Health Options Digest
May 15, 2005
Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield (CHOICES)
In This Issue
From the Editor
Week In Review
In the top of the news, PeaceHealth named Mel Pyne of Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center in Dearborn, Michigan, to succeed Alan Yordy as CEO of PeaceHealth in Oregon. (Note: This editor was born in Dearborn at Oakwood Hospital. His father practiced family medicine there for over 30 years.)
In a recent opinion piece, Dr. Munir Katul questioned whether the community needs the second cardiac surgery center that McKenzie-Willamette wants to start. When Dr. Katul, a former chief of staff at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center and a past president of the Lane County Medical Society, speaks about health care in Lane County, people should take notice. He concludes: "I hope that we will have further discussion of this issue within the medical community and among the public at large. Its consequences could be significant for the health of people in our county." Alas, our community does not appear to know how to have a meaningful discussion about important issues such as health care.
In other news, McKenzie-Willamette is challenging its property tax assessment. Now that McKenzie-Willamette is mostly owned by for-profit Triad, it is liable for property taxes.
Springfield's vote on whether or not to fund their new jail with a utility tax may come down to the wire. Election Day is this Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Lane County is looking to create a public safety district to help fund its operations. The limited capacity at the Lane County jail is what prompted Springfield to want to build its own jail.
A front-page story in The Register-Guard highlights the difficulty getting mixed-used development (formerly known as nodal development) in our area. Such development is intended to support improved transportation options. Unfortunately, the story did not look deeply enough into the reasons for the difficulties. For one thing, local political support for the idea has been at best mixed. More importantly, it is unrealistic to expect people who depend on cars to accept businesses and residences built closer together, thereby cutting down on parking options. For mixed-use development to work, there need to be viable transportation alternatives in place that will allow some people to get to and from mixed-use areas without needing to drive. In our community, this means Bus Rapid Transit. The trouble is that the left hand (mixed-use development planners) and the right hand (BRT planners) have not been working hand-in-hand enough. The first BRT segment will connect downtown Eugene and downtown Springfield. With such a big public investment being made, you'd think there'd be interest in doing mixed-use developments along this new route. That's what has happened in Portland with new light rail lines. But so far most of the energy on mixed-use developments has been focused elsewhere: PeaceHealth's RiverBend (which is at the end of the second phase of BRT), Arlie's Crescent Village at the end of Coburg Road, Chase Gardens near Autzen Stadium, and Royal Avenue in far west Eugene. In the short term, the most promising idea may be in Glenwood, which is along the first phase of BRT, offers redevelopment potential, and can benefit from the new Glenwood Urban Renewal District.
Meanwhile, Tom Connor and Don Woolley, who own much of the west side of downtown Eugene along Broadway, may finally be interested in redeveloping their properties now that Broadway is fully reopened.
Speaking of developers, don't worry about Carolyn Chambers. She knows how to buy and sell land to make a buck or a million.
But at least one Springfield resident blames the crime in the Gateway area on the City of Springfield and all the new development happening there.
The Springfield Chamber of Commerce visited Layton, Ohio, to learn about bringing a convention center to Springfield. Where? Did the Springfield News mean Dayton, Ohio?
The proposal to build a power plant north of Coburg is dead.
These days most people drive cars on publicly-financed roads, but many people think taxes are too high. Attempts to raise Oregon's gas tax have failed numerous times over the last decade or so. The predictable result is that our roads are crumbling. In response, cities and even the county are scrambling to do what the state can't afford to do, but the result is a mess.
Meanwhile, local politicians continue to think that the federal government will continue funding huge highway projects, such as an Interstate-5 interchange just south of the Willamette River. What's wrong with this picture? What if taxpayers and elected officials alike treated government money -- whether federal, state, county or local -- as public, money, i.e., our money, and vowed to spend it wisely?
As it is, politicians in Washington, D.C., can't help themselves from "bringing home the bacon" for highway projects, i.e., returning some of the taxes we paid back to us, only gift-wrapped so cleverly that we come to believe it isn't really our money and thus don't question how wisely it is being spent.
A think tank recently released a study showing that Oregon ranks almost dead last in terms of how much businesses pay in taxes. Hmmm. Maybe that's why people think taxes are so high and yet governments at all levels can't afford to fix roads and operate jails.
Measure 37 continues to be a mess. To see how much, consider what a pair of writers in Seattle had to say: "Our neighbors in Oregon stand to see their quality of life hammered by development. If there is a silver lining to their plight, it's that we can learn from their lesson and save ourselves from a similar fate." We hope that Oregon can do better than to be an example for Washington of what not to do.
Rob Zako, Editor
343-5201
rzako@efn.org
Calendar
Monday, May 9 -- Springfield City Council
Springfield City Hall, 225 Fifth St., Springfield, 726-3700
6:00 pm, Work Session, Jesse Maine Room
* Transportation Growth Management (TGM) Grant for Edits to TransPlan.
