Health Options Digest
March 27, 2005
Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield (CHOICES)
In This Issue
From the Editor
Regional Cooperation
A key issue for the new PeaceHealth hospital, and also for a new McKenzie-Willamette hospital, is regional cooperation -- or the lack thereof. Should Springfield be able to allow a hospital that takes jobs away from Eugene, or vice versa? The courts ruled that legally they can: The question of whether or not to allow a hospital (or another major development) on a particular parcel of land is a local issue to be decided by the city with jurisdiction.
But this legal answer isn't satisfactory, as we are reminded by a short item in the latest Eugene Weekly about enterprise zones. Should Eugene grant tax waivers in enterprise zones that indirectly benefit workers commuting from, say, Veneta and Junction City?
More broadly, the lines on the map that separate Eugene from Springfield and both cities from surrounding communities are artificial at best. People who live in Veneta may work in Springfield and shop in Eugene, and hence benefit from public services in all these communities. But they pay taxes only where they live. Does that make sense? Is that fair?
Myron Orfield, who served in the Minnesota legislature and who is currently a law professor at the University of Minnesota, championed a successful tax-sharing system in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region that enables growth to occur where it makes the most sense -- not just where one city is able to beat out a neighboring city for some plum development. He describes his ideas in a book titled American Metro Politics: The New Suburban Reality. For a good summary, see the review in The Cincinnati Post on May 22, 2002.
While the Eugene-Springfield area is not yet large enough to face the problems of inner cities that America's largest cities have faced, the scarcity of affordable housing and the desire for family wage jobs is tearing apart our region in ways that don't make sense. Wouldn't it be great if the different parts of the region could cooperate to do what is best for everyone?
Week In Review
Last Monday to no one's surprise, the Springfield City Council approved PeaceHealth's master plan for its RiverBend site, clearing the way for construction to begin in a few months.
But David Rodriguez, who recently has been raising warning flags around the risk of catastrophic flooding, issued a news release that he is filing an appeal with the Oregon Lane Use Board of Appeals (LUBA).
We haven't heard any recent news about McKenzie-Willamette's plans, but another forum is scheduled for this Tuesday.
As the Bush administration makes an overhaul of the Social Security system a top priority, those with less reason to be political are highlighting that it's actually the Medicare system that is in need of reform.
More broadly, the health care system in America is broken. Many small business owners and the workers they employ can't afford health insurance. But a national health insurance may not be the answer.
Apparently, Lane County isn't the only place where there's been a dispute around relocating a hospital. Pittsburgh is struggling with whether or how to relocate its Butler Memorial Hospital.
Check out Arlie's web site for the Crescent Village development out Coburg Road. It's a pretty nice looking virtual development. But can Arlie succeed in turning those good ideas into bricks and mortar filled by thriving businesses and busy shoppers? At least Arlie is putting a lot of energy (and money) into developing those ideas.
In other news, Williams Bakery is seeking a tax waiver to develop in Glenwood, the new National Guard Armory is starting to take shape in Springfield, citizens are looking to transform the Union Pacific railyard, and the new federal courthouse is winning architectural acclaim.
Russell Sadler notes that "America is literally falling apart," as we aren't keeping up our infrastructure: roads, water and sewage systems, schools, etc.
Speaking of which, Lane County is looking for enough money to patch potholes and keep roads in good working order. After having rejected the idea before, look for a single countywide gas tax, as Eugene, Springfield and Florence have already adopted city gas taxes.
In a case similar to PeaceHealth, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is working out a deal to allow a Home Depot near an Interstate-5 interchange in southern Oregon. It's a good thing, too. ODOT recently supported weakening its own leverage in such cases -- kind of like cutting off its own nose to help developers clog the roadways.
And in more bad news for ODOT, which is trying to deliver highway projects faster, it appears that faster isn't always better. A new bridge south of Roseburg has already started to crack, and may need to be replaced again in as little as 20 years.
One fallout of the LTD labor dispute could be a change to have the LTD board of directors elected by the public. But it appears that LTD and business leaders like the current system whereby the Governor appoints people, often recommended by LTD or business leaders, to the board. The decision currently rests with the Oregon Senate Transportation Committee, whose only local member is Senator Floyd Prozanski.
Chief Judge David Brewer, who helped to settle the dispute over a new hospital at RiverBend, also helped to sort out issues around the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS).
Eugene Planning and Development Director Tom Coyle is leaving for a better job in Kansas City, Missouri. Although he has been getting praise for making his department more customer friendly, we were disappointed with his idea to allow a hospital essentially anywhere in Eugene -- a bad idea that the courts struck down as inconsistent with Eugene's own plans.
Lastly, we continue to offer a sampling of Measure 37 news and views from around the state and beyond. While some think Measure 37 is just a technical issue that will affect few people, it is actually part of a tide pressing to put the good of the few ahead of the good of the many. See the excellent stories by Richard Louv and Randy Gragg.
Looking Ahead
On Tuesday, McKenzie-Willamette will hold the second of two public forums on their plans to relocate to the EWEB site.
On Wednesday, the Railroad Pollution Coalition is holding an all-community meeting on issues with the Union Pacific railyard.
On Thursday, Senator Floyd Prozanski and Representative Paul Holvey will hold a town hall meeting in Veneta.
Also on Thursday, the River Road/Santa Clara Transition Team will meet to work on a transition plan.
Rob Zako, Editor
343-5201
rzako@efn.org
Calendar
Tuesday, March 29 -- McKenzie-Willamette sets forums on possible move
| The Register-Guard | March 10, 2005 |
McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center invites residents on Wednesday and March 29 to share their views about a new hospital in Eugene.
