Dear CHOICES Subscribers, People want to know if CHOICES is going to appeal Springfield's approval of the PeaceHealth plan amendments. Our attorneys are still reviewing the 125 pages of findings, i.e., the legal justifications for the decision. If they determine the decision doesn't conform to applicable laws, regulations and plans, then it is our duty as responsible citizens to appeal the decision to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA). If they determine the decision is legal, then it would be inappropriate for us to appeal. Our attorneys will let us know which way to go by early next week. Lots of public meetings are scheduled this week. The Lane County Board of Commissioners will hear a semi-annual report from the Board of Health and a report on rural health clinics (#3). They are also holding meetings on the county budget (#3, #8). Wednesday evening, you can attend a public hearing on changes to the Metro Plan (#6), in particular, related to natural resources. Or you can attend a public hearing on how well the Eugene-Springfield area plans its transportation system (#7). Both issues are related to how and where PeaceHealth wants to site its new hospital. Meanwhile, PeaceHealth is moving forward with its plans and is expected to file its master plan any day now (#9). McKenzie-Willamette offers an update on its plans (#10). And the City of Eugene, once accused of driving away PeaceHealth, is not going to the other extreme of considering allowing a hospital just about anywhere in Eugene -- possibly even in your neighborhood (#12). Elsewhere, health care costs more, forcing cutbacks (#13-15); public services are being cut back (#17-20); and business are leaving or going out of business (#21-25). Next week, we'll let you know what our attorneys think. In the meantime, let us know what you think. Rob Zako, Editor 343-5201 rzako@efn.org ============================================================ Health Options Digest May 4, 2003 Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield ============================================================ * CALENDAR 1.sn - Mon 5/5 - Springfield City Council 2.sn - Tue 5/6 - Lane County Board of Commissioners 3.sn - Tue 5/6 - Lane County Budget Committee 4.sn - Tue 5/6 - Springfield Planning Commission 5.sn - Wed 5/7 - Lane County Board of Commissioners 6.sn - Wed 5/7 - Metro Plan Periodic Review Public Workshop 7.sn - Wed 5/7 - FHWA and FTA Public Forum 8.xx - Thu 5/8 - Lane County Budget Committee * PEACEHEALTH'S PLANS 9.sn - PeaceHealth must follow building permit fee standards * MCKENZIE-WILLAMETTE'S PLANS 10.mw - Fast & Painless Update 11.sn - Triad Hospitals reports revenue, patient increases * EUGENE'S EFFORTS 12.ew - More Hospital Sprawl? * COSTS OF HEALTH CARE 13.or - Doctors back health plan, debate how to pay 14.rg - Health plan to drop 10,400 clients 15.bj - Under the budget knife 16.sn - Pryor & Terrett: Privacy law puts patients in control * COSTS OF PUBLIC SERVICES 17.sn - Springfield faces gloomy fiscal year 18.rg - Budget committee hears pleas to preserve services 19.sn - Lane County warns of rough waters 20.sn - Editorial: Tough choices for budget committees * NEARBY DEVELOPMENTS 21.rg - Time for Sony to give back 22.rg - Limit corporate subsidies 23.rg - Symantec eliminates manager's position 24.rg - Filling the gaps 25.rg - Mall eager to fill former Ward space 26.rg - Ron Schmaedick: Time is ripe to facilitate local building projects * KEY, CREDITS, MORE INFO ======================== Calendar ======================== ------------------------------------------------------------ 1.sn - Mon 5/5 - Springfield City Council ------------------------------------------------------------ Monday, May 5, 6:00 p.m. City Hall 225 Fifth St., Springfield For info, call 726-3700 6:00 p.m. -- Work session, Jesse Maine Room. * Rivers to Ridges report. * Grant request for St. Vincent de Paul's housing project. 6:30 p.m. -- Executive (non-public) session, Jesse Maine Room. Property acquisition negotiations. 7:00 p.m. -- Regular session, Council Meeting Room. * Oath of office for Tim Malloy * Annexation of property. * One-year action plan of the Eugene-Springfield Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development. * Proposed resolution on Regional Sewer Facility System Development Charge methodology. * Proposed resolution for setting local and regional sewer user fees. * Historic Commission and Planning Commission appointments. * Grant request for St. Vincent de Paul's housing project. * Purchase of property. * Metropolitan Area General Plan amendment with Willamette River Greenway exception. 8:00 p.m. -- Executive (non-public) session, Jesse Maine Room * Municipal court judges performance evaluations. http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2003/05/02/calendar/news1.txt Agenda: http://www.ci.springfield.or.us/CMO/2003Council/050503%20agenda.pdf ------------------------------------------------------------ 2.sn - Tue 5/6 - Lane County Board of Commissioners ------------------------------------------------------------ Tuesday, May 6, 9:00 a.m. Public Service Building, Commissioners' Conference Room 125 E. Eighth St., Eugene For info, call 682-4203 * Semi-annual Board of Health report. * Oral report concerning the Public Health Rural Clinics in Florence, Oakridge, and Cottage Grove. http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2003/05/02/calendar/news1.txt Agenda: http://www.co.lane.or.us/bcc_info/Meeting_Info/2003/Agenda03-5-7.htm ------------------------------------------------------------ 3.sn - Tue 5/6 - Lane County Budget Committee ------------------------------------------------------------ Tuesday, May 6, 5:15 p.m. Public Service Building, Commissioners' Conference Room 125 E. Eighth St., Eugene For info, call 682-4203 * Health and Human Services * Sheriff's Office http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2003/05/02/calendar/news1.txt Agenda: http://www.co.lane.or.us/bcc_info/Meeting_Info/2003/Agenda03-5-7.htm ------------------------------------------------------------ 4.sn - Tue 5/6 - Springfield Planning Commission ------------------------------------------------------------ Tuesday, May 6, 7:00 p.m. City Hall, Council Meeting Room 225 Fifth St., Springfield For info, call 726-3753 * Public hearings on Gateway Refinement Plan amendment on Harlow Road. * Natural Resources Inventory. * Modification of provision for Lane Transit District. http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2003/05/02/calendar/news1.txt Agenda: http://www.ci.springfield.or.us/dsd/Planning/PC%20Agenda%20&%20Minutes/2003/Regular%20Agenda/May%206%202003.pdf ------------------------------------------------------------ 5.sn - Wed 5/7 - Lane County Board of Commissioners ------------------------------------------------------------ Wednesday, May 7, 9:00 a.m. Public Service Building, Commissioners' Conference Room 125 E. Eighth St., Eugene For info, call 682-4203 * Eugene Land Use Regulations for Application to the Urbanizable Lands Within the Eugene Urban Growth Boundary. http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2003/05/02/calendar/news1.txt Agenda: http://www.co.lane.or.us/bcc_info/Meeting_Info/2003/Agenda03-5-7.htm ------------------------------------------------------------ 6.sn - Wed 5/7 - Metro Plan Periodic Review Public Workshop ------------------------------------------------------------ Wednesday, May 7, 5:00 p.m. Eugene Library, Bascom/Tykeson Rooms 100 W. 10th Ave., Eugene For info, call Kurt Yeiter (Eugene), 682-8379 For info, call Mark Metzger (Springfield), 726-3775 For info, call Carol Heinkel (LCOG), 682-4107 * Public testimony on proposed changes to the plan. http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2003/05/02/calendar/news1.txt More info: http://www.lcog.org/metro ------------------------------------------------------------ 7.sn - Wed 5/7 - FHWA and FTA Public Forum ------------------------------------------------------------ Wednesday, May 7, 6:00 p.m. City Hall, Council Meeting Room 225 Fifth St., Springfield For info, call Tom Schwetz, 682-4044 * Public testimony on metropolitan transportation planning and programming. http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2003/05/02/calendar/news1.txt More info: http://www.lcog.org/mpo ------------------------------------------------------------ 8.xx - Thu 5/8 - Lane County Budget Committee ------------------------------------------------------------ Thursday, May 8, 5:15 p.m. Public Service Building, Commissioners' Conference Room 125 E. Eighth St., Eugene For info, call 682-4203 * District Attorney * Youth Services * Justice Courts * Management Services Agenda: http://www.co.lane.or.us/bcc_info/Meeting_Info/2003/Agenda03-5-7.htm =================== PeaceHealth's Plans ================== ------------------------------------------------------------ 9.sn - PeaceHealth must follow building permit fee standards ------------------------------------------------------------ By Jaime Sherman Springfield News, 4/30/03 PeaceHealth will pay the city's traditional building permit fees as it builds a $350-million medical complex in north Springfield, the City Council informally decided Monday evening. During a work session, three councilors dismissed a PeaceHealth request to pay the city's incurred costs rather than established permit fees, which have historically recovered the city's costs. PeaceHealth officials submitted a proposal last week that would have allowed them to pay for city costs connected to the building project dollar for dollar minus percentages for infrastructure improvements, added jobs and other city benefits. PeaceHealth has