Health Options Digest
September 5, 2004
Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield (CHOICES)
In This Issue
From the Editor
Court of Appeals Rules in Favor of CHOICES
Although not yet in the news, last Wednesday the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of CHOICES. Warning: If legal arguments make your head spin, read no further.
Recall that the City of Eugene changed its zoning to allow a hospital just about anywhere in the city -- like next to you or me. They said they did so to attract a hospital, even though McKenzie-Willamette/Triad wasn't asking for the change and PeaceHealth doesn't appear to be interested in opening a new hospital in Eugene. Friends of Eugene and CHOICES appealed the decision to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA). PeaceHealth joined the City of Eugene in defending the change. LUBA ruled in favor of the City of Eugene. Their reasons were similar to those when they upheld the City of Springfield allowing PeaceHealth to develop a hospital on land designated for residential uses.
Then the Court of Appeals overturned LUBA's ruling in the Springfield case, saying that a hospital can't be allowed in an area designated for residential uses. This was the main ruling that has sidetracked PeaceHealth's plans in Springfield.
CHOICES appealed LBUA's ruling in the Eugene case to the Court of Appeals, making similar arguments that persuaded the court in the Springfield case. But before the Court of Appeals can even consider our arguments, they need to decide if CHOICES has "standing" -- roughly speaking, whether Eugene's decision would affect CHOICES or its members. The City of Eugene and PeaceHealth argued that CHOICES doesn't have standing because we never submitted legal papers demonstrating we have standing. CHOICES then asked to file a signed affidavit from one of our members demonstrating that having a hospital next door would affect the member. Eugene and PeaceHealth argued that CHOICES had missed its opportunity to file an affidavit and should have done so when we testified to the Eugene City Council. CHOICES argued that as the issue of standing didn't even arise until the case got to the Court of Appeals and that citizens shouldn't have to retain an attorney to prove they have standing when they testify to elected officials.
Bottom line, the Court of Appeals agreed that CHOICES can file an affidavit now. This ruling clarifies an earlier ruling, known as Utsey, that limits the rights of citizens to appeal land use decisions. This ruling ensures that citizens won't be denied a day in court just because they didn't hire a lawyer when they testified to their local elected officials.
With the question of the affidavit answered, the Court of Appeals will next consider the affidavit to see if CHOICES really does have standing. If they conclude that we do have standing, then they will actually consider the merits of the case of whether or not Eugene can allow a hospital anywhere.
Make sense?
The court opinion is available at: http://www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/A124714.htm
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Week In Review
In other news, PeaceHealth completed purchase of the former Sony site, which they are now calling the "RiverBend Annex."
McKenzie-Willamette submitted a revised offer to EWEB to purchase its central Eugene site.
McKenzie-Willamette is also starting construction of a $2.2 million cardiac catheterization laboratory, the hospital's first step toward providing open heart surgeries. Open heart surgery is one of the few highly profitable procedures for hospitals that allow them to stay in business.
Local, statewide and nationally, the rising cost -- and unaffordability -- of health care continues to be a significant issue.
Arlie is continuing to float "creative" ideas for developing its 1200 acres near LCC and outside the urban growth boundary. Some time ago, Lane County rejected a proposal to swap the land for the Lane County Fairgrounds.
Springfield voters will face two bond measures, one to fund a community recreation center and another to fund a jail.
Although not reported in the news, the Lane County Board of Commissioners recently delayed taking action on the West Eugene Parkway, saying they needed more information.
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Looking Ahead
Although PeaceHealth says it will start construction on a new hospital next summer, their schedule appears to be slipping. They still need to get Springfield to adopt plan amendments to allow a hospital. We hear that PeaceHealth will begin submitting materials by the end of September. The Springfield City Council and Planning Commissioner are scheduled to hold work sessions on October 4 and 5, respectively. The first public hearing is now scheduled for November 1.
Meanwhile, the Eugene City Council is scheduled to receive an update on the West Eugene Parkway on September 22. Recall that Mayor Torrey has a dream, which he shared during one of his State of the City addresses, for a large, fast-moving highway to go all the way from the western edge of Eugene, through the wetlands, along Beltline Road, and straight to PeaceHealth's planned new hospital at Gateway. We guess all roads lead to... the hospital over there.
Lastly, 1000 Friends of Oregon is holding their annual Citizens' Conference this Saturday, September 11, in Corvallis. A panel, including the attorneys for PeaceHealth and the Jaquas, will be discussion transportation issues arising out of the Jaqua v. City of Springfield (PeaceHealth) case. For more information, visit: http://www.friends.org/involve/events.html
We are trying to line up a guest columnist to offer an outside perspective on our "Musical Hospitals." Stay tuned.
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Rob Zako, Editor
343-5201
rzako@efn.org
Opportunities
Fair board, planning commission seats open
| The Register-Guard | August 24, 2004 |
Lane County currently has vacancies on the fair board and the planning commission.
The deadline for applying the fair board comes first, at 5 p.m. on Aug. 31. The five-member panel oversees the business operations and programs at the Lane County Fairgrounds which, in addition to the annual county fair, includes hundreds of gatherings and shows.
The fair board meets monthly, and members serve three-year terms.
The planning commission has nine members who make recommendations to the commissioners on land use issues, including comprehensive plans and amendments. It cooperates with other planning agencies throughout the state and provides reports to local government officials on planning problems and issues.
The panel meets once or twice monthly, usually the first and/or third Tuesday.
Applicants for the planning commission vacancy have until 5 p.m. on Sept. 10 to turn in their completed paperwork.
Applications for both positions may be obtained from the commissioners' office in the Public Service Building, 125 E. Eighth Ave., Eugene.
For more information, call 682-4203.
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City seeks citizens to serve on boards
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | August 22, 2004 |
Interested in urban development, public budgets, historic buildings, human rights, police work and other topics? The city may have a seat for you.
The annual recruitment drive to get citizens to serve on volunteer boards and commissions is off to a slow start. So far, only four people have applied for 18 vacancies on the following boards: Budget Committee, Planning Commission, Toxics Board, Historic Review Board, Police Commission and the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority. The application deadline is Sept. 24.
Applications are available at the city manager's office in City Hall, 777 Pearl St., or through the city's Web site: http://www.ci.eugene.or.us
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PeaceHealth
Alan Yordy -- Jottings: PeaceHealth to buy Sony building
By Alan Yordy
PeaceHealth | August 24, 2004 |
From: Alan Yordy
To: PeaceHealth Employees
Date: Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Subject: Jottings -- Addressing Hilyard Space Concerns
Last month I sent you a note regarding our interest in the former Sony plant as a way to relieve some of the pressure on the current Hilyard campus. At that time, we had no agreement and no approvals from the board. Our analysis and planning have continued in the meantime. I am pleased to announce we have a definitive agreement to purchase this property, which will be known as the RiverBend Annex. Closing is scheduled for August 31, followed by a news conference.
