Health Options Digest
February 6, 2005
Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield (CHOICES)
In This Issue
From the Editor
Week In Review
In the midst of an unseasonable drought, the flood of news continues.
The top story continues to be the labor dispute between LTD management and workers. A new group, the ATU/LTD Community Committee, helped avert a strike -- at least for now -- by suggesting an independent audit. The workers agreed to delay a possible strike for 35 days. But the LTD board nonetheless opted to impose a new contract unilaterally.
What is John Musumeci thinking in outbidding Triad for the EWEB site? He says he is even willing to forego financial assistance from the city of Eugene! We hear from those who should know that his offer doesn't make business sense. But perhaps his new deal isn't about money.
At the urging of Mayor Kitty Piercy, Triad/McKenzie-Willamette agreed to present their plans for the EWEB site to the public.
Of course, EWEB finds itself in the middle of this new bidding game. In his recent State of the Utility address, EWEB president Ron Farmer tried to explained EWEB's position.
In comparison, there's been relatively little news from PeaceHealth. PeaceHealth has spent $95 million so far on the RiverBend project -- not counting legal costs. CEO Alan Yordy says the project is on track.
But last Monday CHOICES filed an appeal with the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) to challenge the latest round of plan amendments. Perhaps we'll have to wait until the attorneys sort out all the issues.
Meanwhile in Salem, the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) is responding to the Court of Appeals decision last summer against PeaceHealth in the case of Jaqua v. City of Springfield. The commission is poised to weaken state rules so that developers would effectively have up to 20 years to before adequate roads are required to handle the new traffic. LCDC is expected to adopt the new rules on March 16.
In other news, John Musumeci, who seems never content to have just one iron in the fire, now owns a new Hispanic radio station. By our count, that is the second local radio station he has purchased. The Register-Guard reported, Musumeci's "found it fulfilling, he said, to give a voice to an emerging population." At least one reader wonders if John Musumeci is finding the "rainbow connection" at this time in his life... perhaps more like Kermit the Frog than the Grinch Who Stole Christmas.
Kermit sang: "Why are there so many, songs about rainbows, and what's on the other side? Rainbows are visions, but only illusions, and rainbows have nothing to hide..." In these dreary days, we keeping looking for that rainbow.
Eugene's most recent newspaper, the AVA Oregon, is shutting down due to a lack of money.
The parent company of The Springfield News, Lee Enterprises Inc., which owns half a dozen local papers in Oregon, is buying up a dozen newspapers around the county.
Speaking of who owns which newspaper, we are still wondering if the rumor that John Musumeci wants to buy The Register-Guard is true. We do notice that the RG is now careful to always refer to Arlie & Co. as a "developer" rather than a "speculator." Perhaps they don't want to anger their future boss. Lacking definitive information about Musumeci's plans, the rest of us can only "speculate." I guess that makes us all "speculators"! ;-)
Lastly, Measure 37, which calls for government to pay property owners or waive land use regulations, is starting to have real effects, not only in Oregon but nationwide.
This past Thursday, the Yamhill County Commissioner granted six waivers in response to Measure 37 claims, the first such waivers in the state. Although some of the claims are merely to build a first or second house on farmland, others are wanting to build entire subdivisions on farmland. The county is already facing two claims over $15 million.
Meanwhile, Measure 37 is starting to spread across the country. A clone of Measure 37 was recently introduced in the Colorado legislature: http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics2005a/csl.nsf/fsbillcont/EAE194A7670DBA2187256F7E0077DB08?Open&file=177_01.pdf
Looking Ahead
This week, the League of Women Voters of Lane County will hold meetings on Region 2050, a project looking to accommodate growth in the Southern Willamette Valley over the next 50 years.
On Monday, the Springfield City Council will look at annexing property into the city and projects for future growth. The next 50 years have already begun.
Also Monday, the Lane Transit District board of directors will hold a public hearing on proposed service changes.
Also on Monday, you can listen to the rebroadcast of last Friday's City Club program on health care trends in our community.
Or on Tuesday, you can join the City Club in discussing these trends.
Also on Tuesday, the Springfield Planning Commission will continue reviewing PeaceHealth's master plan for their new hospital at RiverBend.
And on Tuesday, LTD will hear ideas from the ATU/LTD Community Committee for resolving the labor dispute.
Then on Wednesday, the Eugene City Council will discuss what to do after losing in court to CHOICES over their new hospital zoning ordinance.
Fact or Fiction?
We've taken some grief for sometimes making up the news. But such spoofs would never fly if fact weren't sometimes stranger than fiction.
Try this quiz: Which of the following quotes are fact and which are fiction?
1) Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today that an attack on Iran by the United States "is simply not on the agenda," despite Iran's "abysmal human rights record" and suspicion that it harbors ambitions to produce nuclear weapons.
2) Under intense pressure from the Bush administration to sell its controversial al-Jazeera network, the nation of Qatar stunned the television industry today by agreeing to sell the broadcast company to Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Channel.
3) Musumeci said he and his wife are at a point where their motive is no longer money, but enhancing the community.
4) Arlie & Company is deeding a 300-foot wide area long the river to the Nature Conservancy, to be know as the John and Robin Jaqua RiverBend Preserve.
Answers:
1) The story about Condoleezza Rice explaining that the United States isn't considering attacking Iran is sadly true, and appearing in the New York Times.
2) The story about Fox News buying up the Arab al-Jazeera television network was made up by Andy Borowitz of the Borowitz Report. (Andy is our kind of guy!)
3) The story about John Musumeci and Suzanne Arlie reaching a point where they are no longer concerned about money appeared in the recent Register-Guard story about the new local Hispanic radio station owned by Musumeci.
4) Lastly, the story about Arlie & Company deeding a river front setback to the Nature Conservancy was part of our spoof a few weeks ago. But it sounds oddly similarly to the real deal that PeaceHealth struck with the Jaquas.
Rest assured that we will continue to help you separate fact from fiction in the never-ending game of "Musical Hospitals."
Rob Zako, Editor
343-5201
rzako@efn.org
Calendar
League of Women Voters to discuss valley's future
| The Register-Guard | February 4, 2005 |
The topic of the League of Women Voters of Lane County February unit meetings will be "Region 2050: The Future of the Southern Willamette Valley." Unit meetings are for members and guests to gather at homes and public places to discuss the month's topic.
On Monday, Unit 1 will meet at 10 a.m. at 339 W. 22nd Ave., Eugene; Unit 6 at 11 a.m., 1235 Fir Acres Dr., Springfield; and Unit 2 at 11:30 a.m., 2050 Madison St., Eugene.
Unit 3 will meet at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at 1527 Corum Ave., Eugene.
On Wednesday, Unit 5 will meet at 9:30 a.m., Central Presbyterian Church, 555 E. 15th Ave., Eugene; Unit 8 at noon, Lane Community College, Room 136, in Cottage Grove; and Unit 9 at 4 p.m., 2365 W. 23rd Ave., Eugene.
The League of Women Voters of Lane County is a grass-roots nonpartisan, political organization that encourages informed and active citizen participation in government. For information, call 343-7917.
Monday, February 7 -- Springfield City Council
City Hall, 225 Fifth St., Springfield, Amy Sowa, (541) 726-3700
7:00 pm, Public Hearing, Council Meeting Room
1. 2005-2010 Capital Improvement Program.
2. Annexation of Property (Jasper Meadows Master Plan Area) to the City of Springfield, File Number LRP2004-00028.
3. Coordinated Urban Growth Boundary Population Projection for Area Within the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan.
Monday, February 7 -- Lane Transit District
5:30 pm, Public Hearing, Bascom/Tykeson Rooms, Eugene Public Library 100 W. 10th Ave., Eugene, (541) 682-6100
Preliminary Public Hearing on FY 2005-06 Service Recommendations
Monday, February 7 -- Healthy Choices? Consumer-Driven Health Care
6:30-7:30 pm, KLCC Radio, 89.7 FM
KLCC will rebroadcast last Friday's program by their Health-Care Committee, which has been exploring many of the reasons for rising health care costs and how they are realized in Eugene-Springfield. The report also identifies a growing trend that some say may be the solution: consumer-driven health plans.