Wednesday, May 11 -- Lane County Board of Commissioners
Public Service Bldg., 125 East 8th Ave., Eugene, 682-4203
1:30 pm, Public Hearing, Commissioners' Conference Room
a. In the Matter of Adopting the Public Works Five-Year Capital Improvement Program FY 05/06-FY 09/10.
b. In the Matter of Considering a Ballot Measure 37 Claim and Deciding Whether to Modify, Remove or Not Apply Restrictive Land Use Regulations in Lieu of Providing Just Compensation (PA05-5161, Ronald and Patricia Tendick).
c. In the Matter of Considering a Ballot Measure 37 Claim and Deciding Whether to Modify, Remove or Not Apply Restrictive Land Use Regulations in Lieu of Providing Just Compensation (PA05-5162, Kenny and Marta Gee).
Saturday, June 25 -- McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center: 50th Birthday Party
| McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center | |
10 am to 2 pm
Everyone is invited to celebrate 50 years of extraordinary care with McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center.
Join us for hospital tours, prize drawings, birthday cake, free health screenings and more. See our latest technology and remodeled spaces. Learn about new services. Take a walk down memory lane with McKenzie-Willamette. Meet employees and volunteers who have provided "extraordinary care" to our community for the past five decades. Help us make our big FIVE-0 a party worth remembering!
Opportunities
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.
PeaceHealth
PeaceHealth taps new state CEO
By Tim Christie
The Register-Guard | May 14, 2005 |
PeaceHealth has named a new chief executive officer for its Oregon operations, which include Sacred Heart Medical Center and PeaceHealth Medical Group in Eugene.
Mel Pyne, 53, will replace Alan Yordy, who begins his new duties as president, CEO and chief mission officer for the entire PeaceHealth system on July 1.
Pyne is president and CEO of Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center in Plymouth, Mich., responsible for a 620-bed teaching hospital and a 257-bed community hospital. (more...)
McKenzie-Willamette/Triad
Munir Katul -- Do we need a second cardiac surgery unit?
By Munir Katul
The Register-Guard | May 15, 2005 |
One component of the game of musical chairs being played by hospitals in our community has not received enough attention. It is the recent decision by McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center to start a second local cardiac surgery center.
Key questions have not been asked publicly. As a retired physician who practiced in Springfield for 25 years, and who was active in the medical administration of McKenzie-Willamette, I have questions and concerns regarding the hospital's decision. (more...)
Hospital disputes assessed tax value
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | May 12, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- After going almost 50 years without receiving a property tax bill on their hospital, McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center officials apparently experienced sticker shock of sorts when the center became a for-profit entity and the first invoice arrived last fall. (more...)
Health Care
Emergency services accreditation effort returns quality
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | May 15, 2005 |
Maybe Eugene's fire department ought to change its name -- from Fire and Emergency Medical Services to Emergency Medical Services and Fire.
In the past three years, the department's paramedic-trained firefighters and paramedics responded to an average of 34 medical emergencies a day, compared with an average of three fires daily. (more...)
Bill gives tax credits to rural health workers
| The Associated Press | May 14, 2005 |
SALEM -- Tax credits for rural health care workers could be expanded under a new bill proposed by state lawmakers.
But the plan would mean doctors and other health care workers in more urban areas could lose the credit in order to boost the program to so-called frontier counties.
In addition, providers who earn more than $240,000 would no longer be eligible, according to state Rep. Tom Butler, R-Ontario, chairman of the House Revenue Committee. (more...)
Lawmakers hope to streamline medical recordkeeping
By James Sinks
WesCom News Service | May 13, 2005 |
SALEM -- Oregon's hospitals and medical offices are not all on the same pace -- or the same platform -- when it comes to tracking patient data electronically.
At Bend-based Volunteers in Medicine Clinic of the Cascades, for instance, records are digital and patient histories are accessible by doctors and nurses on portable computer tablets.
But at the Madras Medical Group, patient files are still kept totally on paper -- and probably will stay that way until the federal government requires digital record keeping for Medicare billing in 2007, said office manager Trudy Haugen, who also sits on a local committee that's discussing the promise and pitfalls of electronic records.
"We're on a two- to three-year plan," she said. "What people are finding is that those that jumped on the train are going through two different companies before they find the one that works for them."
The Oregon Senate on Monday passed legislation that would create a new state task force to look at how electronic records are developing -- and how to ensure that all those records -- when they get online -- are connected.
The new technology will save money by shaving paperwork costs, and also will improve the care of patients because their records will be accessible anyplace, said Sen. Alan Bates, D-Ashland, a physician. (more...)
Utility Tax; Public Safety District
Dan Egan -- Tax is key to Springfield's fight against crime
By Dan Egan
The Register-Guard | May 10, 2005 |
An editorial in the May 1 Register-Guard urged Springfield voters to repeal a tax that would pay for the operation of the Springfield jail -- a jail that voters approved last November.
