Health Options Digest
November 27, 2005
Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield (CHOICES)
In This Issue
From the Editor
Week In Review
PeaceHealth and Triad continued to fight over hospital beds, i.e., over who gets a Certificate of Need authorizing it to provide what services.
Triad continued to pursue a new hospital on a golf course in north Eugene.
New York Times Columnist Paul Krugman linked the loss of manufacturing jobs in the U.S., for example, at General Motors, to the lack of a sensible national health coverage policy.
The controversy over the West Eugene Parkway appears to have cooled a little in the past week. But a recently released draft transportation plan for the entire state projects a shortfall of $1 billion per year between transportation needs and revenues. Is the money for the WEP really there?
The controversy over Measure 37 also appears to have cooled for now, but only because the recent Marion County Circuit Court decision put a lot of activity on hold.
Meanwhile, Oregon's population grew by 46,000 people last year. How will we grow? Where will we grow?
All in all, not much news during the week of Thanksgiving.
Looking Ahead
On Wednesday, the City of Eugene will hold a public workshop on downtown zoning.
On Thursday and on Monday and Thursday of next week, the Oregon Department of Transportation will hold open houses on a potential new Interstate-5/Franklin interchange.
Thursday is the deadline to apply for an appointment by the governor to the Lane Transit District board of directors.
Lastly, comments are being accepted on the recently released draft Oregon Transportation Plan.
Rob Zako, Editor
343-5201
rzako@efn.org
Calendar
Wednesday, November 30 -- Public Workshop on Downtown Zoning Review
Zoning and land use regulations have a major impact on development in downtown Eugene. Come to a public workshop on November 30, 2005, at 4:30 -- 6:00 in the Tykeson Room at the Eugene Public Library to review current regulations and discuss what changes, if any, are needed.
Based on direction from City Council, City staff are taking a close look at the zones and regulations for downtown to determine if any changes are needed to better support the desired high quality density of development and intensity of activities in our commercial core.
City staff will sponsor a public workshop on November 30, 2005, at 4:30 -- 6:00 in the Tykeson Room at the Eugene Public Library. The purpose of the workshop will be to review the regulations currently in place and to facilitate a discussion on what changes or new regulations, if any, should be considered.
Staff will post an online survey from December 15th to January 31st to gather additional public comment before returning to Planning Commission and City Council for their consideration.
If you have questions, contact Nan Laurence at 682-5340 or online at nan.laurence@ci.eugene.or.us
Wednesday, November 30 -- Zoning comments sought
How things take shape downtown can be influenced by zoning and land use rules.
City planner Nan Laurence on Wednesday wants to talk to residents about those rules and discuss what, if any, changes may be needed.
"These are the rules that govern how things get built downtown, and those are huge," she said.
The workshop will be from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Tykeson Room of the Eugene Public Library, 100 W. 10th Ave.
Planners will post an online survey from Dec. 15 to Jan. 31 to gather more public comment before returning to the Planning Commission and City Council with results.
For information, contact Laurence at 682-5340 or e-mail: nan.laurence@ci.eugene.or.us
December 1, 5, 8 -- ODOT To Hold Three Public Open Houses on Potential New Interchange at I-5 and Franklin Blvd
| Oregon Department of Transportation | November 22, 2005 |
EUGENE/SPRINGFIELD -- The Oregon Department of Transportation will host three public open houses in early December to discuss the possibility of a new interchange at I-5 and Franklin Boulevard in Eugene and Springfield. The open houses are a part of a concept-level planning study undertaken by ODOT in response to local interest in building a new interchange at this location. The study is intended to help stakeholders understand the potential costs and benefits that would be involved in funding and building a new interchange and help them determine whether a new interchange should become a regional transportation priority.
The open houses will provide interested parties with the results of preliminary analysis on a potential interchange, to ask questions of ODOT, Consultant Team and local agency staff, and to indicate to elected officials, through comment cards, whether a new interchange should become a regional priority.
Open houses are being held on three different occasions to provide multiple opportunities for interested parties to participate:
* Thursday, December 1, 2005, 4:00 -- 8:00 p.m., Springfield City Hall, Library Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield
* Monday, December 5, 2005, 4:00 -- 8:00 p.m., Northwest Youth Corps, Gymnasium, 2621 Augusta Street, Eugene
* Thursday, December 8, 2005, 4:00 p.m. -- 8:00 p.m., Eugene Library, Bascom-Tykeson Room, 100 W. 10th Avenue, Eugene
Following the open houses, Eugene, Springfield and Lane County elected officials will be asked to give a new interchange a preliminary "thumbs up" or "thumbs down." If "thumbs up," the next step would be to initiate a process to include an interchange project in regional and local transportation system plans. This process would include a detailed planning study called a Refinement Plan. If "thumbs down," no further action would be taken.
