News Briefs: Iraqi Woman Speaks Out For Peace | Velure Coverage | Political Speed Dating | March 18 Events Grow | New City Hall Forums Begin | Slant: Short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes News: Rope, Not Dope Experts at PIELC draw distinctions between hemp and pot. News: Garage Blasted Citizens pack hearing to oppose Whole Foods subsidy. Happening Person: Keith Sheldon   IRAQI WOMAN SPEAKS OUT FOR PEACE A member of a delegation of Iraqi women will be in Eugene next week speaking about daily life in Iraq and the possibility of an impending civil war. Eman Ahmed Khamas will speak at 7:30 pm Tuesday, March 21 at the Campbell Senior Center, 3rd and High. Suggested donation is $5-$10. Khamas will talk first-hand about the escalation of violence that's occurred since the bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra Feb. 22. Khamas arrived in the U.S. March 5 with a delegation of Iraqi women seeking to tell their stories to the American public and urge U.S. and U.N. officials to create a peace plan to end the escalating cycle of violence. The delegation has been traveling throughout the U.S. promoting a Women's Call for Peace that was signed by 100,000 women around the globe. The peace petition was delivered to the White House March 8, International Women's Day, by a large group of women wearing pink and marching with the Iraqi delegation. The group met at the Iraq Embassy and walked to the White House, chanting "Money for heath and education, not for war and occupation." The call urges a shift in strategy in Iraq, from a military model to a conflict resolution model. It requests the withdrawal of all foreign troops and foreign fighters from Iraq, negotiations to reincorporate disenfranchised Iraqis, full representation of women in the peacemaking process, and a commitment to women's equality in the post-war Iraq. The full text is available at www.womensaynotowar.org. Khamas is a journalist, translator and human rights activist who lives in Baghdad with her husband and two daughters. She is a member of the Women's Will organization, which focuses on defining and defending women's rights outside of political party interests and opposing incarceration of women as hostages. Khamas regularly publishes articles on women's conditions in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion, and has documented human rights violations committed by U.S. and Iraqi forces. She is also involved in mobilizing emergency relief (medicines, food and clothing) for victims of the war, especially women and children living in refugee camps. Khamas is being hosted by Eugene CODEPINK, a small band of women from a variety of peace groups who believe the time is right for a new attitude to Eugene's traditional peace activist approach. Eugene CODEPINK founders Karla Cohen (Justice Not War Coalition), Pam Garrison (Justice Not War, Women in Black, WAND) and Aria Seligmann (WAND, Nonviolent Peaceforce) marched together in the Sept. 24 Peace Parade in Washington, D.C.   VELURE COVERAGE Last week The Register-Guard used two front page articles and an editorial to take county Circuit Court Judge Lyle Velure to task for trying to hand off his judgeship to his friend Rohn Roberts. Velure told Roberts he would not seek re-election and would withdraw just before the deadline, leaving Roberts, who filed at the last minute, as the only candidate on the ballot for the judgeship. Velure and Roberts backed off after criticism in the R-G and Velure said he wouldn't resign now. But a similar thing happened the same week in Portland with very different play in The Oregonian and a different outcome. The Oregonian reported that Portland Sen. Frank Shields withdrew two days before filing deadline, leaving his close friend Rod Monroe to file for his vacant seat shortly before the deadline. But Jesse Cornett, who works in the Secretary of State's Office, noticed Shields wasn't running and also filed for the vacant seat before the deadline. The Oregonian did one inside story with no editorial and Monroe is still running for the Senate seat. Velure and Roberts backing down will likely result in an undemocratic selection for the local judgeship. If Velure chooses to retire mid-term, Gov. Ted Kulongoski will appoint his successor. Kulongoski has been criticized by environmentalists for appointing some anti-environmental cronies and big campaign contributors to state posts. — Alan Pittman     POLITICAL SPEED DATING Friday's roundtable at City Club of Eugene with the off-the-beaten-path gubernatorial candidates was like a political round of speed dating, with each candidate speaking for just five minutes on the single issue he thinks is the most important in the race. Republicans W.C. Ames and Gordon Leitch joined Democrat Pete Sorensen, independent Ben Westlund and Pacific Green candidate Ed Winslow at the lunch meeting. Sorensen spoke first, citing the unfairness of the current tax system and the need to increase taxes on corporations as his top priority. He told a story about receiving a call