Health Options Digest
February 20, 2005
Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield (CHOICES)
In This Issue
From the Editor
CHOICES settles with PeaceHealth
On Monday at 11 a.m., CHOICES and PeaceHealth will announce to the media a settlement agreement over some of the major issues surrounding plans for RiverBend.
In the end, CHOICES saw no good resolution to some of the land use concerns we have been raising. As such, we didn't feel it was in the community's interest to tie up significant resources in additional litigation.
But the agreement calls for CHOICES to continue to be involved in not only the new RiverBend site but also the existing Hilyard site. The agreement also calls for PeaceHealth to redevelop the existing Willamette Street site, or to market it to some other party willing to do so. And the agreement clears the way for McKenzie-Willamette/Triad to gain a Certificate of Need without opposition from PeaceHealth.
We'll have more details soon.
Week In Review
Otherwise, it's been a (relatively) quiet week in the Emerald Valley.
LTD workers may still go on strike... or not.
EWEB may still sell its riverfront property to Triad to build a new McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center... or to Arlie & Company... or not.
Springfield is looking at ways to improve its downtown.
In Eugene, tax breaks for business development are popular with some... but not fee increases to cover the costs of reviewing development permits.
Coburg residents are thinking maybe their police should spend more time protecting them and less time handing out speeding tickets on Interstate-5.
Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken still has his own TV segment.
We applaud Suzanne Arlie and John Musumeci of Arlie and Company, who recently donated nearly 35,000 pounds of salmon patties to Food for Lane County.
Our good friend, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, is still liking being in politics despite the onslaught of ballot initiatives he must face, and announced his intention to run for reelection in 2006.
Bloggers -- people who post logs on the web -- continue to exert political influence, causing some to question their tactics.
Finally, Measure 37 claims continue to roll in, prompting elected officials around the state to issue waivers rather than pay property owners to obey the law.
Looking Ahead
On Tuesday, Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy takes to the streets, holding her "Mayor's One-on-One" in the Bethel neighborhood of Eugene.
Also on Tuesday, the Springfield City Council will hold a public hearing on PeaceHealth's master plan for their RiverBend development.
On Wednesday, EWEB will hold the first of two public forums focused on what should be done with their riverfront property.
The deadline for applications for the Glenwood Urban Renewal Advisory Committee has been extended to February 28.
Rob Zako, Editor
343-5201
rzako@efn.org
Calendar
Tuesday, February 22 -- Mayor Piercy's One-on-One
5:30 p.m., WinCo Foods, 4275 Barger Drive, Eugene
Contact: Sarita Black, 682-5465, sarita.r.black@ci.eugene.or.us
Discuss Issues with Mayor Piercy.
See also "Eugene City Beat: Mayor's road show."
Tuesday, February 22 -- Springfield City Council
City Hall, 225 Fifth St., Springfield, Amy Sowa, (541) 726-3700
6:30 pm, Work Session, Jesse Maine Room
1. Intergovernmental Agreement with Lane County, Springfield Utility Board and Lane Transit District for the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway Project.
2. Review Proposed RiverBend Master Plan and Zone Change Applications (PeaceHealth).
7:00 pm, Regular Meeting, Council Meeting Room
* A Resolution Providing Guidance and Implementing Transplan Transporation System Improvements Roadway Policy #2: Motor Vehicle Level of Service by Accepting a Lower Level of Service Than "D" At The Gateway/International, Gateway/Game Farm East, Gateway/Kruse And Beltline/Hutton Intersections.
* Authorize the City Manager to Enter into the Intergovernmental Agreement with Lane County, Springfield Utility Board and Lane Transit District for the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway Project.
* Public Hearing: Proposed RiverBend Master Plan and Zone Change Applications (PeaceHealth).
See also "Springfield City Beat: Hospital plans focus of public hearing."
Wednesday, February 23 -- EWEB public forum on riverfront property
| Eugene Water & Electric Board | February 17, 2005 |
7:00 pm, North Building, EWEB headquarters, 500 E. Foourth Ave., Eugene
The Eugene Water & Electric Board of Commissioners is holding two public forums this month and in March related to the current interest in the utility's riverfront property.
The forums are designed to help commissioners gauge the community's interest and opinions about the current riverfront property negotiations. EWEB staff will make a short presentation, then be available to answer questions.
See also "EWEB to conduct public forums on riverfront property."
See also "EWEB collecting ratepayers' comments."
Wednesday, March 2 -- EWEB public forum on riverfront property
| Eugene Water & Electric Board | February 17, 2005 |
7:00 pm, North Building, EWEB headquarters, 500 E. Foourth Ave., Eugene
The Eugene Water & Electric Board of Commissioners is holding two public forums this month and in March related to the current interest in the utility's riverfront property.
The forums are designed to help commissioners gauge the community's interest and opinions about the current riverfront property negotiations. EWEB staff will make a short presentation, then be available to answer questions.
See also "EWEB to conduct public forums on riverfront property."
See also "EWEB collecting ratepayers' comments."
