Health Options Digest
December 11, 2005
Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield (CHOICES)
In This Issue
From the Editor
Who Will Provide the Grand Design?
One of our favorite songs is "The Last Resort" from the 1976 album "Hotel California" by The Eagles. (Yes, we know that saying so dates us.) In it, Don Henley sings about a modern-day woman from Providence, Rhode Island, moving west in search of a better life -- just as people did during the Great Westward Migration in the 1800s. Partway through the song he sings:
"Some rich men came and raped the land, nobody caught 'em,
"Put up a bunch of ugly boxes and, Jesus, people bought 'em."
Then he lays out a challenge:
"Who will provide the grand design, what is yours and what is mine?
"'Cause there is no more new frontier, we have got to make it here."
In just a few lines of verse, Henley distills much of what this space is concerned with. There are now roughly 200,000 souls living in this Emerald Valley around Eugene and Springfield, and more are coming every day. "There is no more new frontier, we have got to make it here."
So how do we decide where to put a hospital? Which highways do we build where? Which farmland will turn into houses and which will remain for crops? Who benefits? Who pays? Who decides?
Oregon's land use planning program is one system for answering these and related questions, and has been the system in use in Oregon for over 30 years. Like all man-made systems, it is imperfect.
By and large, Oregon's land use laws have preserved rural and open spaces outside of urban areas: Urban growth boundaries have to a great if not complete extent kept large parts of Oregon rural. You can still drive up or down Interstate-5 and go for miles without seeing anything but grass fields, trees and farm houses.
On the other hand, within urban growth boundaries Oregon often hasn't developed much differently from anywhere else in the country. The kind of development and traffic congestion you can see at Gateway or along West 11th Avenue isn't much better than what you can see just about anywhere in the United States.
Moreover, Measure 37 implicitly asks the question: "Is it right for the government to tell people they can't build a house on their own land?"
Unfortunately, Henley doesn't provide a very satisfying answer to his own question. The best he has to offer is to suggest one can keep moving west -- say to Lahaina on Maui in Hawaii -- in advance of the masses of people. But he ends more cynically:
"You call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye."
But it would be a great shame to turn this paradise, this Emerald Valley of ours, the one Eugene Skinner and others settled over 150 years ago, into something people would want to escape. Indeed, the idea of escaping to Hawaii, which itself is experiencing intense development, is far less attractive today than it was 30 years ago to Don Henley. Even the thought of escaping to Florence or elsewhere on the Oregon Coast is becoming less attractive, as retirees (many from California) bid up the price of coastal houses.
No, there is no new frontier, we have got to make it here.
This week, we won't offer any answers. But in coming weeks we hope to explore some of the issues about the grand design and suggest some possibilities.
We have previously talked about the importance of regional planning, and we will keep returning to this idea.
Here's another idea: What if the public had to actually pay for what they said they wanted? What if people in Eugene and Springfield had to dig deep into their own pockets to pay for, say, a new $100+ million Interstate-5/Franklin interchange? We probably wouldn't even be having that discussion, as people would realize that it wasn't worth it to them to pay that much to get so little. And yet in reality we are having that discussion, which suggests there is something not quite right about our current system of public decision making...
Week In Review
Is no news about PeaceHealth good news?
Meanwhile, McKenzie-Willamette received at best a lukewarm response to its plans to relocate to north Eugene. McKenzie-Willamette also announced it will discontinue its midwifery practice.
Paying for basic public services, like police and fire protection, continues to be a major issue. Springfield is thinking of charging people every time a fire truck is sent out.
Lane County is pushing forward with the idea of a countywide income tax to pay for public safety. Lane County is also one of many counties in the West hoping that Congress will continue payments to counties including federal lands that don't pay property taxes. Finally, Lane County is stepping back from a proposal to give the county administrator a raise at this time.
Who benefits? Who pays? Who decides? Who will provide the grand design? The details vary but the larger questions remain the same.
