You are viewing an archived issue of the Eugene Weekly. To return to our current issue, please click here.

		GROWING PAINS Do you think communities should legally have the right to curb growth if it was the will of the voters? Currently, Oregon cities are required by law to accommodate anticipated growth. Every five years, cities have to assess their growth and availability of land inside the UGB, and make room for 20 years' worth of anticipated future growth. This law is the bread and butter for construction companies, real estate agents and others. If communities were able to stop growth, it would be a financial disaster for them. But not everyone benefits from growth. It often hurts small businesses. It ends up costing existing residents more in taxes for additional services: schools, police and fire protection, roads, sewer lines, water treatment, etc. There's the loss of quality of life to communities from increased traffic, noise, and pollution, and a loss of natural land and open space, as well as an increase in resource consumption. Aren't we already consuming too much? Is it worth it? Patrick Bronson Eugene   SMUT SPARING I have mixed feelings about the recent letters to the editor about sexually exploitive advertising in EW. Personally, I hate to see them, but at the same time I have never quite sorted out my feelings about journalistic freedom. However, those letters got me thinking. I am sure that if you were deluged with potential advertisers and had to pick your favorites, you would much rather run ads for local businesses! The economy has been tough for small businesses. Our business, the other contractors we work with, and the people we patronize, are all talking about ways to be creative in the current economy. It is tempting to save money by cutting our advertising budgets, but I think that it is more valuable to support our local business, and EW, by advertising with you. I have been around long enough to remember my shock when the Willamette Valley Observer went under. Then What's Happening started as a simple events schedule, but rapidly grew to be the insightful lifeline it is today. What would we do without you? I don't want to take you for granted. So Joe and I want to remind other local businesses to support EW, and just maybe you won't even need to run those smutty ads. Cathy Boucher Eugene   NAKED LUNCH I love the CHOW! restaurant guide. I always look forward to each season's listings, articles and wonderful tidbits. However, I do have an opinion about the cover of the Spring edition. I am not a prude — far from it — but it's very unappetizing to me to see naked bodies on the front cover. I appreciate the artistic nature of the picture; however, I'd rather see flowers, or a restaurant, or people (dressed) having fun. Chery Hunt Eugene   FUELING WISDOM Drilling in the pristine wilderness of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is not wise energy policy. The fact is we can save consumers billions of dollars while reducing our dependence on foreign oil, creating jobs and securing our energy future. It just takes a little of America's technological know-how to develop newer, cleaner sources of energy, and by making our cars, homes and appliances more energy efficient. Increasing average fuel efficiency for new cars and light trucks to 39 miles per gallon over the next decade would save 51 billion barrels of oil over the next 50 years — more than 15 times the likely yield from the Arctic Refuge. This would save American consumers billions at the gas pump, while making our air healthier for our children to breathe. The amazing thing is that we can do this today, whereas even the oil industry admits it would take 10 long years before a drop of oil could be taken from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Congress can do so much more to encourage what is already happening in America's auto industry. Ford is planning to sell a hybrid model of its Escape SUV. Toyota and General Motors recently announced they are installing highly efficient hybrid engines in their SUVs as well. We need to get these powerful, safe, money-savers on the market sooner rather than later. And let's keep the drills and oil spills out of the wildlife-rich wilderness of the Arctic Refuge. Kate Waterbury Eugene More letters can be found in this week's coverstory. LETTERS POLICY: We welcome letters on all topics and will print as many as space allows. Please limit length to 250 words, keep submissions to once a month, and include your address and phone number for our files. E-mail to editor@eugeneweekly.com, fax to 484-4044, or mail to 1251 Lincoln, Eugene 97401.
		Table of Contents | News | Views | Calendar| Film | Music | Culture | Classifieds | Personals | Contact | EW Archive