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
Transportation plan awaits public feedback
| The Register-Guard | November 22, 2005 |
SALEM -- Members of the state Transportation Commission are seeking public feedback on a draft plan for updates to the state's transportation system over the next quarter-century.
The plan addresses airports, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, highways, streets and roads, pipelines, ports and waterways, public transportation and railroads.
It also outlines investment priorities for the transportation system, although an analysis of projected income showed a need for greater investment in the current system, in order to keep up with population and economic growth.
The plan may be viewed online at http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TD/TP/ortransplanupdate.shtml
The Oregon Transportation Commission is expected to adopt a final plan next summer.
PeaceHealth
Hospitals do battle over ER at Hilyard
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | November 23, 2005 |
McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center officials came out swinging at a public meeting Tuesday, hoping to land enough verbal and factual jabs to knock down PeaceHealth's proposal to turn its Hilyard Street campus into a 104-bed specialty hospital in mid-2008.
The rancor between the rival hospitals was clear even before the start of the meeting, which state hospital regulators had called to gather testimony on PeaceHealth's Hilyard plan.
A chasm of empty chairs separated the polarized groups in the Eugene City Council Chamber, with PeaceHealth supporters on one side and McKenzie-Willamette supporters on the other. (more...)
Slant -- Certificates of Neeed
| Eugene Weekly | November 24, 2005 |
McKenzie-Willamette (see above) claims "physician support is lacking," and we reported in our News Briefs Nov. 10 that a letter-writing campaign to state officials generated a lot of physician objections to PeaceHealth's Certificate of Need (CoN) application to expand and maintain its facilities on Hilyard Street. We heard from Oregon Public Health Services that a total of 77 letters, faxes and e-mails were received on the topic. Six were in support of PeaceHealth's CoN, 35 were opposed, and 36 requested that PeaceHealth's CoN be delayed and considered simultaneously with McKenzie-Willamette's CoN. PeaceHealth spokesman Brian Terrett discounted the letter-writing campaign, saying it was based on erroneous information provided by a doctor from the McKenzie-Willamette Physician Leadership Group. Regardless, all the huffing and puffing is getting tedious and irritating. Both hospitals' PR departments are on red alert, cranking out ads and press releases and organizing press conferences. All these contentious issues could have been hashed out years ago, and lawsuits avoided, if the two hospital boards had just gotten together to collaborate on what's best for the community and region. We hope state officials don't lose track of the supposed purpose of CoNs: Not to provide bludgeons for competitors, but rather to avoid duplication, and control spiraling health care costs for consumers.
McKenzie-Willamette/Triad
Hospital sends city moving to-do list
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | November 24, 2005 |
On the same day McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center officials announced plans to build a new hospital on a portion of a north Eugene golf course, they also went fishing for city aid to help offset development costs.
In a Nov. 15 letter, McKenzie-Willamette CEO Roy Orr asked Eugene City Manager Dennis Taylor to identify any fees or charges associated with the proposed hospital "the city is prepared to absorb."
Also, Orr asked the city to "ensure transportation improvements necessary to support our proposed development" on the 42-acre parcel, according to the letter.
Those requirements include expanding Delta Highway North from the hospital site southward to Belt Line Road to four lanes, adding traffic signals and installing street lights, covered bus stops, landscaping and irrigation, Orr wrote. (more...)
Triad's Turkey
Critics call hospital site north of Eugene a foul choice for urban sprawl.
By Alan Pittman
Eugene Weekly | November 24, 2005 |
Sprawl opponents are crying foul over a Triad proposal for a new hospital on the far north edge of Eugene. (more...)
Slant -- River Ridge
| Eugene Weekly | November 24, 2005 |
It appears PeaceHealth administrators are not the only hospital execs who have marveled over Chateau de Versailles, a 30-minute train ride from Paris. Visions of grand country palaces also appear to be driving Triad executives in Texas as they look for a site for McKenzie-Willamette's new medical center. Land-use planning might be a foreign concept for even well-traveled Texans. Worth noting in this unfolding drama is a Triad ad in the R-G this week seeking support for the new site and criticizing PeaceHealth's plans, saying "there is no demonstrated need to make Eugene/Springfield residents shoulder the financial burden of a third hospital -- especially when physician support is lacking." The irony is that doctors will like PeaceHealth's Hilyard hospital better if Triad locates 20 minutes out in the sticks. Triad's squandering potential good will here (that could translate to revenues) by not proposing a true alternative to RiverBend -- an urban facility in the center of the city, closer to where doctors and people actually live. Also, interesting idea from former Planning Commissioner Chuck Rusch in the R-G letters Saturday: Put the new hospital at the Westmoreland Housing site.
