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Slant: Short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes. News:
'GENTLE GIANT' JUDGE EDWIN ALLEN REMEMBERED The death of a legendary Lane County judge brought together the conflicting elements of the courtroom, lawyers and judges, and their families for a moving tribute June 30 in St. Mary's Episcopal church.
Retired from Lane County Circuit Court in 1994, the Hon. Edwin Allen died on June 24 at the age of 78. He grew up in Wendling in rural Lane County and attended the UO for both his undergraduate and law degrees. Two of his former law clerks, attorney Michael Fox and U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken, both commented that Judge Allen did not suffer the unprepared gladly. "He was every unprepared lawyer's nightmare," as Fox put it, "but at the end of the day, you knew you would win or lose your case for the right reason." Judge Aiken called him a judge "who kept the playing field even," in the end "a gentle giant." In a written tribute to her father, Portland attorney Mary Beth Allen described him: "He loved the law and his life as a judge but was never far from his roots. His honesty, sense of justice and civic responsibility, and loyalty to friends and family were forged in the tight-knit community of a company logging town. He loved to describe himself as just a boy from Wendling, and kept in touch with childhood friends until the end." The service closed with songs by Cole Porter. — AJ
PEG MORTON RETURNS FROM FEDERAL PRISON Eugene peace activist Peg Morton is back in Eugene after serving three months in federal prison following her arrest for an act of non-violent civil disobedience at the former Army School of the Americas. She and fellow prisoner Leisa Barnes arrived home by train the afternoon of July 6. Morton, 73, was incarcerated with 250 other women at a low-security facility at Camp Parks in Dublin, Calif., and kept a journal of her experiences there. "How do we live together without exploding or dissolving?" she wrote. "I am amazed by the strength, the wisdom, compassion, flexibility, healthy assertiveness and humor of many of these women. I am challenged and taught: 'You learn to sleep through anything — bright lights, noise.' With laughter, talk and lights on a woman will turn away, cover herself up, and go to sleep." "Women kid each other mercilessly," she wrote. "They goad me to utter a swear word. I do, and they pounce, laughing. Swearing is rampant, a part of the lingo of many." Morton said health services at the prison are "abominable." She wrote, "A woman with high blood pressure is out of her pills, for days and days, suffering from a severe headache. Another fails to receive a regular, medically ordered test, for months. A joke goes around: You can tell how long a woman has been in by the number of teeth she has lost. They just pull teeth rather than fill them." Morton will give a report on her experiences at 7 pm Tuesday, July 13 at Harris Hall. — TJT
COUNCIL TO GATHER INPUT ON RIVERFRONT A public hearing on plans for a new road along the Willamette River to serve the proposed new hospital site near EWEB has been scheduled for 7:30 pm Monday, July 12 at the City Council Chambers. The new road is proposed for the north side of the railroad tracks west from the Riverfront Research Park. Opponents have voiced concerns that the road would damage the riverfront area by further cutting off downtown from the river, and enabling the construction of large commercial buildings and parking lots in a natural area that should be preserved for parkland (see EW news story 6/24 and follow-up news brief 7/1).
HEMPFEST FINDS NEW LOCATION UP THE CREEK Hempfest organizers have found a new location for their annual free shindig in celebration of the much-maligned plant. The second annual Emerald Empire Hempfest coming up the weekend of July 17-18 will be held at Bittersweet Campground at milepost 43 on McKenzie Highway near Blue River. The event ran into location problems in June after the Eugene Police Department objected to the city of Eugene issuing a parks permit to the festival, planned for Washington-Jefferson Park. Police claimed the event posed an "unreasonable danger" to the community based on alleged drug dealing at the previous year's festival at Alton Baker Park. No drug arrests were made at the 2003 event. Organizer Dan Koozer says the purpose of the Hempfest is to "learn about hemp's benefit to our planet Earth," including industrial uses for hemp and legal medicinal marijuana. Numerous guest speakers and workshops have been scheduled, food and low-cost camping will be available and nearly three dozen bands and musicians are scheduled to perform. Bittersweet Campground is a private five-acre camp on the river just past Blue River. Other campgrounds and a hot springs are nearby. LTD bus #91 serves the McKenzie Highway and carpools will be coming and going from Washington-Jefferson Park all weekend. For more information, visit www.emeraldempirehempfest.comor call 434-2377.