Our motivation to purchase this new property is the same motivation that drives the RiverBend project: Finding a permanent solution to the critical need for a site and facility where we can grow and expand to serve patients now and in the future, and to continue to deliver exceptional medicine and compassionate care to the citizens of our region.
The last chapter in our review of a new property option began in June when the Court of Appeals rendered a decision that will delay the start of RiverBend construction. While we still don't know the exact duration of the delay, we are now estimating that we will start construction in mid-2005. At the same time, the past four months have seen our census climb with days when we have diverted patients, delayed surgeries and faced a critical test of our trauma capacity. We concluded that we must find some additional temporary space on the Hilyard campus to expand patient care programs to get us through the next 3 to 4 years until the new RiverBend hospital is operating. After careful study, we have determined that the RiverBend Annex provides an excellent site for the short- and long-term plan.
Here are some of the advantages:
* It can be occupied relatively soon and will give us additional space on the Hilyard campus. Some remodels are necessary to accommodate programs. We expect the first programs to move within the next 6 to 9 months.
* It is very close to the RiverBend campus and can be connected to the new hospital via pneumatic tube. This means that we will not have to build out all of the space we had planned at RiverBend and can save the cost of building out approximately 20,000 to 30,000 square feet. This does not reduce the size of the building; rather, this square footage will simply be shelled in for future use rather than finished at the outset.
* Moving some programs to the RiverBend Annex will result in a net savings of approximately $1 million to $3 million over the next 5 years from costs that had been estimated in our long-range financial plan.
* The new property is a good long-term investment. It would cost us far more to build similar space.
While plans are still being developed and are subject to further refinement, we expect to relocate the following programs to the RiverBend Annex:
* Oregon Medical Laboratories. It is important to note that a stat lab essential to support hospital services will be retained at the Hilyard campus;
* Part of our materials management function, essential to relieve traffic pressure in the alley behind the hospital;
* Medical records archive;
* Select education/training activities (the building has first-class training facilities); and
* Patient Financial Services.
There may be other candidates for relocation as well. The greatest single opportunity exists with OML, which will free up 20,000 to 30,000 square feet for other uses on the Hilyard campus. Ultimately we intend to return to patient care use rooms that are now used for office or administrative purposes. Of course, all this will take considerable planning and careful orchestration over the next year. Many of you from the affected departments will be invited to help plan this transition.
Here are a few other facts regarding the purchase:
* Total purchase price: To be announced at closing
* Total land: Approximately 53 acres
* Building size: 327,000 square feet
* Expected number of employees: 500-650
* Building amenities: Fitness center; cafeteria; training facilities; clean rooms for processing; robotic storage and retrieval systems; day care nearby
Thanks for your ongoing patience and confidence as we continue our quest to develop the RiverBend campus.
Alan
We create moments of grace in a world that does not always expect acts of kindness.
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Sony Plant May Have New Owner
| KEZI | August 24, 2004, 8:30 a.m. |
The former Sony plant in Springfield may have a new owner soon. We first told you about rumors surrounding the sale of the plant weeks ago. Now, sources tell us, employees of Oregon Medical Labs should find out Tuesday that OML is buying the property.
OML is part of the PeaceHealth Medical System, which is in the process of building a regional medical center at RiverBend. PeaceHealth officials deny they've bought the building; however, sources tell 9 News, a deal is in the works, and will be finalized by the end of the month.
OML is a reference lab for doctors all over the northwest. PeaceHealth wants to relocate OML along with its new hospital in Springfield. The debate is whether OML would fit inside RiverBend, or whether it needs a separate campus nearby. The Sony plant is right around the corner.
We'll continue to follow this story, and bring you the latest on 9 News today at 5pm and 6pm.
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PeaceHealth Buys Former Sony Plant
The former Sony Plant in Springfield will soon be known as the RiverBend Annex. It's right around the corner from PeaceHealth's future RiverBend Hospital, and within the next year, PeaceHealth is going to move Oregon Medical Labs there.
OML is currently packed into a small space at PeaceHealth's Eugene hospital, Sacred Heart. Ran Whitehead, the CEO of OML, says his employees are "tired of being in a cramped space so they're looking forward to the new location."
Their upgrade is a 327,000 square foot building left vacant last year when Sony shut its Springfield plant down. It's newer, bigger, and closer to PeaceHealth's proposed RiverBend Hospital. Whitehead explains, "It was always expected that OML would need to move, and we were hoping to get closer to RiverBend so we could get some effiencies from being closer to that campus." (more...)
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Hospital to acquire defunct CD plant
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | August 25, 2004 |
SPRINGFIELD -- PeaceHealth's Springfield adventure just got a little stranger.
PeaceHealth announced Tuesday that it will buy the shuttered Sony compact disc plant and adjacent land in the Gateway district for use as an annex to the health system's proposed RiverBend regional medical center.
PeaceHealth, based in Bellevue, Wash., plans to start shifting some operations now located at its cramped Sacred Heart Medical Center campus on Hilyard Street in Eugene to the Sony building within a year.
PeaceHealth didn't disclose the proposed purchase price, but the nonprofit hospital chain said it expects to complete the purchase from Sony next week.
The move is an odd twist in PeaceHealth's years-long effort to move a big portion of its Eugene operations to Gateway. It also opens a new chapter in the saga of the Sony factory, constructed by Sony a decade ago, only to be later closed by the music giant as the CD industry faltered.
The sale would turn one of Lane County's largest industrial buildings into an office and laboratory complex.
PeaceHealth said it needs the extra space to accommodate office work now handled at Hilyard, and thereby make space at Hilyard to handle growing patient volumes.
PeaceHealth said it doesn't want to wait until it wins approval for the RiverBend hospital. (more...)
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PeaceHealth to buy Sony building
By Ben Raymond Lode
The Springfield News | August 27, 2004 |
Is Springfield in the early stages of becoming a hub for high-tech medical research and services in the Pacific Northwest?
Following Tuesday's announcement by PeaceHealth of its intention to purchase the shuttered Sony plant and move Oregon Medical Laboratories from its current location at the Hilyard campus, city officials said they wouldn't mind seeing that happen.
The Sony facility, which is 327,000 square feet and comes with approximately 53 acres of land, will now be known as the RiverBend Annex.
