Health Options Digest
August 21, 2005
Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield (CHOICES)
In This Issue
From the Editor
Musical Hospitals Redux
The Oregon Department of Health rejected McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center's request to be reviewed simultaneously with PeaceHealth for certificate-of-need approval: PeaceHealth wants approval to keep its Hilyard campus open as a secondary location after RiverBend becomes its primary location. McKenzie-Willamette wants approval for a hospital in Eugene. But McKenzie-Willamette's request was rejected because it doesn't yet have a location in Eugene, whereas PeaceHealth clearly does.
As we move into the next act of "Musical Hospitals," we are troubled by McKenzie-Willamette/Triad's apparent inability make a deal happen. In contrast, whatever else you might say about them, PeaceHealth decided some time ago that they needed to acquire a new location and build a new hospital, and little has remained in their way of their achieving their goal. RiverBend is now a "done deal."
But the idea of a second PeaceHealth hospital changes the chessboard. The argument for assisting McKenzie-Willamette to move to Eugene all along has been that Eugene needs its own hospital. As the saying goes, be careful what you wish for: You just might get it. For now it seems that PeaceHealth is perfectly happy to keep a hospital in Eugene -- perhaps not a full-service one but maybe just enough of one to make it difficult for McKenzie-Willamette to locate its own hospital in Eugene. In chess, PeaceHealth's move might be termed a "discovered attack": PeaceHealth's move to Gateway attacks McKenzie-Willamette in Springfield, but it also reveals a second line of attack in Eugene.
So how will the game of "Musical Hospitals" end? One theory we hear is that PeaceHealth will ultimately buy up McKenzie-Willamette/Triad, thereby gaining a Eugene-Springfield hospital monopoly. Whether that would be a bad thing is a matter of debate. The theory continues that PeaceHealth is building such a large regional medical center that they will ultimately need to take over hospitals in Albany and Roseburg in order to have enough business to justify all the building they are doing.
But these are just rumors and we don't know what the future holds.
Two Weeks In Review
In other news, doesn't it seem obvious that the idea of a hospital on the EWEB site is dead?
And how would it make sense to move the fairgrounds somewhere else? Okay, so Lane County is losing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. But does that circumstance justify moving the fairgrounds to some other location, at a cost of probably tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, only to have the economics at the new location be no better than at the current one? Fairgrounds all around the state, which are public events, lose money but also provide a public benefit. So Lane County can either subsidize the fair, as it is a public benefit, or decide to close the fair if it is no longer important enough to have a fair.
And speaking of possible hospital locations, we had to laugh when we read the letter from Scott Diehl, now chief operating officer for Arlie & Company but formerly of the Register-Guard. The letter criticized reporter Ed Russo for allegedly not checking the facts in a story about Arlie's Crescent Village site being a possible location for a hospital. We detect more than a hint of personal feeling between Arlie and the Register-Guard and McKenzie-Willamette. Of course, we wouldn't suggest that Arlie is thin-skinned (although they did bristle when we said they were land speculators).
Springfield is experiencing a building boom.
But Regal Cinemas plans to open a 15-screen movie theater at Valley River center, giving competition to Cinemark at the Gateway Mall.
And the UO is experiencing its own building boom.
President Bush signed the big transportation bill, which will fund lots of highway construction projects in the Eugene-Springfield area and around the state, but probably won't reduce traffic congestion significantly.
Meanwhile, the last couple times we have ridden Amtrak up the Willamette Valley, our train has been delayed by at least an hour by freight trains. Union Pacific owns the tracks, and often schedules freight trains that end up delaying the passenger train. Indeed, we keep hearing from those who should know that Union Pacific is intentionally trying to put Amtrak out of business.
Now that the Oregon Legislature is out of session, it is left to the courts to sort out the details of Measure 37.
But Senate Bill 82, which Governor Kulongoski recently signed into law to initiate a "Big Look" at Oregon's land use planning system, may be the best hope for sorting out not merely Measure 37 but how we in Oregon both preserve those parts of the Oregon landscape that we all love while also respecting individual rights to use their land in reasonable ways.
The Oregon Supreme Court recently struck down a lower court ruling that would have compensated a timber company that was prohibited from logging near a bald eagle nest. The ruling balances public and private interests -- and suggests that Measure 37 fails to do so.
Meanwhile, Oregonians In Action are running a new initiative that would prohibit government from condemning land to sell to private developers. But this is a tempest in a teapot, as this hasn't been a problem in Oregon. Perhaps OIA hopes their new initiative will cause voters to forget how badly written their last initiative was: Measure 37.
Speaking of land use, life along the Snake River is a study in the differences between Oregon's and Idaho's approach to land use, sales taxes and much else.
Randy Gragg compares British Columbia's approach to managing sprawl to Oregon's.
And a former member of the Oregon Progress Board who recently left for Australia charges that Oregon is a state that no longer makes much progress, or even cares to.
Former Eugene City Councilor Bobby Lee is coming back home -- to be the spokesman for Hynix.
Springfield Planning Commissioner Bill Carpenter was picked to join the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority (LRAPA) board.
What Makes a Leader?
In his opening address to the 1973 Legislative Assembly, Oregon Governor Tom McCall proclaimed: "There is a shameless threat to our environment and to the whole quality of life, an unfettered despoiling of the land. Sagebrush subdivisions, coastal 'condomania,' and the ravenous rampage of suburbia in the Willamette Valley all threaten to mock Oregon's status as the environmental model for the nation. We are dismayed that we have not stopped misuse of the land, our most valuable finite natural resource. We are in dire need of a state land-use policy, new subdivision laws, and new standards for planning and zoning by cities and counties. The interests of Oregon for today and in the future must be protected from grasping wastrels of the land. We must respect another truism: that unlimited and unregulated growth leads inexorably to a lowered quality of life."
What makes a leader? Was Governor Tom McCall a leader?
We don't think McCall relied on opinion polls and focus groups, telling the voters what they wanted to hear.
On the other hand, McCall spent part of his childhood on a ranch near Prineville and loved the High Desert and rimrock dearly. Later he worked as a newspaper and broadcast reporter in Portland. The hopes and fears of the people flowed through McCall's veins like the rivers through Oregon. Like most good politicians, he didn't need opinion polls to tell him how people felt.
And yet Senate Bill 100, which the Legislature adopted later in 1973, creating Oregon's Statewide Planning Program, almost certainly would not have passed without McCall's leadership. McCall didn't do what Oregonians said they wanted -- he did what he knew they wanted, whether they recognized it or not.
Leadership. It's a tough balancing act. A good leader needs to be in front of the people, but not too far in front.
Of course, a leader like McCall is rare indeed. Yet most elected officials have opportunities to be leaders now and then in ways large and small.
Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy campaigned on the slogan of being "a mayor for all Eugene." Some have taken the slogan to mean that Piercy will always do what they want, as they are part of the "all." But if Piercy -- or any leader -- always did only what the people said they wanted, that wouldn't be a leader. That would be a follower.
No, a leader needs to listen to the people -- all the people. But in the end, the people need leaders to help distill and focus their hopes and fears into public policy decisions that are in the best interests of not just some but all.
In the recent dispute over an enterprise zone for Eugene, Piercy faced perhaps her toughest test as a leader. No matter what she did, someone would have been upset. Indeed, we aren't overjoyed about the final compromise. But Piercy listened to different points of view and searched for what was in the best interests of the community. In brief, Piercy tried to be a leader.
But only time will tell if she succeeded in leading, or if she got too far in front of those she hoped to lead.
Looking Ahead
The City of Eugene's annual recruitment for boards, committees and commissions continues through September 9. There are openings on the Planning Commission, Budget Committee, Human Rights Commission, Historical Review Board, LRAPA, Toxics Board, Metro Wastewater, and Whilamut Citizen Planning Committee.
Here at CHOICES, we have been thinking about how to redesign "Health Options Digest" to be more useful to you (and less time-consuming for us). We are considering going to some sort of web-based system, perhaps like a "blog" (which is short for web log), which would allow our subscribers to participate more in the discussion. If you have any thoughts, please let us know.
Rob Zako, Editor
343-5201
rzako@efn.org
Opportunities
Get On Board
| Eugene Weekly | August 11, 2005 |
The annual recruitment for city of Eugene boards, committees and commissions is now under way and concludes with a Sept. 9 paperwork deadline. Applicants are being sought for several advisory and intergovernmental panels.
Open positions include the Planning Commission, Budget Committee, Human Rights Commission, Historical Review Board, LRAPA, Toxics Board, Metro Wastewater, and Whilamut Citizen Planning Committee.
Candidates will be interviewed Oct. 4-6, the City Council will take action on appointments Oct. 24 and terms will begin Nov. 1. For information, call 682-5406 or visit http://www.eugene-or.gov
PeaceHealth
McKenzie-Willamette Request Again Denied by State Officials
By Rosie Pryor, Director of Marketing and Planning, rospry@mckweb.com
McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center | August 18, 2005 |
On June 29th, McKenzie-Willamette asked the State to simultaneously review our application for Certificate of Need approval of a new hospital with PeaceHealth's application to operate Eugene/Springfield's third acute care hospital at Hilyard Street. We were disappointed to learn today our request has been denied.
Our goal in asking for simultaneous review was twofold:
1. CoN statutes help constrain the cost of healthcare by preventing unnecessary duplication of facilities, equipment, and services. With simultaneous review, and the opportunity to compare both applications, the state can ensure Lane County has continued access to competitive acute health care services and choice in selecting health care providers.
2. McKenzie-Willamette's continues to seek equal treatment under Oregon regulatory statutes. We are puzzled by PeaceHealth's change of plans for Hilyard Street and curious about the impact--on costs and on the medical community--of a third acute care hospital.
We are now review our options going forward. At this time, we anticipate submitting an application for state review by the end of next week. We are confident Oregon officials will protect the best interests of Lane County residents and our application what amounts to simultaneous review with PeaceHealth's proposal.
Hospital request denied by state: McKenzie-Willamette wanted review at same time as PeaceHealth
| The Springfield News | August 18, 2005 |
McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center's request to be reviewed simultaneously with PeaceHealth for certificate-of-need approval was denied by the Oregon Department of Health.
On June 29th, McKenzie-Willamette officials asked the state to simultaneously review its application for certificate-of-need approval of a new hospital in Eugene with PeaceHealth's application to operate a third acute-care hospital at Hilyard Street.
The request was denied, said Rosie Pryor, McKenzie-Willamette spokeswoman on Thursday. (more...)
Hospital regulators say no to a delay
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | August 19, 2005 |
State hospital regulators gave PeaceHealth a helpful boost this week in the hospital-bed race with rival McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center.
Officials with the state Department of Human Services denied an effort by McKenzie-Willamette that could have delayed the processing of PeaceHealth's application to remodel Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene to create a 100-bed specialty hospital with a 24-hour emergency department when PeaceHealth opens its RiverBend regional hospital in Springfield in 2008.
PeaceHealth has already begun contruction of RiverBend and wants to move ahead with the Sacred Heart makeover. (more...)
Editorial -- Carts before horses: Triad isn't ready to file a state siting application
| The Register-Guard | August 21, 2005 |
It was worth a try, but McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center's effort to finesse a bend in state hospital siting rules deserved the rejection it received from regulators last week. (more...)
Heart procedure often late, study finds
By Jeff Wright
The Register-Guard | August 17, 2005 |
What's 90 minutes?
For heart-attack sufferers in need of an artery-clearing angioplasty, it's the maximum amount of time that should elapse between entering the emergency room and getting the procedure, according to current medical guidelines.
A new national study published today, however, found that hospitals on average require 95 minutes for patients admitted during regular business hours, and an even longer 116 minutes -- nearly two hours -- for those admitted after hours such as evenings and weekends.
Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene, the only Lane County hospital where heart surgeries are performed, consistently meets the 90-minute benchmark and reviews each and every case in which it doesn't, said Chris Berry, director for cardiovascular services. (more...)
McKenzie-Willamette/Triad
Letter -- Downtown has a hospital site
By Lotte Streisinger, Eugene
The Register-Guard | August 8, 2005 |
Eugene is looking for more reasons for people to go downtown and a site for a hospital.
If you go to the former library building and look around you will see that there is already the old Eugene Hospital and Clinic diagonally across 13th Avenue, and under-used parking lots all around -- the perfect place for a hospital.
This new hospital could be high-rise. Patients in wheelchairs and on stretchers do well with elevators. The Lane Transit District bus station is handy. Visitors could come by bus, eliminating some need for parking.
Also, the new library is nearby. So while you are waiting for a friend in the hospital, you could look at a magazine or check out a book.
Letter -- Media deviate from reality
By Bob D. Saxton, Eugene
The Register-Guard | August 9, 2005 |
For-profit hospitals and U.S. drug companies are notorious for padding bills and overpricing goods and services.
Tell Triad Hospitals to take their greed and shove it. And tell Whole Foods the same thing. And tell Karl Rove to take his lies and deviousness and shove them. And tell President Bush to take John Roberts and shove him, because Bush is hoarding so many secrets about Roberts and distorting his record so blatantly and conning the media into publishing glowing propaganda about him.
It is really disgusting to find newspapers and TV jam-packed with deviation from reality. America the beautiful has become America the deviator as the world cries out in pain. Impeach to stop the pain.