paid incurred costs during the planning phase to have a single staff person dedicated to the project, City Manager Mike Kelly said. "They chose to pay for their impact," he told the councilors. "They also wanted quick service, so we have worked with them on an incurred cost basis. They want to keep working that way." The nonprofit hospital organization argues that by paying established permit fees, it will pay more money in the long run and the city will profit. The city predicts the estimated permit value for the building phase over four years is $1.8 million. Three out of five city councilors refused to grant PeaceHealth special treatment, saying the standard building permit fees are the price of doing business. "This is exactly what they will pay," Councilor Stu Burge said. "I am not one who believes in making concessions." Councilor Anne Ballew said she doesn't want to overcharge people, but she said the reasons for rebating "are made-up ways of recovering costs." "I need something better," she said. Councilor Dave Ralston agreed, saying he isn't inclined to treat PeaceHealth differently than other developers. "I'm not inclined to give them any credit," he said. "I don't think they're going to create any more jobs." Councilors Tammy Fitch and John Woodrow weighed in on the other side of the debate, saying the proposal would give the city flexibility to recover all costs even if they exceed the set costs of the standard permits. "I'm on the other side of this," Woodrow said. "I don't see a problem as long as the city gets the recovery of costs. I don't see a problem giving them a refund on overspending." Fitch agreed it isn't standard practice for the city to overcharge developers, but she said PeaceHealth will probably create higher-than-predicted city costs in the coming years, which would make PeaceHealth's proposal positive for the city. However, the opinions of Fitch and Woodrow didn't prevail, and the City Council won't hold a public hearing on PeaceHealth's request. PeaceHealth is expected to submit a master plan of its Gateway area complex later this week. City review of the detailed plan will take four to five months before it goes before the Planning Commission and City Council this fall, City Manager Kelly said. http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2003/04/30/local/news1.txt =============== McKenzie-Willamette's Plans ============== ------------------------------------------------------------ 10.mw - Fast & Painless Update ------------------------------------------------------------ By Rosie Pryor McKenzie-Willamette Hospital, 5/2/03 We're Celebrating 48 Years of Service Much has changed since McKenzie-Willamette opened its doors on May 1, 1955. Today, the hospital has 1100 employees and an annual budget in excess of $80 million. Last year, McKenzie-Willamette took care of over 6,000 in-patients and 197,000 out-patients. The Emergency Department responded to 37,700 patients--40% of all emergency department visits in central Lane County. Volunteers contributed nearly 50,000 hours of service to McKenzie-Willamette and its patients. State Officials Say Hospital Rules Not Meant to Impede Operations The rules governing where hospitals can locate in Oregon currently prevent McKenzie-Willamette from moving outside downtown Springfield, but permit PeaceHealth to move anywhere it wants! State officials said the rules were never intended to impede the successful operation of existing hospitals and advised us to ask them for an amendment. Currently, a hospital can only relocate to a zip code where 10% of its total admissions originate, or where the hospital has a 20% market share. McKenzie-Willamette doesn't provide that level of care in any of the Eugene zip codes. But PeaceHealth provides that level of care in all the Eugene/Springfield area zips. When the rule was written, Health Division officials considered Portland one single service area even though it has multiple zip codes. Apparently nobody thought the rule would be a problem in other urban areas. We understand PeaceHealth has retained legal counsel to oppose the proposed amendment. This interference is yet another example of PeaceHealth's ongoing determination to control or eliminate hospital competition in Lane County. Attorney General Starts Review of Joint Venture We have formally asked the Oregon Attorney General to review our proposed joint venture with Triad Hospitals, Inc. This triggers the start of a 60-day "clock" for the AG's office, which has scheduled a public hearing on the transaction for Tuesday evening, June 24th, at the Willamalane Adult Activity Center in Springfield. We asked the Attorney General to protect both our cover letter and the Letter of Intent (LOI) we signed with Triad as "trade secrets" under the provisions of Oregon law. Both relate to the highly competitive environment in which McKenzie-Willamette struggles for survival against a much larger competitor. But we want to share the details with you and our regional community, so we put a summary of our Letter of Intent in display ads in The Register Guard on Friday and Saturday, March 28 and 29, and in The Springfield News on Saturday, March 29. You can view this summary at www.mckweb.com or reply to this newsletter and we'll e-mail it to you. We understand PeaceHealth has retained legal counsel to represent them in the AG approval process. Employees Earn Best-Ever Accreditation Scores McKenzie-Willamette, along with our Home Care service, just received the "Gold Seal of Approval" for health care quality from the national Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, and re-accreditation for another three years. This means McKenzie-Willamette has demonstrated compliance with national standards for patient safety and quality of care. The hospital has been continuously accredited since 1956. Joint Commission surveyors spend several days on-site scrutinizing employee performance and evaluating quality measures. Accreditation, either by the Joint Commission or by the state, is required for hospitals to qualify for Medicare reimbursements. Employee Commitment to Patients Shows McKenzie-Willamette's top accreditation scores follow a period of prolonged stress and uncertainty about the future. Even so, we are experiencing one of the lowest employee turnover rates in the hospital's history. President/CEO Roy Orr said hospital employees deserve a lot of credit for their steady focus on patient care during such a stressful period. Orr said employees didn't just pass the accreditation test, they passed with flying colors. Questions? Please feel free to give me a call. Thanks. Rosie Pryor, Director, Marketing and Planning McKenzie-Willamette Hospital 1460 G Street, Springfield, OR 97477-4197 541-744-6164 rospry@mckweb.com ------------------------------------------------------------ 11.sn - Triad Hospitals reports revenue, patient increases ------------------------------------------------------------ Springfield News, 4/30/03 McKenzie-Willamette Hospital's soon-to-be financial partner has reported increased revenues and patient surgeries in the three months ending March 31. Triad Hospitals Inc. of Plano, Texas, reported revenues of $954.5 million and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $157.4 million. Net income totaled $47.3 million, and diluted earnings per share came in at 63 cents. Compared to the same three months from 2002, Triad's revenues increased 10.7 percent. Triad saw a growth of 8.7 percent in in-patient surgeries and 2.5 percent in out-patient surgeries. In January, the company broke ground on a hospital in Nevada. Triad also announced in February that it will build a $100-million hospital in Denton, Texas. Triad Hospitals is also working on six or seven new hospital ventures, mostly with not-for-profit hospitals, in the next few years. Triad plans to build a hospital in the Springfield-Eugene area for McKenzie-Willamette Hospital, which could open in 2005. http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2003/04/30/business/news2.txt ==================== Eugene's Efforts ==================== ------------------------------------------------------------ 12.ew - More Hospital Sprawl? ------------------------------------------------------------ Eugene action hurts chances for new hospital downtown. By Alan Pittman Eugene Weekly, 5/1/03 The Eugene City Council took a step last week toward locating a new McKenzie-Willamette Hosp-ital on the edge of the city rather than near downtown. The council voted 5-3 to move to allow McKenzie/Triad to build the new hospital as a permitted use virtually anywhere in the city. A public hearing and final vote on the proposed land use change will be scheduled later. "What we want is a hospital in the central city and what this says is you can put a hospital anywhere," Councilor Bonny Bettman said. Bettman voted with Councilors David Kelly and Betty Taylor to oppose the regulatory change to allow a hospital in any residential, office, commercial or industrial zoned area of the city. "It's an incredible shift in direction," said Jan Wilson of CHOICES, a group lobbying for locating a hospital in the central core of Eugene. "We've just thrown the central core part right out the window," she said. "They could put it way out by the airport if they wanted." Kelly said a big hospital could have a bad impact on small-scale residential neighborhoods. "I can just hear the uproar." "We're talking about at least a 750,000 square foot facility," said Bettman. "It really isn't appropriate in every single residential zone in the city." Councilor Gary Papˇ agreed a hospital would have a major impact. "We're talking about, maybe not