Tuesday, February 8 -- UO professor will talk on cutting health care costs
| The Register-Guard | February 2, 2005 |
Consumer-driven health care will be the topic Friday at the City Club of Eugene.
Judith Hibbard, a professor of Planning and Public Policy at the University of Oregon, will discuss how consumers can make more cost-effective health-care choices if they are given needed information and they are required to pay more for their care.
The meeting, which begins at 11:50 a.m. at Hilton Eugene, is open to the public. Admission is $3.
A follow-up discussion will be at 5:05 p.m. Tuesday at Cafe Paradiso, Broadway and Olive Street.
Tuesday, February 8 -- Springfield Planning Commission
City Hall, 225 Fifth St., Springfield, (541) 726-3753
6:30 pm, Work Session, Jessie Maine Room
7:00 pm, Quasi-Judicial Public Hearing, Council Meeting Room
1. RiverBend Master Plan and Zone Change Hearing Continuation from 1/25/2005. On January 25, 2005 the Planning Commission held a work session and opened the public hearing for the PeaceHealth master plan and zone change requests. At the conclusion of oral testimony, the commission left the written record open for seven days. Staff will present information submitted to the record and answer questions from the Commissioners.
Tuesday, February 8 -- Lane Transit District
6:30 pm, Special Board Meeting,Woodleaf Village Community Center, 746 Woodleaf Lane (off Fox Hollow), Eugene, (541) 682-6100
Input on LTD's collective bargaining process from the independent "ATU/LTD Community Committee."
Wednesday, February 9 -- Eugene City Council
City Hall, 777 Pearl St., Eugene, Lynda Rose, 682-5017, lynda.l.rose@ci.eugene.or.us
Noon, Work Session, McNutt Room
1. Remand of Hospital Ordinance No. 20299
2. Modifications to the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission Intergovernmental Agreement
Tuesday, February 15 -- Joint LCDC/OTC TPR Subcommittee
1:00 pm, ODOT Human Resources Center, Suite C, 2775 19th Street SE, Salem
The Subcommittee will review and discuss proposed amendments to Section 0050 and 0070 of the Transportation Planning Rule (TPR), and may discuss other proposed rule amendments. These amendments were promted by the Court of Appeals' ruling in the case of Jaqua v. City of Springfield (PeaceHealth). The public is invited to attend.
Questions about the Transportation Planning Rule Evaluation should be directed to Bob Cortright at 503-373-0050 x241, or via email at bob.cortright@state.or.us.
Wednesday, March 16 -- Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC)
Agriculture Building, Basement Hearing Room, 635 Capitol St. NE, Suite 150, Salem, (503) 373-0050 ext. 271
Public Hearing on Proposed Administrative Rule Amendments -- OAR 660-012 (Transportation Planning Rule) -- Regarding Review of Plan and Land Use Regulation Amendments. For additional information, please contact Bob Cortright at 373-0050 ext. 241, or by email bob.cortright@state.or.us.
Opportunities
Glenwood committee may need more members: Twelve have applied for the nine positions
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | February 4, 2005 |
Community members interested in serving on the Glenwood Urban Renewal Plan Advisory Committee ran out of time this week to apply. But there may be another chance. (more...)
PeaceHealth
Alan Yordy -- Jottings: Collaborating with the Jaqua Family
| By Alan Yordy | January 25, 2005 |
{Publisher}PeaceHealth
From: Yordy, Alan
Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2005
To: All PeaceHealth Employees
Subject: Jottings: Collaborating with the Jaqua Family
I have some exciting and encouraging news to share. As many of you know, the local Jaqua family has had concerns for some time about the RiverBend development. The Jaquas, who are longstanding friends of Sacred Heart, are also neighbors to RiverBend across the river. Over the past nine months, the Jaquas raised legal objections to our RiverBend plans. Throughout the land use process, however, we have remained in contact with the family and have continued to hold discussions in an effort to resolve the issues that separated us. Within the last two weeks we were able to achieve significant breakthroughs, and later today we will be announcing that we have reached an agreement that will put our legal conflict behind us.
I'm delighted to announce an agreement that will end the Jaquas' participation in challenges to our efforts to build a regional medical center at RiverBend in Springfield.
From the beginning the Jaquas have been clear that they support a new regional medical center for Sacred Heart, but they have had serious reservations about the effect that development would have along the McKenzie River. We have felt strongly that the river must be protected but felt equally strongly that we could not compromise our mission of providing optimum health care to the community.
With this agreement, the we believe that we are now jointly pursuing two goals that at one point appeared to some to be at odds: preserving the very special environment surrounding the McKenzie River at the RiverBend site; and providing facilities for needed hospital and health services to serve future generations. As we continue to grapple daily with the space shortage at Hilyard campus, it is welcome news indeed to know we will soon be able to move ahead with construction of medical facilities this community needs now and in the future.
Gretchen Pierce, who serves as the Chair of our govern board Stewardship Committee, captured our sentiment this way: "PeaceHealth has long regarded the Jaquas as dear and valued friends, and we always held out hope that a settlement could be reached. Work continues to reach resolution with other parties to the appeal as well. This agreement is a very important and positive development to protect the river and have a state-of-the-art hospital for the benefit of the entire community. We look forward to proceeding with construction of a new hospital at RiverBend along the banks of a river we all treasure."
The agreement includes measures to significantly enhance protection of the McKenzie River corridor. Under the agreement, riparian and buffer zones will be substantially widened, and they will be made permanent through conservation and farm use easements on both sides of the river. The parties will also place permanent conservation easements on their respective portions of the large island at RiverBend. Details of the agreement can be found on the PeaceHealth Web site at http://www.peacehealth.org/riverbend. One of the most significant changes for PeaceHealth is that the new hospital will be reduced from nine stories to eight. This change is made possible by the acquisition of the RiverBend Annex and additional clinical space, which could be maintained at the Hilyard campus. We are beginning work to revise the plans to accommodate this change, and will keep you apprised of developments.
This compromise demonstrates that this community can grow wisely and that disagreements about how to achieve common objectives can be resolved in a constructive manner. In fact, we remain in dialogue with the other groups that have opposed RiverBend and remain hopeful about a future agreement with those groups as well.
Today's announcement represents a real turning point and an important milestone on the sometimes arduous, never boring path to RiverBend. For both the Jaquas and PeaceHealth, this agreement is a testament to our shared commitment to preserving RiverBend's beautiful natural environment, using the property's natural features to enhance healing, and providing 21st century health care to the region.
-- Alan
"We create moments of grace in a world that does not always expect acts of
kindness."
RiverBend foe to appeal land use rule changes
By Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard | February 1, 2005 |
An opponent of locating PeaceHealth's proposed regional medical center in north Springfield said Monday it will go to the Land Use Board of Appeals to contest the city's recent planning rule changes to allow the project.
The Coalition for Health Options in Central Eugene-Springfield, known as CHOICES, sent notice to the city and to PeaceHealth that it would appeal changes the Springfield City Council made last month to local land-use planning rules to allow the RiverBend project, CHOICES lawyer Jan Wilson said.
She said the appeal, which has yet to be filed, would question the amendments' consistency with state land-use goals regarding transportation, commercial land use, and economic development. (more...)
Proposed hospital's costs keep going up
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | February 2, 2005 |
With a few flourishes of the pen, PeaceHealth officials last Friday effectively sidelined two major opponents of their proposed $350 million RiverBend regional medical center.
In agreeing to a far-reaching settlement with riverside residents Robin and John Jaqua, PeaceHealth executives were able to affix their signatures to something other than a company check in order to make a problem go away.
Such instances are proving to be the exception rather than the rule. (more...)
Alan Yordy -- Jottings: RG Clarification
| By Alan Yordy | February 2, 2005 |
{Publisher}PeaceHealth
From: Yordy, Alan
Sent: Wednesday, February 2, 2005
To: All PeaceHealth Employees
Subject: Jottings: RG Clarification
This morning you will see a front page story in the Register-Guard regarding the costs of RiverBend. Several critical parts of my conversation with the reporter were omitted from the article. The most important fact is this. We developed a budget in early 2003 for the RiverBend and Hilyard projects, spanning an eight-year period. That budget was adopted in August of 2003. We fully expect the project to be within that budget. That budget included a contingency for a number of unknown costs. While we now know more specifically the costs of development, we do not expect to seek any additional funds from what was budgeted almost two years ago. Furthermore, the budget continues to be approximately $100 million below what we would have spent had we tried to keep the entire Sacred Heart campus on the 3.5 block Hilyard site.
