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Slant: Short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes Commentary: Happening Person: Lorraine Kerwood LOOTING AT THE PUMP In New Orleans, people taking advantage of the disaster to steal from stores have been warned that looters could be shot on site. But here in Oregon, gasoline companies taking advantage of the hurricane to loot people at the pumps face no such consequences.
Most states have laws against price gouging, but not Oregon. "Unfortunately, the Oregon Legislative Assembly has, in each of the past five sessions, failed to approve my proposals for an anti-price gouging law," Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers lamented in a press release Sept. 2. Myers noted that Oregon's supply of gasoline was adequate and shouldn't be directly effected by the storm. But gas prices in Oregon shot up about 30 cents a gallon after Katrina, beginning their steep spike just hours after the winds died down 2,500 miles away. The Oregon AG's office has received dozens of complaints about gas price gouging in Oregon, said department spokesperson Jan Margosian. Although the state lacks an anti-gouging law, the AG will pursue the most egregious cases using more difficult to use trade practices laws barring "unconscionably" high prices. Cases the AG pursues under the law have "got to be bad" and not just a few cents hike in prices, Margosian said. Increasing prices with lower supply and higher demand "is the all-American way," Margosian said. But companies aren't allowed to collude in fixing higher prices or raise prices unconscionably, she said. Margosian said the department has received reports of some stations charging 50 cents a gallon more right after the hurricane. Some gasoline sellers "might find this is an opportunity to make a lot of money," she said. To complain about price gouging, call the Oregon AG's toll free consumer hotline at (877) 877-9392. E-mail can be sent through the website (www.doj.state.or.us).Documented, written complaints are the most effective. The California AG plans to subpoena gas company records in a probe into price gouging using a state law that prohibits retailers from raising prices more than 10 percent during government-declared emergencies. AGs in other states have launched similar investigations. Local Congressman Peter DeFazio called on the U.S. attorney general to also investigate gas price gouging in the wake of Katrina. "It's pure and simple disaster profiteering." The city of San Diego has also taken action with plans to consider a new city law banning gas price gouging, the San Jose Mercury News reported. City Attorney Michael Aguirre said, "You can loot by breaking the window or you can loot by raising the prices." — Alan Pittman
UNLEARNING RACIST IDEAS
Lee Mun Wah, an internationally acclaimed diversity trainer, will lead a retreat titled "Unlearning Racism" at the UO this weekend. The workshop is "designed to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of our differences," sponsors say. Mun Wah's film, The Color of Fear, won the National Education Media Network's Best Social Documentary Award in 1995, the same year that Oprah Winfrey aired a one-hour special on Mun Wah's life. The workshop on racism follows months of heated debate on issues of race and "cultural competency" at the UO. It will be held from 8 am to 5 pm Sept. 10 and 11 in the EMU Ballroom. Mun Wah's newest film, Last Chance for Eden, will be shown from 6 to 9:30 pm Sept. 10, also in the ballroom. Log on to www.stirfryseminars.comfor more information.
DOUBLE-WIDE TROUBLE The local real estate boom is blowing out some of Eugene's most affordable housing in manufactured dwelling parks. The local Emerald Valley park is kicking 20 mostly low-income households out to cash in on rising land values. Another local park is rumored to be planning the same move. Manufactured dwellings are "often the only homeownership option available to persons with very limited income," city staff wrote the Eugene City Council last month. Closing them "has an enormous impact on the residents." Moving a double-wide and establishing it at another site can cost up to $17,000. Portland has a similar problem with more than 800 homes in parks threatened with closure. Dramatically increasing housing prices in Oregon and nationally have made it attractive for owners to convert manufactured home parks into more upscale subdivisions. A city ordinance requires that landlords give low-income, disabled, or elderly tenants up to $3,500 to help move a home, but the ordinance does not apply in residential zoned property outside of flood plains. A state law also requires $3,500 in moving assistance, but only on the rare occasion that an owner fails to give a year's notice. — Alan Pittman
DODGING BULLETS Tree-sitting is a desperate act of peaceful civil disobedience. Forest activists often use the tactic as a last-ditch effort to protect old-growth trees when environmental lawsuits fail, when logging trucks roll in, when it seems to late. They camp in trees marked for logging through wind and rain, pissing in buckets and fighting boredom for weeks (or even years) on end. But if that's not taxing enough, tree-sitters defending old growth in the McKenzie Ranger District now report that they're dodging bullets.
