Health Options Digest
April 24, 2005
Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield (CHOICES)
In This Issue
From the Editor
Week In Review
Is no news about hospital siting good news?
Speaking of critical services, Lane County and some cities are looking to create a new public service safety district -- and new taxes to support it. We understand this to be a reaction to budget shortfalls, with local governments wanting to unload some services. But one way or another, the public ends up paying. The questions should be: What level of public safety is the public willing to pay for and how can that be provided most efficiently?
Meanwhile, Springfield has decided to go it alone in building its own jail. But someone will need to run the jail, which means money, which means... yep, new taxes. In this case, a tax on utilities. We don't understand. Is the thinking that cell phones should be taxed because they are used by criminals?
And still more new taxes. New homes and other developments require additional sewage facilities. System Development Charges (SDCs) paid by developers are supposed to cover these costs. But when the Home Builders Association of Lane County objected and threatened a lawsuit, elected officials are opting to raise fees on existing residents to pay for new residents.
Although no one showed up to testify at a recent meeting, citizens have until 5 p.m. this Friday, April 29, to submit written comments on plans to redevelop Glenwood.
The UO appears to be a bit short of funds to build a new arena and may have to delay plans.
The Eugene City Council is in favor of helping a major supermarket -- Whole Foods -- open a store in downtown Eugene.
Hundreds of jobs will be moving to the Monaco Coach plant in Coburg when the plant in Bend is closed.
Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy initiated work on a sustainable development strategy for our community, appointing Rusty Rexius and Dave Funk to co-chair the effort.
Coburg is being hit with a double whammy: A local resident is urging Coburg to investigate how a couple hundred thousand dollars were added rather than subtracted in the budget and who is responsible. Meanwhile, the Legislature is looking to cut off speeding tickets on Interstate-5 as a source of revenue for the small city, which is conveniently located near the planned new RiverBend hospital.
Is John Musumeci like another multimillionaire media mogul, William Randolph Hearst, who Orson Wells portrayed in his movie "Citizen Kane"? In the opening scene as he is dying, Kane utters the famous word "Rosebud." It turns out that what this man of wealth and power wanted more than anything else was a sled from his childhood.
We are all bundles of conflicting drives and emotions, at times saints and at others sinners. We can act selfishly or selflessly. We all want to be loved. But in the end, as four great philosophers once sang, the love you take is equal to the love you make...
Springfield City Manager Mike Kelly will retire at the end of the summer.
Kera Abraham reports in the Eugene Weekly on the troubled state of the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority (LRAPA), the state's last remaining such regional authority. If you want to get involved, the City of Eugene is accepting applications to the LRAPA board.
Speaking of clean air, on this 35th anniversary of Earth Day, some environmentalists are pondering what has been accomplished and if a different approach is needed for the 21st Century.
Froma Harrop and Joshua Holland each offer perspectives on economic development or prosperity, what that means, and how to achieve it.
A new poll is raising questions on what voters were actually saying when they passed Measure 37. While voters favor property rights, they also favor the land use protections Oregon has enjoyed. Thus the $64,000 question may be how to have both property rights and land use protections.
Lastly, we urge "Health Options Digest" readers to visit our partner the Goal One Coalition, who has started publishing their own electronic digest on land use news and related issues: http://www.pacifier.com/~goal1/
Rob Zako, Editor
343-5201
rzako@efn.org
Calendar
Monday, April 25 -- Springfield City Council
Springfield City Hall, 225 Fifth St., Amy Sowa, 726-3700
5:30 pm, Work Session, Jesse Maine Room
1. Surface Transportation Program (STP) Funding.
2. Sewer and Drainage User Rates Options.
3. An Ordinance Concerning Sanitary Sewer Charges Including Rates and Amending Section 4.206 of the Springfield Municipal Code.
4. Projected City Manager Recruitment 2005.
Tuesday, April 26 -- Mayor, councilor to meet with public
| The Register-Guard | April 24, 2005 |
By holding the meetings in neighborhoods around the city, Piercy hopes to make it easier for residents to share their views with her.
Mayor Kitty Piercy will have one-on-one meetings with residents on Tuesday at Plaza Latina SuperMarket, 1333 W. Seventh Ave.
Piercy and City Councilor Andrea Ortiz will be available to meet with residents from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. A Spanish-speaking interpreter will be present.
The meetings generally are held on the last Tuesday of the month. For information, call the city manager's office at 682-5010.
Opportunities
City of Eugene Seeks Applicants for Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority Board
| City of Eugene | April 19, 2005 |
The City of Eugene is seeking applicants for a new position on the board of directors for the Lane Regional Area Pollution Authority (LRAPA). LRAPA is the intergovernmental agency that strives to protect public health, community well being, and the environment as a leader and advocate for the improvement and maintenance of air quality in Lane County.
