2008-01-10 Eugene Weekly

13.6 MB·English

by  Eugene Weekly

2 JANUARY 10, 2008
JANUARY 10-JANUARY 17, 2008
1177
ppgg opinion: arts & etc: 41
Real Estate
entertainment:
4 36 42
Letters Classifieds Free Will Astrology
4 17 37 42
Viewpoint Calendar ¡Ask a Mexican! Personals
11 22 38 43
Slant Art Galleries Crossword Puzzle Savage Love
12 23
Commentary Visual Arts
24 NIGHTLIFE:
Theater/
news: Architecture Boots Riley dips
25 in to Sam Bond’s
10
News Movies listening party
11 27 for The Coup’s
Movie Clips
Happening Person new album.
28
Music
cover story: 32
Nightlife
12
A Streetcar Named 35
Gardening
Eugene?
2266
MOVIE:
CALENDAR: Juno is now playing at ppgg
Monster Campto Cinemark and VRC
premiere at DIVA Stadium 15
25
years EWsubscriptions: send name, address and check to 1251 Lincoln St., Eugene, OR 97401-3418. $25/3 mos. $40/6 mos. $70/12 mos. Printedon recycled paper. Eugene Weeklyis published every Thursday by What’s Happening Inc.
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JANUARY 10, 2008 3
BY FERGUS MCLEAN
Culture of Corruption
Politics and money override forestry science
I
f clearcutting all trees more than 120 years
old on federal land in Lane County be-
tween I-5 and the Cascades is your idea
of good forestry, you might like BLM’s pro-
posed Western Oregon Plan Revisions
(WOPR). That’s nearly all the older trees in
the lower McKenzie, Mohawk, Fall Creek and
Middle Fork Willamette basins.
What can they be thinking? You might
well ask. BLM is accepting comments on the
WOPR Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(DEIS) until Jan. 11.
The WOPR proposes an array of highly questionable policies to replace
the Northwest Forest Plan. (Triple the clearcuts without leaving any trees at
all? More than two-thirds reduction in riparian buffers? Cutting 11,000 acres
of Lane County old growth first and thinning younger stands later?)
The Forest Plan was created in 1994 as a scientifically sound compromise
among dozens of top industry, academic and government scientists. Its
basis was protecting the public waterways — the Aquatic Conservation
Strategy — and an old growth ecological bellwether: northern spotted owls.
Forest Plan timber harvest targets have never been hit, and the WOPR is the
TO THE EDITOR
Bush administration’s effort to up the timber cut.
The WOPR appears, frankly, incredi-
ble and inexplicable. Chances of it sur- HYPOCRISY BEGINS AT HOME cents, so here goes:
TThhee WWOOPPRR aappppeeaarrss,,
viving scientific and legal scrutiny seem During the hotly debated Measure 36 I think “Savage Love,” “¡Ask A
ffrraannkkllyy,, iinnccrreeddiibbllee quite small. Scientists are already up in campaign, many well-intentioned moderate Mexican!” and those controversial ads are
aanndd iinneexxpplliiccaabbllee.. arms over WOPR. What are they think- supporters of that measure assured me that sometimes very effective in achieving what
ing? they were not bigots. Nor were they inter- they are trying to achieve, and sometimes not.
CChhaanncceess ooff iitt ssuurrvviivv-- The puzzle becomes a bit clearer ested in denying my partner and me fair legal Pretty much like everything else in your (or,
iinngg sscciieennttiiffiicc aanndd when you take a look at what else is protections enjoyed by married heterosexu- honestly, ANY) newspaper or magazine. If
going on over at the Department of the als. Essentially, they had no issue with civil you want to run them, I can’t and won’t stand
lleeggaall ssccrruuttiinnyy sseeeemm
Interior, BLM’s parent agency: unions; it was “only” marriage to which they in your way, and in fact, I say “more power to
qquuiittee ssmmaallll.. • Deputy Assistant Secretary of the objected. you.”
Interior Julie Macdonald resigned April These well-intentioned moderates were But if I could make one suggestion to you
SScciieennttiissttss aarree
30, the same day Sen. Ron Wyden called reassured by the language used in “Yes on — howzabout we take all the letters to the ed-
aallrreeaaddyy uupp iinn aarrmmss on Macdonald’s boss Interior Secretary 36” literature targeting uncommitted voters. itor debating the merits or horrors of the
Dirk Kempthorn to testify before The pro-36 pamphlets and letters promised aforementioned ads and columns, publish
oovveerr WWOOPPRR.. WWhhaatt
Wyden’s Senate committee on allega- that this was not a matter of bigotry, nor did them on your website only and then take all
aarree tthheeyy tthhiinnkkiinngg?? tions of Macdonald’s interference in sci- Measure 36 seek to deny equal protections. those column inches in your print edition and
entific findings related to the Why am I not surprised in the hypocrisy use them for more articles and interviews
Endangered Species Act. of the outcry that arose from the conservative about local bands, artists, actors, activists and
• Dozens of denied listings are under review within the agency, including backers of Measure 36 when our Legislature so on? I’d personally love more of your paper
the recent downsizing of northern spotted owl reserves — which directly took action to provide fair and equal legal to be about, say, “What’s Happening in
affects the huge increases in timber cuts planned under the WOPR. protections to all Oregon citizens? And why Eugene” rather than “What’s Happening in
• Macdonald, who help write a denial of a fish listing which directly is not surprising that a group from outside our Eugene Weekly.”