The situation around the West Eugene Parkway (WEP) is muddled just now. The main thing is that Mayor Kitty Piercy is trying to bring people together to works towards a solution for west Eugene that is better, faster and cheaper than the WEP.
Speaking of the proposed reconstructed Interstate-5/Franklin interchange, just why would it be worth $100+ million to allow people to save a minute by getting off at Franklin rather than Glenwood?
The Lane Transit District board named Assistant General Manager Mark Pangborn to serve as interim General Manager after Ken Hamm steps down no later than March 2006. But problems within LTD remain.
Willamalane Park and Recreation District received $3 million in federal transportation funding to design, engineer and build a bicycle and pedestrian path along the north bank of the Middle Fork of the Willamette River in Springfield. It will be great to continue the great system of paths along the main Willamette River.
News about Measure 37 has dropped off. But like Mount St. Helens, the eruption may just be cooking below the surface, in particular, before the Oregon Supreme Court. But we are starting to see one jurisdiction sue another over Measure 37: Ashland sued Jackson County and now Newberg is suing Yamhill County.
Looking Ahead
The governor's office has extended to February 3, 2006 the deadline to apply to be appointed to the Lane Transit District (LTD) board of directors. Presumably, no one applied for some of the vacancies or the governor wasn't happy with the calibre of people who did. It would be good for people committed to quality public transit in Lane County to apply. It would be even better for the legislature to change the laws controlling LTD and make board members elected. Then people would have an opportunity to review candidates and cast their votes for those who would best uphold the public interest. Senator Bill Morrisette tried to get such a change through the last legislative session, but was frustrated by LTD's own lobbyists, paid for by taxes on the public.
Rob Zako, Editor
343-5201
rzako@efn.org
Opportunities
Take the wheel
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | December 9, 2005 |
Speaking of LTD, do you want to help steer the bus?
Three board positions expire at the end of the year, and next year Gov. Ted Kulongoski will appoint people to them.
Susan Ban and Gerry Gaydos seek reappointment to their subdistricts -- hers is 4, covering north Eugene and Coburg, his is 5, covering central and west Eugene -- and Dave Kleger will leave subdistrict no. 6, covering Highway 99 and River Road, after 12 years.
You must live in the subdistrict you want to serve. Apply by Feb. 3; the form is online at http:// governor.oregon.gov/ Gov/boards.shtml; look under "how to apply" and click "interest form."
For more information, call LTD at 682-6100.
Deadline extended for LTD board openings
| The Springfield News | December 9, 2005 |
The terms of three members of the Lane Transit District Board of Directors will expire at the end of this calendar year, and the deadline for applying has been extended.
The LTD Board of Directors is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Oregon Senate.
The Governor's Office of Executive Appointments has asked that people interested in appointment to these positions submit a completed "Executive Appointments Interest Form" by Friday, Feb. 3, 2006.
For more information, see www.ltd.org or call 682-6100.
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.
McKenzie-Willamette/Triad
Hospital officials hold open house on plans for Delta Highway site
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | December 7, 2005 |
McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center will hold an open house from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. today at the Sheldon Community Center to answer questions concerning the proposal to build a $225 million hospital on 42 acres on the west side of Delta Highway North. (more...)
Residents air concerns about hospital
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | December 8, 2005 |
McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center must resolve two tough issues in short order to convince people in north Eugene that a new hospital will work there: traffic and property values.
Hospital officials held an open house Wednesday night for residents near RiverRidge Golf Course, where McKenzie-Willamette hopes to build a $225 million medical center to open in 2008.
Many neighbors voiced the same concerns: The hospital will add to traffic in a congested area, it will be hard to reach because of the traffic that's already there and it will bring down property values. (more...)
Hospital loses midwifery birth services
By Tim Christie
The Register-Guard | December 9, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center has long cultivated a reputation as a place where having a baby was less a routine medical procedure and more a natural and family friendly experience.
But starting Jan. 1, a key element of that environment will be gone when midwives no longer will help with deliveries at the Springfield hospital.
