Health Options Digest
November 20, 2005
Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield (CHOICES)
In This Issue
From the Editor
Week In Review
It's been a relatively slow news week: Arlie proposed siting a hospital near Lane Community College. McKenzie-Willamette announced it will site its new hospital on a golf course in north Eugene, but left the door open to move to Glenwood if the golf course doesn't work out. Some are poised to blame Mayor Piercy and the Eugene City Council, even before they have done anything. Students and others are criticizing the University of Oregon's plans to close the Westmoreland Family Housing, especially in a very tight rental market with few if any low-cost units available. The West Eugene Parkway is going nowhere fast, but that hasn't stopped some from dreaming of a brand new multi-million-dollar interchange where Interstate-5 crosses Franklin Boulevard. Measure 37 is stuck in court. And it is the season for elected officials to declare their intentions: Sid Leiken is challenging Bill Dwyer, David Kelly and Bob Ackerman are stepping down, Floyd Prozanski is running for reelection, and some wish Kitzhaber rather than Kulongoski would run for governor. Ho hum. Just another typical slow week in the Emerald City.
Teamwork and Regional Cooperation
With the news out of the week out of the way, let's step back and talk about the important stuff: football. How 'bout them Ducks? Ranked #8 in the nation and possibly headed to the Fiesta Bowl!
But the important question is: How did they do it? There are a couple ways to play the game. You can have one or more star players, each trying to outshine the others: more yards rushing, more completed passes, more interceptions, and so forth. The trouble with stars is that they sometimes work against their teammates by trying to get all of the glory for themselves. Or you can have a bunch of hardworking players, perhaps none who are stars, who work together as a team and end up being better than the sum of their parts. The Ducks this year did so well because they were a team and worked well together (and for a lot of other reasons).
People working for themselves or with each other. What kind of game is Lane County playing? Are Lane County, Eugene, Springfield, Coburg and the dozen or so other communities working each for themselves or with each other? In some cases, the various jurisdictions do work well together. But too often they are working at odds with each other. You might even conclude they are working in competition with each other, as if they were on different teams. Competing for big developments, for jobs, for tax receipts, for major highway projects, and so forth.
But it should be clear that Eugene isn't -- or shouldn't be -- in competition with Springfield, but that both communities should be working together in competition with, say, Sacramento... or even Shanghai. The Ducks aren't competing against the Ducks themselves but rather against the Southern California Trojans, the Arizona Wildcats, and the Washington Huskies.
Our larger neighbors to the north in Portland are getting this idea of teamwork. They are realizing that a company doesn't decide to locate to Portland or Beaverton or Gresham, per se, but rather decides to move to the Portland area and then picks the best location, whether in Portland or some other city. Thus rather than the communities competing against each other, they are starting to work together as a team, recognizing that what is good or bad for Portland is good or bad for Beaverton and vice versa.
Our larger neighbors to the north are learning more and more that they are part of one region and that the region is like a team that need to work well together -- or else the whole team suffers.
Teamwork. It worked for the Ducks. It's working for the Portland metropolitan area. It can work for Lane County, too.
Rob Zako, Editor
343-5201
rzako@efn.org
Calendar
Officials seek views on hospital plan
| The Register-Guard | November 16, 2005 |
The Oregon Department of Human Services will hold two public meetings on Tuesday to take comments on PeaceHealth's proposal to create a 104-bed acute care hospital at its Hilyard Street campus.
The meetings, at noon and 4:30 p.m. at the Eugene City Council Chamber, 777 Pearl St., are part of the state's review of PeaceHealth's certificate of need application for the Hilyard proposal.
PeaceHealth intends to establish the new facility, which will feature a Level 4 emergency department similar to that of Cottage Grove Community Hospital, after it moves the bulk of its operations to the RiverBend medical facility in July 2008. The $350 million facility is under construction in Springfield's Gateway district.
Under state hospital siting rules, Peace- Health must demonstrate a need for new hospital beds exists in Eugene-Springfield in order to obtain an operating permit. State officials contend that too many beds or duplicative services in a geographic area cause medical costs to rise.
Any person may speak at the meetings, and those speaking may be questioned by regulators. Testimony will be limited to PeaceHealth's Hilyard proposal.
Opportunities
LTD has three openings for board members
| The Register-Guard | October 26, 2005 |
People interested in being appointed to the Lane Transit District board of directors are advised to submit applications by Dec. 1 for the three positions that expire at the end of the year.
The positions generally cover north Eugene; central and west Eugene; and west Eugene including Highway 99, River Road and Junction City.
Forms can be submitted online by going to http://governor.oregon.gov/Gov/ boards.shtml and look for "Interest Form" under "How to Apply."
Candidates are advised to speak with a current board member.
For more information, call 682-6100.
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
PeaceHealth
Letter -- PeaceHealth objects to News editorial
By Brian S. Terrett, Director, public affairs and communications, PeaceHealth Oregon Region
The Springfield News | November 16, 2005 |
After reading your editorial on hospital locations ("West Eugene is best market for hospital," Nov. 9, 2005), it's very clear that some of your assumptions about PeaceHealth need to be corrected.
In your piece, you refer to the Hilyard campus proposal as having "just emerged recently." You also suggest that it is "pretty likely that this new plan came about after someone pointed out the danger involved in moving to Springfield."
The renovation of the Hilyard campus has been part of our plans since March 2001. That's when we announced plans to move to Crescent, and long before we ever imagined we would be in Springfield. In fact, the Crescent property was purchased in the early 1990's so that we could have the two-campus hospital system that has been proposed. While the locations have changed, the plans are essentially the same.
The only thing different about the plans today compared to the plans from 2001 are the addition of 24 beds, as well as a Level 4 emergency department. Those plans were announced in the spring after we agreed to downsize our RiverBend campus. It is clear that these are hardly recent.
To suggest that our Hilyard plans are recent, due to the so-called "danger" of Springfield, or in response to what other health care providers are doing is just not true. We value our partnership with Springfield and look forward to opening a beautiful new hospital adjacent to the McKenzie River in 2008.
Another fallacy of your opinion piece is the notion that patients either don't go or won't go to a hospital outside of their hometown. Sacred Heart Medical Center cares for patients from throughout Eugene, Springfield and surrounding communities. The fact that over 30 percent of our patients come from outside the Springfield/Eugene metropolitan area is a testament to how we serve the entire region.
The local investment in health care facilities is long overdue and is good news for all of us who will one day rely on these hospitals to care for our families and save lives. We invite the public to support the efforts of both local hospital organizations to build new facilities to serve the region.
