Health Options Digest
June 5, 2005
Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield (CHOICES)
In This Issue
From the Editor
Prayer and Public Policy
It was a prayer kind of week.
On Memorial Day, many of us remembered in prayers those who served their country and loved ones who passed away, as President Abraham Lincoln once did towards the end of the Civil War.
On Thursday, PeaceHealth dedicated the site of its new hospital at RiverBend with prayers.
On Friday, 700 people gathered for a prayer breakfast that one mayor attended and another did not.
And let's not forget that a month ago, The Springfield News urged us to pray that David Rodriguez was wrong about the risk of flooding at RiverBend.
My paternal grandmother was a woman of faith who tried to save those she met and whose wish that I or one of my cousins would study at a seminary was never fulfilled. In her later years she lived alone in a 4-bedroom house and had an increasingly difficult time taking care of herself. Her approach to life was Allah bedebir -- God will provide. She prayed that God would take care of her in her growing needs.
But my father and uncle believed that God takes care of those who take care of themselves, in particular, those who plan for and find a sensible retirement living situation.
Of course, faith and prayer are important in healing. After doctors do what they can with modern medicine, the rest is left in God's hands. Some patients recover and others don't.
But what is the role of prayer in planning and public policy? Is it reasonable to, say, build a hospital and then pray that it won't be flooded? Does it make sense to, say, have a lot of development downtown and then pray that the traffic won't be too bad?
Will God provide, even to those without the foresight or wisdom to plan for contingencies and provide for themselves? Or does God help those who help themselves?
Week In Review
We continue to appreciate the views of our local doctors in how to better provide critical health care services to our community.
In a letter to The Register-Guard, Dr. Allen Harlor of Eugene writes: "It is time that knowledgeable community people get together with the hospitals to end this disagreement, which has gone on long enough, and find a way to work together. This is not only what is best for the doctors and the hospitals, but also what is best for the public." Who are our community leaders who will come together for the health of the whole community? Where is the Lane County Medical Society? Where are the Lane County Commissioners, who are responsible for publci health?
The Lane Coalition for Healthy Active Youth is part of a national program, called Ways to Enhance Children's Activity and Nutrition ("We Can"), to get kids to eat healthier foods and be more active.
There are 45 million Americans, almost one in six, who lack health insurance.
Locally, some employers are switching to health savings accounts to try to keep costs low enough to continue providing some kind of health coverage.
Statewide, there are moves in Salem to provide health coverage for more Oregonians.
And nationally, the issue of uninsured Americans is starting to attract the attention of insurance industry and business leaders.
Unfortunately, there is no free lunch: We know of no way that every American can have access to high quality and prompt medical care without someone having to foot the hefty bill. Sooner or later, people will need to choose what is really important enough to pay for or what they are willing to simply endure. Alas, we live in a day and age when our leaders tell us what they think we want to hear, not what we need to know -- which is a kind of political malpractice, albeit one that is never the subject of a lawsuit.
Elected and civic leaders are talking about a countywide public safety district and about how to fund a new Springfield jail. It is good to see people talking with each other about how to solve pressing but difficult problems.
Downtown Eugene suddenly appears to be on the verge of a Renaissance, as recently suggested here and in the Eugene Weekly. But the recent explosion of news stories in The Register-Guard causes us to wonder if all this activity is really new, or if a bit of marketing and spin is occurring.
Last week, Oregon Senate Bill 1037, which if approved would have replaced Measure 37, was sent to the Rules Committee. We hear the bill is now "cryogenically frozen" and unlikely to come back to life this session. As The Register-Guard editorialized, Senate Bill 1037 would have created more problems than it fixed. Now attention shifts to the House, which is considering House Bill 3120 to replace Measure 37. Without action by the legislature, the confusing and poorly drafted measure that voters approved last fall will have to be sorted on case by case and in the courts.
Indeed, Dundee will soon become the first community to be taken to court by a claimant who isn't satisfied with the response to his claim under Measure 37.
Also, a judge recently ruled that Measure 37 does not trump federal protections for the scenic Columbia River Gorge, an action which may prompt another round of cries for "property rights" -- that is rights for me to do what I want with my land but not for you, my neighbors, to maintain your properties values resulting from, say, the scenic qualities of the Columbia River Gorge. Hmmmm. Maybe this issue of "property rights" isn't so simple, as it pits the "rights" of one property owner against his or her neighbors.
At least they are doing something in Salem: We now have a state fossil, the Metasequoia.
Alas, legislators in Salem also appear to be putting the brakes on efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Oregon that contribute to global warming. Perhaps legislators are subconsciously wanting to recreate the warmer climate that once allowed the Metasequoia to thrive this far north.
Oh, the irony! Dave Barry, where are you when we need you the most?
Looking Ahead
On Wednesday in Portland, Jaime Lerner, an architect and the former mayor of Curitiba, Brazil, will talk about the successes in that city that has done so much with so little. If you can make it to Portland, we highly recommend this talk.
On Thursday, the Metropolitan Policy Committee will... what exactly do these folks do? We think they talk a lot about transportation, and then end up doing something different. God helps those with the wisdom and foresight to help themselves -- and we pray that God will help the MPC, which needs all the help it can get.
LTD Vacancies
We hear that three positions on the Lane Transit District board of directors will expire at the end of this year: Position 4 for north Eugene east of River Road and the City of Coburg (currently served by Susan Ban); Position 5 for central and west Eugene, including the University area and downtown, and the Whiteaker, Jefferson, and West Side neighborhoods (currently served by Gerry Gaydos); and Position 6 for west Eugene near Highway 99 and River Road and Junction City (currently served by Dave Kleger).
As the bill to make LTD directors elected died in a Senate committee, these positions will be filled by Governor Kulongoski and confirmed by the Senate. The process of appointments by the governor is akin to black magic. Few understanding how the game is played, or even that there is a game. Nonetheless, those from the areas listed above with an interest in serving on the LTD board might begin making discreet inquiries.
