Health Options Digest
September 25, 2005
Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield (CHOICES)
In This Issue
From the Editor
Week In Review
It was a slow news week (aside from Hurricane Rita), with no news about PeaceHealth (except that Springfield quietly annexed more PeaceHealth property) and only a little news about McKenzie-Willamette/Triad (who now really, really wants to find a site for a new hospital).
Thus we will start with the bigger picture: What will the greater Eugene-Springfield area look like almost 50 years from now? Where will people live, work and shop in the year 2050? Will most of the 150,000 expected new residents settle in Eugene and Springfield? in the outlying communities of Veneta, Junction City, Coburg, Lowell, Oakridge, Creswell and Cottage grove? or in unincorporated rural areas of Lane County? Under each scenario, what will the quality of life be in each community? What will be the cost of providing needed public facilities and services like water and sewers, police and fire protection, schools, parks, roads and public transit? Will most people work in the community in which they live, or will most people commute a long way to work? How congested will the roads be under each scenario?
In a series of recent Region 2050 public forums around the area, most people have indicated a preference for concentrating most of the new growth in Eugene and Springfield. But assuming that really is the public's desire, how can that public policy be implemented effectively? Will, say, Veneta voluntarily limit the number of permits it issues for new houses, especially in light of its generous urban growth boundary and sewage treatment capacity? Will developers voluntarily develop in the preferred areas and avoid other areas? Will newcomers choose to live where existing residents would like them to live?
For more information about the Region 2050 project, which aims to plan for the next 50 years of growth, visit http://www.region2050.org
Questions about growth and development are difficult. Consider that many local residents wanted PeaceHealth to stay in the center of Eugene, or at least somewhere in Eugene, and yet PeaceHealth moved to the very edge of Springfield. Even with Oregon's nationally recognized system of land use planning, urban growth boundaries, comprehensive plans, zonings and ordinances that are intended to manage growth to everyone's benefit, the system is far from perfect.
And now in the wake of Measure 37... well, there is a lot of uncertainty about what the new law means for people wanting to develop property they have held for a long time, for neighbors who may see their property values fall as a result of nearby development allowed by Measure 37, and for cities and counties trying to plan for a sensible future without adopting and zoning or ordinances that reduce anyone's property values.
A Christmas tree farmer in Sherwood voted for Measure 37 but now feels like a "stupid fool." His neighbor plans to turn a filbert orchard into housing under Measure 37, which will likely force the tree farm to close. Portland Metro is trying to protect natural areas without regulations. McMinnville is considering added farm land into the UGB because it will be developed under Measure 37 whether or not it is added, which isn't forward planning but backward hindsight.
Is something happening with the West Eugene Parkway? Or is it just another bad soap opera like "Musical Hospitals," where there are always new episodes but nothing is ever resolved?
Speaking of bypasses, what happens when a highway runs through a town? All over Oregon, communities are struggling to accommodate truck and other traffic wanting to pass through quickly while also keeping an attractive environment for local businesses, residents and potential drive-by customers. Redmond is looking to get a bypass for Highway 97, and the same set of issues is being repeated in community after community. Unfortunately, even working together, ODOT and local communities are generally failing to address serious traffic problems while maintaining the quality of life.
People love or hate LTD. Some applaud LTD for allowing students to ride free. Others think Bus Rapid Transit, dubbed EmX for Emerald Express, is a boondoggle. And Senator Bill Morrisette says the LTD board should be elected by and accountable to taxpayers, and that he will try again next legislative session to make it so.
In other news, Chris Roth of Dexter defends Mayor Kitty Piercy in a letter to the Eugene Weekly.
Hasso Hering of the (Albany) Democrat-Herald asks, rightly, if we need a legislature, as they don't seem to do much any more and special interests have taken to writing their own laws (such as Measure 37) through the initiative process.
Nationally, many are wondering whether Hurricane Katrina has reversed the trend for Americans to look out mainly for themselves -- privatize, ownership society, property rights, etc. -- and begin looking out more for each other.
Lastly, the honeymoon is over for our good friend Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's one thing to criticize those in power; it's another to hold power and lead.