affected her own northern California ranch, spent the last several months of state sought to challenge the legality of Wouldn’t we all? Whaddayathink?
her abbreviated tenure at Interior interviewing for lobbying jobs working for Oregon’s initiative process? Aren’t these Russell Dyball
trade groups in the industries she was supposed to be regulating. largely social and political conservatives? Eugene
• It appears that there is a culture of corruption in Interior which places Don’t they constantly shout for “states
political interests over science. The WOPR appears to be an example of this rights”? Why would they appeal to a federal CHAINSONG NEIGHBORHOOD
culture at work. Wyden has successfully demanded an ethics investigation court to overturn the action of a state legisla- I have lived in the Whiteaker for several
by Interior’s inspector general. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) ture? Maybe they only want to champion years, and I have heard more chainsaws in
has a separate investigation under way. states rights and individual freedoms when my neighborhood than I care to hear. The
such rights and freedoms align with their nar- Public Works Department leaves signs on
row-minded ethics? Hypocrisy? It begins at trees denoting their declining health and their
T
he WOPR’s economic analysis was done by timber industry consult- home. potential hazard to the community, followed
ants from Boise, ignoring the work of highly respected Eugene econo- Craig Willis by their intention to remove said trees. The
mist Ed Whitelaw of EcoNW, who has long argued old-growth timber is Eugene notice also states, that, “In recognition of the
more valuable to the local economy standing than turned into lumber. important value to the community of this tree,
Promises that timber revenues from logging under the WOPR will provide SPARE NO CHANGE a replacement tree shall be planted.”
much needed money for county government are hollow as the WOPR’s flaws I was stopped at a red light at 11th and You left this notice on a tree in the
guarantee protracted lawsuits and could even result in a reduction in county Chambers when I noticed an unfortunate Whiteaker Community Garden three years
timber revenue — but we can depend on the ecological damage WOPR would holding a sign which read “CHANGE ago, yet you did not replace the tree. In fact,
wreak. NEEDED.” I agreed in the broadest sense of when I replaced the tree for you (with an en-
Your comments can help. Just Google BLM and WOPR and make a quick the phrase possible. dangered chestnut variety that I fight to pre-
comment on BLM’s excellent website. Ask for scientific evidence why the Glenn Leonard serve) you dug it up. I suspect that your tree
environmental protections of the NW Forest Plan were discarded. Request Eugene removal policy is based upon convenience
that they address the WOPR’s effect on forest fires, global warming and the rather than social responsibility.
survival of old-growth ecosystems. Demand that cumulative effects of MOVE IT TO THE WEB Other examples are the former tree in
WOPR policies on upper Willamette spring Chinook salmon be considered. Reading the past few months’worth of front of High Street Cafe. Was that removal
Here’s a tip of the hat to Sen. Wyden and our long-suffering BLM footsol- “¡Ask AMexican!”/ “Savage Love”/ meth really necessary? Was there any public dis-
diers who are trying to do the right thing. and sex ads letters, I’ve discovered that I course on the topic? What gives you the right
might possibly be the only person in our fair to remove a commodity in minutes that took
Fergus Mclean is a Dexter forester working on creating the Jeffrey Mentzer Old Growth Park on BLM land 1/2
community to not throw in his or her two decades to grow?
4 JANUARY 10, 2008
FEWETRO T HEO EDPITOTR IONS FOR 8 L o c a t i ons in Eugene and Springfield
DISABLED HOMELESS
As a member of the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Committee to finance homelessness and
housing programs, I was eager to read your article on homelessness in the Dec. 27
Weekly. These items feature our vegetarian molé sauce (enchilada sauce)
I joined the committee because I see someone with a disability who is desperate
• Wet Veggie Burrito • Cheese Enchilada Plate
for shelter on an almost weekly basis. The last two were elderly women, one in her
• Wet Tofu Burrito • Chile Relleño Wet Burrito
late 60s and the other in her 80s. They came separately to Lane Independent Living
• Wet Bean & Cheese Burrito • Chile Relleño
Alliance (LILA) around the holidays. Both women used walkers for mobility. Neither
• Cheese Enchilada • Chile Relleño Burrito
was able to stay at the Mission because of their mobility limitations and other issues
*menu availability varies by location*
related to their disabilities.
Since the Mission is a private religious organization, it is not obligated to offer JANUARY SPECIAL
ON NOW! $5.50
equal access to people with disabilities. It does a wonderful job of providing shelter to
Wet Veggie Burrito
the population it serves. However, people with many kinds of disabilities cannot stay
at the Mission and have nowhere else to go.
Other shelters in the county have specific criteria that need to be met before an
individual is admitted. Merely being older and/or having a disability or multiple dis-
abilities does not qualify a person for shelter space in this community. Senior and
Disabled Services and Adult Protective Services also have pretty stringent limita-
tions on the people they can assist. They were really hit hard by budget cuts a few
years ago.
Neither of the women who came to LILA qualify for residential assistance. They
would have to get much more disabled first. They both receive Social Security, but it’s
not enough cover rent, even if they are able to maintain an independent apartment
without a caregiver and other support. Since it was close to the end of the month,
both women had spent their Social Security checks trying to stay warm and fed.
Medication and personal hygiene weren’t even a consideration. The very basic ne-
cessities that give us a sense of security and self worth were not remotely available
for these folks.
LILA is nonresidential, but we do what we can. Part of our mission is to advocate
for the rights and inclusion of people with disabilities. The rest is to give people with
disabilities the skills and support to survive as independently as possible in the com-
munity. Seniors with disabilities left out in the cold and wet aren’t likely to survive
very well, and I certainly wouldn’t call being homeless in December independent liv-
ing.