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
Homeowner, mobile home resident in demand
By Randi Bjornstad
The Register-Guard | February 18, 2005 |
Come on, Glenwood residents, surely there must be two of you in the unincorporated part of the community -- one homeowner and one mobile home resident -- who want to help decide what the neighborhood will look like in the future.
The county commissioners have extended the application deadline for their appointments to the Glenwood Advisory Committee to Feb. 28. The eight-member committee will advise the Springfield Economic Development Agency as it comes up with plans for the future of Glenwood.
Each person on the advisory committee will represent a certain group of people or businesses. In addition to the county-appointed members, the panel will include: one retail business owner or operator and one industrial owner or operator, both in the unincorporated part of Glenwood, plus a matching pair from the incorporated area of Glenwood, now part of Springfield; a member of the Glenwood Water District board; and one mobile home resident and one homeowner in the Springfield portion of Glenwood. The Springfield City Council or the Springfield Economic Development Agency will choose those members.
To apply for the county-appointed positions on the committee, call the commissioners' office at 682-4203 for an application. Those interested in the other positions should call the city of Springfield at 726-3656.
Recruitment efforts extended for Glenwood renewal committee
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | February 9, 2005 |
Those ready, able and willing to serve still have time.
Springfield Economic Development Agency board members opted to extend recruitment efforts for the Glenwood Urban Renewal Advisory Committee until Feb. 28. The decision came on the heels of news that despite some interest from the community; several positions remained unapplied for.
Solicitation for all positions will continue. (more...)
PeaceHealth
Letter -- PeaceHealth expenses are local
By Johanna Dahlin, Springfield
The Register-Guard | February 15, 2005 |
If The Register-Guard and the news media in general dogged President George W. Bush regarding the tab he is running for the Iraq war ($277 billion and climbing), maybe our national deficit would not be what it is today.
PeaceHealth is under attack as though it is doing something bad, for heaven's sake. PeaceHealth's money is being spent here locally, and who is going to benefit from a state-of-the-art medical trauma center? I believe that would be the community.
Such a large and worthy endeavor costs money. Everyone knows that an initial proposal is not the bottom line, and the costs are usually much greater. I bet PeaceHealth is not intentionally trying to spend more money, but that it is trying to make the facility better in every way.
If my family heart history ever catches up with me, I know that I will be glad RiverBend is there -- and especially for my family and grandkids.
Go PeaceHealth!
Letter -- Compare hospitals' charity care
By Greg Ripley, Springfield
The Register-Guard | February 15, 2005 |
In reply to Glen Campbell (letters, Jan. 24), here's an exercise: Check the Office for Oregon Health Policy and Research Hospital Report (http:// egov.oregon.gov/DAS/OHPPR/ RSCH/docs/HospRpt_122304.pdf), which shows the operating margins and levels of uncompensated care for all hospitals in Oregon.
Interestingly, while the state average operating margin was 2.3 percent, Sacred Heart's was 10.7 percent. McKenzie-Willamette showed an operating margin of minus 9.3 percent.
This is noteworthy when compared with the amount of uncompensated (charity) care provided. While the average uncompensated care for all Oregon hospitals was 4 percent, Sacred Heart provided 2.7 percent; McKenzie-Willamette provided 4.2 percent.
Although it is wonderful to include phrases like social justice, collaboration and compassion in your mission statement and on your corporate Web site, we should judge an organization by its track record.
I also disagree with Campbell's statement that, "All of PeaceHealth's financial margin goes back into the financial base of our community." PeaceHealth is a multistate corporation and has shifted many funds outside the community to support hospitals in Alaska and Washington state that do not operate on the same high margins as its local facility.
Since Campbell authors the PeaceHealth corporate Web site, perhaps he should consider providing a link to the state's hospital report so that those who visit could be truly informed of the charitable giving of his organization.
Springfield City Beat: Hospital plans focus of public hearing
By Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard | February 19, 2005 |
PeaceHealth will be back in front of the City Council next week. The council will open a public hearing Tuesday on the Bellevue hospital corporation's master plan and zone change applications for its proposed $350 million RiverBend medical center on the northern edge of town.
The master plan and zone change applications are substantially the same as applications submitted to the city in 2003 and 2004, a planning department staff report says. Those applications were withdrawn after the state Court of Appeals sent the entire matter back to the city for further consideration on land use issues.
Following the court rulings, the city adopted new Metro Plan amendments allowing the project; the Planning Commission signed off on the new applications earlier this month.
The council will discuss the PeaceHealth applications at a work session that begins at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday -- city offices are closed Monday for Presidents Day -- in the Jesse Maine Room, City Hall, 225 Fifth St.
The public hearing will be part of the regular council meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. in the Council Meeting Room, same address.
McKenzie-Willamette/Triad
Letter -- EWEB should protect ratepayers
By Julie Brown, Eugene
The Register-Guard | February 16, 2005 |
I fail to understand the Eugene Water & Electric Board's eagerness to give away its property in downtown Eugene to Triad for a new hospital.
Would someone please explain why EWEB users should finance a for-profit hospital through the higher utility bills that would be necessary to relocate the present EWEB facility?
