LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Downtown needs help right now

I will admit that I had mixed feelings about the proposal to have Beam Development and KWG both chosen to breathe new life into our dead downtown core.

Then I read that David Monk of Citizens for Public Accountability, former Eugene City Councilor Paul Nicholson and activist Mary O'Brien are all opposed to the union. That settled it for me. I am now fully behind the Beam/KWG partnership.

As for the threat of an initiative opposing the project, I say go for it. Such a vote would put to rest the notion that these three represent the majority of opinion in Eugene. The people of Eugene want the downtown to be transformed into a vital mix of stores and places to live. We are tired of no-growth groups killing opportunities by processing them to death.

Finally, let's drop the myopic view that anything from outside of Eugene is no good. There is a reason why some national stores are so successful: People like to shop at them.

And is anyone else noticing that Springfield has become the vital southern Willamette Valley community? First our hospital, then Syman- tec and other businesses, and now they have the major Cinco de Mayo celebration. They are even kicking our butts on diversity!

I have worked downtown for 25 years. Our core city center is an eyesore and an embarrassment. It's time to stop talking.

Hanging flower baskets, pretty sculptures and a hodgepodge of nonprofits aren't enough. We need viable businesses that people actually will shop at, and we need them soon.

RANDY KOLB

Eugene

What example are we setting?

For me, the essence of spirituality is the ability to feel empathy and responsibility.

That is what prompts us to be civilized. We have humanitarian impulses that cause us to feed the hungry and to build hospitals to treat the sick and the wounded. It gives parents the ability to set fine examples for the behavior of the following generations.

We now are living in a dark time when our leaders reiterate the mantra "we do not torture" while evidence of torture is recorded by witnesses and cameras. Regardless of the mountains of footage and written words, the mantra goes on. This example is set for future generations.

Courageous people are protesting. We need much greater numbers.

Where do you stand in the count?

BELLA BARNETT

Eugene

Voters have no faith in officials

The voters have spoken with both obstinacy and ignorance on the income tax.

However, I think they have made an even more profound and inclusive statement. They have no faith in their county officials.

If I were one of the three Lane County commissioners who supported the income tax, I would resign and let the remaining two commissioners and the other anti-tax people deal with the outcome. I also think the district attorney and sheriff should be included in the resignations, because the voters apparently don't think their appeals for funding were real, either.

On second thought, the sheriff probably should be exempt, because the only thing I heard from him was some whining about the employees with young families who would be put out of work. Sheriff Russ Burger has been a real phantom during this whole process.

As the elected head of one of the county agencies most affected by the outcome of this vote, he did the least to support it or even make his feelings known to the public. I think he let his office and employees down. He needn't worry about those employees being out of work; there are plenty of law enforcement jobs in Washington and California, and they will be glad to get the people we spent a great deal of money to train. They pay a lot more than Lane County, too.

When the time comes for Lane County to hire new law enforcement people, only those who can't get hired elsewhere will bother to apply.

Keep you fingers crossed that the feds bail us out.

LES BLUM

Springfield

Smoke in air affects everyone

Once again, our skies have been filled with smoke in and around Eugene. Instead of enjoying the gorgeous spring days, my kids and I are experiencing sore throats, coughing, irritated eyes and asthma.

I was told at Lane Regional Air Protection Agency recently that the source of smoke was slash burning approved by the Oregon Forestry Department. I feel frustrated that there often are significant amounts wood smoke in the winter, field burning in the summer, and, as now, slash burning that pollutes our air. We experience not only the short-term effects that lead to immediate discomfort, but also long-term effects of microscopic particulates on all of our lungs and hearts.

A lot of evidence is accumulating about the dangers of particulates from smoke. It causes me to wonder if LRAPA is just another ineffectual, revenue-collecting agency.

I also wonder how we can loosen the grip of hands tied by special interests or short-term interests, by people who defend their "right" to burn, whether in their wood stoves or in the grass fields or forests.

I am hopeful that we can come together with our politicians, LRAPA and all of us as individuals to make a difference in this issue that affects the health of us all.

SUZANNE GASCOYNE

Eugene

Letters help adjust priorities

Last night, as I sprayed my bare feet with the garden hose, grateful for a patch of veggies to water and the water to water with under the moon we earthlings haven't quite wrecked yet, I thought about one of my favorite uber-liberal letter writers: Don Richey.

Over the years, through his wonderful tongue-in-cheek, over-the-top commentaries, Richey has taught me how the hard-core far right thinks. Thanks to Richey and his frequent reminders of how life could be if I didn't pay attention, I've found the courage to challenge my government over the illegal and devastating Iraq war.

Now I phone and write my senators and congressmen often. Because of Richey's clever demonstrations (his ice-on-the-counter experiment), I now see global warming as the serious situation it is. I recycle more, drive less, turn down the heat and buy nearly everything used.

Richey's May 15 letter, written after a night raising his blood pressure in his hot tub drinking whisky and smoking a nice cigar beneath the very same moon under which I stood, left me thinking: If things fall apart because I haven't heeded the crucial messages Richey sends, we might end up roommates in the same crummy hospital - no moon in view, no sounds of laughter, some weird food-like substance to swallow, our health insurance and paychecks long gone, begging for fresh air and welfare cash to see us through.

Yikes. So, I lift my glass of clean, precious water to Don Richey. Keep those letters coming!

CAROLE BIONDELLO

Eugene

Start by funding public safety

Now that the voters have squashed the "cry wolf" tactic of all government services with the defeat of the proposed Lane County income tax measure, let's all take a deep breath and start anew.

First, let's put public safety at the top of the list. Fund it fully from top to bottom. All other services pale by comparison.

We have an obligation to protect the public. If tax dollars are spread so thin that public safety is compromised, we have not only missed the boat, we aren't even near the water.

It is imperative that our elected officials protect their constituents rather than intimidate them with threats of criminals at large. Perhaps there needs to be a proposed measure that will allow the voting public to dictate public safety as the first priority to be funded adequately and all other services can compete for the remaining millions upon millions of dollars still available.

If and when the federal timber payments cease, public safety should not see a decrease in funding, as it is the most important service our local government needs to keep in place.

W.J. FREEMAN

Eugene

Voters say workers expendable

OK, I can deal with the fact that my police officer father is drastically underpaid, forced to work with archaic technology and very few resources.

I can even handle the memory of having to sit on a countertop in the back of my math class my senior year of high school, because there were literally not enough desks for everyone in class.

But what I cannot get behind is the possible firing of about 250 workers in our dear, sweet county. Lane County workers, laborers, police officers and others who rely on tax dollars to pay their rent, car insurance and grocery bills are left out in the cold by Lane County voters who, once again, decide that their jobs just aren't worth it.

Sure, you're essentially forcing my brother and many of his co-workers to leave town to try to find new jobs - but hey, at least you're saving a couple bucks in taxes, right?

I guess I can understand.

HANNA OLSEN

Eugene

The Register-Guard welcomes letters on topics of general interest. Our length limit is 250 words; all letters are subject to condensation. Writers are limited to one letter per calendar month. Because of the volume of mail, not all letters can be printed. Letters must be signed with the writer's full name. An address and daytime telephone number are needed.

Mail letters to: Mailbag, P.O. Box 10188, Eugene, OR 97440-2188

Fax: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]