News Briefs: Queen Hosts Benefit Ball | HOPES for the Future | Salvatore Coming to UO | Salem Update | Be a Comish | Slant: Short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes News: Undercovered #43 Ghost prisoners, Iran missions and other news getting little attention. Happening Person: Bhavia Wagner QUEEN HOSTS BENEFIT BALL Slug Queen Scarlett O'Slimera will host The Queen's Ball, a benefit for FOOD for Lane County, from 8 pm to midnight Saturday, April 9 at the Vet's Club. Several live bands, including Broad Funk, will provide the tunes for the evening. Queen Scarlett will preside, and she promises a theatrical surprise. Any and all are welcome to attend in whatever attire feels right. "Heed the call y'all, come to the ball!" the Queen drawls. "Your finer threads would be nice, but comin' the way you want to come will be fine." Ball-goers are encouraged to donate $3-$12 and three cans of food. — Kera Abraham     HOPES FOR THE FUTURE Eugene's railyard gets 24 hours of uninterrupted, intense attention at the 11th annual HOPES Conference at UO, with free public events running Friday, April 8 through the weekend. HOPES (Holistic Options for Planet Earth Sustainability) is a unique ecological design conference developed and managed by students, with the intention of working "to promote deeper understanding and broader application of sustainable design principles." The annual event at Lawrence Hall offers a large selection of workshops and speakers, and draws hundreds of architects, designers, environmentalists, students and sustainability activists from around the country. This year's 24-hour design charette is looking at ways to redevelop the Union Pacific railyard using feedback from a series of community meetings held earlier (see EW cover story 3/24). A design charette is a traditional intensive design process using ideas from various stakeholder groups. The charette review is open free to the public from 3 to 5 pm at Lawrence Hall on campus. Academics and local elected officials are involved in judging the charette, and representatives of UP have been invited. Friday evening's kick-off event is a talk by Ed Mazria on "meeting humanity's greatest challenge" from 5:30 to 7:30. Mazria is the author of The Passive Solar Energy Book and is an internationally recognized architect. Saturday workshops and panels run from 8 am to 5 pm. Noted architect Jack Elliot speaks at 6:30 pm Saturday on "A Designer's Weaving of Ecology and Aesthetics." The "Trashy Fashion Show" featuring stylish garbage garments and the Saturday night party begin at 8 pm. Sunday workshops and panels run from 8 am to noon, followed by a closing talk by Cameron Sinclair on "Rebuilding communities in Sri Lanka." Sinclair is the cofounder and executive director of Architecture for Humanity, which promotes architecture and design solutions for humanitarian crises. Weekend panels include "Aesthetics and Eco-Ethics," "Retrofitting Suburbia," "ReCreating Society with Ecovillages," "Sustainable Transportation," "Sustainability in the Design Process," "DeConstruction/ ReConstruction," "The Making of Sustainable and Livable Cities," "Turn that Brown Upside Down," and others. The full schedule is at http://hopes.uoregon.edu   SALVATORE COMING TO UO Eminent historian and author Nick Salvatore will be in Eugene talking about African American history and the politics of labor and American culture. Salvatore will speak at 7:30 pm April 12 at the UO Knight Law Law School, room 175. Salvatore is professor of industrial and labor relations and American studies at Cornell University, and is the author of a new book Singing In A Strange Land: C. L. Franklin, The Black Church, and the Transformation of America. Franklin, the father of famed singer Aretha Franklin, was a legendary African American preacher, civil rights activist, and inspirational public figure who exerted a profound influence on the post-World War II civil rights movement and the American cultural landscape. Salvatore's biography of Eugene V. Debs won the prestigious Bancroft Prize and Philip Taft Prize for Labor History in 1982.     SALEM UPDATE The Oregon Conservation Network reports this week that "there seems to be some confusion among legislators regarding whether the House or the Senate should be responsible for coming up with a solution to Measure 37's serious problems. We unfortunately anticipate a train wreck when the two houses collide with their various approaches." The coalition is urging activists to attend town hall meetings "where you can ask your legislators to stand up for the land use system which protects farmland, encourages healthy neighborhoods, and helps create a stable growing economy." A list of upcoming town hall meetings, including one in Cottage Grove April 16, can be found at www.olcveducationfund.org/TownHall.htm« The Oregon Environmental Council, along with OSPIRG and the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, is working this week with members of the Natural Resources Subcommittee of the Ways and Means Committee to secure funding for the Pesticide Use Reporting System (PURS). Several senators are reportedly talking together about the importance of this program, which informs the public of where and what types of pesticides are applied statewide in Oregon. See http://actionnetwork.org/ct/M1azXR11Emq6/   BE A COMISH Two vacancies are coming up on the Lane County Planning Commission, with an April 29 deadline for applications. The commission makes recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners regarding comprehensive plan issues and amendments; and also advises and cooperates with other planning agencies within the state and provides reports to local government officials on problems in county, regional or metropolitan planning. For information and applications, visit county offices at 125 E. 8th Ave. or www.co.lane.or.us     SLANT In 1995 when Hyundai/Hynix landed $50 million in tax breaks for building in the west Eugene wetlands, hundreds