In one case we were able to scrounge up enough donations, some from the
Mayor’s Committee members, to temporarily put one woman in a private recovery
house, give her some warm clothes (she came to LILA with slippers on bare feet) and
work with her on a more permanent solution. After spending an afternoon at LILA
while our staff tried to find her a bed, the other woman decided to spend the week-
end moving from McDonalds to IHOP to stay alive in the cold.
I understand all the arguments against having a publicly funded shelter. A shelter
is hugely expensive to run, and chances are voters won’t agree to fund one. A shelter
isn’t a permanent solution to the problem of homelessness. However, I believe
Eugene and Springfield can find some way make a little room at the inn for people
whose only offense is that they are poor, older and disabled.
Lynne McKinney
LILA Independent Living Services Manager
Eugene
JANUARY 10, 2008 5
BY ROBERT EMMONS TO THE EDITOR
Hacking Away
I have some questions for the Public selves by allowing this shit to continue. We
Works Department: Why do you lie to us? are too easily pleased, lazy and enjoy the
You haven’t replaced anything that you have good life.
Oregon’s land-use program
removed. Why do you remove things that I Blame not the media, for the media are a
under constant attack
will never be able to enjoy in my lifetime be- creation by people and run by people. We al-
cause it is convenient for you to maintain? lowed these people to get the best of us and
S
ince its inception 35 years ago, Oregon’s Did you think that we wouldn’t notice? I they are only a few and we are too lazy to stop
land-use program has been under attack hope your karma can handle this because them.
from the same forces that brought us mine wouldn’t. I haven’t forgotten about you, Ms.
Measure 37. Little by little, lot by lot, timber and Davy Ray Yamada. The appropriate title of your letter
real estate interests, developers and their en- Eugene should have been, “Don’t Mexicans Get It”?
ablers in legislatures, commissions, councils and I, as a human being of Dominican parents,
land management divisions have been busy night and GABACHO RACISM know many Mexicans don’t like other
day eviscerating the system. Dear Ms Yamada and Mr. Sprague: I have Latinos who aren’t Mexican and want a
In 2004, taking advantage of a pro-growth governor, an ignorant, inattentive and some comments regarding your letters to the “Mexicans only” access to the U.S., yet you
greedy public and anemic opposition, self-serving, anti-government opportunists editor printed on Dec. 20. Gabacho racism is and others want to bury that negative side re-
transformed Oregon from a positive to a negative model of land use protection. still racism, as is Latino racism is still racism. gardless how true it is. Forty percent of
Ironically, the passage of Measure 37 helped defeat similar measures in other states. If either of you read last week’s (12/20) Mexicans are in poverty, 45 percent of
To “fix” M37, Measure 49 supporters delivered to posterity one of the most extreme “¡Ask a Mexican!” with an open and not a Dominicans, and 70 percent of Haitians. Are
property rights laws in the country. They undermined the foundation of Oregon’s land “liberal,” bleeding heart-filled mind, you you a Mexican nationalist advocate? Are you
use program by reaffirming the premise of Oregonians in Action and (other) would understand that Arellano is a Mexican a human rights advocate? You can’t be both.
Republicans that government takes away people’s rights rather than creates and pro- nationalist and not the humanitarian, compas- Take another read of Arellano and drop your
tects them, that people must be paid for following the law or the law must be elimi- sionate human rights advocate he so slyly Mexican Catholic mentality, then you’ll see
nated. portrays himself to be. your eyes were closed all along.
As temperatures rise, water and oil supplies drop, and a recession lurks behind the I feel the complaints that I expressed in Juana Garcia
next stock report, voters fast-tracked sprawl of up to three houses on prime farm and my Nov. 22 letter are justified with Arellano’s Eugene
forest land and even on groundwater-restricted land and conceded as many as 10 latest tantrum, and therefore, Mr. Sprague,
houses if loss of value can be substantiated. As if these provisions were not generous how can you claim “¡Ask a Mexican!” is “not LIFE IS OFFENSIVE
enough, M49, unlike M37, allows development rights to be transferred and even offers mean-spirited”? The “liberal” rich fog that In response to Matt Watkins’letter, “Bring
an ombudsman to grease the skids. Around 7,500 M37 claims have been staked your mind is blanketed with is contrary to Us Together” (and somewhat in regard to
statewide, with additional claims possible under M49. your asking of readers “be careful not to close Mark Harris’viewpoint, both Dec. 27), the
Adding insult to injury, the governor and his fellow Democrats in the Legislature are your minds too quickly!” You go on to say problem here is the padding provided by polit-
eager to revive the Big Look Task Force to “reform” Oregon’s land-use laws. With its “mainstream media is a very significant rea- ical correctness. It’s not just upper middle-
first look, this development-biased committee found that “Oregon’s land use system son why there is not outright revolution in class white folk. (There were many sensitive
has protected the agricultural and forestry land base” and “has contained sprawl.” this country.” folks of Latin heritage in uproar over
Little wonder that a committee so near-sighted faulted the land use program for ac- I ask you: What is the very significant rea- Arellano’s column). The problem is those who
commodating too little growth. The Big Look should take another look only if the son why there is not outright revolution in insist on the cushioning of the art of Correct
Legislature appoints new members with 20-20 vision. Mexico? I’ll answer: The flight of tens of mil- Politeness. This political art form has slowed
Not to be upstaged, The Register Guard, in a recent editorial, urged state and local lions of poor, uneducated, superstitious peo- to a crawl the United States’progress at com-
governments to go easy on “vested rights” of M37 claimants and “to allow some subdi- ple from their homes in Mexico to go to the bating its problem with racism.