While asking readers to defeat this tax, The Register-Guard's editors did acknowledge there is a problem. They stated, "Last November, Springfield voters made it clear they want a new jail to deal with crime rates that rank among the highest in Oregon. Statistics show that 88 percent of criminal offenders booked into the county jail by Springfield police are released within 24 hours -- an appalling 99 percent within 48 hours.
"It's hard to fight crime when you can't keep criminals in jail." (more...)
Dan Egan -- Act now, or we may lose chance to build jail
By Dan Egan
The Springfield News | May 11, 2005 |
Last Sunday's Eugene Register-Guard editorial urged Springfield voters to repeal a tax that would pay for the operation of the Springfield jail -- a jail that voters approved last November.
While asking readers to defeat this tax (that would provide the operations dollars needed to run the jail), the Register-Guard's editorial staff did acknowledge there is a problem. They stated, "Last November, Springfield voters made it clear they want a new jail to deal with crime rates that rank among the highest in Oregon. Statistics show that 88 percent of criminal offenders booked into the county jail by Springfield police are released within 24 hours -- an appalling 99 percent within 48 hours. It's hard to fight crime when you can't keep criminals in jail."
We are being buried in crime. (more...)
Editorial -- R-G's position no surprise
| The Springfield News | May 11, 2005 |
It shouldn't be too surprising that the Eugene Register-Guard disagrees with The Springfield News on whether Springfield should repeal the new utility tax.
As an editorial voice for all of Lane County, the Guard is morally obligated to consider what is best for the entire county when it's evaluating matters like this. And quite frankly, it's not in the best interests of the county as a whole for Springfield to build and staff a jail. Doing so would take pressure off the county itself -- pressure that will, eventually, result in voters across the county solving the crisis at the Lane County Jail.
The problem is, Springfield can't afford to wait for that to happen. Because if we do, although criminals county-wide will continue to be matrixed out, Springfield will shoulder a disproportionate share of that pain. (more...)
Springfield utility tax repeal draws money, strong debate
By Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard | May 13, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Opponents of a new city utility tax have raised seven times as much campaign money as supporters, largely drawing contributions from telecommunications companies that would like to see the tax repealed when ballots are counted on Tuesday. (more...)
Utility tax vote down to wire: Voters will decide whether to keep or repeal the tax in Tuesday's election; deadline is 8 p.m.
By Stacy D. Stumbo
The Springfield News | May 13, 2005 |
The clock is ticking.
On Tuesday, the fate of Measure 20-104, which would repeal a new utility tax adopted by the Springfield City Council, will be decided. (more...)
Editorial -- Focus on corrections: County should simplify public safety proposal
| The Register-Guard | May 15, 2005 |
If Lane County's public safety system were a bridge, its pillars would be crumbling, its guardrails missing and its roadbed so cracked that motorists would be in danger of plunging into the waters below. (more...)
Nearby Developments
Mixing uses a hard sell: Sprawl still the rule in the region as "new urbanism" struggles to catch on
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | May 9, 2005 |
Tammy McGrew is living in a city planner's dream.
She walks to work in less than five minutes. She doesn't need a car to shop for groceries, pick up dry cleaning, or go out to eat. Those businesses are all within two blocks of her home. Public transit is nearby, too.
Such convenience last year allowed the real estate title company executive and her husband to sell two of their three cars. (more...)
For Eugene-Area Visionairies, Making Others See Future Isn't Easy
| The Register-Guard | May 9, 2005 |
The two tracts that finally might give rise to Eugene-Springfield's first compact mixed-use neighborhoods have a few things in common.
Both are at the metro area's fringe, on what are now mainly empty fields: One is near the northern edge of Eugene, the other is on the northern boundary of Springfield.
Both sites are near the Interstate 5/Belt Line Road interchange. (more...)
Slant -- Downtown Eugene
Downtown Eugene has tremendous potential to become a vibrant urban core with lots more art galleries, shops, restaurants and apartments similar to what's happening in Portland's Pearl District. But property owners on Broadway and Willamette have been holding back, sitting on buildings until the time is right. Well, this might be the time. We hear rumors that the largest property owners downtown, Tom Connor and Don Woolley, are talking about kick-starting local renovation and restoration. Conner & Woolley have saved some marvelous old buildings in urban Portland, and it's great news if they decide to pump some time, creative energy and money into downtown Eugene.