Plus, as congested as the Ferry Street Bridge is at this time, how will emergency vehicles -- let alone physicians, staff, patients, vendors and visitors -- even be able to access a hospital at that location?
Hopefully, reason will prevail and the EWEB commissioners will take to heart their responsibility to provide low-cost energy to their subscribers.
Letter -- Is hospital right for EWEB site?
By Jeannie Snyder, Eugene
The Register-Guard | February 17, 2005 |
I am very confused and quite concerned that the Eugene City Council would allow a hospital to be built on the Eugene Water & Electric Board property in the middle of downtown.
When PeaceHealth wanted to build out on Crescent Avenue, the big argument from the City Council and the citizens was the increased traffic that we would all have to contend with. The area around EWEB is already so congested that I find it questionable that anyone would even consider putting a hospital there. If you think it is difficult to get on Ferry Street Bridge now, what will happen to access if a hospital is built there? And there is no room for any expansion in the future at the EWEB site.
PeaceHealth has had to alter its plans at the RiverBend site over and over again to please the Springfield City Council and the Jaqua family, but Eugene will allow Triad to build a hospital right on the banks of the Willamette River with no buffer zone? Is the City Council so desperate to have a hospital in Eugene now that it will allow it to be built anywhere?
Letter -- Ratepayers need specific data
By Marcy Cauthorn, Eugene
The Register-Guard | February 20, 2005 |
Ron Farmer's guest viewpoint (Register-Guard, Feb. 9) opines that Eugene Water & Electric Board is doing all it can to create quality and efficient services.
However, sporting the highest rates locally, cutting energy efficiency services and raising rates six times in five years does not lend confidence. No direct information on how a move would create efficiencies has been forthcoming. My understanding from national energy experts -- the board is made up of laypeople representing ratepayers -- is that the best bang for our buck is in weatherizing and conservation.
Heartened that Farmer wants involvement of the owner-ratepayers, I request communication directly in our next bill rather than solely relying on the newspaper to inform ratepayers. This EWEB mailer should contain primarily mathematical data and should include:
1) line items detailing exactly how moving will create efficiencies;
2) the math on how selling out will pay for new buildings;
3) preliminary cost estimates;
4) per-foot commercial construction costs to replace 200,000 square feet of buildings;
5) an open-house tour schedule of the facility showing the operational problems;
6) a statement from EWEB's union on the problems and suggested solutions;
7) a ratepayer survey.
EWEB's general manager approximated the cost of construction at $50 million. Why did board members approve the expenditure of $1 million for a study to determine if a $25 million sale will cover the $50 million preliminary cost estimate?
EWEB to conduct public forums on riverfront property
For More Information Contact: Lance Robertson, 984-4716
Eugene Water & Electric Board | February 17, 2005 |
The Eugene Water & Electric Board of Commissioners is holding two public forums this month and in March related to the current interest in the utility's riverfront property.
The 7 p.m. meetings on Feb. 23 and March 2 will be in the North Building of EWEB's headquarters at 500 E. Fourth Ave.
The forums are designed to help commissioners gauge the community's interest and opinions about the current riverfront property negotiations. EWEB staff will make a short presentation, then be available to answer questions.
In February 2004, McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center and the Eugene Water & Electric Board began talking about the possibility of McKenzie-Willamette acquiring EWEB's riverfront property as the site of a new hospital in Eugene. Texas-based Triad, the owner of McKenzie-Willamette, eventually submitted an offer of about $25 million for the property. A Eugene developer, Arlie & Co., also has offered to buy the site for $28 million.
Both amounts are well short of EWEB's estimated moving costs of $38.5 million. No agreement has been signed.
EWEB's elected commissioners have said they are not willing to raise electric or water rates to finance the utility's relocation. The utility currently is updating its relocation costs and should have a better estimate by September.
EWEB's interest in relocating its non-headquarters facilities dates back to the 1990s, when it went through an extensive long-range planning effort. The result of those studies indicated that moving the non-headquarters facilities -- the shops, warehouse, operations center and other non-administrative functions -- to another location away from the river would improve operational efficiencies and open up a significant amount of riverfront property for other uses.
Many of EWEB's non-headquarters facilities are in need of major repair or replacement. The operations center, for example, was built in 1952 and has had little work done on it in recent decades, pending a decision by the utility whether to relocate or build a new operations facility.
Visit the riverfront property section of the web site: http://www.eweb.org/News/Projects/riverfront/index.htm
EWEB collecting ratepayers' comments
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | February 20, 2005 |
The Eugene Water & Electric Board will hold the first of two public forums Wednesday night to gauge interest and opinion on a possible sale of its downtown campus.
Criticized by several ratepayers for not taking steps to solicit public comment on a potential sale and relocation of some or all of its riverfront operations, EWEB commissioners voted last month to sponsor the forums. (more...)
Health Care
Letter -- Oregon needs damage caps
By Gary Young, M.D., Eugene
The Register-Guard | February 19, 2005 |
There you go again. The Register-Guard's negative reaction to any news item about a malpractice damage award cap is doggone Pavlovian!
