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Slant: Short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes News:
WHAT, UO BIKE THEFT? You can't count on Portlanders to stop a bike thief, according to a recent Willamette Week report ("Steal This Bike," 9/19). A WW intern used bolt cutters to gank his own bike out in the open seven times, but passersby barely gave him a second glance. The same might apply here in Eugene, where bike theft numbers exceed Portland's, but at least one righteous soul recently called campus police to report suspected bike pilferage on UO grounds. But campus cops neither logged the report nor shared the information with the EPD. On the evening of Sept. 15, UO freshman Chris Pollard witnessed a man standing next to a green pickup truck loaded with several bikes near a rack outside of the Hamilton Complex. When Pollard approached, the man waved to another man, who grabbed a pair of 4-foot bolt cutters and jumped in the truck, Pollard alleges. They drove away, but Pollard found two cut U-locks lying where the truck had been parked. Pollard wrote down the truck's license plate number and called the Department of Public Safety. DPS made a radio entry of a suspicious condition and scoped nearby buildings, but didn't log an official report. "They were given a vehicle description including a license plate, so they checked that out," said DPS Sgt. Lynn Brown. "Nothing more than an area check … and it didn't even get posted onto the media log." The info was not shared with the EPD because Pollard wasn't the owner of the stolen bike, Brown explained. "Even though the witness saw the incident take place, until the victim calls in, there is no crime," he said. Pollard, unsatisfied by the DPS response, posted his testimony on Craigslist in hopes that vigilant citizens will do more than campus police. "I've gotten emails from people glad that someone is doing something, because it doesn't seem like the police are doing anything," he said. — Kera Abraham
TASK FORCE DRAFTS IDEAS It's been more than a year since Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy launched the Sustainable Business Initiative with the goal of making Eugene one of America's greenest mid-sized cities by 2020. The initiative aims to bolster business and local quality of life by stressing the "triple bottom line" of economic, social and environmental well-being. A 16-person task force chaired by local business owners Rusty Rexius and David Funk gathered input from more than 750 people, with support from a 50-person technical advisory committee and UO Resource Innovations staff. Through numerous roundtables, online surveys and meetings with local nonprofits, the task force drafted eleven recommendations for the City Council, which Funk and Rexius will discuss with the councilors at a Sept. 25 work session. "These are informal opportunities for the city councilors to ask more questions," said SBI staffer Sarah Mazze. "Then it will be up to the City Council to vote on the various recommendations whenever they choose." The recommendations include: Making a public commitment to supporting businesses that use sustainable practices; establishing a city Office of Sustainability and a Sustainability Commission; adopting the goal of making all city-owned facilities carbon-neutral by 2020; purchasing and using sustainable practices, products and technologies; adopting sustainability criteria for city decision-making; adopting sustainability indicators to assess progress toward sustainability; drafting a plan to achieve zero waste to landfills and incinerators from city facilities and operations by 2020; educating city employees about sustainability; providing incentives for businesses using sustainable practices; and forming partnerships with private, public and non-profit entities to expand sustainability practices, products, and services. — Kera Abraham CPA LOOKS TO REVIVAL One of Eugene's most effective local government watchdog organizations, Citizens for Public Accountability (CPA), is looking at revival after some years of slipping attendance and irregular meetings. The political and environmental action group came together for a picnic and reunion Sept. 17 that drew about three dozen people.