Slant -- Connor & Woolley
| Eugene Weekly | May 12, 2005 |
In this column last week we reported on rumors that Connor & Woolley, major holders of downtown real estate, are preparing to invest heavily in downtown residential and commercial development and renovation. If true, this is the best news we've heard in years. Is it true? The major players aren't talking yet, but our sources are reliable and tell us an announcement is coming, but now would be "premature." Downtown is part of an urban renewal district, so developers of residential buildings will likely take advantage of available tax breaks, and we might see proposals for other subsidies. Eugene isn't known for high design standards and proactive city planning, but the face of our downtown could be about to change dramatically. This would be a good time for the creation of a design advisory group that might include UO architecture and landscape professors. The city could also look at providing new incentives for desirable kinds of development downtown, such as mixed residential/commercial buildings, and "green" designs. And this is also a good time to revisit the concept of the Emerald Canal, a millrace-like waterway through downtown that could in itself do wonders for revitalizing our urban core.
Bruce Blonigen -- Enterprise zones: How to know if they're worth it
By Bruce Blonigen
The Register-Guard | May 11, 2005 |
A May 2 Register-Guard editorial admonished the city of Eugene to carefully weigh the costs and benefits when offering incentives (e.g., enterprise zones) for firms to locate or expand their operations in our community. As an economist, I fully agree. While the editorial provided no details on how one goes about such calculations, general principles exist to help us determine when a community is better off offering such incentives. (more...)
Vintage home's move uproots a local landmark
By Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard | May 14, 2005 |
The former Ruthie B's Antiques house in Springfield, a familiar sight next to the Willamette River bridge, will be trucked across town Sunday to a new home on South Second Street.
Jeff and Julie Wisdom bought the house for $1 last year from Chambers Corp., which had purchased the land on which it sits next to Island Park. Chambers has not announced any plans for the land, though city Economic Development Manager John Tamulonis said he would love to see a mixed-use development there combining street-level retail stores with office space and residential units above. (more...)
A nifty profit on Gateway land sale
By Sherri Buri McDonald
The Register-Guard | May 12, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Property prices have zoomed upward at an astonishing pace in the Eugene-Springfield area in the past two years, and one person who has profited from that is local businesswoman Carolyn Chambers. (more...)
Letter -- Crime in Gateway is the city's fault
By Joyce Chilson, Springfield
The Springfield News | May 13, 2005 |
I feel I must protest regarding your article on crime in the Gateway area. In actual fact, the City of Springfield has ruined our once quiet and pleasing neighborhood, and is the party responsible for the crime rates there. Gone is the time when you could calmly walk across the street; to do so now would be taking one's life in one's hands.
Yes, crime has risen, and why, I wonder? Could it be because of all the fast-food places and restaurants, hotels and the Gateway Mall? In fact, the Gateway Mall was the start of the ruination of this once-pleasant street. Now we have good-ness knows how many hotels and motels, even an adult establishment which I feel has no place on our street.
Those of us who have been residents of Gateway for almost 20 years are now subject to almost daily fender-benders at the corner of Gateway and Gateway Loop; the dust and noise from traffic is unbearable. It's like living on the freeway. Constant noise of sirens from police cars and fire trucks only serves as a reminder that there has been yet another accident.
Crime will happen in this kind of environment, but your article was unkind, I feel, to the law-abiding citizens of this area. The City of Springfield will be responsible for driving us out of what we chose to be the place to live. This area was not intended for such heavy traffic and all the building that has gone on over the past 15 years. Had I known what was to happen to this area I would never have moved here; I would have stayed as far away as possible.
Springfield convention center in works, but it will take some time
By Ben Raymond Lode
The Springfield News | May 11, 2005 |
It's not a question of if Springfield will have a new convention center -- it's a question of when.
That's according to Dan Egan, Springfield Chamber of Commerce executive director, who recently returned from Layton, Ohio, a city that put the finishing touches on its 32,000-square-foot convention center late last year.
Egan and eight other Springfield delegates made a two-day trek in April to learn more about the city's new center. (more...)
Council votes to pave 23 alleys west of UO
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | May 10, 2005 |
The largest alley improvement project in Eugene's history got the green light from the City Council on Monday.
By a 6-2 vote, councilors approved a plan to pave 23 alleys in the West University Neighborhood and assess owners for the cost, projected at $1.67 million. (more...)
Neighbors gather to try out Santa Clara park renovation
By Serena Markstrom
The Register-Guard | May 13, 2005 |
They traveled on bicycles, tricycles and on foot. Some carried hula hoops and Frisbees while others tugged their younger siblings in wagons, but these kids had one mission in common Thursday evening: to officially dedicate a Santa Clara-area park their neighborhood stomping grounds. (more...)
Development Report: T.J. Maxx looks to long stay at hotel site
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | May 10, 2005 |
Following the successful renovation of its flagship Oakway Center property, the McKay family of Eugene is moving ahead with plans to build a new home across Coburg Road for one of its oldest tenants. (more...)
Power Plant Proposal Dropped
COBURG -- Black Hills Generation Inc. has withdrawn its state application to build a power plant near Coburg. (more...)
