Opinion

I preface this letter by saying: I am a big music fan. I know how sweet it can be to bop through the park listening to your own private soundtrack.
Recently while walking through Drake Park I witnessed a bald eagle dive bomb a flock of ducks, nearly getting one. The duck got away and my companion and I stood in awe as the eagle flew directly over our heads and landed in one of the lodge pole pines. There was a young man standing about five feet away from us with head phones on, oblivious to the seven foot wingspan right above his head. I tapped him on the shoulder and pointed out the bird, still in the tree. He grinned sheepishly and replied, “Damn iPod.”

Is Measure 9-83 the best that planners for the City of Bend could come up with to try to hold onto the inflow of taxpayer cash set to expire next year? Did one of the planners take a course in college entitled “Traffic Circles 301” that he, or she, really, really liked? I would vote for this measure if it were focused solely on Reed Market Road, or Reed Market plus 14th Street plus 27th Street. But do we really want to buy three more traffic circles at $3 million each?

Infrastructure First does not recommend voting yes on 9-83 (Bonds for Transportation, etc.). These bonds do not pay for badly needed maintenance of existing roads. They are directed primarily at improving the eastside for UGB expansion and growth.
The ballot description is very different from the plans exhibited by the engineering department this winter. The worst plan is Reed Market Road. All east-west traffic will be pushed onto an already overloaded arterial. A better option would have been an improved Murphy Road (with R.R. Bridge) from the Parkway to 27th [street] to draw away more traffic from Reed Market Road.

It has been my pleasure to come to know Justin Gottlieb, the candidate for Director, Position 2, Bend Parks and Recreation District. I am an enthusiastic volunteer in his campaign.
Justin, I think, represents the very best of an emerging generation of young people, which – despite enduring more than its share of desperation and alienation due to the wretched economy – is now poised to step forth and lead.
Justin’s experience and background in public service and his understanding of the social contract will lead us out of the predicaments that plague us in times of scarcity.