Letter -- Two New Hospitals?
By Angelo Jackson, Eugene
Eugene Weekly | August 11, 2005 |
In the last five years the increase in annual overall inflation has been 2 to 4 percent. During the same period health care costs have accelerated by 10 to 14 percent per year. The cost of real estate has increased over 10 percent in just the last year. If we build two new hospitals, one in Springfield and the other in Eugene, will this result in a reduction in health cost to the consumer? Is this action in the community's best interest?
Sacred Heart Medical Center has decided to move to Springfield, further challenging McKenzie-Willamette Hospital's viability. Problems seem to continue to surface. In the July 23 R-G it was revealed that moving the EWEB building would cost between $60 to $90 million. This might make this site not possible as a site for the "downtown" hospital.
Also missing from all of these discussions is the fact that Sacred Heart is leaving an existing facility in the "downtown." An emergency room, surgery suites, ICUs, all support departments and some of the most talented health care professions in the state occupy this building. Many of these employees have relocated to be close to their place of work.
In addition, much of the cost of this "downtown" hospital has been paid for by the federal government Hill-Burton Act funds. This money came from our taxes. It belongs to us. Let's be efficient and reclaim our natural resource. It was built with public funds, it should continue to serve the public to the highest degree possible. Doing this would give us a downtown hospital at a bargain price, because much of it has already been paid for by us.
Letter -- Arlie site won't fit a hospital
By Scott M. Diehl, Chief operating officer, Arlie & Company, Eugene
The Register-Guard | August 15, 2005 |
Does reporter Edward Russo believe in fact checking? This is the second time in three months I have been forced to correct a story written by Russo.
In his Aug. 9 article about Triad Hospital's search for a site, Russo states that Arlie & Company has approached Triad offering the Crescent Village site as a possible hospital site. This is absolutely untrue and is nothing more than hearsay.
We have not had any discussions with Triad or McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center regarding a hospital site since Councilor Bonny Bettman redirected their search from North Eugene to south of the river 14 months ago.
Had Russo taken the time to check his facts with Arlie & Company, he would have understood we are committed to the mixed-use development currently being built on the Crescent site.
Even though the Crescent site is zoned for a hospital, there is no room left to accommodate a hospital because the planning process is completed with the city for a mixed-use development and construction has already started.
In the future, when writing about the actions of our company, reporters should contact us directly to check their facts. We are in the phone book.
Letter -- Privatize fairgrounds operation
By Zane I. Ziemer, Florence
The Register-Guard | August 18, 2005 |
County commissioners are barking up the wrong tree when they collectively talk of selling the fairgrounds to Triad Hospitals Inc. for its planned new hospital in the Eugene-Springfield area. Selling the publicly owned property to rebuild in a new location will not solve the financial woes for the Lane County Fair Board.
In my opinion, the best solution would be for Lane County to privatize the fairgrounds operation. Private enterprise has the ability to manage fair operations in a profitable manner. County employees managing the fair and related activities have no incentive to operate in a manner consistent with a profitable enterprise.
It appears the expenses associated with the Public Employees Retirement System and other employee benefits are extremely costly. A more efficient operation with reduced employee perks may possibly be the answer to saving the fairgrounds from becoming a medical campus.
Hospital talks sideline city
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | August 9, 2005 |
Wait and watch.
That was the uncertain and frustrating message that Eugene city councilors heard Monday about the possibility of McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center putting a hospital on riverfront property now occupied by the Eugene Water & Electric Board.
City Manager Dennis Taylor told councilors that he couldn't say whether the Springfield hospital will ultimately move to the EWEB site because EWEB hasn't figured out exactly how much it would take to move elsewhere in Eugene. (more...)
Hospital reaches out to downtown group
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | August 10, 2005 |
Downtown Eugene Inc. has a new member -- from a distant Springfield address.
The new member -- McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center -- badly wants to move to central Eugene, and the hospital has recruited the nonprofit association of downtown business owners to help out.
The hospital is providing the funding for a Downtown Eugene Inc.-sponsored study about how good things could be for downtown if McKenzie-Willamette succeeds in building a new hospital there. (more...)
Fairgrounds relocation up in the 'where'
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | August 8, 2005 |
The Lane County fairgrounds is 55 acres in the heart of Eugene, home to a weeklong fair and more than 100 annual events, trade shows, conferences and celebrations, and it draws nearly a million visitors every year.
Can all that be moved? And if so, to where? (more...)
Meeting will take fairgrounds questions to the public
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | August 12, 2005 |
What are the pros and cons of the Lane County fairgrounds location?
Does it make sense to move the facility? Can you put a price on the site at 13th Avenue in Eugene? And is it realistic to consider selling the 55-acre parcel?
Those are questions that Commissioner Pete Sorenson hopes to answer next month with the public. (more...)
Finances are in the spotlight as county fair sets to open
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | August 14, 2005 |
As the annual Lane County Fair goes, so goes the entire 55-acre Lane Events Center.
For 160,000 people expected from around the county and beyond, the 121st fair -- which opens Tuesday and runs through Aug. 21 -- means six days of summer sun, wild rides, sweet treats, exotic animals and bags crammed with inexpensive goodies. (more...)
County Fair a force for fairgrounds' fiscal health
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | August 15, 2005 |
The annual Lane County Fair attracts the young and the young at heart alike.
Nearly 170,000 people saturate the fairgrounds over a six-day span, coming for the rides, entertainment, food and various exhibits.
The fair generates more than its share of revenues -- roughly $1.75 million. Expenses cut into profits by about $1.35 million, leaving $400,000 in gains, according to Warren Wong, managing director of the Lane Events Center. (more...)
M-W hospital to get brand-new MRI machine
| The Springfield News | August 10, 2005 |
This Thursday, Aug. 11, McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center at 14th and G streets will take delivery of its brand-new magnetic resonance imaging machine -- a process that will involve heavy trucks, a crane and a building that will go from cement pad to finished structure in less than one workday. (more...)
Instant MRI
| The Springfield News | August 15, 2005 |
The Sprigfield News
McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center got a special delivery Thursday morning -- possibly the largest package ever delivered to the medical facility. The hospital was on the receiving end of a modular building, brought to house the brand-new magnetic resonance imaging unit that was brought right afterward. Workers labored fastidiously to ensure that all systems were go, then the MRI was lowered into the building with a giant crane. Here, workers attend to the installation of a roof-mounted air-conditioning module.
Magnetic imager's arrival attracts crowd to hospital
By Serena Markstrom
The Register-Guard | August 12, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- As the crane removed the steel shipping container's top, a red plastic dust cover bloomed from inside, rising with the lid before breaking away and floating to the ground.