Letter -- Glenwood is best hospital site
By John Brombaugh, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 21, 2005 |
Reading the Nov. 11 editorial "Fish or cut bait" brings up a question: Does Arlie & Co. write the editors' paychecks?
From what has been written as news in recent papers, Arlie makes fortunes on its hospital ventures in the Eugene-Springfield community, so I guess it's reasonable that the newspaper's commentary should help poor Arlie get still further ahead.
Or, as the editors face the traffic getting to and from The Register-Guard's operations in the Summer Oaks plat every day, they should know that the traffic mess getting to Arlie's Crescent Village would quickly match any jam Triad's location at the Eugene Water & Electric Board's riverside site could create. The problem is poor planning: Why is there no exit from Belt Line Road straight into Summer Oaks instead of the unplanned Chad-Coburg-Crescent traffic mess?
Think beyond the end of your nose about Glenwood: It's the ideal location for both Eugene and Springfield and is also very accessible from Interstate 5, especially if ramps on the new I-5 bridge to Franklin Boulevard become a planned reality. And it's a wonderful location along the Willamette that's every bit as good as RiverBend's.
Triad and Springfield have a great idea. Why don't you guys get smart so we can reap the benefit of their wisdom? It's good for all of us and beyond time to do it.
Letter -- Gravel firms are good neighbors
By Paul Knowlton, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 26, 2005 |
I find it interesting that The Register-Guard, local TV and other media who are reporting on the RiverRidge location of Triad's McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center don't report the fact that Delta Sand & Gravel borders the west side of the Willamette River directly across from the golf course and Eugene Sand & Gravel occupies land directly east on the river. Eugene Sand & Gravel shares a land border with RiverRidge to the north where Delta Highway dead ends in Eugene Sand & Gravel's rock pit.
Apparently, the gravel companies both are considered good neighbors to a golf course and now a hospital.
I just find it interesting that people in our community raise truck traffic, dust, noise and land use issues with gravel producers -- two family-wage employers in our community who are trying to expand or relocate. Just food for thought.
Letter -- Triad needs downtown location
By Sam Porter, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 27, 2005 |
The myopia of Triad and Peace- Health with respect to locating their hospitals is as baffling as the city of Eugene's apparent ineptitude at negotiating a downtown location.
If Triad's current proposal succeeds, not only will both hospitals be in the northern part of the metropolitan area, both will encourage urban sprawl. If Eugene is serious about environmental and urban responsibility, it should find a place for Triad in downtown.
Growth -- the source of corporate profits and government revenues -- needs to be morally sound, not just for ecological reasons, important though they are. There are a variety of moral perspectives on growth. And environmentalists need to give more weight to such arguments as Harvard economist Benjamin Friedman's in his new book, "The Moral Consequences of Growth."
Friedman argues persuasively that growth not only creates economic opportunities, it is also a necessary condition for open, liberal societies. On the other hand, Friedman would ask: Do Eugene and Springfield's policies and Triad and PeaceHealth's corporate policies lead to sustainable growth, environmental quality, equitably shared economic opportunities, social justice and solidarity?
In short, we need stronger growth, as the business community has long argued, but it has to be sustainable. That's not easy.
But when it comes to Triad's proposed location, I am not convinced city and business leaders have done the difficult and nuanced, reasoned analyses and negotiations this location requires.
Letter -- Eugene has downtown hospital
By Jim Weaver, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 27, 2005 |
Let Triad and PeaceHealth build their palaces far to the north along the flood plain. We have a first-rate hospital ready to go in the center of town: the Sacred Heart Medical Center facility on Hilyard Street. It has served us well, and we should prize it.
My daughters were born there. Don't let PeaceHealth downgrade it.
I strongly urge that either the Eugene City Council or the Lane County Board of Commissioners vote to acquire this grand hospital and make it a municipal hospital, serving all of us.
EWEB delays relocation vote until next year
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | November 23, 2005 |
Struck by sticker shock, Eugene Water & Electric Board commissioners decided Tuesday night to delay until early next year a vote on whether to move all or part of the utility's downtown campus to west Eugene.
Solid figures released Monday put the cost of building new headquarters and operations facilities on 46 acres off Roosevelt Boulevard and Belt Line Road at $99.4 million. Moving just the operations side of the utility and retaining the administration building along the Willamette River would cost $81.6 million.