The midwifery practice that worked at McKenzie-Willamette has lost its obstetrical backup, and without a doctor willing to be on call and step in if a birth goes awry, midwives can't practice at the hospital. (more...)
RiverRidge's decline in play led to change of course
By Ron Bellamy
The Register-Guard | December 4, 2005 |
Ric and Debbie Jeffries built RiverRidge Golf Course as a family business, in every sense of that term. They shared the work and the sweat and the stress and the fun. They reared their two children in the house in the middle of the golf course. It's been a husband-and-wife partnership of co-owners, and a family commitment.
And so, yes, there's disappointment for both in their decision to sell part of their flagship course, which they opened in 1989, to become the site for McKenzie-Willamette's proposed $225 million medical center. (more...)
Letter -- Put hospital in west Eugene
By Twila Repp, Eugene
The Register-Guard | December 5, 2005 |
With all the hoopla about the relocation of McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center, my question is, why does it have to move? It has a beautiful hospital in Springfield, with both a good location and a great staff.
If Triad wanted to get away from PeaceHealth's new hospital, why did it pick the RiverRidge location? As to our City Council, if it had approved PeaceHealth's original plan to move to a north Eugene location, this big shuffle might not be taking place.
It surprises me now that the council is bending over backward to assist McKenzie-Willamette, when it put up such a fight to keep PeaceHealth out of that area.
Anyone who has traveled Eugene streets and highways knows that traffic is very heavy on most streets. The city has grown in population since all major highways have been built, so no matter what we do, traffic will still be heavy.
I opt for McKenzie-Willamette to build in west Eugene. There is a large population in that area and easy access to the people from the coast and towns along Highway 126 that, for once, would have easy access.
Forget the RiverRidge site, and put the hospital where it is really needed -- west Eugene.
Health Care
Malpractice insurer on block
| The Associated Press | December 11, 2005 |
PORTLAND -- A deal to sell Oregon's largest medical malpractice insurer to a California company won approval from state regulators this week.
Regulators said the deal could help lower spiraling doctors' premiums that have led some caregivers to stop accepting pregnant women as patients, because of the high risk of malpractice lawsuits. (more...)
Nearby Developments
Downtown gets a leg up
By Jack Moran
The Register-Guard | December 6, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- David Lacy says that without a little help from the city, there's no way he could have set up shop last month in the downtown district.
Lacy, co-owner of How's the Soup Deli at 471 South A St., saved more than $5,000 in systems development charges thanks to a program designed to stimulate economic activity downtown by providing significant discounts on city fees to business owners and developers who build or renovate space in the city center. (more...)
City grants ORI new purchase deadline
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | December 10, 2005 |
A major redevelopment project in downtown Eugene may be down to its last chance.
The Oregon Research Institute missed a deadline last Monday to buy city property for its planned office building. The firm now must acquire the land by Jan. 30, City Manager Dennis Taylor said Friday. (more...)
Report analyzes development options
A study released by an urban planning firm calls for a comprehensive property plan
By Meghann M. Cuniff, News Editor
Oregon Daily Emerald | December 5, 2005 |
It's a goal of the University administration to build a land bank in the east campus area for future administrations to use, and progress at fulfilling that goal has been steady.
The University hopes to build a sports arena on the Williams Bakery site, purchased in February for more than $22 million, and the UO Foundation bought the Joe Romania car lot east of the bakery site in March for $5.2 million. Officials want to purchase the state-owned property across from the car lot on Walnut Street, which Senior Vice President and Provost John Moseley said has been estimated to cost about $3 million.
This property acquisition is crucial to the University's future development of the area, according to a report released by the urban planning firm The Farkas Group.
The University needs to focus on acquiring new property along Franklin Boulevard to complement the land it already has and must work with other area landowners to craft a redevelopment plan that will utilize the area to benefit the University and the city, according to a report from the firm.
The University administration is currently reviewing a draft of a report by the Portland-based consulting firm that makes recommendations about future University planning and land use in the area. (more...)
