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THE CITY LISTENED When is a speed bump not a speed bump? When it's a speed HUMP! Had Nolan West (11/3) bothered to come to the first of two evening meetings (a third was never promised) scheduled by the City of Eugene to discuss traffic calming on Sorrel Way and Palomino Drive, he would know the difference. He would have received a written copy of the PowerPoint presentation given by Rob Inerfeld, senior transportation planner, which adequately explained all types of traffic calming measures currently used in Eugene. The city listened and was open to residents' suggestions for slowing the relentless speeders in our neighborhood. A wide variety of people (not just elderly and retired non-drivers) were present for both meetings. Many participants have lived here for more than 20 years, but none for as short a time as newcomer Nolan West. West claims that the city is in a rush to install the speed humps. We've been waiting for years for the city to implement this project! He also claims that there was not adequate representation from the neighbors at the second meeting. However, prior to each meeting the city sent 530 postcards inviting residents to attend. Had this issue been a priority to more people, they would have been present, or if unable, taken the opportunity to contact the city. Let's give credit to those who did attend, 34 at the first and 27 at the second meetings. These are people who really care. We recognize that these gradual, elevated portions of pavement are a sacrifice for those who live in this area and travel these streets daily (and hopefully a deterrent to those who choose to cut through on our streets at excessive speed). However, speed humps are not a health risk when crossed at an appropriate speed, and according to Inerfeld they improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists. The City of Eugene Fire Department has given its approval. And the project is expected to come in at closer to $20,000, not the $30,000 maximum budgeted by the city. Most of us in the Sorrel/Palomino area have a big investment in our neighborhood. We desire a safe place for our children, pets and parked cars. What kind of neighbor wouldn't want the same? Is it any surprise that Nolan West has been trying to subvert the covenants put in place in 1953 to protect the integrity of our neighborhood in order to subdivide his property and reap the profits of building not one, but two out-of-character homes? Sadly, there is really only one angry person in this neighborhood. Randy Perkal, Catherine Roth, Luke Roth, Gary Horsfall, Joe Yates,Patty Yates, Steve Gibson, Debbie Gibson, and Carolyn Frosaker
YOU GO, SALLY This is an open letter to Bill Fredericks, who tried to put-down Sally Sheklow last week (11/3) in the Weekly's Letters, yet may have simply revealed his own restricted view. Why do you read Sally's column if you don't like it? The Weekly is free. We are free to pick it up or not, and free to read or free not to read. Don't we all skim over it page by page, and just read what interests us? I don't read everything. But I always read Lois Wadsworth, the letters, I skim the Calendar, and I often read regular writers like Mary O'Brien or Sheklow. With Mary, you know she is going to be talking about "public interest science." With Sally, you know she is probably going to weave gayness into her Weekly articles, because that is the writing career she has created for herself in Eugene. Good work Sally! Deb Huntley, Eugene
IT WAS GOOD And on the sixth day God created evolution. He, She, It, saw it was good. Then She, He, It, rested. So get over it. Philip L. Dietz, Springfield
OTTER THERAPY A note to follow Mary O'Brien's column on otters (11/3): I ride my bike through the West Eugene Wetlands twice a day when it is not raining. I have seen a group of four otters numerous times, but then I won't see them for a few weeks and then they appear again. Don't be disappointed if you don't spot them on your first visit. These wetlands are special to me, and to my wife who walks there almost daily. Watching the birds and other wildlife is the best Prozac there is. WEP would destroy the peace of the wetlands, encourage urban sprawl, and use our tax dollars so people in Veneta and beyond can get to work in Eugene a few minutes faster. Hurray for Kitty Piercy for voting "no" on WEP. Richard Hand, Eugene
GENDER REALITY Thank you so much, Risa Stephanie Bear, for your viewpoint article (11/10) on your experiences doing something that seemingly heterosexual, female-appearing biological females (FABF) rarely even think about: using the public restroom. It takes great bravery to speak out as you do. I agree that our entire community loses in our desperate clingings to binary black and white ideas of gender and gender identity, and non-acceptance (and worse) of those who don't. I don't understand the fear of a much more realistic fluid continuum of gender, gender identity and sexual orientation. It saddens me that you have to speak out and put your safety at risk instead of the culturally dominant FABF speaking out (and this applies to men as well). I am one of those FABF who doesn't even think about such things as using a gendered public restroom. How privileged! I make an effort to be respectful to all individuals regardless of appearance, identity or orientation and breach topics like this in my classroom, but what else can I do? Thanks again for your bravery and leadership. Bree McKenzie , Eugene
LEAVE BIKES ALONE On Friday, Oct. 28, while on a Critical Mass bicycle ride, I and a few others were detained by the Eugene police. The woman next to me was actually physically pulled off her bike while slowing to a stop as the officer had requested. We were asked about our involvement in other groups as if we were suspected terrorists, and then given a speech about safety. Ostensibly, people have been complaining to the police that Critical Mass makes them feel unsafe on the road. I am dubious about this, as the monthly rides have been happening for several years and I have yet to see a negative letter to the editor about us. "Unsafe" is a word better used when talking about, say, climate change or dependence on foreign oil. The police creatively interpreted the law by giving us citations for disorderly conduct. Yes, sometimes cyclists at the back of the group choose to run a red light to keep up with the front, which is a traffic violation, not a criminal misdemeanor. I would advise the Eugene police to save resources by taking an example from the Berkeley police, who treat Critical Mass as a "super-vehicle" with the right to stick together as long as the front makes it through an intersection lawfully. And I would advise them to also to cut the unnecessary intimidation tactics. Ashley Wright, Eugene
