure that he will not have to worry about a job after graduation, but maybe not in Eugene. You say that you attended the UO for graduate classes expecting to get a job. Ha. Ha. Ha. Welcome to Eugene reality. Portland is only up the road and there are plenty of jobs here, including McDonald's, the same outfit in Eugene that hires students and BA's without BS. Jerry Harris, Portland
CRUSHING CARS David Hazen's letter (6/16) was right on target regarding the gas/oil industry's and the car companies' grip on our lives. He is right when he notes that EVs (electric vehicles) are efficient and inexpensive. They exist and have been made by Ford, Toyota, and GM to comply with California environmental laws. They have sold some, but leased out the majority. They're great cars; I've actually driven one of them. It was sweet and quiet and fast and didn't rely on oil or gas (which, in my opinion, provides the funding for both Mideast extremism as well as corporate ecoterrorism against our planet). However, gas and car company lobbyists have succeeded in getting that law changed. Now, crazy as it seems, the car companies are taking all of their leased cars back, not allowing them to be resold (even at a much higher price), and having them crushed. Yep, crushed. I've been learning about this some through the website http://dontcrush.com— the Campaign to Save Electric Cars. Check it out on your wireless laptop the next time you're stuck in gridlock traffic, your children in the back seat nauseous from gas fumes. Kaz Sussman, Junction City
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