Coalition will detail feelings against sale
In a meeting Tuesday, students will voice concerns to elected officials about Westmoreland
By Meghann M. Cuniff, News Editor
Oregon Daily Emerald | December 5, 2005 |
The mayor of Eugene and the city manager will join the newly formed Save Westmoreland Coalition Tuesday night to discuss the University's intent to sell Westmoreland Apartments.
The Save Westmoreland Coalition is made up of representatives of various student and community groups that are opposed to the University's intent to sell the 404-unit complex.
University student Tesia Blonski hopes the meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday in the EMU Fir Room, will reiterate the coalition's opposition to the sale and will give more elected officials a chance to hear student concerns. (more...)
Developer to build 101-home subdivision
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | December 6, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Builder-developer Bruce Wiechert is planning to transform a 23-acre filbert orchard south of Jasper Road into a 101-home subdivision. (more...)
Public Facilities and Services
Council agrees on city goals
By Jack Moran
The Register-Guard | December 6, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- A few months before voters will be asked to help retain staffing levels in the city's police and fire departments, they can expect to face a ballot issue that could determine whether a municipal jail can be built and staffed by 2008.
But what voters won't see on any ballot in 2006 is a measure to beef up services in the city's library, the Springfield City Council decided Monday night during its annual goal-setting session. (more...)
Chief wants fire engines to roll for a fee
By Jack Moran
The Register-Guard | December 7, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Fire Chief Dennis Murphy says he won't be surprised if a budget-balancing plan for his department is met with some initial resistance from residents.
The bold strategy to raise about $1 million to maintain service levels in the fire department during the upcoming budget cycle includes charging a fee to individuals whenever an engine responds to an incident, be it a fire, rescue or medical call. If approved next spring by the City Council, Springfield would become the first Oregon municipality with an engine-response fee. (more...)
Editorial -- Got a fire? Pay a fee: Proposal reflects the plight of local governments
| The Register-Guard | December 9, 2005 |
Springfield Fire Chief Dennis Murphy's sigh-producing proposal to charge city residents for fire engine responses perfectly illustrates the struggle of local governments to maintain essential services with limited and increasingly inadequate budgets. (more...)
Editorial -- Fire fees raise questions: Springfield needs to take a close look
| The Register-Guard | December 9, 2005 |
As noted in the editorial above, Springfield Fire Chief Dennis Murphy's idea of charging fees for fire engine responses illustrates the chronic financial problems of local governments. With costs rising at roughly double the pace of revenues, agencies such as Murphy's are continually cutting services, finding new sources of financial support or both. Before Springfield moves toward user fees for emergency services, however, it will need to answer some troubling questions: (more...)
Hyland Construction wins city job after all
By Jack Moran
The Register-Guard | December 10, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Teaming with a large international construction-management company has proved to be a rewarding move for a hometown firm that aggressively sought to work on the city's justice center project.
City officials soon will begin contract negotiations with Atlanta-based Heery International and Springfield's own John Hyland Construction, the two-firm team officials picked last week to oversee building of a voter-approved municipal justice center slated for completion in 2008. (more...)
Counties enlist support for federal subsidies
By Julia Silverman
The Associated Press | December 11, 2005 |
PORTLAND -- Rural counties and schools across the West are quietly gearing up for an expected battle over the renewal of billions of dollars in subsidies from the federal government, designed to compensate for the loss of timber harvests on thousands of acres of publicly owned land.
The program, pushed through Congress in 2000 by Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden and Republican Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho, expires in 2006, and signals about its future from Washington, D.C., have been mixed. (more...)
County backs away from plan to give administrator pay raise
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | December 9, 2005 |
Timing is everything. And this apparently isn't the best time to give the boss a pay raise.
Lane County has tabled a recommendation to give county Administrator Bill Van Vactor a 16 percent raise -- to $140,000 -- Greta Utecht, human resources manager, said this week.