Editor's note: Mr. Terrett is correct, as most Springfield residents know, in noting that PeaceHealth always did plan to leave a hospital campus on Hilyard Street. It's the addition to the plans earlier this year of the emergency department there, making any McKenzie-Willamette presence in downtown Eugene redundant, that the editorial was referring to. We hope most of our readers got the distinction, but for those who did not, we are grateful to Mr. Terrett for making the matter clearer.
McKenzie-Willamette/Triad
Arlie proposes one more hospital site
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | November 15, 2005 |
Arlie & Co. sought to keep its hand in the hospital-siting game Monday with an open letter to Triad Hospitals Inc. offering property south of Lane Community College for a new McKenzie-Willamette hospital. (more...)
McKenzie-Willamette Selects Eugene Site
By Rosie Pryor, Director of Marketing and Planning, rospry@mckweb.com
McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center | November 16, 2005 |
We have signed an agreement to purchase approximately 42 acres of what is now the River Ridge Golf Complex in north Eugene. We will use the property to construct state-of-the-art full service hospital. Of the 42 acres we've agreed to buy, 30 are located inside the Urban Growth Boundary and are zoned R-1 (not agricultural as reported in the newspaper).
We will immediately revise our architectural materials and financial analyses and resubmit our application for Certificate of Need approval to the Oregon Department of Human Services. We are optimistic the state will begin review of our application.
McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center seeks state approval to build a 148-bed hospital with space to add another 50 beds as needed over the next decade. Our hospital would include a 24-hour Level III Trauma Center ER, as well as cardiac, medical/ surgical, women's and children's, diagnostic, and rehabilitation services.
What Hospital Plan is Best for Eugene/Springfield?
By Rosie Pryor, Director of Marketing and Planning, rospry@mckweb.com
McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center | November 16, 2005 |
The state has scheduled public meetings to take comment PeaceHealth's proposal to operate Eugene/Springfield's third hospital. DHS denied McKenzie-Willamette's request for simultaneous review of our application. We believe the community deserves the opportunity to compare these two proposals side-by-side.
You can testify at the public meeting:
November 22, 2005, Noon-3 pm and again from 4:30-6:30 pm
Eugene City Council Chamber, 777 Pearl Street, Eugene
or send a letter to Oregon Public Health Services:
Ms. Jana Fussell
Certificate of Need Coordinator
Oregon Public Health Services
800 N.E. Oregon St., #21, Suite 930
Portland, OR 97232
Please ask DHS to ensure PeaceHealth's proposal for a third hospital does not impact McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center's ability to build a full service, state-of-the-art hospital for Eugene.
New hospital on course. Literally.
Triad will buy nearly 42 acres for its proposed medical center
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | November 16, 2005 |
Two years after launching its search for a new hospital location, McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center said it will land on the back nine of RiverRidge Golf Course in north Eugene.
RiverRidge owners Debbie and Ric Jeffries have signed an agreement with McKenzie-Willamette to sell just under 42 acres of their signature course on the west side of North Delta Highway for the proposed $225 million medical center, hospital officials said Tuesday in an interview with The Register-Guard.
Roy Orr, McKenzie-Willamette's chief executive, said the property meets all of the criteria set out by the hospital: a single owner; a parcel large enough to accommodate the hospital and medical office buildings; road access; and reasonable land costs. (more...)
Hospital finds location on golf course
| The Springfield News | November 18, 2005 |
It's final -- McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center has found a new home on the Eugene side of the freeway.
The Eugene Water & Electric Board building is out. A golf course is in.
River Ridge Golf Course owners have signed an agreement with MWMC to sell about 42 acres of the course on the west side of North Delta Highway for development of the proposed $225 million center.
Oregon Department of Human Services previously refused to process Triad's -- the Texas-based owners of MWMC -- application to build on EWEB's campus because the nonbinding agreement did not meet state regulations.
Sites in Springfield and Eugene were considered before the golf course offer was accepted. A property in the Glenwood area is still being considered if the RiverRidge deal falls through.
The golf course property was desirable to McKenzie-Willamette officials because it's large enough to accommodate the hospital and office buildings and offers road accessibility -- and the price was right.
Located in Eugene's urban growth boundary, the parcel will require upgrades to North Delta Highway, utilities, fiber optics and other infrastructure.
MWMC officials plan to re-file the hospital's application with the department of human services by the end of the year.
If approved, construction could begin as soon as next year.
Mayor Piercy could have swing vote when plan goes before City Council
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | November 17, 2005 |
The tentative support Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy declared Wednesday for a McKenzie-Willamette hospital in north Eugene could play a pivotal role when the City Council weighs in on the proposal.
To put a hospital on the 42-acre site near North Delta Highway, the parcel's land use designation in the metro area's growth plan would in all likelihood need to be changed, and that would take City Council approval.
Some councilors might be reluctant to go along with the changes. That's where Piercy's ability as mayor to break ties on what is now a deeply divided council could come into play. (more...)
Site gets mixed reactions from doctors
By Tim Christie
The Register-Guard | November 17, 2005 |
McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center's announcement that it wants to build its new hospital in north Eugene drew mixed reaction from doctors Wednesday, though many were glad that hospital leaders had finally picked a site.
Some greeted the news warily, concerned that having both McKenzie-Willamette and PeaceHealth hospitals in the north end of the metro region would make it harder for them to make patient rounds. Others who work at both hospitals say it would have little effect on their practices. (more...)
Roadblocks remain: Problems posed by the RiverRidge site lead some to speculate that Triad may have a fallback plan
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | November 17, 2005 |
"It's the wrong area. We still need a hospital south of the river." -- Betty Taylor, Eugene City Councilor
"It certainly fits what I feel is the bottom line for our community, and that is that we need two independent hospitals going forward to serve the medical needs of the community." -- Gary Papé, Eugene City Councilor
"Council's prerogative should be the public's best interest, starting with protecting taxpayers from bearing the burden for costly new infrastructure and services that Triad's preferred location may require." -- Bonny Bettman, Eugene City Councilor
Editorial -- Still plenty of questions
| The Register-Guard | November 17, 2005 |
RiverRidge golf course may be a beautiful site for a hospital, but Triad executives surely know that they face huge hurdles before they can begin construction of a new McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center on the property.
PeaceHealth's experience ought to provide plenty of pause for McKenzie-Willamette officials' expectation that they'll break ground on a new $235 million facility in 2006. From Day 1, PeaceHealth's RiverBend site along the McKenzie River in Springfield also looked like a beautiful location for a hospital. But it took PeaceHealth almost three years from its announcement of the RiverBend purchase to overcome all the legal, land use and transportation obstacles associated with moving from conception to construction.