There are currently seven members on the board of directors. Due to the increase in population in the City of Eugene, a new citizen at-large representative will join the board of directors. Other members of the board include elected officials from the City of Eugene, City of Springfield, Lane County, City of Oakridge and several at-large citizen members.
Meetings of the board of directors are held on the second Tuesday of each month at noon.
Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy will nominate a candidate and submit her nomination to the City Council for approval.
Applications must be submitted by 5:00p.m. Friday, May 6, 2005. Applicants may be interviewed by Mayor Piercy. The appointment is planned for the council agenda of May 23, 2005.
Applications may be mailed, faxed, or delivered in person to:
City Manager's Office
Room 105
777 Pearl Street
Eugene, OR 97401
Fax: 682-5414
Information is available at the City Manager's Office, Room 105, City Hall or via the Internet at http://www.ci.eugene.or.us. For additional information contact Mary Walston, City Manager's Office, 682-5406, mary.f.walston@ci.eugene.or.us
Commissioners have an opening on health panel
| The Register-Guard | April 17, 2005 |
The Lane County Board of Commissioners seeks applicants for the health advisory committee, which makes recommendations on matters of public health, planning, policy development, control measures, funding, public education and advocacy.
The term is four years. The deadline to apply is May 27. Applications are available in the Board of Commissioners' Office, Public Service Building, 125 E. Eighth Ave., Eugene. To request an application by mail, call 682-4207.
For more information, call 682-4035.
Be A Comish
| Eugene Weekly | April 7, 2005 |
Two vacancies are coming up on the Lane County Planning Commission, with an April 29 deadline for applications. The commission makes recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners regarding comprehensive plan issues and amendments; and also advises and cooperates with other planning agencies within the state and provides reports to local government officials on problems in county, regional or metropolitan planning.
For information and applications, visit county offices at 125 E. 8th Ave. or http://www.co.lane.or.us
Lane County planning panel has two vacancies
| The Register-Guard | April 8, 2005 |
The Lane County Board of Commissioners seeks applications from citizens interested in serving on the Lane County Planning Commission, which makes recommendations to the board on comprehensive plan issues and amendments.
The commission also advises and cooperates with other planning agencies within the state and provides reports to local government officials on problems comprehended in county, regional or metropolitan planning.
There are two vacancies. Both will be filled by residents of the county; one position must be filled by a resident who lives west of the east boundary of the Mapleton School District; the other position may be filled by any county resident.
The deadline to apply is April 29. Applications are available in the Board of Commissioners' Office, Public Service Building, 125 E. Eighth Ave.
For more information call Kent Howe at 682-3734.
PeaceHealth
Letter -- Disaster could cut off hospitals
By Laverda Huriburt, Alvadore
The Register-Guard | April 22, 2005 |
This newspaper just published two articles on a subject that has been a concern of mine for a long time (Register-Guard, April 12).
The first article was about the RiverBend hospital site area being in a flood plain. The other was about going ahead with the repairs on the Fern Ridge Dam without the information about the danger of an earth- quake.
We have several dams above the cities of Eugene and Springfield. All we would need for a disaster would be for one of the dams above to give way, and it could be like a domino effect below.
With PeaceHealth beside the Mc- Kenzie River and McKenzie-Willamette hoping to build by the Willamette, and no access to either of them in a disaster, where would the people in need go?
Let us put the hospitals where we could get to them from all sides in an emergency.
McKenzie-Willamette/Triad
Russ Brink -- Hospital on EWEB site will be a boon to downtown
By Russ Brink
The Register-Guard | April 21, 2005 |
Representing the downtown property and business owners association, the board of directors of Downtown Eugene Inc. offers a hearty endorsement of McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center's goal of building a new hospital at the current Eugene Water & Electric Board site.
The DEI board finds, after careful study and discussion, that this positive move would offer many benefits to area residents and to the downtown specifically. Here are our key considerations: (more...)
Letter -- McKenzie-Willamette a good fit
By Chris Berner, Eugene
The Register-Guard | April 23, 2005 |
I am writing in support of McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center's plan to locate its new hospital in downtown Eugene at the current Eugene Water & Electric Board site.
Although I am generally opposed to construction in riparian zones, I make an exception in this case. The current location has already been claimed for urban uses and has been an industrial site for quite some time.
I prefer a landscape plan that would expand the riverside area for the public and would replace the current industrial yard with a beautiful open campus that would be pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly. I also prefer two- and three-story buildings with wide sidewalks, generous overhangs and narrow streets with trees planted in the center median strip.