a 20 ton elephant, but a 15 ton elephant moving around." But Papˇ still voted for allowing hospitals in any neighborhood. Supporters of a centrally located hospital had hoped the city would entice McKenzie's planned new hospital to a central Eugene site by offering a zoning overlay that would make hospital siting easy. But the council voted against such an approach. Councilor Scott Meisner said an overlay zone approach would be too restrictive. "I do not want to make it more difficult for a new hospital to locate here." Mayor Jim Torrey agreed the council shouldn't restrict the hospital. "There is a real fear among folks on the east side of the freeway that we will try to micromanage the process." Downtown hospital supporters said an overlay would actually simplify locating the hospital in the central city. Allowing a hospital anywhere "takes any of that leverage away" to locate the hospital in the central city, Bettman said. By allowing the hospital anywhere, "the city has no way to encourage good sites and discourage bad sites," Wilson said. Wilson faulted city Planning Director Tom Coyle for recommending against using the city's zoning regulations to steer the hospital to the most beneficial site for the citizens of Eugene. "The point of planning is to have a vision," said Wilson. "Tom Coyle was going back to the 1960s." Locating the new hospital on the edge of town would produce costly, traffic-snarling urban sprawl, Wilson said. Such edge development will increase pressure to expand the growth boundary and produce big taxpayer costs in new sewers, roads and other infrastructure, she said. "West 11th would be a mess, 7th would be a mess, the Beltline would be bumper to bumper." A central location for the hospital would be much better, Wilson said. Redeveloping vacant and underused industrial sites near 2nd and Chambers and 7th and Garfield is one possibility, she said. Another option would be using part of the county fairgrounds site for a hospital, Wilson said. That could require the once a year county fair to move to a more rural location and the conversion of the fairgrounds buildings into more of a convention/recreation center with parking garages. Wilson said there's little doubt the new McKenzie/Triad hospital will locate somewhere in Eugene. Glenwood lacks adequate sewers and is too close to PeaceHealth, she said. A Glenwood hospital may also have trouble because it would be too close to Cottage Grove's hospital to get a state-required certificate of need. Eugene has more than twice the number of potential hospital customers as Springfield and makes economic sense for a new hospital location, according to Wilson. "No one is going to walk away from our market." "I think they [McKenzie/Triad] realize they need to be more centrally located than PeaceHealth and they'll collect up all the doctors and all the patients," Wilson said. "I'm trusting that McKenzie-Willamette still has a good enough heart to choose the right site despite what the council does." http://www.eugeneweekly.com/archive/05_01_03/news.html#news1 ================== Costs of Health Care ================== ------------------------------------------------------------ 13.or - Doctors back health plan, debate how to pay ------------------------------------------------------------ By Don Colburn Oregonian, 4/28/03 Taxes, tort reform and tobacco's toll led an agenda of hot-button issues debated during the weekend by Oregon's biggest doctors group at its annual meeting. The Oregon Medical Association also strongly backed the Oregon Health Plan, the state's Medicaid program for low-income residents. But a proposal to endorse a state sales tax to help pay for the health plan was toned down and approved Sunday with no mention of such a tax. Instead, the resolution endorses a "broad-based source of revenue from the public" to make sure "those who are uninsured or underinsured have access to basic health care." And it "unequivocally opposes" so-called provider taxes on doctors and hospitals to fund the plan. The vote came at the medical association's three-day meeting, which concluded Sunday at Salishan Lodge in Gleneden Beach. Resolutions passed by the House of Delegates become policy for the association, which represents a majority of Oregon's doctors. "We have no desire to micromanage the tax law," said Dr. Colin Cave, an ear, nose and throat surgeon in Beaverton, who was inaugurated as the new association president. But he said taxing doctors to care for the uninsured would be as unfair as taxing teachers to fund schools or police to fund jails. "It's the responsibility of the public -- not just doctors -- to pay for care of the uninsured," Cave said. If proposed cuts in the health plan are carried out when the new budget term begins July 1, about 150,000 Oregonians will be added to the 400,000 who already lack health insurance. Dr. David Coutin, an allergist in Bend, co-sponsored the tax resolution. His measure was amended Saturday after a spirited debate during which some doctors expressed wariness of endorsing a specific tax increase. Despite the deletion of any reference to a sales tax in his resolution, Coutin on Sunday asked delegates for a "nonbinding show of hands" as to whether they would support a sales tax to help pay for the Oregon Health Plan. A clear majority favored the sales tax. Provider taxes on doctors and hospitals are seen by some as a way of increasing federal matching money for the health plan. The financial impact on providers could be offset by other tax credits, but in the meantime, the added revenue would allow Oregon to secure more federal money. The federal government pays about two-thirds of the cost of the Oregon Health Plan. That means that every dollar cut from the health plan budget removes three dollars from the state health system. "You walk away from that kind of money, and you affect the economy of the state as well as its health," said Rep. Alan Bates, D-Ashland, an osteopathic physician who introduced a provider tax bill. Bates said he intended the bill only as a "place holder," a legislative vehicle for possible amendment later if lawmakers decide to consider a provider tax. "We're not going there unless they want us to," Bates said of doctors and hospitals. The doctors Sunday overwhelmingly denounced the idea of a provider tax in any form. In another resolution, doctors urged the Legislature to reinstate the state Tobacco Prevention and Education Program, which has been cut from the new budget. Two resolutions calling for changes in medical liability laws were referred to an association panel working on that issue. And a broad declaration of the need for health reform and a "social contract" establishing "basic health care service for all" was referred to another committee for what Cave called "a little wordsmithing." Dr. Allen Merritt, a pediatrician and director of neonatology at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, was named doctor-citizen of the year for "his unwavering volunteer commitment to providing quality health care to infants and children in Oregon." Don Colburn: 503-294-5124; doncolburn@news.oregonian.com. http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1051531271210080.xml ------------------------------------------------------------ 14.rg - Health plan to drop 10,400 clients ------------------------------------------------------------ By The Associated Press The Register-Guard, 4/30/03 Salem -- More than 10,000 people in the Oregon Health Plan will lose their coverage on Thursday for failure to pay monthly premium charges that took effect on Feb. 1. To help resolve a budget shortfall, lawmakers began requiring premium payments for about 100,000 people who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but whose incomes are below the federal poverty level. The premiums range from $6 to $20 per person, depending on income and household size. The charge for a family of three with a monthly income between $636 and $827 would be $15, for example. The state Human Services Department said Monday that about 10,400 people haven't paid premiums for February and March despite four notices mailed to them. The latest notice said benefits would end after April 30 if premiums for the two months weren't paid. Plan members last month were given a month's grace period to make the February payments because of confusion about the new requirements and administrative problems. Payments are supposed to be made by the 25th of each month or coverage ends and can't be reinstated for six months, and then only if past premiums are paid. Legislators also pared benefits to shave costs of the health plan. As of March 1, the plan dropped coverage for dental work and for outpatient mental health and alcohol and drug addiction treatment. The cuts and premiums don't apply to about 300,000 needy residents who are covered by regular Medicaid. They include people who are disabled, blind, pregnant, children in low-income families or are receiving welfare aid. Budget problems are causing lawmakers to consider additional cuts in services in the next two-year budget period. http://www.registerguard.com/news/2003/04/30/d2.cr.health.0430.html ------------------------------------------------------------ 15.bj - Under the budget knife ------------------------------------------------------------ By Robin J. Moody The Business Journal of Portland, 4/14/03 Oregon's only medical school is in a bind. Combine a growing demand for indigent care, decreasing funding from the state, and the inability to drop unprofitable services because of the teaching function they serve--and something has to give. Medical leaders are hoping it won't be the