Many of those same issues are present at Triad's RiverRidge site, but none is more significant than questions about transportation impacts and what -- if anything -- could be done to address them in a timely manner. There is simply no money in the state's highly regimented transportation planning and funding process targeted for improvements to the area near Belt Line Road and Delta Highway where Triad hopes to build an 825-employee hospital. There's also no question that the existing transportation infrastructure is incapable of absorbing such a huge additional burden. (more...)
Proposed hospital concerns neighbors
By Tim Christie
The Register-Guard | November 18, 2005 |
Neighbors who live across North Delta Highway from RiverRidge Golf Course said Thursday that they have plenty of concerns about plans to put a hospital on the back nine holes of the course, fearing it could wreck their pastoral views, lower property values and be a traffic nightmare.
Some neighbors said they're reserving final judgment about the project being proposed by McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center. Others already have made up their mind to fight the new hospital.
Nearly everyone contacted in a neighborhood canvass expressed concern about traffic on North Delta Highway, where gravel trucks rumble to and from a pit north of the golf course. (more...)
McKenzie-Willamette downplays traffic
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | November 18, 2005 |
McKenzie-Willamette spokeswoman Rosie Pryor said Thursday that hospital officials did not consider transportation issues before executing the sales agreement for the 42-acre RiverRidge site. But, she added, she doesn't expect traffic to be a serious problem. (more...)
Letter -- Think ahead to site hospital
By Bob Bottge, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 15, 2005 |
Fifty years ago in a small Midwestern city, Catholics built a high school on top of a hill in the middle of a cornfield on the edge of town. And the people said, "What were they thinking?"
Today, the school is two blocks north of a major artery, overlooks the city's mega-mall and is surrounded by suburbia. Rather clever, those Catholics.
I think if I were siting a new hospital, I would choose a location that would be close to the center of the city 50 years hence rather than a site close to where the city was 50 years ago. For sure, I would not build it within five miles of the new PeaceHealth complex. It's a time to be clever.
Letter -- Council seeks too much control
By Stephen M. Roberts, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 18, 2005 |
Eugene may be without a hospital by the end of the decade. When that comes to pass, the root cause will be subterfuge through ineptitude.
Our comically dysfunctional City Council's appetite for absolute control over planning and development denies potential business investors the kinds of critical options they need for success. If one wonders why citizens would actually continue to vote for these councilors, one only needs to read the views expressed by their supporters in The Register-Guard Mail- bag.
Robert A. Olsen (letters, Nov. 9) is a case in point. Olsen urges the City Council to confiscate whatever city parcels it wants through eminent domain to locate a hospital and "make sure the public interest is served."
Perhaps Olsen's views provide insight into his notions of the role of government in the lives of the citizens it serves. After all, five justices on the U.S. Supreme Court just blazed the trail for such "takings."
I do wonder, however, about two things: Does Olsen own a home or business property in downtown Eugene? And does he feel that the government knows best as regards the U.S.A. Patriot Act?
Letter -- What about Westmoreland site?
By Chuck Rusch, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 19, 2005 |
I applaud Mayor Kitty Piercy and the City Council members for their tough stand on the West Eugene Parkway plan. Several years ago, the Eugene Planning Commission, in a series of four nearly unanimous votes, recommended that the City Council not approve the plan because it seriously violated many of the 19 state land use rules. I was on the Planning Commission from 2000-2004, and to us, it was clearly a bad idea subject to lengthy legal challenge. Further, a citywide vote to do something that is illegal by state law does not make it legal. To oversimplify the issue, you just don't build a freeway through a protected wetland.
That same Planning Commission recommended that the next hospital in Eugene be required to be located south of the river and at most 2.5 miles from the city's population center -- Second Avenue and Chambers Street. The City Council supported this reasoning but backed away from requiring it in favor of monetary incentives, which haven't worked.
All may not be lost. When the University of Oregon said it would be putting the 27-acre Westmoreland Housing property on the market, why didn't Triad jump at it for the hospital site? It is almost exactly the size the company wants and fits the city's criteria almost as well as the nearby county fairgrounds site.
True, the property might offer a great opportunity to expand the city's stock of much needed low-cost housing, but it also may not. At this point, this very attractive property certainly should be under study as a possible hospital site.
Letter -- County zoning allows hospitals
By Sadie Dressekie, Marketing Director, Arlie & Company, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 20, 2005 |
In his Nov. 15 article "Arlie proposes one more hospital site," reporter Joe Harwood correctly stated that Arlie's College Park property is governed by Lane County land use rules.
However, the statement by Kent Howe, planning director for the county's Land Management Division, that Public Facilities zoning does not allow for a hospital is incorrect and implied that the site should be dismissed without proper consideration. In section 16.219 of the Rural Comprehensive Plan for Lane County, the following uses are listed as permitted within Public Facilities zoning: "Health Services, such as dental, hospital, medical laboratory, dental laboratory, sanitarium, convalescent and rest home services, medical clinics."
Further, Howe's comments that hospitals are typically built to serve urban populations ignores a large part of our population. Where do people from Oakridge, Mapleton, Pleasant Hill and other rural areas go for their medical care? Patients living in rural areas throughout Lane County will rely upon this hospital, and the assumption that it is built solely for the county's urban residents is myopic.
A proposed site, whether it is College Park, Eugene Water & Electric Board, Glenwood or elsewhere, will have many zoning, planning and infrastructure issues that will need to be addressed. In order for McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center to give proper consideration to all viable sites, they must have support and accurate information from city and county officials.
Letter -- Arlie's site is a poor choice
By George Wickes, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 20, 2005 |
I was surprised by The Register-Guard's headline this morning: "Arlie puts pressure on Piercy" (Register-Guard, Nov. 9). Who's Arlie? I don't remember that we elected him to anything.
Oh yes, now I remember: Arlie is John Musumeci, one of the Gang of Nine that was pushing everybody around a couple of years ago. One of those plutocrats who put their interests ahead of the will of the people.
Now he attacks Mayor Kitty Piercy for opposing his attempts to locate the McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in his real estate development -- way out there on the outskirts of Eugene, near the future PeaceHealth medical center at RiverBend. That would be good business for Arlie & Co., but not a good location for another hospital.
Clearly the mayor has the interests of the people who elected her when she tries to find a central location for McKenzie-Willamette -- somewhere within reach of most of us.
Slant -- Civic Stadium
| Eugene Weekly | November 17, 2005 |
Back On Sept. 1 In This Column, We Tossed Around Steve Sylwester's Idea Of Using The 17-Acre Civic Stadium Site At 20Th And Willamette for the new Triad hospital. The idea didn't appear to gain any traction among decision-makers, but it has inspired stadium fan Jimmy Crabbe to post a new website (http://www.savecivicstadium.org)to try to mobilize interest in "keeping and restoring an important part of Eugene's past and present." Crabbe can be contacted at SaveCivicStadium@gmail.com
Health Care
Big Drug Makers See Sales Decline With Their Image
By Alex Berenson
The New York Times | November 14, 2005 |
The drug industry's image problems are beginning to hurt pharmaceutical companies where it matters most -- at the bottom line.
