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Note: Guest Opinions are added to this page on an intermittent basis. A plum for SOU Library expansion project needed to meet demands of technology The Southern Oregon University Library, at 32 years of age, is ready for the facelift authorized by the state Legislature in the latter part of the 2001 session. Thanks to Sen. Lenn Hannon, R-Ashland, co-chairman of the powerful Joint Ways and Means Committee, SOU will be allotted $15 million to double the size of the outmoded facility. The state funds will not only expand the structure, but will make the library more computer friendly, and friendly in general - an espresso bar is among features of the remodeling/expansion. Such facilities have been popular at other schools. The bond-funded appropriation was announced by Hannon, who is being compelled to leave office after 26 years by Oregon's term limits law. The library is expected to be named after Hannon, 57, a former SOU student. The SOU Foundation is being asked to raise another $5 million from foundations, corporations and individuals for the 18-month project, which will begin sometime this year. This is a good project, one that will offer SOU students - and the public, which will still be allowed to use the facility - a better exposure to and use of computer technology. The 65,000-square-foot expansion will add a multi-story wing to the west or south. It will meet the huge technological demand for computers and computer-related devices and facilities, and also Internet ports for laptops, that has materialized over the past 30 years. Among other features, the "new" facility will have reading areas, study and seminar rooms, a large meeting room, a main lobby, and the coffee bar. After serving the college and community for more than 30 years, the library is ready for a revamp. It served the Vietnam-era students well, but in the latter part of this century began to lose the battle as technology - primarily computers - changed the offering and facilities found in universities and public libraries. These technological changes no doubt will continue to make things difficult for administrators trying to deal with obtaining funds to keep up with new technology. This certainly has been the case with SOU and other state system schools. Thus, it is with relief that the SOU campus is getting a major building expansion, funded by state dollars. A library is a symbol of the past as well as the future, and deserves to be as up-to-date and modern as possible. It appears that this new library on the SOU campus will meet those criteria. A job well done It is with great regret that we say goodbye to state Sen. Lenn Hannon, R-Ashland, who is leaving office in 2002 because of Oregon's term limits law. Hannon has served as state senator for 26 years. By law, this is the last legislative session he may serve in. Hannon always was something of a maverick. He was swept into office - defeating Lynn Newbry, a popular figure - along with other Democrats trading on Republican unpopularity in the Watergate era. In 1980 his continuing rankling with the Democrats' position on the issues caused him to defect and join the Republican party, where he has been firmly ensconced since. In total, he will have served seven terms when he leaves office next year. He currently is the Senate's senior Republican and co-chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. We all should miss the influence that Hannon has wielded. Along the way he procured some goodies for Southern Oregon, among them funding for a visual arts center at SOU. Most recently Hannon arranged for $15 million - 75 percent of the total - in state bond money to remodel and expand the SOU Library. Hannon has served Southern Oregon well. He will be missed. Guest Opinion - Medford needs affordable housing commission By KRISTI TANNER As the affordable housing issue comes to the forefront in Medford, our federal government will be deliberating on a new permanent National Housing Trust Fund. Congress is to consider funding 1. 5 million new homes for elderly, disabled and "working poor" for new construction over the next 19 years. The effort is backed by more than 750 local and 18 national organizations. The federal bill was introduced June 27 by Reps. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., John McHugh, R-N.Y., and Barbara Lee, D-Calif. For the first time in a decade, Congress is talking about building affordable homes. A similar measure will be introduced by Sen. John Kerry and a third measure to follow which would be a one-time allocation to build new homes. The boom economy has actually hurt the low-wage workers because housing costs have increased faster than wages. In Jackson County 40 percent of renters are unable to afford a one-bedroom unit and 51 percent are unable to afford a two-bedroom unit, according to a 1999 study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. A family of four needs a $15-per-hour wage to afford a two-bedroom unit. Local trust funds have shown that building affordable homes helps the economy by generating living-wage construction jobs, stabilizing neighborhoods and providing homes for those who have been priced out of the housing market. It is crucial that as the Medford City Council reviews the Action Plan for Housing and Community Development (2001-2002) they consider the following: * Goal 1 is to increase the supply of rental housing for low-income households. According to the Housing Authority of Jackson County there are 1,500 families on the waiting list along with 86 families on OnTrack's list. This represents a minimum one-year waiting list. If the rate of need to continues at the present pace, it will turn into a two-year waiting list. * Goal 2 is to provide and maintain homeownership opportunities for low-income households. Habitat for Humanity had 250 families make contact about applying for one house. At the rate that affordable homes are being built in the city of Medford, it will take over 50 years to meet the present need. Affordable homes will no longer be able to be built due to unaffordable property. The City of Ashland has created a Land Trust program which will secure parcels of land and/or homes and keep them in a financially affordable to own status. It will also keep the market from escalating the housing price into unaffordability in the future. Building affordable homes is one aspect, but keeping present homes from becoming poverty housing is another. With the hiring of a neighborhood coordinator, more research can be done on neighborhood assets and neighbor-helping-neighbor programs. The city of Medford can not afford to just support the same programs this year as last. This will not keep up with the increased numbers of homeless and those on a non-living wage. * Goal 16 is to provide institutional structure and intergovernmental cooperation, basically meaning to create a Housing and Community Development Commission. The Affordable Housing Coalition could have been the prototype for the establishment of a commission. It is time that the City Council acknowledges the affordable housing shortages and creates an ongoing group to mastermind Medford back on track, not just ask for recommendations and imply that the group has achieved its goal. The city of Ashland has had an Affordable Housing Commission for 10 years and has the Land Trust concept in place. Those agency members on the Medford Affordable Housing Coalition were a very dedicated group who have already demonstrated the commitment for continued collaborative efforts. It is now time to establish a formal commission in order to prevent some of the housing market issues that Ashland has experienced. Let's not wait until the affordable housing standard is $178,000 like it is in Ashland. Medford and local housing agencies would have a greater chance of qualifying for federal and state funding if stronger collaborative efforts are being made Let us break down the walls of injustice around affordable housing. After all, we are all the same when we turn out the light. As Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity, has said, "Everyone has a right to a safe decent place to live. Kristi Tanner is a former chairwoman of the Affordable Housing Coalition. |
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