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Slant: Short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes. News: Happening People: NEW INTERCHANGE FACES TOUGH PROBLEMS Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey wants a big new freeway interchange at Franklin Blvd. and Interstate 5, but the proposal could face tough engineering, environmental and planning problems, not to mention a huge price tag. This week, Torrey, Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken and Rep. Peter DeFazio announced that they had successfully urged state highway planners to study the interchange as an option in a $2.7 million environmental impact statement for a planned I-5 replacement bridge. "Interstate access at Franklin would create Eugene's first true front door to welcome visitors," Torrey said in a press release. "This could be a great development if the study recommends it, and future funding can be secured." But the idea for a full I-5 interchange isn't new — it's been kicking around for at least a decade and hasn't been done because of a number of problems, city and state traffic engineers have said in the past. Here are some of the high hurdles: Freeway interchanges are generally built as huge sprawling cloverleaves to accommodate high speed turns. But I-5/Franklin would have to cram between the rock cliff at Judkins Point and environmentally sensitive areas along the Willamette River. With space tight, the interchange would likely have to be built on pylons out over the river, increasing the project's cost and perhaps running afoul of the Willamette greenway and endangered fish protections. The big construction project would likely raise noise and pollution complaints from the nearby Laurel Hill neighborhood. Traffic models have shown the interchange will increase traffic impacts on neighborhoods near the UO as people seek shortcuts to hop on I-5. Those residential neighborhoods are already among the city's most politically active in opposing traffic impacts. The interchange could make it easier for people to shop downtown, but it could also contribute to sprawl by making it easier for people to drive to the developing Gateway area. The interchange would serve as another river crossing, but probably wouldn't draw enough traffic to relieve pressure for proposed river crossings at Valley River Center and elsewhere. State and federal policies discourage the use of interstate bridges for local traffic. The interchange could cost upward of $100 million, and no funding source has been identified. The interchange isn't included in local TransPlan and other planning documents that are supposed to guide and prioritize transportation spending. Including the interchange in the fiscally constrained plans could require removing other big road projects. Studying and building the interchange might delay completion of the I-5 bridge, which is needed because of cracking. Landowners near the interchange could cash in on higher values, but freeway interchange development often consists of ugly gas stations and fast food chains. —Alan Pittman
CITY RECEIVES $9.1 MILLION WINDFALL Any ideas how to spend $9.1 million? The citizens of Eugene received a $9.1 million windfall from a legal case between the city and Qwest last month and the city is trying to figure out what to do with the money. The money was a result of an Oregon Supreme Court ruling in the city's favor ordering Qwest to pay the city's 2 percent telecommunications tax, which it had balked at paying since 1997. Indirectly, much of the money may have come from higher phone bills for local residents. Federal law allows phone companies to pass such local taxes directly on to customers. City Manager Dennis Taylor wrote a memo to the city council this month stating that he will review options for spending the $9.1 million and forward a recommendation to the city council. "The size of the payment presents a unique oppportunity to policy makers," Taylor wrote. The $9.1 million, plus perhaps about $1 million a year more in ongoing revenue, could be used for some popular projects such as buying natural areas threatened by development, building a new park on the EWEB property along the river, constructing an indoor swim park downtown or even using the money to pay off bonds and lower taxes. But none of these popular projects appears likely. In the past, city staff have pushed to have such windfalls dedicated to nicer office space for themselves. A new city hall and police station, costing up to a quarter billion dollars, is the city's top spending priority and there's already talk of using the people's $9.1 million for that project. —AP
PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY HONORS EW STAFF Several EW staffers — and one awesome intern — have received Society of Professional Journalists 2003 Excellence in Journalism awards. Eugene Weekly is a member of the SPJ Greater Oregon Professional Chapter and competes in the Non-daily Newspaper category. First place went to editorial intern Kaukab Jhumra Smith in the Religion and Values category for "Ramadan in Eugene" (11/6). Staff Writer Alan Pittman won three second place awards: in the Social Issues Reporting category for "Profiled" (10/16); in Business News for "Back to Work" (5/8); and in Sports News for "Better Watch Out: Sports vs. Nature" (12/24). Editor Ted Taylor won second place in the Headlines category. News Editor Aria Seligmann won third place in the Business Feature category for "De-Reg Demons" (4/24). Graphic Artist Todd Cooper received an honorable mention for Page One Design.
LABOR HISTORY CONFERENCE AT UO Exploring issues of the working class, labor history and the legacy of organizing efforts in the Pacific Northwest, the UO Labor Education and Research Center will host the 2004 Pacific Northwest Labor History Association Conference, May 21-23. Titled "Reform, Revolution, and Reaction: Workers and the Quest for Social Change in the Pacific Northwest," the 2004 PNLHA conference will look at the Pacific Northwest's labor tradition and its relevance to contemporary times. The conference will also cover contemporary issues related to the world of work, labor unions and employment relations. Conference topics include healthcare reform, child labor in the West Africa chocolate industry and much more, as well as musical and theatrical performances and an art exhibition. The conference is co-sponsored by the Eugene-Springfield Solidarity Network, the UO Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation, the UO History Department, the Lane County Labor Council, and SEIU 503, Local 085. For more information on the conference, contact Bob Bussel at 346-2784.