A year after Merck's withdrawal of its arthritis medicine Vioxx led to an industrywide credibility crisis, the Food and Drug Administration is blocking new medicines that might previously have passed muster. Doctors are writing fewer prescriptions for antidepressants and other drugs whose safety has been challenged, like hormone replacement therapies for women in menopause.
Meanwhile, insurers and some states are taking advantage of the backlash against the industry to try shifting patients to older, generic drugs, arguing that they work as well as newer and more expensive branded medicines. Overall, prescriptions continue to rise slightly, but an increasing share of prescriptions are going to generic drugs. Also, consumers seem to be less responsive to aggressive drug marketing. (more...)
Science uncovers secret to longer life
By Rob Stein
The Washington Post | November 15, 2005 |
WASHINGTON -- Sorry, couch potatoes -- the verdict is in: People who exercise regularly really do live longer.
In fact, people who get a good workout almost daily can add nearly four years to their life spans, according to the first study to quantify the impact of physical activity this way. (more...)
Nearby Developments
Makeover in full swing at Gateway
Owners hope to give Gateway Mall a new lease on life by adding big business, other improvements
By Ben Raymond Lode
The Springfield News | November 18, 2005 |
It's hard to not notice the physical changes taking place at Gateway Mall these days.
Last week a towering crane lifted huge concrete walls into place to create the framework for a new 90,000-square-foot two-story Kohls department store.
Several weeks before that, construction workers with Portland-based Howard S. Wright Construction Co. had dug up the ground and poured the new store's concrete foundation.
But changes at Gateway go beyond Kohls, although the national retailer may increase the mall's draw as a place to do business among local and regional retailers. (more...)
Home sales in county slip a bit in October
By Scott Maben
The Register-Guard | November 15, 2005 |
Home sales slowed a bit in Lane County last month, but you wouldn't know it from the prices.
The median sale price in October was $207,500, up from $202,000 in September, according to the latest report from RMLS Inc., the Portland firm that provides the multiple listing service in the county. (more...)
In market for home? NEDCO can help
By Scott Maben
The Register-Guard | November 18, 2005 |
Have questions about homeownership but don't know who to ask? Now there's an official referral service for all such inquiries in Lane County.
NEDCO, the Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation in Eugene, will serve as the Homeownership Center of Lane County, state housing officials said Thursday.
Existing homeowners and anyone thinking about buying may contact NEDCO with questions on home loans, working with a real estate agent, shopping for affordable property, overcoming bad credit, down payment assistance, rehabilitation projects, rural development and similar topics. (more...)
Sales of high-end houses slowing
By Ken Maguire
The Associated Press | November 20, 2005 |
PLYMOUTH, Mass. -- Most open houses feature a hovering real estate agent, a stack of listing sheets, and -- if you're lucky -- a pot of coffee and some cheese and crackers.
But at The Pinehills, where the koi pond and home movie theater can come standard with a $1 million-plus home, think celebrity chefs and haute cuisine.
To attract buyers, developers of this massive planned community in Plymouth -- the town where the pilgrims landed, about 40 miles south of Boston -- called in A-list chefs to cook in their new model homes at an open house.
They can't afford not to. High-end houses are becoming harder to sell in some of the nation's hottest real estate markets, which are being flooded with listings as baby boomers downsize. Rising interest rates and energy costs may be scaring off some buyers. (more...)
Kicked Out
A student community fights to keep its affordable housing.
By Kera Abraham
Eugene Weekly | November 17, 2005 |
At 500 square feet, the two-bedroom apartment in Westmoreland Family Housing is small but cozy. The kitchen is big enough to cook in, but not big enough to eat in. The living room is roomy enough for 3-year-old Leo to zoom his toy trucks across. On the couch, which is just wide enough for him to sit with his parents, Leo can look through the big window facing north onto Amazon Creek and the Matthews Community Garden, where Li rents a plot. While she gardens with her neighbors, Leo plays with their kids.
Li and her husband, Xiangkui Yao, moved into Westmoreland, a University of Oregon low-cost housing complex on Garfield Street in west Eugene, in 2002. Other tenants passed along their un-needed furniture and, when Leo was born later that year, their kids' outgrown clothes. Now, Leo goes part-time to the Westmoreland Children's Center, a university-subsidized daycare just across the street, while Li, who worked as a lawyer in Beijing and recently got a BA in economics from the UO, does an internship. Yao takes the 76 busline straight from Westmoreland to the UO campus, where he pursues his doctorate in computer science and teaches.
Grad student Joe Christison and his daughter Hannah protest the Westmoreland sale on campus.
It's a long way from their homeland in Beijing, China, but Westmoreland is home to Li and her family. Though her Mandarin accent makes her conspicuous in Eugene, Li feels safe and accepted at Westmoreland, where one-quarter of the leaseholders are international students. Her neighbors -- from Nicaragua, Mexico, Uzbekistan, Benin, Japan and Texas -- threw Leo a birthday party when Li and Yao were too busy to do it. They meet in the community room for monthly breakfasts and holiday parties.
But in late October, the UO informed Li and Westmoreland's 580 other residents that they would have to move out when their leases expire in June. The university wants to sell the 21-acre, 404-unit Westmoreland complex in order to buy land closer to campus. The sale would eliminate almost half of the UO's family housing units and one of its two daycare centers. (more...)
Discussion continues about sale of complex
The ASUO and the University Family Housing Board will hold meetings about Westmoreland
By Meghann M. Cuniff, News Editor
Oregon Daily Emerald | November 17, 2005 |
As discussion continues about the University's plans to sell Westmoreland Apartments, two upcoming meetings provide opportunities for students and other community members to learn about the possible sale and to voice their opinions. (more...)
Groups react to impending Westmoreland sale
In a meeting hosted by ASUO, students and other community members met to strategize plans
By Meghann M. Cuniff, News Editor
Oregon Daily Emerald | November 18, 2005 |
Groups opposed to the sale of Westmoreland Apartments must be organized and united behind one solid message if they hope to make a difference, students and other concerned citizens said at the ASUO's meeting Thursday evening. (more...)
Groups react to impending Westmoreland sale
The Far West Neighborhood Association postponed voting on its official stance on the sale
By Christopher Hagan, News Reporter
Oregon Daily Emerald | November 18, 2005 |
The Far West Neighborhood Association discussed the possible sale of Westmoreland Apartments at the association's meeting last night but ended the evening with more questions than answers. (more...)