The latest example was an editorial concerning the president's proposal for civil tort reform (Register-Guard, Feb. 7). Rather than an evenhanded editorial statement concerning both sides of the malpractice issue, the opinionated comments against malpractice insurance reform were typically unbalanced and cliched: "grievous" and "all carrot and no stick."
Also, the statements were inaccurate: Insurance rates have not continued to spiral upward in every state with damage award caps already in place. Furthermore, Oregon's malpractice insurance rates started spiraling upward as soon as our current governor and other attorneys on the state's Supreme Court removed the damage cap in 1999.
Oregon's malpractice insurance crisis is a major reason that there are fewer specialists to care for Oregonians. Sacred Heart Medical Center accepts patients in transfer from all over Oregon because there are not enough doctors elsewhere in the state.
I invite The Register-Guard's editorial staff to visit Sacred Heart's emergency room and find out firsthand how hard it is for patients to get a doctor to care for them.
Aetna To Sell HSAs To Wider Audience
| The Hartford (Connecticut) Courant | February 18, 2005 |
Aetna said Thursday it will start offering its "consumer-directed" health plans May 1 to small employers and individuals in Connecticut and other states. (more...)
Nearby Developments
Tom Draggoo -- What do we want our town to look like in the future?
By Tom Draggoo
The Springfield News | February 18, 2005 |
From a variety of articles, letters and editorials in The Springfield News over the past several weeks, one might perceive a curious dichotomy developing around downtown Springfield. We want an attractive downtown with lots of shoppers, diners, and antique and art lovers -- but we don't want a parking problem. We want new and improved storefronts, buildings and attractions -- but we don't want them to be flashy or even, to listen to some people, first-class. Heaven forbid that someone builds something that's too nice for Springfield.
What's with that attitude, anyway?
Surely there's a difference between living within our means (which makes sense) and settling for second best (which does not), just like there's a difference between giving our best and just getting by. We get the impression that some citizens are perfectly satisfied just getting by with second best. (more...)
Springfield Considers Sidewalk Dining
There's plenty of traffic on Springfield's Main Street, but the sidewalks often sit empty. Ruth Ballenger, who serves up high tea at Ruthie B's, wants that to change. "I think they would love to sit here in the sun, have a pot of tea, and visit with a friend. We have people inside who stay 3 to 4 hours over a table of tea," she explains.
The Springfield City Council is considering opening up its downtown sidewalks to cafe dining. In the past, the city's guarded its sidewalks with a complicated permit process to prevent telecommunications companies from consistently digging them up to lay down wires and cables. (more...)
City considers outside seating
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | February 18, 2005 |
Outdoor caf/ seating could dot the downtown this summer.
A proposed ordinance that would govern outdoor caf/ seating on downtown public sidewalks was presented Monday night for City Council review. The council will make a decision on the matter next month and, if approved, little caf/s could pop up between Mill and 10th streets and A and South A streets.
Len Goodwin, city technical services manager, said several business owners expressed an interest in outdoor seating last summer -- some had even placed tables and chairs outdoors without required permits. Since then, city staff has drafted guidelines that would provide for outdoor feasting while keeping the sidewalks clear for pedestrians. (more...)
Editorial -- Bakery's plan for Glenwood move is welcome news
| The Springfield News | February 16, 2005 |
Springfield's newly-minted Glenwood urban renewal district will soon get its first big commercial break when the Williams Bakery makes its move across the freeway.
Eugene's loss is Glenwood's gain. And for those who are lucky enough to find themselves downwind of the new bakery -- mmmm. As anyone who's lived in those nearby dormitories at the University of Oregon can tell you, nothing smells better than Williams Bakery at 7 a.m.
True, the bakery's tax payments probably won't go to the district, not at first. The enterprise-zone benefits that helped entice Williams to town will be in play for several years.
But a brand-new bakery facility in Glenwood will give the area a much-needed moral boost, and will help provide the "critical mass" of business that is needed to start a commercial district thriving.
So, Williams Bakery -- welcome! (more...)
City debating tax breaks for business development
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | February 17, 2005 |
The idea failed four months ago, rebuffed by the former Eugene mayor and City Council.
Now, a similar proposal is coming back for another try. It would resurrect Eugene's enterprise zone property tax exemption program, but exclude certain "greenfield" parcels from the breaks. And this time, the council has two new members and a new mayor. (more...)
Developers raise the roof over fee hikes
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | February 19, 2005 |
Developers, contractors and others involved in construction and development are grumbling about paying dramatically higher fees for Eugene officials to review land use plans.
But the city says the increases are needed in order to make the development industry pay a greater share of the costs for the process to review plans.
The raises will lessen the planning department's reliance on the city's general fund, which is supported largely by property taxes. (more...)
Condo lifestyle on comeback trail: Appeal of urban dwelling at forefront of local resurgence
By Joe Mosley
The Register-Guard | February 20, 2005 |
It's the real estate world's equivalent of a new tie-dye booth at the Saturday Market.
Condos are that hot, and that retro. (more...)
ORI, Eugene sign agreement over Sears site
| The Register-Guard | February 15, 2005 |
After months of delay, the city of Eugene and the Oregon Research Institute signed a purchase and sale agreement Monday for the former Sears store site downtown. (more...)