quality of education. "If you have a medical school, you can't just close down [obstetrics-gynecology] because it is losing money. You have to have that set of clinical experiences in order to train students," said Dr. Christine Cassel, dean of the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine. Safety net school "Secondly, many medical schools, including this one, are safety net institutions that have a long tradition of serving the poor and underserved," she said. Financial challenges prompted school officials to raise tuition 26 percent this school year, and it could increase another 4 percent in fall of 2003. With OHSU students already carrying more than the national average in tuition debt, higher tuition could play a role in shaping students' speciality choice, and whether they will practice in rural areas. Traditionally, the medical school has amassed a revenue loss that was balanced by the hospital's gains, said Lesley Hallick, OHSU provost and vice president of academic affairs. However, that delicate balance has been upset since the institute's investment income has plummeted, Medicaid reimbursement has dropped and the ranks of the uninsured have spiked. In fiscal year 2002, the hospital sustained $13 million in uncompensated care--up from $5 million in 2000. Medicaid reimbursements will be slashed $7 million by June 30. OHSU has historically been the state's largest provider of indigent care, but costs simply can't be recouped in the current market, officials say. Cassel noted that more than 40 percent of OHSU's care is administered to clients who can't pay. Financial strains will demand changes in operations. Operating like a private school "While we continue to be very dedicated to the public mission and the state of Oregon, we are being forced to operate more like a private school and to create a strong fiscal base that will allow us to function ... without relying on much help from the state," Cassel said. As a public corporation, OHSU has important ties to the state but has seen the state's monetary support decline rapidly in recent years--partly due to economic recession, and partly due to changes in the institute's charter. Since 1995, OHSU is no longer a state agency but it continues to coordinate educational activities with the state system of higher education, and it retains its public mission. The current structure is similar to a private corporation with a board of directors. OHSU's board is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. Only 5 percent, or $11 million, of the medical school's fund comes directly from the state, Hallick said, but the school has been asked to aggressively trim its bottom line. Final budget figures were not available by press time, but Hallick loosely estimated the cuts will total "several million." In 2002, the Legislature cut funding to OHSU by $18.2 million, and many more cuts are anticipated. OHSU as a whole has an operating budget of about $1 billion. In 2003, the medical school's budget is $274 million, about 75 percent of which comes from gifts, grants and contracts. Only about 3 percent comes from tuition. Patient care comprises less than 1 percent. "We want to make sure we protect the integrity of the mission, but we might not be able to provide as many services as we have recently," Hallick said. Where will the cuts fall? Which way the budget knife will fall depends on various criteria, Hallick said, including which departments are able to raise money to support themselves, and which programs are determined to be most critical to providing a top-notch medical school education. Community outreach services are likely candidates for cuts, Hallick predicted. "You have to be focused on the educational experience from the students' eyes as you look at what you're cutting," Hallick said. Physicians who care for patients at OHSU often double as school of medicine faculty, Hallick said, and if the hospital struggles financially it affects the school of medicine, including hiring key staff members. In addition, budget cuts put pressure on physician educators to see more patients, write more grants and do more profitable research, Cassel said. These demands could mitigate the time they dedicate to teaching--although university officials are trying to avert that. "What we've tried to do is be strict in how we think about funding," Hallick said. "Research dollars pay for research time of the faculty; clinical dollars pay for clinical time." Added Cassel, "We are trying, with the little bit of money we have, to protect the teaching function. I have made a major commitment to dedicating those dollars to that purpose." In the future, OHSU schools will be asked to shoulder more of the burden of their overhead cost--this will likely be accomplished in part by raising tuition and increasing class sizes. Edward Keenan, associate dean for medical education, predicts medical school tuition will increase 4 percent in the 2003-2004 school year. It increased 26 percent in 2002-2003. OHSU medical school is not alone in its financial problems, Cassel said, although most medical schools she knows receive greater state funding. "Academic health centers across the country are facing real challenges right now. One reason is health care costs continue to go up while health care payments have not kept pace, and overall have gone down. Health institutions that don't do teaching are more nimble in being able to cut programs or reduce expenditures," Cassel said. She also warned problems in medical schools are endemic of problems facing health care as a whole. "It's a collision course. Something is going to have to give, whether it is federal policy or liability reform. I think it is long overdue," the dean said. http://www.bizjournals.com/industries/health_care/hospitals/2003/04/14/portland_focus1.html ------------------------------------------------------------ 16.sn - Pryor & Terrett: Privacy law puts patients in control ------------------------------------------------------------ By Rosemary Pryor, Marketing & Planning Director, McKenzie-Willamette Hospital By Brian Terrett, Director of Public Affairs & Communication, Sacred Heart Medical Center Commentary in Springfield News, 4/30/03 Information about your health and health care should be private. On April 14, a new federal law took effect that ensures doctors, hospitals and all other health care professionals take extra steps to protect your privacy. The new law is called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. On one hand, the new regulations make it easier for hospitals, doctor offices and insurers to share information that can enhance your care and help streamline payment. But the regulations also restrict release of information about you without your authorization. Most of us would agree this is a good thing. That is, until there's a piece of information we want -- like information about a loved one in the hospital -- and can't get. Prior to April 14, if you called any hospital in the United States and asked for information about a family member receiving care, the amount and kind of information you would have received would vary from nothing at all to a detailed description of your family member's progress. If you were injured in a car accident or involved in a crime in Oregon -- as perpetrator or victim -- the hospital (under a longstanding agreement with news media) would have provided basic information about your injuries and your condition to reporters. All this has changed since April 14. With HIPAA regulations now in effect, reporters seeking information about victims in a four-car pile-up will be given a one-word condition report -- good, fair, serious or critical -- and they won't get that if the patient asks that no information be released. Effective April 14, all a hospital will share about any patient in its care is a one-word condition report, unless the patient has given permission for release of more information. If a patient wants no information released at all, the hospital will not acknowledge the patient's presence in the facility. The new law doesn't apply to patients and their families, who are free to share as much information as they like with whomever they like. But that information will not come from the hospital, clinic or emergency medical service providing the care. In essence, the new regulations place control of information about patients squarely in the hands of the patients themselves -- regardless of who those patients are or why they're receiving medical care. Hospitals, physicians and insurers share up-to-the-minute information about your health history and past health care so they can provide you with the best care. Advances in computer technology and provisions in the new HIPAA regulations will make that information sharing even more efficient and effective. But HIPAA also recognizes your desire for confidentiality. In weighing the balance between convenience and confidentiality, the new federal regulations clearly come down on the side of patient confidentiality. So, what do you do if you're hospitalized and you want those who care about you to receive updates about your condition? You can appoint a family spokesperson. If there is someone close to you who is visiting regularly and in touch with those providing your care, ask family members to direct questions to that person. Sacred Heart Medical Center and McKenzie-Willamette Hospital staff believe family communication and support are essential in the healing process. We also know how important privacy is, and we are committed to making the medical privacy rule work for our patients and their families. This is one of the ways both