Rob Zako, Editor
343-5201
rzako@efn.org
Calendar
Thursday, September 29 -- FoE Annual Meeting Set
| Eugene Weekly | September 22, 2005 |
Nationally known community planner John Fregonese will be the keynote speaker at the Friends of Eugene annual meeting beginning at 7 pm Thursday, Sept. 29 at the EWEB community meeting rooms.
Fregonese was first recognized for his revolutionary planning initiatives in Ashland in the 1980s and went on to spearhead Portland area planning projects. He currently works as a consultant on regional and urban planning projects in Oregon, Texas, Denver, Chicago, California, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming.
FoE President Kevin Matthews will open the public program with brief highlights of FoE's year, touching on future directions for the Eugene citizen group on land use, transportation and livability issues. A representative of 1000 Friends of Oregon will talk briefly about its current projects in Eugene and beyond.
For more information, contact FoE at matthews@artifice.com or visit http://www.FriendsofEugene.org
Opportunities
LTD Board Seats Open
By Kera Abraham
Eugene Weekly | September 22, 2005 |
Lane Transit District has had a hectic year. A worker strike in early 2005 punctuated accusations of mismanagement by General Manager Ken Hamm, and riders have complained about sweeping service cuts and fee increases. Reactions to the planned Bus Rapid Transit System, which will use hybrid-electric buses for quicker routes between Eugene and Springfield, have been mixed.
Whether you give LTD a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down, you can direct it toward the agency's board of directors, which must approve all major decisions. Three of the seven board members' terms expire at the end of the year, creating an opportunity for change.
Unlike other local agencies funded by public dollars, the LTD board is appointed by the governor rather than elected, in accordance with the state statute. Last legislative session, State Sen. Bill Morrisette of Springfield introduced a bill requiring local election of the LTD board, but the bill died in committee.
LTD board members Susan Ban, Gerry Gaydos and Dave Kleger's terms will expire at the beginning of 2006. LTD spokesman Andy Vobora says that the agency will set a Dec. 1 deadline for potential board members' applications. The governor will then recommend three candidates, and the Senate will confirm or reject the appointments at a January meeting.
LTD doesn't plan to run paid advertisements about the open positions in local newspapers. Vobora says that the governor's office directs the agency not to spend money on recruitment, but governor spokeswoman Holly Armstrong says that LTD is free to advertise as it wishes.
The lack of advertising frustrates LTD rider Dorothy Ehli. "It's a good-old-boy network going on here," she says.
Sen. Morrisette echoes her concerns. "I have always felt that the LTD management makes the recommendations to the governor and that's how appointments are made. It's a closed circle," he says. "There should be some public posting of these positions. We want people over a wide range of socio-economic groups to apply, not just the people who the board thinks would fit. To me, that defeats the whole idea of representation."
Applicants must live within specific geographic areas: north Eugene (east of River Road) and Coburg for Position 4; Central and West Eugene, including the UO area, downtown, and the Whiteaker, Jefferson, and West Side neighborhoods for Position 5; and West Eugene/Highway 99, River Road, and Junction City areas for Position 6. Candidates can download applications from http://www.governor.state.or.us/Gov/pdf/forms/Interestformdown.pdf
County seeks applicants for health advisory panel
| The Register-Guard | September 17, 2004 |
The Lane County Board of Commissioners seeks applicants for the Health Advisory Committee, which advises on matters of public health, planning, policy development and more.
The group meets monthly, on the second Tuesday. The deadline to apply is Oct. 14. Applications are available in the commissioners' office, Public Service Building, 125 E. Eighth Ave., Eugene.
For more information or to request an application by mail, call 682-4207.
Springfield panels seek volunteer members
By Serena Markstrom
The Register-Guard | September 3, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Civic-minded volunteers have two upcoming opportunities to serve on a city panel.
The Police Planning Task Force has two openings for citizen-at-large representatives and one opening for a business community representative. All three terms expire in 2009.
Established in 1994, the task force provides citizen input to the police chief.
The 10-member group generally meets the first Thursday of each month.