McKenzie-Willamette's interest in developing the EWEB site is a unique opportunity for Eugene that may not come again. I am in favor of working with McKenzie-Willamette to help Eugene further its urban vision by welcoming them to the downtown neighborhood.
McKenzie-Willamette seeks hospital pioneers
| The Register-Guard | April 19, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- As McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center officials prepare to mark the hospital's 50th anniversary, they're trying to track down people who were there at the beginning.
A group of Springfield citizens called the Founders Service Organization raised $450,000 from 1949 through 1953, much of it through scrambled egg breakfasts. The hospital opened in 1955 with 35 beds.
McKenzie-Willamette officials want to hear from the hospital pioneers. Anyone who participated in the original fund-raising activities, served on the board of directors or as a hospital volunteer, practiced or worked at McKenzie-Willamette may contact the hospital at 726-4789.
Health Care
Joseph Robertson Jr. -- State lags in funding for OHSU
By Joseph Robertson Jr.
The Register-Guard | April 22, 2005 |
Oregon is on the cusp of a health care work force crisis. The nursing shortage is compromising access to care in many areas, and in March an independently commissioned survey, "Physician Workforce in Oregon," predicted a physician shortage within 10 to 20 years.
This shortage threatens the health of all Oregonians, especially in rural and underserved areas.
To ensure quality care in Oregon, today and for the future, we must fund health care education and support programs that attract providers to rural and underserved communities. This is not the time to cut funding for the Oregon Health & Science University; the consequences are too costly. (more...)
Paul Krugman -- Passing the Buck
By Paul Krugman
The New York Times | April 22, 2005 |
The United States spends far more on health care than other advanced countries. Yet we don't appear to receive more medical services. And we have lower life-expectancy and higher infant-mortality rates than countries that spend less than half as much per person. How do we do it?
An important part of the answer is that much of our health care spending is devoted to passing the buck: trying to get someone else to pay the bills. (more...)
Nearby Developments
County airs proposal on new public safety taxing district
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | April 20, 2005 |
Lane County wants to raise property taxes for public safety services, and on Tuesday, the commissioners tested the waters. The waters were filled with piranhas. (more...)
Cities, county discuss Metro Plan change
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | April 22, 2005 |
Moving a countywide public safety district proposal forward will be no small feat and if it does make it to the ballots in November 2006, voters will be the final hurdle before its creation. (more...)
Letter -- Public safety proposal a disaster
By David Hinkley, Eugene
The Register-Guard | April 23, 2005 |
The proposed public safety district is a disastrous proposal for a non-existent problem. It is disastrous because in the long run it undermines public support for city and county governments. If all the significant and observable services -- water, schools, public safety, fire protection, parks and libraries -- are provided by special districts, what would the general public need local government for?
The problem is nonexistent because the money for public safety is there! The county commissioners could, if they wanted to, fully fund public safety. The problem is that they are not willing to fund public safety adequately. That would require them to make hard, unpopular choices.
The county commissioners have chosen to have Lane County attempt to do a lot of things inadequately rather then a few important things properly, because to fund the important things, like public safety, first means that less important items, like the Metro Partnership, might not be funded.
The solution for the county's funding problem is budgeting, not increased taxes. The commissioners need, with input from the public, to prioritize county services and programs, determine what a barely adequate level of funding for each is and then, starting at the top of their priority list, fund each program in turn until the money runs out.
If they believe that there are important programs that need funding after the money has run out, then they should make the case to the voters for more money to pay for those programs.
Utility tax proposal headed for vote
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | April 22, 2005 |
To save or eliminate -- that is the question Springfield voters will have to answer this May.
The Springfield City Council-approved utility tax is up for repeal, and political action committees are at work staking campaign signs and spreading messages of support and opposition.
At 5:30 p.m. Monday, April 25, the No on 20-104 Committee is hosting an informational meeting in the Library Meeting Room, 225 Fifth St.
Diana Garcia, campaign coordinator, said the purpose of the meeting is to educate voters about the tax and what it would support if passed. (more...)
Utility tax vote: At times, no means yes
By Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard | April 23, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Vote yes if you're against the new city utility tax. Vote no if you support it.
That's the confusing position Springfield voters will be in as they consider Ballot Measure 20-104 in the May 17 election. The referendum would repeal a 5 percent utility tax enacted by the City Council in December. (more...)
Subsidized Sprawl
By Alan Pittman
Eugene Weekly | April 21, 2005 |
Your sewer bill will go up so developers can dodge fees and make more money under a $144 million plan by the local wastewater commission.