Total purchase prize will be disclosed at closing, which is scheduled for Aug. 31. (more...)
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Marked-down Sony plant sold
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | September 2, 2004 |
SPRINGFIELD -- PeaceHealth on Wednesday employed the concept of buying in bulk to save money.
The Bellevue, Wash.-based nonprofit health system announced it has completed its purchase of the vacant Sony compact disc plant and 18 vacant nearby acres for the relatively bargain-basement sum of $16.6 million -- almost $10 million below Sony's original asking price.
After Sony shuttered the factory in 2003 amid a faltering market for CDs, the company put a price tag of $20.75 million on the 327,000-square-foot building and the 35 acres it sits on. Sony had also sought $305,000 an acre for parcels to the west and northeast of the plant totaling 18.2 acres. PeaceHealth acquired that land as well in the package deal.
PeaceHealth plans to move several of its operations to the factory over the next two years to free up room at its cramped Sacred Heart Medical Center campus in Eugene.
PeaceHealth expects to use the Sony building as an annex to its proposed RiverBend regional medical center, which would be built about a half-mile south of the Sony site. Springfield tentatively approved the $400 million hospital development earlier this year, but the Oregon Court of Appeals found the proposal violated state land-use rules and sent it back for corrections.
Springfield and PeaceHealth officials are working to come up with a revised proposal they hope will bring RiverBend into compliance with land-use rules and the court rulings. (more...)
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PeaceHealth seals Sony deal
By Ben Raymond Lode
The Springfield News | September 3, 2004 |
Sony is $16.6 million richer and one building poorer following PeaceHealth's announcement that it's buying the former CD-producing facility from the corporate high-tech giant.
The final announcement was made at a press conference held on Wednesday in the naturally lighted lobby of the Sony plant.
According to PeaceHealth, Sony asked $20.75 million dollars for the 327,000-square-foot plant, which sits on 53 acres of land and from now on will be known as the RiverBend Annex. (more...)
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Compassionate care: PeaceHealth improves its sensitivity to patients unable to pay
By Tim Christie
The Register-Guard | August 29, 2004 |
In the mid-1990s, PeaceHealth's charitable mission to provide health care to those in need, regardless of their ability to pay, was at odds with its increasingly hard-nosed reputation.
But in the past three years, the parent corporation of Sacred Heart Medical Center has become more compassionate when dealing with financially strapped patients and has made its charity policies more widely known, hospital officials and patient advocates say.
PeaceHealth has become "much more sensitive" to how it treats patients struggling to pay bills, Chief Financial Officer Skip Kriz said. (more...)
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Hospital budgets millions for charitable care program
| The Register-Guard | August 29, 2004 |
PeaceHealth, parent corporation of Sacred Heart Medical Center, budgets $20 million a year for its charitable care program, called Bridge Assistance, but spends far less than that.
Skip Kriz, PeaceHealth's chief financial officer, said the amount spent on charity varies from year to year, depending on the demand for services. (more...)
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McKenzie-Willamette/Triad
McKenzie-Willamette Submits Revised Proposal to EWEB
By Rosie Pryor
McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center | August 25, 2004 |
Today, we submitted a revised offer to Eugene Water and Electric Board to purchase its central Eugene site. We are offering to purchase just under 23 acres for $22,917,500 cash. We are also requesting a 5-year option to buy the parcel housing EWEBâs Steam Plant at a cost of $466,600. This is the highest price Triad or one if its joint venture partnerships has ever offered for land on which to build a new hospital.
McKenzie-Willamette began looking at the EWEB property in November 2003 at the request of Eugene officials. We had three threshold tests: 1) Is it big enough? 2) Can the transportation system be improved to ensure the site functions safely for a hospital? 3) Is it affordable? After receiving two appraisals, we submitted a purchase proposal to EWEB August 2nd. The current proposal is a revised version of the first, re-drafted to include mutually agreed upon time lines for due diligence. McKenzie-Willamette is offering to deposit $100,000 in earnest money to secure the agreement with EWEB.
The purchase agreement proposes a period of 90 days during which EWEB would complete the search for an alternative site and a further 175 days thereafter to conduct due diligence on the alternative site. If EWEB canât meet the time line, it can terminate the agreement. The proposal also gives McKenzie-Willamette 180 days from the date EWEB selects its alternative site to conduct our own due diligence on the property EWEB would vacate in central Eugene. If we conclude the property isnât suitable, we have the right to terminate the agreement.
We continue to be enthusiastic about the EWEB property as a site for a replacement McKenzie-Willamette. We have retained facility planning consultants and will launch the planning phase of the project in the next several weeks. We continue to be optimistic that EWEB will finalize its search for a site and will want to sell its property.
Questions? Feel free to give me a call at 726-4789 or send me an e-mail at rospry@mckweb.com.
Rosie Pryor
Director, Marketing and Planning
McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center
1460 G Street
Springfield, OR 97477-4197
744-6164
rospry@mckweb.com
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Offer For EWEB Property
| KEZI | August 25, 2004, 6:35 p.m. |
McKenzie Willamette Hospital has made a second offer to buy EWEB's property. The hospital and its parent company, Triad, want to purchase the Eugene Water and Electric Board's property to build a new medical center. The first offer was pulled off the table and revised.
The second offer is for nearly 23 million dollars cash for 23 acres. McKenzie Willamette also wants an option to buy the land housing EWEB's steam plant for about a half million dollars. It's very similar to the first offer the hospital made a couple of weeks ago, one EWEB did not like.
EWEB has said it could take up to 38 million dollars to relocate. This offer is nowhere close to that number.
This latest offer is the highest price the TRIAD system has ever offered for land to build a new hospital. EWEB says it still needs to review the offer before making a decision.
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Triad resubmits bid for EWEB site
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | August 26, 2004 |
Triad Hospitals Inc. on Wednesday offered the Eugene Water & Electric Board $22.9 million for the utility's 23-acre riverfront headquarters -- the same purchase price Triad made on Aug. 3 and then inexplicably withdrew the same day.
In its latest offer, Texas-based Triad, majority owner of McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in Springfield, also requested a five-year option to buy the 1-acre parcel housing EWEB's steam plant, south of the administration building.
Triad has chosen the EWEB site as its top spot to build a new $85 million hospital or medical center and move out of Springfield to escape the shadow of the regional hospital PeaceHealth wants to build in the Gateway area.
The latest offer, delivered to EWEB just before 5 p.m. Wednesday, includes timelines designed to give the utility breathing room while it searches for a new home, said Rosie Pryor, Triad spokeswoman. (more...)