McKenzie-Willamette and its majority owner, Triad Hospitals Inc., have been working to move the Springfield hospital to the Eugene Water & Electric Board property along the Willamette River near downtown Eugene.
The public forums will give residents a chance to tell McKenzie-Willamette officials where they think a hospital should be built and what the development should include, among other things.
Both meetings will be at 7 p.m. in the EWEB north building conference room. For more information about McKenzie-Willamette's plans to build a hospital, visit the Web site www.mckweb.com, or call 726-4789.
Wednesday, March 30 -- Railroad Pollution Coalition
| Eugene Weekly | March 24, 2005 |
The Railroad Pollution Coalition (RPC) all-community meeting will take place from 7 to 9 pm Wednesday, March 30, at the American Red Cross Building, 862 Bethel Dr. For more information, contact the RPC at 689-6372 or rhandy@efn.org
Thursday, March 31 -- Prozanski/Holvey Town Hall Meeting -- Veneta
Senator Floyd Prozanski and Representative Paul Holvey are going to have a town hall at the Veneta City Hall (88184 Eighth Street) starting at 6:30 pm and stopping around 8:00 pm. There will be a brief update about the legislative sessions and then it will be an open forum for people ask any questions they would like.
Thursday, March 31 -- Task force to hold meeting
| The Register-Guard | March 14, 2005 |
After several weeks of deliberations and reviewing nominations, the River Road/Santa Clara Transition Team has lined up people who will serve on a citizen task force to help prepare a transition plan.
The plan's purpose is to establish a partnership between residents of River Road and Santa Clara, city and county staff and elected officials, and special district providers.
The next meeting is March 31, at 7 p.m. at the Irving Grange, 1011 Irvington. The public is encouraged to attend. To join the transition mailing list, contact Julie Fisch by e-mail: juliefisch@msn.com or phone 689-4802.
Friday, April 8 -- HOPES Conference Design Charrette
| Eugene Weekly | March 24, 2005 |
A public review of the designs [for the Union Pacific railyard] from the HOPES conference charrette will take place from 3 to 5 pm on Friday, April 8, at 206 Lawrence Hall at UO.
For more information, contact Lilah Glick at lglick@uoregon.edu
Opportunities
Applicants needed for county committees
| The Register-Guard | March 18, 2005 |
The Lane County Board of Commissioners is seeking applications from residents interested in serving on the Lane County Mental Health Advisory Committee.
Committee responsibility includes serving on subcommittees and requires two to four daytime meetings per month. The board advises on matters relating to mental health, developmental disabilities, and alcohol and drug abuse in Lane County by reviewing major policies of the community mental health program.
The deadline to apply is April 22. To request an application, call 682-4203. For more information, call Rob Rockstroh at 682-4035.
The county also seeks applications from residents interested in serving on the Lane County Planning Commission. The commission makes recommendations to the commissioners regarding comprehensive plan issues and amendments. Applicants must be residents of Lane County west of the east boundary of the Mapleton School District. To request an application by mail, please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope and mark your request to the attention of Ethel at the address listed below. The deadline to apply is April 15. For information, call 682-4203.
Applications for both groups are available in the Board of Commissioners' Office located on the Plaza Level of the Public Service Building, 125 E. Eighth Avenue in Eugene.
PeaceHealth
RiverBend Hospital gets 'thumbs up'
SPINGFIELD -- The Springfield city council has approved the RiverBend Hospital master plan.
The vote was the last major hurdle facing PeaceHealth before construction could begin at the RiverBend site in north Springfield. (more...)
PeaceHealth project takes a major step
By Greg Bolt
The Register-Guard | March 22, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- After three years and what might rank among the most expensive land use approval processes in Lane County history, PeaceHealth seems finally on the verge of realizing its dream of a $350 million regional medical center in north Springfield.
The Springfield City Council on Monday night gave final approval to the master plan for the development and the zone changes needed for the project to move ahead. The next step is for PeaceHealth to submit a detailed site plan, which could happen later this week and also may result in building permits being issued as early as May. (more...)
David Rodriguez -- PeaceHealth at RiverBend -- LUBA Appeal Pending
| By David Rodriguez | March 22, 2005 |
NEWS RELEASE
Monday evening the Springfield City Council approved the Master Plan for PeaceHealth.
On Friday, each Council Member received a proposal in the mail that would have avoided an Appeal, however the City chose to ignore that proposal, and in fact the Mayor did not disclose the accurate nature of that correspondence before the audience. The proposal offered the City, the option of not proceeding with the Master Plan until conducting the appropriate Channel Migration Study. This would have averted an Appeal and the likelihood of their ultimately having to conduct this analysis. Apparently the City did not want to take a chance on such a study, probably because they fear it would have resulted in unfavorable findings for the project. Now an Appeal to LUBA (Land use Board of Appeals) will take place on several grounds, possibly including some of those not fulfilled by 'Choices'.
The Master Plan remains flawed in several ways. (This list is not inclusive of all factors)
1) The hospital's medical laboratory is being placed in a flood channel. This is a FEMA designated Flood Hazard Zone, which also flooded in 1996 and was illicitly blocked during that flood. Everyone remembers when the Sony Building flooded, and that was less then a 25 Yr Flood Event. A Medical Lab is considered a 'Critical Facility' due to its hazardous materials contents, and yet the fact that it is being placed well below the 500 Year Floodplain, is being whitewashed. Part of the proposed hospital would also block this Flood Hazard channel. This is supported by the City's own 2001 CAD map which even shows where water flowed in 1996. A 1990 City CAD map demonstrates this fill did not previously exist. The Master Plan fails to properly address this and related issues.