Systems development charges (SDCs) normally recover the cost of expanded sewer capacity from the developers who profit from the new services. That keeps existing homeowners who've already paid for their services from having to subsidize urban sprawl.
Two years ago, the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC) moved to increase SDCs to cover the cost of serving new growth. The increase was recommended by a committee that studied the issue for months, but the Home Builders Association of Lane County objected strenuously. They threatened a lawsuit and the MWMC settled, agreeing to knock off about a third of the proposed SDCs.
But that big break for developers will come on the backs of ratepayers who will be forced to subsidize urban sprawl and developers' profits. The MWMC plans to increase sewer rates 6 percent this year and issue $100 million in bonds that will saddle ratepayers with the cost of development for decades to come.
The growing city of Coburg, which does not charge SDCs, is hoping to hook up to the regional sewer system, requiring expanded capacity, according to Eugene Councilor Bonny Bettman.
The MWMC plans a public hearing at 7 pm Thursday, April 21 in the Springfield City Council chambers. The Eugene City Council plans to take up the matter with a May 9 work session and public hearing and May 23 vote. The MWMC can be contacted at nlaudati@ci.springfield.or.us or 726-3695.
Wastewater Bill Increases
EUGENE -- If you live in the Eugene/ Springfield metropolitan area you will soon see an increase on your wastewater treatment bill.
The average customer will be charged about 75 cents more each month starting in July.
That money will go to fund a $144 million project. (more...)
SDCs help cities deal with growth
By Ben Raymond Lode
The Springfield News | April 22, 2005 |
As communities grow, the burden on existing infrastructure -- roads, parks, water lines and sanitary facilities -- increases.
In Springfield's case, some of that existing infrastructure, especially the city's storm drainage system, will require additional capacity in coming years, warns Leonard Goodwin, the city's assistant public works director.
A principal source of revenue for this is a one-time charge imposed at the time of connection to the city system -- the so-called system development charge, or SDC. (more...)
Written comments sought on Glenwood plan
By Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard | April 20, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Nobody showed up to testify and no decision was made Tuesday when the Lane County and Springfield planning commissions held a joint session to consider adopting the Glenwood Riverfront Plan. (more...)
Submit ideas for Glenwood's river opportunity area
| The Springfield News | April 22, 2005 |
Residents still have time to weigh in on how Glenwood's riverfront is developed.
Locals have until 5 p.m. next Friday, April 29, to submit written testimony to the city on proposed amendments that would guide development in Glenwood's "River Opportunity Area" located along the Willamette River between Lexington Avenue and Springfield's city limits and from Franklin Boulevard to the riverfront.
A joint public hearing Tuesday night between the Springfield and Lane County planning commissions brought forth no testimony from the public. (more...)
Taylor jockeys vote on breaks for businesses
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | April 24, 2005 |
City Councilor Betty Taylor found herself in an awkward position last week.
She had just voted against her allies on the City Council, and they weren't too pleased. Then Taylor realized that her calculated gamble wasn't about to pay off.
Admitting defeat and feeling the heat, Taylor did what many elected officials would have done in the same situation: She asked for the political equivalent of a mulligan.
The political maneuvering occurred last Wednesday, as councilors put the finishing touches on the city's application to the state for an enterprise zone. (more...)
Arena plan still suffers from lack of funding
The $160 million necessary for construction will be fundraised privately, University officials say
By Meghann M. Cuniff, Senior News Reporter
Oregon Daily Emerald | April 25, 2005 |
When the University first pitched its plans for a new basketball arena three years ago, officials predicted an opening date of fall 2006. The date was pushed back two years because of funding problems, and University officials are hopeful the fall 2008 date won't be pushed back any further. But recent statements from officials indicate they have resigned themselves to the possibility.
The reason? Funding problems. (more...)
City eyes downtown grocery proposal
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | April 19, 2005 |
A pivotal decision with long-term ramifications for downtown Eugene is heading to the City Council: Should the city hand over a valuable asset in order to help bring a national grocer downtown and allow a local performing arts center to consolidate its holdings? (more...)
City Council votes to pursue property swap
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | April 21, 2005 |
The Eugene City Council on Wednesday enthusiastically got the ball rolling on a possible land deal that could lead to construction of a Whole Foods Market store and parking garage downtown.
Councilors unanimously voted to direct City Manager Dennis Taylor to "actively pursue" written proposals from landowners to redevelop the block bounded by Eighth Avenue, High Street, Broadway and Mill Street. (more...)
Coburg Lands More Jobs
COBURG -- It was a battle, but in the end, Oregon won. The Monaco Coach jobs that are leaving Bend are coming to Coburg instead of heading to Indiana. (more...)