Guardians of the McKenzie Watershed, an activist group that opposes commercial logging on federal public lands, alleges that loggers intentionally shot at tree-sitters in the Sten Timber Sale in the McKenzie Ranger District on Aug. 27. The press release states that "four unidentified men driving a Dodge truck outfitted for logging operations" fired at least four 45-calibre bullets at the tree-sitters and their ground support crew. No one was hurt. The activists suspect that the logging contractor operating the timber sale, Freres Lumber, was behind the attack. Company owner Rob Freres "has a long history of conflict with forest activists in various situations over the past decade," the press release states. Freres denies that his company had anything to do with it. "We have no knowledge of the incident and we would not condone any activity of that nature," he says. Two of the tree-sitters held a press conference about the shooting on Aug. 31. Staff from The Register-Guard and KVAL attended but did not report on the event, possibly because the activists did not file a police report. Forest Service law enforcement officer Joe Fletcher says that neither the Forest Service nor the sheriff plan to investigate the alleged shooting because activists are not cooperating. "There is no case if we don't have a victim and we don't have evidence and no one will talk to us," he says. Josh Laughlin of the Cascadia Wildlands Project says that the activists are choosing to remain anonymous to protect their own safety, physically and legally. But he knew they were serious when he heard three messages on his answering machine on the morning of the alleged shootings. "They were basically saying, 'Sound the alarm — someone is trying to kill us out here." — Kera Abraham
COP REVIEW PITCHES DUE
Eugene Ballot Measure 20-106, establishing a police auditor and civilian review board to review complaints against the police, will go before voters in the Nov. 8 election, and the deadline for pro and con arguments in the Voters' Pamphlet is Sept. 15. Backers of the measure are currently raising money to pay for the arguments. Each statement in the Voters' Pamphlet costs $300. Anyone wanting to contribute can send checks payable to Vote Yes for External Police Review to Judith Shoap, Treasurer, PO Box 50155, Eugene 97405. Contributions of up to $50 for individuals or $100 for joint returns get a dollar-for-dollar credit on Oregon tax returns.
9/11 VIGIL AND EVENTS It's been four years since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and several events are planned surrounding the anniversary date: • An Interfaith Prayer and Reflection Services sponsored by Two Rivers Interfaith Ministries (TRIM) will be held Sunday, Sept. 11 at the First Christian Church on Oak near 11th (see Calendar). • Preceeding the interfaith service will be a Gathering and Ribbon of Tangible Hope Procession at 5:30 pm Sunday at the Federal Building. The event will include short talks and the viewing of 54 handcrafted cotton panels. The group will then walk to the interfaith services. • A 48-hour vigil at Sens. Smith's and Wyden's Eugene offices at the Federal Building began Wednesday afternoon and will continue through Friday. Local organizers say Homeland Security has been notified since the vigil continues overnight. • The Sept. 24 local protest against the war is still in the planning stages. For information, contact the Justice Not War Coalition at 606-2877 • Faith in Action continues its weekly vigils Wednesdays from 4:30 to 6:30 pm at the Federal Building, in peaceful opposition to the militarization of U.S. foreign policy and the war in Iraq.
HACK ATTACK Kris Millegan of Trine Day Books (see "Sinister Forces" cover story 8/25) says his website (www.trineday.com) was disabled by "serious hackers" about the time EW's story about him was published. The site is partially back and running. Numerous people have contacted EW asking for information on how to contact Millegan. The toll-free number for Trine Day is (800) 556-2012 and his mailing address is PO Box 577, Walterville 97489.
CORRECTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS The story on NEDCO last week ("Bricks in the Wall") included a photo of a musician, but the person in the photo is not Ricardo Cárdenas, who's mentioned in the story. EW regrets the error.