hospitals are working to enhance the quality of the care you receive when you are with us. http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2003/04/30/opinion/news2.txt ================ Costs of Public Services ================ ------------------------------------------------------------ 17.sn - Springfield faces gloomy fiscal year ------------------------------------------------------------ By Jaime Sherman Springfield News, 5/3/03 Gloomy budget projections met the Springfield Budget Committee Tuesday night as the group convened for a first look at the city's fiscal future and proposed budget for fiscal year 2003-04, which begins July 1. Six city councilors and six community members make up the committee, which will meet several times this month to finalize a recommended budget for next year. The City Council will vote on the proposal in June. Committee members listened as City Manager Mike Kelly sprinkled a gloomy fiscal forecast of $1.7 million in cuts with a few positive changes in the past year. He said voters appear to trust the city's governing ability and approved police and fire levies last fall, which will add 31 employees to the city's roaster beginning this summer. The city of Springfield remains the "city of choice for developers," Kelly continued, saying the city's planning department saw more land use requests in 2002 than in the previous 10-year period. The land use requests will mean increased building and a growing tax base in the next two years, he said. But even with the positives, the city continues to struggle financially, Kelly said. In anticipation for the $1.7 million deficit, the city has eliminated 10 full-time equivalent jobs at a savings of nearly $886,000, but the eliminations are a one-time solution, Kelly said. In the coming years, the budget deficit is expected to grow, and for now, the Budget Committee is faced with trimming and re-prioritizing services and department budgets. The members learned Tuesday they must address the futures of the street and ambulance funds, which were "built on a shaky foundation," Kelly said. Street Fund The city has a separate fund for street maintenance that is treacherously close to a zero balance. Between 85 and 90 percent of the city's street fund revenue comes from the state and Lane County, but the money has become stagnant and even declined in the past years, said Len Goodwin, the city's technical services manager. Much of the revenue is based on state gas tax money, which has declined even as miles traveled has increased because vehicles are now more fuel efficient. In addition, the state hasn't increased the gas tax since 1993. The city's $3 million in street fund reserves will be down to $430 by the end of fiscal year 2004, Goodwin said. "This is a long-term problem," he said. "We have built up a structural imbalance." The City Council tackled the problem last fall and winter by passing a transportation system maintenance fee, which would charge people for the use of Springfield's roads. The fee is anticipated to raise $1 million annually. The council also passed a 3 cent gas tax to raise an estimated $675,000 each year. The city councilors in Eugene and Cottage Grove have approved identical taxes. But the cities are facing legal and legislative challenges against the fees and gas taxes. Bills have been presented in the Oregon Legislature to pre-empt any city's attempt to raise street funds locally, and a citizen petition is being circulated currently to eliminate the transportation fee. As a result of the challenges, the city of Springfield hasn't calculated the two revenue sources in the next budget, so the street fund will remain stagnant and streets will deteriorate rapidly, Goodwin said. Every five years the city must lay a slurry seal on the streets to fill in cracks, and every 10 years an asphalt overlay is required. If these two steps don't occur, the entire street must be reconstructed. The city will face a $20 million backlog in the street fund in five years if something isn't done to ensure proper funding today, according to the city. Ambulance Fund In 1981, the city of Springfield began offering ambulance service to its citizens. The life-saving service is funded through the Emergency Medical Services Fund, which receives revenue from ambulance billing and FireMed administration in 14 jurisdictions around the state. Through the years, the fund has remained self-sufficient, deputy fire chief John Garitz told the Budget Committee. But like many funds within the city budget, cuts must be made this year. Last week the city of Eugene officially announced it is backing out of a 22-year contract with the city of Springfield and will begin billing for ambulance services and FireMed memberships on its own. The change will cost the city of Springfield at a cost of $800,000, Garitz predicts. In addition, every fire department in the United States is facing decreased revenue as Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements don't meet actual costs. Springfield staff must now find new ambulance billing customers and other ways to keep the ambulance fund afloat, Garitz said. The Budget Committee will meet again at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, at 5:30 p.m. May 13 and at 5:30 p.m. May 22 if necessary. http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2003/05/02/local/news2.txt ------------------------------------------------------------ 18.rg - Budget committee hears pleas to preserve services ------------------------------------------------------------ By Randi Bjornstad The Register-Guard, 4/30/03, Page D1 There's plenty to be upset about in the way of cuts as Lane County struggles to balance its dwindling budget, but the lion's share of those who turned out for the budget committee's first official meeting Tuesday had one thing on their minds -- animal control. Seven of the 21 people who spoke during the one-hour hearing implored the panel not to proceed with nearly $270,000 in reductions that would include the loss of 1.5 animal control officer positions and would shut down the cattery at the Lane County Animal Regulation Authority. Three more urged the group -- made up of the five county commissioners and the same number of citizens -- to continue its $25,000 for wildlife damage control, designed to protect livestock, crops, pets and people from coyotes, cougars and other destructive animals. Other social service cuts -- programs for sexually abused children and delinquent youths, community television, addiction programs and child care -- also rated a mention as the five-week budget process got under way. The angriest voice of the evening belonged to county employee Janice Chase Barbur, slated to lose her job in the finance department when the new budget goes into effect in July. "My position is funded from the general fund -- I will have been on the job 22 1/2 years on June 30, (but) on July 1, I will no longer be an employee," Chase Barbur told the committee. "Last summer, you (commissioners) decided your wages were not enough, and you voted yourselves a 27 percent raise. I want you to sit back and think about that -- (and that) one of my jobs is to process your paychecks and your vehicle allowances every two weeks." She isn't likely to go out the door alone. As many as 91 positions have been identified as potential layoffs in the 2003-04 budget year. Kicking off the budget season with his annual budget message, County Administrator Bill Van Vactor told the committee that the pain of developing the coming year's proposed budget has been different from in the past. "In the last few years, we've seen a small amount of growth or a 'rollover' budget," Van Vactor said. "This year, we have fewer resources, and we will be making many cuts." County departments already have gone through several rounds of cost cutting, he said, "starting almost from the first day of this fiscal year" as the state began pulling funding out of county programs. The overall budget proposed for the coming year -- $406 million -- will be $15 million less than this year's budget. Potential cuts include the loss of 84 spaces at the Lane County Jail, closure of the county's three rural public health clinics, turning many property crimes into violations punishable only by citation, as well as more than $10 million in reduced services to people with mental illness, developmental disabilities, alcohol and drug addiction and physical ailments. "Revenue is not going up as fast as expenses," said Van Vactor, who cited long-term obligations to the Public Employees Retirement System as well as health costs to employees and retirees as the biggest budget factors. "These are things we have no control over -- we may be able to influence them, but we can't control them." The state Legislature has undertaken efforts to reform the PERS system, and the county has been talking to its employee unions about holding down health care costs. "But I want to caution you now," Van Vactor told the committee. "If these things don't come to pass, we'll be having a midyear budget process (next year), and we'll be making even more cuts." County Budget Meetings When: 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. on May 1; 5:15 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on May 6, 8, 13, 15, 20 and 22 Where: Public Service Building, 125 E. Eighth Ave., Eugene Information: 682-4203 http://www.registerguard.com/news/2003/04/30/d1.cr.countybudget.0430.html ------------------------------------------------------------ 19.sn - Lane County warns of rough waters ------------------------------------------------------------ By Jonni Gratton Springfield News, 5/3/03 The