2) The City has continually ignored the fact that PeaceHealth's so called experts have NEVER addressed the risk of Channel Migration in their 4 years of Floodplain Study. Floodplain is different then Channel Migration and not covered by FEMA. The same type of disastrous event as happened in Thurston a few years ago, can happen at RiverBend. It was only 1 month ago that PeaceHealth's Floodplain Expert admitted he has never personally reviewed the historic aerial photos for that stretch of river to review channel movement. Then, two weeks later, he didn't even seem to know, or chose not to inform the Council, about what was significant about channel changes in that Meander. Anybody who walks out the end of Baldy View Lane to the river, can see how the river is spread all over the place through here. This is a sign of instability that cannot be ignored! The river is nearing a point in time where it will need to establish a new channel through here due to the restrictions that have evolved, and since the present channel remnants are no longer 'efficient' through this stretch. The 'chute' that developed through this Meander half a century ago was likely a human caused premature avulsion that merely bought time before a major event! A Fluvial Geomorphologist who specializes in Channel Migration has confirmed the risks to Springfield, and yet the City chose to ignore his warnings too. http://www.pacinfo.com/~osprey/2002Centered.jpg
3) The City completely ignored the risk of the 'bottleneck' in the river on the downstream end of the site in their Planning Process. If this is inaccurate, let them prove it as well as the above. They can't because they buried the risks. Any realignment or avulsion across the meander, will send deposits into the bottleneck. This can exacerbate flooding throughout Gateway, sending river floodwaters far outside its banks. This bottleneck could even have an impact on I-5 not far downstream, because an old river channel exists there. Even an Official from ODFW tried to warn the City last year about filling in the floodplain due to this bottleneck. Human lives could even be lost in the rescue efforts.
4) The environmental risks this foolhardy development poses down river was entirely ignored throughout the entire process. A realignment could literally send some buildings and their contents NE of the hospital, down river. Once the toe of the revetment is undercut during a flood event, land is easily washed away, and there is nothing that can be done until after the floods recede. Building materials, sheetrock, insulation, etc, will enter the waterway. Imagine what insulation does to fishes' gills.
5) Finally, the City never required PeaceHealth to perform an updated Economic Analyses with McKenzie Willamette's move to Eugene. I have heard an estimate from a Mckenzie Willamette doctor, that Peacehealth could lose as much as 40% of their patients.
The City of Springfield and PeaceHealth are subjecting this community and the public at large, to significant risk and liability for the sake of glory, greed, and pride. They are each being negligent! A channel change at RiverBend, with all of the proposed development in place, could result in one of the most catastrophic flood events in the Northwest. These people are out of their league and messing with things they do not understand. When the river changes course through here, which it will some day in one way or another, it will happen during a major flood event, buildings will be lost to the river, and they will be unable to stop it until the floods recede. Incising ofthe channel would undercut the toe of the revetment. Because of the muddy waters, you don't see that the revetment has given way, until you notice the last rocks near the surface drop away. Cities and Counties down river, will file lawsuit after lawsuit against Springfield for their cleanup costs. All due to Springfield's negligence in acceptance of these absolute risks. Yet, why should Springfield Officials fear this, they are indemnified. I'm not sure that will remain the case if people die due to their documented negligence.
This whole community is being set up for a major catastrophe. With the bad precedent Springfield is setting, of having both hospitals trying to out do each other with river views, the region could literally lose access to both its hospitals during a catastrophic flood! Does the news media recognize this? Both hospitals are being proposed on the outside bend of the river. Any Fool should know not to build on the outside bend of a river! Allow the public access to this information! RiverBend is the worst, being located directly adjacent to a Meander.
Last night the Mayor stated that RiverBend will be an example throughout the State. He is correct, only RiverBend will become an example of how a community foolishly builds where rivers can migrate. 'RiverBend' will become the 'poster child' example for instituting laws in Oregon to prevent such foolish developments. Recognition of Lateral Channel Migration in Oregon will finally come of age thanks to RiverBend.
As for my reasons for pursuing this. I have nothing to gain by preventing a hospital here. I am not opposed to seeing a new hospital built, just not here. Everyone in this community seen what happened in Thurston where the river realigned. I had a first hand view. The same or similar will someday happen at RiverBend. This is what river Meanders do. The City of Springfield learned nothing from a mirrored natural disaster that happened in their own community! The City of Springfield is NEGLIGENT!
Parties will now discuss alternatives for a LUBA Appeal. All recipients except for the Mayor have been BCC'd this news release.
David Rodriguez
87984 Heather Drive
Springfield, Oregon 97478
(541) 747-5093
John Haughom -- RiverBend hospital part of new era of health care
By John Haughom
The Register-Guard | March 27, 2005 |
Humankind is on the verge of gaining immense new power to heal. The greatest advantage to a new Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield is the ability to harness this new power and use it to help patients. Now that the RiverBend master plan has been approved, these new technologies and the improvements they bring are within our grasp.
Patients will soon be presented with dramatic new diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities. Health care will be more effective, less invasive and safer. A few examples illustrate the power of what is to come. (more...)
McKenzie-Willamette/Triad
Letter -- City should have paid for trip
By Bill Welch, Eugene
The Register-Guard | March 22, 2005 |
I am concerned about the appropriateness of Eugene's mayor, two city councilors and the city manager flying to Oro Valley, Ariz., on a Triad corporate jet (Register-Guard, March 13).