Thus went Thursday's arrival of a $1.8 million Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center from Germany. (more...)
Health Care
Letter -- Health care is a civil right
By Lynn Porter, Eugene
The Register-Guard | August 14, 2005 |
When people are deprived of what they need simply to survive, their civil rights are violated. We need a new civil rights bill for sick people, to guarantee them the right to medical care.
The Oregon Legislature, blocked by a Republican majority in the House, a timid Democratic majority in the Senate and a missing-in-action governor, has shown itself incapable of protecting this vital right. They have wrecked the Oregon Health Plan.
It's time for an initiative to wipe out all the business tax break giveaways and dedicate the increased revenue to the Oregon Health Plan.
Cigarette tax eyed to save Oregon Health Plan
By Brad Cain
The Associated Press | August 14, 2005 |
SALEM -- Lawmakers wouldn't do it, so now voters may be called on to raise cigarette taxes next year to rescue Oregon's pioneering program that extends health coverage to low-income people who have jobs but can't afford insurance. (more...)
Thomas Healey and Robert Steel -- Retiree health plans stirring national crisis
By Thomas Healey and Robert Steel, For The Washington Post
The Register-Guard | August 21, 2005 |
The tremendous cost of providing health care coverage to its 1.1 million employees, retirees and their dependents is hitting General Motors Corp. hard. The automaker recently suffered its largest quarterly loss in more than a decade, and it placed the blame squarely on its mounting health care obligation. GM estimates that this massive fixed-cost burden -- which could increase to nearly $6 billion this year -- adds $1,400 to the sticker price of every car and truck built in the United States, putting GM at a significant disadvantage with foreign competitors.
GM is hardly alone. Ford estimates its costs at $4 billion. Truth is, the deterioration of employer-provided health plans covering millions of retirees at countless companies is a national crisis in the making. Even more than their cousins, the pension plans, these woefully underfunded health programs have piled up promises to retirees that they can no longer keep unless dramatic steps are taken now. (more...)
Nearby Developments
Letter -- Do zones improve quality of life?
By Tom Bowerman, Eugene
The Register-Guard | August 8, 2005 |
The enterprise zone discussion avoids one important issue for me: Does our quality of life improve?
Studies have found that new jobs overwhelmingly attract newcomers more than locals. Put another way, growth-inducing tax incentives generally mean more people while shifting costs of police, highways, fire stations and other necessary services to the current residents.
What's more, such growth diminishes our cumulative quality of life with more traffic congestion, loss of open space, pressure to blow out the urban growth boundary, etc.
Therefore, one could say that a community has the right to be selective what growth to subsidize.
Of course, certain people do benefit economically from unbridled growth. It's these people who get paid to argue for the most liberal application of tax incentives, even going so far as to impugn the civic spirit of those elected officials who put fairness and our quality of life before rampant growth.
Having lived 55 years here, I am saddened that my two children and my aging mother have moved away from this community specifically due to loss of the qualities we once possessed but progressively squander in the name of growth. Do we really want to become "anywhere U.S.A." as rapidly as we can?
The Eugene City Council should be applauded for trying a surgical approach to redevelopment of "brownfields" instead of joining the meat-ax frenzy of tax giveaways.
Letter -- Piercy's effort deserves praise
By David Funk, Eugene
The Register-Guard | August 10, 2005 |
Reporter Ed Russo's Aug. 3 enterprise zone article, while accurate in the facts reported, neglected to mention other salient issues that led to Mayor Kitty Piercy's compromise proposal.
Besides the fact that Hynix will now pay $3.88 million in taxes that it could have avoided simply by applying under the current zone, the mayor's leadership on this issue ensures that our community standards developed in 1997 will still be in force.
If Hynix, or any other applicant to the zone, want to receive the last 25 percent of the tax break allowed, they need to adhere to those community standards.
In addition, Piercy's proposed solution eliminates the double-dipping retention issue that was desired by the Lane County commissioners. Therefore, tax breaks are provided for the creation of new jobs rather than for the mere retention of existing jobs.
As in her capable handling of the potentially disastrous Lane Transit District dispute, Mayor Piercy showed again that she is indeed the mayor for all Eugene. Her wise compromise proposal ensured that caps are maintained, the onerous retention clause is eliminated and redevelopment will happen in an area of Eugene that needs it. She made the best of a bad situation by maintaining community standards that are more rigorous than current state standards and by avoiding years of litigation.
Letter -- Tax breaks are bad public policy
By George Wuerthner, Eugene
The Register-Guard | August 11, 2005 |
The proposed West Eugene Enterprise Zone is an example of bad public policy.
Trying to lure companies to one's community through tax giveaways is based upon a flawed premise that such subsidies greatly influence company decisions. Companies make decisions like most of us. We base our choice about where we live on things like climate, transportation, jobs, cost of property and educational opportunities -- not taxes. So do most companies.
If low taxes were the dominant consideration for both people and companies, a state like Alaska -- which has the lowest tax burden -- would be overrun with people and new companies while states like Connecticut, New York, California and Massachusetts would have nothing but ghost towns.
This raises another question: Do we really want to attract the kind of companies whose loyalty to our community is so shallow that they would move or relocate just to get the next tax break?
I wish the City Council had voted to terminate the enterprise zone, and focused on fair taxation to improve Eugene's parks, schools and other infrastructure, which is the prime means of attracting new businesses that will locate here and remain committed to the community.
Letter -- Key values at stake
By Greg McLauchlan, Eugene
Eugene Weekly | August 18, 2005 |
In the recent controversy over establishing an enterprise zone (EZ) in west Eugene, Mayor Piercy has worked hard to make the best of a difficult situation. After agreeing verbally to the near-unanimous City Council proposal for an EZ with tax-break caps back in April, the Lane County Commissioners (after the state approved the zone) suddenly changed course and demanded that caps be "optional" and -- get this -- that tax breaks would be based not just on creation of new jobs, but on "retention" of existing jobs. The latter would have opened the door to a vast tax-break giveaway, with no links to social objectives such as creating new, well-paying jobs.
Piercy and the City Council rightly said no to the county's tax-break candy store idea. Yet Eugene still faced a newly approved EZ in place with no caps and no local standards. The council's threat to take legal action to nix the EZ, while potentially costly and with an uncertain outcome, nevertheless gave Piercy additional negotiating leverage. The county agreed to her compromise proposal which required dropping the double-dipping "existing jobs" idea from the tax break formula.
If the city passes the compromise proposal, there will still be much work ahead, including discussions with the county about establishing community standards such as high wages and worker health insurance tied to the last 25 percent of tax breaks. Many thanks to Piercy and council progressives for keeping our focus on the key values at stake here.