For more information, visit http://www.ltd.org/about/boardmembers.html
Rob Zako, Editor
343-5201
rzako@efn.org
Calendar
Wednesday, June 8 -- Jaime Lerner: 'Curitiba: Another City that Works'
7:30 pm, First Congregational Church, 1126 SW Park, Portland
Jaime Lerner, architect and former mayor of Curitiba, Brazil presents a special encore lecture: 'Curitiba: Another City that Works.'
Join the Illahee Lecture Series as we explore the 2005 series theme 'How Cities Learn: Portland's Place on Earth.'
Jaime Lerner is an inspiring urban planner. He was mayor of Curitiba three times (1971-75, 1979-83 and 1989-92) and turned that city into a paradigm of city planning, and not only for developing countries. He created an infrastructure in Curitiba that kept the city from bursting out of its seams despite its rapid growth. His bus tickets system has become internationally renowned.
As Mayor of Curitiba for three terms, Jaime Lerner consolidated the City's basic urban transformations and implemented an Integrated Mass Transport System during his first term. In addition to the leading-edge urban planning initiatives, he intensified an encompassing program that resulted in social and environmental advances.
"In Curitiba, its results show how to combine a healthy ecosphere, a vibrant and just economy, and a society that nurtures humanity. Whatever exists is possible; Curitiba exists; therefore it is possible." -- Natural Capitalism
As a UN urban planning consultant, he has been involved with planning designs, mass transportation programs and urban projects in several cities of Brazil, Latin America and Asia. Lerner has been awarded very important national and international prizes: the United Nations Environmental Award, granted by the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), New York, (1990); the Child and Peace Award from UNICEF; the "Thomas Jefferson Medal" from the University of Virginia, USA (1997) and, finally, the "Prince Claus Fund Award", Netherlands (2000).
Underwritten by the City of Portland & Portland Development Commission.
For more info, contact:
Darcy Cronin, Marketing and Outreach Coordinator
Illahee -- Environment Matters Lecture Series
(503) 222-2719
darcycronin@illahee.org
http://www.illahee.org
Thursday, June 9 -- Metropolitan Policy Committee
11:30 am -- 1:30 pm, Springfield City Hall, Library Meeting Room, 225 5th Ave., Srpingfield, Contact: Tom Schwetz, 682-4044
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!
PeaceHealth
Construction Officially Begins on RiverBend
Construction crews are clearing the way for a new PeaceHealth Regional Medical Center in Springfield.
The $350 million dollar facility's been in the planning stages since 2001. It faced multiple challenges from land owners and land use groups worried about locating a hospital next to the McKenzie River.
Thanks to recent settlements, those who used to oppose the project are now helping PeaceHealth. "They're actually part of planning teams that we have that are going to be doing the planning work here for second phase at RiverBend," explains Phillip Farrington, PeaceHealth's Director of Land Use Planning & Development. (more...)
Hopes, Prayers, Blessings For New Medical Center
By Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard | June 3, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- As an osprey shrieked overhead and the McKenzie River flowed nearby, PeaceHealth officials on Thursday dedicated what they termed the "holy ground" that will become a $350 million regional medical center in three years.
About 400 public officials, PeaceHealth employees and other guests packed a white-roofed tent at the Gateway site for a ceremony that celebrated the corporation's five-year effort to place the RiverBend medical center on the pristine and largely undeveloped riverfront property. (more...)
RiverBend campus dedicated
| The Springfield News | June 3, 2005 |
On Thursday afternoon, a large audience of well-dressed local citizens rode a chartered bus from the old Sony plant to the site that, a little over two years from now, will be PeaceHealth Medical Center's RiverBend campus. (more...)
Editorial -- RiverBend's beginning: Formal dedication launches new hospital project
| The Register-Guard | June 4, 2005 |
Leave it to a Catholic health care organization to set an example for would-be prayer breakfast organizers of how to honor religious diversity.
At Thursday's official dedication of PeaceHealth's RiverBend hospital site on the banks of the McKenzie River, formal blessings were offered by an American Indian elder, a Muslim imam, a Jewish rabbi and Protestant ministers and Catholic priests. Guests attending the ceremony were invited to write their own hopes, prayers or blessings on slips of paper and then burn them in "mission fire" earthenware pots. (more...)
Letter -- Don't eliminate Ask-A-Nurse
By Nancy Petersen, Eugene
The Register-Guard | June 5, 2005 |
I am writing to ask that Sacred Heart Medical Center's Ask-A-Nurse not be taken away. It is an invaluable service to many and one that I feel saved my life tonight.
I have called many times on behalf of my children when they were young, and the nurses helped calm the hysteria of a young mother. Tonight, I called because I needed help and talked to the most wonderful nurse, who made me laugh, consoled me and helped get me on my way.
Being recently diagnosed with brain and lung cancer, I am being medicated by steroids that make me unable to sleep. Thanks to a nurse at Ask-A-Nurse, I now know the reason for my insomnia. But now they are going to take these angels of mercy away from the people in our community. Isn't there anywhere else where we can make budget cuts?
We need Ask-A-Nurse. Ask anybody who has relied on this service. I implore PeaceHealth to look further into its budget and find another resource to cut.
Even though I have cancer, I am not going to die, but I will need to talk to Ask-a-Nurse again about something. This decision should be reconsidered.
McKenzie-Willamette/Triad
Letter -- Hospitals should work together
By Allen D. Harlor, M.D., Eugene
The Register-Guard | June 3, 2005 |
I have read both the May 15 guest viewpoint by Dr. Munir Katul and the editorial in The Register-Guard on May 22. I honestly feel there is a correlation between the conflicts between the hospitals, Katul's viewpoint and the editorial.
I agree with Katul that it is in the community's interest to have one excellent cardiac surgery facility as well as one excellent neonatal intensive care unit. In facilities around the country that seem to be the most reliable, the ones that have larger volumes seem to certainly do much better.
I also think it is time that knowledgeable community people get together with the hospitals to end this disagreement, which has gone on long enough, and find a way to work together. This is not only what is best for the doctors and the hospitals, but also what is best for the public.