of outraged citizens packed meetings. How could so much public money be given away to a mega-corporate factory using tons of toxic chemicals without a vote or even a hearing? The answer then was that the state enterprise zone (EZ) program that the city had signed up for almost a decade earlier provides corporate welfare without public accountability. Unless there's a similar outpouring of public outrage before April 11, history could very well repeat itself. The City Council is poised 7-1 to set up a new enterprise zone that would potentially give Hynix another $100 million. If Hynix expands, it will qualify for another huge tax break, without a vote or public hearing. Proponents argue that tax breaks create jobs, but almost all economists and researchers tell us that corporations come and go based on cheap labor, access to markets and other factors more important to their bottom line. State employment economists have found that most of the new jobs go to people moving here rather than the local unemployed. Proponents claim the EZ mostly helps local small businesses, but 95 percent of the breaks have so far gone to Hynix. Proponents say they'll attach local standards to the breaks, giving companies that aren't providing sustainable, family wage jobs less money. But state law doesn't allow meaningful or significant local standards and Hynix is likely to get its full break, despite its history of layoffs, employment discrimination, environmental destruction and massive use of chemicals, water and power. In the end, the EZ amounts to little more than an unfair corporate handout. Some of the more progressive councilors say the resolution they will vote on April 11 represents a valuable compromise, but the EZ boundaries were only reduced by 10 percent and Hynix, still stands to suck up 95 percent of the potential hand-outs. The majority of people in Eugene believe corporations should pay the same taxes they do. The council vote should reflect that. Congrats to Willamette Week and reporter Nigel Jaquiss for winning a Pulitzer Prize for the paper's exposé on Oregon power broker Neil Goldschmidt's sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl when he was mayor of Portland. This prize is a big deal for WW and Jaquiss and is well-deserved. Kudos to Jaquiss for taking on the most powerful figure in Oregon and hats off to WW for supporting his risky work. It was a brave and difficult undertaking considering Goldschmidt's intimidating legal and political resources. Our own Sen. Vicki Walker deserves a little piece of that Pulitzer. She supplied Jaquiss with some of the critical documentation that sent him and WW on their gutsy investigation. We at EW particularly relish success in the growing genre of journalism we call alternative newsweeklies. In this business we have lots of fun each week writing about quirky stuff and poking fun at convention; but we also labor digging deeply into the world of money and power that operates behind closed doors. With some humility, we like to think that our investigative reporting on government, business and the environment also brings about positive change. WW's stories on Goldschmidt (and more recently on the secret PGE papers) are embarrassing The Oregonian into doing more thorough reporting. Likewise, we hope EW's scoops and depth of reporting are encouraging the R-G to become a better, more relevant newspaper. Competition is a boon for readers, and for democracy. Several of our readers have complained about our Date Girl column a few weeks back (3/10) that featured a letter written by a man who admitted his sexual attraction to pre-adolescent girls. So we asked writer Judy McGuire what kind of reaction she got from the same column in Seattle Weekly. She tells us she got a great many responses, and every one was positive. It seems people in Seattle welcome open discussion on sensitive topics. A couple of hate letters came in this week regarding the pope, and we won't be publishing them, not because of their arguments regarding birth control and homosexuality, but rather because of their seething tone. Come on, people. It's always open season on religion and politics, but let's show the man a little respect. Saturday was a great day downtown with the opening of a bustling and lively Saturday Market and lots of activity at the new Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza. Appropriately enough, some free speech happened, sponsored by the Wayne Morse Youth Program downtown. The program was followed by drumming, dancing, Frisbee-tossing and other Eugene-style celebrations of spring and community. Lane County Farmers Market is also up and running. Not a lot of fresh produce yet, but this is a great time to meet local farmers, buy some fruit trees, and sign up for Community Supported Agriculture programs. Nothing beats local produce. SLANT includes short opinion pieces, observations and rumor-chasing notes compiled by the EW staff. Heard any good rumors lately? Contact Ted Taylor at 484-0519, editor@eugeneweekly.com   Undercovered #43 Ghost prisoners, Iran missions and other news getting little attention. BY MICHAEL CARRIGAN & KATE ROGERS GESSERT A memo signed by Gen. Ricardo Sanchez has come to light authorizing interrogation methods in Iraq that violate the Geneva Conventions. The U.S. has established in Afghanistan a network of detention centers that may represent "a plan to replace Guantanamo Bay," beyond the jurisdiction of the U.S. Constitution and the Geneva Conventions. "Ghost detainees" — unrecorded, unmonitored prisoners — now exceed 10,000 (Guardian). Rep. Peter DeFazio is not yet a co-sponsor of the Torture Outsourcing Prevention Act, HR 952, which would outlaw the U.S. practice of rendition. * The Bush administration has conducted secret missions inside Iran since last summer to identify three dozen or more targets that could be destroyed by "precision" strikes and commando raids. U.S. Central Command has been asked to revise the military's war