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Excluding the Exclusion Zone

Nick Poust

The Downtown Public Safety Committee met Monday, April 8, and weighed alternatives to the downtown exclusion zone, which is deemed unconstitutional and discriminatory by opponents and is set to expire in November 2013. The exclusion zone is one part of the Downtown Public Safety Zone strategy, which also includes more popular measures like CAHOOTS vans and increased bike patrols downtown. The panel also looked at various issues from safety houses for the homeless to the banning of dogs downtown. 

Handy’s Battles in Court Continue

Camilla Mortensen

Almost a year after he began to fight misconduct charges he said were timed to be revealed just before the May 2012 election, former Lane County Commissioner Rob Handy’s public meetings, public records and federal lawsuits continue to make their way through the legal system. 

Lane County Area Spray Schedule 4-11-2013

Jan Wroncy

• Rosboro LLC, 746-8411, plans to spray about 500 acres its forest roadsides throughout Lane County with Garlon 4 and Glyphosate and Methylated Seed Oil. See ODF notice 2013-781-00324.

• ODOT has begun spring spraying. Call Tony Kilmer at ODOT District 5 (Lane County area) at 744-8080 or call (888) 996-8080 for herbicide application information. 

Pollution Update 4-11-13

Doug Quirke

The U.S. Environmental Protection agency has finalized its order against Tyree Oil, Inc. for Clean Water Act violations (EW 2/14, http://goo.gl/FLqrs). 

Oregon DEQ sent CPM Development Corporation a warning letter March 13 for failure to collect required water quality monitoring data at its Eugene Sand & Gravel facility on Coburg Road along the north bank of the McKenzie River. Failure to collect such data is classified as a serious violation of Oregon environmental law.

Protests Focus on Taxes, Postal Service

Ted Taylor

A broad coalition of peace, justice and labor activists are organizing a series of actions on tax day, April 15, calling on Congress to redirect war dollars to fund education, job creation, universal health care and other vital services. Activists are also demanding the U.S. Postal Service keep open the Gateway Processing Facility in Springfield and rural post offices open.

Spray-Painting to Stop Homeless Camps?

Camilla Mortensen

Citing local, state and federal codes, activist Alley Valkyrie says the early morning April 5 arrests by the Eugene Police Department of four men and four women, ranging in age from 18 to 38 years old, for camping under an overpass did not follow official policy, and were also a violation of human rights. 

Strange Bedfellows on City Fee

Shannon Finnell

Progressive former city councilor Bonny Bettman McCornack walks into a meeting of Glenn Beck fans — it sounds like there’s a punch line coming, but at the meeting of 9.12 Project Lane County April 9, when Bettman McCornack presented her position against the proposed city fee on the May ballot, there was an air of agreement in the Izzy’s Pizza banquet room.

Slant 4-1-2013

• The city fee debate is taking some fascinating twists with Councilor George Brown changing sides as he delves more into the issues of city finances and budget priorities. Will other key supporters of the ballot measure also jump ship? Local Democrats lined up early in favor of the fee but without exploring the arguments in any depth. This debate is getting awkward as supporters discover the city has enough excess reserves from fiscal year 2013 to cover the anticipated deficit in 2014.

Why I Changed My Mind

George Brown

In mid-March, forced by a serious bout of pneumonia to spend quiet time at home, I was able to more closely examine budget and other documents and to reassess my advocacy for the proposed city service fee. After much calm reflection, I concluded that I personally, and council majority collectively, had made a mistake in focusing solely on the “revenue-raising” option as the preferred strategy to address the projected General Fund imbalance.

Activist Alert 4-11-2013

• Glorybee’s 38th annual Bee Weekend is April 12-13 at the Factory Store, 29548 B Airport Road in Eugene, right off Highway 99. The free two-day event centers on beekeeping practices, demonstrations and activities such as honey tasting and children’s contests and crafts. Check out glorybeefoods.com or call 689-0913.

A Bold Move

Tony Corcoran

As much as I dislike people who talk about themselves in the third person, I am beginning to seriously distrust the author of this column. Last week I bamboozled you into thinking that damn PERS bill, SB 822, went down the Ways and Means rabbit hole, never to be seen again until the back room budget deal at the end of Hot Air Society session in July. For any of my three loyal readers who actually thought I knew what I was talking about — think again. I was totally wrong.