stability of the county budget enjoyed over the last few years is no longer and rough waters lie ahead. County Administrator Bill Van Vactor presented the 2003-04 Lane County Budget message Tuesday night at the Public Service Building's Harris Hall, which was filled with citizens who participated in a public hearing that followed. The first order of business was the election of the Budget Committee chairman. The Budget Committee is made up of the five county commissioners and an appointed citizen by each commissioner. This year's committee includes: Bill Dwyer and Scott Bartlett, Springfield; Anna Morrison and David Crowell, West Lane; Peter Sorenson and Mary Ann Holser, South Eugene; Tom Lininger and Kathy Keable, East Lane; and Bobby Green and Francisca Leyva-Johnson, North Eugene. Crowell was elected chairman and Holser vice-chairman. What the Budget Committee faces this year are cuts, cuts and more cuts. From July 1,2003 to June 30, 2004, the county's proposed operating budget will be $406,714,504, including $98,848,233 for the General Fund. This year, the county is facing a reduction in services across many different funds due to spiraling personnel costs and flat revenues. The total budget deficit for Fiscal Year 2003-04 is over $20 million for all accounts. This includes a $5.75 million shortfall in the General Funds, of which $4.7 million is in the discretionary General Fund. In addition to the county's own budget deficit, the State of Oregon reductions have impacted services provided by Lane County to residents. The budget was prepared in three phases that had reductions in each phase. The majority of high-profile cuts come from Public Health and Public Safety. They include $1.1 million in cuts to the Sheriff's Office, including 84 beds at Lane County Jail; $350,000 from the District Attorney's Office, including four full-time attorneys; $250,000 cuts to Youth Services, including half the beds at Pathways residential substance abuse facility for youth; $100,000 for Justice Courts and the closure of the LCARA cattery and cutting several part-time staff positions. Seven of the 21 people commenting during the public hearing were LCARA supporters. Johnni Prince, Greenhill Humane Society executive director, said people don't understand the difference between their non-profit operation and LCARA, which is a public safety, enforcement, government agency. "These cuts make us pay. People become more angry with us because we can't help them," said Prince. Kim Langley, a veterinarian from Pleasant Hill who volunteers at Greenhill, said cuts will jeopardize the health and safety of the community, which is required by state and county law. Looking Glass Director Jim Forbes and another supporter said the cuts to youth services will hurt the community and cause the loss of federal matching funds. Pathways was reported to have an 88-percent felony free rate after the completion of the program. Sheep rancher Cleve Dumdi of Junction City was concerned with the loss of the Wildlife Services Program. "We could lose the whole thing, as well as state and federal funding," he said. "We are protecting humans from cougars, protecting people and livestock." Community television received several pleas as did the Friends of Child Advocacy Center of Lane County, drug and alcohol programs, early childhood education. The county even heard from one of its own. Janice Chase Barbur of Springfield who works in the finance department said after 22 1/2 years as a county employee, and five years from retirement, her job is slated to be cut. "You gave yourselves a 27 percent raise. I want you to sit back and think about that," she said, requesting the commissioner pitch in to pay what could be $854 a month in medical expenses. While the public hearing is over, written public testimony will be accepted through May 15 at 5 p.m. Overview presentations of the budget, a tax revenue review and local workforce changes were given. The Budget Committee will get down to the nuts and bolts in a series of five-work sessions, which began Thursday. Other work-session dates include May 6, 8, 13 and 15. A set of Budget Committee meetings are scheduled for May 20, starting at 5:15 p.m., and 22, starting at 5:25 p.m., at the Commissioners' Conference Room in which public comment will be accepted. A Budget Committee approval of the plan is scheduled for May 22 and budget adoption by the commissioners is planned for June 18. http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2003/05/02/local/news3.txt ------------------------------------------------------------ 20.sn - Editorial: Tough choices for budget committees ------------------------------------------------------------ Editorial Springfield News 5/3/03 As budget committees for various taxing districts start meeting to plan their budgets for next year, reality is sinking in that the state's fiscal crisis is far from over. Oregonians have become used to bad news in the past year as revenue shortfalls have trickled down from the state. After the Legislature passed a biennial budget in 2001, the number of dollars started falling. Legislators met in five special sessions to cope with continuing deficits. The 2003 Legislature has only recently begun to plan a budget for the 2003-05 biennium after spending several months still trying to get through this biennium's problems. And the next biennium begins June 30, exactly two months from now. But local taxing districts can't wait that long to plan -- they need to pass a budget before June 30 so they can begin their next fiscal year. Lane County and the City of Springfield came out with the same bad news Tuesday night -- only the numbers are different. Lane County's proposed budget includes $20 million in county service cuts and the loss of 91 full-time jobs. Specific proposed cuts are $1.1 million to the Sheriff's Office, which could mean the loss of an 84-bed dorm; $350,000 from the District Attorney's Office, including four full-time attorneys; $250,000 in Youth Services, which includes cutting half the 14 beds at Pathways, a residential substance abuse facility for teens; $100,000 in Justice Courts, including 1.5 full-time employees; and $400,000 in the Assessment and Taxation Department and Support Services departments. Other possible cuts are to close the public health clinics in Cottage Grove, Florence and Oakridge and to eliminate the cattery program at Lane County Animal Regulation Authority. The city of Springfield also plans reductions, including a reduction of 10 full-time positions, but as city Finance Director Bob Duey noted, "The most positive thing about the budget right now is come July, we'll be implementing the two levies that passed." He's talking about police and fire levies that were approved by voters last fall; the levies will add staff to both departments, which have seen their level of staffing fall considerably in recent years. Yet to come is the proposed budget for the Springfield School District -- it will be presented to the budget committee Thursday night. But various proposals have already been talked about, including the possibility of closing Springfield Middle School. All this is still in the early stages. The various budget committees will deliberate, then make recommendations to their governing bodies, which will make the hard choices. Is there any end in sight to these often-drastic cuts? The news right now doesn't look good. According to figures presented to the county budget committee Tuesday, unemployment rates for both the Springfield-Eugene metropolitan area and the state of Oregon are between 7 and 8 percent, well above the national average, which is below 6 percent. Lane County alone has lost more than 1,600 jobs since last July, including 280 from Sony Disc Manufacturing. Fewer people working means declining income taxes, the state's main revenue source. The optimists hope that the state and national economies will soon rebound, but realistically it will take time -- especially here in Oregon. The booming '90s are long gone. Nor can the state look to Washington, D.C., for relief as the country piles up a huge deficit. In the meantime, local budget committees and elected officials have to make do with what they have or to come up with additional revenue. The bad thing is that many worthwhile programs -- and the people they serve -- will be cut. The good thing about budget shortfalls is that agencies can examine their programs from top to bottom to discover where economies can be made and what's really important to their constituents. Current budget problems should impress upon the state's leaders that Oregon needs to take a long-term view to provide more stable funding for the services it offers and the local agencies it serves. That hasn't been the case, however, in recent legislative sessions, and we're not holding our breath. http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2003/05/02/opinion/news1.txt =================== Nearby Developments ================== ------------------------------------------------------------ 21.rg - Time for Sony to give back ------------------------------------------------------------ By David Berg, Eugene Letter to The Register-Guard, 5/1/03 If, after jilting the Eugene-Springfield community and the unemployed workers it left behind, Sony stands to profit so heavily in its real estate deals, I think the least it can do is establish an unemployment fund for its former workers here and/or donate some of that real estate back to the community. http://www.registerguard.com/news/2003/05/01/ed.letters.0501.html ------------------------------------------------------------ 22.rg - Limit corporate subsidies ------------------------------------------------------------ By Russ Norberg, Springfield Letter to The Register-Guard, 5/4/03 Jack Roberts, defending Sony's departure (Register-Guard, April 13), asks: "Would we have been better off had Sony never come to Springfield?" But Roberts asks the wrong question. It should be: Would our schools be better off if Sony had paid its fair share of property taxes? I understand why Roberts craftily constructs his defense of the public giveaway to firms such as Sony. He was one of the architects of attracting Sony in the first place, and his portfolio of successes depends on the millions of dollars a year in public subsidies to attract business. Our schools and roads are languishing for lack of operating funds. Businesses such as Sony create real demands on services, just as we all do. It's unfair and fiscally irresponsible to most of us to allow this kind of pork barrel subsidy to continue. But since our growth-at-any-cost leadership is unlikely to curtail these subsidies, how about limiting them to small locally owned businesses, which have already paid their dues and are unlikely to cut and run after the freebies are used up? It really wouldn't surprise me to see Sony reappear one of these days, enticed back by yet another round of tax breaks and public subsidies. After all, with all those $9-per-hour jobs that Sony provides, our schools really don't need to produce educated graduates. http://www.registerguard.com/news/2003/05/04/ed.letters.0504.html ------------------------------------------------------------ 23.rg - Symantec eliminates manager's position ------------------------------------------------------------ By Sherri Buri McDonald The Register-Guard, 4/29/03, Page B1 CORRECTION (ran 4/30/03): A story on Page B1 on Tuesday gave an incorrect first name for Don Oldenburg, the new site director at Symantec's Springfield customer support center. When Chris Monnette, head of Symantec's software support center in Springfield, oversaw the outsourcing of 270 consumer support jobs last July, he was aware that his job might be the next to go. "I knew my job would be on the line," he said. Indeed, Monnette's position was eliminated earlier this month in a management shuffle. His last day on the job was April 11. [Photo: Chris Monnette] In addition to directing Symantec's Lane County operation for the past three years, Monnette supervised customer support worldwide. Those duties will be transferred to other managers at Symantec. Dan Oldenburg, who had been responsible for support of Symantec's business customers in North America, also will oversee support of consumers in North America, said company spokesman Phil Weiler. Oldenburg also will be the senior site executive in Springfield, Weiler said. A Symantec executive based in the Boston area will pick up the rest of Monnette's duties overseeing consumer support in other parts of the world, Monnette said. "Once I outsourced the consumer business, it made sense to make an organizational change to combine the business and consumer support," said Monnette, an 11-year Symantec veteran. "I was the guy left standing when the music stopped playing," he said. But he said Symantec has treated him fairly and he has no qualms with the company's decision. "I can support the move," Monnette said. "It probably wasn't the best thing for me personally, but it was the best thing for the company." As local site director, Monnette led Symantec's search for bigger quarters in Lane County and its move to a new 190,000-square-foot building in Springfield's Gateway area. In addition, Monnette implemented the decision to outsource retail consumer and technical support to Spectrum Contact Services, a Texas-based company that hired many of Symantec's laid-off workers and set up shop in part of Symantec's former space in downtown Eugene. Two other employees who worked directly with Monnette also lost their jobs in the reorganization, Monnette said. Symantec, a fast-growing maker of Internet security products, has to continually evolve to survive, Monnette said. "In the last three years, there's been tremendous change in the company, and in the high-tech business you either change or die," he said. Monnette said he and his family would like to stay in the Eugene-Springfield area, but work opportunities may take them elsewhere. "I'm going to take a month or so and get my life in order, enjoy my family and take it from there," he said. Symantec reported profit of $248 million on sales of $1.4 billion in the year that ended March 31. http://www.registerguard.com/news/2003/04/29/b1.bz.symantecs.0429.html ------------------------------------------------------------ 24.rg - Filling the gaps ------------------------------------------------------------ Search is on for new tenants for Emporium's empty Lane County stores By Edward Russo The Register-Guard, 5/4/03, Page F1 The last Troutman's Emporium in Lane County is days away from closing, but landlords hope the doors of some of the stores won't stay shut for long. Landlords and commercial property brokers are scrambling to find new stores to take the place of bankrupt Emporium, but their task is made challenging by the presence of plenty of other vacant spots. [Photo: Longtime Emporium worker Alan Holzang rips down the signs in a barren store at 29th and Willamette in south Eugene after it closed for good.] Photos: Paul Carter / The Register-Guard It can take years for landlords to find new uses for shuttered stores as they seek retailers who like a particular size and location. Sometimes, bankruptcies can put vacant properties in limbo for years, as in the case of the former Montgomery Ward building at Valley River Center in Eugene. Next weekend, Emporium expects to close its store in Springfield's Gateway Mall, the last of five Emporiums in Lane County. With the shutterings, the 34-outlet clothing store chain will be out of business as far as the public is concerned, leaving lawyers and company executives to sell remaining assets and wrap up the bankruptcy during the rest of the year. Emporium's bankruptcy makes the store succession more complex because under the bankruptcy procedure, a commercial property broker has won the right to try to find other retailers to take over most of Emporium's leases, including, in Lane County, the ones for the Gateway Mall and Cottage Grove stores. Still, it may take only a matter of months to find new tenants for some of the empty Lane County stores, retail property experts say. [Map: Emporium store locations.] "Retail is holding up surprising well given the job losses in Lane County," said Alan Evans, a broker with commercial real estate firm Prichard Evans & Elder in Eugene. "The prospects for (finding new tenants for) the Emporiums in Lane County are excellent." How soon the spaces get filled is important to shopping center managers who cringe at the thought of dismal-looking holes that don't produce rent. Also, Emporium's retail neighbors don't want to have vacant storefronts nearby. The Emporium at Eugene's Valley River Center closed last weekend, along with the stores in south Eugene's Willamette Plaza and in Florence. Emporium's Cottage Grove outlet closed in March. The larger, highly visible former stores in Eugene and Springfield may be easier to fill than the smaller ones in Cottage Grove and Florence, Evans said. The 50,097-square-foot store at Gateway Mall is attractive to retailers because it's visible from Interstate 5 and easily accessible for the entire metropolitan area, he said. The Valley River store occupied two floors, including 27,640 square feet on the second level. The mall's general manager, Veronica Malony, said new retailers probably would be interested in renting only ground-floor space because that's easier and less expensive to operate than a two-story store. Don't be surprised to see the 18,351 square feet on the first floor carved into three pieces for different tenants before too long, Malony said. "There are some national retailers that have expressed interest that are not currently in this market," she said. [Photo: Emporium employees and liquidators spend the final day of operation at the south Eugene store wheeling away inventory and store furnishings. The owner of the building plans renovations in hopes of attracting a new tenant.] David Olson, a San Francisco-based senior vice president with Grosvenor, the investment firm that owns Valley River Center, said the skittish economy has made retailers cautious about expanding with new stores. "People are waiting to see if we have turned the corner on the national and local economy," he said. The mall should be able to attract quality stores to the former Emporium space, though managers will be picky, Olson said. "We could lease it tomorrow probably, but we want to put the right tenant in and the right tenant mix to maximize the value of the center and how it serves the public," he said. Emporium's bankruptcy is forcing the firm to sell assets to raise money to pay creditors owed a collective $30 million. Those assets included the rights to 24 of its long-term leases, sold to commercial property broker Alamo Group of Alamo, Calif. for $2.1 million. That firm is now trying to find retailers willing to occupy the soon-to-be-closed or already shut stores, including, in Lane County, the Gateway and Cottage Grove spots. If Alamo cannot find replacement tenants by Oct. 31, the leases will be tossed out and the stores will revert to the control of the landlord. Another possibility is for property owners to pay Alamo before the end of October in order to gain immediate control of the spaces and to avoid getting stuck by Alamo