 |
  |
|
 |
||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||
Slant: Short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes Happening Person: Sally Nunn CITY REJECTS SITES IT ONCE PUSHED Remember when the city of Eugene was pushing McKenzie-Willamette/Triad to build a hospital at EWEB and the feds to build a new courthouse at the old cannery site? Well, the sites the city was extolling to others apparently aren't good enough for itself, according to officials' statements as part of discussions for locating a new City Hall. Consultants hired by the city assumed the EWEB site wasn't suitable because it had too much railroad noise, limited access and was in a floodplain. Councilors dismissed building near the now under construction federal building because it was cut off from downtown by traffic. Architect Jonah Cohen and landscape architect Doug Macy were very critical of the riverfront EWEB site at the council's Aug. 9 meeting. "It's one of the worst things we've done in our country to build in the flood plain," said Macy. Cohen pointed out that underground parking anticipated for the building could fill with water in a flood. Rick Siel, a former EPD lieutenant turned consultant, said that delays in crossing the tracks would be an issue for the police if they were located at the EWEB site. The EWEB site also is plagued with train noise from up to 30 large freights a day, said urban planner Ken Pirie. The train noise issue also applied to building next to the new federal courthouse, the consultants said. Most councilors dismissed building near the courthouse as too removed from downtown and hard to access. Getting to the new courthouse area, Councilor Andrea Ortiz said, "is hairy in a car and hairy walking." — Alan Pittman
WHERE PESTICIDES GO TO DIE Used to be that farmers all over the Willamette Valley bought and used copious amounts of DDT, 2,4-T and Lindate pesticides. Then, in the 1970s and '80s, the EPA banned domestic use of those chemicals, deeming them too durned dangerous. But what were farmers to do with their stocks of the banned 'cides? Use 'em up quick? Dump 'em illegally in the river? Stuff 'em in a shed and hope they'll disappear? Now, EWEB and other state and local agencies are helping growers in the McKenzie and Middle Fork Willamette watersheds get rid of the illegal stuff. The first-of-its-kind program, funded primarily by a grant from the Oregon Governor's Fund for the Environment, will be cost- and risk-free to growers. Farmers are to fill out a survey from EWEB, then deliver the banned pesticides to Lane County Waste Management's Glenwood facility on Oct. 18-20, Oct. 25 or Nov. 1. Just how much of the forsaken pesticides are in the Willamette Valley? Hard to say. OSU did a survey but is tight-lipped about the numbers, so EWEB is now doing its own scope and should have the results by mid-September, said EWEB's Karl Morgenstern. "We know that some people had large quantities — one grower had 1,500 pounds of DDT," Morgenstern said. "When they got banned, people just shoved them in their barns. Our goal is to help them get rid of it. We're protecting two watersheds that we get drinking water from, and growers are protecting their own families and wells." — Kera Abraham CHABAREK PLEADS NO CONTEST On Aug. 24, local peace activist Peter Chabarek pled no contest to a criminal trespass charge for an act of civil disobedience on Feb. 21. Chabarek handed out anti-war leaflets during a presentation by Sen. Gordon Smith to the Eugene Rotary Club, and he refused to leave after being asked to do so by the hotel's manager. The leaflets called Sen. Smith "an accomplice to mass murder" for supporting the Iraq War. Chabarek and his counsel, civil rights attorney Brian Michaels, made the decision to plead no contest on their own, and Chabarek read a statement in municipal court affirming his constitutional right to oppose the war. But city prosecutor C. Michael Arnold treated the plea like a deal, dropping the city's charge of criminal trespass against Chabarek for another act of civil disobedience on March 20. "I would have offered him a one-for-one, so I won't penalize Chabarek for doing it on his own," Arnold said. Surprisingly, Chabarek balked at the offer, telling EW that he didn't want that charge dropped. Chabarek and other activists had been cited with criminal trespass for sitting outside of Sen. Ron Wyden's Eugene office, demanding that the senator hear them out about his support for war funding, even after the building manager asked them to leave. Michaels said that the supervisor at Wyden's office had received special permission from the Senate to testify as a witness for the defense. "We want to go to trial on the Wyden charge, because we want to put the war on trial," Chabarek said. — Kera Abraham
UNDERBRIDGE INITIATIVE The common response to crime is to target the areas perceived as concentrations of criminality and increase law enforcement, but one local organization is hoping to try something new. Ground Works Organization began as a promotion company in Eugene, designing and distributing promotional materials throughout the city for upcoming events and local businesses. Recently, the group has begun using the income from the business to host their own community events. Initially Ground Works focused on putting on hip hop shows, but then they began to receive support from the United Way, HIV Alliance and EW to expand the scope of their work: hosting food drives for Lane County and a local Hurricane Katrina relief benefit, among other endeavors. The group, run by brothers Aaron Martin and Gabriel Sechrist, and designer Mike Moreno, has now set its sites on the Washington-Jefferson Bridge area. "I don't think it's the center of crime in this town, but if everybody thinks that there's nothing but criminals there, then nothing but criminals will gravitate to it. If a park isn't used for what it's there for, then it encourages the homeless to camp there and it encourages drug activity there," says Sechrist who calls the area "the heart of the city." Their approach is to sponsor community-based events in the area to revitalize the park and the surrounding community. Every Friday in September from 5 to 10 pm will be events under the bridge including live music, food vendors, self-defense workshops, skateboard demonstrations, four-on-four basketball and more. The first "Underbridge Initiative" as they have called it will be taking place Friday evening, Sept. 1. — Martha Calhoon