By disclosing they were traveling courtesy of Triad Hospitals Inc., the city officials avoided violating the code of ethics in the Eugene City Charter and Oregon Revised Statues. While legal, accepting the travel favor in the company of McKenzie-Willamette and Triad representatives extinguished any glimmer of objectivity that might have remained about the city's intentions for developing the Eugene Water & Electric Board's riverfront site.
I have no issue with Eugene city officials traveling to visit other city officials to discuss the merits of Triad as a developer, but the trip should have been paid out of the city's travel budget and should not have included the company representatives. Accepting free travel in the corporate jet of a potential suitor with representatives of the companies who stand to benefit shows poor judgment. Although no ethical violations occurred, the actions gave the appearance of a special relationship with Triad.
This is a contentious issue and should be treated in a squeaky-clean manner by the City Council and other city officials. It might be an equally good idea for city officials to see if there is a city whose experience with Triad was not so positive and visit it for counterpoint. I wonder if Triad would offer to pick up the tab for that visit, too.
Letter -- EWEB should revise sale price
By Dan Herbert, Eugene
The Register-Guard | March 27, 2005 |
The Eugene Water & Electric Board's commissioners and general manager recently outlined their policy on the possible sale of their riverfront site. They said they would base their asking price on a consultant's preliminary estimate, due in September, for the cost of building a new facility on their site in west Eugene. This policy has three problems:
First, preliminary cost estimates always include significant allowances for contingencies. These allowances cover unknown costs due to incomplete plans, inflation of construction costs, construction-stage change orders and other factors -- typically totaling 35 percent to 40 percent of hard costs. Including all of these preliminary allowances would distort the basis for pricing the site.
Second, some cost savings won't appear in the cost estimate. A new EWEB campus should reduce operating costs, so these savings should offset some of the estimated replacement costs. Also, EWEB's savings in not having to update obsolete buildings at the old site could offset replacement costs still further. These offsets should reduce the asking price for the riverfront site.
Third, EWEB's decision will affect the whole city. It's true that EWEB is formally independent of city government, but it must look beyond its own internal objectives, however worthy.
Before the estimate appears in September, EWEB should reconsider its policy on pricing the riverfront site. It should honor the wider community's evolving goals for planning and health care.
Health Care
Medicare may raise premiums 12 percent
By Kristen Hallam
Bloomberg News | March 25, 2005 |
Medicare may raise U.S. seniors' health-insurance premiums by 12 percent next year because of higher payments to doctors, a government report showed.
The increase would push premiums for physician visits up 49 percent over three years to $87.70 a month, the health-insurance program's trustees said in an annual report Thursday. (more...)
Editorial -- What about Medicare? Trustees' report shows where crisis lies
| The Register-Guard | March 26, 2005 |
President Bush's plans to reform Social Security have encountered some stubborn obstacles. First, the Social Security system is not in immediate financial trouble. Second, even if the program were in distress, the president's proposal for private retirement accounts would not fix the problem. And third, the Social Security debate diverts attention from Medicare, where the real crisis lies. (more...)
Jeff Jacoby -- National health insurance: the wrong Rx
By Jeff Jacoby
The Boston Globe | March 22, 2005 |
There is a bumper sticker on the car ahead of me as I drive down Interstate 93. In white letters on a navy background, it proclaims: "Single-Payer Health Care!" That's it. There is no argument, no attempt at logic or emotion or humor -- just an impatient demand for the drastic transformation of one-seventh of the US economy. And note the exclamation point. That is to communicate earnestness, certitude, and indignation -- classic elements of the liberal approach to policymaking: When promoting radical change, passion and good intentions are what matter most. Real-world consequences count for far less.
As it happens, the real-world consequences of single-payer healthcare -- also known as socialized medicine or national health insurance -- are well-documented. Single-payer care exists in Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, and much of Western Europe. And wherever it has been tried, writes John C. Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis, "rationing by waiting is pervasive, putting patients at risk and keeping them in pain." (more...)
Debate continues over site, plan for Butler Memorial Hospital
By Len Barcousky
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | March 21, 2005 |
Dr. Ronald Cypher learned he would not be reappointed to the Butler Memorial Hospital board at the very end of what turned out to be his last meeting.
He believes that he was replaced after eight years because he has questioned plans to move the hospital to a new site.
The hospital's president offered a more innocent explanation. Butler Memorial simply wanted to make its board more diverse by reducing the proportion of physicians, Joseph Stewart said.
The dispute over Cypher's reappointment may be symbolic of the dispute over rebuilding or relocating the venerable community hospital that sits very near the geographic center of Butler County: Different people look at the same information and draw very different conclusions. (more...)
Nearby Developments
Slant -- Enterprise Zones
| Eugene Weekly | March 24, 2005 |
We've heard that 72 percent of employed Veneta residents work in Eugene, and more than 50 percent of Springfield breadwinners work in Eugene. We count these as Eugene jobs, but most of the earnings are spent elsewhere, and these folks' property taxes support other school districts, other police and fire departments. It's time to broaden our thinking about our local economy. We're all simmering in this economic pot together. Here's a radical thought: Let's help facilitate economic development in surrounding towns as far away as Florence and Junction City in order to reduce commuter traffic and open up more jobs for the unemployed here in Eugene. Enterprise zones? Ban them within the Eugene city limits. They just exacerbate the problem.
Sprawl fostering segregation
Book critiques tri-state growth
By Barry M. Horstman
The Cincinnati Post | May 22, 2002 |
Greater Cincinnati is becoming more segregated -- and its schools and communities increasingly destabilized -- by "economically and environmentally wasteful" development patterns that are "tugging apart" the region, says an expert on regional planning in a new book.