The deadline to apply is Oct. 14. Interviews of all candidates will be conducted by a subcommittee of the current task force. New members will be appointed by the City Council in November.
The city also needs to fill two vacancies on the 12-member budget committee.
The committee is made up of six city councilors and six members of the community and meets April-June, with additional meetings as needed. It reviews the city's financial plans, including the annual budget.
The openings are for Ward 3 and Ward 4 and applicants must live in the ward they wish to represent.
The terms expire Dec. 31, 2008. For more information, contact Norma Barton, budget officer, at 726-3698.
Applications are due by 5 p.m. Sept. 30. Applicants will be interviewed Oct. 17 and appointed Nov. 5.
Application forms for both the task force and the budget committee are available in the city manager's office in City Hall, 225 Fifth St.
McKenzie-Willamette/Triad
Triad steps up pressure on cities for hospital site
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | September 21, 2005 |
The chief executive of Triad Hospitals Inc. said Tuesday that he's frustrated at not finding a site for the new McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center and made clear that the nation's third-largest for-profit hospital chain is tired of waiting.
Denny Shelton flew from Triad headquarters in Plano, Texas, to convey in person his disappointment to officials in Eugene and Springfield and emphasize the importance of locking up a site within the next 60 to 90 days. (more...)
Triad gives city a 30-day deadline
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | September 22, 2005 |
Triad Hospitals Inc. executives on Wednesday opted to give Eugene one last chance to bring a new McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center to the downtown core.
With a 30-day clock ticking, the Eugene City Council took up the challenge Wednesday and unanimously voted to begin working to assemble purchase options on property in the area of West 12th Avenue and Willamette Street.
The prize city councilors are eyeing is the PeaceHealth Medical Group clinic at 1162 Willamette and several occupied parcels within a four-square-block area. The location is bound on the north and south by West 13th and 11th avenues, respectively, by Willamette on the east and Charnelton Street on the west. All told, the assembled property would total just over 9 acres. (more...)
Editorial -- Triad sets a deadline
| The Register-Guard | September 23, 2005 |
The Eugene City Council shows every sign of understanding that Triad Hospitals Inc. can't wait forever to find a site for a new McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center. After learning that Triad had given city officials 30 days to identify a site, the council voted unanimously Wednesday to attempt to obtain four downtown blocks for the hospital.
The council is right to make an effort to beat the deadline. But hopes that Triad will find a site near the city center are receding. (more...)
Letter -- Hospital needs a secure site
By Eldon Haines, Eugene
The Register-Guard | September 22, 2005 |
In the event of a major Oregon disaster we want our hospitals to be safe, accessible, and functioning -- or do we (Register-Guard, Sept. 16)?
PeaceHealth already has chosen its RiverBend site on the McKenzie River. McKenzie-Willamette has recently considered several sites on the banks of the McKenzie or Willamette rivers.
A doctor friend of mine sounds these warnings: A major coastal earthquake, magnitude 9-plus, could breach any or all of the dams in the Willamette-McKenzie watershed, flooding Eugene-Springfield beyond our imagination.
A major volcanic eruption on South Sister's bulging side could melt winter snows, flooding Eugene-Springfield like we've never seen.
Massive rains in the watershed could again bring massive floods -- perhaps breaching some of the dams and magnifying the disaster.
Have we not learned from the Hurricane Katrina flood of New Orleans that, above all, hospitals must be open and functioning well during an emergency? Our emergency response would be abysmal if our two major hospitals were underwater and damaged beyond recovery.
Please, McKenzie-Willamette, take the high ground.
Fairgrounds future?
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | September 23, 2005 |
The debate over the Lane County fairgrounds is like the weather around here: Wait five minutes and it changes.
Commissioner Peter Sorenson has scheduled a public meeting to discuss the future of the fairgrounds at 7 p.m. Tuesday in meeting room No. 1 of the Lane Events Center at Jefferson Street and 13th Avenue.
Sorenson announced the meeting more than a month ago. Since then, the commissioner most vocal in wanting to move the aging facility -- Faye Stewart -- has said it's no longer a priority; the commissioners have voted not to sell the fairgrounds for at least 10 years; and a possible suitor -- McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center -- is apparently looking elsewhere.