Power plant effort shorts out
By Karen McCowan
The Register-Guard | May 12, 2005 |
COBURG -- A South Dakota energy company has pulled the plug on plans for a natural gas-fired power plant on farmland two miles north of here.
The state Department of Energy announced Wednesday that it has stopped licensing proceedings for the West Cascade Energy Facility after Black Hills Generation Inc. withdrew its application for the plant. In a May 5 letter to the state, Black Hills senior Vice President Mo Klefeker cited "an uncertain market for new power plants in the Northwest" as a reason for the action. (more...)
Power plant deal is off, state says: Plan for Coburg gas plant dropped
| The Springfield News | May 13, 2005 |
SALEM -- The Oregon Department of Energy cancelled all state licensing proceedings on a proposed natural gas power plant near Coburg after the company behind the plant abruptly backed out.
Black Hills Generation Inc. requested that its application for the West Cascade Energy Facility be withdrawn, citing an uncertain market for new power plants in the Northwest.
Withdrawal of the application means that all activities relating to the review of this proposal are terminated. No further hearings or meetings will be held, nor will any further review of the proposal be conducted by the Department of Energy. (more...)
Editorial -- Power failure: Where does electricity come from?
| The Register-Guard | May 14, 2005 |
Black Hills Generation Inc. has withdrawn its application for a state license for a power plant near Coburg, citing unfavorable market conditions. Naming impersonal economic forces as the agents of the West Cascade Energy Facility's demise means everyone can escape responsibility for killing the project. That's for the best, because no one could have felt entirely comfortable having dealt the fatal blow. (more...)
Transportation
Road Funding Dispute
EUGENE -- Lane County Commissioners are playing hardball with city leaders, cutting them off from county road funds after the next biennium. Commissioners voted 3 to 2 to end city/county road partnership payments on July 1st, 2007. They're upset by a lack of support from the cities for a county-wide gas tax. The county currently pays out $2.5 million to the cities for road mainenance. Commissioners heard public comment before making the decision to end those payments. (more...)
County drops its gas tax proposal
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | May 11, 2005 |
Scarcely two months after proposing it, the Lane County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday dropped the idea of a countywide gas tax of up to 5 cents per gallon.
Board Chairwoman Anna Morrison said commissioners are shelving the proposal because of objections from city managers of the 12 cities in the county, who feared that the method the county might use to impose a tax might hurt their city gas taxes. (more...)
Editorial -- The gas tax patchwork: Oregon has abdicated its road-repair role
| The Register-Guard | May 13, 2005 |
The Lane County Board of Commissioners backed away from a proposed county gasoline tax this week, partly because there was no easy way to avoid stepping on the toes of cities that have already enacted gas taxes of their own.
The real problem here is not the county or the cities -- it's the state, which has abdicated its role in funding road maintenance. (more...)
LTD committee approves $27.3 million budget
| The Register-Guard | May 14, 2005 |
The Lane Transit District Budget Committee recently approved a $27.3 million spending plan for the coming year.
The district predicts that fare revenue, advertising and other miscellaneous revenues will increase slightly.
However, fuel cost increases will add an additional $833,000 to the materials and services budget. Personnel services costs, fueled by the increasing cost of medical insurance, will rise in the coming year, the district said. A portion of increased personnel services costs is due to the addition of four employees in operations and one in information technology.
The committee includes the district's seven-member board and seven citizen members. The board is expected to adopt the budget June 15.
Copies of the budget are available by calling 682-6100, and budget information also will be posted at LTD's Web site, www.ltd.org.
Glenwood may get full I-5 access: Plan would replace the bridge, again
By Stacy D. Stumbo
The Springfield News | May 11, 2005 |
It's a plan that's destined to change the complexion of Glenwood forever.
On Monday night, Springfield's Economic Development Agency discussed construction of a multi-million-dollar Interstate 5-Franklin Boulevard interchange that's slated for completion in 2012.
Construction of a new interchange will result in a new bridge, new streets and new developments. It would also require unity between Springfield, Eugene and Oregon Department of Transportation officials. (more...)
I-5/Franklin interchange idea to be aired
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | May 12, 2005 |
Engineers later this year will ask Eugene-Springfield residents what they think about a possible new Interstate 5 interchange at the Willamette River and Franklin Boulevard. (more...)
Highway bill headed for collision
By Jim Abrams
The Associated Press | May 10, 2005 |
WASHINGTON -- The Senate moved Monday to add about $11 billion to a six-year highway and transit bill, putting it on a collision course with the Bush administration and a threatened veto. (more...)
Roadwork Maze About To Get Worse
By Diane Dietz
The Register-Guard | May 10, 2005 |
When road builders shut off Interstate 105 in Eugene next week and east-west traffic grinds to a halt and you're late, late, late -- and sitting in traffic -- consider this:
Most city dwellers in the United States spend days and days of their lives in traffic jams each year. But drivers in Eugene-Springfield idle for a mere nine hours a year, according to new data from the 2005 Urban Mobility Report by the Texas Transportation Institute. (more...)