Our ability to complete the project continues to be based on keeping the project within budget. We will borrow approximately one half of the funds with additional funds from operations, hence our need to maintain income from operations each year. A critical element of this plan is a partnership with the community for a fund drive. You contribution to this effort has been amazing with almost $1.5 million donated toward this campaign.
Sacred Heart Medical Center continues to be one of the lowest cost medical centers in the State of Oregon. Our recent award as one of the Best 100 Hospital Values in the United States is further evidence of our distinction for cost effectiveness. We expect to keep faith with the entire community in being good stewards.
Please share this with your family and friends. We are sorry that the RG omitted a critical part of the story relating to our fiscal responsibility and our strong adherence to a detailed budget. We will be sending a clarification to the newspaper. Please feel free to write your own letter to the editor.
-- Alan
"The first and finest lesson that parents can teach their children is faith and courage." -- Smiley Blanton, M.D.
Letter -- Preserve local hospital choice
By Jamie Squires, Eugene
The Register-Guard | February 3, 2005 |
I read the Jan. 24 letter "Compare hospitals on the Web" by Glen Campbell and had a great laugh. Large corporations control most aspects of our two hospitals, McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center and Sacred Heart Medical Center. Don't be fooled, PeaceHealth is a corporation, just like Triad.
I grew up in Longview, Wash., and PeaceHealth purchased the second, smaller hospital in the city, promptly shut it down and jacked up prices to the local residents. As a child my parents took me to Vancouver hospitals, for reasons I now understand. I am quite sure my parents didn't blame the nurses or doctors for what happened. It's just corporate America at work. Our two hospitals are controlled by people in offices we will never see. Both hospitals employ hundreds of high-quality people who are our neighbors, friends, relatives and spouses. The line employees have nothing to do with the political chaos happening in our two cities. The employees at both locations care about their patients and work tirelessly, all under conditions that they have no control over. It has nothing to do with the quality of the hospitals' Web sites. That's all public relations and marketing nonsense.
I find it sad that Campbell might base his medical decisions on the quality of the hits from a hospital Web site. The great part about Campbell's opportunity to see a doctor is choice. That should be the hope for everyone in our area should they need medical attention: choice!
PeaceHealth Pans Fear of Flooding
| Eugene Weekly | February 3, 2005 |
A Springfield resident and longtime river pollution watchdog is calling PeaceHealth's plans to build a huge medical center along the McKenzie River "absolutely insane." David Rodriguez lives along the McKenzie and says the natural meandering nature of the river will likely eat away at the setbacks proposed for the hospital. (more...)
Slant -- Hospital Competition
| Eugene Weekly | February 3, 2005 |
A little competition might be good for the heart. We hear from McKenzie-Willamette who heard from cardiologist Dr. Jay Chappell that history was made in Lane County Jan. 23. McKenzie-Willamette performed more coronary angiograms than Sacred Heart that day.
Milt Cunningham -- Hospitals shouldn't be stakes in a high-roller's poker game
By Milt Cunningham
The Springfield News | February 4, 2005 |
Is there anyone in the valley who ever thought all the public presentations, municipal meetings, and council conferences were anything more than window dressing to make the public think they had an actual voice in the decision? When Holy Cardiac -- excuse me, I meant Sacred Heart Hospital -- and Arlie & Co. Real Estate got together, the outcome was a forgone conclusion. Sacred Heart would get the choice farmland they wanted, and they will build on the flood plain. Some lovely homes will be wiped out, and all the folks living on Game Farm Road can go to -- someplace else, as far Sacred Heart is concerned. (more...)
McKenzie-Willamette/Triad
Arlie Offers $28 Million for EWEB Property
Who would have guessed that EWEB is now one of the hottest properties in town. "The unpredictable is predictable, so you just have to be ready for it," remarked Eugene's Mayor Kitty Piercy. (more...)
Rosie Pryor -- Fast and Painless: What's With the Arlie Offer for EWEB Site?
By Rosie Pryor, Director, Marketing and Planning, (541) 744-6164, rospry@mckweb.com
McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center | February 1, 2005 |
McKenzie-Willamette is taking calls from area news reporters asking for a comment about the offer by Arlie and Company for the EWEB site we are currently in negotiations to purchase. We were alerted by EWEB General Manager Randy Berggren about Arlie and Company's interest and thank him for that courtesy. It's not our place to comment on Arlie's offer. That's the province of the EWEB Board.
We're very grateful to the EWEB Board for its thoughtful consideration. Their deliberate approach has consistently underscored their commitment to their constituents, as well as the community. We continue to be enthusiastic about the EWEB site. The central location south of the river in Eugene responds to priorities shared by the Eugene Planning Commission and City Council and reiterated by physicians, community members, and more recently, by Mayor Kitty Piercy. This site offers a good opportunity to re-balance the healthcare delivery system for residents of Lane County.
Questions? Please feel free to give me a call. Thank you for your continued support.
If you prefer not to receive Fast and Painless Updates from McKenzie-Willamette, please reply to this email or give me a call and we'll remove your name from our address list.
Alternative sales offer sweetened for EWEB
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | February 1, 2005 |
The rivalry for the Eugene Water & Electric Board headquarters on the Willamette River is getting serious.
Eugene-based real estate firm Arlie & Co. on Monday added details to its previously vague offer for the EWEB parcel, notifying the utility that it would pay $28 million cash for the property and administration building. (more...)
Ron Farmer -- State of the Utility Message
By Ron Farmer, EWEB President
Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) | February 1, 2005 |
The Eugene Water & Electric Board has faced a number of tough challenges over the past few years. Most of these were the result of the 2001 energy crisis and five consecutive years of below-normal precipitation that forced EWEB to raise rates and cut budgets.
Currently, the issue of whether EWEB should or should not sell most of its 27-acre headquarters site, and to whom, is receiving almost as much local publicity as those energy crisis rate increases of 2001.
The issue is both perplexing and complex. At its crux, however, the issue is not whether we should sell to Triad, nor is it whether our headquarters office building is a wonderful building in a great location. The issue is: How does EWEB fund the necessary building improvements needed for its ongoing operations? (more...)
Mayor urges Triad to make case for hospital
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | February 3, 2005 |
Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy on Wednesday jumped into the real estate rivalry between Triad Hospitals Inc. and Arlie & Co. when she urged Triad to to do a better job of demonstrating its worth to the community. (more...)
Hospital developer agrees to go public
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | February 4, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Responding to a suggestion made Wednesday by Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy, Triad Hospitals Inc. said it plans to hold public meetings within the next two months to solicit input for a new hospital campus in Eugene. (more...)
Arlie: We'd pay EWEB more
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | February 4, 2005 |
EUGENE -- Arlie & Company still isn't submitting its official offer for Eugene Water & Electric Board's riverfront property by the Ferry Street Bridge, saying that will only happen if negotiations break down between EWEB and Triad Hospitals.
But if they do break down, well, it's worth an extra $3.2 million for EWEB. (more...)
Letter -- Eugene needs new hospital
By Paul A. Chavin, M.D., Chief of staff-elect, McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center, Eugene
The Register-Guard | February 5, 2005 |
Is there a city that any one knows of that has no hospital and is considered a first-rate city? One in which most of us would desire to live, knowing if we were ill we would not be cared for close to home?
I don't think so.
If we succeed in chasing Triad away, that is exactly what Eugene will be, a second-class city. Does anyone really think that another hospital would come here? Do we really want a one-hospital town, with no hospital in Eugene? If we are not happy with Sacred Heart, do we leave the area for health care?
We asked to have the Eugene Water & Electric Board site assessed by professionals. We paid them thousands of dollars and had two separate appraisals done. Were they wrong? Were we taken? I do not think so. I think the value was fair.
Where does the $38 million figure come from but a vague study done poorly several years ago? Where is the person who did the study, and where is the data?
EWEB has old buildings, poor current access and multiple other problems that will need to be corrected. Who will pay for this? If we do not fix it now, we will be paying for it later.
