Posted: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 12:00 am
Regarding the proposal to use public funds to finance a facility for the Portland Trail Blazers (or any other professional athletic team), the issue is very clear:
Should the taxpayers subsidize a billionaire to provide a play space for a bunch of spoiled millionaires?
If the Blazers cannot make it financially, there are two possible reasons: Not enough people will buy the product, or the operation is being mismanaged. Public funding will not solve either of these problems.
Irving E. Dayton
Corvallis
Let's hear it for leader of the band
The excellent story about the Corvallis Community Band in the Entertainer on March 10 is appreciated. It caught the flavor of the band and the enthusiasm of its members.
Steve Matthes, the director of the band, was mentioned only briefly in the story. Steve has been our director for 25 years and has shepherded the band from a small, rather casual group to its present 65-member size and ability to play demanding programs.
Besides directing the band, he selects the music and he chairs and sets the agenda for the member board of directors. Without his guidance and dedication, the band in its present form would not exist.
Thanks, Steve, for your leadership and unfailing good humor. We'll be watching for your downbeat at our next concert.
David Wallace
Corvallis
Congress stepped up in port fiasco
Finally! Congress has been shocked into assuming its oversight responsibilities of the executive branch in the flap over the port operations agreement with United Arab Emirates. I believe the constitutional provisions for checks and balances are vital to our democracy, and Congress has been derelict in its duty until now!
Marjorie Chilcote
Corvallis
Expose media's conservative bias
I'm writing to ask you to report on the new study showing the mainstream media's right-wing bias, and to urge the media to include more progressive voices.
A new study by researchers from mediamatters.org shows that the "conservative bias" claim by many progressives is true after all, and reveals a strong conservative bias in the news content of nearly all major media outlets. The media must include more, if not some, progressive voices and provide balanced coverage.
A new study, published by MIT Press in the "Quarterly Journal of Economics," is in it self completely biased. It is obvious to anyone watching NBC, CBS or Fox News that there are few progressive voices in media today, save Air America.
The conservatives have spent 25 years trying to convince the American public that the media is unfair and unbalanced. Well, they are right; the media has a clearly allowed more conservatives than progressives. If conservatives believe that middle-of-the-road Americans are actually progressives, maybe, they're right, and sensible America is left.
Jonathan Baltera
Corvallis
Inavale's closure only the beginning
I congratulate the Corvallis School Board on its decision to close Inavale school, thereby slightly reducing excess physical plant. However, it is time to complete the job and reduce the plant further. Moreover, the reduction decisions should be made now so the students from Inavale are not moved twice.
Continuing my analysis of data in the Programs and Resources Review Committee Report, from the voter-taxpayer's perspective - the best investment decision I can find, in addition to closing Inavale, is to close Cheldelin Middle School, Franklin, Wilson, completely close Harding, eliminate modulars where feasible and reconfigure the entire school system. The details of my analysis can be found at www.peak.org/~detweij. The annual savings second year is approximately $1.2 million, and about 1,400 students would be moved.
Moreover, if the movement is made this summer, disruption would be minimal.
The Oregon financial picture seems to be getting brighter, but to depend on the picture improving enough so that future changes to the K-12 budget do not affect the Corvallis school system is not a prudent approach. Besides, why would the Corvallis taxpayers want to fund empty seats?
As I have said before, the board needs to demonstrate an ability to make timely investment decisions resulting in a reduction of excess physical plant capacity before asking the voters for more money.
John H. Detweiler
Corvallis
Congress aided in big public theft
The theft of $1,500 in books from our local library by two thieves was nothing when compared to the billions being stolen by big corporations with the assistance of members of Congress.
These latter thefts go unpunished and the "thieves" reap immense rewards.
The latest scheme emptying taxpayers' pockets was reported in the March 6 issue of Time magazine under the banner, "A Magic Way To Make Billions."
Language is being inserted into the budget reconciliation bill that "will roll back the price of a barrel of crude oil to what it sold for two years ago." The effect of this roll back is to reward a "select group of investors and companies…with billions of dollars in tax subsidies…from the marketing of a dubious concoction of synthetic fuel" (some plants "spray newly-mined coal with diesel fuel, pine-tar resin, lime … or other substances.").
Between 2003 and 2005, "Time estimates the synfuel industry raked in $9 billion in tax credits." Not a bad haul, but not enough for the greedy hogs who slurp at the public trough. The backdating clause that will give them more was "inserted into the Tax Relief Act, which provides aid for Hurricane Katrina victims and sets new policies for tax-exempt groups. Many lawmakers, if not most, don't even know it's there." Sen. Gordon Smith proposes a similar provision.
If punishment is to fit the crime, then the creators and abusers of this latest sinfuel tax-credit scam should be buried under several tons of coal.
Ron Maclean
Corvallis
Housing project needs sidewalks
I heard that Stephan Smith, the owner of the yellow house bordering South 13th and Cedar streets, intends on putting in seven high-density homes here in Philomath.
While I prefer single residential homes for the quality of the neighborhood, I am most concerned with the traffic and pedestrian issues and the lack of sidewalk for pedestrians in front of the yellow house on South 13th.
On the entire South 13th Street in city limits, this section is absolutely unacceptable. I have seen on more than one occasion per week women with baby carriages and/or children bicycling trying to navigate to the nearest safe location being forced to walk in the road because this house does not have a sidewalk, road edge or any way for them to get off the road.
An older handicapped woman was hit on her bicycle two years ago by a car going by. She didn't report it to the police because the car was going over 50 mph (in the supposed 25 mph zone) and she never even saw it hit her and didn't have an accurate description. She simply went home, nursed her wounds and told us neighbors about it later.
Please make it mandatory that this home and the adjoining property to Cedar must put in sidewalks for pedestrians before any agreement is made for construction.
Kathleen Lillis
Philomath
Invitation
In honor of "Sunshine Week" this week, the Gazette-Times editorial board is inviting our readers to meet with us Thursday at 4 p.m. in the main conference room at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, 645 N.W. Monroe Ave.
The informal meeting will double as our weekly editorial board meeting, in which we discuss the interesting editorial-worthy topics in the news.
We also will be discussing threats to open government and how the public and press can work together to address them.