Housing headline didn’t tell the real story

The recent front-page headline, “Building boom ahead,” doesn’t reflect Damian Mann’s article, which describes ongoing shortages of housing in Medford.

ECONorthwest’s study says: “The city will have to increase the units built annually” to meet future demand. Currently, with inadequate places to live, like musical chairs, some are simply left out.

Homeless people have filled available shelters, converted motel rooms and FEMA trailers, and they are now living on sidewalks, in parks, empty lots and along Bear Creek.

The Jackson County rate of homelessness is three times the national average and growing. Just because more housing is desperately needed doesn’t mean there’s more housing likely to be built anytime soon.

Units built over the past two years is less than 60% of what ECONorthwest’s study identifies as being needed annually in Medford. So, the city continues to fall farther behind. The only glimmers of hope expressed in the article are lofty planning goals adopted by the City Council, plus: “Gov. Kotek’s goal of adding 36,000 houses annually throughout the state to keep up with demand.”

However, the governor’s signature bill for housing expansion HB3414 is dead this year, having been shot down by the Senate.

Meanwhile, staffs in cities like Medford make approval processes for rezoning, plan approvals and building permits so challenging that proposed housing projects, if approved, take a minimum of two to four years before construction can begin.

The headline is an absurd misrepresentation of the article and of reality and should read: “Housing crisis grows.”

Barry Thalden / Ashland

Douglas variety aren’t actually real ‘firs’

Thank you for covering the story of the dying Douglas-firs. I keep hoping that someone with more credentials than I would point out that Doug-firs are not true firs, which is why the name should contain a hyphen.

True firs belong to the genus abies, and there are several species of true firs in Southern Oregon. Douglas-firs have the scientific name Pseudotsuga menziesii, pseudoutsuga meaning false hemlock.

The common name honors David Douglas while the scientific name honors Archibald Menzies, both Scottish botanists who visited the Pacific Northwest about 40 years apart.

Linda R. Harris / Medford