Saved
by the Swerve I just moved from New Orleans a few short weeks ago. I was one of the unlucky citizens who were trapped there during Hurricane Ivan last year. Afterwards, National Geographic did a "what if" feature on what would happen to the city after Ivan, and catastrophic flooding scenarios were done specifically on the New Orleans area. Yet nothing had been done to prevent the inevitable. What was funny was that last year the mayor of NO was criticized for blocking the poor and homeless citizens from entering the Superdome refuge, as only medical patients were allowed, and finally decided let them enter. He didn't want to come under fire for discriminating about who was fit to live or die. Yes, I packed a bed and supplies and an axe up in my dusty attic, not knowing if I was going to see the dawn after the hurricane. Lucky for me, Ivan swerved off six hours before landfall. Now why did I stay? I had just moved to New Orleans from overseas, and had no car. Ironically, all the buses and trains stopped operating in the city, no taxis, no flights, nothing. Every single car rental was empty. I was literally trapped in New Orleans. The city would not answer phone calls — police were no help — and like many other residents and tourists, we were stuck in the danger zone, as there was no public transportation out of the city available. Luckily that wasn't "The Big One." After living there for over a year, I assessed my odds of survival in a city that was already riddled with crime and flooded several times during the time I was there. New Orleans is a scary place to live: 1.6 murders every day, and more than 50,000 unserved warrants — crime so bad a police department crackdown fired many senior officers for lying about the crime statistics. I was a manager for a nightclub on Bourbon Street, I created and painted parade floats for Mardi Gras, did several gallery shows in that town and was very much a part of the culture. But what I saw and experienced in that city made me notice that the people of New Orleans had a much, much lower level of morals and ethics. The city itself was filthy, and that's putting it kindly. A 9 percent sales tax on everything, yet the city did nothing to justify it. The streets were in terrible condition, sidewalks, pavement, roads — all looked like they had gone through an earthquake, yet were never repaired. Burned-out buildings left to rot, and trash, trash everywhere. New Orleans was ranked the unhealthiest city in the entire U.S. this year. The city officials failed to do anything right. The city officials' response to a major storm was to yell "Evacuate town, save your own butts people!" Yes, they opened up the Superdome, but with no extensive preparation, no food or water storage, no blankets or cots. Not even enough toilet paper. The city of New Orleans was and has been suffering from gross mismanagement. New Orleans was built for horse and buggy transportation and has never been properly improved. The entire city is a tinderbox. 50 percent of the homes should have been condemned, demolished and entirely rebuilt. You actually have to go there, roam the streets, and live in that city to understand what I mean. New Orleans WAS a third world country. So let's pretend they rebuild New Orleans. Who in their right mind is going to risk living there again? No one can promise that another hurricane won't hit again this month, let alone next year. The city should never have been built there in the first place. If it was human determination to conquer nature and make the city work despite its location, then fortifying the levees and protecting its population is the first priority, The city government is to blame for continuing to allow everyone to live in dangerous areas, and continuing to misappropriate tax dollars with unsatisfactory results. It's been like that for years. This is not a race issue. There are many poor of all colors, but even the poor pay taxes and expect rights and protection within our own borders. This is neither a class issue. There are rich people who were also trapped in the city or chose to stay. This was an issue of trust. New Orleans residents trusted their city government to protect them, socially and economically, but the city failed to protect them from the most obvious danger of all.
LORRAINE KERWOOD
When her massage practice was ended by an injury in 1995, Lorraine Kerwood discovered computers as a student at LCC. And even while she finished a UO degree and began a new career as a social worker, she also got into buying old Macintosh computers from thrift stores. "I found information on the Internet on how to rebuild them," she explains. "I started giving them away." In 1999, Kerwood founded MacRenewal, a non-profit devoted to salvaging old Macs and donating them to kids in foster care, migrant-worker families, and other worthy recipients. "In five years we've given away 3,000 computers," says Kerwood, who quit her social-work job two years ago to dedicate all her energies to the agency, now called the Computer Reuse and Recycling Center (CRRC). CRRC relies on volunteer labor to rebuild computers and dismantle unusable components for recycling. "We find markets for every piece," Kerwood notes. "Recycling pays our rent." Volunteers who put in 30 hours earn themselves a refurbished computer. Flanked by volunteers in the photo, Kerwood cradles Luna, the CRRC mascot. Learn more at lanecrrc.org -BY PAUL NEEVEL
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