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Triad makes another offer for EWEB
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | August 27, 2004 |
It's almost deja-vu.
Triad Hospitals Inc. resubmitted its offer of $22.9 million for the Eugene Water & Electric Board riverfront property on Wednesday, more than three weeks after a similar offer was extended -- and then immediately withdrawn.
While the amount is the same, the purchase agreement proposal now includes timelines, after weeks of discussions between hospital and EWEB officials.
Triad spokeswoman Rosie Pryor said the timelines established in the second proposal are intended to make sure the utility has ample time to find an alternate site for its headquarters. (more...)
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Work to start on hospital's new cath lab
By Tim Christie
The Register-Guard | September 4, 2004 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Construction of a $2.2 million cardiac catheterization laboratory will begin next week at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center, the hospital's first step toward providing open heart surgeries.
Hospital officials hope to complete the 1,070-square-foot project by December and begin seeing patients by the end of the year, Rick Varnum, associate administrator, said Friday. (more...)
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Health Care
Health centers meet low-income patient needs
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | August 25, 2004 |
Affordable health care isn't the stuff dreams are made of.
After years of planning, RiverStone Health Center is now providing primary medical and behavioral health care to Lane County residents at its 1640 G St. location in Springfield. The health center is one of three Community Health Centers of Lane County (CHCLC) providing comprehensive health services to nearly 5,000 low-income people throughout Springfield and the surrounding area.
CHCLC -- including RiverStone, Springfield High Health Center, and Safe & Sound Homeless Youth Clinic in Eugene -- under the sponsorship of the Human Services Commission, secured federal funding from the Bureau of Primary Health Care through a grant process. The clinics' annual budget of $2.8 million includes 27 full-time equivalent staff in the three locations.
The clinics are the end result of years of planning and research by a coalition of safety net health care organizations and community partners that sought out sustainable health care resources for county residents.
According to Selene Jaramillo, clinical health services coordinator, grants are awarded to help clinics serve additional, often under-served populations. (more...)
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Program brings doctors to Roseburg
| The Associated Press | August 25, 2004 |
ROSEBURG -- Before doctors like Mircea Rachita from Romania came, patients in this small timber town had to wait months for medical appointments.
Now, underserved communities are finding good doctors easier to come by, due to a visa waiver program with incentives for foreign-born physicians to work in communities that American doctors shun.
When he first started his job search, Dr. Rachita from Romania scanned the ads in the back of The New England Journal of Medicine. Living in New York, Rachita, who had temporary work status through his J-1 visa, knew that the clock was ticking on his time in America.
But in the Journal, he came across a job ad that stopped the clock for good.
The program called Conrad-30 -- after Kent Conrad, the North Dakota senator who authored the legislation -- allows foreign-born doctors who have completed post-medical school training in the United States the chance to work for three years in places where U.S. doctors typically balk at going. After three years, they are eligible for permanent resident status.
Rachita applied to the program, and a few months later, he and his wife flew to Roseburg, where they would join other visa-waiver doctors from Vietnam, Mexico, India, Lebanon and Syria.
Under Conrad-30, each state gets 30 doctor slots a year and chooses how to run the program. (more...)
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Raymond Englander, M.D. -- Patients win with caps on liability
By Raymond Englander, M.D.
The Register-Guard | August 26, 2004 |
In his Aug. 10 guest viewpoint, Gary Nauta portrays Measure 35 in an entirely erroneous light. The fact is, Oregon's doctors and the other medical professionals backing the initiative are working to protect patient access to health care and our basic right to a trial by jury. Don't be misguided by the opposition; Measure 35 will do both.
Let's get straight down to what Measure 35 is all about. Oregon is facing a serious health care access crisis. Soaring medical insurance costs are forcing doctors across the state to cut essential high-risk medical services from delivering babies to treating head trauma. Patient access to care is suffering as a result. Oregon already has lost 34 percent of its obstetricians, and there are no longer any neurosurgeons in Eastern Oregon. It is no coincidence that Eugene-Springfield has already lost two neurosurgeons and one heart surgeon to Idaho, a state with strong medical liability insurance reforms in place. (more...)
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Timothy Baxter -- LIPA's abuses hit disabled hard
By Timothy Baxter
The Register-Guard | August 30, 2004 |
Say you're disabled -- really disabled. You're a quadriplegic, and you can't use your arms or legs. Ninety-five percent of your life you spend either in your wheelchair or in bed.
And let's also say you're poor -- really poor: Your federal disability grant is less than $600 per month. You also receive Oregon Health Plan medical coverage through Lane Individual Practice Association. You're supposed to be covered for wheelchair repairs -- that chair is your legs, after all.
So you're dirt poor and you can't walk, but life is worthwhile. You love to read, you have personal faith, and you've got a few close friends. You can propel your wheelchair to church regularly, and to the library, and to friends' homes. Your life still has meaning and dignity.
One day, your wheelchair breaks down. Your doctor asks that LIPA approve funding for the needed repairs. You wait a long time, and there's a lot of bureaucratic runaround, and while you wait, you sit -- in a chair that won't move.
Finally, you get a notice in the mail: a denial giving no real explanation. You call LIPA, and you're stonewalled. Perhaps you give up. Or perhaps you persist, and, finally, LIPA says:
"We saw you in your wheelchair on the street! Using your wheelchair outside your home is abuse! That's why your request was denied!"
And, in this classic amalgam of illegal LIPA practices, you are dead in the water. Your world has become the four walls of your home. (more...)
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Insurer to the poor defends practices
By Tim Christie
The Register-Guard | September 1, 2004 |
A Eugene health insurer contends that state regulators have produced little or no evidence to back up their charges that the corporation mistreated Oregon Health Plan patients with delays, disdain and disinformation.
In response to a highly critical preliminary investigation by the state, the Lane Individual Practice Association says that overall it does an "excellent job" of administering the state's insurance plan for low-income residents and that it should not be punished for its shortcomings.
Federal regulators, meanwhile, have criticized the state Office of Medical Assistance Programs for lax oversight of LIPA. State officials should have investigated the company earlier based on certain statistical trends, such as a high rate of denials of requests for services and complaints compared with other insurers, that indicated potential problems, federal officials said. (more...)
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Editorial -- Advice for LIPA: 'Perception is reality' in customer service circles
| The Register-Guard | September 2, 2004 |
It's encouraging to hear that the Lane Individual Practice Association is willing to implement a voluntary service improvement plan and take other steps to address concerns raised in a preliminary state investigation highly critical of LIPA's practices.