It is a win for Eugene and its citizens to have this site go through. If EWEB's commissioners do not have the political will to handle this task, we will pay dearly down the road in both health care access as well as from our pocket books.
Editorial -- Crunch time at EWEB: Commissioners need to set land sale priorities
| The Register-Guard | February 6, 2005 |
The dramatically different options created by competing offers for the Eugene Water & Electric Board's riverfront property present a timely reminder that the public has a huge stake in the outcome of this deal.
But neither the public nor the principal parties to the negotiations have all the information necessary to make an informed judgment.
How will anyone, including ratepayers, be able to evaluate the adequacy of the offers from Triad Hospitals Inc., or Arlie & Co., without an updated, real-world estimate of EWEB's relocation costs? And what happens to Triad's best-laid plans for a new hospital on EWEB's property if the utility suddenly decides to keep its headquarters offices there? (more...)
McKenzie-Willamette nurses vote to OK two-year contract
By Tim Christie
The Register-Guard | February 1, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Nurses at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in Springfield have approved a two-year contract that includes a pay increase of nearly 10 percent, a new top wage tier and health coverage for same-sex domestic partners.
But nurses who do not have spouses or other family members on their health insurance policies will pay more under the new agreement. (more...)
Health foundation ponders spending $1 million gift
By Tim Christie
The Register-Guard | February 1, 2005 |
At the Festival of Trees Gala in December, the room grew quiet when lumberman Aaron Jones took the microphone.
No one, not even organizers, knew what Jones would say, but they knew that he and his wife, Marie, are long-time supporters of the McKenzie Willamette Community Health Foundation, the festival sponsor.
What Jones had to say startled many in the audience: He and his wife were so moved by the work of the foundation and its parent organization, Cascade Health Solutions, that they planned to write a check.
A big check.
A $1 million check. (more...)
Health Care
Kaci McKee -- Tax helps care homes remain open
By Kaci McKee
The Register-Guard | January 31, 2005 |
Pinnacle Healthcare owners Mark Garber and Merlin and Claire Hart grew up in the nursing home industry, as it was called.
Mark's grandmother worked as a nurse in the 1940s in one of Eugene's first care homes for seniors, and Mark grew up learning the trade while doing everything from mowing the lawn to washing dishes there. Merlin's dad was a doctor in Southern Oregon who regularly visited patients in nursing homes, often with his young son in tow. Claire's parents owned and operated nursing facilities in Oregon for more than 30 years.
Now Mark, Merlin and Claire operate nine long-term care facilities in Oregon -- including South Hills, Hillside Heights and Green Valley rehabilitation centers in Eugene -- and employ nearly 1,500 people.
Merlin and Mark's families' history and commitment to this vulnerable population made it easy for Pinnacle to sign on and advocate for a creative effort to shore up what had become an industry on the brink of failure. (more...)
Health benefit plans seek uninsured
By David Steves
The Register-Guard | February 1, 2005 |
CORRECTION (ran 2/02/05): A story on Page B2 on Tuesday included an incorrect Internet address for the state Insurance Pool Governing Board. The correct address is http://www.ipgb.state.or.us.
SALEM -- Small businesses will get help in providing health benefits to employees and their families under a pair of new insurance plans unveiled Monday by Gov. Ted Kulongoski.
The Alternative Group Plan would provide a low-cost alternative to basic and catastrophic plans already on the market for adult workers and their spouses, while the Children's Group Plan would extend comprehensive coverage to employees' children up to age 23. The program is open to employers who have between two and 50 employees and who have not offered health benefits since July 1, 2003. An employer can offer either, or both, of the new plans. (more...)
Wyden targets Medicare drug costs
By Matthew Daly
The Associated Press | February 2, 2005 |
WASHINGTON -- Two senators who voted for a 2003 Medicare reform bill again have proposed legislation to change it.
Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, on Tuesday proposed giving the government the ability to negotiate Medicare drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies.
The pair introduced a similar bill last year, saying the measure could significantly lower drug prices for seniors. (more...)
Nearby Developments
Group asks: What would you like to see downtown?
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | February 2, 2005 |
The Downtown Springfield Association, a team of community members quietly working to improve downtown, is looking to generate a new list of goals to tackle.
And it's asking the community: What types of simple, doable things can the association do to improve downtown Springfield? (more...)
Retail building takes shape on A Street
By Ben Raymond Lode
The Springfield News | February 4, 2005 |
Les Swaggart retired six years ago, thinking he would never have to work for a living -- ever again.
But when two-thirds of his property on South A Street was condemned to make room for LTD's new bus station on South A Street, Swaggart, who is now 70, says he didn't have much choice.
The result: Yet another new building going up in the heart of downtown Springfield. (more...)
Retail Notebook: Spruce-up in store for vacant Waremart building
By Joe Mosley
The Register-Guard | February 3, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Maybe these are the first baby steps toward a revitalized commercial district along Mohawk Boulevard.
McKay Investment Co., best known for its dramatic renovation of the Oakway Center in Eugene, has filed paperwork with the Springfield Development Services Department for some preliminary improvements at its largely vacant Waremart shopping center at Centennial and Mohawk boulevards.
Not that comparisons should be made -- not yet, anyway -- between the highly successful Oakway Mall redevelopment and McKay's undisclosed plans for the Springfield site. (more...)
UO Foundation Looking to Make Purchase
This is the latest investment by the University of Oregon's Foundation: a 5 acre lot on Franklin Boulevard, once home to a car dealership. The UO Foundation immediately saw its potential. "The University's landlocked on 3 sides so this is really an opportunity for the University. We didn't feel it would be available again for the next probably 30 years," explains Foundation Executive Director Karen Kreft. (more...)
At UO, private money pays off
By Greg Bolt
The Register-Guard | January 31, 2005 |
If not for private support, the University of Oregon campus would be a vastly different place. (more...)
Development Report: Developer eyes Junction City for new homes
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | February 1, 2005 |
JUNCTION CITY -- With most vacant and available real estate parcels of 5 acres or more gone from the Eugene-Springfield market, developer Ross Murry is moving north.
The prolific developer of Eugene's Valley River Village is in the midst of bringing almost 60 residential acres into the Junction City limits.
With the red-hot demand for housing showing no signs of slackening, Murry said the dearth of developable residential land in Eugene and Springfield is forcing him out to the metro area's bedroom communities.
Murry last November won approval from the Lane County Boundary Commission to annex 8.8 acres at the northeast corner of Oaklea Drive and High Pass Road into Junction City. Murry said he expects to obtain tentative approval for the High Pass Meadows subdivision this week. (more...)
Many construction projects on drawing board for 2005
By Joe Mosley
The Register-Guard | February 6, 2005 |
Hard hats and hammers will be in big demand again this year, with high-gear construction expected to continue through 2005 on the strength of still-low interest rates and a solid mix of residential, commercial and public projects, according to Eugene area building and real estate experts. (more...)
City leaders keep focus on jobs, attracting firms
By Edward Russo and Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard | February 6, 2005 |
Creating more family-wage jobs tops the 2005 wish list for most Eugene-Springfield economic policy-makers.
But civic leaders differ on the best ways to help bring such job growth about. And with new players such as Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy on the political scene, the coming debates promise to be lively.
Elected officials will consider several initiatives with economic development implications. (more...)
Transportation
LTD Rollback -- January 24, 2005, Advertisement
| ATU 757 Lane Transit District Workers | January 24, 2005 |
It's a Matter of Choices
Ken Hamm, the general manager of LTD, has a pattern of making poor choices and then jumping ship... now he's trying to do it again. (more...)
LTD Rollback -- January 25, 2005, Advertisement
| ATU 757 Lane Transit District Workers | January 25, 2005 |
LTD Bus Operators Say: It's a Matter of Choice:
Dear Passengers and Fellow Citizens:
At a recent Springfield Chamber of Commerce meeting Andy Vobora, LTD's spokesman, stated that if there were a strike LTD would not experience a negative financial impact because LTD will continue to collect the payroll tax. We believe that kind of thinking misses the mark and is an example of LTD's problem when it comes to both passenger service and LTD's treatment of us, its workers. (more...)