Any decision on relocation also would include the timing and how to finance such a move. The financing element could prove a difficult sell to ratepayers, commissioners said. (more...)
Health Care
State's costs for health benefits top U.S. average
| The Associated Press | November 22, 2005 |
PORTLAND -- Providing health care benefits to workers in Oregon and southwest Washington costs more than the national average, according to a survey released Monday by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. (more...)
Paul Krugman -- Bad for the Country
By Paul Krugman
The New York Times | November 25, 2005 |
"What was good for our country," a former president of General Motors once declared, "was good for General Motors, and vice versa." GM, which has been losing billions, has announced that it will eliminate 30,000 jobs. Is what's bad for General Motors bad for America?
In this case, yes.
Most commentary about GM's troubles is resigned: pundits may regret the decline of a once-dominant company, but they don't think anything can or should be done about it. And commentary from some conservatives has an unmistakable tone of satisfaction, a sense that uppity workers who joined a union and made demands are getting what they deserve.
We shouldn't be so complacent. I won't defend the many bad decisions of GM's management, or every demand made by the United Automobile Workers. But job losses at General Motors are part of the broader weakness of US manufacturing, especially the part of US manufacturing that offers workers decent wages and benefits. And some of that weakness reflects two big distortions in our economy: a dysfunctional health care system and an unsustainable trade deficit. (more...)
Nearby Developments
Board asks for details of University housing sale
By Meghann M. Cuniff, News Editor
Oregon Daily Emerald | November 21, 2005 |
The University should not sell Westmoreland Apartments until a plan is drafted that specifies where the sale proceeds will go and how the University will help the potentially displaced students, the Family Housing Board ruled at its Friday meeting. (more...)
Student Senate votes to adhere to opposing Westmoreland sale
By Nicholas Wilbur
Oregon Daily Emerald | November 22, 2005 |
The Student Senate voted against sending a letter to University President Dave Frohnmayer regarding the sale of Westmoreland Apartments because members said it was inconsistent with the initial opposition expressed by the Senate.
The letter asked for a timeline for selling Westmoreland and asked that the University reinvest money in comparable housing options for students.
The Senate expressed concern that the letter would send a mixed message and that opposing the sale should remain the focus. (more...)
South hills subdivision gets green light after green fixes
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | November 22, 2005 |
A 29-lot housing development in the pricey south hills enclave off Spring Boulevard in Eugene received the city's tentative approval last week.
Despite complaints from a handful of neighbors, Eugene Hearings Official Anne Corcoran Briggs conditionally approved the fourth and final phase of the Spring Knoll development. (more...)
Public Facilities and Services
Commissioner says poll results tax credibility
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | November 25, 2005 |
The county's latest online poll won't exactly resolve the public safety predicament.
The county routinely polls folks on its Web site, www.co.lane.or.us, and recently asked how best to pay for more public safety services.
A whopping 70 percent of the 733 votes were cast in favor of a gross-receipts tax, which is basically a tax on business sales -- an approach the commissioners have tabled.
No telling whether there was an effort to stuff the online ballot box, of course. Or whether the people who chimed in are a representative cross-section of the county. (more...)
New conflict erupts over taxing plan
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | November 26, 2005 |
The Lane County commissioners' tax plan for public safety services contradicts the advice of their own citizen group, which a year ago proposed the county take many steps before going to taxpayers for more money, some group members say.
In fall 2004, the commissioners asked nine citizens to brainstorm how to solve the county's chronic money shortage. Did the commissioners take that advice? (more...)
Architect contract for justice center negotiated
| The Springfield News | November 25, 2005 |
Although talks have begun, no final decision has been made on a potential $2.1 million contract with an architecture firm selected to oversee design of a Springfield Justice Center.
The Springfield City Council decided Monday not to take any action on a contract with Eugene-based Robertson Sherwood Architects, and continue negotiations.
Robertson Sherwood was top pick out of seven proposals from architecture firms nationwide that vied for to the chance to work on the proposed $28.7 million center. Once complete, the center will house the police department, city prosecutor, municipal court and -- if funds are found to staff it -- jail. (more...)
Springfield leery of sewer price
By Jack Moran
The Register-Guard | November 22, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Coburg officials didn't exactly get the feedback they were hoping for Monday, when the Springfield City Council took a hard look at their proposal for connecting with the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission's treatment system.
One councilor, Anne Ballew, said she would "have a hissy fit" if Coburg has to pay only $2.4 million to connect to the system that now serves Eugene and Springfield. According to MWMC estimates, connection costs would fall somewhere between $7.2 million and $12.6 million. (more...)