New ORI building may start to rise this summer
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | February 16, 2005 |
The latest addition to Eugene's downtown skyline -- a five-story office building -- should begin to go up this summer or fall, with completion sometime in 2006 or early 2007, according to a new agreement. (more...)
Jack Radabaugh -- City holds up neighborhood's retail plan
By Jack Radabaugh
The Register-Guard | February 15, 2005 |
Since the mid-1990s, the Harlow Neighbors Organization has been struggling to secure the development of a retail store to serve the Chase Gardens area. An earlier proposal by the neighborhood group for construction of a retail center entering on Garden Way was rejected in favor of an assisted living facility.
Another Harlow Neighbors proposal was to create a series of small commercial centers scattered throughout the huge apartment complex. This, too, was rejected.
When creation of nodes became the rage, the neighbors requested a study for Chase Gardens. Normally, nodes have a combination of high-density commercial and residential development at their center, with medium- and lower-density housing further out. One idea is to reduce driving needs of people living in the area -- thus meeting the requirements of the state transportation rule, which requires a 10 percent cut in vehicle miles traveled over a 20-year period.
Early neighborhood requests were denied by the city for lack of funding. However, on July 21, 1999, the Eugene Planning Department filed an application for a $60,000 nodal study. The Oregon Department of Transportation and the state Department of Land Conservation and Development provided the funding. (more...)
Transportation
Gerry Gaydos -- A Letter from the Board President
By Gerry Gaydos, Board President
Lane Transit District | January 11, 2005 |
Lane Transit District and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU Local 757) have been in negotiations since May 2004. At this time, the bargaining process has not resulted in a new labor contract; however, the District remains hopeful that an agreement can be reached prior to a strike. (more...)
Congressman Peter DeFazio -- Letter to LTD
By Congressman Peter DeFazio
Congress of the United States | January 28, 2005 |
Dear Mr. Hamm and Mr. Gaydos:
I have been contacted by constituents and Lane Transit District (LTD) employees concerned about contract negotiations and a possible strike. (more...)
LTD Rollback -- February 15, 2005, Advertisement
| ATU 757 Lane Transit District Workers | February 15, 2005 |
The Incredible Shrinking Transit District
The LTD Board turns a blind eye to passenger needs by repeatedly approving the shrinking of LTD transit services.
Lines Suffering Service Cuts in Just the Last Four Years: (more...)
Looming LTD Strike May Be Avoided
A looming LTD bus driver strike may be avoided. The Transit District and the driver's union are unexpectedly heading back to the bargaining table, after a state mediator called them back. (more...)
Letter -- LTD workers deserve support
By Lora Vess, vice president of external relations, and two co-signers, Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation, Eugene
The Register-Guard | February 18, 2005 |
In the United States, our dominant ideology upholds a belief that you can succeed or obtain the American dream if you "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" and work hard. What about all those millions of workers who put in long hours, show loyalty to their employers and dedication to their jobs and still find that they cannot support their family, cannot afford health insurance and may not have job security?
We hear arguments that with the economy the way it is or with health care costs on the rise workers should be happy with what they have. Over the past several weeks, we've seen letters to the editor expressing similar sentiments regarding Lane Transit District workers. Resentment seems apparent throughout these letters, given that their authors are also working hard and yet may not receive health care benefits or a living wage.
Directing our frustration toward those workers who are fighting for health care, a family wage, workplace safety and some degree of workplace autonomy does nothing to improve the working conditions for any of us. This sort of thinking blames workers for problems that they did not create and creates a race to the bottom for all workers.
The University of Oregon Gradu- ate Teaching Fellows Federation Local 3544 supports the Amalgamated Transit Union in its efforts for the fair contract it deserves. LTD's proposed contract involves compromises that are not acceptable to the ATU and should not be acceptable to other workers and members of the com- munity.
LTD works on residents' concerns: The bus line may adjust its planned new route for them
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | February 18, 2005 |
For some, it may be just another way to get around town. For others, the Lane Transit District bus system serves as a lifeline to the world around them.
And residents in the McKenzie Village, off of Fairview Drive, fear their lifeline will be severed if the LTD Board moves forward with proposed route changes. (more...)
Union files complaint involving LTD labor
By Meghann Cuniff, Senior News Reporter
Oregon Daily Emerald | February 18, 2005 |
The Amalgamated Transit Union Division 757 has filed an unfair labor practice complaint against Lane Transit District in response to a nine-month-long contract dispute that has resulted in the union declaring a strike date of March 7.
The complaint, dated Feb. 10 and filed with the Oregon Employment Relations Board, outlines 27 points, most involving allegations of a lack of communication on the part of LTD negotiators and unfair bargaining procedures used by the district.
LTD Service Planning and Marketing Manager Andy Vobora said LTD does not see any merit to the complaint, adding that "the district has bargained in good faith and will continue to do so." (more...)
Letter -- LTD workers forced to fight
By Kim Schille-Millier, Eugene
The Register-Guard | February 19, 2004 |
The outpouring of derisive letters against our apparently overpaid and over-benefited Lane Transit District workers illustrates the anger many of us feel over the demise of the working class.
