Mailbox

O Letters

HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY? Send your thoughts to editor@bendsource.com.

Letters must be received by noon Friday for inclusion in the following week’s paper. Please limit letters to 250 words. Submission does not guarantee publication. Opinions printed here do not constitute an editorial endorsement of said opinions.

Letter of the week receives $5 to Palate!

CORRECTIONS:

Last week’s story, “Cranston Approaches Bail Hearing,” listed the wrong date for his court hearing. It was set for Monday, not Tuesday. We regret the error.

GUEST OPINION: WANT YOUR WATER PROTECTED? VOTE

Thank you for the focus on water (Jan 27). Regarding Action #7- “Advocate/Participate: Vote,” with the May Primary Election three months away, and much of Central Oregon redistricted into Congressional District 5, now is a good time to learn about the voting record of Kurt Schrader. Clean, safe water is a basic right, and people expect governmental leaders to keep citizens safe. Representative Schrader, however, has consistently voted for legislation that would benefit the industries that add toxins to our environment, even with the risk of his own constituents suffering the health consequences of polluted water. Schrader’s voting record on keeping pollution out of water is stunningly bad. Uncoincidentally, there is a correlation across Schrader’s voting record, his campaign contributions from oil, gas, and chemical industries, and their policy agendas. Schrader voted to: - Reduce safeguards that protect communities from exposure to PCB, arsenic, and mercury toxins in seafood. - Increase natural gas drilling and reduce the ability of impacted communities to have a meaningful voice in the environmental impact review process (e.g., Jordon Cove LNG pipeline). - Undo laws that protect the public from nuclear waste storage which would have impacted Oregonians living downstream of the Columbia River from Hanford. - Lift the ban on exporting crude oil and increase drilling off our coasts, in the Arctic, and on our public lands. -Exempt pipelines from environmental review. - Undermine the Environmental Protection Agency’s scientific review process. - Weaken EPA protections by imposing unnecessary bureaucracy, disingenuously under the guise of “regulatory reform.” - Undermine the National Environmental Policy Act and interfere with the public’s right to provide input. Beyond his fame as “the Congressman that likened Trump’s Impeachment to "a lynching,” Schrader is perhaps best known for being hellbent on weakening or eliminating clean water protections. He voted to weaken or repeal elements of the Clean Water Act at least eight times, and eventually succeeded in repealing the Clean Water Rule.

So, it is no surprise that Schrader has received $298,250 from the oil and gas industry since taking office. His donors include the largest pesticide manufacturers. He has a clear pattern of voting against protections for waters, while aligning with the agendas of his top contributors. Voters should know that the League of Conservation Voters rates Schrader so poorly, he is in the BOTTOM FIVE among House Democrats, nationwide.

Throughout my career, I’ve seen natural resource protections "ebb and flow." Water protections have been under serious attack in recent years as corporations got into pockets of some politicians. We need healthy waters, environmentally ethical representatives and strong leaders to protect our precious resources. We need citizens who want clean water to be ready to vote this May. — Monica Tomosy, retired, served as a U.S. Forest Service research program leader, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist and U.S. Geological Survey program manager.

EXCLUSIVE THIS WEEK IN:

THE SOURCE WEEKLY'S E-NEWSLETTER

GET THE NEWS BEFORE THE PAPER EVEN HITS STANDS WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE TO THE CASCADES READER. When big news breaks, the Cascades Reader is the first place to share the scoop. Don’t miss out—sign up today and be on top of the biggest stories for our state and region.

Start your day with Central Oregon's best source for news & local events. CONSTRUCTING THE FUTURE

Every day Americans scurry off in winter darkness to work physical construction sites and business-as-usual office settings. But where are folks scurrying off to work on social construction programs to build a better society and renew our nation’s traditional commitment to ethical living?

We are bending our ingenuity to perfect drone use, green materials and smart machinery in construction technology. We gleefully bend our ingenuity to work on hands-free driving, water jetpacks, talking hearing aids and Mars technology.

But where is the programming to develop wise leaders in society and, for example, in social media, rather than the current crop of non-stop exploiters? Where are the shops working hard to train elected officials from turning into oligarchs and monarchists, to help folks read and understand the Constitution, to promote rule of law and responsible citizenship, to promote more seriousness and less silliness in cultural entertainment, to put children, youth and mature adults in touch with history? — Kimball Shinkoskey

CRANSTON APPROACHES BAIL HEARING NEWS, 2/3

Cranston and Butler should both go to jail. It seems that she was an accomplice in this situation by video taping and following him during this event and shows absolutely no remorse or shock that her fiance just shot and killed a man in the the audio of the video....like it was some everyday occurrence. And why in the hell is it legal to be in a bar drinking alcohol and have a loaded gun on you? Guns and booze don’t belong together. How does that make any sense? We need to change some laws. My heart goes out to Barry Washington, his family and the BIPOC community. This should have never happened and I hope justice is served to these people for killing another human being. —Nicole Perullo via bendsource.com

Q&A WITH BEND’S FAVORITE LOCAL REDDITOR NEWS, 2/3

Thank you for this, Jack! I only recently discovered Tailor’s work, but I really appreciate it. I live in Sisters, but I try to pay attention to what’s going on with housing & houselessness elsewhere. I attend too many meetings as it is, so being able to stay in tune with what Bend is up to via Tailor has been so helpful. Much appreciated to you both! —Mandee Seeley via bendsource.com

Letter of the Week:

Mandee: Wouldn’t it be great if every town in Central Oregon had someone like this? I mean, those government-mandated city meeting notes are great and all, but….

In any case, come on by for your gift card to Palate!

—Nicole Vulcan