The tabling comes as the county Board of Commissioners prepares to ask voters to approve higher income taxes for public-safety services. (more...)
Transportation
Parkway project sits at crossroad
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | December 8, 2005 |
The federal agency that will play a key role in the fate of the West Eugene Parkway is willing to hear new ideas the public may have about an alternative to the long-controversial road project. Parkway opponents, however, shouldn't break into a victory dance just yet.
At the request of Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy, the Federal Highway Administration has endorsed the idea of a community discussion to explore possible alternatives to the parkway, said David Cox, the agency's Oregon administrator. (more...)
Piercy defends push for parkway forum
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | December 9, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Metro-area leaders pummeled Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy's idea for exploring alternatives to the West Eugene Parkway for two hours Thursday before dropping their opposition -- at least for now.
Piercy had hoped that other elected leaders and government officials, meeting as the Metropolitan Policy Committee, would support her proposal for a community discussion to explore possible alternatives to the long delayed and controversial West Eugene Parkway.
Instead, Piercy got a brusque reaction from committee members, some of whom bristled at Eugene's tactics over the parkway.
In the end, however, representatives from Springfield, Lane County, Coburg and the Lane Transit District said they will help shape the rules for the community forum that could take place. (more...)
Letter -- Interchange a lousy idea
By Darcy Vanderlan, Eugene
The Register-Guard | December 5, 2005 |
The Register-Guard editorial of Nov. 29 was correct about one thing: It is easy to see why a Franklin/Interstate 5 interchange was not included in the original construction of the I-5 bridge. It was a bad idea then, and it is a terrible idea today.
Proponents of this project give the impression that adding interchange ramps over the Willamette River would be a simple add-on that we could easily do since we are building a new bridge anyway. This is simply untrue. Any interchange project would be completely independent and initiated separately from the construction of the I-5 bridge. It would be a vastly complicated and expensive job -- the Oregon Department of Transportation's own estimates put the public cost at well over $200 million.
Aside from the outrageous cost, a Franklin/I-5 interchange would come with many other drawbacks, including:
1) Irreparable environmental and aesthetic damage to the Willamette River natural area.
2) Excessive traffic congestion on Franklin, which would likely lead to its failure as a main thoroughfare.
3) The negation of the city's own cherished desire to transform the Walnut/Franklin area into a quaint and charming gateway to the city. Who will want to live, work, dine and stroll at the mouth of a freeway off-ramp?
I urge everyone to stop by the Eugene Library between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Thursday to see the interchange proposals and submit comments. The city will use these comments in deciding whether to proceed with this ill-conceived venture.
Editorial -- LTD's fixed route
| The Register-Guard | December 6, 2005 |
Ken Hamm's decision to resign as general manager of the Lane Transit District shows he understands that his relationship with employees was broken. The first strike in LTD history ended nearly three-quarters of a year ago; if good feelings haven't been restored by now, they probably never will be. A change of leadership promises to improve the psychological climate at LTD, but the policies and priorities that are part of what created the friction won't go away. (more...)
Dave Barton and Dan Dreier -- Retired LTD boss would be fine interim leader
By Dave Barton and Dan Dreier
The Register-Guard | December 6, 2005 |
Upon acceptance of General Manager Ken Hamm's resignation, Lane Transit District board President Gerry Gaydos remarked, "This is a sad day for LTD." While we are in full agreement with that sentiment, we would add that it is also a new day for LTD. (more...)
Slant -- Ken Hamm
| Eugene Weekly | December 8, 2005 |
In case you missed it, our cover story last week looked closely at the internal strife at Lane Transit District and complaints against General Manager Ken Hamm. Hamm resigned the next day. Our story generated several positive calls and notes from readers, but we also got complaints about the cover, and one reader demanded that we apologize to Hamm for putting "monster ears" on him. Actually, the photo illustration was LTD's creation. The image is from an LTD meeting flier, and was apparently Hamm's self-deprecating attempt to show he really does listen to employees -- a response to one of the chronic complaints against him. We mentioned the big-ears flier in the story, and had a note about it next to the image on the cover, but some readers assumed it was EW's creation. We never ridicule public figures. Well, not this time.