visions or commercial and industrial development.” Perhaps the editor had in mind the U.S. Whether entering with our OK or with- Humor is our only hope at this point. And
owner of 41 acres of farmland in Yamhill County who “vested” by hastily cobbling to- out is not relevant, it’s the fleeing that mat- people should be made to roll their eyes and
gether 41 10’ by 10’ cabins on the 41 one-acre lots of his M37 claim. ters, and also sending billions of dollars back squirm. Life is offensive. Eugene is not a
Instead of the fix it was touted to be, M49 adds more cogs to an economic engine to prop up the illegitimate Mexican govern- place to move to escape who you are and
long overheated by the unlimited use of limited resources. Accumulating and rapidly ment. what you can, and probably should, become
accelerating environmental crises have made it abundantly clear, however, that growth That old cliché, “You can’t solve your (strong). Tact should be used, especially in
— smart or otherwise — cannot be accommodated and that a new paradigm is in order. problems by running away from them” defi- public settings (unlike the guy in blackface at
nitely applies here. Though Mexican immi- the OSU-Stanford game). But in an “intellec-
grants’rights advocates don’t think it applies tually progressive” weekly, you will be
W
e can begin by re-prioritizing Oregon’s 19 land use goals. Presently, econ- to them. The greater threat to immigrants tested. Get used to it. But when you make
omy is king and the natural environment and farm and forest resources from Mexico is NOT the white dominated truly cruel “nigger” and “spic” jokes, you are
are its abused servants. Under Goal 5: Natural Resources, for example, government of the U.S., it’s the Catholic gay. Gay like Bush. Gay like Hitler. Not gay
gravel industry needs trump the protection of farms, forests, wetlands and riparian church. Those with true open minds have al- like Dan Savage.
corridors regardless of the ecological imperative to reduce or eliminate the markets ready figured it out. Todd Zimmerman
that industry supplies. What about personal responsibility? The Eugene
State goals must be amended so that clean air and water and abundant productive immigrant advocates also seem to think that
soils are the foundation of a fertile local economy. An economy that recognizes and de- it does not apply to the poor immigrants. STEP AWAY FROM
velops within natural limits could maintain and sustain indefinitely at a steady state in Everyone needs to take responsibility for THE BURGER
a closed resource, product and waste loop. themselves; responsibility to improve one’s Regarding one of the most idiotic state-
Statewide, I believe we must and we will see the emergence of groups like Lane life, to lift oneself out of poverty, to become ments I have heard in awhile: “McDonald’s is
County’s Willamette Farm and Food Coalition (WFFC) as key players in the effort to cre- educated and use common sense and not live one of the worst decimators of our planet and
ate a secure and sustainable local food economy. This year the WFFC formed a life superstitiously, and not expect others to single-handedly contributing to obesity in
Farmland Preservation Committee that, among other tasks, will ask county commis- throw you a lifeline! As for the subdued this country” by Kay Porter (12/27) . I find it
sioners to inventory and map Lane County’s farmland as a first step in establishing masses in the U.S., we have subdued our- “alternately appalling” that someone with
agricultural reserves both within and outside urban growth boundaries.
This grassroots, on-the-ground, in-the-ground renaissance reminds us that the true
WHO YOU GONNA BLAME?
meaning of economy — to economize — is to be frugal, to bring our wants closer in line
with our needs, to reduce the size of our carbon footprint. No better place to begin than EDITORIALEditor Ted Taylor Classified Marketing Consultant/ReceptionJayme Fuller
our own backyards. News Editor Alan Pittman Reporter Camilla Mortensen BUSINESSDirector of Sales and Marketing Bill Shreve
Arts & Music Editor Molly Templeton Circulation Manager Jen-Lin Hodgden Controller Paula Hoemann
It’ll be a tough row to hoe, however, with the governor recently saying that slow Performing & Visual Arts/Copy Editor Suzi Steffen DistributorsBob Becker, Kolia Guinsbourg, Ben Kraker, Susan and David Lawson,
Calendar EditorChuck Adams Robin Miller, Pedalers Express, Quickdraw Tim Risch, Jacob Zapata
growth is not acceptable, and the Big Look Task Force looking for ways to help him ac- Contributing EditorAnita Johnson PrintingSignature Graphics
Contributing Writers Sara Brickner, Jason Blair, Joshua Blanchard, Amanda Burhop,
celerate growth. Jes Burns, Brett Campbell, Rachael Carnes, Michael Cockram, RachelFoster, Phillip HOW TO REACH US BY E-MAIL:
Getty, Anna Grace, James Johnston, Zach Klassen, Sarah Mazze, Sharleen Nelson,
For a governor and Legislature seeking more money for more jobs to build more Mary O’Brien, Jeremy Ohmes, Aaron Ragan-Fore, Vanessa Salvia, Steven Sawada, Sally (letters): [email protected]
Sheklow, Lance Sparks, Eva Sylwester, Deanna Uutela, Adrienne van der Valk (advertising): [email protected]
houses and more roadways for more people to produce more waste, more pollution InternsKatie Cornell, Anne Pick, Victoria Stephens (classifieds): [email protected]