Bob Warren -- Confusion clouds benefits of enterprise zones
By Bob Warren
The Register-Guard | August 14, 2005 |
The debate over how to best manage the west Eugene enterprise zone has left many people confused about how enterprise zones work. Implied in this debate is that the enterprise zone program does not have standards. That is an inaccurate perception. To boost local economies, Oregon statutes demand that companies receiving enterprise zone benefits make large investments in the communities where they are located, and that they bring significant new employment to those communities in a relatively short span of time. (more...)
Slant -- Enterprise Zones
| Eugene Weekly | August 18, 2005 |
Bob Warren of the state Economic & Community Development Department wrote an essay for the R-G Sunday (8/14) trying to clarify some of the confusion surrounding enterprise zones. But twisting facts is no way to make complex issues simple. He tells us "government incentives are the norm and even required for municipalities to be considered" for new business, when in fact a lot of new businesses locate and expand here without tax breaks. He tells us it's "unlikely Hynix would have located in west Eugene without the enterprise zone in place," when the scenic location, educated, low-wage workforce, and abundant, cheap and clean water and power were more likely the determining factors. And this year Hynix announced its $500 million expansion before the vote on the new tax break. Warren tells us community standards are too expensive to administer and can "exceed the benefits of the zone." But the wage-cap community standard salvages $4 million in tax revenues, and the administrative costs are minimal. In fact, there appears to be very little city auditing of businesses taking advantage of enterprise zones. Who's counting heads at Hynix, besides Hynix?
City Gives Hynix Millions
Piercy's deal with corporation could cost $100 million.
By Alan Pittman
Eugene Weekly | August 11, 2005 |
Lead by Mayor Kitty Piercy, the Eugene City Council voted 5-3 to in effect give Hynix $9 million in tax breaks now, and the possibility of about $100 million more if the corporation later expands its chip plant.
Councilor David Kelly said he was "dumbfounded" at the deal to give Hynix almost $100,000 per new job created. Kelly noted that Eugene had already given Hynix $51 million in property tax breaks. "At some point we need to ask how much of a tax break is enough."
Councilors Kelly, Bonny Bettman and Betty Taylor voted against the enterprise zone tax break. Councilors Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor, Gary Papˇ, George Poling and Jennifer Solomon voted for the corporate give away. (more...)
Governor signs HB 3143 in Eugene
Kulongoski also made stops in Bend and Medford to sign bills on land use and transportation funds
By Tyler Graf, Freelance Reporter
Oregon Daily Emerald | August 11, 2005 |
Governor Kulongoski made a stop in Eugene on Tuesday to sign House Bill 3143, which expands Oregon's enterprise zone program by authorizing the Department of Economic Community Development to approve 10 additional enterprise zones.
"Eugene has effectively used enterprise zones to revitalize its economy, representing approximately 40 percent of the state's economic growth related to the economic zone program," Kulongoski said in a press release. "This program encourages innovative community-based approaches to creating jobs and economic opportunities."
Businesses located within enterprise zones are eligible for three to five years of property tax exemptions of $50,000 on buildings or major equipment investments within the zone.
Kulongoski, flanked by Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy and City Councilman Floyd Prozanski, signed the legislation at Molecular Probes Detection Technology, a life science company in West Eugene, founded in 1975. (more...)
Proposals on table for public safety
By Bill Bishop
The Register-Guard | August 11, 2005 |
CORRECTION (ran 8/12/2005): A preliminary Public Safety Task Force plan would reopen 32 juvenile detention beds in Lane County, doubling the current number. A report published Thursday incorrectly stated that the measure would open all detention beds.
A four-point plan to put Lane County's public safety programs back on their feet will cost about $34 million annually, according to a preliminary budget estimate that will be discussed tonight by the county's Public Safety Task Force.
Public safety agency heads and elected city and county officials also will begin tonight to devise a way to finance their plan, with the goal of putting a proposal on the November 2006 ballot. Possible revenue sources include a sales tax, personal or corporate income taxes, a restaurant tax, amusement and entertainment taxes or the property tax. (more...)
Poll seeks advice on public safety funding
By Bill Bishop
The Register-Guard | August 12, 2005 |
A few Lane County residents will get a call next week from a polling group seeking their opinions about what kind of taxes, and how much, they would pay to reopen jail cells, put deputies in rural areas, arrest methamphetamine dealers and thieves, treat addicts and turn juvenile delinquents away from crime.
The choices will include a sales tax, property tax, personal or corporate income tax, restaurant tax, or amusement and entertainment taxes.
The county's Public Safety Task Force is ready to hear from them. (more...)
In search of a tax to pay for police services: County, cities look at ways to raise funds
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | August 17, 2005 |
With goals, services and programs drafted, the City/County Public Safety Task Force is looking at how to finance a countywide public safety system.
Last Thursday task force members reviewed a preliminary list that outlined more than $35 million in program and service needs and brainstormed ways to finance the public safety system. Seven different taxes are being considered. It will be up to the task force to pick a financial strategy in the coming weeks.
Jim Johnson, task force facilitator, said no decisions were made last week, but finance options are on the table. Those options include a personal income tax, corporate tax, sales tax, property tax, business license fee, entertainment tax or a restaurant tax. There is a possibility that the task force will recommend pursuing more than one tax, members said.
Cottage Grove Mayor Lindsey Haskell said Monday that he's leaning toward a sales tax. (more...)
$34 Million Tax Hike?
County wants record tax increase formassive cops/jails measure.
By Alan Pittman
Eugene Weekly | August 18, 2005 |
Lane County appears heading toward seeking a huge tax increase for cops and jails. The cost for the average homeowner would be as much as $400 a year.
The measure would likely go down in flames if it ever comes to a vote. A survey paid for by the county in March indicated that only about one-third of voters would support a tax rate that high. Even cutting the tax rate in half would likely fall short of passing at an election. (more...)
Building booming in Springfield
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | August 18, 2005 |
With residential and commercial buildings popping up throughout the city, it's no surprise that construction is a boon for employment.
Subdivisions, road improvements, new developments and expansions are contributing to the workforce. And construction is showing strong growth. (more...)
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines gears up to hire 232 employees -- all at once, by October
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | August 15, 2005 |
Let the hiring begin.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is screening for its fleet of employees, and its no easy task. This week alone, close to 400 people received invites to one of six information sessions held Wednesday and Thursday at the former Symantec building in Eugene.
Additional information sessions are anticipated next week as the mass of applicants gets pared down to a trim new workforce. (more...)
Coming soon to a mall near you
By Joe Mosley
The Register-Guard | August 20, 2005 |
Regal Cinemas put the previews and cliffhangers behind it on Friday, confirming that months of speculation were correct by announcing plans to build a 15-screen, 3,300-seat movie theater at Valley River Center. (more...)