Hearing testimony includes gravel pit owner's talk of park
By Diane Dietz
The Register-Guard | November 16, 2005 |
The decision whether or not to approve a gravel pit expansion is supposed to be based on objective criteria and not a popularity contest, the Delta Sand & Gravel attorney told planning commissioners members at a hearing Tuesday night.
But when gravel pit co-owner Avon Lee Babb took the witness chair, he made a surprise suggestion that the company may turn the gravel mine -- when it runs out of rock in 15 or 25 years -- into a 590-acre public park. (more...)
Ruling shields city's natural areas
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | November 15, 2005 |
The Eugene City Council on Monday approved years-in-the-making natural resource protections, but a few extra minutes proved too much for a pair of councilors.
The council on a 7-0 vote passed required minimum building setbacks on more than 2,000 properties throughout the city that have creeks, drainages or wetlands on or near them. (more...)
Regional consciousness pays dividend
| The Oregonian | November 16, 2005 |
Only four months into the fiscal year, the Portland Development Commission has almost met its annual goal of recruiting five new businesses.
It is nearly halfway to its June 2006 goal of helping 450 businesses stay or expand. And it is only 167 away from creating or retaining 2,000 jobs.
Indeed, by those numbers, the needle on Portland's economic future is headed back toward prosperity. But the results are impressive only because business and elected leaders changed their view of the big picture.
Portland is not just for Portland anymore. It's biting its self-centered tongue and becoming a cheerleader for the whole region now. (more...)
Public Facilities and Services
City will borrow $1.5 mil to develop Glenwood
Line of credit will enable development agency to make improvements to riverfront
By Stacy D. Stumbo
The Springfield News | November 18, 2005 |
Springfield's Economic Development Agency has taken initial steps toward securing a $1.5 million line of credit from the city to overhaul Glenwood.
SEDA, composed of members of the Springfield City Council, adopted a loan agreement with the city Monday. The council is expected to vote on the issue by early 2006.
Bob Duey, the city's finance director, said the loan would provide the urban renewal project enough money to get started on a 20-year plan to improve 47 acres of Glenwood's riverfront. (more...)
Planned jail might charge inmates: Hitting inmates with fees for their incarceration is one of the proposals brought forth
By Stacy D. Stumbo
The Springfield News | November 18, 2005 |
It might lack the comfort and amenities of the Marriott, but a stay in a proposed Springfield Municipal Jail could cost as much for folks incarcerated there.
Billing criminals for booking, telephone use and room and board were among suggested revenue builders identified by the Jail Operations Funding Task Force during a Springfield City Council work session Monday.
Mayor Sid Leiken appointed the nine-member task force in May to identify and study possible funding options for a 100-bed municipal jail that could be part of the voter-approved justice center. (more...)
Springfield weighs how to cover jail costs
By Jack Moran
The Register-Guard | November 15, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- One way or another, it appears that the question of how to fund the operation of a city jail will be answered by the same voters who last year endorsed a plan to build one as part of a municipal justice center complex. (more...)
Survey: Library levy is a no-go
By Stacy D. Stumbo
The Springfield News | November 16, 2005 |
The results of a survey gauging support for a tax increase to finance improvements at the Springfield Public Library are in, and they're not promising.
Consultants from Eugene-based Advanced Marketing Research, who were retained by the city to conduct a telephone survey last month, determined that most residents would vote against a levy to increase library funding because they feel their taxes are already too high. (more...)
Levy renewals could go to voters
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | November 17, 2005 |
The Eugene City Council on Wednesday signaled it could ask voters next year to renew two tax levies -- one for the library, the other for school-based youth services.
Councilors approved a schedule that would put renewal of the local option levies for library and youth services on the November 2006 ballot. The ballot measures are not yet certain. Councilors are expected to discuss the topic several times next year. (more...)
City works to hook up to sewer system
By Karen McCowan
The Register-Guard | November 19, 2005 |
COBURG -- This last local city still relying on septic tanks is trying to persuade the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Consortium to allow it to connect to its wastewater treatment plant.
Coburg Mayor Judy Volta and City Administrator Don Schuessler have spent the past six weeks meeting with leaders of consortium members Eugene, Springfield and Lane County. The Lane County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved Coburg's request last month, voting to adopt "in concept" the city's proposed intergovernmental agreement and to request an expedited process.
But the Eugene City Council gave more qualified support, voting 5-3 to "develop a model" for responding to the Coburg request, with Coburg footing the bill for all associated planning, legal and connection costs. The measure also was dependent on staff verification that Eugene taxpayers would not be obligated for any increased costs because of Coburg's participation. And it provided no guarantees that Coburg would be allowed to hook up to the MWMC system without further approval. (more...)
Editorial -- Looks like Eugene's grabbing for control of LRAPA -- again
| The Springfield News | November 18, 2005 |
The best argument for keeping the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority intact has always been local control. The rest of the state is regulated by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, whose actions and priorities are set by the state legislature and governor in Salem; here, we can, to borrow an underused phrase, fly our own wing.
Well, we'll go out on a bit of a limb here and make a prediction: Those days are over. In the next 12 months, LRAPA as we know it will cease to exist.
Why?
Because, it seems, to certain people "local control" means "Eugene control." And frankly, most people in Springfield and rural Lane County would rather have Salem control things than Eugene. (more...)
Russell Sadler -- Public starting to see the costs of tax-cut fever
By Russell Sadler
The Register-Guard | November 20, 2005 |
Has the fever broken?
Tax cut fever started in California in 1978 with that state's infamous Proposition 13. It raced through Oregon in the 1990s with Ballot Measure 5 and the flawed "cut and cap" Measure 47 and became a national epidemic. The fever appears to have abated in the recent election.
California voters rejected Proposition 76, limiting state spending and giving the governor sweeping powers that traditionally belonged to the legislative branch of government to cut spending when revenues decline.
Colorado voters rolled back a much-touted spending limit so the Legislature could keep an estimated $3.7 billion over the next five years to pay for roads, bridges, schools and other public infrastructure and avoid the interest cost of borrowing that money.
Washington state voters rejected a measure to repeal a 9.5-cent-a-gallon gas tax approved by the state Legislature. (more...)
West Eugene Parkway
Rob Zako -- By acting together, an alternative to Eugene's parkway can be found
By Rob Zako
The Register-Guard | November 14, 2005 |
The debate over the West Eugene Parkway has raged for too long. It hasn't solved traffic problems in west Eugene, and it is blocking progress on other issues. While people disagree about the solution, there is actually significant agreement about the problems. Our community should build on that common ground. (more...)
