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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!

POEM FOR THE HOMELESS

Jack be NIMBY Jack be quick, The way you treat the homeless makes me sick

What is Savory?

High Desert Mountains is where we live Emergency meetings about winter WTF gives?

One thing we know by now... Fall and Winter months can be frigid. This is no hunch

A FRIEND DIED IN THE ALLEY BEHIND RITE AID!

That impetus

Is that what it takes to keep our disenfranchised friends safe?

Stacey, Tara, Morgan, Jody, Colleen and Gwen.

This is their responsibility Since why, how and when?

A small group of dedicated humans. Burnout is real.

They have shoulders it is true.

But you, this is where you come in...

Help is given through clothes, food, volunteer hours and funds Gratitude

Guess what is rude NIMBY Acronym sudo-ridiculous

NOT IN MY BACK YARD!!

You refuse the physical space life for you, linen and lace.

Goddess forbid my children see poor people in my neighborhood.

They may teach my child empathy, or that consumerism isn't the key. —Cherie Swenson

HOW MUCH SHOULD VACCINES COST?

We’ve heard a lot of good news about coronavirus vaccines lately. From Moderna vaccine to the Pfizer vaccine to the Oxford vaccine, science is working, and help is on the way.

Since the start of the race for a COVID-19 vaccine, the U.S. government has funneled more than $10 billion in taxpayer dollars to pharmaceutical companies for a vaccine. The Moderna vaccine was 100% taxpayer funded; Moderna spent zero of its own dollars on it. Of the $2.5 billion it received, $1 billion initially funded the research and development and $1.5 billion was granted to secure doses in advance, with no guarantee that vaccines will be affordable.

Typically, taxpayers pay for about 80% of drug research. Almost every new drug begins with NIH-funded labs. The three main funding sources for pharmaceutical research are: National Institute for Health (NIH), University labs (often funded by taxpayers), and non-profit organizations like the Gates Foundation.

Often the private drug firms enter the picture only after the public has paid for the development and clinical trials of new treatments.

No corporation owns the vaccines, yet. We need governments and multilateral organizations working together to direct as many companies and institutions as possible to produce and distribute the vaccines.

Every one of the vaccines are the people’s vaccine, funded with tax dollars. The coronavirus vaccines should be free for all Americans, regardless of their ability to pay. —Jan Phillips

RE: PUSH TO EXTEND EVICTION MORATORIUM, NEWS, 11/26

Funny how there is no mention of interest-free property tax deferral for landlords. The state gets theirs, while landlords no longer have legal authority to collect rent, of which around 75% goes to pay for property taxes, property maintenance and management. If the 9+ months of rent moratorium does not constitute unlawful government seizure of property (rental income = property) under the 4th Amendment of the U.S. constitution, I don’t know what ever would. —Stephen Demergasso, via bendsource.com

As a single father of a 2nd grader I’m unable to work unless it’s remote. I have to be a teacher And CANNOT get a job. Not my fault. Without the ability to take my child to school I can’t work.

Please pass this law and let my landlord get paid. It’s not their fault either. Thanks Gov. Brown. —Matthew Blank, A scared father who loves his daughter, via bendsource.com

Letter of the Week:

Matthew: I’m very sorry to hear about the situation you’re in. This is a difficult time for so many. It’s far from the amount of support families like yours need right now, but please let us offer you a literal cup of good cheer. Come on by for your gift card to Palate! —Nicole Vulcan

EXCLUSIVE THIS WEEK IN:

Gift Guides, Online Edition! Want a way to share our awesome gift guide ideas, found in this issue and the next one, with your family and friends? Check out the Cascades Reader throughout the week for links to local gift ideas.

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