Sorenson said Tuesday's meeting is still relevant. Commissioners could at any time reverse that 3-2 vote not to sell the fairgrounds, he said, and the facility has structural and financial issues that need to be addressed.
Sorenson wants a permanent farmers' market running year-round.
But that's just his opinion, he said, and the meeting is a chance for anybody to say what they want from a fairgrounds facility, what to improve, how much to spend and where to get the money.
For more information, call the county at 682-4203.
Nearby Developments
How will our area grow?: At 'Region 2050' meeting, locals weigh in on how to handle the next 45 years of expansion
| The Springfield News | September 23, 2005 |
Roughly 40 people attended a community meeting Wednesday night that focused on what the area could look like by the year 2050.
The meeting was a piece of the Region 2050 long-range plan, which has been polling communities to determine how growth should occur, where growth should take place and what should be done to protect the quality of life.
It's predicted that the region will increase in population to 463,500 people by 2050.
Carol Heinkel, Region 2050 project coordinator, said there was a good cross section of community leaders at the meeting. She said she was surprised at the level of consensus. (more...)
Mark Robinowitz -- 2050 Fantasy
Katrina, Lane County and peak oil
By Mark Robinowitz
Eugene Weekly | September 22, 2005 |
In the 1990s, the Army Corps of Engineers and Louisiana governments crafted "Coast 2050," a plan intended to restore coastal wetlands to buffer New Orleans from the impacts of severe hurricanes. Coast 2050 hoped to spend billions on restoration projects to reverse ecological damage caused by river channeling and oil and gas development that eroded the natural protections sheltering the Crescent City. The Katrina disaster is a severe example of the gap between planning and the failure to implement solutions.
Despite the known risks of flooding to New Orleans, very little planning was done to mitigate the obvious threats. Similarly, our society's leaders know about the pending peak and ultimate decline of petroleum, and the climate shifts from burning oil and coal, yet virtually nothing has been done to mitigate these impacts and shift toward a more sustainable civilization. This myopia is shared by politicians of both parties, who pretend that business as usual can continue for several more decades, even though there will not be enough oil to construct what is euphemistically called "growth."
The Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) has a program called Region 2050, which purports to study how the southern Willamette valley will look in the year 2050, outlining three options to absorb outlying rural areas into the Eugene/Springfield urban growth boundary.
Region 2050 is a theoretical exercise disconnected from reality, since it ignores the fact that by 2050 the oil age will be over. The issue is not when the oil "runs out," but when demand exceeds supply. (more...)
Justice Center: Candidates seek hand in design
By Serena Markstrom
The Register-Guard | September 24, 2005 |
Applicants who hope to help shape the design and planning of the new Justice Center will have the chance to tell the City Council on Monday why their experience and expertise would best serve the city. (more...)
Council may void soup kitchen permit
By Serena Markstrom
The Register-Guard | September 20, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- After listening to testimony from almost 30 people, city councilors on Monday indicated that they are leaning toward closing the soup kitchen at the American Legion Hall.
The council voted 3-1 to ask the planning staff to gather more information about whether the soup kitchen meets the city land use code.
The kitchen will be allowed to continue operating until Oct. 3, when the council may reverse a July planning commission decision that allowed the soup kitchen. (more...)
Soup kitchen appears headed for denial: City Council members decide, 3-1, that the controversial charity violates city statutes
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | September 21, 2005 |
Springfield City Councilors didn't shut down a soup kitchen operating in the Historic Washburne District with their decision Monday night, but they indicated their intention is to do so.
...
In other business, the council:
* approved annexation of property owned by PeaceHealth and the city; (more...)
Soup kitchen to learn its fate on Monday
By Serena Markstrom
The Register-Guard | September 24, 2005 |
During Monday's meeting, the City Council expects to vote on whether to override a planning commission decision to allow a soup kitchen in a residential neighborhood in the Washburne Historic District. (more...)