Mark Robinowitz -- Let's look at entire picture of West Eugene Parkway
By Mark Robinowitz
The Register-Guard | November 17, 2005 |
The Register-Guard's coverage of the Eugene City Council's recent removal of support for the proposed West Eugene Parkway has omitted important pieces of the story. (more...)
Slant -- West Eugene Parkway
| Eugene Weekly | November 17, 2005 |
Lots of hostility surrounds the recent vote by the Eugene City Council to pull support for the West Eugene Parkway, and we have our own little hostage crisis going on among local governments. But let's remember that there are lots of reasons why the WEP has been hung up in the transportation bureaucracy for 20 years. It has serious problems. It's a project that violates federal law, sucks millions from urgent highway projects in the area, and would have minimal long-term impact on traffic. Mayor Piercy should be commended and supported for seeking positive solutions that would relieve west Eugene congestion and protect valuable wetlands acquired with federal environmental grants.
Letter -- Ignoring voters creates apathy
By Sandra Mattson, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 14, 2005 |
We often hear politicians and media pundits rail about the apathy of voters. And yet when we take the time to vote -- and vote overwhelmingly in favor of property rights laws such as Measure 37 -- a liberal, elitist judge in Oregon throws it out.
If the law isn't workable, then the Oregon Legislature should amend the law so that it does what the voters intended. We are sick and tired of liberal judges who refuse to accept the voters' wishes regarding new laws. Judges don't make laws. Voters and their representatives make laws.
Another concern I, and voters like me, have is that the West Eugene Parkway, which voters also approved, is now being railroaded by liberal local elected politicians who treat us condescendingly -- as if they know more than we do or what is best for us. These liberal elitists look at us, the voters, like we are children that they should deal with.
This is not democracy.
It's no wonder a lot of people don't vote anymore. Even if we vote to express our concerns as citizens, our elected officials and judges don't listen to us. Sounds more like a dictatorship than a democracy.
Letter -- Parkway is an obsolete solution
By Ethen Perkins, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 16, 2005 |
Gary Wildish opines (guest viewpoint, Oct. 28) that the West Eugene Parkway has "survived every test of popularity thrown at it." He refers to a 50.9 percent to 49 percent vote in 2001. That was not an unbiased popularity test but the result of outspending. Wildish's buddies got the best advisory vote in favor of the parkway they could buy.
The parkway would fragment imperiled ecosystems and endangered butterfly habitat. No doubling of wetland mitigation elsewhere can remedy that. Its planners can make no adequate provision for the damage the parkway will do to endangered butterflies because habitat fragmentation by a high-speed elevated roadway is sure to be a death trap for them.
Improved existing infrastructure could be reducing one-driver car trips between Eugene, Veneta and the coast, if the existing rail line were developed for commuter and tourist trips. Park-and-ride bus rapid transit could also be reducing our car dependency. Rushing four lanes into a narrow highway across Fern Ridge is a dysfunctional, obsolete idea that only increases our auto dependence.
We need elected officials and transportation staff thinking beyond high-speed roadways to a time when one-rider car trips are unappealing alternatives. I would take a fast train or bus to Veneta or the Oregon Coast rather than driving there in a heartbeat.
Why is that choice not available? Could our narrow focus on the parkway have had anything to do with it? It's time to drop the parkway for better non-car alternatives.
Letter -- Otter Therapy
By Richard Hand, Eugene
Eugene Weekly | November 17, 2005 |
A note to follow Mary O'Brien's column on otters (11/3): I ride my bike through the West Eugene Wetlands twice a day when it is not raining. I have seen a group of four otters numerous times, but then I won't see them for a few weeks and then they appear again. Don't be disappointed if you don't spot them on your first visit.
These wetlands are special to me, and to my wife who walks there almost daily. Watching the birds and other wildlife is the best Prozac there is. WEP would destroy the peace of the wetlands, encourage urban sprawl, and use our tax dollars so people in Veneta and beyond can get to work in Eugene a few minutes faster. Hurray for Kitty Piercy for voting "no" on WEP.
Letter -- Time changes parkway issue
By Bob Cassidy, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 18, 2005 |
We keep seeing letters supporting the West Eugene Parkway, and most of them stress the fact that we have voted on this issue twice. They do not add to that statement that both were close votes and were acted on against many charges of falsehoods about the plan. Nor do they believe that the facts we were dealing with in making those voting decisions could have changed over these many years since the vote.
I like to think that we can get smarter as we think about things longer. Even our state legislators have had to reverse themselves on some decisions they had made in the past. Do you remember the law to require a 20 mph speed limit near all schools for 24 hours a day -- seven days a week?
To take the time to seriously look at other options for handling the traffic on Highway 126 is a wise decision. Why go ahead with spending all that money when there is so much opposition to it?
I personally like the option of putting a trolley on the tracks from Veneta to shuttle back and forth the 72 percent of Veneta residents who work in Eugene.
Letter -- Just keep voting on parkway
By Bob Arnold, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 19, 2005 |
The West Eugene Parkway has been approved by the voters of Eugene on several occasions. Mayor Kitty Piercy and the rest of the City Council believe that times have changed since the referendum and that the old parkway plan no longer makes sense.
Perhaps she should simply have another referendum on the subject. Then she could keep having referendums until she gets her way, or until we get a new mayor and City Council who will honor what the citizens who elected them have asked for.
Other Transportation Issues
ODOT seeks input on 126 plan
By Stacy D.Stumbo
The Springfield News | November 16, 2005 |
Gridlock, traffic accidents and disgruntled drivers are things the Oregon Department of Transportation want to avoid by improving the Highway 126 expressway at 42nd, 52nd and Main streets.
The department will hold a Community Design Open House to discuss the potential project from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Thurston High School, 333 N. 58th St. Participants can sketch their own designs on maps provided during the event and share strategies to improve the highway.
Tom Boyatt, an ODOT planner, said anticipated growth in the area will cause traffic on the 40-something-year-old expressway -- which runs through Springfield from Interstate 5 to the east end of Main Street -- to substantially increase over the next 20 years. (more...)
Letter -- Rural bus riders deserve service
By Kerstin Britz, Cottage Grove
The Register-Guard | November 14, 2005 |
When I called Lane Transit District two months ago to report how many bikes were getting turned away on the rural routes to Cottage Grove and Creswell, I was told that the buses were primarily for pedestrian pas- sengers.
Riding the bus with 22-plus people standing because longer buses were not available for the most vulnerable route, I am beginning to wonder exactly what LTD and the buses are really for.
Are they for enacting the transit dreams and plans of the people who work in Glenwood? Do they see their job as being to implement what "mass transit should look like" as opposed to addressing the daily conditions of working people and families? Do they not see the great responsibility they have?
