KEEP IT SIMPLE

RE: ā€œPortlandā€™s Bet on Forcing Developers to Build Affordable Housing Is Getting Lackluster Resultsā€ [News, Jan 31], News Editor Dirk VanderHartā€™s piece about Mayor Ted Wheelerā€™s efforts to give developers financial incentives to build affordable housing.

Gosh, turns out that no matter how you try to contort it, the free market is a terrible tool for providing human beings with the things they need to survive. I am shocked.

Tax the rich and build public housing. It isnā€™t complicated.

publichousingplz


POT DOCTOR

RE: ā€œCan Medical Professionals Lose Their License for Using Cannabis? ā€ [Ask a Pot Lawyer, Jan 31]. ā€œIf you are a medical or legal professional with a substance abuse or mental health issue, please contact the Health Professionalsā€™ Services Program or the Oregon Attorney Assistance Program,ā€ wrote Will Patterson. ā€œTreatment is confidential.ā€

Iā€™m not familiar with the Oregon Attorney Assistance Program, but I know the Health Professionalsā€™ Services Program. Had you reviewed their self-referral process, it would reveal that it is a punitive model of monitoring and mental health medication compliance that is NOT confidential.

According to the Health Professionalsā€™ Services Program, ā€œWhen a licensee self-refers, HPSP will work with the licensee to develop an individualized monitoring agreement and will keep the licenseeā€™s enrollment confidential as long as the licensee is in compliance with his or her HPSP monitoring agreement.ā€

ā€œMonitoring agreementsā€ have nothing to do with federal confidentiality laws and could simply be urinalysis testing. If you miss an appointment, it could mean you are ā€œout of complianceā€ā€”and thatā€™s all they need to notify an employer.

There are plenty of treatment providers who are required to keep substance abuse treatment information confidential, except under extreme circumstances. Health professionals can easily find help from sources like findtreatment.samhsa.gov.

Phil Broyles
Executive Director
Teras Interventions and Counseling, Inc.

THE POT LAWYER RESPONDS! ā€œIt certainly does make sense for anyone seeking treatment to make sure they understand the terms of that treatment,ā€ says Ask a Pot Lawyer columnist Will Patterson. Teras Interventions and Counseling is a direct competitor of the Oregon Health Professionalsā€™ Services Program.


THE METALS INDUSTRY

RE: Ann Romanoā€™s ā€œOne Day at a Time,ā€ Ann Romanoā€™s weekly news and gossip column.

I am Mike Buckley and I work for Calbag Metals Co. My boss and I religiously read Annā€™s column and enjoy it very much.

Calbag Metals Co. has been around since 1908 and has been recycling metals ever since. The owner, Mr. Warren Rosenfeld, is a third-generation owner and has been politically active going back to 1968 when his father hosted a dinner at his Portland home for Robert Kennedy.

We would love to invite Ann Romano to tour our facility and explain what we are doing to help the environment and tell her how much we enjoy her weekly vitriol and sarcasm.

Mike Buckley
Calbag Metals Co.

ANN ROMANO RESPONDS! Thanks for reaching out, Mike! I am married.


SO LONG, FAREWELL

RE: We donā€™t know. The Mercury in general?

You are all out of your minds.

This is the dumbest thing I have ever read and makes me happy to be moving 200 miles away from this shithole City.

GOOD BYE IDIOTS!

Mark Moline

Mark! We were going to give you the Mercuryā€™s letter of the week, along with two passes to the Laurelhurst Theater! But since youā€™re moving 200 miles away from this shithole city, weā€™ll use them ourselves. Thanks!