from his college-aged daughter telling him she would need a few hundred bucks to cover the taxes on her earnings selling shoes at the mall. After joking about "the first national bank of Dad," he brought the issue home saying, "My daughter is going to have to pay more taxes than two thirds of the major corporations in Oregon." He was followed by state Sen. Ben Westlund of Bend, who recently changed his party affiliation from Republican to independent. Describing himself as a "recovering Republican," he asked the audience to think back to the Social Security "crisis" and the $5 trillion of unfunded liability that was at the top of many politicians' agendas not so long ago. "Who cares," he said. "It isn't even dirt on our shoes" compared to the $65 trillion of unfunded liability for Medicare. As a way to help the audience put $65 trillion in perspective, he said, "A billion seconds ago Nixon was resigning, and a trillion seconds ago, Jesus was being crucified." Leitch followed with a history lesson on how our government has strayed from the gold standard and argued that returning to it is the cure-all for what ails the country. Winslow, who is not yet confirmed as the Green Party nominee, followed, arguing for the need to reverse Measure 37. He received a large round of applause when he referred to the 2004 election as one that was "stolen from the people." Ames spoke last and told a hunting joke to illustrate the concept of "wasted ammo," an analogy for government waste and misallocation of resources. He argued for cutting services, the number of legislators, reducing the number of bills and laws legislators are "allowed" to pass, and for tearing down the government and rebuilding it to run more efficiently. — Melissa Bearns   MARCH 18 EVENTS GROW A large gathering of peace activists is expected at events marking the March 18 third anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Local peace groups are mobilizing rallies, an afternoon of workshops and evening observances. The theme of the Saturday, March 18 event is "Take Back our America." People will gather at three locations at 10:30 am: Alton Baker Park near the Bike Bridge, Lane County Fairgrounds, and the EMU on campus at UO. Starting at 11 am, the three marches will converge on the Federal Building on 7th Avenue for a noon mass rally with Carmen Urbina, Mayor Kitty Piercy and several speakers and musicians. Starting at 2:30 pm will be a gathering for workshops at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 13th and Pearl. Two events are planned from 6 to 8 pm: a social gathering at Cozmic Pizza, 8th and Charnelton, and a community meditation for peace at First Christian church, 1166 Oak St. The 2:30 pm workshops include "The Religious and Moral path to Peace," with representatives from Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Sikh Dharma; along with talks by Martin Jones, Marion Malcolm, David Hazen, Jason Schreiner and Jan Spencer, Carol Van Houten, the Democratic Party of Lane County, and a panel with Lynne Fessenden, Indigo Ronlov and Kate Gessert. Workshops at 3:30 pm include "Iraq: Which Way Out: It Really is About the Oil," by Progressive Responses; along with talks by Jack Dresser, Gordon Sturrock, Ravi Logan and Jan Spencer, Claire Syrett, and Martin Jones. For more information contact Michael Carrigan, Community Alliance of Lane County, 485-1755 or visit www.calclane.org/march18.htmor e-mail calcdev@efn.org In related news, the Friendly Neighbors for Peace has revived and is gathering for poetry, music and sign making for Saturday's rally. The evening drop-in event is Thursday, March 16 at the Washington Park Community Center. No time was given. For information, call 687-6879. NEW CITY HALL FORUMS BEGIN A series of four forums to discuss the future for Eugene's City Hall will begin at 6 pm Thursday, March 23 at the First United Methodist Church, 1376 Olive St. Participants will be able to discuss the issues and talk with project staff from the city and the consultant team. Childcare and refreshments will be provided, with registration required for the childcare program. To register, or for more information about the project, visit the project web site at www.eugenecityhall.comor call the project comment line at 682-5222. Multiple options are being considered, most with a large price tag that would require a vote of the people, most likely in 2008. Options are many and include rebuilding City Hall at its present site, rebuilding only part of it, or building a new facility somewhere else downtown. The remaining forums in 2006 are scheduled on May 25, Aug. 24, and Nov. 9, also from 6:30 to 8 pm at the First Methodist Church.     