and fewer resources – and more opportunity to do so under M49 — a few words from ART DEPARTMENT (personals): [email protected]
Art Director/Production ManagerKevinDougherty (calendar): [email protected]
Waldenprovide counsel: “A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he Graphic Artist/Webmaster James Bateman
Graphic Artists Shannon Browning, Barbara Cooper, Todd Cooper (music/clubs/special shows): [email protected]
can afford to let alone.” Baby Samara Cooper (art/openings/galleries): [email protected]
Contributing PhotographersKurtJensen, PaulNeevel (performance/theater): [email protected]
Robert Emmons of Fall Creek is president of LandWatch Lane County, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ADVERTISING (literary arts/readings): [email protected]
protecting Lane County’s farms, forests and open space from urban sprawl. NDiastpiolanya lM Saarlkeest iMnga nCaognesruMltaarnkt FJroishbne eA llen, Jennifer Donohue, (movies/film screenings): [email protected]
Mary Hendricks, Rob Weiss (circulation): [email protected]
Classified ManagerGeneva “the Goddess” Miller
6 JANUARY 10, 2008
TO THE EDITOR
any self-discipline or rationality would say they will help the environmental lawyers try-
such a thing. McDonald’s CEOs do not come ing to stop WOPR, since their evidence will
to your home, hold you hostage and threaten be restricted to citizen comments. For com-
your life until you eat a cheeseburger and ment strategies and a link to the BLM, visit
french fries. www.oregonheritageforests.org
We live in America; you have the right to Second, we need to tell our congressional
walk away from the deep fried foods. delegation to actively pursue legislation that
One more thing, in your description of protects Oregon’s old growth, to seek county
McDonald’s as being “one of the worst deci- payments that are de-coupled from logging,
mators of our planet,” you fail to mention all and to come out publicly against WOPR.
the wonderful contributions McDonald’s ac- Third, we need to give this information to
tually has control over. I am sure you have friends outside of Eugene. Since the BLM is
never heard of the Ronald McDonald House. a national agency, comments on WOPR will
To enlighten you, it is one of the most charita- be accepted from around the US.
ble and supportive organization directed to- Please help protect Oregon’s forests.
wards families of serious ill children. Carol McBrian
Now, I am not saying McDonald’s is the Eugene
greatest corporation in history, but deeming it
responsible for obesity? No way. And for all PLAY BY THE RULES
of our sake, obesepeople are single handedly I’d like to make a couple of things clear to
contributing to obesityin this country; there those so-called immigrants’rights advocates.
is some sensibility. First, you’re lying when you say immigrants’
Kathleen Konrady rights; it’s all about “illegal” immigrants
Eugene rights. Second, there is very little if any, as
Ken Neubeck of the Amigo Multicultural
WOPR DEADLINE Services Center puts it, “anti-immigrant hos-
I was disappointed that EWdidn’t cover tility;” there is, however, anger towards “ille-
the Dec. 21 rally against WOPR, the BLM’s gal aliens,” those who think they can ignore
plan to clear-cut their old-growth forests in the requirements to enter this country —
Oregon. I was particularly disappointed be- legally.
cause EW has given plenty of coverage to Last I heard, this entire planet is divided
global warming; and the deforestation caused into territories and tribes, and all of us have to
by WOPR would accelerate global warming. play by the rules for travel no matter how ab-
Other than running paid ads from groups op- surd they may be. Yes, there are supremacists
posing WOPR, EW’s major contribution to of all colors who hate others. They will al-
this issue was an article in September regard- ways exist and don’t use them as an excuse to
ing the Rogue River. While WOPR does promote your self-serving agenda.
threaten some particularly beautiful areas, its Now, on to the “Ask a Doofus” column
impact would be felt all over western Oregon writer Gustavo Arellano. He claims to “slam
in the form of habitat loss, water quality people and challenge everything they believe
degradation, flooding, and major losses to the about Mexicans.” He also says he goes after
recreation and fishing industries. It would Mexicans who are racist against darker
also accelerate climate change around the skinned Mexicans. My reading of Arellano’s
globe by turning 2.6 million acres of old column is that he spends most of his time
growth into clear cuts. slamming people who are not of Mexican
We can do several things to fight WOPR. heritage. How much time has he spent slam-
First, we need to comment to the BLM by ming Mexico’s imprisonment of
Jan. 11. Comments are important because Guatemalans and El Salvadorans and others
JANUARY 10, 2008 7
BY LYNNE FESSENDEN TO THE EDITOR
Eating Our
who got arrested for being in Mexico “ille- relates to both the 1982 Scripps National
gally”? According to the Comision Nacional Spelling Bee award-winning word “psoria-
de los Derechos Humanos, Mexico’s human sis” and the biblical disease “tzaraas” (often
Way Forward
rights commission, there are approximately incorrectly translated as leprosy — and not a
800 people from Latin American countries Scripps National Spelling Bee award-win-
other than Mexico who are in Mexican jails ning word).