Slant -- Eugene City Hall
| Eugene Weekly | September 22, 2005 |
One consensus came out of architect Otto Poticha's speech about Eugene's City Hall to the City Club last Friday: Let's look at all the options. Maybe keep the present pavilion and add a new office building, maybe move into the old Federal Building, maybe tear it all down, maybe retrofit for earthquakes, maybe move the police out. It's time for a Eugene conversation.
At Last, Concrete Evidence
By Bill Bishop
The Register-Guard | September 20, 2005 |
If it appears that the new federal courthouse in Eugene is going up mighty fast, consider that it will be finished in just 43 more weeks -- right on schedule and right on budget, officials said Monday. (more...)
It's demolition countdown for downtown Sears of old
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | September 23, 2005 |
The walls of the old Sears store in downtown Eugene are likely to come tumbling down next week. (more...)
Home economics
Maria Paladino goes from homeless to homeowner with hard work and a little help
By Scott Maben
The Register-Guard | September 21, 2005 |
Maria Paladino is home. This is her home, her family's home.
She picked out the color of the carpeting and kitchen floor. She and her son bought some new furniture and set up an aquarium in a corner of the living room. They planted flowers and got a Mount Fuji cherry tree for the front yard.
And on Thursday, the mayor of Eugene will stop by to help dedicate the new lemon yellow house with bright purple trim near the end of East 32nd Street. (more...)
Anna Morrison and William VanVactor -- County listens to task forces
By Anna Morrison and William VanVactor
The Register-Guard | September 25, 2005 |
In a Sept. 11 article in The Register-Guard's Commentary section, Kate Davidson, the chair of the Lane County Service Stabilization Task Force, stated her task force's recommendations had been ignored. Far from it! Lane County has made significant progress on the task force's recommendations. (more...)
Transportation
WEP U-Turn?
Piercy, feds want real look at alternatives to wetland freeway.
By Alan Pittman
Eugene Weekly | September 22, 2005 |
Eugene may finally get a chance to really look at alternatives to the West Eugene Parkway, the $160 million freeway state highway planners want to slice through endangered wetlands.
A wide swath of wetlands would be filled if the WEP is approved.
Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy, who questioned the WEP in her campaign for mayor last year, again questioned whether the parkway should be a top priority for limited highway funds at a Sept. 15 meeting of the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC).
Piercy called for a look at alternatives to the parkway that would meet transportation needs while still saving the wetlands, and issued a list of nine principles. Piercy's principles state: (more...)
Editorial -- LTD's school bus
| The Register-Guard | September 20, 2005 |
Thanks to a ricochet tax credit, the Lane Transit District will allow 22,000 students in Eugene and Springfield to ride the bus for free, and the district might even make money on the deal. It's a promising program, one that will spread benefits to students, families, school districts, the public transit system and the environment. (more...)
Letter -- EmX is a boondoggle
By Trent Donelson, Eugene
The Register-Guard | September 20, 2005 |
Rob Waldman's Sept. 7 letter points out the "boondoggle" of the new EmX "bus rapid transit" system: that LTD is spending $23 million on a bus that will shorten the travel time between the Springfield and Eugene transit centers by five minutes. But he missed one additional nugget.
The time saved is about 25 percent (five minutes of the 20 or so minute trip). Supposedly, this is because the bus is quicker. But an earlier Register-Guard article on the subject mentioned that 30 percent of the stops are being removed (four from one direction, six from the other).
So this $23 million is getting us a series of torn up streets, felled trees, another new type of machine to maintain (remember the hybrid Breeze buses?), all for a savings to 25 percent of the travel time. Which we could have gained with just the elimination of the extra stops they're taking out anyway.
Boondoggle is right!
Letter -- Why doesn't LTD board answer to taxpayers?
By Bill Morrisette, Springfield
The Springfield News | September 21, 2005 |
The services Lane Transit District (LTD) provides to the community are essential and can best be determined by elected board members.
The primary reason for my position is that a business tax based on the number of employees a business has funds LTD, and this is -- blatantly -- taxation without representation. Other reasons include the huge investment being made in the fixed line to provide bus rapid transit, which I believe is detrimental to an efficient system. Flexibility and customer convenience should be the goal, and not huge buses on a fixed line which would lead to cutting necessary services to other parts of our community. In fact, some routes in Springfield have already been cut, causing a real hardship for some riders.