SLANT Critical Mass is a topic we've covered in news and letters for nearly a decade. The story doesn't vary much from year to year. Bicyclists gather en masse the last Friday afternoon of each month for a group ride downtown. Predictably the Eugene Police Department revs up for it, chases down the group with squad cars and tries to break it up with petty ticketing and sometimes downright assaults on cyclists. The cops say they are just responding to 911 calls from irritated motorists, and impeding traffic is a crime. The cyclists say they are traffic. EPD has a bad reputation for selective law enforcement, and knocking cyclists to the ground just fuels that image. EPD could help diffuse the tension and give itself a PR boost by cooperating with Critical Mass, as has happened in many other cities, such as Portland and San Francisco. Squad cars could follow, escort and protect the cyclists. Critical Mass could become a fun, safe, friendly, family outing advocating bicycling — instead of a dangerous, adrenaline-fueled cat-and-mouse game that one of these months could end in tragedy. Bids for the Cultural Policy Review (CPR) aren't due until the end of March (see Slant last week), but Mayor Piercy is still assembling the group that will play a key role in the future of the development of Eugene's arts and culture scenes. The group is referred to as simply the Mayor's Committee, and city interim Director of Cultural Services Laura Niles said she expects the committee to include about 20 people, hopefully representing a broad range of voices and opinions. The panel will include the eight members of the Cultural Services Advisory Committee (CSAC), and members of Lane Arts Council, DIVA and other arts organizations are all being considered. In a recent CSAC meeting, City recreation and cultural services chief Angel Jones said the city is hoping for "a broad representation," but the city tends to tap known players for key positions — people they know and have worked with in the past. The committee could lack true representation from some of our more underground, but hugely influential players. For example, Michael Kay of Northwest Beat, an active member of Eugene's hip hop community, owner of Shamasound records, and promoter of all-ages events to showcase young talent would be a diverse voice on the panel. Shawn Mediaclast, owner of the Museum of Unfine Art, might be another interesting choice. Or how about the organizers of Ri-Ignition Rock Showcases, who monthly put together a show with a line-up of entirely local bands? The city might invite someone from the Raging Family crew, local musicians who have fostered an amazing online community through their ongoing presence and support of Eugene's music scene. Let's find some people for this committee who will represent segments of the population other than the white, middle-aged, upper-middle class segment of our community. In last Friday's speech at City Club of Eugene, Republican gubernatorial candidate W.C. Ames did an excellent job of alienating most of the crowd by telling a hunting joke that portrayed women as stupid and incompetent. While his inane joke might have gone over well in some rural roadside bar, it bombed here in Eugene. Clearly Ames didn't bother to research his audience prior to writing his short speech. Pete Sorenson is finally getting the ink he must have in the mainstream media to really have a shot at the governorship in Oregon. Last week, Jeff Mapes wrote a long piece in The Oregonian telling how the Oregon Education Association "narrowly voted to stay neutral instead of handing the endorsement to one of Kulongoshi's Democratic primary rivals, Lane County Commissioner Pete Sorenson." After several rounds of voting, "no recommendation" won 54 percent of the votes to 46 percent for Sorenson. That's a huge show of support for Pete from a union that gave $250,000 to Kulongoski's last campaign. Besides the money, the union has 45,000 members, many of them experienced foot soldiers in political campaigns. Sorenson's dogged grassroots campaigning clearly is paying off. That's what it takes to dispel the view that this guy from Eugene can't win. Maybe he just can! 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 KEITH SHELDON After graduation from college in her home state of Virginia, Keith Sheldon joined the Peace Corps and spent three years in Burkina-Faso, the fourth poorest nation on Earth. "It changed my life," she says. "My relationship with money is so different." Sheldon also met her husband, Kevin Young, in the Peace Corps. When they returned in 1987, they toured the West Coast and decided to settle in Eugene. She found part-time work dealing with young felony offenders in the county's Youth Services Department, while he established and tended their organic Healing Ground Farm at the top of Fall Creek Reservoir. Nineteen years later, Sheldon still works part-time (by choice) with Youth Services, as a probation officer with an all-girl case load. "I sit with the family and do an assessment," she explains. "Can they take care of appropriate consequences? Eighty percent of charges never go to court. We divert, divert, divert." She points out that time spent in prison is the best predictor of who will go bad. "It's $160 per day not well spent," she says. "It just shapes more criminal behavior." -BY BY PAUL NEEVEL
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