Pushing the market with our buying habits
just for being in Mexico “illegally.” That’s a Leslie What
toward a food secure future
conservative figure. Eugene
The dirty little secret in Mexico is that the
T
he year 2007 was a year of high visibility on Mexican government wants the U.S. un- CHERRY PICKING
the local food front. With concerns raised skilled labor market for itself. Mexico’s The earth is an extension of our bodies.
about the safety of foods shipped in southern border has thousands of troops to The Forest Service and the liquidating
from other countries, books published on tales “dissuade” non-Mexican migrants from en- Industry use words like thinning, salvage,
of local eating and 100-mile diets, andthe tering their country to get to the U.S. stewardship, safety, etc. to mask the fact that
Oxford University Press votinglocavoreas Arellano and other Mexican nationalists it is still extracting the lungs of our planet.
the word of the year, who could help but to and open border groups want an open border Extraction! What comes to mind is the
take a moment to ponder their pantry? with the U.S. They want all the benefits that painful pulling of parts from my body. Think
Here in Lane County, 30,000 copies of our legal immigrants and citizens get. They also of a child being violated over and over again.
own Locally Growndirectory were snatched up think they are entitled to U.S. citizenship. Do we stop the violator? I hope so, but yet the
in six months. In August we were visited by a Most citizens and legal immigrants don’t forests continue to be the victim.
singing duo, the Ditty Bops, on a tour of America’s think they are entitled. I don’t either. Does Can America trust the government to
farms (small van), and the Sustainable Table group from that make me and others racists and hate obey the law? The record on national forests
New York on a local foods tour (big bus). Both groups ate their way across the mongers? It does not. I and most others feel says no. Only 5 percent of our virgin forests
country to the September Farm Aid concert in New York, talking and singing up the policy of looking the other way when remain. Tim Hermach has and will always be
the tenets of responsible eating: food grown without detriment to the environ- someone crosses the border without permis- strong in his conviction to save the national
ment, delivered with minimum fossil fuels, in a manner that does not exploit sion, and the pressure relief valve which the forests, defending life and liberty through ed-
farmers. U.S. has turned into for Mexico, has to ucation. He would never misrepresent studies
Hopefully this media frenzy got a few more of us to the Farmers’ Market or change. of any kind, whether due to sloppiness or pur-
convinced us to join a CSA program or to look more closely at the little stickers Arellano needs to put his energy into en- poseful cherry picking.
on the produce in the grocery aisle and ask questions or inspired us to grow edi- couraging Mexicans to stay and fight for eco- Information in his article comes from
bles in our own back yards. We cannot underestimate the importance of our in- nomic and social equality in Mexico. It’s also USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest
dividual food choices, but what will it take to nudge buying local to the next time to improve the educational system in Research Station. “The number of trees killed
level, to get our institutions sourcing local foods? Mexico. When all of that happens, you can in the Biscuit fire was highest in the thinned
First there is willingness. A year ago, Woodbury County in Iowa mandated kick the U.S. and its corporations out. areas we studied, most likely due to slash left
that any county purchases of food in the usual course of business would be Arellano and other “immigrants” rights ac- after the thinning treatment,” Raymond ex-
(subject to availability) locally produced food. Could Lane County be next? Or tivists find it easier to criticize and fight the plains. It saddens me to think that Mr. Nagle,
the green city of Eugene? guilt-ridden Anglo-Americans than to criti- Perry, and Fairbanks would purposely or dis-
Next there is infrastructure. While area schools may have wellness policies cize and fight the Mexican rich elite and their honestly point fingers even if it were due to
stating that they will purchase local or organic foods when possible, it turns out corrupt puppet government. Some are fight- their sloppiness or purposeful cherry picking
that our small farms can seldom meet the produce needs of a large school dis- ing; they are the poor of Oaxaca and Chiapas. to support a point of view.
trict. And the district food service cannot handle deliveries from a dozen differ- Arellano and others can learn something Johnny VanHerwaarden
ent farms, and they often need the vegetables in a washed or peeled or from them. Time for Gustavo to use his geeky Eugene
chopped form. So now we’re looking at needing local cold storage, small scale wit for a worthy cause.
processors and a distribution system that consolidates and delivers. The ques- Chris Williamson EUGENE’S URBAN BLIGHT
tion remains, are we planning for this in our food future? Eugene While much attention has focused on
problems with unnecessarily restrictive
NASTY POLITICS Eugene city codes that inhibit positive devel-
W
hether you are a chef in a restaurant, a food processor, or a food What a nasty ending to the State of the opment in our downtown area, very little has
service employee at a school, hospital, or government agency, don’t County Address! Bobby Green and his co- been said or done by City Council to update
miss the upcoming opportunity to explore and deepen your local horts decided to halt the rotating job of chair- codes that could restrain some of the wild and
marketing connections. Local Food Connection: Linking Farmers, Fishers manship and give Faye Stewart another wooly, directionless infilling taking place in
and Food Buyerswill be held at Lane Community College on Monday, Feb. 4, year. Why? Bobby Green , Bill Dwyer and some of our most (formerly) desirable older
8:30 am to 2:30 pm. This is a free matchmaking event for growers and buyers, a Faye Stewart still can’t believe that their un- neighborhoods.
chance to find new sources or new accounts, as well as to discuss strategies, fair, regressive flat tax was overwhelmingly Adramatic example is the Friendly Street
successes and barriers. Hosted by Cascade Pacific RC&D and sponsored by defeated by the citizens of Lane neighborhood, specifically the area bordered
EWEB , OSU and Oregon Tilth, this is the southern valley’s version of the famed County.They must still believe that it was a by 24th and 29th avenues. Although there are
Portland based Farmer-Chef Connection Conferences. Register by Jan. 25 at tax that should have passed. Because of this a number of well kept homes in the neighbor-
cascadepacific.org/category/food. they appear to still hold a grudge against Pete hood, there is also a run of several houses that
And for a chance to take the eat local challenge in winter, the Willamette Sorenson and Bill Fleenor for not supporting look like they should be condemned. Broken
Farm and Food Coalition and the Helios Resource Network are holding the next their tax, and I’m really concerned that this windows, trash piled high on porches, junk
in the series of “Eat Here Now” local food potlucks on Saturday, Jan. 19. The county is in for some difficult times if they cars and buses permanently occupying drive-
focus this time around, in addition to eating and networking, will be farmer ap- can’t work together. Maybe it is time to find ways, “free” boxes with soggy clothing and
preciation, so bring a dish to pass and come thank the farmers fostering the via- new commissioners more in tune with the bedding left next to sidewalks, a Tyvek-
bility and sustainability of our local food system. Challenge yourself to prepare voters. wrapped house seemingly frozen in remodel
something with local ingredients and enter the “How Local Can You Go?” con- Ruth Duemler limbo, street signs missing for years.