NOT MY FAVORITE I, too, was appalled, yet not surprised, at readers' choice of Jeffrey "Free" Luers for "best activist." It takes a certain level of studied immaturity — something Eugene keeps getting famous for — to project the most admiration on actions suited to a half-baked terrorist, while putting the real activist (Peg Morton) in second place. Or maybe I'm deluded to think that "best" has anything to do with "effective." I raise the issue of maturity because changing the world ain't a piece of pie. It usually takes multiple lifetimes of commitment to get anywhere. If it were easy, we'd have solved all our social problems by now and be living in Utopia. If it were so easy, the commies would have taken over the globe, saving the happy proletariat from drowning in wretched Wal-Mart attempts at happiness. (Or, a free market world would have cast off all vestiges of power-crazed imperialism, living happily ever after.) Since none of this has thus far transpired, it could be because knee-jerk progressives as well as just about every other political stripe of reformer or "activist" lack the vision, as well as the selflessness, to begin any real change. Anyone with a genuine résumé — and this means not only the overused examples like King and Gandhi, but also the thousands we never heard about in school, due to an aforementioned studied immaturity — would tell you that honesty, harmlessness and willingness for self-sacrifice are the cornerstones of any lasting and fundamental shift in human affairs. Vip Short , Eugene
DRIVERS NEED LOVE Lane Transit District bus drivers are courteous, kind, very helpful, and are willing to direct us to the bus we need next. What a bounty and a great service. But do we appreciate it? Our drivers rarely get a 10-minute break to go to the bathroom, grab a drink, or eat. As you board the bus, the bus drivers say "good morning" with a smile. Do we have the courtesy to respond with a "good morning," or "how are you?" Most passengers don't even respond. But the bus drivers are just as human as we are. I have heard some passengers speak ill of our wonderful bus drivers. Do they not know that if they would take the time on their way to work to be courteous, their day would be enriched by these working people? Riders complain if our drivers are late, and give them misery over something that is out of their control. Heavy one-way traffic, accidents, people waiting to get on the bus without their money or bus pass in hand, all can cause a bus to be late. Wouldn't it be great if we had the money or pass in hand when boarding? Or, if we exited through the rear door when the power-lift is being used? This would be a time saver for all. Oregon law states that all motorists are supposed to stop when the bus driver puts on his/her left turn signal to enter traffic. How many of us obey that law? The drivers have a schedule to keep just as you do. It would make the bus drivers' jobs much more pleasant and easier if we put forth the effort to assist them in being on time. How would you like to go back to March 7-14 when there was no bus at all? I don't think you would. These comments are made by the white-haired lady who upon entering the bus always says, "Good morning. How are you today?" Barb Gimm, Eugene
TWO DISSENTERS In your news brief on Rep. Barbara Lee (10/27) you stated that Oregon's Wayne Morse was the only U.S. senator to vote against the Tonkin Gulf Resolution in 1964 that escalated the U.S. war against Vietnam. This is an affront to the memory of Sen. Ernest Gruening, Alaska's first senator, who also voted against that congressional act of war. Morse and Gruening were the only dissenters. It is ironic that a newspaper would overlook this great man, who early in life forsook medicine (he had a degree from Harvard Medical School) to become a journalist. He served as managing editor of the New York Tribune, editor of the New York Post and editor of The Nation. Before his appointment by FDR to senator, and later by election to the same position, he served as governor of the territory. His statue is one of Alaska's allotted two in the National Statuary Hall. I had the honor of having dinner with this man not long after his anti-war vote. He was in Seattle, where I lived, to give a speech. The press was invited to the pre-speech dinner, and I attended as the representative of a neighborhood weekly. The only other member of the press to attend was from the University of Washington Daily. We were astonished at this snub by the corporate media, but it fits a long pattern of such behavior by the American Empire's so-called "free press," who then, as now, were cheerleaders for the war. That is, until the public turned against it. The senator made no reference to the snub, and was a very gracious dinner companion. He was defeated in the 1968 primary — no doubt wounded by his courageous opposition to the war. Gary Craig, Eugene
NO EXCUSES Todd Stout (11/3) is really upset about the "Best of Eugene" selection of Jeff "Free" Luers as "Best Activist." He accuses Free's supporters of "glorifying" a "serial arsonist." I haven't read a single letter from a supporter of Jeff arguing that his actions should be replicated. Indeed, most of his allies make it clear they don't support his actions, but that 22 years is too much time for a crime which harmed nobody physically. I'm curious, when was the last time Stout mustered the energy to write a letter concerning environmental destruction, violence against women or police brutality? I'm guessing he never has. But courageous Stout can muster the energy to write a letter arguing that a young man should "never get out of prison" — why? Because he torched a few SUVs! I'm glad the majority of EW readers are apparently more compassionate than Stout. Steven Gider, Eugene
TORTURED VALUES The core of American values have always been the inalienable rights of mankind. This philosophy has set us apart and held us up as a model for other nations. Since the Geneva Convention, America has exercised its founding philosophy by practicing humane treatment of prisoners. Every year the State Department issues a report accusing other nations of violating international treaties forbidding "cruel, inhuman and degrading" treatment of prisoners. Now, the president and vice president are calling for the exemption of the U.S. from that philosophy, allowing for torture of foreign nationals by the CIA. Ostensibly this is to help us in a terror emergency, but how do you define an "emergency"? And who decides if the detainee is guilty? In the last few years we've seen secret prisons around the world where suspected terrorists "disappear" without civil oversight, Red Cross registry, or any representation at all. Prisoners have been tortured and killed with little accountability. Even at home, under the guise of homeland defense, we are searched every time we travel by air, our web browsing, e-mail, and library rentals can be secretly inspected, our phones can be tapped without justification, and we may even have to sign a "loyalty oath" just to attend a political rally where questions to candidates are pre-approved. Enough is enough! American policies must uphold the basic rights of mankind! Jason A. Kilgore, Junction City
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