plan, providing for a maximum ground and air invasion of Iran (New Yorker). * The Real I.D. Act, hard on immigrants, refugees and the environment, passed the House and has arrived in the Senate, now attached to the emergency-spending bill for Iraq and tsunami relief (humanrightsfirst.org). Senators Wyden and Smith are said to be in a position to disentangle the Real I.D. Act from the emergency bill so it can be discussed on its own, and then oppose it. Capitol Switchboard is (202) 224-3121. * Senate confirmation hearings begin April 7 on Bush's nominee for ambassador to the U.N: John Bolton, a hawk who dismantled the ABM treaty and reversed Clinton's approval of the International Criminal Court (Institute for Public Accuracy). * So far, the cost to Oregon taxpayers for the Iraq war has been $1.3 billion. Oregonians will pay $156 million for increases in military spending proposed for Bush's 2006 budget. The budget proposal includes $155.3 million in cuts for discretionary grants to Oregon state and local governments, including $4.4 million cuts in wastewater treatment and clean water projects, $2.9 million in low-income home energy assistance, and $20 million in community and economic development. Programs constituting the No Child Left Behind Act would remain under-funded by $124.4 million (nationalprioritiesproject.org). * A recent CBS poll revealed that the largest number of U.S. respondents, 26 percent, consider the Iraq war our most important issue, followed by jobs/economy with 15 percent, and moral values/family eighth on the list at 3 percent. Environment was not included among the problems (Angus Reid Consultants). * Up to 18 percent of Iraq War veterans suffer from major depression, generalized anxiety, or post-traumatic stress syndrome, compared with 6 percent of troops returning from Gulf War I. Since 41 percent of soldiers said they would be too embarrassed to seek help for mental problems, accurate reports of military mental health problems may be severely under-reported (New England Journal of Medicine). * Montana's Gov. Schweitzer has asked the federal government to send home some of the 1,500 Montana National Guard troops stationed in Iraq and elsewhere, to help protect the state during a summer of intense wildfire danger. Most of Montana's Guard helicopters, which carry water and firefighters, are also in Iraq (planningforpeace.org). Will Governor Kulongoski ask for our Guard to come home? His address: 160 State Capital, 900 Court Street, Salem, OR 97301, 503-378-3111. * Controversy persists about the 2004 U.S. presidential election, as a group of university statisticians released a new report analyzing the discrepancy between national exit polls (+ 3 percent for Kerry) and election results (+ 2.5 percent for Bush), a discrepancy that could occur accidentally one time out of a million (freepress.org). * Responding to protests, Royal Dutch/Shell will reroute planned oil and gas pipelines off Sakhalin Island in the Russian Pacific to move them away from feeding grounds of the endangered Sakhalin population of 100 gray whales. Sakhalin II is the biggest gas and oil-drilling project being constructed in the world. Indigenous groups and environmentalists continue to oppose it because of its impact on rich marine ecosystems and traditional livelihoods (Pacific Environment). * In 2003, the B&B and Link fires affected more than 95,000 acres in Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, adjacent roadless areas, and old-growth reserves. Several logging ("salvage") projects have been proposed for the area. The U.S. Forest Service's preferred alternative proposes logging 30 million board feet (more than 5,000 log truckloads) on 6,800 acres just east of Mt. Jefferson Wilderness. Nearly 5,000 acres are in old-growth reserves. Public comments are due April 18: comments-pacificnorthwest-deschutes-sisters@fs.fed.us (Cascadia Wildlands Project). * E-mails by U.S. Geological Survey scientists working on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump suggest they planned to create and manipulate data results to accelerate the construction process. As one scientist wrote, "Science by peer pressure is dangerous but sometimes it is necessary." Another wrote, "If they need more proof, I will be happy to make up more stuff … I keep track of two sets of files, the ones that will keep QA [quality assurance] happy and the ones that were actually used" (Las Vegas Sun). * Parliament Coach Corp. and Homeland Defense Vehicles have created a $1.6 million motor home that protects its occupants from nuclear radiation and chemical and biological attacks for "several days" (Parliament Coach).         BHAVIA WAGNER Born in Corvallis, Bhavia Wagner left Oregon at age 2 and grew up in Urbana, Ill. She studied environmental education in Colorado, managed a watershed council in Michigan, and owned a recycled paper company with her then-husband in Wisconsin. "We had over 100 on staff," she says. "We tried to be socially responsible." After a divorce and a move to California, Wagner took part in a 1991 Peace Walk in Vietnam. She also visited Cambodia, devastated by American bombs, Khmer Rouge genocide, and civil war. "I was struck by the incredible poverty," she relates. "No cars in the capital city, children in rags." In 1994, she returned with photographer Valentina DuBasky for three months of interviews with Cambodians. Their book Soul Survivors was published in 2002, the same year that Wagner moved to Eugene to start a new non-profit. Launched in 2003, Friendship with Cambodia supplied scholarships to 31 poor children in 2004. Learn more at http://friendshipwithcambodia.org and attend the "Celebrate Dessert" benefit for Cambodian street children beginning at 6:30 pm Friday, April 8, at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 13th and Pearl. -BY PAUL NEEVEL
		Table of Contents | News | Views | Calendar| Film | Music | Culture | Classifieds | Personals | Contact | EW Archive | Advertising Information |