"American Metro Politics," a detailed statistical analysis of growth in America's 25 largest metropolitan areas, finds that decades of suburban sprawl have widened racial and economic disparities throughout the tri-state, leaving many communities struggling to meet growing social demands and environmental challenges.
The book's author, Minnesota state Sen. Myron Orfield, said that Greater Cincinnati's growth -- in which land is being developed at a rate five times greater than the increase in population -- has created a "new suburban reality" that shatters the image of the suburbs as a haven largely unaffected by inner-city problems. (more...)
About Crescent Village
The dream of creating an improved quality of life in Eugene/Springfield inspired us to create an urban village where people can live, work, shop and relax without relying on an automobile.
Crescent Village recalls a time when the grocery store, restaurants, entertainment and even work were just down the street or around the corner; a pedestrian-friendly place defined by a vibrant town center and tree-lined streets.
Crescent Village aspires to bring people together with wide sidewalks, park benches, gathering areas, front porches and balconies. The garages, driveways and parking are in back where they belong.
This unique neighborhood features townhouses, row houses, garden apartments, and lofts over retail spaces -- all with easy access to rapid mass transit, city-wide bike pathways, Interstate 5 and Beltline Highway.
We invite your calls and inquiries for information.
New bakery seeks tax exemption
By Christian Wihtol
The Register-Guard | March 22, 2005 |
GLENWOOD -- The place won't be built for another year, but the planned Williams' Bakery in Glenwood already is generating a flurry of paperwork.
The bakery owner, Portland-based United States Bakery, has filed a site review application with Springfield unveiling details of the project -- including that the buildings will total 166,300 square feet and the structures and equipment will cost more than $30 million.
The company also has filed a request for an enterprise zone tax exemption, which would exempt the bakery from about $450,000 a year in property taxes for three years. The company says it plans to file later for an additional two years of exemptions, which would require a separate agreement with the city. (more...)
Springfield Armory Takes Shape
The new National Guard Armory in Springfield is just beginning to take shape.
Thanks to some unique partnerships, the Federal Government is footing the entire bill. (more...)
For the Long Haul
Neighborhood Coalition Works to Transform the Eugene Railyard
By Melinda Young
Eugene Weekly | March 24, 2005 |
Becky Riley bought a home with her husband in the River Road neighborhood 14 years ago, and she didn't think about the implications of living eight blocks away from the Union Pacific (UP) railyard. The neighborhood seemed idyllic -- bursting with alder trees, well-manicured yards and even small duck ponds.
These days, however, Riley, 46, spends a good portion of time and energy thinking about the implications of living by that railyard. (more...)
Editorial -- A landmark arises: Courthouse architect wins coveted prize
| The Register-Guard | March 23, 2005 |
Most local residents thought they were watching a new federal courthouse rise up in downtown Eugene. Turns out they were partly right: It's also a $70 million, 267,000 square-foot, four-story -- and already internationally acclaimed -- architectural landmark. (more...)
Russell Sadler -- A whopping public works bill is in the mail
| The Register-Guard | March 21, 2005 |
America is literally falling apart. That is the opinion of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
The society's recent report on the nation's civic infrastructure says crowded schools, transit cutbacks and traffic-choked highways are eroding the nation's quality of life. Conditions in these three categories of public works have continued to deteriorate since the civil engineers' last reports in 2001 and 2003.
Conditions also worsened in such categories as local roads, drinking water, wastewater treatment, hazardous waste, energy and navigable waterways. On a slightly brighter note, conditions remained the same for bridges, solid waste disposal systems and dams. (more...)
Transportation
Fuel for thought: New gas tax
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | March 24, 2005 |
Stealing a page from the cities within its borders, Lane County will study whether to impose a gas tax.
Public Works Director Ollie Snowden will propose a county gas tax Wednesday to a roads committee, which may forward the idea to the commissioners for review in May. The gas tax money would be used for road work. (more...)
Editorial -- Fixing the road fund: Lane County must do more than add a gas tax
| The Register-Guard | March 25, 2005 |
Lane County officials say the needle on the county's road fund could be bouncing on the empty mark within four years unless new sources of revenue are found or spending is reduced. This crisis presents an excellent opportunity for the county to scrap its antiquated transportation funding system and craft another that meets the long-term needs of the county and the cities within its boundaries. (more...)
Gas prices: Drivers use wrong vehicle to express frustration
By Serena Markstrom
The Register-Guard | March 26, 2005 |
Rising gas prices are a sign of the times, and being the gas station employee responsible for switching the numbers to reflect the higher prices is not a choice job.
David Maggard, manager of the Campus Service Station on Franklin Boulevard in Eugene, is bemused by the response of some motorists to prices that have been rising daily.
While changing the station's price signs, he's seen drivers swing U-turns, then pull in wondering if they made it in time to save as little as a penny a gallon. (more...)
Jeff Johnston -- Train tunnel idea entirely unrealistic
By Jeff Johnston
The Register-Guard | March 27, 2005 |
Dennis "Whitey" Lueck's March 20 Commentary article about placing a portion of the railroad through downtown Eugene in a trench was interesting. Sure, it was fanciful, and it ignored the real financial picture as well as physical and mechanical realities. Other than that, it was interesting. (more...)
Closer to Home (Depot)
By Robert Plain
The Ashland Daily Tidings | March 19, 2005 |
After months and months of pleasant conversation, business wrangling and downright horse-trading, the City of Phoenix, Home Depot and the Oregon Department of Transportation have reached the final days in what could finally yield a deal to build a new home improvement superstore at the Fern Valley Road interchange along Interstate 5.