ULTIMATE FRISBEE TEAM GOES NATIONAL The student-run South Eugene High School ultimate frisbee team is challenging the nation May 22 and 23 at the 2004 Ultimate Frisbee High School National Championships in Corvallis. Taking place at the Crystal Lake Sports Complex, the championship is the top tournament of the year for high school ultimate teams in the U. S. and Canada. Sixteen men's high school teams and 12 women's high school and club teams will come together in a display of athleticism, spirit, and of course, flying plastic. The Amherst Regional HS Hurricanes (Amherst, MA) will be defending their men's championship title and the Amherst Regional HS women will be looking for their sixth straight championship. After winning the Oregon State Championships, South Eugene High School, without the aid of coach or captain, won a bid to participate in this elite congregation of young disc-throwers. See May 22 Corvallis Events this issue for more information. —Ben Fogelson
CORRECTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS In last week's WVFF insert, the photo of band Moksha was incorrectly identified as Samba Ja. Moksha will perform at 3 pm, Saturday May 22 on the Amphitheatre Stage. Iris Bicksler took the lovely photos of the Eugene slam poets for last week's story.
EARLY AD DEADLINES: The May 31 Memorial Day holiday means early ad deadlines for the June 3 issue. For display ads, it's 5 pm Thursday, May 27, and for classifieds, it's 5 pm Friday, May 28. Questions? 484-0519.
Kitty
Wins Eugene elected the first progressive mayor in the city's history May 18, defeating development interests after one of the hardest fought and closest mayoral contests the city has ever seen. Mayor-elect Kitty Piercy won 51.4 percent of the vote, enough to avoid a November run-off against Nancy Nathanson, who trailed with 46 percent, in unofficial final results. Nathanson was backed by big campaign contributions from development interests but Piercy prevailed with small donations and volunteer time from more than 600 active supporters. Piercy campaigned on a pledge of being a mayor for all Eugene and after the vote promised to continue that theme of "trying to find ways for us to move forward together." Piercy said one way of moving forward is for the city to move beyond the West Eugene Parkway. "The Parkway divided the community right up the middle and it's stuck," Piercy said, referring to opposition to destroying protected wetlands from the Bureau of Land Management. "That one is never going to pass muster with the feds," she said. "It's time for us to look for another solution" that will respect natural areas and address traffic needs.
Piercy also said she will work for a new housing code for renters, protecting the city's Toxics Right to Know ordinance and on her economic plan for the city. Newly elected councilor Andrea Ortiz could help Piercy with her progressive agenda. Ortiz won a 59 percent vote to defeat incumbent councilor Scott Meisner. With Ortiz, the council may split 4-4 on many issues with Piercy breaking ties in favor of progressives on environmental and urban sprawl issues. Progressive councilors Bonny Bettman and Betty Taylor also won re-election handily. "I'm really excited," said Ortiz, and added she'll have a "huge learning curve" as a new city councilor but learned through her campaign what people in her ward want. "They want people who are willing to listen to them and have a conversation," she said. Ortiz thanked her campaign manager Michael Carrigan for his work. Carrigan said Ortiz won because she and her volunteers worked harder than incumbent Scott Meisner to win support. It's almost unheard of for a Eugene council incumbent to lose re-election, but Carrigan said the results prove "a challenger that works really hard can win. My faith in American Democracy has been strengthened." Incumbent Scott Meisner attributed his defeat by Ortiz to unpopular council votes he took and voters wanting change rather than re-electing a councilor to a rare third term. Meisner said he feels satisfied that he helped accomplish his main goal as a councilor — building a new library — and added, "I'm fine with this." Taylor said she won re-election despite being heavily outspent because the intelligent voters in her South Eugene ward support what she supports. "People care about the environment and workers rights and human rights," she said. "I'm honored to have such strong support," said Bettman of her re-election with 67 percent support. "I ran a positive campaign focused solely on my values and my record."
Taylor said the potential for a progressive majority vote on the council could be a big change for local government long dominated by development interests. "It totally changes the balance. It isn't automatically a Chamber of Commerce organization," Taylor said. "I don't know that Kitty or Andrea are a shoe-in on any particular vote," Bettman said. But she added that she's optimistic that the council can now work together on positive changes for the community. "I'm excited for the future of Eugene," she said. Councilor David Kelly attributed Piercy, Ortiz, Bettman and Taylor's victories to a new political activism on the left in Eugene. "The change was because more progressive folks got organized and got involved," Kelly said. "There was a breadth of volunteer activity that I haven't seen before. Something clicked."
CARLOS SANTANA AND ROSA LOPEZ Since January 2003, Rosa Lopez and Carlos Santana have tutored Latino adults in Spanish literacy two evenings a week at the LCC Downtown Center. First-language literacy greatly facilitates the learning of English as a second lanquage.
After they took a training course offered by the Mexican Consulate in the fall of 2002, Lopez and Santana volunteered to teach the class. Mexico's National Institute for Adult Education supplies teaching guides and textbooks at no cost, and class participants can take exams to earn primary and secondary certificates from the Mexican education system. "Two of our students have passed the first two tests," says Santana, a native of Jalisco who came to Oregon 12 years ago to pick beets. He learned English in LCC night classes, earned a transfer degree last summer, and now works as a bilingual assistant at Springfield High School. Lopez grew up in California, worked for NGOs abroad, and graduated from the UO (ethnic studies) in 2001. "I worked in ESL before I graduated," she notes. "Now I'm getting a masters in educational leadership. My thesis is about learning skills for adult ESL students."
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