Coburg asks Springfield to help with its sewage
By Stacy D. Stumbo
The Springfield News | November 25, 2005 |
Some members of the Springfield City Council think that a proposal to connect Coburg to the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission's treatment system stinks. (more...)
Council agrees on principles for new City Hall
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | November 24, 2005 |
The Eugene City Council on Wednesday approved a set of principles to guide its planning for a new City Hall.
Studies by city staff members, architects and engineers are to take place in the next two years, with a possible bond issue put before voters in 2008 to pay for a new civic headquarters. (more...)
Transportation
Letter -- Green wrong on parkway cost
By Nena Lovinger, Fall Creek
The Register-Guard | November 21, 2005 |
Has Lane County Commissioner Bobby Green no shame? Four years ago he appeared in ads telling voters the West Eugene Parkway was "thoroughly planned and ready to go" and that "the money is there." Well, it depends on what the meaning of "is" is.
Back then the price tag for the highway was $88 million and only $17 million was actually there for construction. Now the price tag has grown to $169 million and still only $17 million is there. Moreover, the Oregon Department of Transportation has been spending money like a drunken sailor continuing to plan this ill-conceived boondoggle.
But Green, who appears to have trouble with math when it comes to taxpayer money, is now pointing fingers at everyone but himself, saying that we have to save the money that has already been wasted on this dead-end project.
Green should apologize to all the people he misled with his false advertising and vote to redirect the $17 million to more cost-effective projects. There's no sense in throwing good money after bad.
Letter -- Eugene needs Torrey as mayor
By Tony Mazzie, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 22, 2005 |
The train wreck former Mayor Jim Torrey predicted has happened. When Kitty Piercy was elected mayor and swing vote Councilor Scott Meisner was beaten, trains sped toward each and collided.
With Mayor Piercy supporting the quartet of Bonny Bettman, David Kelley, Andrea Ortiz and Betty Taylor, the City Council voted to take over hiring a new police review auditor, a function which has been the city manager's historic responsibility. That action is clear evidence of the liberal intention to revolutionize Eugene government -- no real surprise, since Kelly and Bettman have been trying to micromanage city staff for years. Recently, Bettman even tried to find legal authority to usurp Eugene Water & Electric Board's management -- an obvious attempt to try to help Triad's siting dilemma.
Soon after there occurred the surreptitious work session vote on the West Eugene Parkway without a public hearing. The gang of four councilors, with Piercy's tie-breaker, canceled the voter-approved parkway. On Nov. 10, when Piercy and Kelly found no agreement for the parkway cancellation from the Metropolitan Policy Committee, they resorted to extortion by blocking all the other region transportation plans.
What to do? The nonvoters in the populous north and west wards must be made aware of what is happening and persuaded to vote. In a few years, Torrey must be encouraged to return and run for mayor.
But if things get worse in the short term, a recall of Mayor Piercy may well become necessary.
Letter -- Money isn't there for parkway
By Janice Sunseri, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 23, 2005 |
I commend Steve Baker for his cute Nov. 12 letter to the editor. He thanks "Kitty Piercy and the Kouncil Kats" for getting rid of that nagging West Eugene Parkway albatross.
Despite his obvious support of the parkway, Baker points out correctly that it would do nothing at all to alleviate the congestion on Highway 126 to the coast. The road to the coast is slow now, and a highway leading from Greenhill Road to Highway 99 will do nothing to change that reality.
What Baker does not seem to notice is that the parkway albatross that voters approved in 2001 was an entirely different kettle of fish than what is on the menu today. Back then, parkway proponents promised us an $88 million project and Mayor Jim Torrey assured us that "the money was there." Under the flurry of a $6 per vote campaign waged by parkway proponents, we narrowly approved the measure.
Something about this new parkway does indeed smell fishy. The price tag is currently $169 million and rising. The city of Eugene has to come up with half of that money and, despite Torrey's assurances, the money is not there. This is not what we voted for!
Let's have a new vote and make it clear what we are really voting on; a levy for $85 million so that people who work at Hynix can get stuck in a traffic jam on a totally new highway.
Letter -- Butterfly stalls needed parkway
By Julie Brown, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 25, 2006 |
I have a question regarding Ethen Perkins' Nov. 16 letter about rail travel to Veneta and the Oregon Coast: What would one do at the coast upon arrival by train? Hitchhike to the motels and beaches?
The same question for residents of Florence who arrive in Eugene with their wheelchairs and walkers for medical appointments: How would they get to doctor's offices scattered around Eugene and Springfield? How do shoppers transport their purchases back to Florence?