Along with this, they could look at the viability of the Eugene Water & Electric Board location for McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center and whether that would involve tax increases for Eugene taxpayers. If that is the case, it may not be the most appropriate area to locate a new hospital.
Having practiced in the community since 1966, I have great respect for both hospitals, the physician staffs and the ancillary caregivers, whether they are nurses, therapists, aides or janitorial services. It is time we utilize the hospitals and the personnel available to try to pull together for a change. It is time to provide a solution for the future of medical care in this community.
Health Care
Health campaign enlists local group
By Tim Christie
The Register-Guard | June 2, 2005 |
A Lane County anti-obesity group finds itself at the forefront of a national campaign to get kids to eat healthier foods and be more active.
The Lane Coalition for Healthy Active Youth is one of 13 community groups and public agencies nationwide picked by federal health officials to launch the program, called Ways to Enhance Children's Activity and Nutrition, or We Can.
The main goals of the educational campaign from the National Institutes of Health are to increase physical activity; improve nutritional choices; and reduce screen time, whether television, computers or video games. (more...)
New direction in Health Plans: Savings accounts are seen as a way to cope with skyrocketing costs
By Tim Christie
The Register-Guard | June 5, 2005 |
Faced with ever-rising health insurance premiums, Eugene car dealer Ron Pappel decided to see if he could save himself and his four employees money by switching from traditional managed-care type insurance to a high deductible plan with health savings accounts.
Pappel, owner of Executive Auto Sales, said health savings accounts were attractive because of the upfront savings in premium costs. But he quickly learned they hold potential pitfalls as well. (more...)
Editorial -- A different tack?
By Hasso Hering
The (Albany) Democrat-Herald | |
Another health care initiative is on the horizon. We will have to await the details, but chances are it will follow the lines of those that came before.
The general tack is to force an expansion of insurance, and to stick the public or employers with the cost.
The latest effort, by Senators Westlund of Bend and Bates of Ashland, would require the Legislature to expand health care coverage so that every Oregonian can afford to get it, whether working or not. If voters approve, it will be interesting to see how this could be done. The betting here is that it can't be done.
The problem is not the lack of insurance but its price, which reflects the price of medicine as well as the enormous cost of running insurance systems.
Maybe we should try the opposite. Instead of encouraging and even requiring insurance, what if we prohibited it? If nobody had insurance, think how fast the price of medical care would come down.
Paul Krugman -- A Serious Drug Problem
| By Paul Krugman | May 6, 2005; Page A27, Column 6 |
ABSTRACT: Paul Krugman Op-Ed column says 2003 Medicare bill is object lesson in how special interests hold America's health care system hostage; says law subsidizes private health plans, which have repeatedly failed to deliver promised cost savings, and creates unnecessary layer of middlemen by requiring that drug benefit be administered by private insurers; says it specifically prohibits Medicare from using its purchasing power to negotiate lower drug prices; notes that Rep Billy Tauzin, who shepherded drug bill through Congress, now heads all-powerful drug-industry lobbying group, and Thomas Scully, former Medicare administrator, negotiated for future health industry lobbying job at same time he was pushing drug bill; calls Medicare bill corrupt deal created by corrupt system. (more...)
Health Leaders Seek Consensus Over Uninsured
By Robert Pear
The New York Times | May 29, 2005 |
WASHINGTON, May 28 -- At a time when Congress has been torn by partisan battles, 24 ideologically disparate leaders representing the health care industry, corporations and unions, and conservative and liberal groups have been meeting secretly for months to seek a consensus on proposals to provide coverage for the growing number of people with no health insurance.
The participants, ranging from the liberal Families USA to the conservative Heritage Foundation and the United States Chamber of Commerce, said they had made progress in trying to overcome the ideological impasse that has stymied action on the problem for eight years.
The group, which first came together last October, has not endorsed any specific plan, but has discussed a range of options, including tax incentives for the purchase of insurance, changes in Medicaid to cover more low-income adults and the creation of insurance purchasing pools at the state level. (more...)
Health Concerns: Seeking Insurance, Individuals Face Many Obstacles
Past ailments can disqualify people or raise prices; Bush wants more buyers; Mr. Craig's policy odyssey
By Sarah Lueck
The Wall Street Journal | May 31, 2005; Page A1, Column 1 |
John Craig, a 46-year-old software consultant in Orem, Utah, plays racquetball twice a week, doesn't smoke or drink and isn't overweight. But when he tried to get an individual health-insurance policy three years ago, he was rejected.
The insurance company cited sinus infections and depression, two conditions that Mr. Craig felt were under control. The sinus infections stopped when he quit eating wheat in 1992, and medication has kept depression at bay for years. Frustrated, he ended up pursuing coverage through various state programs. For people with health problems in the private market, he says, "if you have a job with health coverage, then you will get health coverage. If you don't, you're simply out of luck."
Mr. Craig has gotten an unwelcome education in the vagaries of individual insurance -- the private option of last resort for many of the roughly 60 million Americans who don't get health insurance from their jobs or the government. About 17 million people, or 10% of Americans under age 65, buy individuals policies in a market that even proponents agree has a big problem: Sick people often can't get insurance, or if they ca, it's prohibitively expensive.
Now the individual market is at the center of a debate about how to extend health coverage to more people, a crucial point of disagreement among the politicians who are pushing to solve the issue of the uninsured in the next few years. President Bush and other prominent Republicans want to expand the market to cover more of the 45 million people who are currently uninsured and to provide an alternative to employer-based and government programs. But it's not clear how they would help people whose health isn't perfect and who, arguably, are most in need of help with medical costs.
Health Insurers' New Target
Companies go after the uninsured with cheaper plans, clever marketing, but benefits are sparser
By Vanessa Fuhrmans
The Wall Street Journal | May 31, 2005; Page B1, Column 2 |
The 45 million Americans who lack health insurance are one of the country's biggest social challenges. Lately, though, they've also become the insurance industry's hottest new growth market.