LTD even failed to apprise its own drivers about the construction of the bus rapid transit system, causing many working people in Cottage Grove to miss the bus entirely or get home an hour late after a long work day with a long commute tacked onto it. Instead of punishing commuters and clearing the streets of hundreds of more cars, LTD should take greater care of its most vulnerable route. People standing up on a bus traveling 65 mph on a freeway should not take a back seat to capital projects such as pretty new stations or a large construction project most do not see the value of.
Maybe the people making the decisions need a large dose of reality. Maybe they can actually start listening to the riders who call them weekly, if not daily, about the urgent need for more service to this route.
Letter -- Drivers Need Love
By Barb Gimm, Eugene
Eugene Weekly | November 17, 2005 |
Lane Transit District bus drivers are courteous, kind, very helpful, and are willing to direct us to the bus we need next. What a bounty and a great service. But do we appreciate it? Our drivers rarely get a 10-minute break to go to the bathroom, grab a drink, or eat.
As you board the bus, the bus drivers say "good morning" with a smile. Do we have the courtesy to respond with a "good morning," or "how are you?" Most passengers don't even respond. But the bus drivers are just as human as we are.
I have heard some passengers speak ill of our wonderful bus drivers. Do they not know that if they would take the time on their way to work to be courteous, their day would be enriched by these working people?
Riders complain if our drivers are late, and give them misery over something that is out of their control. Heavy one-way traffic, accidents, people waiting to get on the bus without their money or bus pass in hand, all can cause a bus to be late.
Wouldn't it be great if we had the money or pass in hand when boarding? Or, if we exited through the rear door when the power-lift is being used? This would be a time saver for all.
Oregon law states that all motorists are supposed to stop when the bus driver puts on his/her left turn signal to enter traffic. How many of us obey that law?
The drivers have a schedule to keep just as you do. It would make the bus drivers' jobs much more pleasant and easier if we put forth the effort to assist them in being on time.
How would you like to go back to March 7-14 when there was no bus at all? I don't think you would.
These comments are made by the white-haired lady who upon entering the bus always says, "Good morning. How are you today?"
Downtown traffic changes to begin
| The Register-Guard | November 16, 2005 |
Beginning this week, motorists will see traffic changes in a four-block section of 10th Avenue in downtown Eugene.
The traffic changes will culminate later this month with the conversion of 10th Avenue to two-way traffic between Olive and High streets. The change is scheduled for Nov. 29. Currently, that section of 10th Avenue is one-way eastbound.
In anticipation of the changeover, the Eugene Public Works Department will begin replacing the existing traffic signal today at 10th Avenue and Olive Street with all-way stop signs.
Weather permitting, crews also will stripe 10th Avenue between Olive and Willamette streets. Barricades and temporary signs will direct motorists until 10th Avenue is opened to two-way traffic.
From now to Thanksgiving, city and Lane Transit District officials are coordinating the replacement and activation of new traffic signals on 10th Avenue at Willamette, Oak, Pearl and High streets to handle two-way traffic and also to accommodate LTD's new bus system -- Bus Rapid Transit -- when it begins operating in late 2006.
Alarmed citizens put a stop to replacing traffic signals
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | November 20, 2005 |
They were agitated and energized. And their involvement put a temporary stop to the city's plans to replace traffic signals with stop signs at a busy downtown intersection.
The residents, some of whom are blind or have difficulty seeing, and some who use wheelchairs, objected last week to the replacement of traffic signals at West 10th Avenue and Olive Street with stop signs. (more...)
Corridors for traffic need not be challenge
Author advocates harmony between humans and vehicles
By Beth Casper
The (Salem) Statesman Journal | November 16, 2005 |
In a world where almost everyone drives, city streets need to be designed more like parks, author Tom Hylton said Tuesday to transportation officials, developers and people interested in designing communities for pedestrians.
"In Pennsylvania, there are 116 state parks and 2 million acres of forest land, but people don't go there every day," Hylton said, pointing to a gridlocked highway. "This is what they see every day."
Hylton got involved in land-use planning in the 1980s as he watched urban sprawl in his hometown of Pottstown, Pa.
He said that sprawl makes people feel isolated, especially because they are forced to look at concrete buildings and asphalt roadways.
And the repercussions of such development are terrible, Hylton said. (more...)
Editorial -- Amtrak takes another hit
| The Register-Guard | November 20, 2005 |
The Bush administration continues its efforts to derail Amtrak despite its failure earlier this year to push the national railroad into bankruptcy.
Earlier this month, Amtrak's board of directors fired David Gunn, the president who had done a superb job of reducing costs, improving performance and increasing ridership since taking the helm of the struggling passenger railroad in 2002.
Given that the Amtrak board is made up of four Bush appointees and three vacancies, it's not hard to figure out the force behind Gunn's unwarranted dismissal. It's the White House -- the same White House that has repeatedly tried to break the system into pieces, privatize its most profitable routes and choke off federal subsidies. (more...)
Governor selects new ODOT chief
| The Associated Press | November 16, 2005 |
PORTLAND -- Gov. Ted Kulongoski has appointed Portland regional manager Matthew Garrett, 47, as the new director of the Oregon Department of Transportation, subject to confirmation by the state Senate
Measure 37
Measure 37 waivers put on hold
| The Oregonian | November 19, 2005 |
State permission to turn back the clock on land-use rules is useless for Measure 37 claimants, Oregon officials said Friday.
Applicants' status has been up in the air since a judge tossed out the property rights initiative last month. Hundreds of Oregonians already had land-use rules waived by state agencies and local governments. In most cases, they needed both levels of approval to move forward with development plans.
The decision overturning Measure 37 will be challenged in January in the Oregon Supreme Court. Until then, cities and counties cannot authorize construction based on a Measure 37 waiver, the Department of Land Conservation and Development said Friday. (more...)
Property Rights Advocates Seek To Recall Judge
By NWV Staff Writer
NewsWithViews.com | November 18, 2005 |
PORTLAND -- When Judge Mary James, of the Marion County Circuit Court, in an Oct. 16 ruling struck down Measure 37 -- Oregon's famous voter-approved property rights initiative -- on constitutional grounds, a group of the initiative's grassroots supporters, many of whom had worked long hours for its passage, said Enough! It's time to draw a line in the sand. Their tactic of choice: The recall petition.
"We want to send a message to all judges that they just can't unmake a law after we've made a law," Camby Collier, Coos County chairman of the Constitution Party of Oregon, told NewsWithViews. "First there was the Kelo ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, then the decision in California where judges said we can't protect our children from what they're being taught in school. What more are they going to do to us? Assign people to live in our homes with us?" (more...)
Linn sued over Measure 37 claim
By Ian Rollins
The (Albany) Democrat-Herald | November 13, 2005 |
A Marion County woman is suing Linn County over a Measure 37 claim that the county approved with limitations.
