WW welcomes letters to the editor via mail, e-mail or fax. Letters must be signed by the author and include the author's street address and phone number for verification. Preference will be given to letters of 250 words or less. CAN COACH KROEKER I was not surprised to see Nick Budnick and Philip Dawdy's article on police harassment of peaceful Buy Nothing Day and Critical Mass protesters on Nov. 24 ["Mixed Messages," Nov. 29, 2000]. Appalled, yes. Surprised, no. This rampant trampling of free speech and citation of peaceful protesters on flimsy pretext is strike six on Chief Mark Kroeker. From his disdain for free speech in Seattle at the January 2000 X-PAC meeting to the May Day fiasco to his remarks on gays to his remarks in support of corporal punishment to his recruitment of officers in areas of the country hostile to free speech, Kroeker's reign of error has been one embarrassment after another. If the Blazers performed like the Portland Police did at the Buy Nothing Day/Critical Mass and May Day protests, Mike Dunleavy would be on the unemployment line. Mayor Katz, however, has refused to hold Kroeker accountable for his own behavior and his department's misbehavior. It's time Katz fired Kroeker's ass, or a recall petition is in order. Aaron Varhola Southeast 42nd Avenue AT LEAST HE DIDN'T VOTE FOR BUCHANAN I am a strong supporter of land-use laws. I am embarrassed to say that I voted for Measure 7 without fully understanding it ["This Land Is Their Land," WW, Nov. 29, 2000]. Years ago, when I was unsuccessfully running for Metro, there was concern about those landowners caught on the urban growth boundary. Without researching things, I cavalierly said that maybe those who were providing green space for the rest of us could be compensated somehow, maybe by lower taxes. I didn't follow up on this. When I saw Measure 7, I made an unstudied assumption that somebody was trying to do just what I had suggested long ago. I gave little thought then or now to fiscal impact. There were just too many measures on the ballot. Hopefully a lot of the Measure 7 votes were from careless people like me who are land-use supporters and who didn't realize what we were doing. This issue has to be revisited. Edward M. Colbach, M.D. Southwest Schaeffer Road MEASURE FOR MEASURE Larry and David somehow don't seem so small from where I rent ["This Land Is Their Land," WW, Nov. 29, 2000]. That aside, how about a little quid pro quo to Measure 7: Owners pay whenever government action results in an increase in a property's value. We could properly tie up the court system then. Aaron Farnsworth Southwest 11th Avenue