Here are some modest suggestions offered in support of LIPA's commendable commitment to do a better job of delivering vital insurance coverage to its 28,000 Oregon Health Plan patients: (more...)
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2 counties to take part in Kid Care health plan
By Tim Christie
The Register-Guard | August 31, 2004 |
One in five children in Lincoln County has no health insurance and nearly 50 percent are living below the federal poverty level or close to it.
That's why Gov. Ted Kulongoski has picked the county, as well as Hood River County, to participate in a pilot project of his Kid Care initiative.
As many as 1,500 children in the two counties may be eligible for state health care programs, so state and county officials will work together to reach out to families of uninsured children and get them enrolled in state health insurance programs. (more...)
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M35: Should Oregon Limit Medical Malpractice Jury Awards?
| KEZI | August 31, 2004, 5:10 p.m. |
In November, Oregon voters will vote on a measure that would limit medical malpractice jury awards to $500,000.
Right now the "sky's the limit" for jury awards. There are some who feel that's contributing to expensive helthcare. Others who say that's a lie.
Two Oregon doctors, two very different views. The issue: whether medical malpractice jury awards should be limited to $500,000 a case. (more...)
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Oregon poor, uninsured rise again
By Andrew Kramer
The Associated Press | August 27, 2004 |
PORTLAND -- The ranks of the poor and uninsured in Oregon are growing, while typical incomes in the state have dropped $3,000 since the late 1990s, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released Thursday. (more...)
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15 ailments drive up health costs most
By Ceci Connolly
The Washington Post | August 25, 2004 |
WASHINGTON -- As insurers, employers and average Americans grapple with skyrocketing health care bills, a study being published today has found that a small number of illnesses -- many of them preventable -- account for most of the spending increase over the past two decades.
In the first comprehensive examination of which illnesses are driving an unprecedented rise in medical expenditures, Emory University health economist Kenneth Thorpe tracked 370 conditions and found that 15 accounted for 56 percent of the $200 billion rise in health spending between 1987 and 2000.
Five conditions accounted for one-third of the increase, with heart disease at the top of the list, followed by pulmonary conditions, mental disorders, cancer and hypertension.
Thorpe's study, published in the journal Health Affairs, found that chronic conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and mental disorders are costing Americans billions more than they did 20 years ago.
By documenting the most costly conditions, Thorpe's findings offer the beginnings of a road map for controlling health costs. At the same time, they suggest that in some cases, the increased spending has resulted not only in better health but also in long-term savings. (more...)
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Editorial -- The high price of health: Preventable illness drives up health care costs
| The Register-Guard | August 26, 2004 |
Many Americans have their hands on some of the main reasons why health care costs are climbing higher every year. Literally.
The hands that are caressing a cheese Danish, cradling a cherry cola, flicking the ash off a cigarette or channel-surfing with the remote -- those hands are holding things that contribute to the mostly preventable maladies that are driving an unprecedented rise in medical expenditures in the United States.
Emory University health economist Kenneth Thorpe has completed a comprehensive analysis of illnesses that have generated a $200 billion increase in health spending between 1987 and 2000.
Thorpe tracked 370 conditions and found that 15 accounted for 56 percent of the total jump in spending.
Five conditions -- heart disease, pulmonary conditions, mental disorders, cancer and hypertension -- accounted for one-third of the increase.
The implications of the study are as painfully plain as the numbers blinking up from a bathroom scale: Overeating, underexercising Americans are straining the national health care budget just as surely as they are straining their own hearts.
Lifestyle choices are a huge part of why the population of the United States is not getting any healthier, despite spending more per capita on health care than any other industrialized nation. (more...)
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Employee share of health bill rises
By Adam Geller
The Associated Press | August 27, 2004 |
NEW YORK -- Employers are facing continued double-digit increases in health care costs in 2005 and likely will require their workers to pay an even greater share of the bill, according to a new survey of more than 900 firms.
The survey, released Thursday by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, found that employers expect health care costs to rise 12.9 percent on average next year if they leave benefits unchanged. But companies that participated in the survey, both those that buy insurance and firms that are self-insured, are only budgeting an average increase of 9.6 percent in their health care spending.
The firms are likely to shift much of the difference to employees in the form of higher required contributions and co-payment fees, or by limiting their choice of insurance plans, the report said.
That would mark the third consecutive year that employers have shifted a portion of health care costs to workers in an effort to keep pace with rapidly rising expenses. (more...)
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America's Failing Health
By Paul Krugman
The New York Times | August 27, 2004; Page A21 |
Working Americans have two great concerns: the growing difficulty of getting health insurance, and the continuing difficulty they have in finding jobs. These concerns may have a common cause: soaring insurance premiums.
In most advanced countries, the government provides everyone with health insurance. In America, however, the government offers insurance only if you're elderly (Medicare) or poor (Medicaid). Otherwise, you're expected to get private health insurance, usually through your job. But insurance premiums are exploding, and the system of employment-linked insurance is falling apart.
Some employers have dropped their health plans. Others have maintained benefits for current workers, but are finding ways to avoid paying benefits to new hires -- for example, by using temporary workers. And some businesses, while continuing to provide health benefits, are refusing to hire more workers.
In other words, rising health care costs aren't just causing a rapid rise in the ranks of the uninsured (confirmed by yesterday's Census Bureau report); they're also, because of their link to employment, a major reason why this economic recovery has generated fewer jobs than any previous economic expansion.
Clearly, health care reform is an urgent social and economic issue. But who has the right answer? (more...)
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Editorial -- Poverty and Health
| The Washington Post | August 31, 2004 |
The Census Bureau reported last week that the poverty rate rose in 2003 for the third consecutive year and that the percentage of people without health insurance climbed for a third straight year as well. But what's really revealing about the trends in poverty and health coverage is not the similarity, which reflects the downturn in the business cycle, but rather the contrast. Put simply, the long-term trend in health coverage is negative: The percentage of Americans without insurance is up from about 13 percent in the late 1980s to nearly 16 percent today. But the long-term trend in poverty is positive: The rate ranged between 13 percent and 15 percent in the 1980s, but it has hovered at about 12 percent in the past half-decade. Moreover, the real decline in poverty is bigger than suggested by these numbers. (more...)
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Bush campaign touts health care agenda
By Ceci Connolly
The Washington Post | August 23, 2004; Page A20 |
WASHINGTON -- If the Republican-controlled Congress enacted President Bush's entire health care agenda, as many as 10 million people who lack health insurance would be covered at a cost of $102 billion over the next decade, according to his campaign aides.