The difficulties we face in obtaining living-wage jobs that also provide adequate health care for our families is immense. Unfortunately, these letters only work to encourage further subjugation of the working class.
This attitude that the workers should be happy with what they have or get is exactly what those who hold the power want to hear.
The LTD union is not asking for more, but asking to maintain what they already have. We thank you for your service by cutting your benefits? If we are truly outraged by the cost of health care or our lack thereof, why not attack the beliefs and bureaucracies that prevent the basic human right of health care?
Taking what we get is exactly what has gotten us where we are today: profits before people.
I'm sorry Carmen Getz (letters, Feb. 10) sees the LTD workers guilty of greed while we all are suffering. I say we're all in this together and hope the workers triumph, because their triumph is a triumph for us all.
Letter -- Bus driving cushy? Give it a try
By Rebecca Emerson, Springfield
The Register-Guard | February 20, 2005 |
In response to the Feb. 9 letter by Lynn Carrancho: It's obvious she put a great amount of emphasis on the cushy job of a bus driver, implying that Lane Transit District appears to have one of the best pay and benefit packages available to this community in exchange for very little physical labor.
Applications are being accepted for drivers as we speak. I would like to invite her to come and fill out an application. After all, there's nothing to it, and anyone can do it.
Other
Eugene City Beat: Survey shows the sentiments of many Eugene residents
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | February 20, 2005 |
Not long ago, crime, education and growth ranked as Eugene's main worries.
Now, job creation is Eugene's most important issue, according to the city's annual survey of residents. (more...)
Eugene City Beat: Mayor's road show
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | February 20, 2005 |
If you're planning to visit WinCo Foods on Tuesday, bring your shopping list and your thoughts about life in Eugene.
Mayor Kitty Piercy will be at the Barger Drive store from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. to learn what's on residents' minds. (more...)
Coburg solicits residents' priorities
By Karen McCowan
The Register-Guard | February 17, 2005 |
COBURG -- Residents are invited to weigh in tonight on the future direction of their city -- from its controversial police department to public works and city government issues. (more...)
Coburg Police Chief denies I-5 speed trap
COBURG -- Residents in Coburg reviewed the results of a public survey about the city's police department at a 'town hall' meeting Thursday night.
Citizens returned 110 survey questionnaires.
The responses indicated crime prevention and patrol should be the Coburg Police Department's top priority.
Traffic enforcement on Interstate-5 was ranked as the lowest priority. (more...)
Coburg weighs in on priorities
By Karen McCowan
The Register-Guard | February 18, 2005 |
COBURG -- Poll results released at a Town Hall meeting Thursday night show that city residents want Interstate 5 traffic patrols to be their police department's lowest priority, and remarks by the mayor and the new police chief indicate that Coburg is moving away from its notoriously aggressive freeway ticketing program. (more...)
Mayor hitting airwaves
| The Springfield News | February 18, 2005 |
Mayor Sid Leiken is on air, answering your questions.
Each Thursday, the mayor can be quizzed during a five minute "Ask the Mayor" segment on KMTR channel 16. Questions can be sent to newsdesk@kmtr.com for the mayor to field later on the air. The segment runs at about 5:15 p.m. Thursdays.
If you can't catch him there, every third Monday of the month the mayor is available for questions from 8:30 to 9 a.m. on KPNW 1120 a.m. The call-in show is a chance for community members to speak live with the mayor on what's happening in the community.
"What it tells me is other folks are really beginning to take notice that we're not a sideline community," Leiken said.
Eugene Developer Makes Large Salmon Donation
Just after seven o'clock in the morning on Wednesday, our plane lands in Seattle. On board: Suzanne Arlie, accompanied by officials from Food for Lane County, including Executive Director Pat Farr.
After a brief ride into the city, we arrive at Ocean Beauty Seafood. This is where they're preparing to ship nearly 35 thousand pounds of salmon patties to Lane County's hungriest families. "This is a God send, it's a blessing," remarks Farr.
The patties are available through a partnership with the nation's largest food bank, America's Second Harvest, and Sea Share, which connects the seafood industry with hunger relief agencies. "We were in line with a whole bunch of other food banks across the nation, but we got it first," explains Farr.
They got it first, according to Farr, because Food for Lane County had a willing donor in Eugene developer Suzanne Arlie, of Arlie and Company. She and her husband, John Musumeci, were quick to cover the cost of the salmon, which ran into the thousands. "We love that Food for Lane County touches so many people in the community, so we're happy to be able to partner with them to do something wonderful for people," says Arlie.
The patties are 92% Wild Alaskan Salmon, made from the paler pink salmon Ocean Beauty catches off the coast of Alaska. Each patty contains a full day supply of protein for an adult. Protein donations are the hardest to come by. In fact, this is the largest donation of protein ever given to Food for Lane County.
The donation is so large, it should feed the county's hungry for up to a year. "I'm ecstatic, I've been grinning for a week," says Farr, "This is one of the best things that's ever happened at Food for Lane County."
Suzanne Arlie says she'd like to make the salmon donation an annual gift to Food for Lane County.