Healthy appreciation
| The Register-Guard | June 5, 2005 |
The upward spiral of health-care costs in recent years has made employer-sponsored health coverage a premium perk for many workers. A recent survey about job-benefit desirability bears it out.
More than half of adults, 58 percent, said participation in a health plan was the best choice among possible employee benefits.
The next option, a $500 salary increase, was cited by only 14 percent. Participation in a 401(k) plan with a company match was chosen by 12 percent and 8 percent said paid life and disability insurance. Only 2 percent said they'd pick an extra five vacation days.
And the interest on health care was not limited to the older among us -- 52 percent of the generation X crowd, the group following the baby boomers, also chose health insurance benefits as their first choice.
The survey of 1,092 adults was commissioned by Medco Health Solutions Inc., a Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based manager of prescription drug programs.
Suit fears put more doctors on defensive
By Lindsey Tanner
The Associated Press | June 1, 2005 |
CHICAGO -- Fear of getting sued leads an alarming number of doctors to practice "defensive medicine," such as ordering unnecessary tests and avoiding risky procedures, a survey found.
The practice has been around for decades, and is no secret to many patients. But the survey of 824 Pennsylvania doctors suggests it is surprisingly common, researchers said.
A separate study found that caps on malpractice damages and other changes in liability law appear to have less effect on the nation's supply of doctors than ardent supporters of tort reform contend.
The studies were published in today's Journal of the American Medical Association. (more...)
Nearby Developments
Editorial -- Pause on public safety: County should work with cities to revise plan
| The Register-Guard | May 31, 2005 |
The Eugene City Council's 5-4 rejection of Lane County's proposed public safety taxing district last week could prove a blessing. It might spur county and city officials to resolve their differences and agree on a new strategy that gains the broad support essential to winning at the polls. (more...)
Letter -- County has been here before
By Leonard Goodwin, Elmira
The Register-Guard | May 31, 2005 |
Springfielders and The Register-Guard editorial board would do well to review history before yielding to the importuning of the county to support a new public safety district.
In the mid-1980s, the county was suffering a budget crisis, but the commissioners had a creative solution. They decided to incorporate in the urban transition agreements then being negotiated the transfer of planning and building jurisdiction in the urban fringe areas to Lane County cities.
But the cities protested, "How will we pay for doing that work?" The county's solution was to transfer roads, and $2.5 million of road fund money to maintain them, to Lane County cities.
Fastforward 20 years. The county is having a budget crisis, but the commissioners have a creative solution. That $2.5 million the cities have been getting in exchange for taking on building and building permits in the urban fringe -- cancel it. Nothing is said about taking back planning and building permits or the roads.
The commissioners have another creative solution: Enact a public service district. But, the cities protest, this will drive us into compression, costing Springfield alone more than $1.2 million, according to the county assessor. Don't worry, say the county commissioners, we will make you whole for any revenue you lose.
Yogi Berra put it best -- this is dŽjˆ vu all over again. Those who do not study history are condemned to repeat it.
County seeks cities' help on safety
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | June 2, 2005 |
The Lane County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to put the issue of public safety before the county's 12 cities, after Eugene's recent rejection of the first step in the county plan to raise property taxes in order to provide better public safety service.
The county had hoped to create a countywide public safety district that would raise $20 million to $40 million in taxes annually to add jail staff, prosecutors, rural sheriff's deputies, youth services and more.
But it's no longer clear that the proposed property tax increase would be the solution that the county proposes for what it terms a public safety crisis. (more...)
County creating committee to discuss safety district
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | June 3, 2005 |
Lane County Commissioners are trying a new approach in their attempt to pass a proposed county-wide public safety district. Commissioners are planning to create a 16-member ad-hoc committee to discuss issues surrounding the concept in hopes of moving it forward.
The idea for a committee was born after Springfield narrowly approved amendments to the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan and Eugene City Councilors even more narrowly denied the amendment, which would have been the first step in making the proposed district possible.
All three jurisdictions must approve the amendments; otherwise, it must go to the Metropolitan Policy Committee for dispute resolution. (more...)
Editorial -- Bring everyone aboard: Public safety plan needs broad support
| The Register-Guard | June 3, 2005 |
The Eugene City Council's refusal to take the first step toward the creation of a countywide public safety district was like French voters' rejection of a proposed constitution for the European Union: Neither is fatal, but neither can be ignored.
The Lane County Board of Commissioners responded appropriately Wednesday by voting unanimously to bring the public safety issue before a new committee representing all 12 of the county's cities. (more...)
Options for jail funding under review
After defeat of utility tax, locals try to find a way
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | June 1, 2005 |
A nine-member committee has been charged with figuring out how to fund operations at a municipal jail -- a cost expected to be about $1.4 million per year.
Today, meeting for the second time, Jail Operations Funding Options Committee members will begin to discuss revenue possibilities -- after voters firmly denied a utility tax ordinance that was loosely tied to jail operations.
Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken, who appointed the committee, said any time a tax issue comes before voters it's a difficult sell. He said the utility tax was even more difficult due to the misinformation about the tax and people's belief that repealing the tax wouldn't mean the loss of a municipal jail. (more...)
Rent-A-Jail
SPRINGFIELD -- They say crime doesn't pay, but one suggestion may have criminals in Springfield paying for their three hots and a cot.
Voters approved $28.7 million last November to build the new Springfield Jail; now they're trying to come up with another million dollars a year to run the day-to-day operations.
One idea from a citizens' task force is to charge people for room and board during their stay. The cost to criminals is estimated at 50 to 60 dollars per bed per day in the new jail.
Residents we talked to say it's an interesting suggestion, but one that might not have much teeth. (more...)
Springfield considers renting out jail space
By Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard | June 2, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Prisoners could be charged for their room and board when they serve time at the proposed Springfield city jail. Cities from Coburg to Oakridge might rent space for their own prisoners at the jail. Or perhaps the east half of Lane County might form a special taxing district that would pay the city of Springfield for law enforcement -- and jail space.