Late Thursday afternoon, all parties necessary to broker the deal met at the Phoenix Public Works building. The freeway interchange is the last remaining obstacle and an absolute necessity for Home Depot to finalize plans to build a store in Phoenix. After the city of Phoenix voted to approve the store's project, ODOT appealed the matter to Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals.
Sen. Alan Bates and Rep. Peter Buckley facilitated negotiations between Jim Hanks, Home Depot's traffic planner; Art Anderson, the Oregon Department of Transportation's Rogue Valley area manager; Phoenix Mayor Vicki Bear; and landowner Bob Robertson.
By the end of the meeting -- with prompting from Bates -- a tentative deal had been reached, pending approval of several parties, especially Home Depot, which must come up with an additional $600,000 to contribute to the cost of improving the interchange. (more...)
Audit highlights cracks in bridge, program
| The Associated Press | March 21, 2005 |
PORTLAND -- A state audit shows problems with the construction of a new bridge paid for by the increase in drivers' fees that's aimed at financing $2.5 billion in highway and bridge improvements across the state.
The Fords Bridge was dedicated with much pomp and circumstance last May, the first of many destined for repairs under the statewide construction program. It replaced a key Interstate 5 bridge south of Roseburg.
But though transportation officials say the Fords Bridge is safe, concrete on both its spans already had started to crack by last spring's dedication ceremony, because of the way the concrete had been poured.
According to the audit obtained by a Portland newspaper, the $12.8 million bridge will probably require frequent repairs and last 20, maybe 40 years -- far from the projected life of 75 to 100 years.
The internal audit also revealed broader problems, beyond just the Fords Bridge. (more...)
Republicans press for quick settlement in bridge labor investigation
| The Associated Press | March 25, 2005 |
SALEM -- The state Bureau of Labor and Industries is investigating whether the lead contractor underpaid 45 workers who helped build the Fords Bridge south of Roseburg.
At issue is whether Huffman-Wright paid the state-mandated prevailing wage for the different kinds of work performed during the two-year project. Wage rates can vary depending on the specific tasks workers perform, said Christine Hammond, administrator of the bureau's Wage and Hour Division. (more...)
Legislators challenge labor inquiry
Four Republicans ask state labor officials to accept a contractor's offer to resolve a question of wages paid for bridge work
By Janie Har
The Oregonian | March 25, 2005 |
The lead contractor on a troubled $12.8 million state bridge project in Southern Oregon may have underpaid workers by about $250,000, according to an ongoing investigation by the state Bureau of Labor and Industries.
The bureau's challenge to wages paid to build Fords Bridge south of Roseburg has drawn the attention of four Republican state lawmakers who are pressing state Labor Commissioner Dan Gardner for a resolution that could cost the builder, Huffman-Wright, far less than the disputed wages. (more...)
Lane Transit District
LTD Rollback -- March 22, 2005, Advertisement
| ATU 757 Lane Transit District Workers | March 22, 2005 |
It Was Always a Matter of Choices...
Dear Passengers and Fellow Citizens:
We want to thank the many, many people who chose to step forward and play a role in helping to resolve the recent labor dispute. Most especially, we want to thank the following: (more...)
Bill revives effort to have LTD board elected locally
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | March 22, 2005 |
A week after ending a long, contentious contract negotiation with its union, the Lane Transit District on Monday was playing defense again, this time at a legislative hearing in Salem.
A public hearing was held on a bill that would require local election of the seven-member LTD board. Currently, the positions are appointed by the governor. (more...)
Letter -- Buses aren't an inconvenience
By Dean Jackson, Eugene
The Register-Guard | March 22, 2005 |
As a person who has relied on the bus for 20 years, I was disappointed at the mean-spirited letters directed at Lane Transit District recently. One letter really takes the cake: a tribute to selfishness penned by Glenn McMullen (letters, March 15).
McMullen wishes "the Lane Transit District had never gone back to work." Is he upset at the taxes required to fund LTD? Is he angry that some routes lose money? Is he bitter because the buses he sees have few riders? No. McMullen didn't even take the time to spew out these often-used bogus criticisms of LTD.
He has his very own reason for wishing LTD's demise: Buses slow him down. Occasionally, he has to yield to a bus and this angers him.
Too bad if you are a wheelchair user and need to get to your doctor. Legally blind (my case) and need to get to work? Tough luck. Just a student and need LTD to get to school every day? Sorry, dude. In McMullen's mind, none of us are worthy of a transit system. It is simply too inconvenient for him.
We have a great transit system. I am glad they are back up and running. As for McMullen, he should take a moment and think about someone other than himself. There are others out here who help pay for and need the use of the public roads.
Gerry Gaydos -- As strikes go, LTD's had a happy ending
By Gerry Gaydos
The Register-Guard | March 24, 2005 |
I have never been more pleased to be behind a Lane Transit District bus on the way to work than I was a week ago Monday morning, less than 24 hours after union members voted overwhelmingly to approve a three-year contract and end the week-long strike. Thank goodness.
After 11 long months at the bargaining table, the LTD board of directors and management believe that the new contract gives both the district and the union what they were each seeking: a mechanism to control escalating costs while maintaining an excellent wage and benefit package and safe working conditions.
The new contract also gives our community what it was seeking: assurance that bus riders can continue to get from here to there safely, comfortably and inexpensively. To welcome back riders, free service was offered from Monday through Sunday during the week after the strike. (more...)