The current system of appointed LTD board members makes it difficult to hold anyone accountable for costly mistakes and unworkable plans. In the 2005 Legislature, my SB 558 would have made the LTD board elected, but the bill didn't get out of committee, in large part due to the efforts of the current non-elected board and its taxpayer-funded lobbyist to kill it.
More heavy trucks could be heading for Highway 97
By James Sinks
WesCom News Service | September 23, 2005 |
SALEM -- The orange "under construction" signs poked into the shoulders of Highway 97 are about to be replaced with a welcome mat for heavy trucks -- but not everybody is thrilled at that prospect.
The state is rebuilding and upgrading several bridges and junctions in Central Oregon as part of the preliminary stage of a multibillion-dollar highway construction and bridge-rebuilding project. Starting next year, highways 97 and 20 will be able to serve as detours for truck traffic when work shifts to dozens of ailing spans on the state's two heavily traveled interstates.
With Central Oregon's torrid growth already helping to clog arterial routes, the notion of caravans of big trucks has raised eyebrows in several communities -- and particularly in La Pine, Terrebonne, Madras and Redmond, where Highway 97 is the main street through the heart of town.
Call it freight fright. (more...)
OSU study finds fatter folks choose suburbs
Urban planning -- The results question whether walkable neighborhoods encourage exercise
By Patrick O'neill
The Oregonian | September 21, 2005 |
Conventional wisdom among urban planners says that if suburbs were designed with more opportunities for walking and bicycling, people would be more active and would lose weight.
But a new research paper by Stephanie Bernell and Andrew J. Plantinga, two Oregon State University professors, suggests that planning exercise-friendly communities might be a big waste of money because of how people choose where to live.
The study concludes that people who are already healthy and active are more likely to move into neighborhoods where they can walk to work or to shops than are people who are overweight and inactive. (more...)
Measure 37, Oregon's Land Use Planning System
Measure 37 claims, fears are in details
By Jerry F. Boone
The Oregonian | September 21, 2005 |
Tom McCready is worried about his Christmas trees.
He is concerned about what could happen if the almost 20 acres next to his Sherwood tree farm becomes building lots.
His neighbor filed a claim under Measure 37, saying that Oregon's land-use laws have robbed him of $8 million in property value and that Washington County should write a check to cover the loss or allow him to develop the land into five home sites.
"That land is an old filbert orchard, and nothing has been done with it for years. It has degraded so much that the blackberries have pretty much taken over the whole thing," McCready says.
He spoke Tuesday to the Washington County Board of Commissioners, asking it to deny the request. He fears he won't be able to run a farming operation next to a suburban development.
McCready could be the poster boy for the promise and the reality of Measure 37, last year's initiative that swept aside many of Oregon's land-use laws for longtime landowners.
"I voted for it," McCready says. "I feel like a stupid fool.
"I saw the ads with that old lady and her farm and really didn't know a lot of the other things it would do."
If it is any consolation, a lot of people are beginning to have doubts about how they voted in November. (more...)
Metro ready to adopt land rules
Property use -- About 10% of 80,000 acres would face regulations, but nobody would be banned from building
By Laura Oppenheimer
The Oregonian | September 21, 2005 |
Portland and suburban backyards are about to become the test ground for spinning Oregon forward under its year-old property rights law.
New environmental protections, dubbed Nature in Neighborhoods, are slated for approval Thursday by the Metro regional government.
Councilors are attempting to safeguard streams and forests -- their original goal -- without sinking property values, which could trigger Measure 37 claims.
This balancing act resulted in a slew of voluntary programs, such as cleanup days and chemical-free lawn care, for 80,000 acres spanning the region. About 10 percent of that land would face regulations, such as special reviews for large home remodeling projects.
Metro officials say nobody would be outlawed from building altogether. (more...)
History, development don't have to clash
By Scott Learn
The Oregonian | September 22, 2005 |
Portland will play host to an exacting crowd next week, when some 2,000 architects, planners and other historic building aficionados hit town for the National Trust for Historic Preservation's annual conference.