test. A prize will go to the tastiest dish with the most local ingredients. Eugene And that is nothingcompared to the blight
The “Eat Here Now: Farmer Appreciation and Local Foods Community of the alleyways. Don’t dare walk the alley
Potluck” isfrom 6 to 9 pm Jan. 19 at the First United Methodist Church, on 13th NOT LEPROSY between Friendly and Adams from 24th up to
and Olive in Eugene. The suggested donation of $5 gets your name in the door I’m always a week or so behind in my 25th Avenue. The pallets piled high as an ele-
prize drawing. reading (three weeks if it’s The New Yorker), phant’s eye are not only an eyesore, but in dry
Co-sponsoring organizations include: EWEB’s Healthy Farms Program, Lane so I only just saw the swell article by Molly weather they are a fire hazard. Willy-nilly in-
County Food Policy Council, Lost Valley Education Center, Slow Food Eugene, Templeton on “Swift Reads: Cute, weird, fill has led to homes built right on the alley
and the Willamette Valley Sustainable Foods Alliance. funny gift books.” I was glad to see her men- with tenants forced to park in the mud and
For more information on either event, call 341-1216. tion Logorrhea, a book with stories inspired muck that has become a thoroughfare for
by winners of the Scripps National Spelling lowlife. Gracing this disaster area is the real
Bee. icing on the mudpie: a 20-foot high, 30-foot
Lynne Fessenden is the executive director of the Willamette Farm and Food Coalition, a community non-profit
promoting the purchase of locally grown and produced foods to keep our small farms viable and to strengthen I wanted to let readers know that, in addi- long white-tarp-wrapped sailboat looming
our local economy (lanefood.org). tion to the Portland writer Jay Lake, Eugene over the alley and nearly touching power-
writer Leslie What, aka me, also has a story in lines, negating any privacy adjacent neigh-
that anthology, called “Tsuris,” a word that bors might have had before this backyard be-
8 JANUARY 10, 2008
TO THE EDITOR
WELCOME!
came a dry dock for dead ships (it is only the Please come visit us and say hi!
largest of several boats lining the alley).
This situation might be just another case
of urban blight, just an aesthetic wart. But $1 OFF
one of the byproducts of this lack of updated
building codes has led to what some now call
Eugene’s dirty little secret, the problem no- ANY BEVERAGE
body wants to talk about: the rediverting of
water flow because of unrestrained infill. with this coupon
A friend of mine who has lived in the
Friendly neighborhood for 25 years had a
Come in before 8am and you can get
bone-dry crawlspace beneath the house until
two years ago when the infill activity became A FREE CUP OF DRIP COFFEE!
almost feverish. When several hundreds of
gallons of water started to fill the crawlspace MON-FRI: 6:30AM-7PM • SAT: 7AM-6PM • SUN: 7:30AM-4PM
after heavy rains, we knew something dra-
525 HIGH STREET - ACROSS FROM 5TH STREET PUBLIC MARKET
matic had changed the neighborhood, this
time something at an even deeper level than
mere aesthetics.
Eugene sorely needs updating of its
codes, not just to untie the binding codes that
inhibit the lively evolution of its downtown,
but new codes that can keep mindless infill
from destroying its once lovely, older neigh-
borhoods. Perhaps this will begin with the
election of some more proactive city coun-
cilors?
B.D.May
Eugene
LETTERS POLICY: We welcome letters on all topics and
will print as many as space allows, with priority given to
timely local issues. Please limit length to 250 words, keep
submissions to once a month and include your address
and phone number for our files. Email to
[email protected] (please put “letters” in the
subject line), fax to 484-4044 or mail to 1251 Lincoln,
Eugene 97401.
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seek help. Slocum Center for Orthopedics &
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Slocum Center, 55 Coburg Road, Eugene Physical Medicine, Rehabilitation, and
Pain Management Physician
JANUARY 10, 2008 9
STATE OF THE CITY
Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy celebrated Eugene and outlined her goals for 2008 at
her State of the City speech Jan. 8 to several hundred applauding people in the Hult
Center lobby.
“I believe absolutely in the power we have individually and collectively to make
change,” Piercy said. “Cities are where it all happens; where people live, work, raise
families, and establish roots.”
In 2008 Piercy called for the city
to work on: sustainability, climate pro-
tection, west Eugene transportation,
homelessness, downtown, potholes,
the Olympic trials, considering an in-
dependent performance auditor, lo-
cating McKenzie-Willamette Medical
Center in Eugene, hiring a new city N
A
M
manager, creating a youth advisory T
T
board, protecting the Amazon head- N PI
A
waters and basin, and becoming an L
A
official Human Rights City. ‘Cities are where it all happens, ’
says Piercy
Piercy played a public role in end-
ing the “decades-long, acrimonious
debate over the West Eugene Parkway” in favor of saving money, pollution, sprawl and
wetlands. But she said the freeway was unlikely to be built anyway. “It was clear that the
funding for this project was simply not there and that federal approval was likely never
to occur.”