Letter -- Bus strike was sign of failure
By Klaus Putjenter, Eugene
The Register-Guard | March 26, 2005 |
The Eugene-Springfield region, including more remote parts of Lane County, has been well served by an adequate and suitable bus system, financed in large part by tax monies.
The Lane Transit District management is responsible for the efficient organization and execution of this service, including the carrying out of contracted provisions. For years, things have worked well, until it came to the recent conflict between the leadership and the organized bus system workers.
The details of the dispute are not the subject of this letter -- indeed, they distract attention from the main point, which is the little-noted fact that LTD administers a transportation monopoly.
LTD is not a producer of consumer goods which, in the case of work cessation, can be purchased somewhere else. LTD management shamelessly took advantage of its monopolistic hold on the bus transport market, with the burden falling on the bus riders, in order to push through a company decision.
On top of that, and unnecessarily, the taxpayers and LTD users are forced to pay for this idiocy. The result of all the hullabaloo should have been that if the LTD management wasn't capable of leading its workers to an agreement based on understanding, then it should have been considered to have failed in its public duty and ought to have been dissolved.
Entry Tower
SPRINGFIELD -- The Lane Transit District has big plans for the new Springfield Station and on Saturday the seven point three million dollar project saw a major addition. The new entry tower cost about 90 thousand dollars. (more...)
Call LTD'S new tower functional, call it pretty, but don't call it...
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | March 26, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Given the city's sometimes-tortured history with public art, Lane Transit District wants to make clear that the entry tower at its new Springfield Station is NOT, repeat, NOT art.
The tower is a landmark, according to Cosette Rees, a marketing representative for the district. (more...)
Other News
Profile: This judge refuses to court
By Bill Bishop
The Register-Guard | March 21, 2005 |
Judges are like sports referees, says Chief Judge David Brewer of the Oregon Court of Appeals.
The good ones don't draw a lot of attention to themselves.
And so Brewer says he loathes the limelight that fell on him after the biggest court ruling in state history, in which he was appointed to sort out the morass of issues regarding the Public Employees Retirement System reforms in advance of the Oregon Supreme Court's ruling. (more...)
Eugene planning director takes position in Missouri
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | March 23, 2005 |
Tom Coyle, credited with making Eugene's planning department more responsive to developers while also sticking to the city's planning goals, on Tuesday announced that he's leaving to become planning director of Kansas City, Mo. (more...)
City manager to cast a wide net in replacing planning director
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | March 27, 2005 |
Perhaps Eugene shouldn't send any more planning directors to American Planning Association conferences.
Four years ago, Paul Farmer attended the group's national convention in New Orleans. While there, he announced that he would leave his job as Eugene's planning and development director.
Last Tuesday, his successor, Tom Coyle, announced his resignation while he was at the American Planning Association's national meeting, this time in San Francisco. (more...)
Editorial -- Why not Wi-Fi? It's time to consider a downtown network
| The Register-Guard | March 27, 2005 |
Try this on for size: "Eugene -- the city that clicks." Don't like it? How about "Eugene -- the city that surfs"? Or "Eugene -- a really hot spot"?
OK, the slogan needs work, but the idea is intriguing. Picture a wireless Internet system that covers all of downtown Eugene and that allows anyone with a laptop computer to snag e-mail or pay bills, check movie times or make dinner reservations -- or even chat with the "fam" back home in Duluth. (more...)
Measure 37
Letter -- Fix Measure 37 mess
By Jason Hartz, Eugene
The Register-Guard | March 21, 2005 |
The Legislature needs to act decisively to address the many problems with Measure 37.
Measure 37 is not the solution to whatever problems Oregon's land use system might have. Measure 37 has created a mess of the state's property law system that will take too long to resolve in the courts. It is the responsibility of our legislators to preserve the land use system and resolve the legitimate concerns of citizens.
So far this session, legislators have invoked the "will of the people" as their reason for leaving Measure 37 alone. This might be a valid argument if Measure 37's effect could be objectively understood; however, this is not the case. Measure 37 does not give guidance on how land should be valued, where the money for compensation should come from or what remedies exist for neighbors harmed by a successful claim, among its many ambiguities.
Legislators should provide guidance in this area by introducing legislation to clear up Measure 37's ambiguities and remove its most problematic provisions. At the least, legislators should institute a moratorium on Measure 37 claims to allow policymakers and state agencies a chance to catch up and do a better job of implementing the law.
If nothing is done, Oregon's property system will grind to a halt until the courts can create workable rules to navigate the mess Measure 37 has made.
Woman wins Measure 37 claim
Multnomah County officials agree to let Dorothy English, the face of the land-use measure, divide her property into 8 parcels
By Kimberly A.C. Wilson
The Oregonian | March 18, 2005 |
The 92-year-old poster child for land-use reform in Oregon scored an unexpected victory Thursday, winning unanimous support for a plan to subdivide her property in unincorporated Multnomah County.
The county's Board of Commissioners had scheduled a lengthy public hearing to discuss Dorothy English's Measure 37 claim and expected a split vote that would have denied her request to divide her land into eight parcels.
Instead, the board voted 5-0 to waive certain land-use restrictions on English's 19-acre Northwest McNamee Road property, allowing the sandy-voiced widow and her family to build additional homes. (more...)
Property rights conference draws crowd
By Mark Engler, Freelance Writer
The Capital Press | March 18, 2005 |
WILSONVILLE -- A record crowd turned out here March 12 for what organizers of the annual Oregonians In Action Land Use Forum described as "a victory party for Measure 37." (more...)