Editorial -- LTD's real problem isn't Ken Hamm; it's lack of voter voice
| The Springfield News | December 9, 2005 |
Ken Hamm, the director of Lane Transit District, recently announced he's leaving the agency. He was quite frank about why: Maybe it was best for everyone, he said, if he weren't there.
Hamm had crossed swords quite a bit with the bus drivers and their union, most memorably during the negotiations for a new contract that resulted in a weeklong shutdown of bus service. The bitterness of that event was really startling, especially compared to other strikes and near-strike events that have happened recently. When the drivers at Sanipac hashed out a last-minute deal with management, they went right back to driving trucks without another word -- the team back in action, their differences behind them.
That did not happen with the LTD drivers. If you ask, most of them will still today give you an earful about misplaced priorities -- the usual one cited being using budget dollars to chase federal matching funds to build huge, unnecessary projects while cutting back on actual service.
Well, they do have a point -- although we have to say some of the new bus facilities, especially the new Springfield bus station, are a lot more pleasant to use than the old grimy utilitarian ones they replaced. Still, that "sawed-off water tower" funnel art in front of the Springfield station was an extra $90,000 luxury piece that very few taxpayers, if asked, would have wanted their money spent on. And that new bus rapid transit system linking Springfield and Eugene will be a fabulous job creation program, but we can't see shaving three or four minutes off a 15-minute bus ride as being worth the millions of dollars we're spending on it.
But the real problem with LTD is not Ken Hamm. In fact, his departure may well make things worse, depending on who replaces him.
And why is that? Because the system of accountability is broken at LTD. And that is the real problem there.
LTD does not answer to the community it serves. LTD answers to the governor of the state of Oregon, who appoints its board members. This gives the board a degree of insulation from public pressure that is not enjoyed by any other taxing district in Lane County. (more...)
Meet the new boss?
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | December 9, 2005 |
Will LTD's next boss be a very familiar face at the transit agency?
More than 160 bus drivers and others in the Lane Transit District have signed a petition asking the board to hire Phyllis Loobey as interim general manager, two bus drivers said Thursday. That follows the resignation last week of General Manager Ken Hamm, amid widespread criticism of Hamm inside LTD. (more...)
LTD picks Pangborn as interim manager
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | December 10, 2005 |
The board of the Lane Transit District picked a current supervisor to be interim general manager Friday, despite a push by some workers to rehire a former general manager. (more...)
Bike Path Expansion
By Tim O'Rourke
Eugene Weekly | December 8, 2005 |
When President Bush signed the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), he not only reinforced the federal government's obsession with acronyms but also jumpstarted the process of connecting Springfield bicyclists with the rivers and ecosystems surrounding them.
Willamalane Park and Recreation District, working with the city of Springfield, received $3 million in federal transportation funding from SAFETEA-LU to design, engineer and build a bicycle and pedestrian path along the north bank of the Middle Fork of the Willamette River in Springfield. (more...)
Bike industry increases clout
By Seth Sutel
The Associated Press | December 7, 2005 |
Darwin Hindman, the 72-year-old mayor of Columbia, Mo., is as hard-core as cycling advocates come. Every day, he rides a bike to work that is 20 years old -- older than many of the University of Missouri students who live in the city he governs.
Hindman, who has worked on cycling issues for many of his 11 years as mayor, now has an embarrassment of riches -- helping to figure out how to spend $25 million in federal money during the next five years to improve bicycling and walking routes in his community.
Some critics note that Columbia and the other three areas chosen for the experimental program all had powerful friends in Congress. But other big jumps in bicycle-related spending in this year's bill seem to indicate that the bicycling industry is becoming more effective in its lobbying efforts in Washington. (more...)