SUSTAINABLE WORKPLACES The people have spoken! And they say that Eugene's definition of sustainability should include fairness, health care and other considerations of employee welfare. This was the conclusion of a study released this month by the UO Labor Education and Research Center (LERC) and the Eugene-Springfield Solidarity Network (ESSN). ESSN and LERC designed the study to find out what the community thinks about "social equity," one of the three legs of the city of Eugene's sustainability task force. The other two are economic prosperity and environmental quality. Social equity is the least researched of the three principles and often given lowest priority, the report's authors say. The study shows that financial and environmental concerns are important, but that people's working experiences also matter in the Eugene-Springfield community. In the spring of 2006, the study's authors convened seven focus groups. Workers, business owners and managers discussed what they valued about social equity and made suggestions for integrating social equity into sustainability initiatives. The focus groups said health benefits, flexible work schedules, a living wage and opportunities for career advancement were most important. "Health benefits should be mandatory … for any type of job," one participant said. The focus groups definitely valued the idea of sustainability. One group member said, "Sustainability helps people feel connected to their community, feel good about what they're doing in their community." Some participants worried that social equity would not receive the same attention as economic successes or environmental considerations. Business sector participants supported the concept but raised concerns about increased wages and employer-provided health care. They suggested that the city recognize businesses with socially equitable practices. Study co-author Claire Syrett said, "We hope that this report will spur a much-needed community dialogue." The report, The Social Equity Factor, is available online at www.uoregon.edu/~lerc/index.html — Adrienne van der Valk
NCAP WINS EPA LAWSUIT On Aug. 24, a federal judge in Seattle overturned new Bush administration rules that allowed pesticide manufacturers to ignore their products' effects on endangered species. The court restored earlier standards that gave better protection to plants and animals on the brink of extinction. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by a coalition of wildlife conservation and pesticide reform organizations, including the Eugene-based Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP). Earthjustice represented the plaintiffs. The Endangered Species Act requires the Environmental Protection Agency to consult with wildlife scientists before approving pesticide products, in order to ensure that pesticide use won't threaten protected species. The Bush administration had changed the rules, at pesticide companies' request, to let the EPA's pesticide managers alone make the call about chemicals' impacts on protected species. The federal judge called the rule changes "arbitrary and capricious" and found that they would "actually result in harm to listed species," noting the "total absence of any technical and scientific evidence to support or justify" the rule changes. He also found that the EPA had unlawfully failed to prepare an environmental impact statement before changing the rules. Pesticides are a major contributor to the decline of species such as bald eagles, salmon, frogs and sea turtles. "The last thing America's most imperiled wildlife needed was another Bush administration rollback that could make their prospects for survival worse," stated national Wildlife Federation attorney John Kostyack in a press release. "The judge's decision means that these species may still have a fighting chance against pesticides." Lane County Herbicide Spray Schedule Updated spray notices: Farm and Forest Helicopter (360) 362-3197 conducting aerial spraying for Oregon Department of Forestry (935-2283), Notification No. 781-50943 on 80 acres state lands with Oust, Arsenal, Accord Herbicides and Forest Crop Oil near Nelson and Haynes tributaries in Section 8, Township 17 South, Range 7 West, south of Triangle Lake, and east of Greenleaf. Skookum Reforestation (485-3026) for Rosboro Lumber (746-8411) No. 781-50986 on 3250 acres ground spraying with Triclopyr ester (Garlon 4); and adjuvants Forest Crop Oil (oil carrier and adjuvant) and/or Brush & Basal (oil carrier) in Greenleaf/Deadwood area. See Oregon Department of Forestry website for more information regarding additives at: www.odf.state.or.us/pcf/chem/additives.asp and for more information regarding herbicides for forestry at: www.odf.state.or.us/pcf/chem/pesticides.asp Compiled by Jan Wroncy, Forestland Dwellers, 342-8332
CORRECTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS In letters last week, Alisa McLaughlin wrote that the U.S. comprises 12 percent of the world's population, but a reader points out that the U.S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov)reports the U.S. population is 299,565,000 and the world population is 6,539,864,000. A little calculator work shows the actual percentage is about 4.6. In last week's cover story on Shakespeare in Ashland, the Old Shepherd in The Winter's Tale was misidentified as Geoffrey Blaisdell; the part is played by Josiah Phillips. And the set designed for The Merry Wives of Windsor is by Richard L. Hay, not Dick Hays. In the "Good Habits, Better Air!" news brief last week, the last paragraph was incomplete. It should read: OTA has free "Don't Top Off!" stickers that can be put on gas tank covers. Stop by 1192 Lawrence St. or call 465-8860.
SALLY NUNN
"I come from a long line of Republicans," says Sally Nunn, who studied art and minored in war protests at the UO. "But I was a beatnik. I was a member of SDS until I heard the president say, 'The women will bring cookies to the next meeting.'" Originally a country girl from Indiana, Nunn remained in Oregon to enjoy the outdoor life. She served on the Sierra Club's High Desert Committee during the campaign to save Steens Mountain, but otherwise stayed out of politics for 20 years while she ran her plant maintenance business, Dr Greenthumb. She sold the business in 2000 and soon found work as project manager for the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza. "It was a totally different experience," says Nunn, who also worked for state Rep. Phil Barnhart on two successful election campaigns. "I got to know the forces at work in the Legislature," she says. Nunn is currently political chair for the local Sierra Club and endorsements chair for the local Oregon League of Conservation Voters. She will host a "Red, White, and Blues Jam" to benefit OLCV in her west Eugene yard on Sept. 16.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