with a tenant they don't like. Seven landlords enlisted another commercial property broker, Hilco Real Estate of Northbrook, Ill., to obtain their leases from bankruptcy court. Hilco bought those leases in bulk, then transferred them to the landlords. For example, Standard Insurance Co., which owns south Eugene's Willamette Plaza, paid Hilco an undisclosed sum for the service, which gave the Willamette Plaza Emporium lease back to Standard. That lease had 12 more years to run, and Standard didn't want Alamo to win the lease. [Photo: A few final-day shoppers, the curious and a handful of employees walked through the doors at the Emporium store on Willamette Street in south Eugene for the last time last Sunday.] Portland-based Standard wants to renovate the shopping center in the next year or two and is eager to get control of the 29,418-square-foot store. Now, the insurance firm can make sure it gets the kind of tenant that it wants, Standard executive Trong Ingvaldsen said. He declined to say how much Standard paid Hilco. "We thought it was reasonable," he said. If Alamo cannot land a tenant for the 19,000-square-foot store in Cottage Grove's Village Plaza shopping center, property owner Tom Connor said he has a potential tenant. "It's going to be something that will work well in the center and benefit the community," he said. The Florence Emporium property is in a class by itself because the building is in a strip mall owned by Emporium's parent firm, Troutman Investment Co. The entire strip mall is to be auctioned Tuesday. The auction is being held to sell the last of the firm's major assets, including vehicles and equipment at Emporium's headquarters and at its distribution center on McVay Highway in Eugene. After the sale, the new owner of the Florence shopping center will seek one or more tenants to fill the 16,200-square-foot former Emporium. http://www.registerguard.com/news/2003/05/04/f1.bz.space.0504.html ------------------------------------------------------------ 25.rg - Mall eager to fill former Ward space ------------------------------------------------------------ By Edward Russo The Register-Guard, 5/4/03, Page F2 After two years in limbo, the vacant former Montgomery Ward store in Valley River Center may soon get a new lease on life. A bankruptcy court is expected to approve transfer of the retail building to the mall's owner, giving managers their first chance to find new tenants for the 98,234-square-foot store. The retail space has been tied up in the Montgomery Ward & Co. bankruptcy since early 2001. The land under the building has long been owned by the mall, but until the recent transfer, the building itself was owned by Montgomery Ward. New stores could locate in the building -- which sits at the back of the mall near the Willamette River -- but look for the mall to try to attract entertainment ventures, such as movie theaters, restaurants or a children's fun center, general manager Veronica Malony said. Entertainment uses appeal to Malony because they would bring people to the mall for reasons other than shopping, just as the Cinemark Theater does at Gateway Mall in Springfield. Gaining control of the space "gives us a tremendous opportunity to reposition that real estate and convert it to a use that is compatible with our existing tenant mix, or add an element that is currently not in the mall," Malony said. Any announcement is probably several months away, she said. Chicago-based Montgomery Ward & Co. declared bankruptcy in late 2000, closing all 252 of its stores the next year, including the outlet at Lane County's largest shopping mall. Until the bankruptcy, Ward leased the ground at the mall from a limited liability company controlled by mall owner, Grosvenor, a multinational property investment firm with headquarters in London. During the bankruptcy, Kimco Realty Group of Hyde Park, N.Y., tried to find another retailer to buy the Ward lease. While Kimco was able to find other retailers to take former Ward stores in Portland, Medford, Salem and other cities, it could not find a replacement for the Eugene space. The main reason was that Kimco was bound by the Ward lease at Valley River, which only allowed department stores, said David Olson, a senior vice president with Grosvenor. A Delaware bankruptcy court could approve transferring the building to Grosvenor in a couple of weeks, Olson said. "In anticipation of getting the store back, we have been talking to various potential replacement tenants," he said. The mall will get the building at no cost because Montgomery Ward was unable to find a buyer for it, he said. http://www.registerguard.com/news/2003/05/04/f2.bz.spaceside.0504.html ------------------------------------------------------------ 26.rg - Ron Schmaedick: Time is ripe to facilitate local building projects ------------------------------------------------------------ By Ron Schmaedick Commentary in The Register-Guard, 4/30/03, Page A13 Everyone is wringing their hands over budget cuts, while opportunities for immediate local economic stimulus are getting little attention. It will be two to four years before anything the state and federal governments do will have a positive trickle-down effect in Lane County. It is time for private and public leaders in Lane County, Eugene and Springfield to look within for opportunities to stir up near-term local economic activity. Many private and public construction projects are in various stages of planning. Most are to be financed with dedicated funds or bond issues already approved by the voters. This money cannot be used to make up for shortages in operating budgets. Many private projects can be financed with loans from banks that are awash with money at low interest rates. If these projects were aggressively pushed ahead, the jobs they create would do wonders to the local economic climate and psychology. A strong local construction industry would spread ripples throughout the local economy and would improve the income of taxing authorities that provide schools and social service programs. We would be completing projects at a time when labor and materials are most available and interest rates are at a record low. This would cause a big savings, compared to building when the state and national economies are running at capacity. Among the best-known projects for which funding is already allocated or could be available quickly are the federal courthouse, the new buildings to replace Ida Patterson and Washington elementary schools, two major hospitals, a University of Oregon basketball and multipurpose arena, Lane Transit District's Springfield bus station and the initial stages of the Bus Rapid Transit system, the first phase of the West Eugene Parkway, several highway bridges, the residential condominium project proposed for Olive Street, Lithia Motors' expansion near downtown Springfield, the Liberty Bank branch on Coburg Road, Holt International Children's Services new offices in the Gateway area and federally funded improvements at the Eugene Airport. In addition, this is a good time to encourage additions, big and small, to homes and business properties. Again, ample bank financing at attractive rates is immediately available for these smaller projects. How do we expedite these projects without compromising good planning and building standards? First, entrepreneurs, developers and government agencies should be encouraged to bring forth as quickly as possible any and all projects for which immediate funding is ensured. Second, government officials responsible for planning, building permits, inspections, etc., must gear up to move every application along and cut the usual time for such processes in half or less. They must authorize ample overtime and contract labor as needed -- including working evenings and weekends, whatever it takes -- to get these proposals reviewed, adjustments made for conformance with codes and permits issued. The additional cost would be paid back manyfold as new jobs are created. When public hearings are required, the agency responsible should push construction projects up on the agenda and schedule extra meetings as necessary. Any reasonable proposal that would immediately create local jobs should get top priority. Highly controversial proposals must not be allowed to jam up the agenda and cause a delay of easy-to-approve applications. Those who want to see more funds for schools and other social needs must monitor the process and be prepared to speak out when the process is not moving at a rapid pace or when no-growth elements attempt to thwart the process. If we can get this ball rolling immediately, we will see more jobs and more cash flowing through the economic system by this fall and on into the next couple of years. Lane County can be the model for the rest of Oregon. As other communities follow our lead, Oregon will soon have increased tax revenues for our schools and the social safety net. Oregon can boot-strap itself up from being the poster child for the many cash-strapped states across the nation. As the world and national economy come back, we will be even better prepared to participate. Ron Schmaedick of Springfield and his wife, Mary Jo, owned RAMS Realty and Realty Executives. He served on the Lane Transit District budget committee and several city of Eugene task forces dealing with low-cost housing, city beautification and other issues. http://www.registerguard.com/news/2003/04/30/a13.ed.col.rschmaedick.0430.html =========================== Key ========================== "Health Options Digest" is best read with an email program that recognizes links to web pages. 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