Arlie & Co. donates food
| The Springfield News | February 16, 2005 |
An Arlie & Co. donation delivers 944 cases of salmon patties to FOOD for Lane County at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, at 770 Bailey Hill Rd., Eugene.
John and Suzanne Musumeci, Arlie & Company principals, purchased 33,574 pounds of northwest processed salmon patties, made available through a partnership between America's Second Harvest and Seattle's SeaShare and Ocean Beauty Seafoods.
The contribution allows the food bank to offer highly nutritious and much valued protein for food boxes and dinner programs.
Republicans say Arnold 'will be back' in 2006
| Los Angeles Daily News | February 14, 2005 |
SACRAMENTO -- California Republicans on Sunday formally endorsed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's candidacy, signaling his intention to run for re-election in 2006 and squashing any chance for a legitimate GOP challenger. (more...)
Resignation at CNN Shows the Growing Influence of Blogs
By Katherine Q. Seelye
The New York Times | February 14, 2005 |
With the resignation Friday of a top news executive from CNN, bloggers have laid claim to a prominent media career for the second time in five months. (more...)
Beware the blogs, for truth isn't a fact
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | February 16, 2005 |
It's one thing to stand on a street corner and shout opinions at the top of your lungs.
It's quite another to do it on the Internet.
The practice is "blogging" -- using a Web page as a journal for views, statements and information -- and its ability to rapidly steer public opinion has some people asking, what responsibility do these online announcers have to get it right? (more...)
Kathleen Parker -- Speak now, forever wish you hadn't
By Kathleen Parker
The Orlando Sentinel | February 16, 2005 |
With the recent toppling of CBS's Dan Rather and now CNN's top news executive, Eason Jordan, I think we can declare without fear of contradiction that rigor mortis is settling over the carcass of the Fourth Estate.
At least as we once knew it.
I make this pronouncement without pleasure, and in fact, suggest that we're really witnessing a double funeral. One is for traditional journalism as the omnipotent gatekeeper of information. As bloggers -- authors of Web logs -- have gleefully pointed out the past several days, everyone with access to the Internet is now a journalist. (more...)
The 'Media Party' is over
CBS' downfall is just the tip of the iceberg
By Howard Fineman, MSNBC contributor
MSNBC | January 13, 2005 |
WASHINGTON -- A political party is dying before our eyes -- and I don't mean the Democrats. I'm talking about the "mainstream media," which is being destroyed by the opposition (or worse, the casual disdain) of George Bush's Republican Party; by competition from other news outlets (led by the internet and Fox's canny Roger Ailes); and by its own fraying journalistic standards. At the height of its power, the AMMP (the American Mainstream Media Party) helped validate the civil rights movement, end a war and oust a power-mad president. But all that is ancient history.
Now the AMMP is reeling, and not just from the humiliation of CBS News. We have a president who feels it's almost a point of honor not to hold more press conferences -- he's held far fewer than any modern predecessor -- and doesn't seem to agree that the media has any "right" to know what's really going in inside his administration. The AMMP, meanwhile, is regarded with ever growing suspicion by American voters, viewers and readers, who increasingly turn for information and analysis only to non-AMMP outlets that tend to reinforce the sectarian views of discrete slices of the electorate. (more...)
Measure 37: Views
Letter -- Smells like a lot of sour grapes
By Don Richey, Eugene
The Register-Guard | February 16, 2005 |
The guest viewpoint by Liam Sherlock (Register-Guard, Feb. 3) on the passage of Measure 37 fairly reeks of sour grapes.
You gotta love it, though. Here we have a crybaby attorney who can no longer control how longtime landowners use their land publicly stating that his law firm will refuse to represent landowners who rightfully benefit financially from the passage of the measure. Only in Eugene.
I would like to offer a simple solution to Sherlock and others who share his thinking on this matter. If you have any reason to believe your neighbor is going to do something with his or her property that might adversely affect the value of yours, all you have to do is open your wallet, buy the property from your neighbor for whatever price is being asked and then turn around and sell it. The new owners will be bound to the current restrictive land use laws that land use dictators are so enamored with.
Other than that, one can sit in the corner and cry. Hey, it's a free country.
Bonnie Smith -- Let the land guide growth, not the state
By Bonnie Smith
The Register-Guard | February 17, 2005 |
In his Feb. 3 guest viewpoint on land use regulations, attorney Liam Sherlock speaks of "endless strip malls and subdivisions that mutate landscapes." When landowners are prevented from living in the country, they are forced to live in cities that now sprawl into prime farmland. Escalating urban populations are responsible for the strip malls, subdivisions, backed-up traffic, smog, and unaffordable housing -- not rural landowners, who lost their assets in land and the right to use it.
Sherlock is right: Measure 37 will benefit few. The only way justice can be restored is to abolish Senate Bill 100, Oregon's basic land use law, and allow people to live where they choose. (more...)
Bob Stacey -- Land-Use Limbo: Fenced in or fenced out?