War Dead 4-11-2013

In Afghanistan

• 2,186 U.S. troops killed* (2,184)

• 18,360 U.S. troops wounded in action (18,360)

• 1,353 U.S. contractors killed (1,316)

• 12,793 civilians killed (updates NA)

• $628.4 billion cost of war ($626.2 billion)

• $188 million cost to Eugene taxpayers ($183 million)

 

In Iraq

April’s Cruelties

Lance Sparks

Every year, Oregon’s April just hammers me. I’ll toddle briskly through winter’s months, savoring the rains, blissfully indulging an interior life, inside our house and inside my own skull. I revel in the rains, regard them as profound blessings, in their various forms.

Lighten Up 4-11-2013

Rafael Aldave

The Register-Guard hounds Rob Handy regularly on its editorial pages even after the poor man lost his seat on the Board of Commissioners. My advice to Mr. Handy: If you want ever to have peace in your life again, give in and renew your subscription. 

Why New Trees Fail

Rachel Foster

It’s annoying when a newly planted shrub or perennial dies on you, but unless it was a gift or it’s rare and hard to replace, it isn’t all that serious. Trees are another matter. Young trees can be expensive, and it takes quite a bit of effort to plant one. 

Forty-Five Candles

Andy Valentine

Obvious jokes about a certain Simple Minds song aside, who could forget about Molly Ringwald? She’s the redheaded queen of teen flicks who headlined features like Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles in the 1980s, but these days she’s settled into a different artistic milieu: music.

Georgia on Their Minds

Brett Campbell

No, we’re not talking about Ray Charles, the Allman Brothers, OutKast, R.E.M. or other musicians from the Southeastern US, but rather Zedashe, an ensemble from the former Soviet republic, which performs at the UO’s Beall Hall April 19. The group of singers and instrumentalists (using bagpipes, accordion, percussion and more) has spent years finding and reviving music that was suppressed or otherwise gone with the wind during the decades of Soviet domination.

Ska, 50 years in the making

Brian Palmer

Rare is the band that can say they are still recording half a century after they began, but that is the case for the pioneers of ska music, The Skatalites. Formed in Jamaica in 1964, the band’s music has influenced the likes of The Police, No Doubt and Sublime, and early on they backed notable bands like Toots and the Maytals and Prince Buster and “The Wailing Wailers,” featuring Bob Marley.

The Brothers Lawrence (Postponed)

Kevin Piaskowski

Today’s electronic generation is lowering the music production learning curve so rapidly that many producers can’t even legally get into venues where their music is played. Take Disclosure, the UK-born-and-bred house duo consisting of brothers Guy and Howard Lawrence, who are only 21 and 18 respectively.

Tripping Out

Vanessa Salvia

If you want to make Jeffry-Wynne Prince smile, call him Jeffry-Wynne. Not Jeff or Jeffry or Wynne or Prince, although that might make him smile for a different reason. The hyphenated first name (it’s Welsh) of The Kimberly Trip guitarist throws some people for a loop.

Will Johnson

Musicians have been touring for years — it’s just part of the profession. Incidentally, touring musicians have had us up, out of our houses and walking to various venues for most of our lives. But mellow-shimmer genius Will Johnson found a way to turn this practice on its head.

A First

Dan Savage

I’m a gay man who has been seeing a devout Christian gay guy for one year. We have a great relationship. We have many of the same interests and respect each other’s feelings and beliefs. However, I am a Catholic who is not that religious, and he is an Orthodox Christian.

Letters to the Editor: 4-11-2013

DEALING WITH ADDICTION

Kudos to Richard Kidd for writing such a robust overview of opiate addiction [3/28], and the challenges we face in Lane County. Living through the hell of addiction lends further strength to your work. Thank you for your candor and your continued strength.

Southern Boy Turns Titan

Anna Grace

“Coming out of the first interview I called my partner and said, ‘Start packing!’” new LCC Theater Director Brian Haimbach says. In a discussion that was heavily peppered with descriptors like “smooth,” “easy” and “meant to be,” it is obvious that Haimbach is happy in his new home with the Titans

Swinging from the Altar

Anna Grace

A 1912 piece of pulp fiction by Edgar Rice Burroughs leaves a British baby on the shores of West Africa, growing up securely in the arms of a gorilla, swinging through the jungle and finally landing at the feet of a beautiful young lady, Jane. The original story spawned over 20 sequels.