We want to hear your I-105 stories
| The Register-Guard | May 11, 2005 |
Eugene-Springfield is about to embark on a summer of commuting headaches as the Oregon Department of Transportation periodically closes parts of Interstate 105 -- the area's major east-west thoroughfare.
It's already tough going in the freeway construction zone, and we've heard of a handful of fender benders and even more near misses.
We want to hear your stories.
If you've been involved in a wreck or a near-wreck in the I-105 construction zone from Feb. 1 through today, please call reporter Diane Dietz at 338-2376 or send email to ddietz@guardnet.com.
Major traffic impacts in store for I-105
| The Springfield News | May 11, 2005 |
ODOT's contractor on the I-105 project, Oregon Mainline Paving of McMinnville, will close the westbound I-105 flyover exit ramp to southbound Coburg Road Sunday through Thursday nights from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. to work on re-facing the bridge rail. The traffic will still use the Coburg Road exit. However, rather than using the flyover ramp, they will need to make a left at the traffic signal. (more...)
LTD Expects Delays
EUGENE -- The I-105 construction will cause bus service delays throughout the LTD system. Construction is scheduled to begin on Monday, May 16 and continue through July 3. In addition to the I-105 construction, the Fern Ridge Dam repairs will affect routing on the #93 Veneta starting May 16 through November 30th. (more...)
Other News
Air Quality Still Toxic
By Kera Abraham
Eugene Weekly | May 5, 2005 |
During LRAPA's 37 years stewarding Lane County's air, the local airshed has improved in some regards and degraded in others (see cover story, 4/21). While the levels of sooty particulates from wood burning have declined dramatically since the '70s, the county's airshed remains among the worst in the nation in terms of several major pollutants. (more...)
Becky Riley and David Monk -- Eugene shorted on clean-air board
By Becky Riley and David Monk
The Register-Guard | May 9, 2005 |
Clean air is essential and cannot be taken for granted, especially at the downwind end of the Willamette Valley. The Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority enforces federal and state air pollution laws in our county. Our community relies on this agency to protect the public interest, and to comply with and enforce applicable laws.
Unfortunately, recent actions by the LRAPA board show that politics is taking priority over the public interest and compliance with the law. To serve its own questionable ends, the agency is playing fast and loose with the state law that defines the composition of a regional air board. (more...)
Tough Calls for LRAPA
Board wrestles with board appointment dispute, director search.
By Kera Abraham
Eugene Weekly | May 12, 2005 |
The Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority (LRAPA) board is now confronting two major decisions: the addition of a new Eugene board member and the appointment of a new executive director. Both issues are loaded with political nuance. According to Oregon Toxics Alliance Board President David Monk, the outcomes of these decisions will indicate whether the agency intends to serve the interests of large industrial polluters or steer back toward its core mission of protecting the public health. (more...)
Jim Johnson -- Clean-air board appointment follows state law and counsel's advice
By Jim Johnson
The Register-Guard | May 13, 2005 |
On May 9, The Register-Guard printed a guest viewpoint by Becky Riley and David Monk. The headline was "Eugene shorted on clean-air board."
The column raised questions about how the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority board of directors is addressing a board membership issue under Oregon law. As the interim director of LRAPA, I'd like to respond. (more...)
Springfield to be without city manager for weeks
By Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard | May 10, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- It will take at least until late October for the city to have a new city manager on the job to succeed Mike Kelly, who is set to retire as of Sept. 1 after 16 years running City Hall. (more...)
State businesses bear low burden
By Joe Mosley
The Register-Guard | May 11, 2005 |
A liberal Oregon think tank has a message for big business and its lobbyists at the state Legislature: Stop griping and pay up; your tax burden is among the lightest in the nation.
The Oregon Center for Public Policy said Tuesday that a study shows Oregon ranks 50th among the states and the District of Columbia in the percentage of all state and local taxes that come from businesses.
The study released last month by the Council on State Taxation -- a national pro-business lobbying group -- should serve as "a bitter pill (to Oregon's business community) to stop their bellyaching about taxes," said spokesman Chuck Sheketoff of the Center for Public Policy. (more...)
Randall Edwards -- Oregon must use its clout to cut pollution
By Randall Edwards
The Register-Guard | May 12, 2005 |
Oregon's most valuable assets are its people, its mountains and rivers, and its oceans and forests. The effects of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming will increasingly endanger those resources if we don't hold polluters accountable. (more...)
Measure 37
Letter -- Fix Measure 37
By Jason Busch , UO Law student
Eugene Weekly | May 5, 2005 |
Property owners and the general public of Oregon would benefit from a temporary moratorium on all Measure 37 claims until the Oregon Legislature has an opportunity to fix the law. Whether or not you like Measure 37, it has serious problems that are costing Oregonians money, treating property owners inconsistently, and destroying prime agricultural lands.