"Transferable development credits" should be used as compensation under Measure 37
By Bob Stacey
The Oregonian | February 20, 2005 |
Oregonians love our state's landscapes. Oregonians love their neighborhoods. Time and again, 60 percent to 70 percent of Oregonians have said they want to keep community and land protections or make those protections even stronger, a recent poll confirms.
And yet, last November, 61 percent of Oregonians voted for Measure 37, which requires communities to waive safeguards for our neighborhoods, family farms and forests unless longtime property owners are paid to follow the law. A contradiction? I don't think so.
Oregon's voters hold these two views simultaneously, which they do not see as contradictory at all. We Oregonians want to protect our neighborhoods and working family farms, and we want to do it in a way that is fair.
Unfortunately, Measure 37 as written doesn't deliver on either of the voters' intentions. The Legislature has an opportunity to develop legislation that accomplishes both the things Oregonians want -- fairness to property owners, and strong community and land protections. (more...)
Measure 37: News
Measure 37 In Action
PLEASANT HILL -- When voters approved Measure 37 some Oregonians cheered, some jeered, but most didn't really know quite what would happen under the change to state statutes.
The provision allows for long-time landowners to be compensated, if land-use restrictions have since reduced their property value, or to have those zoning laws waived.
Claims have been filed across the state, but it's not the landslide of paperwork that some had expected. In Lane County none of the five Measure 37 claims currently on file are complete. Two are for land use restriction waivers, two for millions of dollars in compensation and the other doesn't define what the land owner is seeking.
We caught up with one pleasant hill family probably the furthest along in the process. (more...)
Finding intent in language
By Raelynn Ricarte, News Staff Writer
The Hood River News | February 15, 2005 |
State lawmakers host question-and-answer session with residents
Photo by Kirby Neumann-Rea
Measure 37 testimony was heard last Friday by a senate committee, which plans to study the issues involved with the new law. From right: Rep. Patti Smith joins Sens. Roger Beyer, Charley Ringo and Frank Shields.
Last week's Senate hearing in Hood River about Measure 37 has convinced Rep. Patti Smith that it is time for legislative action.
She said the testimony given by citizens -- both in support and opposition of the new law -- has highlighted the need for the state to review the text of Measure 37.
Smith, R-Corbett, also contends that elected officials need to scrutinize Oregon's land use system in its entirety. She plans to ask the House Land Use Committee, on which she sits, to take the lead role on those tasks.
Smith believes the central theme of Measure 37 is easy to understand -- citizens want their property rights restored and/or protected. The new law went into effect on Dec. 2 and requires government agencies to compensate a landowner when a regulation devalues property by lowering its use. In lieu of compensation, the agency may choose to waive the "offending" restriction. If the public entity takes no action within six months, the claimant can take the issue into court and seek to recoup attorney fees. (more...)
The Grandmother Clause
Why is Oregon's biggest green group keeping mum on a key land-use bill?
Last week, the Oregon Senate passed Senate Bill 348-a vote notable for two reasons. First, it showed that Oregon's most influential environmental defender, 1000 Friends of Oregon, is petrified of a little old lady from the West Hills.
Second, it showed that politics make strange bedfellows. Card-carrying green state Sen. Charlie Ringo (D-Beaverton) wrote the bill with help from Dave Hunnicutt-the Freddy Krueger of the property-rights movement.
Is there a new political reality in Salem? (more...)
County 1st in state to OK claims
Published: February 3, 2005
By David Bates
The (McMinnville) News-Register | |
Yamhill County commissioners blazed a trail for Oregon property rights advocates today, approving the first batch of Measure 37 claims before an audience that included a representative from the national media. (more...)
More 37 claims line up
By David Bates
The (McMinnville) News-Register | February 10, 2005 |
Yamhill County's processing of Measure 37 filings seems to have settled into a groove.
Requests to build -- single houses, clusters of houses and full-blown subdivisions -- continue to flow steadily into the county planning department. They are intended to pave the way for claims, and claims continue to follow -- including a new one this week from a branch of the Bernards family seeking to subdivide 232 acres into 12 building lots or be compensated to the tune of $1.9 million.
Meanwhile, Planning Director Mike Brandt continues to write staff reports recommending approval of those claims, as commissioners have ruled out compensating property owners under a law that was pitched to Oregonians as a compensation measure. (more...)
County lifts restrictions on five properties
By Carl Mickelson, Staff Writer
The Worldlink.com | February 17, 2005 |
The Coos County Board of Commissioners waived land-use restrictions Wednesday for five more properties whose owners who filed Measure 37 compensation claims with the county in the last few weeks. (more...)
Landowners cautioned on Measure 37 claims
County says in its current state the measure produces more questions than answers
By Damian Mann
The (Medford) Mail Tribune | February 17, 2005 |
Casting a shadow over authorization of three more Measure 37 claims Wednesday, Jackson County commissioners cautioned property owners they could be stepping into a legal thicket. (more...)
Rural Rage
Some King County residents look at secession as the answer
By Steve Maynard
The (Tacoma, Washington) News Tribune | February 18, 2005 |
Over a breakfast of ham, eggs and cheese in his office, Enumclaw livestock auctioneer Ronald Mariotti accused King County of stealing his private property rights. (more...)