The agenda for CPA will be determined by the group's new steering committee in October, but the suggestion list so far includes reforming Eugene's undemocratic city manager form of government, promoting an independent city performance auditor, supporting local climate solutions and alternative transportation, and backing progressives in local elections. "We're not going to reform the entire city government overnight," said Cary Thompson, a candidate for the steering committee, "but we can pick a few things to work on where we can make a difference." CPA has made a difference in the past. The group was formed in 1995 as the primary opposition to back-room deals on tax breaks and wetlands siting for Hyundai/Hynix and later successfully sued the industry for pollution violations. CPA was a key force in establishing Eugene's Toxics Right to Know law, stopping the proposed destruction of River Road agricultural lands for a gravel pit, battling the West Eugene Parkway and other environmental issues. The group also puts on the annual Citizens' State of the City address, calling for increased attention to reform of local government, transparency and accountability. "We were most successful when we were meeting weekly at South Eugene High School," said Jan Wostmann, another steering committee candidate, "so we're hoping to do that again." CPA will be using email to announce meetings and organize political action, such as letter writing and testifying at public meetings. To get on the list, which should go active this fall, send a note to cdt@efn.org or call 686-5562. — TJT
TORAH! TORAH! If some time in the past you felt inspired by the musical Fiddler on the Roof in its lighter moments and imagined joining the cast in a song and dance number, this may be your chance. For the first time ever, during the high holidays of Rosh Hashanah (Sept. 22-24) and Yom Kippur (Oct. 1-2), Eugene is getting its own custom-made Torah scroll. A celebratory procession will begin at 5:30 pm Wednesday, Sept. 27, starting from the UO Knight Library. Music, chanting and torch fire will lead the way in an investiture designed to be all inclusive to the community at large. Why? According to Rabbi Asi Spiegel, "Sure, the Jews brought the Torah to the world, but since then, millions of others have come to believe and accept it. The street procession represents a symbolic connection between the message and wisdom of the Torah and the daily life of Eugene." The original Torah set down by Moses 3,319 years ago became the first five books of the Jewish Bible, adopted verbatim as the Old Testament by Christians. So what's the big deal of a "made-to-order" Torah? The answer is in the numbers. A Torah scroll must be hand written on kosher parchment by a specially trained "Sofer" scribe. Before he can even begin, he must learn more than 4,000 rules for this sanctified task. Then comes the hard part. There are 304,805 letters (each representing a word, partial word or phrase) that must be inscribed without error to duplicate the first Torah that ever was. If only one letter is missing, wrongly written, spaced inexactly, or touching another letter, the whole Torah becomes invalid and the scribe must make corrections in a prescribed manner. "I know it sounds harsh," Rabbi Spiegel said, "but 99.999 percent kosher equals 100 percent not kosher." Naturally this carries a heavy price, and donations are being accepted via www.chabadofeugene.orgor by calling Chabad House at 484-7665. With all this at stake, the final letters of the Eugene Torah will be inscribed sometime between 4 and 5:30 pm in the Knight Library Browsing Room. Hold your breath. — Joseph A. Lieberman
WALK-BIKE SUMMIT Why are there so many fewer children walking or riding their bikes to school today than in the past? This topic was addressed for the second year in a row at the Oregon Planning Institute held in Eugene last weekend, with planners from all over the state looking at how to implement federal legislation regarding getting kids to school and home safely, without cars. The topic of safe routes to school is coming up again on the agenda of the free Eugene Walking and Biking Summit planned for Oct. 7 on the UO campus. Also on the agenda are: a new pedestrian and bicycle strategy planning process for the city, making Eugene an even better place for bicycling and walking, sharing the road issues, Eugene's bicycle and bike accessories industry, bicycle tourism and innovative pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. The summit runs from 8:30 am to 1 pm Oct. 7 at the Erb Memorial Union on campus. Registation is encouraged at www.eugene-or.gov/walkbikeor by calling 346-3889. LANE COUNTY HERBICIDE SPRAY SCHEDULE • Near Marcola Elementary and Mohawk High School: Weyerhaeuser Company (741-5211) will aerially spray a test formulation of Garlon and LV-6 (2,4-D) on 25 acres in Section 13 of Township 16S, Range 2W between Sept. 25 and Oct. 15 (#771-55799). Call Eastern Lane ODF at 726-3588. • Near Walterville Elementary School: Weyerhaeuser is aerially spraying a mix of Glyphosate, Arsenal, Chopper, Escort, Garlon4 and Oust on 266 acres near Little Fall Creek, McKenzie, Taylor, Sturdy, and Gale Creek tributaries from Aug. 14 to Sept. 30 (#771-55762). • Near Twin Oaks Elementary School: Oregon Forest Management Services (896-3757) is ground spraying Garlon 4 with Herbimax and/or Moract adjuvants for Seneca Jones Timber (689-1231) on 47 acres near Spencer Creek Tributary, 100 acres near Hawley Creek, and 91 acres near Pheasant Creek between Sept. 15 and Dec. 30 (#781-51056). Call Western Lane ODF at 935-2283. • Lane County Vegetation Management Advisory Committee vacancies: four openings on VMAC committee. Deadline to apply is 5 pm Oct. 9. Contact IVM Coordinator Orin Shumacher at 682-6908 or see www.co.lane.or.us/BCC/vacancies.htm Compiled by Jan Wroncy, Forestland Dwellers: 342-8332, www.forestlanddwellers.org
CORRECTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS The EW cover story "Doomed to Demo," Aug. 17 incorrectly added $50 million to city consultant's estimated cost of a new City Hall by including operations and maintenance costs. The new City Hall is now estimated to cost up to $135 million. But that figure does not include construction inflation or borrowing costs, which could push the final cost to taxpayers above $200 million.
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