Monaco Coach adds hundreds of new jobs
COBURG -- Hundreds of new jobs are coming to the Coburg area. Monaco coach is closing its Bend factory and moving 400 jobs to its Coburg campus. (more...)
Hundreds of jobs move to Lane County
By Ellie Estrada
KMTR | April 18, 2005 |
COBURG -- The RV manufacturer is not just combining operations with its Coburg plant, its also expanding its work staff.
The company is expecting many of its Bend employees to move to Coburg, and it still plans on hiring an additional 250 workers. (more...)
Mall Make-Overs: Retail Centers Must Constantly Evolve to Serve Changing Tastes
By Joe Mosley
The Register-Guard | April 24, 2005 |
It's a little like building a house of cards on a waterbed. You get things designed just the way you want, and a ripple from nowhere suddenly lends new dimensions to your topography.
Eugene-Springfield's three major shopping malls each have been built on the fluid whims of local shoppers, which means the malls must continually be ready to fine-tune or adapt to suit customers, and to respond to the competition. (more...)
Transportation
Letter -- Bus rapid transit is a risky idea
By Robert Harris, Eugene
The Register-Guard | April 21, 2005 |
Expanding Lane Transit District's new bus rapid transit system is a nice idea. Swift-moving buses whisking people to and from central locations with fewer stops sounds like a big improvement over standard bus service. Throw in prepaid passes, green lights and dedicated lanes, and it's positively fabulous. It's the principle behind the system that's flawed.
Give people a faster alternative to the regular bus service, according to the recent article, and they'll be more likely to stop driving their cars.
LTD would do well to really think about the reasons why people ride its buses -- and why they don't. It's likely that most of the folks who ride the bus either can't drive for reasons of money, disability or age, or choose not to out of concern for the environment. It's also highly likely that most folks who can drive do.
For the vast majority of the driving public, it's about independence and convenience, not the lack of a slightly better alternative to bus service. While these are assumptions on my part, if true they demonstrate that LTD has grossly misunderstood its market and the needs of that market. Further, it appears willing to spend an incredible amount of money on what, at best, could be called a risky investment.
Small businesses, being the group that will bear the brunt of the cost for this new system, may benefit from becoming openly and loudly involved in the process, whether they support the idea or not.
Caution: Road Work Ahead
By Diane Dietz
The Register-Guard | April 21, 2005 |
Drivers who hot rod through the Interstate 105 construction zone can expect dangerous encounters with blocked ramps, abrupt mergers and vigilant police officers. (more...)
Bill curbing rural freight routes advances
By David Steves
The Register-Guard | April 19, 2005 |
SALEM -- McKenzie area and Oregon Coast residents wouldn't have to worry about their highways turning into high-speed routes for freight truck convoys under a bill that's headed to the Senate floor. (more...)
New gas tax a hard sell in Florence
By Winston Ross
The Register-Guard | April 23, 2005 |
FLORENCE -- The mayor admits it's a lousy time to talk about a gas tax.
But he's talking about it anyway, holding group presentations, scheduling visits with individual citizens and bending the ear of just about anyone who'll listen to why Florence motorists should be paying more for gasoline.
Mayor Phil Brubaker and the City Council want to add a 3-cent tax on the city's gasoline dealers, who would up their pump prices. City residents will vote on the measure May 17. (more...)
Other News
Kitty Piercy -- City of Eugene Sustainable Development Initiative
By Mayor Kitty Piercy
City of Eugene | April 13, 2005 |
Dear Eugene Community:
Many of you have heard that I am initiating a process to establish a sustainable development strategy for our community. This memo explains what I want to accomplish and how I hope the process will proceed.
For many years, numerous private businesses, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, EWEB, the City of Eugene, as well as other government organizations, have worked to create more and better paying jobs, assist those with less capacity, and ensure a clean healthy environment for our community. The focus on achieving economic, social, and environmental wellbeing is often called the 'Triple Bottom Line.' I believe we have an opportunity in Eugene to expand these activities and establish broad understanding of how the many individual activities can be linked and enhanced to create a future that is embraced by our entire community.
For this reason, I am initiating a process to create a sustainable development strategy for our community. I want the process to bring all sectors of our community together to develop a common vision for how Eugene would look and function in the year 2020 if at that time it were considered a sustainable community, and to engage the community in thinking about how everyone's efforts can be leveraged to create that future. This will be very inclusive process. It is my intent to involve every individual and organization in Eugene that wants to participate.
I am honored that Rusty Rexius, owner of Rexius and current chair of the board of the Eugene Chamber of Commerce, and David Funk of Funk/Levis and Associates, have agreed to co-chair the process. Bob Doppelt and student interns working with Resource Innovations at the University of Oregon have agreed to provide technical support.