But when the Bush-Cheney team was asked to provide documentation, the hard data fell far short of the claims, a gap supported by independent analyses.
Projections by the Congressional Budget Office, the Treasury Department, academics and the campaign's Web site suggest that under the best circumstances, Bush's plans for health care would extend coverage to no more than 6 million people over the next decade and possibly as few as 2 million. (more...)
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Bill Frist and Hillary Clinton -- How to Heal Health Care
| By Bill Frist and Hillary Clinton | August 25, 2004; Page A17 |
At a time when much of our public discussion is riddled with disagreement, there is an emerging bipartisan consensus in one vitally important area: that the challenges facing U.S. health care require major, transformative change. Some steps are already underway. Recently the Department of Health and Human Services announced a 10-year plan to build a new health information infrastructure. And while there is no consensus yet on all the changes needed, we both agree that in a new system, innovations stimulated by information technology will improve care, lower costs, improve quality and empower consumers. (more...)
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Shortage of nursing faculty intensifies nurse shortfall
By Linda Johnson
The Associated Press | August 25, 2004 |
TRENTON, N.J. -- At nursing schools from New Jersey to California, a surge of applicants who could ease the nation's worsening shortage of nurses are being turned away because many schools can't find enough qualified professors.
That shortfall is driven by health-care jobs that offer better pay and by fewer nurses pursuing the doctorate required for full-time, tenured teaching positions.
And, just as with the nurse work force, the faculty is graying. A wave of retirements is expected in about a decade when more care will be needed for aging baby boomers. (more...)
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U.S. blood pressure keeps climbing
By Jamie Stengle
The Associated Press | August 24, 2004 |
DALLAS -- As Americans get older and fatter, the number of adults with high blood pressure has climbed to almost one in three over the past decade, putting more people at risk of a stroke, heart attack or kidney failure, government researchers said Monday.
A little more than a decade ago, the number was closer to one in four. And two decades ago, it was falling. But then came the obesity surge in the late 1980s. (more...)
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Diabetes study assesses risk from sugary sodas
By Tara Burghart
The Associated Press | August 25, 2004 |
CHICAGO -- Women who drink more than one sweetened soft drink a day are more likely to develop diabetes than women who drink less than one a month, according to a new study.
But critics of the study noted the same conclusion might be drawn from examining eating habits involving other forms of junk food, too. (more...)
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Fiber, exercise top pyramid's diet guidelines
By Ira Dreyfuss
The Associated Press | August 28, 2004 |
WASHINGTON -- Not just any bread will do: Americans need more fiber, and whole wheat is better than white bread for getting it, a panel of scientists and doctors said Friday.
The federal advisory panel was offering its final recommendations for making the government's food pyramid a better guide to proper eating.
But diet alone is not enough. The guidelines should put a new emphasis on exercise and other physical activity, the committee said. It explained that most people seeking to control their weight need 60 to 90 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity daily.
About two-thirds of the nation's population is overweight or obese, according to the latest government figures. (more...)
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Nearby Developments
Arlie testing proposals to develop 1,200-acre plot
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | August 29, 2004 |
Ever since land dealer and developer Arlie & Co. bought 1,200 acres of rural land near Lane Community College, the Eugene firm has scrambled for ways to begin developing it.
Some of the concepts were bold, such as the proposal by Arlie executive John Musumeci to swap 100 acres of the property for Eugene's 56-acre Lane County fairgrounds. Musumeci's idea: The county fair gets a new home and Arlie redevelops the existing fairgrounds to include a new hospital.
Elected officials shot down that idea, as they did Musumeci's proposal to exchange some of the 1,200 acres with Lane Community College to help LCC expand. And a trial balloon by Musumeci to donate 10 acres for a new Lane County Education Service District planetarium also went flat.
But Arlie won't quit searching for ways to use the forest-zoned land, which sits outside the Eugene-Springfield urban growth boundary and thus is largely off limits to intensive development.
Now, Arlie is trying another approach: Quietly proposing different development scenarios to community leaders and seeing how they respond. (more...)
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City jail faces several hurdles before finish line
By Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard | August 23, 2004 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Even if voters pass a $28.6 million construction bond in the Nov. 2 election, it will be at least 2 1/2 years before Springfield can open its own jail -- if the city ever actually builds one.
The City Council has said it won't build the jail unless it has the money to run it. And right now, no one has any clear idea where that money will come from or even how much is required. (more...)
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Voters will be asked to fund new community rec center
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | August 26, 2004 |
The Willamalane Park & Recreation District board voted unanimously Wednesday night to ask residents to pay for a $4.5 million community recreation center in the November election.
The board placed a 10-year bond measure for that amount on the ballot to replace the 55-year-old Memorial Building with a 24,000-square-foot center at the Willamalane Park Swim Center, 1276 G St.
If voters approve the bonds, the owner of a $150,000 house would pay an additional $26 per year in property taxes for 10 years.
The center, which would open in summer 2006 along the north and west sides of the swim center, would feature a gymnasium, preschool space, staff offices, a teen center, fitness room and several community rooms. Community activities could range from weddings to workshops to special events.
A community center has been a topic in the district for decades, and officials are convinced that residents want it. (more...)
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Park district bond headed for voters
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | August 27, 2004 |
A new community recreation center is a possibility that could become reality if Springfield residents approve a 10-year bond measure this November.
The Willamalane Park and Recreation District board unanimously voted to forward a ballot measure to voters that will ask for a $4.5 million community recreation center to replace the antiquated Memorial Building on 765 A Street. The 24,000-square-foot center will be located at the Willamalane Park Swim Center, 1276 G St., to help centralize district offices and community resources.
Board Vice Chair Greg James said the district is really just trying to respond to community needs. (more...)
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Advocates for bond measures plan advertising strategy
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | August 28, 2004 |
Presidential-election seasons may be good for turnout, but they can be bad for people pushing local issues.
Take Steve Moe, for instance. He's treasurer for two political action committees pushing bond measures that Springfield voters will decide Nov. 2: a 10-year, $4.5 million bond for a Willamalane Park and Recreation community center, and a 20-year, $28.6 million bond for a police/court facility and a 100-bed jail.
The former would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $17 in additional property taxes annually and the latter about $87 more annually.
Moe is less worried about voters being turned off by two bond measures on one ballot than he is the prospect that both of them will be drowned out by the blitz of advertising surrounding the Bush-Kerry contest. (more...)
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Cruise line eyes Gateway area
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | August 25, 2004 |
It looks as though a new business may be cruising into Springfield, and with it, a lot of jobs.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. continues to scout Springfield for its new call center. The cruise line is eyeing a 22-acre parcel off Sports Way in the Gateway area for a facility that's expected to be more than 150,000 square feet -- assuming Royal Caribbean taps Springfield for its West Coast center.
