Happy Sunday, Lookout Eugene-Springfield,

The typically low-drama Springfield City Council has been anything but recently.

A decade-long push by Lane County health officials to build a regional behavioral healthcare campus near PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend appeared to hit a snag, when Springfield councilors expressed misgivings with the land-use process and site for the project.

The city and county may yet find a solution. But even the possibility of a holdup is sparking alarm among local healthcare advocates — several of whom took to Lookout’s Community Voices section to express their concern.

Jonathan Wright, Emergency Department chief at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center, and Brad Anderson, president of Eugene Emergency Physicians, which staffs PeaceHealth’s emergency rooms, wrote in a letter to the editor that the effects of our behavioral health gaps are apparent in local ERs.

“People in crisis often come to us because they have nowhere else to turn, placing additional strain on emergency services and reducing access for patients with other urgent medical needs,” they wrote.

And Caitlin Plummer, executive director of Public Defender Services of Lane County, said she sees the impacts when clients enter the criminal justice system who might have avoided it with earlier access to care.

“Our community members should not be relegated to a jail cell in an acute mental health crisis simply because we have failed to provide adequate resources for humane medical treatment,” Plummer wrote.

e-bikes coming to a path near you

My favorite opinion piece last week came courtesy of longtime Eugene resident and avid walker Jim Arnold. Responding to the news that the city plans to update its PeaceHealth Rides bike share program with e-bikes by 2028, Arnold penned a guest column questioning how the program and its public partners will ensure pedestrian safety on public paths.

“Before adding hundreds of e-bikes, PeaceHealth Rides and its public partners should explain how they will verify riders’ ages, teach path rules, enforce the 12-mile-per-hour limit and respond when rented machines are used recklessly,” Arnold wrote.

The biggest winner in a down real estate market? Forests.

I can’t say I’d spent any time thinking about the connection between mortgage interest rates and forest health. Until I read last week’s guest column by Eugene resident Tom Derungs, that is.

Writing about the need to preserve dwindling forestland, Derungs argued that today’s high interest rates for home loans at least have the unintended benefit of reducing demand for the wood needed to build new homes.

“Wood is beautiful. Wood looks good on your floor and on your deck and on the side of your house. But how about the beauty of wood left alone and wild and untouched in the forest?” Derungs wrote.

Election scoreboard

With seven weeks (and two days) between now and the Nov. 3 general election, the time has come for our first election scoreboard of the campaign. It’s my running tally of endorsement letters for candidates and ballot measures.

We’re still fairly early in election season, but here’s where things currently stand:

Eugene Clean Energy Fund — 5 endorsements

Springfield City Council candidate Callee Ackland — 2

Lane County Commissioner Heather Buch — 2

Want to endorse your favorite candidate or weigh in on a ballot measure? Let Lane County know what you’re thinking: lte@lookoutlocal.com

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recent Letters TO THE EDITOR

The key to successfully adopting a healthier lifestyle is having support | Letter to the editor

Neighbors concerned about Laurel Hill Valley housing plan are unfairly labeled ‘NIMBYs’ | Letter to the editor

Some Eugene residents do everything they can to fight progress | Letter to the editor

Eugene Clean Energy Fund will finally put corporate profits to good use | Letter to the editor

Springfield needs young leaders like Callee Ackland | Letter to the editor

Let’s call the neighborhood opposition to new housing what it is | Letter to the editor

It’s not heartless to point out failures of Housing First policies | Letter to the editor

Floral Hill housing opponents aren’t NIMBYs. We just want to be safe. | Letter to the editor

Reflecting on 9/11, I grieve for both American families and for victims of U.S. foreign policy | Letter to the editor

Lane County cannot wait for better behavioral healthcare | Letter to the editor

I’m a ‘Gen Z’ city council candidate. Support the Eugene Clean Energy Fund for my generation. | Letter to the editor

Opposition to much-needed housing plan sounds familiar | Letter to the editor

Ackland would bring a much-needed breath of fresh air to Springfield | Letter to the editor

Eye-popping donations in a Lane County commissioner race show the dark side of politics | Letter to the editor

Here’s an idea to reduce the deficit: Enforce the tax code so wealthy pay up | Letter to the editor

recent guest columns

For healthier forests, we need more use of eco-friendly material, fewer oversized homes

Before Eugene opens the e-bike floodgates, it must consider the safety of walkers

Are Springfield councilors willing to work for desperately needed behavioral health campus?

Cal Young was Oregon’s first football coach — and a champion of local history

Housing, addiction, politics and the touchy subject of homelessness

Send us your Letter to the Editor — lte@lookoutlocal.com

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For more than a decade, Elon Glucklich covered business, government and health care for several dailies and online news organizations across Oregon. His reporting and commentary has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists and the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association.