Editorial -- Long-range plan lets local cities manage growth
| The (McMinnville) News-Register | March 19, 2005 |
An opportunity arises to turn the Measure 37 conflict into a model of exemplary urban growth -- if McMinnville and Abrams property owners can get together. Meanwhile, McMinnville's long history of spirited debates about growth seems destined to be experienced in nearby communities. (more...)
Rural Renewal
Jackson County's Dave Gilmour comes up with a way to preserve open space and help farmers
By Damian Mann
The (Medford) Mail Tribune | March 24, 2005 |
Farmers Bob and Donna Dunn watch with alarm the advancing subdivisions of Central Point.
"Houses are the quickest growing crop we've ever seen on the planet," remarked Donna, concerned about the future of agriculture in the valley.
As farms gets gobbled up one after another, Jackson County Commissioner Dave Gilmour has come up with an idea that could help farmers like the Dunns and could preserve open space for the future.
Dunn and his wife, both 73, have farmed all their lives in the county. They welcome any effort by county commissioners to keep agriculture viable under the pressures of urbanization.
"Sometimes you need a little help just to stay afloat," he said.
Gilmour proposed Wednesday that additional property taxes generated by future subdivisions around cities be plowed back into a program to help preserve agriculture. Increased assessments from properties developed because of Measure 37 could also be directed to this fund.
The program, dubbed Rural Renewal, would operate something like the Medford Urban Renewal Agency or the county's White City urban renewal. A rural renewal board would be created to oversee loans to farmers, who would file requests to help pay for operating and capital expenses as needed. (more...)
Central Oregon utility cites Measure 37 in power line case
Central Electric Cooperative asks for $7.9 million compensation after a family successfully challenges upgrading a line
By Matthew Preusch
The Oregonian | March 24, 2005 |
BEND -- If at first you don't succeed, try a Measure 37 claim.
That's a Central Oregon utility's strategy after two failed attempts to upgrade a transmission line in Deschutes County.
The utility seeks a waiver under the new law, and it appears to be the first such claim made by a utility since Oregon voters approved Measure 37 in November. (more...)
Russ Earl files claim with mixed feelings
County property owners seek claims for their undeveloped land under Measure 37
When Russ Earl walks through the old cow pastures where he worked and played as a boy, he sees a unique landscape he thinks deserves to be preserved.
But the stark economics of rising North Coast land values, and the spreading development in the surrounding areas, has prompted him and his three siblings to pursue a claim under Oregon's new ballot Measure 37 land-use law that would allow them to build dozens of homes on the one-time cattle operation north of Gearhart. (more...)
City gets Measure 37 threat
By Christine Ermey
The Keizer Times | March 25, 2005 |
An attorney raised the specter of Keizer's first Measure 37 claim this week in the latest skirmish over the last property needed for the Keizer Station development.
"If the City Council insists on moving forward with this, my clients have authorized me to move forward with a Measure 37 claim against the city," said Ross Day, a former Keizer planning commissioner who is an attorney for Robert and Marilyn Lowery. "They would rather not go down that road, because they've always thought of themselves as partners in this community, not adversaries." (more...)
Fair Pay For Public Benefit
| Napa Valley Land Stewards Alliance | March 22, 2005 |
Description of the Initiative: Under current law [Napa] County can enact land use restrictions that significantly and adversely impact property value, yet owe the impacted property owners nothing. As recently as 2003, during the Stream Setback Ordinance hearings, the Board of Supervisors publicly affirmed its long standing policy that property owners are not owed any compensation for regulatory impacts unless a legal "taking" occurs, which has been interpreted by some courts as a taking of all economic value. The County position has been that if any economic value remains in an impacted property, then no compensation is due the property owner. (more...)
Richard Louv -- Replanting the environmental garden
The movement has suffered losses lately, but new strategies -- including "enterprise environmentalism" and spiritual ecology -- could revitalize it
By Richard Louv, Special to The Oregonian
The Oregonian | March 27, 2005 |
Many of us around the nation look to Oregon for environmental inspiration. For example, since 1973, Oregon has led the nation in the prevention of urban sprawl. But in December, Measure 37 went into effect, requiring money-strapped Oregon officials either to compensate landowners retroactively for regulations that reduce a property's value or to waive those restrictions.
As the reality of the Oregon retrenchment set in, I spoke with Michael Shellenberger of the Breakthrough Institute in El Cerrito, Calif. He and his associate, Ted Nordhaus, vice president of Evans/McDonough, an opinion-research firm, had just released a broadside called "The Death of Environmentalism." To Shellenberger, Oregon's Measure 37 was one more nail in the coffin of the environmental movement. He and Nordhaus contend that, after a string of stunning successes in the 1970s and '80s, environmentalists are losing ground. (more...)
Randy Gragg -- Endangered Ecotopia
It's three hours south in Oregon, but is now a dream at risk.
By Randy Gragg
The Seattle Weekly | March 23-29, 2005 |
In 1981, I discovered Ecotopia. Newly arrived in Seattle from Reno, Nev.-drawn by a childhood attraction to the setting for Here Come the Brides-I moved into a house full of Whitman College grads who promptly gave me the book, describing it as a Northwest "user's manual." Ernest Callenbach's '70s fantasy quickly became mine as I relished joining the natives seceding from Ronald Reagan's United States.
But it wasn't until 1989 that I actually found Ecotopia, three hours south, across the Columbia River in Oregon. I wasn't looking for it: The dippy early-20s idealist had evolved into a thirtysomething mercenary who merely saw a Portland job as a rung on a ladder to somewhere else.
But that was, um, 15 years ago. (more...)