ALWAYS LEAVE 'EM WANTING MORE More than 7,000 fans gathered Saturday night at Civic Stadium to watch the Ems pull out an exciting 5-4 victory over the Salem/Keizer Volcanoes. Cheering and worked up with excitement, the fans afterward poured out onto the field, spreading themselves on blankets, ready and eager for the much anticipated annual fireworks display. After a 30-minute wait, the lights went out, but instead of the gradual oohs and aahs of fingerlike projections of reds and blues, golden showers of fountains and waves of starry cascades, fans received an all-at-once wham-bam that lasted approximately five minutes. Frustrated and disappointed, they slowly stood, gathered their blankets and headed home, still in the dark, to set off their own fireworks. A spokesperson for the Ems said the problem was caused by a glitch in the computer program, which sets the timing for the fireworks to be shot off. The following night, fireworks at the Freedom Festival at Alton Baker Park got off without any hitches, although some still complained it didn't last long enough. — AS
42
Out of 45
Former Eugene Police Officer Roger Magaña was convicted last week on charges of rape, sexual abuse, sodomy, kidnap, coercion and/or harassment in incidents involving a dozen women. Magaña could face the rest of his life in jail at sentencing scheduled for July 13. The jury found Magaña guilty on 42 of 45 counts against him. For five of those convictions, the jury found Magaña guilty of a lesser charge than the prosecutor asked for. The convictions include one rape, 10 charges of sexual abuse, five charges of forced sodomy, four kidnappings, seven charges of coercion, three harassment charges, one burglary and 10 charges of official misconduct. Here's what the jury convicted Magaña of: * Forcing oral sex from a drunk 19-year-old woman he picked up at a softball team party by threatening her with arrest and then later raping her in her home. * Forcing oral sex three times, sexual groping four times and kidnapping once from a then heroin addict by coercing her with threats of arrest and by pointing a gun at her. * Threatening a 31-year-old mother of three with arrest for drunk driving to coerce touching her breasts and vagina. * Entering a 51-year-old woman's apartment to sexually harass and touch her. * Kidnapping and attempting to force oral sex from a prostitute by threatening to arrest her. * Forcing oral sex from a then heroin addict by kidnapping her and threatening her with arrest. * Forcing oral sex from a woman by threatening her with arrest after the domestic violence victim had called police for help. * Coercing sexual conduct from another domestic violence victim by threatening to have her children taken away. * Harassing a woman by kissing her on the mouth without her consent. * Sexually abusing a drunk college student by having intercourse with her without her consent. * Sexually abusing a 17-year-old police cadet by forcibly rubbing his body and crotch against her. * Failing to arrest a woman with a warrant who he was having oral sex with. A dozen or more additional women also charged Magaña with abuse, but the police and district attorney decided against pursuing charges in those cases, according to trial testimony. Magaña is the second EPD officer convicted this year of sex crimes. Earlier, Juan Lara plea bargained five years in prison for an apparently smaller sex crime spree while an officer. The two cases have left many wondering whether other officers in the department were complicit in the crimes and/or negligent in hiring, training or supervising the two officers. Despite the Magaña verdict, Deputy District Attorney Kent Mortimore said he's "proud" of the EPD. "They're good people." In past cases of officer misconduct, the district attorney has referred cases to prosecutors from other counties to avoid conflicts of interest. Local prosecutors depend on police to do their job and work closely with them. But in the Magaña and Lara cases, Mortimore said there was no conflict of interest. At a press conference, EPD Capt. Steve Swenson declared that Magaña and Lara's misconduct was "an anomaly" in the department. But asked how he knew there were no other officers involved, Swenson acknowledged that the department will have to look into it. EPD's new Chief Robert Lehner said no other officers have been disciplined for failing to respond to repeated complaints about Magaña and Lara or failing to properly supervise them. Lehner announced that his department will soon begin an internal review to find out what went wrong and if policies need to be changed or anyone disciplined. But that review could take a year or more, according to Lehner. In the meantime multi-million-dollar lawsuits against the city by many of the women victims of the two former officers are moving forward. "We certainly bear some responsibility," Lehner said. "The only question is how much." Asked if the EPD owes the women its officers sexually abused an apology, Lehner replied, "I don't know." But then added, "as a police officer and as a professional, yes, we do owe them an apology."
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