UO set to grow, in a big way
By Greg Bolt
The Register-Guard | August 15, 2005 |
The construction boom at the University of Oregon is about to get louder.
Thanks to one of the largest capital construction bills ever passed by the state Legislature, the UO is adding enough projects to its building pipeline to push the current boom past the one in the post-World War II era, making this the biggest growth spurt in university history.
All together, the UO has projects totaling more than $100 million on the books. More than half of that will come from the $410 million in construction money that legislators approved for the Oregon University System for the 2005-07 biennium, and the rest from earlier appropriations and donations. (more...)
City recognizes three 'green' development projects
By Scott Maben
The Register-Guard | August 19, 2005 |
The city of Eugene will spotlight three private development projects for sustainable construction practices such as energy efficiency, water conservation and waste reduction.
The "green building" demonstration program has two aims: show other designers and developers the benefits of innovative construction that is good for the environment, and uncover ways that city rules and processes could better support such projects.
The city will help the three developers, possibly by issuing building permits faster, giving free technical advice and offering promotional support.
The projects are the Third and Mill Building, which will combine commercial spaces with five residential units; Fairmount Square Rowhouses, three units on Walnut Street south of 15th Avenue; and Crescent Village, which will mix 400 to 600 residences with commercial activity in north Eugene. (more...)
Transportation
For federal highway funds, DeFazio went the extra mile
By Jeff Barnard
The Associated Press | August 8, 2005 |
GRANTS PASS -- When U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio realized he was finally going to be in a position of power on the House subcommittee that hands out billions in federal transportation funds, he figured it was time to boost Oregon's share and get federal help for fixing cracked Interstate 5 bridges.
With the help of the Oregon Department of Transportation, the Oregon Democrat figured out a way to tweak the gas tax allocation formula so Oregon's share would increase, rather than go down. He convinced key House leaders that cracked concrete bridges on Interstate 5 were a national problem, caused by old technology, not an Oregon problem caused by poor maintenance. (more...)
Bush signs transportation bill
By Nedra Pickler
The Associated Press | August 11, 2005 |
MONTGOMERY, Ill. -- President Bush calls the massive $286.4 billion transportation spending bill he signed into law Wednesday a job creator. Critics simply call it pork spending.
The bill will pay for more than 6,000 favored projects in the districts of nearly every member of Congress. It will pay for new highways and bridges, for rail and bus facilities, for bike paths and recreational trails.
The legislation will cost $30 billion more over six years than Bush recommended, but he said he was proud to sign it. (more...)
Editorial -- Keep Amtrak on track
| The Register-Guard | August 11, 2005 |
The Bush administration has labored mightily to hammer a golden spike through the heart of Amtrak, but Congress so far has wisely refused to drive the national rail system into bankruptcy. (more...)
John Merriss -- Oregon a pioneer in the just division of highway taxes
By John Merriss
The Register-Guard | August 19, 2005 |
In his July 11 guest viewpoint, Orval Etter posed several questions about road users' responsibility for highway costs -- in particular, pavement costs. I'd like readers to have the most accurate information to review.
Oregon is a national leader in determining the "fair share" of highway costs to be paid by each class of highway users. The Oregon Constitution requires that highway user tax rates be studied every two years, and adjusted if necessary, to ensure "fairness and proportionality" between light (up to 8,000-pound) and heavy (more than 8,000-pound) vehicles. (more...)
Making a difference Two wheels at a time
By Meghann Cuniff
The (Bend) Bulletin | August 15, 2005 |
In a city with rising gas prices, a shortage of downtown parking and an ever-increasing amount of cars on the road, alternative forms of transportation may seem pretty good. At least Jeff Monson seems to think so. The executive director of the Bend agency Commute Options works with area businesses to encourage workers to forgo their cars for the sake of their health, their community and their parking spots.
Bend residents are turning to bikes, car pools and the more traditional use of their two feet to get around town more and more, Monson said. (more...)
West Coast states unite on cleaner car regulations
By Brad Cain
The Associated Press | August 21, 2005 |
SALEM -- Despite an effort by the auto industry, Oregon and Washington are getting ready to adopt California's new vehicle emission standards to cut down on greenhouse gases.
When that happens, California's new emissions standards -- the toughest in the country -- will be in effect along the entire West Coast from Canada to Mexico. (more...)
Measure 37, Oregon's Land Use Planning System
Letter -- Initiative process needs fixing
By Lauri Segel, Eugene
The Register-Guard | August 12, 2005 |
Marina McShane's point (letters, Aug. 3) about the difficulty for John and Jane Q. Public to interpret complex ballot initiatives is well stated, and I'm certain she meant no disrespect to Oregonians.
In fact, the initiative process does not require that the language of proposed initiatives be easy, or even possible, to understand or implement. Truly, the ballot initiative process is more a hunting season for ballot titles than it is about giving citizens a voice in establishing law.
The only real requirements of a proposed initiative are that it not create more than one constitutional amendment, and that the title be approved by the state Attorney General before the close of the ballot title season. The shortcomings of our initiative process are evident in the marathon effort this legislative session to fix Measure 37.
In fact, the Aug. 3 Register-Guard quotes Oregonians in Action's Dave Hunnicut opining on the responsibility of lawmakers to make their poorly written measure work. He claims that the Legislature would have been "refusing to deal with the issue" if they didn't approve a bill that would have allowed claimants to sell land use waivers to the highest bidder.
Rather than expecting the Legislature to spend valuable time trying to fix poorly written initiatives, it's time to send the message to our elected representatives that Oregon's initiative process itself needs fixing.
After all, whose interests are served when votes are cast based on misleading ballot titles?
Ore. Senate kills M37 'compromise'
By Mark Engler, Freelance Writer
The Capital Press | August 19, 2005 |
SALEM -- Democrats in the Oregon Senate, on an 18-12 party-line vote, on Aug. 3 rejected a Measure 37 deal reached between the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Gov. Ted Kulongoski, a Democrat.
Senate Bill 1037, which was the culmination of months of scrimmaging among lawmakers and various Measure 37 interests, passed the House on a 40-18 vote Aug. 2 and was then sent back to the Senate, where it died as a result of the Aug. 3 vote. (more...)
Civil unions, Measure 37 not going away
By Brad Cain
The Associated Press | August 8, 2005 |
SALEM -- Lawmakers couldn't agree on two of the biggest issues during the 2005 session -- whether to allow civil unions for same-sex couples or to rework the Measure 37 property rights law.
The Legislature is gone now, but neither of those issues is going away any time soon.
Gay rights activists say they are already looking at their next steps, which could include taking the civil unions issue directly to voters and targeting House Speaker Karen Minnis and other civil union opponents in the 2006 legislative races.