LTD Rollback -- February 1, 2005, Advertisement
| ATU 757 Lane Transit District Workers | February 1, 2005 |
It=s a Matter of ChoiceÉ
The LTD Board Wants There to Be a Strike over $2.78!!!! (more...)
LTD Strike on Hold
Last-minute LTD contract talks failed Sunday afternoon. But, at the urging of a new citizens committee, the bus drivers union has decided to postpone its strike, which was threatened to begin Tuesday. (more...)
LTD Strike On Hold, New Group Steps In To Help
A new group has put a hold on the LTD strike. The talks failed Sunday evening between the union and LTD. But a newly formed committee is helping to keep those buses moving. It's a group that moved in at the very last minute. It's made up of everyday citizens that wanted to help out. It was all put together by the Eugene Springfield solidarity network -- jobs with justice. (more...)
LTD Decides to Keep the Doors Closed
A community group responsible for getting LTD and the union to 'cool-off' for 30 days will not be a part of the state led negotiations.
LTD thinks its too late in the game to bring a neutral third party up to speed on negotiations that started last may. (more...)
Letter -- Give LTD workers the ad money
By Bill Cowan, Eugene
The Register-Guard | January 31, 2005 |
I realize that the job of union leaders is to make noise so the members will believe they are earning their pay.
In this case, I wonder if the cost of the half-page ads every day for a couple of weeks could be better spent by cutting the union dues, thus giving the drivers the money for their health insurance co-pays. Or would this be too simple?
Union OKs delay of strike for 35 days
By Randi Bjornstad
The Register-Guard | January 31, 2005 |
Bus drivers and other Lane Transit District workers will not be going on strike Tuesday morning -- but not because their union came to agreement with LTD over health care and other workplace issues that have stymied a settlement since May.
Instead, members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757 responded to a plea from a newly formed group calling itself the LTD/ATU Community Committee, asking the union to delay a strike for 35 days to allow the outside group "to evaluate the nature of the dispute and seek solutions that work for both sides as well as the greater community." (more...)
Negotiators spar over cash and coverage
By Randi Bjornstad
The Register-Guard | January 31, 2005 |
Rhetoric aside, the difference between a strike against the Lane Transit District and settling a 9-month-old contract dispute comes down to about $92 per month for each of the 231 workers represented by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757.
That's about $21,000 per month total, or about $255,000 per year -- the difference in the cost of the health care plans sought by the two sides in the dispute. (more...)
Editorial -- Amazing grace period: LTD union will wait 35 more days before striking
| The Register-Guard | February 1, 2005 |
At least 13,000 daily passengers on Lane Transit District buses, plus countless family members, employers and school officials, will notice something extraordinary about today: It's a very ordinary Tuesday. (more...)
Carol Allred -- Workers bear burden of LTD's building spree
By Carol Allred
The Register-Guard | February 1, 2005 |
Let's look at the facts in the transit labor dispute. First, Lane Transit District drivers have already agreed to more than $600,000 in wage and benefit concessions despite the district having $10 million in operating reserves. (more...)
Letter -- LTD benefits worth fighting for
By Dave Barton, Eugene
The Register-Guard | February 1, 2005 |
Larry Jackson's Jan. 21 letter regarding the labor dispute at Lane Transit District indicates he has capitalism confused with socialism.
Here's a news flash: This is the United States. In our society, all things are not equal.
All places of employment do not operate by the same rules, and all workers do not make the same wages. All health care packages do not offer the same benefits, nor the same deductibles or shared percentages. The mentality of "doing what most companies do" is not acceptable in a capitalistic society where free enterprise is the rule.
Try this mentality on some of our athletes who have negotiated contracts for millions of dollars. Even closer to home, try that mentality on the union employees of our own newspaper, The Register-Guard.
Jackson also says "Government entities such as LTD must operate within their budgets." That's the key breakdown in this labor dispute. General Manager Ken Hamm got his board's approval for capital expenditures -- without enough money to cover LTD's 20 percent -- so he transferred millions from the operating budget to the capital budget to cover his 20 percent of the grandiose and unnecessary projects on his agenda.
The operating budget is supposed to cover salaries, benefits, etc., of employees. The fix lies with LTD's board. Why would intelligent professionals OK Hamm's projects knowing there wasn't enough money to pay for them? Either they don't know anything about LTD's financial situation, or they just don't care.
Letter -- Maybe LTD riders should strike
By Jozef Siekiel-Zdzienicki, Eugene
The Register-Guard | February 1, 2005 |
I believe that both sides of the looming Lane Transit District strike are missing the point.
The riders are the most affected. Therefore, I propose a Rosa Parks and Montgomery, Ala., strike of ridership on the transit lines. Until both sides reconcile, the community should not support either side of the selfishness exposed during these deliberations.
A majority of the 13,000 daily riders of the LTD don't have health insurance and don't need to be sitting in mostly empty proposed $1 million buses at empty bus stops with no weather protection. Think it over. If a strike in Montgomery in 1955 could cripple an economy, couldn't we do it here 50 years later and try to get some basic good for the community accomplished?
LTD won't wait to impose final offer
By Randi Bjornstad
The Register-Guard | February 1, 2005 |
The Lane Transit District board of directors will continue its course and put a disputed new health care plan into place today for union employees, despite a citizen committee's offer to help resolve a nine-month standoff between the agency and employees represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757. (more...)
Bus strike averted -- for now
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | February 2, 2005 |
Tuesday has come and gone and Lane Transit District's buses continue to run -- for now.
A last-minute proposal from a community group calling itself the LTD/ATU Community Committee was presented during negotiations between Lane Transit District and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757 on Sunday night. The committee requested that the union withdraw its strike notice and the district, in turn, rescind notice to implement its final offer so that the committee can independently review the situation.
Union members voted to postpone any potential strike -- allowing the committee 35 days, until March 4, to conduct its audit and to examine issues that continue to keep both parties from reaching a contract agreement.
The district, however, opted to "stay the course" Monday night, implementing its final offer as planned yesterday. (more...)
Letter -- An LTD strike won't be forgotten
By Ferdinand Iyoob, Eugene
The Register-Guard | February 2, 2005 |
I don't know much about strikes. For 42 years I ran my own business and didn't have to deal with disgruntled workers, management and unions, thank God!
But I have lived 79 years and learned something about human nature. I have noted during these times that strikes are always settled eventually. Lane Transit District isn't going to sell off the buses and close down the stations. It becomes a case of greed and posturing, and the ones who suffer the most are the customers. LTD drivers: If there were no customers, there'd be no buses.
So I read a very touching ad in the paper this morning about the drivers and how they care about little Johnnie getting off the bus alone and Ms. Anne's knees hurting when the weather is bad. I wonder if these are the same drivers Al Ligner complained about (letters, Jan. 24) who leave the customers, even those with wheelchairs, in the cold at the downtown station until 30 seconds before the buses leave?
Will disgruntled patrons hurt the workers or LTD more? Think about it: If the strike is going to be settled eventually, at great inconvenience to the riders, why isn't it going to be settled before a strike?
I make a prediction: There must be one thinking person in the union and LTD who will avoid the strike. After worrying riders (I won't be able to go to the SMART program and read to my kids), I predict a settlement will come.
If not, I predict a bitter time with both LTD and the drivers losing out. We won't forget.
Letter -- What are spending priorities at LTD?
By Valerie Harris, Springfield
The Springfield News | February 2, 2005 |
I have a few concerns regarding Lane Transit District. How can a bus strike be providing "excellent services," which is a quote from Ken Hamm from the Rider's Digest of Sept. 19, 2004? Mr. Hamm's "promise." What does that really mean?
What type of management would not negotiate a respectable contract for its employees, thus causing added stress for bus patrons in the middle of winter? No other alternative is provided for the 10,000-plus individuals who depend on LTD, implying that LTD would rather save money for its new Bus Rapid Transit system, with has a higher priority than maintaining the current bus schedule and meeting the needs of the public. Is LTD a public-oriented service? If current services are not adequately funded, how can there be long-term funding for a "new" bus system? This implies that regular bus service will continually be cut in order to bring in a new bus rapid system. How can this be "excellent" service?
Or is this new bus rapid system like the electric buses? How many times have the electric buses been painted? Twice! Where are the electric buses today? What a waste of money. Is that what the electric buses and the bus rapid system have in common?