Road map: How to get there from here
By Diane Dietz
The Register-Guard | December 5, 2005 |
Think George Jetson in Lane County:
He's zipping around in a hydrogen-powered car. The seas have risen and waves are lapping the shoulder of Highway 101.
Advances in medical science have doubled the number of old people and they, too, are bombing around on Oregon's roads, but not to worry: A gadget will warn other drivers of impending collisions so they can get out of their way.
This may sound like science fiction, but it's far, far from the bestseller list.
The scenes are straight out of the latest version of what's usually one of the dullest documents that state government generates: the Oregon Transportation Plan, which officials are rolling out in a series of meetings over the next three months. (more...)
Editorial -- Kulongoski's holiday gift
| The Register-Guard | December 5, 2005 |
Sen. Ted Ferrioli, R-John Day, says Gov. Ted Kulongoski's decision to proceed with plans to bring California's tougher tailpipe standards for cars and light trucks to Oregon is "a Christmas gift for environmental radicals."
That may be true. But it's also a wonderful holiday present to every Oregonian who cares about the future of their state and its economy.
Yes, that's right, economy -- the same economy that Ferrioli and others insist they're trying to protect by joining with auto industry representatives in a lawsuit aimed at blocking the new emissions controls. (more...)
Measure 37
Measure 37: One Year Later
Since November 2004, dozens of claims have won approval: what happens next is up to the courts
By Damian Mann
The (Medford) Mail Tribune | December 5, 2005 |
Travis Corbin and his father have discovered that being the first to get a Measure 37 waiver in Jackson County wasn't any reason to celebrate.
Since their February approval, they still haven't been able to build on their 1.19 acres near Phoenix on Cabbage Lane. (more...)
PRA Files Amicus in Support of Property Rights; 13 Organizations Join PRA in Support of Measure 37 Before Oregon State Supreme Court
Contact: Scott A. LaGanga of the Property Rights Alliance, 202-390-6978
Property Rights Alliance | December 6, 2005 |
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the Property Rights Alliance (PRA) filed an amicus brief in Oregon State Supreme Court, challenging a Marion County Circuit Court judge's decision declaring Measure 37 unconstitutional under both the Oregon and federal constitutions. In the court decision, the judge wrongfully overturned the property rights measure, particularly in the case of the plaintiffs possessing a Fourteenth Amendment procedural due process claim. (more...)
Commissioners still undecided on claims delay
By David Bates
The (McMinnville) News-Register | December 6, 2005 |
The Yamhill County commissioners put off again Monday a decision on whether to give Measure 37 claimants the option of waiting until the Supreme Court decides the ballot measure's constitutionality. But they appear to be leaning that way. (more...)
Newberg sues county over Measure 37
By David Bates
The (McMinnville) News-Register | December 6, 2005 |
Yamhill County Counsel John Gray contends a ruling declaring Measure 37 unconstitutional isn't binding locally because his county wasn't named as a defendant. Now he may get a chance to tell it to a judge.
The city of Newberg has sued the county, alleging county officials overstepped their bounds when they approved a Measure 37 claim involving property lying within both the city's urban growth boundary and the projected path of the Newberg-Dundee Bypass. The city says they should have heeded the Marion County Circuit Court ruling, as that court is given official jurisdiction on all state initiatives.
Since the ruling has been appealed to the Oregon Supreme Court, and its decision could render the local case moot, Gray said the two parties have agreed to hold action in abeyance until the high court hands down an opinion sometime next year. (more...)
Judge's ruling could cost her a dream job
| The Associated Press | December 7, 2005 |
SALEM -- Since Marion County Judge Mary Mertens James pulled the rug from under Measure 37, land-use rights advocates have been trying to pull the rug from under her.
Property owners are talking recall and trashing her in Web sites that are gathering cash to get her off the bench.
To James, it's all very confusing. She says she saw the Measure 37 case as a straightforward matter of applying the law. (more...)