Coburg council urged to investigate
By Karen McCowan
The Register-Guard | April 20, 2005 |
COBURG -- An audit has answered the "what" component of this city's $600,000 budget shortfall. Now, City Council members want to find the "who."
The council was urged to do so at their meeting Tuesday night by city resident John Hoffmann. He asked how all seven of the councilors, a seven-member city budget committee and Coburg's former recorder and administrator failed to detect problems that included a $213,000 2003-04 budget deficit being added rather than subtracted from projected revenue for 2004-05. (more...)
Coburg apologizes, criticizes bill
By David Steves
The Register-Guard | April 22, 2005 |
SALEM -- After years of throwing the book at speeding motorists, the city of Coburg threw itself on the mercy of the Legislature on Thursday.
The city's mayor and its acting police chief and administrator vowed to the Senate Judiciary Committee that they were doing their best to put to rest Coburg's image as Oregon's best-known speed trap.
The display of contrition was part of the small Lane County community's effort to head off legislation that would single out Coburg as the only city in Oregon that could not retain traffic-fine dollars from tickets issued along Interstate 5. Proposed amendments to Senate Bill 295 would require Coburg to turn over such revenues to a state fund for police officer training. (more...)
Bob Welch: Musumeci II: The search for acceptance
By Bob Welch, Columnist
The Register-Guard | April 19, 2005 |
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the last in a two-part series.
In John Musumeci's favorite movie, "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," Humphrey Bogart plays down-and-outer Fred Dobbs, who literally strikes gold, then is destroyed by his greed.
Interesting pick for a man who was raised in Boston's welfare projects and struck it rich when a California land deal in the late '90s turned a quick $12 million profit.
"The message is not to get too carried away with wealth, because if you do, it will destroy you," says Musumeci, from across his desk on which sits a copy of Sun Tzu's classic, "The Art of War." (more...)
Springfield city manager to retire
By Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard | April 22, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- City Manager Mike Kelly will retire at the end of the summer, he said Thursday, ending his record 16-year term as the administrative head of Lane County's second-largest city. (more...)
Springfield manager announces he'll retire
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | April 22, 2005 |
After 38 years of service to the City of Springfield, Mike Kelly, city manager, is stepping down. (more...)
Up in the Air
The dirt on Lane County's air pollution agency
By Kera Abraham
Eugene Weekly | April 21, 2005 |
The air smells good on top of Spencer's Butte. It's sometimes dense with humidity, and the clouds wrap thick around the butte's ferny head; sometimes it's breezy and dry, and the sky cracks open a startling blue. But the air is always clean, with that crispness that a little less oxygen brings.
The view from the summit reveals Lane County in all its geographic diversity. The Three Sisters jag the skyline to the east, frizzy with fog. To the south, the Creswell farmland makes neat agricultural squares, and here and there puffs of smoke rise from rural houses. The farmland cedes to patchy forest, and moving north, the forest falls into the urban grid of Eugene-Springfield, with its circuit of roads and buildings and fuming factories. Sometimes -- especially on hot summer days -- a shimmering disc of haze, orange-brown at sunset, hovers over the city. It doesn't smell as good down there.
Who's watching out for our air? (more...)
Keith Schneider -- At 35, an Earth Day Surprise
Environmentalism's new leading edge is in the red states
By Keith Schneider
Great Lakes Bulletin News Service | April 20, 2005 |
Earth Day 2005 celebrates a distinguished, remarkably successful movement that today is taking up new kinds of important work, often in unexpected places.
I was a 14-year-old eighth grader in White Plains, N.Y. on April 22, 1970, the very first Earth Day. It was such a national happening that Highlands Junior High School organized work parties for the occasion. My friends and I decided to paint the dingy New York Central train station downtown; we laid on so much white enamel that the brick walls looked as though they'd been bleached. The New York Times was impressed. They reported on it in the next day's paper.
That old station, and the afternoon spent making gray walls look new, is a useful metaphor as a movement and its special day enter a decidedly different middle age. The station is gone, replaced by a new one a little bit north. Similarly, many of the ecological and public health urgencies that galvanized swarms of Americans to act that day are, if not totally gone, certainly in far better shape.
That was the point of Earth Day, of course: To improve how we live. It worked. We now swim in waters that were once black. We no longer can see the air we breathe in New York or Dallas. There are many more bald eagles and gray wolves. The gravest danger from food is not the pesticides within, but how much we eat. Thousands of new businesses and hundreds of thousands of jobs have sprouted on toxic waste sites that were cleaned up.