Meanwhile, the battle over Measure 37 is shifting to the courts.
Oral arguments will be heard Sept. 13 on a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Measure 37, which was enacted by voters last fall. And opponents and supporters of Measure 37 alike predict that many other lawsuits will result from the unsettled issues stemming from the more than 2,000 Measure 37 claims that have been filed to date. (more...)
'Big Look' Planned for Oregon's Land Use System
By Rob Manning
OPB Radio | August 9, 2005 |
PORTLAND -- With a stroke of a pen Tuesday morning, Governor Ted Kulongoski took perhaps this year's biggest step yet toward addressing Oregon's land-use problems. The law he signed did not have a lot of competition--lawmakers passed few land use bills this session.
Rob Manning has more on a new task force that will do a top-to-bottom review of Oregon's 32 year-old planning system. (more...)
Panel to examine land use law
By Charles E. Beggs
The Associated Press | August 9, 2005 |
SALEM -- After months of wrangling about how to improve Measure 37, legislators were only able to agree that more study is needed.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed a bill Tuesday to create a task force that will perform the first comprehensive review of the statewide land use planning law since it was adopted in 1973.
Kulongoski, who traveled to fast-growing Central Oregon to sign the bill, said he supports the land use planning system, but the state needs to "better communicate with Oregonians about land use -- why it is important to their lives, at home, at work and at play. (more...)
Gov. Kulongoski signs land-use bill while in Bend
By Chris Barker
The (Bend) Bulletin | August 10, 2005 |
Flanked by elected officials, an environmentalist and a representative of Oregon's homebuilding industry, Gov. Ted Kulongoski on Tuesday signed legislation at Deschutes County headquarters aimed at improving Oregon's storied land-use system.
Kulongoski signed Senate Bill 82, which creates a 10-member task force aimed at determining the effectiveness of the state's 30-year-old land-use regulations.
"Our ideals about land use are the same, but our ideas on how to retain those ideals are ever-changing," Kulongoski said. (more...)
Editorial -- Oregon has lost ground as a model for land use
New task force could help state balance rights, responsibilities
By a stunningly wide margin, Oregonians embraced Measure 37 and jilted decades of consistent land-use planning. The measure places local and state governments in a bind: Either allow many property owners to do whatever they wish with their land or pay them not to.
The (Salem) Stateman Journal | August 11, 2005 |
Way back in 1973, a bunch of Oregonians got together with a common goal: save farmland and stop urban sprawl.
They came from different parts of the state, different occupations and different political parties. But they shared a common understanding: The environment of this state is what shapes us as Oregonians.
These visionary individuals created Senate Bill 100, the most effective and resilient land-use program in the United States. The program's No. 1 goal was citizen involvement, and thousands of Oregonians helped cities, counties and the state design and implement the land-use rules.
For all the good that law did, it never escaped its persistent foes. Legislature after Legislature fended off attempts to emasculate the land-use program. Last fall, it was the people who surrendered.
Oregonians' approval of Measure 37 did more than chop local land-use ordinances into pieces. The measure stunned the nation, stalling efforts elsewhere to rein in sprawl. (more...)
Bills die, but issues live on as Legislature adjourns
By Mark Engler, Freelance Writer
The Capital Press | August 12, 2005 |
SALEM -- Oregon lawmakers couldn't agree on ways to address several key issues during the just completed, second-longest legislative session in state history.
But that hardly means predator control and implementing the state's landmark property rights protection law passed by voters in 2004 will sink into political nonexistence.
During the 2006 election season incumbents and their challengers will likely encounter regular questioning about cougars, wolves and Measure 37 from farmers and ranchers (more...)
Kulongoski takes heat on land use, fires back
By Laura Oppenheimer
The Oregonian | August 13, 2005 |
Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski was criticized during the 2005 Legislature for negotiating the mechanics of Measure 37, rather than setting the state's land-use agenda. During a rare hourlong interview this week, he spelled out his strategy -- and his vision. Here are key thoughts: (more...)
Battle intensifies over how Oregon will build its future with Measure 37
Oregon's first architect for land use leads a statewide brainstorming effort; more ballot measures are in the offing
By Laura Oppenheimer
The Oregonian | August 13, 2005 |
Hours after legislators' dawn finale, the man who crafted Oregon planning sized up the political wreckage.
Arnold Cogan, the state's first land-use director, convened a brain trust over breakfast at the Mallory Hotel in Portland.
How, he asked, will Oregonians revolutionize the way they plan their future in the next few years? Houses, neighborhoods and natural resources are being reshaped in a dust storm of competing values. (more...)
Timber firm loses compensation fight
Wildlife safeguards that scaled back logging operations did not deprive the firm of the property's full value, Oregon justices ruled
By Michael Milstein
The Oregonian | August 12, 2005 |
Environmental groups and governments won a key victory Thursday when the Oregon Supreme Court ruled a timber company should not be compensated for state restrictions that limited logging to protect a bald eagle nest.
The high court said regulation of private property for public purposes is not the same as taking the property, which would warrant compensation.
Wildlife safeguards curtailed logging on nine of the 40 acres involved and did not deprive the company, Coast Range Conifers of Monroe, of the property's full economic value, the court said in a unanimous opinion. (more...)
Editorial -- Private land, public interests
In a landmark "takings" case, Oregon's high court sets the right balance between property rights and societal values
| The Oregonian | August 17, 2005 |
A state struggling to keep its balance while walking the narrow line between private property and public interest needed a smart and supporting hand from the Oregon Supreme Court.
Last week, the court delivered, in a carefully written unanimous opinion declaring that regulation of private property for public purposes -- in this case a rule limiting logging on timberland to protect a bald eagle nest -- is not the same as taking the property. (more...)
Eagle ruling fuels property rights movement
By Tam Moore, Oregon Staff Writer
The Capital Press | August 19, 2005 |
In a case that property rights advocates and local government officials watched closely, the Oregon Supreme Court last week said regulatory taking of standing timber isn't entitled to compensation.
The Aug. 11 decision overturns a 2003 Oregon Court of Appeals ruling in a case brought against Oregon Board of Forestry by Oregon Coast Conifers of Monroe. The decision turned on the family forestry corporation being able to log 31 acres of a 40-acre parcel, but not the 9 acres that are within 400 feet of an eagle nest. (more...)
Effort seeks to restrict government power to take private property
| The Associated Press | August 11, 2005 |
SALEM -- Voters in 2006 could be asked to limit the government's power to take private property.
Oregonians in Action, the state's leading property rights group, filed paperwork Tuesday with the state elections office for a November 2006 ballot measure that would allow governments to condemn property only if they plan to use it themselves -- not turn it over to private developers.
The issue gained national attention in June when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled local governments can force owners to sell land for economic development projects that benefit the public. (more...)