Bus patrons need actual, physical, reliable transportation, not buses that sit in the bus yard collecting dust.
Letter -- Is LTD focusing on white-collar riders?
By Ann Bridges, Springfield
The Springfield News | February 2, 2005 |
I'm sorry, I'm a little confused about LTD and I have a question.
LTD says revenues are down, so they have to cut service and raise fares, changes that cause hardship and alienate the very people that need it most. Then they buy new, bigger buses, build new stations and special bus lanes that will be more efficient.
My question to LTD is, WHO is going to be riding these better buses and using these bus lanes and stations if the bus doesn't go where people live and the people can't afford to ride?
What's wrong with this picture? Has LTD decided they want to focus their marketing on only the white-collar population?
LTD begins enforcing last contract offer
By Randi Bjornstad
The Register-Guard | February 2, 2005 |
The Lane Transit District began enforcing its final contract offer Tuesday, drawing anger from union officials for not joining the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757 in accepting a citizen committee's proposal to pursue mediation to avoid a transit workers' strike.
Nonetheless, the citizen panel will continue to intervene in the dispute, including in a meeting held Tuesday evening with an upper-level LTD administrator to explain its aims, said committee organizer Claire Syrett, a member of the pro-labor Eugene Springfield Solidarity Network. (more...)
Slant -- LTD
| Eugene Weekly | February 3, 2005 |
Applause from all of us in "the public" to the transit union and Eugene-Springfield Solidarity Network for generating the LTD/ATU Community Committee to encourage postponing a strike for 35 days and sending an auditor in to examine and explain the numbers that have triggered this conflict. Although the most vulnerable members of our community are served by the buses, we citizens have no leverage on the LTD board. Unlike the EWEB board, members are not chosen by and thus accountable to the public. They are appointed by the governor. We repeat last week's Slant call for Gov. Kulongoski, a former labor lawyer, to weigh in on a solution. His actions aside, both LTD and the ATU have a 35-day opportunity for new initiatives. Just do it.
Letter -- Save LTD
By Melinda Raven, Springfield
Eugene Weekly | February 3, 2005 |
What's going on with Lane Transit District? Why are the employees preparing to strike? Why have 200 of the employees signed a petition of no confidence in the general manager's ability to run LTD? Why aren't the citizens of Eugene and surrounding areas up in arms over the excessive capital expenditures by the current general manager?
Everyone who has an employee or is self-employed in the area serviced by LTD pays the employment tax. Do they realize that their money is being spent on grandiose projects and not to support service for the riders? The current general manager, Ken Hamm, started with a capital expenditure budget of $2 million when he came onboard four years ago and the budget is now $27 million for 2005. He has done this while cutting the number of routes served and the hours of service resulting in a 24 percent cut in service in the last three years.
Hamm and his board of directors has also now requested an increase in the payroll tax. If this is the way you run your business; buying new buildings, remodeling, repainting, buying new vehicles, while cutting your services and service hours and raising your rates, then support Ken Hamm. If, however, you see this as a way to business ruin and in this case a gross abuse of the way your taxes are being spent, contact Rep. Peter Defazio, your LTD Board representative, Gov. Ted Kulongoski and don't forget to write letters to the editor. Please, help save LTD.
Letter -- LTD Failing
| Eugene Weekly | February 3, 2005 |
Letter -- Bus driving takes physical toll
By Betsy Kelly, Eugene
The Register-Guard | February 4, 2005 |
As the spouse of a Lane Transit District driver, I see firsthand the toll that driving a bus takes on a person.
Not only is the jostling of the seat difficult, but drivers work odd hours, including split shifts, early mornings, late nights, weekends, holidays; there's no real routine for their bodies to adapt to. They are responsible for safely transporting thousands of people daily, no matter what the weather, and yet must grab restroom and meal breaks on the run.
No, it's not a glamorous profession, but it has been providing good, family-wage jobs to more than 260 employees in Lane County. It's critical that, at the very least, they continue their existing contract rather than take a step backward by accepting LTD management's proposal.
These are loyal, hard-working people -- our friends, family members and neighbors -- not greedy people asking for too much. They are trying to hold on to what they've worked hard for, but management's proposal represents substantial economic costs for the workers.
LTD management has also pro- posed cuts in the time operators have to do bus safety inspections, cuts in the time they have between shifts (used for sleeping), cuts in vacation as well as decreases to other benefits.
LTD managers need to review their strategic plan, because their vision -- to be the best transit system in North America -- is in danger of becoming a joke. Team LTD is failing its mission.
Letter -- Most workers share health cost
By Kelley Blewster, Springfield
The Register-Guard | February 4, 2005 |
According to The Register-Guard, the Lane Transit District bus drivers' union is holding out because employees don't want to contribute toward their health insurance premium or make certain other concessions regarding their health benefits.
I don't have much sympathy for their position. I don't know of any worker -- low paid or high paid -- whose employer fully subsidizes group health insurance premiums. As health insurance costs have continued to spiral, all workers and all employers have unfortunately felt it in their pocketbooks. Why should the LTD bus drivers be exempt from this reality, unpleasant as it may be?
To the LTD bus drivers, I say welcome to the real world.
Bus audit committee starts its meetings
| The Springfield News | February 4, 2005 |
The LTD/ATU Community Committee will meet from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Saturday at a location to be determined. Claire Syrett, committee organizer, said the work session would be an opportunity for the group to organize its approach in assessing key negotiation issues between the Lane Transit District and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757.
A second meeting has been scheduled between the committee and LTD representatives for 6:30 p.m. this Tuesday, also at a place to be determined. Locations were not available by press time Thursday.
Syrett said locations for both meetings would be posted at http://www.solidaritynetwork.org. by Saturday morning at the latest.
Letter -- Transit system serves public
By Frank Schoenbeck, Eugene
The Register-Guard | February 5, 2005 |
Lane Transit District workers should consider a number of things in their decision of whether to strike.
Many regular riders and their special driving professionals have developed degrees of closeness. Part of that relationship is some feeling of all being in this together.
The benefit package presently offered by LTD is more generous than many offered in our area. There are riders who would love to have what LTD workers may turn down. Those struggling to get by on less than what union workers might reject may soon have their lives made more difficult. The choice to make that happen will require a generous heart to forgive.
The union members should remember that the careers they have chosen involve public service. LTD is not a corporate monster exploiting its wage slaves. Bus service is a publicly provided, environmentally positive alternative to the automobile, as well as transportation for the disadvan- taged.
Budgets are a continuing problem. There are those who would love to see public transportation fail, or at least stall. Going on strike for the relatively minor cuts in medical coverage seems out of perspective and will send out broad ripples.
This contract will have to be renegotiated in the future. When conditions improve, a better settlement could be reached.
"Be careful with your little golden goose. It may be better to take a few less eggs than to squeeze her too hard." (Old Eugene proverb)
Bob Welch -- The missing ingredient in labor talks
By Bob Welch, Columnist
The Register-Guard | February 6, 2005 |
As the Lane Transit District labor dispute lurches on, it's easy for those of us who watch from afar to forget the deeper things. Heck, it's easy for those at the bargaining table to forget the deeper things.
I'm talking about things such as pride and respect and honor -- even humility. The stuff that gets lost in the emotionalism, whether the dispute is management-union, husband-wife or something else. (more...)
Letter -- Unions offer family-wage jobs
By Lynn Kelly, Eugene
The Register-Guard | February 6, 2005 |
I am writing in response to Eric Nichols (letters, Jan. 25).
Thousands of students come to Eugene to attend school. They end up falling in love with the area and staying. People with master's and Ph.D.s work alongside less educated people so they can live in Eugene.
It is a known fact that jobs are scarce in Oregon. When I moved to Oregon 25 years ago, I left a lucrative position and took a job at a pizza parlor. It took a while to get a real job as a state employee.
Nichols seems to think the Lane Transit District people have too much. This is why unions were formed. To give the average worker a family wage and benefits.
People have stated in this paper that public employees are greedy. These employees are not getting rich. They are able to take care of their families a little better.
Nichols states he read an LTD ad for a bus cleaner at $13 an hour. Why doesn't he apply for it? Even with a college education, one usually has to work his way up.