Those were among the ideas that surfaced Wednesday as a special citizens task force met to answer a difficult question: Where can Springfield come up with about $1 million a year in new money to run a jail it's planning to build but can't yet afford? (more...)
Jail committee on the hunt for funding options
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | June 3, 2005 |
Committee members seeking to uncover revenue for municipal jail operations went home with a homework assignment this week.
Each member of the Jail Operations Funding Options Committee was asked to come up with proposals to fund roughly $1 million in operating expenses. Those ideas are to be submitted to the city for distribution to the group before their meeting next Wednesday.
Roxie Cuellar, committee chair, said the purpose is to generate ideas quickly and move toward a solution. (more...)
Parking abundant in downtown
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | June 1, 2005 |
Parking in Springfield is a pretty sweet deal -- it's free, and there's plenty of it. But how it's used could be improved to increase access to downtown businesses.
That's the conclusion of the Downtown Springfield Association after a parking survey done recently by Todd Powell. (more...)
Could Chambers be coming to Springfield?
By Ben Raymond Lode
The Springfield News | June 1, 2005 |
Eugene business heavyweight Chambers Construction may be moving to Springfield soon.
The company is in the process of preparing to redevelop a 1.5-acre facility in the Glenwood neighborhood that the company says it will use for offices and warehouse space.
Currently Chambers Construction is headquartered at 2295 S.E. Coburg Road in Eugene.
The company's prospective new home is at the west end of Judkins Road, south of the Southern Pacific Railroad and east of the northbound I-5 off-ramp that leads to Franklin Boulevard in Eugene. (more...)
Downtown: Urban renewal on Aisle 5
By Joe Mosley
The Register-Guard | June 2, 2005 |
PORTLAND -- Who would have thought that a $3.71 bag of fresh, all-natural marshmallows could help resuscitate a moribund corner of an urban downtown?
Or that a salad bar run amok -- augmented by separate counters of hot foods, pizzas and grain dishes -- could turn organic food shopping into a must-do experience for the hip and affluent?
But that was the type of granola-and-glitz marriage envisioned a few years back by planners of Portland's Brewery Blocks, on the southwest edge of the city's white-hot Pearl District. And the opening of a Whole Foods Market there in March 2002 did exactly what proponents are hinting could happen if the natural foods giant succeeds in its plans for a store on the east edge of Eugene's downtown. (more...)
Broad plans for Broadway
By Sherri Buri McDonald
The Register-Guard | June 3, 2005 |
West Broadway in downtown Eugene may soon start living up to its grand name.
A Minneapolis-based national developer has teamed up with local developers Tom Connor and Don Woolley to redevelop the stretch of mostly vacant properties they own along West Broadway, from Willamette Street to Charnelton Street.
It will be a large, mixed-use development covering several blocks, John Bartell, vice president and general manager of Opus Northwest, said in a conference call Thursday between Opus officials, Connor and The Register-Guard.
The developers said they hope to start construction work around mid-2006. (more...)
Property owner wants to put the bustle back
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | June 3, 2005 |
Whole Foods Market isn't the first national retailer to eye the 1-acre parcel of land off East Broadway in downtown Eugene owned by a Dan Giustina-led investment group.
But the hip natural food chain is the first potential tenant to mesh with the Eugene businessman's vision of injecting new life into the east side of the city's core -- where Giustina is a major property owner. (more...)
Downtown projects build an air of hope
By Sherri Buri McDonald
The Register-Guard | June 4, 2005 |
The urban cores of cities across America are transforming from tumbledown to trendy.
Now, with the prospect of redevelopment downtown, Eugene might be next in line for a major makeover.
The possibility of Whole Foods Market locating on a 1-acre parcel near east Broadway and a multiblock redevelopment of housing, shops and offices along west Broadway casts downtown in a whole new light, local real estate experts said. (more...)
WOW Hall Debate
EUGENE -- An area of downtown Eugene will soon be busy with construction.
Groundbreaking is just six months away and a new development next to the historic WOW Hall continues to trigger heated discussion.
A new apartment building, with commercial spaces, will soon be popping up next door to the WOW Hall in downtown Eugene.
It isn't without controversy. (more...)
Development Report: Long-vacant building to get medical tenants
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | May 31, 2005 |
A $2 million speculative office building constructed almost eight years ago in central Eugene -- but never occupied -- is finally on its way toward finding tenants.
Last month, an investor group tied to Orion Medical Services LLC bought the long-vacant 22,800-square-foot office at 74-B Centennial Loop for $1.3 million, according to deeds on file with Lane County.
Jim Cobb, president and CEO of Eugene-based Orion, said a multi-specialty ambulatory surgery practice will occupy about 7,000 square feet of the building.
Orion will rent out the remainder of the building for medical office uses. (more...)
Eugene City Beat: Mayor draws fire, praise over Whole Foods
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | June 5, 2005 |
Mayor Kitty Piercy appears to be keeping an open mind on a hot topic, even though it could cost her some political goodwill.
Some residents who voted for Piercy and liberal-leaning city councilors in last year's election are unhappy about the willingness of city representatives to consider a land swap that could lead to the construction of a Whole Foods Market downtown. (more...)
Editorial -- At last, a turning point: Years of preparation downtown yielding fruit
| The Register-Guard | June 5, 2005 |
Downtown Eugene never really died. Certain blocks and corners have thrived, a restaurant district and nightclub scene has evolved, and many offices are full of workers. But still, Eugene has spent decades trying to recover from the flight of large retailers to suburban malls. Now downtown is on the verge of becoming a place more focused on the future than the past. (more...)
Don Kahle -- Connect river 'dots' to become No. 1 city
By Don Kahle
The Register-Guard | June 5, 2005 |
Place making is not new. Since Americans started putting dots on the vast continental canvas, medium-sized towns have struggled to keep an identity between the bustling urban centers and the meandering rural countryside. (more...)