It's an interesting time to flip on the preservation spotlight. Last year, Measure 37 tossed the state's land-use planning rules -- and government's ability to regulate historic preservation -- up in the air in favor of enhanced property rights.
Despite a strong national reputation, activists say Oregon's preservation efforts have lagged since the state Legislature decided in 1995 to make listings on the National Register of Historic Places voluntary for property owners. (more...)
County approves majority of M-37 claims
| The Hillsboro Argus | September 22, 2005 |
Washington County has seen 351 Measure 37 claims filed since the voter-approved land compensation measure took effect in December.
That includes 10 claims the board of commissioners heard Tuesday. Commissioners have approved a wide majority of the claims they've considered, placed others on hold and rejected nine.
The claims Tuesday night mainly dealt with dividing rural properties into smaller lots for development in spite of zoning restrictions, said Mark Brown, a county planner. The claims were spread across the county, from Sherwood to Buxton. (more...)
City eyes Abrams tract for UGB
By Nicole Montesano
The (McMinnville) News-Register | September 22, 2005 |
McMinnville is treading unbroken ground as it tries to reconcile state land-use regulations intended to protect farmland with the terms of Measure 37, which allows nearly unfettered development of agricultural acreage.
It's a tricky task.
Nonetheless, city planning staff are recommending including a 67-acre chunk of the Abrams Measure 37 claim in the urban growth boundary expansion plan the city will submit for state approval later this year. (more...)
Other News
Letter -- Defending Kitty Piercy
By Chris Roth, Dexter
Eugene Weekly | September 22, 2005 |
I like Alan Pittman as a person and appreciate some of his investigative reporting. But the piece "Mayor Maybe" (cover story 9/15) exemplified what I sometimes don't like about EW. It struck me as a counterproductive, polarizing exercise in negative innuendo verging on character-bashing, with its tone not fairly reflecting either the facts or community sentiment.
The article itself contains the seeds for this conclusion. The cover illustration is a mocking cartoon. The pull quotes, including praise from the president of the Chamber of Commerce, seem to be disproportionately selected to cast doubt on Kitty's progressive credentials. And the structure of the article -- with the lead paragraphs and many other sections dedicated to quoting Paul Nicholson, who was apparently the only person with a predominantly negative view of the mayor that Alan could find to interview, seems designed to cast Kitty in a bad light, as do the title and subtitle. Paul has a right to his opinion -- and does a great service to the community through his excellent bike shops -- but the dominance his voice is given in this article seems excessive for a supposedly unbiased piece of reporting.
When the mayor's one major critic and Alan's own insertion of opinion (through the frequent use of disparaging language) are filtered out, the actual content of the article reveals that many more Eugeneans of all stripes are happy with the new mayor and the efforts she has made to be a "mayor for all Eugene" than are dissatisfied. She hasn't pleased everyone, but she's earned high praise from many more quarters than any mayor I can recall. I think that's because she's listened to people, and tried to bring people together to find solutions, rather than forcing one agenda.
She's encountered challenges along the way, but even most of those progressives interviewed don't fault her for things that in retrospect she might have done differently. (After the County Commission double-cross, I'm sure she "won't be fooled again.")
The implication of the article and the way it is presented seems to be that if a mayor is not polarizing the community -- if the presidents of both the Chamber of Commerce and Friends of Eugene are saying she's doing a good job -- then she must be doing a bad job. When she refuses to answer complex questions in simple yes/no, pro-/anti-, black/white terms, Alan describes her as being "hard to pin down." But life, and politics, are not black and white. Seeing them that way, no matter which side of the fence you are on, ultimately leads to social/political dysfunction. The 2004 Presidency was acquired through (among other things) use of a good/evil paradigm that trumped an appreciation of complexity among many voters (those who got their votes counted, anyway).
I think EW can do better than that. Trying to make people into good guys and bad guys -- or evaluating them endlessly, trying to figure out which category they fall into -- doesn't strike me as a way to create positive change within a community. A spirit of appreciation and constructive feedback seems much more helpful. Personal opinion pieces, even quite critical ones, are fine too -- but they're more palatable when they're not disguised as news stories.