Measure 37 is applied by local governments, and it is being applied inconsistently to property owners depending upon where they live. Claims in one county receive blanket waivers of land use regulations, while similarly situated claimants in another county face fees and unreceptive local officials.
Taxpayers also bear the brunt of Measure 37. The Measure stands to hit us with the double whammy of extraordinary administrative costs and payouts to rich developers -- not small landowners.
Oregon shouldn't just waive land use laws and pave the way for erecting McMansions on Oregon's finest agricultural lands. Just because crop prices are down doesn't mean we pave over the soil. Our grandchildren should have the right to grow food for America.
There's a fix for these problems. It's called Senate Bill 350, and it places a moratorium on all Measure 37 claims for one year. That's enough time for the Legislature to address some of the measure's most glaring inadequacies, and it doesn't thwart the people's intent. Contact your legislators and tell them to do their job and fix Measure 37. Currently, opportunists stand to gain by the law, while taxpayers and earnest property owners stand to lose.
Letter -- Measure 37 needs to be fixed
By Jason Busch, Eugene
The Register-Guard | May 10, 2005 |
Property owners and the general public would benefit from a temporary moratorium on all Measure 37 claims until the Oregon Legislature has an opportunity to fix the law. Measure 37 has serious problems that are costing Oregonians money, treating property owners inconsistently and destroying prime agricultural lands.
Measure 37 is applied by local governments, and it is being applied inconsistently to property owners depending upon where they live. Claims in one county receive blanket waivers of land use regulations, while similarly situated claimants in another county face fees and unreceptive local officials.
The measure stands to hit taxpayers with the double whammy of extraordinary administrative costs and payouts to rich developers -- not small landowners. Oregon shouldn't just waive land use laws and pave the way for erecting McMansions on Oregon's finest agricultural lands. Just because crop prices are down doesn't mean we pave over the soil. Our grandchildren should have the right to grow food for America.
There's a fix for these problems. It's called Senate Bill 350, and it places a moratorium on all Measure 37 claims for one year. That's enough time for the Legislature to address some of the measure's most glaring inadequacies and it doesn't thwart the people's intent. Contact your legislators and tell them to do their job and fix Measure 37. Currently, opportunists stand to gain by the law, while taxpayers and earnest property owners stand to lose.
Letter -- Do what's right on Measure 37
By Jack Jennings, Eugene
The Register-Guard | May 13, 2005 |
Why am I not surprised that the Lane County Board of Commissioners and others around the state are going down kicking and screaming on Measure 37? Oregon voters have spoken plainly on this issue not once, but twice.
What county, city and state officials ought to be doing is looking for ways to implement the clear will of the voters. Instead, they are looking for loopholes and absurd techni- calities.
It is not too late for Lane County to step up to the plate and do the right thing. Commissioners should set aside their personal ideologies and just do what is right. That shouldn't be too hard to figure out in light of the two votes taken on this issue.
Measure 37 Claim Heard
EUGENE -- Two Measure 37 claims are up for consideration by Lane County Commissioners. The voter-approved measure allows for long-time landowners to be compensated, if land-use restrictions have since reduced their property value, or have those zoning laws waived. (more...)
Hearing on Measure 37 cases extended by commission
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | May 12, 2005 |
Two property owners asked the Lane County Board of Commissioners for relief from land use restrictions during a public hearing Wednesday, citing the property-compensation law passed statewide by voters last November. (more...)
Compromise on Measure 37 proves elusive in Legislature
By Mark Engler, Freelance Writer
The Capital Press | May 6, 2005 |
SALEM -- Wrangling over Measure 37 continues unabated in the Oregon Legislature, and whether any compensation-waiver bills will ultimately pass remains uncertain heading into the 2005 session's fifth month.
The Senate and House of Representatives land-use committees will likely make a Measure 37 agreement a top priority in May, with the specter of a protracted state budget battle maybe aiding in those negotiations by giving lawmakers more time for deal-making.
Sen. Charlie Ringo, D-Beaverton, is sponsoring an all-encompassing Measure 37 alteration bill that's seen as having the best chance at this point of drawing the bipartisan backing needed to pass the Legislature, said Oregon Farm Bureau lobbyist Don Schellenberg.
OFB would be happy at this stage with about anything that holds out promise to mitigate Measure 37's waivers "so that they don't have as huge an impact on the agricultural infrastructure, land base and industry," Schellenberg said. (more...)
Blueprint drawn for land-use overhaul
A revised Oregon Senate bill aimed at clearing up Measure 37 confusion finds interest -- and pressure -- from all sides
By Laura Oppenheimer
The Oregonian | May 11, 2005 |
SALEM -- Lawmakers moved closer to compromise Tuesday on one of their thorniest tasks: overhauling Oregon's land-use system with a possible rewrite of voter-approved Measure 37.