Thanks to the unions, these are considered family-wage jobs. Don't blame the LTD workers for what they were promised. If you want to blame someone, try blaming the president. He is the one who has promised family-wage jobs.
The Midwest is crying out for college grads. Perhaps relocation is best for Nichols. If not, quit whining.
Letter -- LTD offer cuts workers' pay
By Dianne Keller, Eugene
The Register-Guard | February 6, 2005 |
There has been a lot of discussion lately about Lane Transit District.
Some people say the drivers should quit whining and realize that most people have to pay something for medical insurance costs. Others say the drivers will be hurting the elderly and disabled if they strike.
But drivers aren't required to place riders before themselves. That's essentially what some are asking of LTD drivers -- forgo necessary pay and benefit maintenance so others aren't inconvenienced.
The point of maintaining current benefits is to avoid an effective pay cut. Say a driver with two children makes $13.84 (the lowest, according to the Jan. 28 front page story) per hour. Under the proposed contract, they would get a 1.5 percent pay increase to $14.05 per hour, but have to pay a $1,500 insurance deductible. Old pay (40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year): $28,787; New pay: $29,224 minus $1,500 = $27,724, an effective 3.4 percent pay cut.
LTD drivers are not whining, they are asking that their total compensation not be cut by sneaking in new hidden costs.
I am sorry that some people have to provide their own insurance or pay high co-payments. But the answer isn't to cut the benefits of those who have them; it is to reform the system in this country.
Letter -- Gas tax hike was unnecessary
By Larry Ocker, Eugene
The Register-Guard | February 5, 2005 |
I thought that when a tax was placed on gasoline at the rate of 3 cents a gallon that this was adequate to accumulate enough money to repair the streets and highways within the city. Well, once again a process was started, and now up it goes up another 2 cents. I wonder how much it will go up the next time. They must have found more streets and highways.
I wonder how much of the money will be used for other programs within the city. Does it always take a vote of the people to stop these kind of things? Does the City Council not know that most people are fed up with higher taxes of any kind? I guess not.
The city service stations lose another customer. Thanks again, City Council. Now you know why we in the River Road area do not want to belong to the city.
ODOT starts I-105 Web site
| The Springfield News | February 4, 2005 |
A new Web site is up and running this week, and it should help commuters navigate and prepare for the Interstate 105 Highway Improvement Project which is about to hit Eugene -- and, with traffic impacts, Springfield.
The Oregon Department of Transportation and Lane Council of Governments collaborated to create http://www.keepusmoving.info to provide drivers with updates on construction, lane closures and other project details. (more...)
Other
Plan for tax district stalled: Commissioners want public's input first
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | February 4, 2005 |
The first step toward the creation of a special public safety taxing district stalled this week.
Planning commissioners from Springfield, Lane County and Eugene met Tuesday night for a work session and public hearing to amend the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan -- an essential beginning hurdle in what is expected to be a two-year process in creating a proposed safety district.
While all three planning groups expressed interest in the possibility of a safety district, all passed motions to leave the public record open for an additional seven days and revisit the matter at individual planning commission meetings to be scheduled. (more...)
Russell Sadler -- Oregon's boards and commissions improve democracy
By Russell Sadler
The Register-Guard | February 4, 2005 |
In an age when elected politicians are increasingly ideological and hear only what they want to hear, much of Oregon's economic and civic life is governed by an alphabet soup of state boards and commissions. (more...)
Newspaper folds amid money woes
By Sherri Buri McDonald
The Register-Guard | February 5, 2005 |
A start-up newspaper whose motto was "The Oregon newspaper that tells it like it is," won't be telling anyone anything anymore.
Bruce Anderson, former publisher of the Anderson Valley Advertiser, an iconoclastic 3,000-circulation weekly in Northern California, launched AVA Oregon! in November.
The Feb. 3 issue of the left-leaning weekly will be its last.
In the end, it was all about money -- or, not enough of it. (more...)
Springfield News parent company buys Pulitzer
| The Springfield News | February 2, 2005 |
Lee Enterprises Inc., the parent company of The Springfield News, has announced it is buying Pulitzer Inc., which publishes the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Arizona Daily Star and a dozen other daily newspapers.
Both companies announced the $1.46 billion deal Sunday.
Lee also owns The News' sister paper, the weekly Cottage Grove Sentinel, as well as the daily Albany Democrat-Herald and Corvallis Gazette-Times and the weekly Newport News-Times and Lebanon Express. In Oregon, Pulitzer owns the daily Coos Bay World and the weekly Bandon Western World. (more...)
Springfield City Beat: Mayor gets airtime every Thursday
By Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard | February 5, 2005 |
Mayor Sid Leiken is racking up more than his allotted 15 minutes of fame these days. For the past three weeks, the mayor has appeared live on KMTR television for five minutes each Thursday evening, answering questions e-mailed in by viewers.
"It's kind of your typical questions," Leiken said Friday. A question about public safety. A question about the (proposed) justice center. It's kind of neat to hear the questions and see if I am in tune with the community. So far, I think I am."
Leiken appears on KMTR's 5 p.m. news on Thursdays, with his segment appearing about 5:15 p.m. You can e-mail questions to newsdesk@kmtr.com.
There may be no stopping the mayor now. "KPNW (radio) has called and asked if I could come down and do a segment once a month," he said.
Stay tuned.
Station speaks to growing community
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | January 31, 2005 |
It's the morning show at "La X," Eugene-Springfield's new Hispanic radio station, and hosts Polo D’az and Mary Salvatierra have opened the lines up for calls from listeners.
Six lines light up. As one is answered, another starts blinking red. It's the morning call-in rush hour, and the hosts can't keep up -- they may get 50 calls in an hour. (more...)
Slant -- Musumeci
| Eugene Weekly | February 3, 2005 |
What's up between developer John Musumeci and CHOICES, the public interest group tracking land use issues and fighting PeaceHealth's hospital plans? We hear Musumeci's attorney sent a letter to CHOICES newsletter editor Rob Zako demanding retractions. It seems Musumeci doesn't like being called a "land speculator" instead of a "real developer." Read all about it, and much more at http://www.efn.org/~choices
Rice Says U.S. Attack on Iran 'Not on the Agenda'
By Steven R. Weisman, Elaine Sciolino and David E. Sanger
The New York Times | February 4, 2005 |
LONDON, Feb. 4 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today that an attack on Iran by the United States "is simply not on the agenda," despite Iran's "abysmal human rights record" and suspicion that it harbors ambitions to produce nuclear weapons.
At a news conference here, the first stop in a weeklong tour of European capitals, Ms. Rice said there was broad international agreement that Iran cannot be allowed to use a civilian nuclear power project to conceal a weapons program. (more...)
Fox News Buys al-Jazeera
'Hannity and Hussein' Among New Network's Programs
Under intense pressure from the Bush administration to sell its controversial al-Jazeera network, the nation of Qatar stunned the television industry today by agreeing to sell the broadcast company to Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Channel.
Television insiders were taken aback that the network whose motto is "We Report -- You Decide," would acquire a broadcast entity whose slogan is "Death to the Infidels."
But according to Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox parent company News Corporation, the merger was a natural because, in his words, "We took a look at their format and realized that it was almost identical to ours."
"If we really roll up our sleeves and make this merger work, we may wind up with the fairest and most balanced network mankind has ever known," Mr. Murdoch added. (more...)
Measure 37: Views
Letter -- M37 challenge is needed
By Leonard T. Jordan, Albany
The (Albany) Democrat-Herald | January 24, 2005 |
I don't understand your opposition to the challenge to Measure 37. You admit the measure might be flawed, but you don't think it should be constitutionally challenged. You are wrong in that assumption, and your arguments in support of that assumption make no sense.
How old, for example, must a person be before he or she can drink and drive? Are you really suggesting that folks from Washington and California and China should be allowed to vote in Oregon if they've paid enough money to the state? You list some other obviously sensible laws and restrictions and then you contend that all of them are in violation of the constitution.
First, that's not true. Consider Section 20 of the state Constitution's bill of rights: "No law shall be passed granting to any citizen or class of citizens privileges, or immunities, which, upon the same terms, shall not equally belong to all citizens."
Thus, if you reach a certain age, you may legally drink alcohol; and this does not violate the rights of a 13-year old. Folks over 65 get Social Security without infringing on anyone else's rights.