Editorial -- So who needs a legislature?
By Hasso Hering
The (Albany) Democrat-Herald | September 17, 2005 |
Today's question: Why do we need a legislature anyhow, since we have the Oregon system of direct legislation?
There is said to be widespread dissatisfaction with our Legislative Assembly, both with the process and the results.
Oregon is not alone. Legislators from western states were meeting in Portland last week. In a written commentary, Conkling, Fiscum and McCormick, a Portland consulting firm in public affairs, observed: "The reins of public policy are being grabbed by industrious, impatient special interest groups that often view the legislative process as a pointless sideshow. They write laws and ask voters to approve them, bypassing the deliberation of legislative bodies."
That has happened in Oregon with some regularity, to the point that some people doubt we still have a "republican" -- that is, representative -- form of government of the type that was required for admission to the union in 1859. (more...)
Katrina stirs shift in how we think, poll says
By Erin Mcclam
The Associated Press | September 23, 2005 |
A 64-year-old Alabamian frets about frayed race relations. A Utah software programmer ponders the slow government response to Hurricane Katrina and decides he'll turn to his church first in a disaster created by nature or terrorists.
A woman scraping by on disability pay in northern Virginia puts her house on the market because of surging post-storm gas and food prices. Cheaper to live in Pennsylvania, she figures.
As the Gulf Coast braces for another monster storm, a new Associated Press-Ipsos poll shows Katrina prompted a rethinking of some signature issues in American life -- changing the way we view race and our safety, how we spend our money, even where we live.
The poll shows that issues swirling around Katrina trump other national concerns. (more...)
Dick Meyer -- Big Government's New Role: Katrina brings out the big spenders in both parties while voters demand more protection than they're willing to pay for
For The Washington Post
By Dick Meyer
The Register-Guard | September 25, 2005 |
Looking at the pre-Katrina political theory floating out there with the rest of the storm's flotsam and jetsam, it's clear that when it comes to the role of the government -- big, federal, blow-the-wad government -- both political parties now face what earnest, horn-rimmed students used to call "internal contradictions."
Here's the nut of those contradictions: Recently, Democrats have been talking like the party of small government, even though they really believe in the functions and mission of big government. Meanwhile, Republicans, who have long professed not to believe in many of the missions and functions of big government, have been expanding the government substantially. (more...)
Survey: Why Pro-Environmental Views Don't Always Translate Into Votes
| Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University | September 20, 2005 |
Durham, N.C. -- Eight-in-10 Americans say they support pro-environmental policies, but a new national survey by the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University finds their support often stops short of the ballot box. The survey suggests opportunities for how to address this disconnect. (more...)
George F. Will -- Arnold's Drifting Audience
SACRAMENTO -- His political strength hemorrhaging from multiple wounds -- some self-inflicted, others the result of a barrage of negative advertising -- the governor, his job approval rating below 40 percent, is nevertheless ebullient. He cannot be pretending. He is not that good an actor.
Arnold Schwarzenegger -- tanned, tan suit, open-collared shirt, running shoes -- will run for reelection in 2006, but first, he says cheerfully, these next seven weeks will be "the rebuttal" to the ad assault from government employee unions. He wants voters to pass ballot measures to make teachers wait five years rather than two before achieving tenure, a lifetime job entitlement; to restrict the growth of government spending by giving governors greater latitude for cutting it; and to give a panel of retired judges power to draw legislative districts.
But he is a prisoner of the populism -- government by gusts of manufactured public opinion -- that propelled him to this city. None of his three proposals currently has the support of a majority of an electorate that is weary of elections. In just 34 months they have reelected Gray Davis governor, recalled him and replaced him with Schwarzenegger, then selected 53 members of Congress and 100 state legislators in districts so meticulously gerrymandered to prevent change that party control remained unchanged in all 153 contests.
Schwarzenegger remains confident of his ability to mesmerize an audience, but this audience -- the vast, distracted electorate -- did not buy a ticket for this November's movie. It is being thrust at them, and he is not the anti-political novelty he was when he was elected. (more...)