Should the site be selected, Springfield would be looking at 350 immediate job openings next fall, with the potential of 1,000 in the next four to five years. (more...)
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Editorial -- On the verge of a deal: Cruise line call center serious about Springfield
| The Register-Guard | August 27, 2004 |
At the risk of counting an unhatched chicken, there are positive signs that Royal Caribbean Cruises is close to sailing into Springfield with a new reservations call center.
That would be good news on a number of fronts. Nothing does more to underscore optimism that an economic recovery has finally trickled down to our region than the arrival of new businesses intent on hiring local workers. When those new businesses buy land, build buildings and pay taxes, the impact ripples through the local economy on many levels. (more...)
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Cruise line sails closer to Springfield landing
By Christian Wihtol
The Register-Guard | August 28, 2004 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. inched closer to the Springfield docks Friday, submitting preliminary plans for a new call center in advance of a meeting with city officials next week.
The new submittals, plus an e-mail from Royal Caribbean to the city earlier this month, indicate the Miami-based firm is itching to get started on the facility, which would book customers on cruises.
Friday's paperwork pegs the largely single-story building at a total of 180,000 square feet, with parking spaces for 750 vehicles. Local officials have said Royal Caribbean would start off with about 350 employees, and could grow to 1,000 in four or five years.
Royal Caribbean wants to get the facility built and running by early 2006 to help handle the seasonal crush of cruise-booking calls that takes place every spring, said Jack Roberts, executive director of the Lane Metro Partnership, the Eugene-Springfield area's business-recruitment agency. (more...)
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Chambers Rejects Royal Caribbean's First Offer
Royal Caribbean's first offer on 23 acres of land in Springfield is not high enough. At least, that's what the property owner is saying. The Miami-based cruiseliner made the offer on the property Monday, but it was turned down. (more...)
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Cruise line's land deal reportedly on the rocks
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | September 2, 2004 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Is the Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. call-center deal sinking?
Local television news reports are painting a bit of a bleak picture regarding the negotiations between Royal Caribbean and the local Chambers family, which owns the 22 vacant acres in the north Gateway district that Royal Caribbean wants to buy for the call center.
Carolyn Chambers, founder of Eugene-based Chambers Communications Corp., which includes local ABC affiliate KEZI, appeared on her station's newscast Tuesday night to say Royal Caribbean was offering less than her asking price for the land.
In the TV interview, Chambers didn't state her asking price, or the amount Royal Caribbean has offered, nor did the KEZI reporter ask her for them. (more...)
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Developer plans Springfield project
By Joe Mosley
The Register-Guard | August 25, 2004 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Todd Alberts hopes to bring one-stop shopping to the local real estate market when he launches his latest commercial development, on Q Street just east of the Pioneer Plaza shopping center.
Alberts has submitted plans for site review to city officials, proposing office and retail space totaling 29,000 square feet in two buildings on a 1.64-acre parcel between Second and Fifth streets.
His own company, Alberts Development LLC, would occupy 6,000 square feet of office space in the new center, which also will include a financial institution, a real estate office, a building engineer, a title company and a mortgage broker, in addition to a deli and coffee shop. (more...)
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Indoor sports arena now ready for play
By Sherri Buri McDonald
The Register-Guard | August 29, 2004 |
SPRINGFIELD -- It's playtime!
After more than a decade in the planning, the Lane Regional Sports Center -- a huge indoor sports arena at 32nd and Main streets in Springfield -- threw open its doors Saturday morning. (more...)
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Downtown Vacancy Rate
EUGENE -- Two downtown buildings that have sat vacant are about to be filled by new businesses.
Many think this could be a major turning point in the effort to revitalize the downtown Eugene area. Right now, the downtown commercial vacancy rate is at a near record high of 23%.
Lunar Logic LLC is relocating from West 11th to the old Aster Building on Willamette Street. (more...)
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Tech company picks downtown site
By Sherri Buri McDonald
The Register-Guard | September 1, 2004 |
Lunar Logic LLC, a homegrown educational software and Web development company, is moving into the fifth floor of the Aster Publishing Building downtown. (more...)
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Builders seeking to raze fee increases
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | August 28, 2004 |
Home builders in Lane County want to flush away recently approved increases in sewer and wastewater development fees -- and they've filed two lawsuits and a slew of appeals in hopes of sending the new charges down the drain.
Alleging that Springfield, Eugene and the county violated state law and land-use policies when the three jurisdictions raised fees earlier this year, the Home Builders Association of Lane County has taken its case to the state Land Use Board of Appeals and Lane County Circuit Court.
The increased charges -- if they're upheld -- will finance a $144 million, 20-year capital improvement program to expand treatment capacity for the area's aging sewage treatment facilities. Part of the money will go toward upgrading sewage equipment to comply with more stringent federal Clean Water Act rules.
The new fees are a relatively minor pain for homeowners, but a big cost for home builders or for people who buy newly constructed homes. (more...)
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Transportation
Jasper Cutoff ready for drivers
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | September 1, 2004 |
The barriers have been removed.
Drivers will find they don't have to turn left or right when exiting Highway 126 anymore now that the first phase of the Jasper Road extension project is complete. The smooth pavement is ready to be treaded a month and a half ahead of schedule.
Several cars lined up Monday morning at 10 a.m. to be among the first to cruise the new roadway from Main Street to Glacier Drive. Out to watch the kickoff was Lane County Commissioner Bill Dwyer. Dwyer lives in the Thurston area and said he thinks the road will eventually open up an area of Springfield to additional neighborhoods and businesses. (more...)
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City gets set for street repair
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | August 27, 2004 |
It's time to slurry seal but first, residents need to move their wheels off the asphalt.
Nearly 50 Springfield streets will be slurry sealed as part of a maintenance application designed to prolong road life by slowing wear and tear. The approximately $400,000 project is scheduled to begin this Sunday on Pioneer Parkway, both east and west from Q Street to Hayden Bridge Way. Sealing is expected to continue through the month of September.
Brian Conlon, city maintenance supervisor, said the work requires streets to be cleared of cars, campers, trailers and other items. Maintenance work also prohibits street access for up to 10 hours, so if a car is left parked in the driveway that's where it will remain until the work is complete. (more...)
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List of road work available
By Randi Bjornstad
The Register-Guard | September 3, 2004 |
If you're curious whether a road or bridge near you has been scheduled for work, take a look at the county's newly adopted capital improvement program. (more...)