Letter -- Preserve our Class 1 farmland
By Kate Perle, Eugene
The Register-Guard | June 2, 2005 |
After Eugene's City Council rejected the land swap offered by developers Melvin and Norman McDougal, I read The Register-Guard's May 19 article saying the McDougals' proposed Santa Clara property is designated in the Metro Plan as "urban reserve." That designation was revoked; it is simply Class 1 farmland.
Mike Evans was quoted as saying this is not ordinary rural land, but opportunity property. I couldn't agree more! This land gives us the opportunity to feed ourselves long into the future. Class 1 soils are our most fertile and give us the greatest return for energy put into crop production. To pave this over with 120 acres of suburban sprawl is not only shortsighted but poor planning.
To accommodate growth, we not only need buildable land, we also need to retain our most valuable soils for food production. Currently, Lane County has given over 90 percent of its Class 1 soils to other forms of development. This dwindling resource deserves preservation.
As the economic reality of reduced oil supplies makes itself known, food produced farther away will become increasingly more costly. At present, the average meal traveled 1,500 miles before it reached your table.
In contrast, food produced locally can travel less than 10 miles to reach you. That represents savings in energy outputs, global warming gasses emitted, money reinvested in our local economy, protection of open spaces and fresher food that is better tasting because it wasn't harvested two weeks before you ate it.
Transportation
Drivers court a dilemma: Many who commute to new federal courthouse won't be parking close by
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | June 5, 2005 |
Put on your walking shoes.
That's the city of Eugene's advice to the many hundreds of people who will have reason to visit the new federal courthouse that is rising on the east edge of downtown. (more...)
Down by the riverside: Routes along the Willamette now sport 1/4-mile markers
By Jeff Wright
The Register-Guard | June 4, 2005 |
Like Michelle Martin's belly, the popularity of Eugene's riverbank trail system just keeps growing and growing.
Martin, 33, is training for her first marathon -- and her first baby. "I don't know what to expect for either," she says, laughing. (more...)
Plan moves ahead to tax drivers by mile
SALEM -- Oregon's plan to tax drivers by the mile instead of per gallon of gas is moving ahead. (more...)
Measure 37, Oregon's Land Use Planning System
League of Women Voters -- Senate Bill 1037
By Margaret Noel and Liz Frenkel
League of Women Voters | May 16, 2005 |
TO: Chair and Members of the Senate Environment and Land Use Committee
RE: SB 1037
Based on League "Principles Regarding Measure 37 Proposals," approved 5/3/05, the League of Women Voters of Oregon offers the following comments regarding Measure 37 legislative proposals.
Measure 37 has created challenges for state and local government, private property owners, and other Oregon citizens. We were hopeful that SB 1037 would narrowly focus on the issues of clarity, consistency and certainty. The League does not support SB 1037 as articulated in the -2 Draft. We suggest, rather, that the Legislature: (more...)
Sriram Khe -- Initiatives sacrifice middle ground
By Sriram Khe
The (Salem) Stateman Journal | June 1, 2005 |
Last fall term, a student excitedly related to me his camping experiences along the coast over the prior weekend, and added that he was thankful for Tom McCall's leadership in helping preserve Oregon's beaches.
Because that was right before the elections, I asked him whether that meant that he was voting against Measure 37, and it certainly surprised me that he was enthusiastically in favor of Measure 37.
Subsequent discussions revealed that he had not made the links that connected McCall (whom he adored), the state's fabulous landscape and the coast in particular (that he was crazy about), and the land-use planning system that resulted, which the student apparently disliked.
I will not be surprised if many Oregonians who helped pass the measure did not make these connections either. (more...)
Letter -- Elites don't get Measure 37
By Jerry Kershner, Eugene
The Register-Guard | June 6, 2005 |
Whoever wrote the May 23 editorial on fixing Measure 37 should be assigned to read the entire newspaper. The editor might pick up on the May 23 story on Page B2 relative to the problems with the glut of wine grapes and what it is doing to small farmers. Maybe, just maybe, he will see that farming's problem is not lack of land but overproduction.
Oregon grows exceptional pinot grapes and puts out some excellent wine, but it competes with the whole world. To do so requires good grapes, great vintners and superior marketing. So far, it seems that these necessary ingredients are available here, and we do have a thriving industry.
That said, why does the state need to confiscate private property to help the industry out? Make no mistake about it: Limiting what a private citizen can do with his property is confiscation. If I steal only half the money in your wallet, it doesn't make me less of a thief.
Measure 37 passed because the citizens of Oregon recognized that our land use system was beginning to approach that of the former Soviet Union and needed to be reined in. From the tenor of the editorials in our leading newspapers, I infer that the elites didn't get the message.
As landscape shifts, Oregon struggles to protect farmland
While the Senate considers reining in Measure 37, debate persists over what land needs to be saved
By Laura Oppenheimer
The Oregonian | May 31, 2005 |
Dueling cries to scale back Oregon's new property rights law, and to address the frustrations that fueled it in the first place, are forcing state leaders to reconsider what type of rural land deserves protection.
The Legislature's one shot at overhauling Measure 37 heads to the Senate floor today with precarious odds of passing. But even if Senate Bill 1037 tanks -- taking with it a proposed three-tier rural land system -- Oregon still has to address the farmland question. (more...)
Political Notebook: Proposed Rewrite of Measure 37
By Laura Oppenheimer
The Oregonian | June 1, 2005 |
A proposed rewrite of Measure 37, Oregon's new property rights law, is poised to fizzle in the state Senate today.
The Senate's land-use chairman, Charlie Ringo, D-Beaverton, said he didn't have enough support to pass Senate Bill 1037 and expects it to be referred to the Rules Committee. Meanwhile, the House Land-Use Committee will take up possible changes to Measure 37 today with Ringo's bill as a starting point.
SB1037 would allow development rights to be transferred under Measure 37, clarifying a major point of contention. Rural development opportunities would be decided by a three-tiered scale of properties' farming potential.
In the Senate, the bill faced opposition from several directions. Measure 37 supporters said it would unfairly restricte their right to make claims, while planning advocates said it would jeopardize Oregon's natural resources.
