In his recent guest column, State Sen. Tim Knopp claims to stand for the voiceless.

Watching his actions since being elected to the Legislature, this is sometimes true; he did some good work on PERS reforms.

I am concerned about his attempt to end-run the voters’ desire to prevent walk-outs in the Legislature. Were these voters voiceless?

I would remind him that his considerable salary from Central Oregon Homebuilders as executive vice president represents a powerful special interest of his own.

In the long-range view of how we generated such a large homeless population, we cannot ignore that the wealthy have made it so by taking control of real estate and home builders have taken advantage of this wealth.

Perhaps he can use his other position as executive director of Partners for Affordable Housing to push for a tax on homes over 3,000 square feet that would be applied to help the homeless.

— Alfred Beckley, Bend

Mr. Long’s recent letter concerning the confrontation regarding his bumper sticker that read “Let’s go Brandon,” deserves a reply.

First, I think that confronting someone and yelling at them about their sticker is uncalled for. That being said, having that on your vehicle is inviting attention, both good and bad, and should be expected.

I have a problem with his statement “the vast majority … woke liberals attack other people … about something they are not in agreement with.”

Wrong, wrong, wrong. How about all the far-right individuals that have been disrupting school board meetings and threatening board member, teachers etc. in Central Oregon and throughout the country?

What about the hundreds who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, threatened to kill the vice president and Congress?

Prior to overturning Roe vs. Wade, when abortions were legal, there have been eight murders, 17 attempted murders, 42 bombings and 186 arsons targeting abortion clinics and providers over decades. In cases of schools and abortions, they have posted names and addresses of people they were threatening, so they could be targeted.

Want more examples? Malheur National Wildlife Refuge seizure and white supremacists attacks throughout the country.

In pasting your bumper sticker, Mr. Long, you’re enjoying your First Amendment right, and like it or not, any person disagreeing with you, in any manner — short of violence — is expressing theirs.

— John Poe, Bend

With recent e-bike accidents on roads and e-bikes on traditional mountain bike trails, I believe it’s a good time to revamp rules and develop sensible compromises to benefit the most variety of users and keep everyone safer.

I propose we treat e-bikes similar to how e-foils/eSUPs are considered in the boating sector. They have a motor and this is the factor that differentiates them from non-motorized equivalents.

For eFoils/eSUPs you have to have a license and understand boating safety rules. Same for e-bikes on the road. They should either be licensed as light-motorcycles or require a safety class to earn a certificate that validates that the user understands road rules and regulations for e-bikes.

We need more dedicated lanes for e-bikes that are separate from car traffic. Bike lanes need to have a dividing line for bicycles on the right and the faster motorized e-bikes/e-scooters on the left.

For e-bikes on traditional mountain bike trails, these bikes do have motors (all classes).

It’s wonderful that e-mountain bikes have allowed those with disabilities/medical conditions to ride the dirt, but this use does not mix with traditional mountain bike use due to their greater speed and weight.

Same reasoning for separating motorcycles and mountain bikes and horses: mixed use doesn’t work for all users.

E-mountain bikes should organize, work with the Forest Service and build more e-bike trails specifically for e-bikes.

There’s a lot of public land out there — let’s build more trails for the different classes of users (hikers, horses, mountain bikes, and motorized bikes all are conflicting users). This will be the best road forward to making everyone happy.

— Steve Jones, Bend