Yet these triumphs, which rank among the keenest successes of any American social movement, have not produced the clamor of gratitude and celebration one might expect on Earth Day's 35th anniversary. There is instead a bit of melancholy and remorse, a sense of estrangement, and a palpable ache within the environmental movement. And from outside, a punishing, malignant invective from critics. (more...)
Froma Harrop -- A healthy business climate takes more than tax breaks
By Froma Harrop, Syndicated columnist
The Seattle Times | April 21, 2005 |
Every year, the free-market Pacific Research Institute ranks states on its U.S. Economic Freedom Index. It gives good grades for low wages, liberty to pollute and tax policies that let the rich off the hook. Last year, Kansas was number one.
If Kansas is such a great place for businesses to roam free, why aren't businesses charging in? The institute asserts that gains in a state's economic-freedom score are tied to a rise in per-capita income. That's interesting, but the fact remains that Kansas' average per-capita income, $30,811, is lower than that in all 10 of the bottom-ranking states. Third-from-last Connecticut has the nation's highest, $45,398.
Perhaps companies are looking for something other than servile state governments. Perhaps they want educated workers. And perhaps educated workers want to live in communities where schools don't worry about teaching evolution science. Freedom comes in many forms. (more...)
Joshua Holland -- In Praise of Prosperity
In order to win the economic battle over America's future, progressives need to first challenge the very terms of the national debate: It's about quality of life.
By Joshua Holland
AlterNet | April 25, 2005 |
Every day, progressives dive headlong into debates over the U.S. economy only to end up angry, defensive, and confused. The problem: few of us realize that the very definition of the terms used in these heated discussions -- for example, "growth" or "competitiveness" -- is loaded against us.
The language of economic competitiveness is not ideologically neutral, but instead designed to promote policies that serve the interests of big corporations and their investors. If progressives want to reframe the debate over America's future, they will have to reframe its very terms. A first step: start talking about prosperity. (more...)
Editorial -- City-wide wireless is favorable innovation
| Oregon Daily Emerald | April 21, 2005 |
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's comments are right on the mark, and this time they have nothing to do with marriage. Newsom recently proposed that a fast Internet connection, important to the development and livelihood of all citizens, should be available to every resident of his city. San Francisco is just one of many municipalities exploring the prospect of a city-wide wireless broadband network providing citizens with speedy broadband connections, accessible anywhere. Users would be charged less than half the monthly fee of current mainstream private providers.
Although private provider companies, like Comcast, Verizon or Qwest, could develop a similar city-wide wireless network, they will probably never take that chance. These companies made large investments to create their current wired networks, which they charge premium prices to access. Creating a wireless network would not only take further investment, it would devalue their older investments. Therefore, the task of creating such forward-thinking networks must fall to civic-minded citizens.
It may seem nearly impossible to wrench broadband access from the private grasp of large domineering corporations, but Eugene, always a progressive city, has made similar actions in the past and today we reap the benefits.
According to Eugene Water and Electric Board Web site, citizens of Eugene in the early 1900s became "increasingly dissatisfied with the private, for-profit water utility serving the community. When a 1906 typhoid fever epidemic was traced to the water supply, Eugene's citizens overwhelmingly supported municipal ownership of the water system." In 1908 voters approved the necessary bonds to purchase the private utility and create the municipal water system that provides us with relatively low-cost power and water options.
While it is unlikely that our current private broadband providers could infect anyone with a case of typhoid fever, their high rates make broadband prohibitively expensive to low-income families and residents and all but the wealthiest of students.
One major benefit of city wireless service is that enterprise zones could be created, within which Internet access would be free. Downtown, businesses could pay low monthly rates to offer access to patrons. Schools could ensure that students and their families would have adequate access to information, send e-mail updates to parents and place class assignments on the Internet. The University could use the system to extend its own wireless network, already free to students with a valid password, into off-campus areas like the West University neighborhood. Police and emergency services could use the city-wide network to access critical information en route to an accident.
The citizens of Eugene have a small window of time to act. A large scale effort to create a similar network in Philadelphia was met with resistance from leaders who seem a little too willing to sit on their hands while progress marches forward. Just as well-maintained paved roads are today's arteries of commerce and transportation, the wireless network will be tomorrow.
The bottom line: a municipal broadband wireless network will improve the quality of life for the residents and entrepreneurs of this city, and it will push Eugene to the forefront of technological advancement. Ask your city councilors for such a network now.
Measure 37
Poll: Balance rights, land use
Respondents strongly back protection of private property rights in Oregon, but most also back public growth planning
By Laura Oppenheimer and James Mayer
The Oregonian | April 21, 2005 |
SALEM -- By passing Measure 37 last fall, it appears Oregonians sent their government a complex message: Protect people's right to use their land as they wish, but also safeguard farmland and control urban sprawl.