A new version of Senate Bill 1037 would nearly eliminate the potential for large-scale subdivisions under Oregon's fledgling property rights law.
But it also would open thousands of acres of rural property to small-scale development -- even if owners don't predate planning rules that restrict land value, as required under Measure 37.
The bill standardizes the new law for cities, counties and state agencies, and allows successful applicants to pass along construction opportunities when they sell their land. A compensation fund would be created as an alternative to waiving rules, and a three-tier system of rural lands would spell out development rights.
Major interest groups haven't reached consensus, but many buy into the general concepts of SB1037. With Measure 37 claims pending statewide and the legislative clock ticking, this is the only overarching land-use proposal with a chance of passage.
Pressure to approve the bill -- and tweak it -- comes from all sides. (more...)
2 families in Measure 37 fight get Oregon's OK to develop
The acreages in Multnomah and Yamhill counties, bought before restrictions, will be subdivided
By Laura Oppenheimer
The Oregonian | May 13, 2005 |
Two people who put faces and names to Oregon's complicated Measure 37 debate have won the right to develop their land.
State officials announced approval Thursday for a pair of high-profile claims: one to split Multnomah County widow Dorothy English's forestland, and one to allow a subdivision on Maralynn Abrams' 342 acres of Yamhill County farmland.
Creating eight lots on English's 19 acres won't dramatically change the landscape, but it is a symbolic victory for property rights advocates. The 92-year-old wooed voters last fall with her crackle-voiced radio ads for Measure 37.
Abrams, on the other hand, gained statewide attention when her claim surfaced as one of the first with large-scale development potential. Yamhill County led the state in considering applications, taking heat from neighbors who wanted more input.
Both cases were clear winners under Measure 37, which promises development rights or government payments to landowners hurt by planning rules, said Lane Shetterly, Department of Land Conservation and Development director. Unlike some claimants in the state's first batch of responses last week, English and Abrams showed they bought their land before restrictions limited property value. (more...)
Big Measure 37 claim earns state nod
By David Bates
The (McMinnville) News-Register | May 14, 2005 |
The largest local Measure 37 claim filed to date cleared a significant hurdle Thursday.
State officials gave it a tentative stamp of approval, in the form of an official staff recommendation to the Land Conservation and Development Commission.
The recommendation on a claim from Maralynn Abrams of McMinnville came down the same day as that on a claim from elderly Multnomah County widow Dorothy English, who lent her voice to radio ads for Measure 37 last fall. So the Abrams recommendation garnered a lot more attention than it might have otherwise, earning prominent mention in Friday's edition of The Oregonian. (more...)
Board OKs widow's Measure 37 claim
Albany Democrat-Herald
By Les Gehrett
The (Albany) Democrat-Herald | May 12, 2005 |
Barbara Pennick cried after the Linn County Board of Commissioners approved her Measure 37 claim.
The county's decision Wednesday paves the way for her son and daughter-in-law, William Jr. and Chris Pennick, to build a home near her on the family's property in Gates. (more...)
Measure 37 claims could cause city water shortage
By Ezra Casteel
The (Lincoln City) News Guard | May 10, 2005 |
Measure 37 claims could potentially affect Lincoln City's water policy, City Manager David Hawker told a joint session of the council and Lincoln County commissioners May 3. (more...)
Measure 37 issues
By Gail Kimberling
The (Newport) News-Times | May 11, 2005 |
Hawker also brought up the issue of Measure 37 claims, wondering if the city would receive notice if a claim was brought against county property inside the city's urban growth boundary.
Under a Measure 37 claim, Hawker said, "There's nothing to stop development," and he added, "I see potential problems. The barn door is open and pretty soon the horse is going to run out."
For example, Townsend said, there are restrictions on "big box" development inside the city limits but nothing to stop such development in the urban growth boundary under Measure 37. "These things can ultimately affect the form the city takes, and its resources," Townsend said.
Hawker said an answer to such dilemmas could be a policy restricting water hook-ups in the urban growth boundary. (more...)
Nina Carter and Greg Smith -- Preserve land-use standards that protect our families
By Nina Carter and Greg Smith, Special to The Times
The Seattle Times | May 13, 2005 |
What if your neighbor got a permit to build a huge mall next door? And what if another neighbor proposed to build a casino, hotel, gas station and golf course just up the street?
Thankfully, there are protections in place for our communities that prevent big developers from running rough-shod through our neighborhoods.
But don't feel too safe: Oregon had protections in place, too, until they were thrown out by a developers' initiative last fall.
And just recently in Oregon, a permit was approved for developers to pave over 1 million square feet of land in the middle of a farming community -- thanks to Measure 37.
This is the reality of Measure 37: land-use chaos that threatens the quality of life in Oregon's communities and rural areas. (more...)