All of this because of a butterfly in the vicinity of the West Eugene Parkway route. Surely there is room for a parkway and the butterflies. I am more concerned about the effect of poor air quality, generated by idling motor vehicles stalled on West 11th Avenue, on the health of the residents of Eugene and Springfield.
In the 40 years that I have lived in Eugene, traffic on West 11th has always been congested. In recent years it has become so bad that I've avoided the businesses and restaurants in that area. It is just too frustrating to get where I need to go.
Portland, Astoria and Coos Bay-North Bend have designed bridges that transport traffic over rivers, mud flats, marshes and wetlands. It would seem that in 2005, this could be accomplished in Eugene. Had the parkway been built when planned, the cost would be a fraction of what it will cost now. However, another delay in building it will be even more costly to the taxpayers.
Letter -- Parkway isn't a viable solution
By Jonathan Evans, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 26, 2005 |
Mayor Kitty Piercy is talking about solving problems in west Eugene while other elected officials are just blocking progress. Piercy wants a solution for west Eugene traffic problems that is better, faster and cheaper.
So why are Lane County Commissioner Bobby Green, the Papˇ brothers, state Rep. Bob Ackerman and the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce blocking progress for transportation solutions and talking about saving the money for pork barrel solutions? The estimated cost of the West Eugene Parkway has doubled in the past four years. Any good business person would halt everything and figure out how the project could so quickly bust the budget. But maybe these folks don't care how much the West Eugene Parkway will cost taxpayers.
Blocking win-win solutions is not the answer. Some elected officials are more willing to walk away from government process than support solutions. Eugene City Council members Gary Papˇ and Jennifer Solomon demonstrated this at the City Council meeting recently when they walked out of the meeting rather than finish business. Disrespect for solutions that benefit our community and taxpayers is not good government.
I don't mind paying taxes if they do some good. That's why I support Mayor Piercy for wanting to find a real solution for west Eugene that is better, faster and cheaper.
State seeks comments on I-5: Glenwood interchange may come in the next few years
By Stacy D. Stumbo
The Springfield News | November 23, 2005 |
Bumper-to-bumper traffic and inefficient Interstate 5 access to Springfield via Glenwood doesn't have to be part of Lane County's future, Oregon Department of Transportation officials told the City Council Monday.
ODOT officials met with Lane County commissioners and the Eugene City Council earlier this month to update them on a project to construct a new Interstate 5-Franklin Boulevard interchange. They presented design concepts and discussed benefits and drawbacks of making the multimillion-dollar road improvements to Springfield officials as a prelude to a series of open-house events slated for next month.
ODOT's preliminary investigation of the project found that mending the existing Glenwood interchange would cost between $35 million and $50 million. Building an entirely new structure would cost between $80 million and $120 million.
Completion of the project will take years, based on ODOT's timeline. (more...)
Letter -- Bridge Pork
By Dan Robinson , Eugene
Eugene Weekly | November 24, 2005 |
In spite of increasing prices and decreasing supplies of fuel, politicians have authorized spending millions of tax dollars (and millions of gallons of fuel, including for production of steel and concrete) to build a temporary I-5 Willamette bridge, so they can spend many more millions to tear down the existing, functioning, probably repairable bridge and replace it with a new one, then tear down the temporary one. Now they want to build two more bridges, over the river and the railroad track, as part of an interchange for more convenience of people traveling between Eugene and the north (see cover story, 11/10).
Bridges are costly and disruptive to the environment. They are not good places for the complications of interchanges. An improved Glenwood Boulevard interchange certainly makes more sense, but either location WOULD encourage "big-box development" in Glenwood, where there's room. As fuel prices continue to rise, traffic congestion will be relieved, and long-distance travel reduced, probably more quickly than the interchange would get built.
I see most career professions usually being less concerned with furnishing needed products and services than with creating more jobs (make-work welfare), bringing federal and state money to the local area, with a lot going to those with already more than their fair share of money.
Instead of creating more jobs to match the population, we should be looking at reducing the population to match the real work needed, such as maintaining and improving schools to create better communities.
Can cities bridge interchange obstacles?
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | November 26, 2005 |
Eugene-Springfield residents will be asked a key question in December, but it won't have anything to do with Christmas.
Are they interested in an expensive and likely controversial interchange at Interstate 5 and Franklin Boulevard?
Three meetings between Dec. 1 and Dec. 8 in Eugene and Springfield will gather public opinion about the idea. (more...)
Letter -- Is City Council playing politics with lives?
By Shannon Wilson, Glenwood
The Springfield News | November 25, 2005 |
For 11 years I have ridden my bicycle on Franklin Boulevard between Henderson Avenue and Glenwood Boulevard, literally hundreds of times. However, every time I ride this dangerous section of Franklin, which has no side walks and where power poles, etc., block bicycle egress, I come to the realization that this could be my last time riding that stretch (alive).