The House committee will hear public testimony about Measure 37 changes during meetings from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. today in Hearing Room 50 at the Capitol in Salem. Chairman Bill Garrard, R-Klamath Falls, said he hopes to strip SB1037 of anything that thwarts Measure 37's intent.
Passing legislation that satisfies all sides -- particularly Senate Democrats, who say the bill already treats land-use rules too leniently -- is a challenge.
Land use law overhaul fails in Senate; House will act next
By David Steves
The Register-Guard | June 2, 2005 |
SALEM -- The Democratic Senate raised the white flag of surrender Wednesday after five months of struggling to revamp the land use system, turning the issue over to the Republican House.
The Senate, unable to muster a majority for land use overhaul Senate Bill 1037, referred the measure to the Rules Committee. The bill would have replaced the land use compensation law, Measure 37, that voters passed in November. Among other things, it would have eased development restrictions on rangeland and would have allowed people eligible to file development-rights claims under Measure 37 to transfer those rights to new owners.
The bill's chief architect, Sen. Charlie Ringo, D-Beaverton, said compromise between various interests -- including farmers and land use planning defenders on one side and property-rights advocates on the other -- proved too elusive. (more...)
Oregon seeks land-use clarity
By Niki Sullivan
The Associated Press | June 2, 2005 |
SALEM -- A Senate bill aimed at clarifying Measure 37 was effectively shelved yesterday after taking months of criticism from all sides. Undeterred by the Senate experience, a House panel immediately started work on its own bill.
Lawmakers have said there are areas in the law that must be cleared up, from how to handle claims to what land should be eligible for development. The law approved by 61 percent of Oregon voters in November requires local governments to either pay compensation to land owners when land-use regulations reduce property values, or waive the regulation.
The Senate bill was opposed by property-rights advocates as too restrictive, while environmental groups said it exposed Oregon's farmland to too much development.
Rep. Bill Garrard, R-Klamath Falls, told about 60 people in the House Land Use Committee's hearing yesterday that his panel was working fast to make changes. (more...)
Measure 37 bill kicked back to Rules committee
By Mark Engler, Freelance Writer
The Capital Press | June 3, 2005 |
SALEM -- The prospect of a full Oregon Senate vote on a legislative attempt to rewrite Measure 37 was temporarily snuffed on the chamber floor this week.
Instead, Senate Bill 1037 was bumped back into a committee for more work. (more...)
Accomplishments few as Legislature heads into summer
By Brad Cain
The Associated Press | June 4, 2005 |
Legislators have been able to agree on a state fossil during this session -- but that's about it.
A bill giving more benefits to same-sex couples? It may not happen.
The same goes for rewriting the Measure 37 property rights law.
...
Another controversy facing the Legislature is a possible rewrite of the Measure 37 property rights law adopted by Oregon voters last November.
The law requires state and local governments to compensate long-time property owners when land-use regulations diminish property values or to waive the regulations and allow owners to use their land as they wish.
Some lawmakers are advocating for changing Measure 37 to spell out what type of land is eligible for claims, establish a compensation fund and develop a claims process.
The Senate recently gave up on its Measure 37 rewrite, and now the House is trying to craft a bill of its own.
Minnis said any rewrite must be endorsed by the property rights activists who promoted Measure 37. But at the same time, Minnis said she's not sure the Legislature could come to any agreement and that lawmakers might end up walking away from the issue.
"I think we could kind of let it go, but I also know there is a strong desire by some to address it," the House speaker said. (more...)
Property revolt changing Oregon's landscape
By Brad Cain
The Associated Press | June 4, 2005 |
Long stymied in her efforts to subdivide and sell land she owns in southern Oregon, Helen Garner rejoiced last fall when Oregon voters revolted against some of the strictest zoning laws in the nation.
As a result, Garner recently won local government approval to take the 134 acres she and her late husband bought in the foothills of the Cascade range in the 1950s and divide it into two dozen 5-acre parcels to sell as housing tracts. (more...)
Federal Law Trumps Measure 37 In The Gorge
Judge Rules On New Land-Use Law
| The Associated Press | June 2, 2005 |
HOOD RIVER -- A judge has ruled that landowners in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area can't use Oregon's new property rights measure to escape local land-use laws.
Approved by voters in November, Measure 37 promised compensation or development rights when planning rules restrict land value. Two landowners have asked Hood River County for waivers under Measure 37 to subdivide their lots.
County commissioners are scheduled to hear the first of those claims later this month.
But Measure 37 includes an exception for local laws "to the extent the land-use regulation is required to comply with federal law." That comes into play in the scenic area.
A judge has ruled that ordinances adopted by the counties to meet the requirements of a management plan amount to federal law.
M-37 claim could end up in court
Howard Meredith of Dundee could file the first lawsuit in the city of Yamhill County
The clock has been ticking since Howard Meredith filed a Measure 37 claim against the city of Dundee.
Meredith's claim asks the city to lift all restrictions that prevent him from turning his purple building on Highway 99W into a drive-through coffee business.
Measure 37 gives a government 180 days to act on a claim. If it doesn't, the landowner can take a claim to court. Dundee has acted, but not to Meredith's liking, nor in a way that would keep him from filing suit.
Will he sue?
"You betcha," he said last week. "That's going to happen the minute my time's up."
That's June 6 for his claim against the city; the county court house opens at 8 a.m. The deadline is June 7 for the identical claim he filed with the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development. Both agencies have denied his claim.
Meanwhile, Meredith has threatened to file a second Measure 37 claim against Dundee. His attorney, Russell Baldwin of Lincoln City, in a May 3 letter to the city, said his client would file a Measure 37 claim if the city passed its Downtown Refinement Plan. The city passed the plan on May 16. (more...)