Barbara Sherwood of Sublimity is demanding waiver of zoning regulations, or more than $14 million in compensation, regarding a 132-acre property near Lyons. She inherited the land in 1982 from her late father, who purchased it from her mother in 1968. (more...)
Editorial -- 'Thwarting the will'
| The Register-Guard | November 14, 2005 |
There must be a special place in heaven -- or hell, depending on one's point of view -- for judges who rule on the constitutionality of voter-approved initiatives. (more...)
Letter -- Maintain Oregon's land use laws
By Robert Emmons, Fall Creek
The Register-Guard | November 17, 2005 |
Measure 37 has been rightly judged unconstitutional, but Oregonians in Action, its main sponsor, has called the ruling foul, unfair and a betrayal of the will of the voters. The group is even circulating a petition to recall the judge.
Measure 37 was not about fairness, however, and the will of the voters was manipulated by a deceptive ballot title and an inherently dishonest campaign. Behind the screen of senior citizen Dorothy English, who served as a model of the disenfranchised property owner and yet, ironically, was not able to make a valid Measure 37 claim, the wizards of this mass con -- the timber, real estate and homebuilding industries -- were the major backers and would be prime beneficiaries of Measure 37. But we neither saw nor heard from these ghosts in the political machinery, because they were content to lie in wait while the jackals howled and foraged and the legal challenge brought by 1000 Friends of Oregon surfaced in a decision.
The only thing between Oregon and Southern California is our land use program. For over 30 years, its regulations have protected our farms, forests and watersheds from unscrupulous developers and from legislators under their influence.
But little by little, lot by lot, regulation has been weakened, and what's left unenforced. Measure 37 was meant to be the coup de grace.
Private property rights have always come with public responsibilities. Our land use laws must be strengthened and enforced.
Other News
Editorial -- It's not just a matter of time in Salem
Oregon needs a better, less partisan and more effective Legislature, not just one that meets every year
| The Oregonian | November 13, 2005 |
Oregon should not adopt annual sessions of the Legislature until there is some reason to believe that lawmakers would make productive use of more time in Salem.
In theory, Oregon should have annual sessions. The state of Oregon is a complex, multibillion-dollar enterprise. The 145-year-old, every-other-year legislative calendar and the guesswork of two-year budgets are not adequate in a fast-changing world. Lawmakers in 44 other states meet every year.
But then there is this: Do you really want to see the last Legislature back in session this January? Would lawmakers speedily update the state budget? Would they, could they, come together to settle questions about Measure 37 and property rights?
Dream on. (more...)
People
George Beres -- Leiken's candidacy feels shifty
By George Beres
The Springfield News | November 16, 2005 |
We Americans are in a bind -- politically and morally. Although it's a surprise to some those two words even appear together.
But we have to admit that from the very start of the political process, we allow for a system of potential bribes, giving money to candidates who later make decisions based on the will of those who gave the big money. So it's immoral from the start. That's why politics in the American scheme of things is not something normally associated with morality. The system forces us to seek dollar advantage with elected officials. We see what can happen as we suffer when a dysfunctional administration that has "been bought" gains control of the federal government. Voters and democracy pay the price when lied to by those who pretend to be something other than what they are.
The danger is no less real on the local level, where it is essential we be aware of how leverage is used in the governing process in our backyard. We can't afford to persist in gullibility that got us to accept the biggest of all lies that got us into Iraq.
Springfield voters will have a chance to demonstrate they are not gullible nor so much in denial as an important Lane County election approaches. Concern grows when a mayor, less than a year after his re-election to a four-year term, announces he will challenge Bill Dwyer for his seat on the Lane County Board of Commissioners. (more...)
Councilor David Kelly won't seek re-election
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | November 15, 2005 |
Eugene City Councilor David Kelly on Monday announced that he will not seek re-election next year, creating a wide-open contest for the southeast Eugene seat. (more...)
Councilor decides against re-election
After two terms of serving as city councilor for Ward 3, David Kelly decides to seek new projects
By Christopher Hagan, News Reporter
Oregon Daily Emerald | November 15, 2005 |
David Kelly, Eugene city councilor for the University area, announced Monday that he will not seek a third term on the council. Kelly has served as Ward 3 city councilor since 1998. (more...)
Slant -- Ward 3
| Eugene Weekly | November 17, 2005 |
Wanted: Eugene City Councilor for Ward 3 to replace the irreplaceable David Kelly. Attend constant meetings and plough through blizzards of documents and phone calls to protect the public good. Salary: incommensurate with experience. About $13,000 a year for the half to full time job. Benefits: good work in this key swing seat earns public gratitude, satisfaction of saving Eugene from developers. Likely competition: right-leaning Bruce Mulligan and left-leaning Alan Zelenka.
Rep. Bob Ackerman bids House farewell
The three-term Oregon State Representative decides against running for another re-election
By Christopher Hagan, News Reporter
Oregon Daily Emerald | November 13, 2005 |
Rep. Bob Ackerman, D-Eugene, has always been dedicated to public service.
But at 68, there is a new opportunity calling. (more...)
Sen. Prozanski files for 2006 re-election
| The Register-Guard | November 16, 2005 |
State Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, filed Tuesday for re-election to Senate District 4. (more...)
Assessor to retire
| The Springfield News | November 16, 2005 |
After almost 30 years, Lane County Assessor Jim Gangle announced last week that he would not run for a fifth term.
Gangle, 56, was first sworn in as assessor in January 1987. Prior to that, he was the assessment and taxation office's chief deputy, supervisor and appraiser.
Gangle managed the department after extensive layoffs in the mid-1980s. He implemented Ballot measures 5, 47 and 50. He oversaw a major computer conversion in 1999 and expansion of Internet use for public information.
Gangle said his reasons for retiring were focused on his family. He said he supports Deputy Assessor Anette Spickard as his replacement.
"Anette has the management and technical skills necessary to lead the Assessor's Office," said Gangle.
Springfield city legend dies: Former mayor and city attorney Ed Harms dies at age of 81
By Stacy D. Stumbo
The Springfield News | November 16, 2005 |
Friends marveled at his charisma, co-workers admired him, students listened intently to his lectures and the citizens of Springfield respected his leadership.
Flags were flown at half-mast Tuesday in memory of Ed Harms, 81, a former mayor and city attorney who died Saturday. (more...)
Westlund mulls run for governorship
| The (Sisters) Nugget Newspaper | November 15, 2005 |
State Senator Ben Westlund has been on the road a lot lately. He's criss-crossing Oregon seeking what he calls "a plausible path to victory" in a race for the governor's office in November 2006.
If he sees that path open ahead of him, he may run for the state's highest office as an independent candidate. (more...)