The mayor called for “common ground” on downtown. She noted that “much of it is
already doing well,” including: Fifth Street Public Market, East Broadway, the proposed news
Beam redevelopment and the new Enterprise call center, WestTown affordable housing
and KLCC offices. Piercy said to fix the rest, the city should “focus public safety efforts tempted arson at the Tyree Oil depot. The
on our problem blocks, address rundown storefronts, tweak codes, increase cultural purpose of setting the fires, the webpage
and recreational activities in the area, and look at parking restrictions.” says, “was to raise awareness about global
Piercy said McKenzie-Willamette should be in Eugene where it can effectively pro- briefs warming and the role that SUVs play in that
vide health care for our community, support our tax base, and where, if needed, we can process.”
have some influence on significant health care policies.” In an email announcement about the orig-
The mayor called for “large reductions in building and transportation emissions” to inal hearing date, Luers’supporters asked
address climate change. She said she hopes that with new state requirements that that only family and close friends attend the
ODOT reduce carbon the state freeway agency “will respond to climate change and fi- hearing, due to limited space in the court-
nite resources, allowing it to be more creative and energy-conscious, rather than sim- room. They also wrote that “protest or similar
ply laying more roads.” RESENTENCING activity would be acting against the wishes of
Piercy allowed city councilors to speak at the event if they chose. Councilor Bonny Jeff and his family.” — Camilla Mortensen
Bettman gave a “minority report” calling for an independent auditor, in-house city at- FOR LUERS
torney, hiring a reform-minded city manager and terminating the city’s urban renewal
districts. CHANGED KICK-START
Bettman said an auditor is needed to provide the council unbiased information for
policy making. She said citizens will have to be “vigilant” that the position is not “co- The resentencing date for Eugene eco-ar- AN INDOOR
opted” to minimize its power, similar to what the councilor said happened with the new sonist Jeffrey “Free” Luers has been resched-
police auditor. uled for Jan. 15, from the original date of Jan. MARKET?
To avoid conflicts of interest with other clients, the city should hire an in-house city 8, according to Lane County Circuit Court.
attorney like those employed by most cities its size, Bettman said. The council could di- Luers has been in prison since 2001 for Eugene community activist and
rect the new city manager to do this, she said. setting fire to three SUVs. He is currently fundraiser Erin Ely is known for her involve-
Bettman said the council should hire a manager who “confidently embraces re- awaiting his hearing in Lane County Jail. His ment in Billionaires for Bush, the Village
form” and is “not just another figurehead to assume the position at the helm of an en- original sentence of 22 years and eight School and the Kutsinhira Cultural Arts
trenched organizational power structure.” months was reversed in February 2007 by the Center, and now she’s turning her attention to
Urban renewal diverts money from schools and government services and attracts Oregon Court of Appeals. He will get a new raising seed money for an indoor farmers
speculators that neglect property while holding out for public subsidies, according to sentence with a possible reduction of 10-12 market in Eugene. Ely has entered a national
Bettman. “It is like having a hole in your pocket.” years. contest to win $10,000 to kick-start the mar-
Councilor Betty Taylor also spoke briefly. She called for a living wage ordinance and According to the web page maintained by ket.
a youth center downtown as well as a performance auditor and in-house attorney. See his supporters (www.freefreenow.org), the “I know I am not the first person to have
more on Piercy’s State of the City speech, including a slideshow, at blogs.eugene- arson at Romania Chevrolet “caused only this idea,” she says. “I’m just trying to in-
weekly.com — Alan Pittman $40,000 in damages and the cars were later crease the potential for making it happen. I
See Alan Pittman’s blog for photos and the full text of the Mayor’s speech. resold.” Luers was also convicted of at- was in New Mexico in November, and while
WILDISH GRINCH AWARD have been rightly honored in our community,” reads a statement from the union. “But
the third generation now running the companies is engaged in a serious attack on
Wildish Sand and Gravel will be presented the 2007 “Grinch of the Year Award” this Teamster employees! Steve and Mike Wildish have hired a notorious union buster from
week for the company’s “attempts to take good union benefits away from local workers Portland (Jim Frazer) to lead the recent negotiations.”
and for attempted union-busting,” according to the Eugene-Springfield Solidarity The union says Wildish management has not budged from proposals to cut back on
Network/Jobs with Justice (ESSN). existing health insurance, pension benefits and security provisions. “Management con-
ESSN members, local elected officials, and community members plan to present the tinues to insist on taking away employees’ good union health insurance and pension
award to the Wildishes at 2:30 pm Thursday, Jan. 10 at the Wildish offices at 3600 benefits and substituting inferior company plans,” says Teamsters representative
Wildish Lane, off Coburg Road in Eugene. Stefan Ostrach. “Employees, whose average age is 47, would lose the opportunity to re-
Wildish truck drivers, plant operators and mechanics are represented by Teamsters tire early.”
Local 206. The collective bargaining agreement between the union and Wildish expired Teamsters have voted to authorize a strike and a federal mediator is involved in ne-
April 1, 2007. gotiations. As EWgoes to press, Mike Wildish and Steve Wildish of the Wildish manage-
“Earlier generations of the Wildish family worked hard to earn a good name and ment team have declined a request for comment.
10 JANUARY 10, 2008