The Springfield mayor, the City Council and Lane Transit District have an opportunity to eliminate this public safety issue by opening a small section of 14th Avenue one block south of Franklin (which is currently fenced and covered with bark mulch and shrubs) to Glenwood Boulevard to bicycles. LTD manages this easement and is willing to grant Springfield an easement for a bicycle/pedestrian path.
This proposal was presented to the mayor and City Council several weeks ago. It seemed to be a no-brainer, especially from the standpoint of citizens who live and bicycle commute to and from Glenwood/Springfield for work. However, an ongoing dispute between the City of Springfield and the Glenwood Water District popped up. In short, it seems that the Mayor and City Council think it is more important to play politics with the Glenwood Water District by denying the funds for this public safety corridor.
Now it appears that this project has been nixed by the Springfield mayor and City Council? I would like to state to the mayor and City Council, if I or one of these bicycle commuters is hit by a vehicle on that dangerous part of Franklin Blvd (described above) and live through it, that I or we will lay the blame on those who blocked this public-safety corridor from becoming reality.
Transportation finances fall short
| The Associated Press | November 26, 2005 |
PORTLAND -- Oregon stands to come up short $1 billion [per year] between actual spending and state transportation needs for the next 25 years, according to the updated Oregon Transportation Plan.
According to the plan, an update of a 1992 document, the state's 24-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax would have to double just to keep the state's road system in today's mediocre shape.
The plan, which offers strategies for the next quarter-century, gets its first public airing next week. (more...)
Measure 37
Measure 37 foes sue to force a statewide freeze on claims
By Laura Oppenheimer
The Oregonian | November 22, 2005 |
Measure 37 opponents are trying to legally freeze the property rights law across Oregon -- just as the state says most claimants can't develop their land anyhow. (more...)
Landowner seeks statewide halt to Measure 37
By Joseph B. Frazier
The Associated Press | November 23, 2005 |
A Polk County timber manager is seeking an injunction to bar every Oregon county from enforcing Measure 37 until the Oregon Supreme Court can rule on its legality.
Sarah Deumling, who owns timber and manages timber properties for Zena Timber, contends that plans to subdivide adjacent properties will damage the value of the land she manages. (more...)
Measure 37 ruling won't come soon
By Mitch Lies, Oregon Staff Writer
The Capital Press | November 25, 2005 |
EUGENE -- A Department of Justice official said last week not to expect the Oregon Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of Measure 37 any time soon.
Virginia Gustafson of the Oregon Department of Justice said at the annual meeting of the Association of Oregon Counties that even though the state's high court moved up the date it will hear arguments, it will be March at the earliest before the court issues an opinion, and it could be as late as September.
The state, in the meantime, she said, has stopped taking Measure 37 applications and is informing Measure 37 claimants that waivers issued by the state are void.
Gustafson said the state Supreme Court originally informed the Justice Department it would not hear arguments in the appeal of Marion County Circuit Court Judge Mary Mertens James' ruling that Measure 37 is unconstitutional until September. The court has since informed the Justice Department it would begin hearing oral arguments Jan. 10.
The expedited schedule was applauded by the Department of Land Conservation and Development Director Lane Shetterly. (more...)
Judge's role in Measure 37 suit is test of ethics
Leading Marion court official sues neighbor in land dispute
| The (Salem) Statesman Journal | November 26, 2005 |
Paul Lipscomb has had lots on his mind lately. He's the presiding judge of Marion County Circuit Court, and he's been busy arranging temporary facilities for the court.
He, the other judges and the court personnel have done an admirable job of dealing with the Marion County Courthouse closure. The building has been closed since Nov. 12, when a man drove his pickup inside and lighted fires. Until the fire, water and related damage can be cleaned, the courts and some county offices are spread around the Salem area.
Oregonians should remember Judge Lipscomb's diligence and devotion to the legal system when they consider Citizen Lipscomb. In that role, he recently sued the state for letting his neighbor carve up farmland near Sisters.
The case might have gone unnoticed amid thousands of other Measure 37 claims and lawsuits, except that Lipscomb is a state judge; he is the top judge in the Marion County Circuit Courts; and another Marion County circuit judge, Mary Mertens James, last month declared Measure 37 unconstitutional. (more...)
Measure 37 claims still filed despite court ruling
By Ian Rollins
The (Albany) Democrat-Herald | November 27, 2005 |
Bill and Mary Kagee have been growing hay and oats on their Waterloo Road farm for about 45 years, but they're ready to retire. (more...)