Oregon residents like the state's nationally recognized land-use program but want to make it more flexible, according to the first major poll conducted since the landmark property rights law took effect Dec. 2. Yet there is fodder for every political persuasion in the numbers released Wednesday by the Oregon Business Association and Portland State University's Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies.
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As the Legislature debates land-use reform -- there are calls to expand Measure 37, dilute it or replace it -- the poll results could become a focal point because, until now, policymakers and activists have relied largely on anecdotal evidence to gauge the sentiment behind the election results. (more...)
Land-use survey of residents reveals a mixed message
Most polled value property rights but also hail planning
By Steve Law
The (Salem) Statesman Journal | April 21, 2005 |
Oregonians are strong believers in private-property rights, but they also treasure land-use planning that protects farmland and the environment.
That is the mixed message of a new survey of residents conducted in the wake of a ballot measure that could overturn much of the state's pioneering land-use system. (more...)
Measure 37 questions, if not answers, will be aired
A one-day conference will offer a platform for a range of people experienced with the new land-use law
By Dana Tims
The Oregonian | April 25, 2005 |
Some of Oregon's leading experts on voter-approved Measure 37 will participate in a conference on the topic Saturday.
But Mike Burton, the retired Metro executive officer who will lead the daylong discussion, cautions that anyone expecting definitive answers about the measure and its effects around the state might want to look elsewhere. (more...)
Senators wrestle with Measure 37 modifications
By Mark Engler, Freelance Writer
The Capital Press | April 15, 2005 |
SALEM -- The Senate committee considering issues related to the sweeping property rights compensation initiative passed by voters last fall opened hearings on a bill to smooth the measure's rough edges last week.
Calling Senate Bill 1037 "a work in progress," Beaverton Democrat Charlie Ringo said the Measure 37 legislation he is sponsoring is still evolving, but in general "attempts to strike a balance" between preserving Oregon's legacy of resource lands protection and respect for the rights of individual landowners.
"I voted against Measure 37. I don't think it's good policy for our state," said Ringo, chairman of the Senate Environment and Land Use Committee. "But it's now the law in Oregon, and the question is: How do we respond to it?"
Ringo said SB1037 is the result of compromises formulated over the past months by supporters and opponents of the initiative who met in workgroups. (more...)
Land-use planning changes get nod
By John Darling, For the Mail Tribune
The (Medford) Mail Tribune | April 16, 2005 |
MEDFORD -- While most landowners praised the Legislature's efforts to craft a Measure 37 bill that would not lead to speculation and sprawl, a minority Friday night cautioned a House committee that government must pay to preserve farm and forest lands or risk scads of "tacky tracts."
About three-fourths of the 27 witnesses speaking before the House Land-Use Committee at Medford City Hall supported Measure 37 and a bill (SB1037) to effectively implement it. Most urged legislators to include "transferability," so that any development rights prior to zone changes can be passed to heirs.
The so-called omnibus Measure 37 bill will define how property owners can use previously-zoned exclusive farm use and forestlands to regain value lost due to land-use and zoning restrictions imposed after they bought the land.
Under Measure 37, local governments must either compensate landowners for the property value lost because of later land-use restrictions or waive those restrictions. Voters approved the measure last November.
Many witnesses said fairness and proper use of the land, not profit, was their motivation. (more...)
Measure 37 tensions loom large in St. Johns
Property owner wants payback for dashed condo dream
By Don Hamilton
The (Portland) Tribune | April 22, 2005 |
The public good and individual rights are on a collision course in St. Johns, and Measure 37 is right smack in the middle.
Last month, Augustine Calcagno, a North Portland real estate agent, submitted a Measure 37 claim against the city. A zoning change, he said, reduced the number of condos he could build on his land near Cathedral Park, costing him perhaps a half-million dollars.
The problem wasn't some environmental regulation but new zoning rules approved by his neighbors in the St. Johns/Lombard Plan, the product of a three-year process involving community meetings, public hearings and the approval of the Planning Commission and the City Council. Of the 14 Measure 37 claims filed in Portland so far, his is the first to challenge rules drafted by neighborhood consensus.
No other Portland case better illustrates the tensions inherent in the property rights measure passed by voters in November. Who wins when the wishes of the community conflict with the interests of an individual? (more...)
Measure 37 claims OK'd
Jackson County commissioners so far have approved 20 land-use claims out of 76 submitted
By Damian Mann
The (Medford) Mail Tribune | April 21, 2005 |
When Jackson County enacted a regulation prohibiting building within 50 feet of seasonal creeks in January, Richard Armas saw his dreams of building a home in rural Gold Hill dashed. (more...)