Divided lives
Ontario and Payette share a border but little else, as vast differences from public policy to core values make daily life on either side of the Snake River a study in contrasts
By Laura Oppenheimer
The Oregonian | August 14, 2005 |
ONTARIO -- First-name greetings, sunny days and nighttime rodeos draw people to the Oregon-Idaho border.
They show up in search of the American Dream -- and find it severed by a river. (more...)
Randy Gragg -- Curbing urban sprawl, Canada style
Abbotsford, B.C., offers some powerful lessons for Oregon as the state reviews its land-use system
By Randy Gragg
The Oregonian | August 14, 2005 |
With most of its buildings sitting on hilltops, the city of Abbotsford, B.C., looks like it was built as a series of islands. But the landscape is the result of forces both geologic and cultural: good soil atop sand and aquifers protected by law to preserve the valley as an ocean of agriculture.
The same year -- 1973 -- Oregon passed Senate Bill 100 to guide development away from farms, forests and ecologically sensitive lands, British Columbia adopted "Bill 42" creating the Agricultural Land Reserve.
Thirty-two years later both systems are lauded as successes at curbing urban sprawl. They're also under attack from property rights advocates and developers. So far British Columbia's system has proven more resilient. What's more, it offers some powerful suggestions on how Oregon might proceed in the post-Measure 37 political landscape -- particularly as the state launches a 30-year review of the land-use system under the recently passed Senate Bill 82, dubbed the "Big Look." (more...)
Bill Graves -- Missing the mark on lofty goals
Oregon must take bold steps to regain its vitality, says Jeffrey Tryens, outgoing Oregon Progress Board director
By Bill Graves
The Oregonian | July 31, 2005 |
The man charting Oregon's progress over the past decade says he's watched the state lower its sights, grow complacent and settle for mediocrity.
"We're not willing to be bold anymore," says Jeffrey Tryens, 58, who stepped down last week as executive director of the Oregon Progress Board to take a similar job in Australia. "Nobody talks about vision. . . . It's just like we want to get through the day." (more...)
John Barrows -- Admit it: We're mediocre and don't care
With a low work ethic and uncompetitive, adverse business attitudes, Portland's not winning any prizes for innovation
By John Barrows
The Oregonian | August 14, 2005 |
Finally, someone's spit out what no Oregonian will admit: We're an also-ran and we don't much care.
As Jeffrey Tryens packed his bags, leaving the Oregon Progress Board in the dust for a similar job in Australia, the words spilled out. ("Missing the mark on lofty goals," July 31). (more...)
Wash. State Farm Bureau takes up property-rights banner
By Cookson Beecher, Washington State Staff Writer
The Capital Press | August 19, 2005 |
The Washington State Farm Bureau is crafting a property-rights initiative similar to Oregon's Measure 37. The organization plans to file the initiative, which has not yet been written, with the state next January. Signature gathering will begin in February. (more...)
Out West, a Paradox: Densely Packed Sprawl
L.A. Area Growing Crowded the Fastest
By Blaine Harden
The Washington Post | August 11, 2005; Page A01 |
SIGNAL HILL, Calif. -- Sure, it looks like sprawl.
From atop this hill near the port of Long Beach, greater Los Angeles splays out through the midsummer haze as a low-rise suburban muddle stitched together by freeways.
But take a closer look: What you knew about sprawl turns out to be wrong.
The urbanized area in and around Los Angeles has become the most densely populated place in the continental United States, according to the Census Bureau. Its density is 25 percent higher than that of New York, twice that of Washington and four times that of Atlanta, as measured by residents per square mile of urban land.
And Los Angeles grows more crowded every year, adding residents faster than it adds land, while most metropolitan areas in the Northeast, Midwest and South march in the opposite direction. They are the sprawling ones, dense in the center but devouring land at their edges much faster than they add people. (more...)
Other News
For new Hynix spokesman, it's like coming home
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | August 14, 2005 |
You can go home again. Just ask Bobby Lee.
The youngest person ever to serve on the Eugene City Council, Lee moved back to the Emerald City in June, after spending nearly five years in Portland.
He's taken the high-profile job as spokesman for the Hynix semiconductor factory in west Eugene. (more...)
Environment lawyer to fill LRAPA seat
By Diane Dietz
The Register-Guard | August 10, 2005 |
After the proposed appointment of environmentalists to the Lane Regional Air Pollution Board nearly spelled doom for the agency last month, the board in a surprise move on Tuesday chose a super-environmentalist to fill an opening.
By a 7-to-1 vote, the board placed Springfield resident William Carpenter Jr. into its ninth position. The lone dissenter was LRAPA board Chairman Dave Ralston. (more...)
LRAPA Board Picks Member
By Kera Abraham
Eugene Weekly | August 11, 2005 |
The Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority board of directors appointed its second at-large member on Aug. 9. William Carpenter, an environmental lawyer and former chemical engineer from Springfield, won the board seat with five of eight votes. (more...)
William Carpenter joins LRAPA
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | August 15, 2005 |
The newest member to the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority Board of Directors left his career as a chemical and professional engineer with the oil industry to become a lawyer who's specialty is in environmental law.
LRAPA board members voted 7-1 Tuesday afternoon to appoint William C. Carpenter Jr. to the at-large position. LRAPA Chair Dave Ralston cast the lone dissenting vote.
Ralston said Thursday that he doesn't feel Carpenter will be objective as an environmental lawyer and says there may be times when Carpenter will have to recuse himself. (more...)
Editorial -- Veto it, governor
| The Register-Guard | August 14, 2005 |
There was a time when Oregon led the nation in taking bold, innovative steps to protect the environment.
Regrettably, that's no longer the case. Oregon's greatest environmental accomplishments, ranging from beach access to the nation's first bottle bill, are now decades old and breakthroughs have been few and far between in recent years. Depending on how the courts rule, Oregon's environmental crown jewel, its landmark land-use system, could be severely compromised by last year's passage of Measure 37.
Now, Oregon has an opportunity not to be the first, but still among the first states in the nation to adopt tougher auto emissions standards aimed at easing global warming, decreasing air pollution and reducing this nation's reliance on foreign oil. (more...)
Bob Welch -- Throwing a light on time's shadows
By Bob Welch, Columnist
The Register-Guard | August 16, 2005 |
FOSSIL -- The shadows.
When an August evening cools this land of rimrocks and hills, what's most beautiful are the shadows: cool fingers stretched across flutes of parched brown.
The land of sage and juniper where Bill Bowerman grew up and died. The land of time-locked fossils that still surrounds his widow, Barbara, who sits across from me at the Big Timber restaurant on this Saturday as the human embodiment of this gritty and engaging place. (more...)