1,000 Friends changes course
The group, which opposed Measure 37, says it's working on a landowner bill of rights, but critics call it a ploy
By Damian Mann
The (Medford) Mail Tribune | November 22, 2005 |
If Measure 37 strikes out with the Oregon Supreme Court, property rights advocates might find some relief from an unlikely source.
1000 Friends of Oregon, which has steadfastly opposed Measure 37, has framed its own initiative for November 2006 that creates a homeowner and farmer bill of rights. (more...)
Other News
Slant -- LRAPA
| Eugene Weekly | November 24, 2005 |
Predictably, the Eugene Chamber of Commerce and its faithful mouthpiece, the R-G, are decrying Mayor Piercy's recent appointment of David Monk to the board of the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority. Yes, Monk was a founder of the Oregon Toxics Alliance, and for years he has pressed the LRAPA board to put public health before industry. And yes, LRAPA has been on the brink of a meltdown since last spring, as first reported in EW (4/1). But let's not forget how LRAPA's troubles started: with a board heavily biased toward industry. After the board forced LRAPA's competent director to resign last January, and with the pollution-plagued neighbors of the J.H. Baxter plant getting sicker and angrier by the day, Betty Taylor was the only board member advocating for public health. In order to restore some balance to the board, Eugene moved to appoint its rightful additional member. That catalyzed a power play, with some industry folks worried that a Eugene majority on the board could hamper their ability to pollute. The Springfield and Lane County governments, heeding industry's cry, threatened to pull LRAPA's funding unless they could be assured that the board changes wouldn't result in a "heavy-handed regulatory agenda." But the bottom line is that having a local air regulation agency benefits local industries through lower permit fees, and the threat was most likely a bluff. The recent appointments of Drew Johnson, Bill Carpentar and Monk restore balance and add expertise to the LRAPA board. Mayor Piercy should be commended for the appointment.
Oregon's population continues to grow
| The Associated Press | November 25, 2005 |
PORTLAND -- Attracted by its perceived quality of life, people were moving to Oregon when the economy was bad.
Now that it's better, even more people are flocking across the state line.
The state's population jumped by more than 46,000 people in the past year, reaching 3,628,700 on July 1, according to estimates released Wednesday by Portland State University researchers.
The 2005 growth was composed of 32,000 people from out of state and a natural increase from births of 14,100. (more...)
Letter -- Growth is about sustainability
By Bill Smee, Springfield
The Register-Guard | November 22, 2005 |
Whenever the subject is growth, we seem to be offered only two opposing arguments: uncontrolled vs. controlled -- as if the analogous cancer and gigantism weren't in the end equally undesirable.
Thus, one suggests no growth only at the risk of being accused of radicalism, short-sightedness and "wanting to close the door behind him/her."
Yet the issue is really not where people live -- Eugene, Los Angeles, Calcutta -- so much as how many of us there are, period. At last count, close to 6.5 billion. It's also about how to maintain an ecosphere capable of keeping alive those billions, and the hundred million extra added each year, while at the same time preventing, without unnecessary regimentation, folks from tearing each other apart as they claw for scant and dwindling resources.
There is just so much matter -- stuff -- readily available to us to transform into humans and the systems needed to support them with any sustainability. We may already be at that point; indeed, it's possible we passed it decades ago. Certainly we can't continue this modus operandi forever. While growth may be good for some in the short term, in the end, physics trumps economics every time.
The universe doesn't really care about the wants and desires of one crummy little half-wit species, you know. Looked at this way, then, not only does no growth come to look far-sighted -- even pragmatic -- but one might even begin to entertain the concept of negative growth without an undue loss of self-respect.
People
New city chief settles for $143k: Contract for incoming City Manager Grimaldi finalized
By Stacy D. Stumbo
The Springfield News | November 23, 2005 |
It's not easy being the City of Springfield's go-to guy.
The grueling schedule, the hours spent contemplating the city's future -- and, of course, meeting after meeting after meeting.
It might seem a thankless job, but the annual $142,961 salary the City Council approved for incoming City Manager Gino Grimaldi Monday night might take away some of the sting.
Council unanimously voted to hire Grimaldi to replace 16-year veteran manager Mike Kelly on Nov. 9. (more...)
Pappas expected to be appointed as interim city manager
By Jack Moran
The Register-Guard | November 26, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- It looks as if Cynthia Pappas will end up being city manager after all, albeit on a temporary basis.
The Springfield City Council on Monday is expected to approve the appointment of Pappas as interim city manager effective Dec. 6, which will be retiring City Manager Mike Kelly's last day on the job. (more...)