County faces another large M37 claim
By David Bates
The (McMinnville) News-Register | May 28, 2005 |
Yamhill County Commissioners will consider seven Measure 37 applications Tuesday in anticipation of a yay-or-nay vote, possibly as early as Wednesday.Collectively, they would open up about 600 more acres of farmland, including a 200-acre parcel little more than a mile southeast of Newberg. It's unknown whether the board will regard that claim as worthy of a public hearing, but the acreage suggests it might. (more...)
First Measure 37 suit in offing
By David Bates
The (McMinnville) News-Register | June 4, 2005 |
Yamhill County is facing at least one Measure 37 milestone next week and possibly two.
The first is expected to come in a courtroom rather than a government hearing room.
Dundee gadfly Howard Meredith said he intends to file suit against his hometown next week over a claim he filed in December, shortly after Measure 37 became law. If so, it would be the first suit filed anywhere in the state under a provision giving applicants that right any time they have a claim not satisfied within 180 days. (more...)
First Measure 37 case has wrinkle
| By Ezra Casteel | May 31, 2005 |
The first decision on a Measure 37 claim in Lincoln County is on the books.
But rather than being a simple case to set the stage for future more complicated cases, it posed more questions for the new law voters passed last November. (more...)
M37 may redefine Cloverdale area
By Chris Barker
The (Bend) Bulletin | June 5, 2005 |
CLOVERDALE -- Tygh Redfield's mailbox still lists the previous owner of his 150-acre hay farm.
It's a statement -- like the rusting row of tractors parked in front of his 70-year-old barn and the old-fashioned irrigation system he uses to flood his pastures.
"I'm not a 'change' guy," said Redfield, who purchased the property in 1973.
For Redfield and others who live in the area -- a swatch of farmland increasingly giving way to homes that capture panoramic mountain views -- high land values are already threatening Cloverdale's agricultural history.
They fear change will only be accelerated by Measure 37, a property-rights bill passed by Oregon voters last year.
Eight Measure 37 claims worth $59 million have been filed by Cloverdale landowners, according to Deschutes County records. At stake, in a series of upcoming county commission hearings that begin on Wednesday: The potential approval for the construction of 909 homes on 2,172 acres. For opponents, it's a worst-case scenario that could site a community larger than Sisters on some of the county's more productive farmland. (more...)
Other News
No habla Español, but he still says sí
By Jeff Wright
The Register-Guard | June 3, 2005 |
Two weeks ago, David Piercy was "just sitting at home, a nice retired guy." And then the phone rang.
Today, Piercy finds himself in a small upstairs office at Centro LatinoAmericano, putting in hours as the agency's new interim executive director. His charge: Help the nonprofit get back on sound financial footing. (more...)
City manager search firm selected
| The Springfield News | June 3, 2005 |
The City of Springfield has selected the firm of Bob Murray & Associates of Roseville, Calif., to conduct the recruitment of Springfield's next city manager.
The next city manager will replace Mike Kelly, who plans to retire in the fall of 2005 after serving more than 17 years in that position. (more...)
Firm chosen to help find city manager
By Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard | June 4, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- The executive search firm that found City Manager Dennis Taylor for Eugene has been picked to choose a successor to Springfield City Manager Mike Kelly. (more...)
CPA celebrates a decade of dissent
By Susan Palmer
The Register-Guard | June 2, 2005 |
When land use watchdogs and environmental activists meet tonight to celebrate the 10th year anniversary of Citizens for Public Accountability, they might consider offering at least one toast to their nemesis Hynix.
If the South Korean computer chip manufacturer formerly known as Hyundai hadn't come to town in just the way it did back in the spring of 1995, one of the most tenacious grass-roots groups to spring up in Eugene's activist landscape might never have come into being. (more...)
Governor's emissions plan falters
| The Associated Press | June 4, 2005 |
SALEM -- There is bipartisan support for putting the brakes on Gov. Ted Kulongoski's plan to steer Oregon toward California auto emissions standards.
A Senate bill requiring Oregon to adopt California's stricter standards, beginning with the 2009 model year, stalled in the Environment and Land Use Committee Thursday and is likely to die. Lobbyists for the Oregon Automobile Dealers Association and the Alliance for Automobile Manufacturers contend that adopting California emissions standards would potentially increase the cost of a new car by as much as $3,000. (more...)
Governor signs fossil bill
| The Associated Press | June 2, 2005 |
SALEM -- Oregon has an official flower, bird, rock and gemstone, but MacKenzie Smith, 11, noticed it was missing something: a state fossil.
Smith lobbied state lawmakers and testified earlier this session on a bill to make the Metasequoia the state fossil, and Wednesday the fifth-grade Tigard student saw his hard work pay off as he watched Gov. Ted Kulongoski sign the bill into law.
Fossils of the Metasequoia -- an ancient redwood that died off in Oregon five million years ago and has since been reintroduced -- are among the most abundant fossils in the state, according to the bill.
Prayer Breakfast
EUGENE -- Putting controversy aside, hundreds of local folks gathered this morning for the annual prayer breakfast. (more...)
Prayer breakfast stresses love
By Jeff Wright
The Register-Guard | June 4, 2005 |
Seven hundred people gathered for a mayors' prayer breakfast Friday to hear a universal message of redemption: All you need is love. (more...)
Margaret Blaine -- From Heart To Heart: Walking path of prayer takes faith
By Margaret Blaine, For The Register-Guard
The Register-Guard | June 4, 2005 |
Prayer is universal to all religions and faiths, as we see in our interfaith community. To me, it brings the miraculous into everyday life. When I pray, I don't know how the result will come about. I don't know how it works. All I know is I have entered upon a mysterious path. (more...)
Editorial -- Generous in victory
| The Register-Guard | May 30, 2005 |
In the closing days of the Civil War and about a month before he was murdered, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his famed Second Inaugural Address to Congress. A man generous in victory, he said:
Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease when, or even before, the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes his aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces; but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayer of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully.
The Almighty has his own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offenses! For it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh." If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which having continued through his appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern there any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to him? Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away.
Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondman's 250 years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said 3,000 years ago, so still it must be said, "The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altoge- ther."
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan -- to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.