Second, you list a set of circumstances that you say exist contrary to the constitution, and you argue that their existence should cause the withdrawal of the challenge to Measure 37. That's a bit like saying because the justice system is unfair we shouldn't try any more criminals.
You also don't support your arguments with facts, nor do you suggest ways to correct these supposed injustices.
Third, we should welcome challenges to new laws. After all, many laws are written with the express purpose of getting around the equal protections of the constitution by people with vested interests.
Finally, the Daily Astorian wrote an editorial on Oct. 17, 2004, that explains much more succinctly the driving forces behind Measure 37 and its potential pitfalls. If you like, I'll send you a copy.
Letter -- Don't risk revolt on M37
By Arnie Brubaker, Sweet Home
The (Albany) Democrat-Herald | January 27, 2005 |
I am willing to admit that the majority aren't always right. After all, I am a believer in Christ and have accepted him as my savior. Therefore I am in the minority; but I do not degrade and try to humiliate the majority that disagrees with me.
I understand those who perceive that we as a state are making a serious error by allowing Measure 37 to be implemented as intended. However, we do live in a somewhat democratic form of government that allows the majority to decide our course of action even though it may not be for the best of the state.
I would encourage those responsible for implementing Measure 37 to carry out the will of the majority and try not to diminish its effect or you may find an even greater form of revolt.
Measure 37 is a result of a great injustice that was imposed upon many landowners by a few who felt they knew what was best for Oregon's livability. They may have been right; but it was at the expense of many who counted on their investment in land to help them through those final years when they would no longer be able to earn an income.
I know by the time anyone reads this it will be after the fact, but I heard this morning that there are those who will be protesting in the streets of Portland because of President Bush's inauguration. Give it up!
Right or wrong, the majority has decided. Your actions are only costing us taxpayers money, angering commuters and hindering the government's ability to unite this country in a positive course of action. Hey, I don't always make the perfect decisions either; but I sure appreciate those in my "family" who still love and support me.
Letter -- Where does Measure 37 stop?
By Paul Dustrud, Eugene
The Register-Guard | February 2, 2005 |
If the government (taxpayers) must now compensate landowners when land use regulations devalue their property, why is not the reverse also fair?
For instance, landowners should compensate the government (taxpayers) when regulations increase the value of their properties by means of clean air, nice views, intelligent zoning, etc.
What happens when landowners receive permission to alter the use of their properties in a way that affects their neighbors? Does that have a domino effect onto the adjacent landowners, giving them the right to make a claim against the government because Measure 37 has now affected the value of their properties by allowing the once-restricted use of adjacent parcels to alter their quality of life?
Where does it stop?
Liam Sherlock -- Oregonians will regret Measure 37
By Liam Sherlock
The Register-Guard | February 3, 2005 |
Twelve years ago I started practicing land use law in Oregon after seeing mindless strip malls and endless subdivisions mutate landscapes throughout much of the rest of this country. I compared this schlock development to the vision of the Republican governor, Tom McCall.
In the mid-1970s McCall helped Oregonians understand that they lived in a remarkable corner of the world. He motivated the people and the Legislature to create the most advanced land-use system in the nation. These laws upheld values I believe in -- livable communities, public participation, fairness, and a high quality of life.
Proponents of Ballot Measure 37 won last November by arguing that a person whose property loses value as a result of any zoning laws enacted in the past, present or future should be compensated. Voters probably thought this sounded reasonable. What got lost in the rhetoric, however, is that most towns and counties can't afford to pay the compensation that will be demanded by Measure 37 claimants. Local governments will then have to waive enforcement of the zoning law at issue.
Measure 37 will benefit few and harm many. Our much lauded and respected approach to community planning and natural resource protection will soon start to unravel like a moth-eaten sweater. (more...)
Letter -- Protect value of public lands
By Peat Kinsey, Eugene
The Register-Guard | February 3, 2005 |
The beaches, rivers and forested mountains of our state are valuable to all of us. These special places bring us peace of mind, enjoyment and rest from hectic busy lives.
That is why land near them is so valuable. People are willing to pay more to make these places of natural beauty a part of their lives.
Measure 37 was about public regulations that devalue private property. People voted for that law because it seemed only fair to compensate private landowners when the public's interest in controlling development took value away from private landowners' use of their property.
Now, I am hoping to see a new measure put up to a vote. I think it is fair to expect private landowners to compensate the public when they develop their land and take value away from the recreational and scenic use of public lands.
I go to the beach to enjoy the beauty of the ocean, dunes, rocky cliffs and hills of dark green trees. It takes away from my enjoyment of the public beaches when I look up and see big plate-glass windows glaring back at me. When I walk along the river, I lose the valuable experience of natural scenery if it feels like I am walking through someone's back yard.
Private development along rivers and beaches takes value away from the public. The public deserves compensation. Let's make it a law and protect the value of Oregon's beautiful public lands.
John Williams -- Let's pass a 'reverse' Measure 37 and get payback
By John Williams
The Oregonian | February 3, 2005 |
Ballot Measure 37 decrees property owners can collect for value lost by government regulations or actions, sometimes referred to as "takings."
How about we also do the reverse, call it, say, Measure 73? Land owners would pay the government when regulations or actions increase the value of their property. Call it "givings."
Sounds like a good idea to me. All we are looking for here is fairness. Citizens pay the taxes used by government to take the "actions" in the first place. We need a payback. (more...)
Measure 37: News
Legislature holds Measure 37 at arm's length
By Raelynn Ricarte
The (Hood River) News | January 28, 2005 |
The Oregon Legislature doesn't plan to take any action regarding Measure 37 until contested claims have made it through the court system.
Sen. Rick Metsger, D-Mt. Hood, delivered that news to the Hood River Rotary Club on Thursday. He said elected officials need to learn more about the intent of voters before any changes are made to the new law. And those answers are likely to come from public feedback as cases are litigated in Oregon courts. (more...)
County to renew ordinance for claims
By Becky Waldrop
The (Corvallis) Gazette-Times | February 1, 2005 |
The Benton County commissioners are expected to enact a second emergency ordinance today, extending and amending an earlier law passed in November to deal with Measure 37 claims.
County officials are still waiting for direction from the Legislature, the state Department Land Conservation and Development, the courts and other governments affected by the new land use law before adopting a permanent ordinance. (more...)
Yamhill Lays Groundwork for Land Use Claims Hearings
By Rob Manning, Oregon Considered
Oregon Public Broadcasting | February 1, 2005 |
PORTLAND -- Oregon's cities and counties have been slowly moving forward to respond Measure 37, a property compensation measure voters passed in November. Local officials adopted procedures in early December to handle claims from property owners who believe regulations have gotten in the way of an increase in property value.
But Yamhill County is the first to start really looking at claims. As Rob Manning reports, commissioners began today, with deciding the public's role. (more...)
Measure 37 exposes nerves
The new property rights law moves from theory to reality as commissioners weigh claims in a tense Yamhill County hearing
By Laura Oppenheimer
The Oregonian | February 2, 2005 |
McMINNVILLE -- Oregon's property rights law exploded Tuesday in a small-town courthouse basement with wood-paneled walls, extra folding chairs and a fiery crowd.
The state watched as commissioners in Yamhill County, out in front of the rest of Oregon in processing Measure 37 claims, discussed seven landowners' requests. Their choices: Excuse the applicants from regulations that constrain property value or pay them to play by the rules.
Cities, counties and state agencies have received about 220 claims since the measure took effect Dec. 2. None has been acted on.
For the first time Tuesday, the debate went beyond lines on a map or sound bites at a lectern. Eager applicants and apprehensive neighbors listened as the passionately divided county commission clashed over values such as personal freedom, fairness and neighborliness.
The three commissioners voted to hold a March 9 public hearing for the most dramatic proposal, which would allow 342 acres of homes and businesses on farmland owned by Maralynn Abrams. (more...)
Measure 37 stakes loom large
By David Bates
The (McMinnville) News-Register | February 5, 2005 |
As Yamhill County officials crafted an ordinance to implement Measure 37 last fall, the conventional wisdom was that property owners rushing to take advantage of it would generally want nothing more than to build a home in the country -- or perhaps a second home, at the most. (more...)