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Feds stick with plan to put parkway through wetlands
By Diane Dietz
The Register-Guard | August 25, 2004 |
The Federal Highway Administration this week pledged to assuage the federal Bureau of Land Management's concerns about potential damage the proposed West Eugene Parkway would do to recreation in the West Eugene Wetlands.
In an eight-page letter distributed Monday, highway officials stuck with their position that they want to route the controversial road through wetlands. Further, they contend their 1997 environmental analysis of the project should generally suffice.
However, they said they planned to "avoid impacting recreational facilities, and, if necessary, to fully mitigate any impacts" of the highway, according to the letter sent by David Cox, federal highway administrator for Oregon. Cox doesn't spell out how the agency would carry out mitigation, however. (more...)
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Parkway Update
EUGENE -- The West Eugene Parks is an idea has been in the works for decades, but a series of roadblocks has kept it from happening.
Oregon Department of Transportation officials met today with Lane County Commissioners.
ODOT wants the county to sign a memorandum of understanding, saying they support a revised version of the parkway, which would hand over jurisdiction and maintenance to the city and/or county.
Commissioners nixed that idea saying they want more information about long term impact. ODOT is still hopeful the project will move forward. "We also recognize the vote of the citizens here a couple years ago and we have a 17 million dollar job programmed ... so we are committed to an outcome," said Jeff Schieck with ODOT.
A group of citizens came to the meeting opposing the West Eugene Parkway. They say it's too expensive and won't solve traffic problems in the long run. "We heard that they wanted to build a state highway to move traffic from Florence to I-5... but now they're talking about building part of it as a city street and that's not meant to serve freight and tourists and stuff like that," said Rob Zako.
The Bureau of Land Management has concerns about the impact on the wetlands. BLM is also still in deliberation with ODOT.
As far as the county goes, they are going to wait to sign the memorandum until they have more information.
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Slant -- West Eugene Parkway
| Eugene Weekly | August 26, 2004 |
We're weary of writing about the West Eugene Parkway and it would be great news to hear that this boondoggle has been buried for good. But just because the BLM is finally intervening with serious (and overdue) concerns about the project doesn't mean it won't be built. Support for the WEP remains strong among developers who stand to make millions from its construction and subsequent sprawl. And more significantly, a few folks in government still think it's a good idea. Once highway projects get on track, they are hard to stop, even if they contradict policy and logic. It's funny to read in the R-G (8/21) that one federal highway official thinks people will appreciate the wetlands more if they can drive through them. Well, we can't wait to tour the wetlands at 65 mph, flattening turtles, smearing butterflies and scaring the crap out of herons. Meanwhile, it looks like ODOT wants city taxpayers to take financial responsibility for maintaining the WEP east of Beltline. Try taking that to the voters. Let's pull the plug on the WEP, remove sprawl incentives from our local land use rules, and rework our existing roads such as West 11th to ease congestion.
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Elections
Bob Welch -- Politicians need bridges, not fences
By Bob Welch, Columnist
The Register-Guard | August 22, 2004 |
Last summer, my neighbor -- a guy I barely know -- partnered with me and a son to replace the fence separating our two houses, a casualty of that freaky February 2002 windstorm.
In the building process, an interesting and ironic thing happened: While working together on something to benefit us both, we got to know each other and enjoy each other. Then came the irony: Since the fence was finished, we've barely seen each other.
That's how Eugene works: We're wonderful to one another in the aftermath of a storm or 9/11 or on some major project. But the rest of the time we live with this fence between us that keeps us from building any sort of bond. (more...)
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Alan Siporin -- Torrey can show real leadership by opting out
By Alan Siporin
The Register-Guard | August 27, 2004 |
The "Run, Jim, Run" folks say it's their right to run a write-in candidate and to lobby Jim Torrey to run as that candidate for mayor. So I guess it follows that it's my right, too, to write an open letter to the mayor asking him not to run. (more...)
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Emotions high over possible mayoral bid
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | August 29, 2004 |
Eugene's most important political race may be stuck in the starting gate, but there is plenty of jockeying behind the scenes.
Conservatives, liberals and moderates all are waiting to see if Mayor Jim Torrey becomes a write-in candidate against mayoral nominee Kitty Piercy, who defeated City Councilor Nancy Nathanson in the May primary.
Without a Torrey candidacy, Piercy romps to victory on Nov. 2, becoming mayor in January. With Torrey in the race, Piercy could have a potential photo finish on her hands, forcing her to raise large sums of money. (more...)
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Editorial -- Put the brakes on: Spending on mayoral write-in could set records
| The Register-Guard | August 31, 2004 |
If Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey really does have the wherewithal to raise up to $250,000 between now and Nov. 2 to finance a write-in campaign against Kitty Piercy, it would demolish the previous spending record for a mayor's race. (more...)
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Torrey to announce intentions in 2 weeks
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | September 1, 2004 |
Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey's monthly "one-on-one" meeting with the public on Tuesday couldn't have been named any better.
One resident showed up at City Hall to talk to the mayor about Eugene's hottest political topic -- his potential write-in campaign for mayor against mayoral nominee Kitty Piercy.
Ann Bowersox, a campus Presbyterian pastor at the University of Oregon and Piercy supporter, urged the mayor not to run. "I guess I would invite you to let the election stand," she said, referring to Piercy's primary victory over City Councilor Nancy Nathanson. (more...)
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Web tangle: Mayoral sites stir controversy
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | September 5, 2004 |
In the political hubbub surrounding a possible write-in campaign by Mayor Jim Torrey, a sideshow developed over two Web sites. (more...)
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Torrey vs. Piercy?
Write-in threat throws wrench in mayoral election.
By Alan Pittman
Eugene Weekly | September 2, 2004 |
Winning a major election as a write-in is unusual, but so is a write-in candidate backed by the major media and mounds of cash from developers. (more...)
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Slant -- Kitty Piercy
| Eugene Weekly | September 2, 2004 |
Meanwhile, presumed Mayor-elect Kitty Piercy's living up to her promise to be a "mayor for all Eugene" and has been meeting with hundreds of folks in local business, industry, government, non-profits and media. Two meetings with John Musumeci, and even a visit with Hynix management. What's that equivalent to? Torrey showing up at a meeting of Citizens for Public Accountability? Anna Morrison schmoozing at the Alpha-Bit in Mapleton? The point is, Piercy's building bridges in a polarized community in ways that no other mayor has done in recent memory. The result? We might still be polarized, but maybe by talking to each other we can make progress on issues important to the health, vitality and sustainability of our community.
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