Russell Sadler -- The rule of law
By Russell Sadler
BlueOregon.com | December 11, 2005 |
Marion County Circuit Judge Mary Merten James, was surprised when people started congratulating her on a "courageous" decision when she held Ballot Measure 37, the developer compensation initiative, to be unconstitutional. She thought it was a straightforward decision applying the precedents to a rather clear case.
It turns out the aftermath of the decision was anything but straightforward. A recall petition collected the required signatures in a week and now her career as a judge hangs in the balance for the simple act of doing her job.
Judge James is caught in the crosscurrents of events that have been gathering momentum for some time. (more...)
Farm Bureau challenged to turn up political heat
By Elaine Shein, Capital Press Editor-Publisher
The Capital Press | December 9, 2005 |
NEWPORT -- Oregon Farm Bureau Federation President Barry Bushue talked about the wins and losses his organization and agriculture experienced this last year, but he spoke little of perhaps the greatest challenge he faced: repairing the bitter division apparent in the House of Delegates last year during heated debates over Measure 37.
Instead, he talked this week about the different passions and reasons that drew people to this year's OFBF annual meeting.
...
As for Measure 37, the land-use initiative that has landed in the state's Supreme Court, Bushue was cautious not to debate the issue. Rather, he criticized politicians for not having the will to address the issues that resulted from Measure 37's passage in last year's election.
He said he found it disheartening that the makeup of the interim committee created by the Legislature in Senate Bill 82 has yet to be announced. (more...)
Other News
Linton Weeks -- Today's Americans have everything to fear but fear itself
By Linton Weeks
The Washington Post | December 11, 2005 |
The battle against terrorism has even come to little Ridgely, Md., a quiet gameboard of a town (population 1,400). It has street names such as Park, Railroad, Sunrise and Sunset. It is pretty far from everywhere.
City police recently installed three sleek white surveillance cameras, paid for by a homeland security grant. Two, mounted at the town hall, keep a cross-eyed vigil up and down Central Avenue. The third peers down over the door of the police station.
"You can't ever tell," Police Chief Merlin Evans, 59, says. Terrorists just might pass through Ridgely on their way to a bigger target, he says.
Terrorism. Weapons of mass destruction. Bird flu. Hurricanes. Sex offenders. New and terrible forms of cancer. Sexually transmitted diseases. Alzheimer's. Crystal meth labs. Lawsuits. Prison breaks! Female suicide bombers! Wildfires! Identity theft! Terrifying toys! Falling branches! Insurance fraud! Killer cold weather! Searing heat! Flash floods ... exploding gas tanks ... erupting volcanoes ... capsizing boats ... train wrecks-famines-pestilence-ice storms-global warming! Deadly parade balloons!
This is a land in lockdown. Seventy years ago, President Franklin Roosevelt told the country: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Today, we are told to fear everything but fear itself, which we embrace with widespread arms, outstretched hands and an open wallet. We treat fear like Caesar victorious. We allow fear into our homes, our heads, our hearts. We build whole industries around it.
Let's admit it: We are living in Fraidy Cat Nation. (more...)
Politics Gone Wild
The Bus Project comes to Lane County.
By Kera Abraham
Eugene Weekly | December 8, 2005 |
Forget the negative TV commercials, bone-dry voters' pamphlets and shady corporate contributions. If you want to get young people engaged in politics, you gotta speak to them. You gotta be hip, down, fun, weird.
Adam Petkun and Courtney Anglin outside the new Bus Project of Lane County office
That's the message from the Oregon Bus Project, arguably the hottest new political engine in the state. The organization breaks from traditional campaign activism, avoiding a partisan label (though it has yet to support a Republican candidate) and using slogans such as "Not left, not right, but forward." The Bus Project works for progressive political change over the long term, operating on the notion that volunteerism is the most effective way to battle big corporate money in elections. The movement started four years ago in Portland, and this month the Bus Project opened a permanent Lane County field office on 6th Avenue and Lawrence. (more...)
Hispanic radio station fires hosts
By Jim Feehan
The Register-Guard | December 11, 2005 |
Come Monday, listeners to "La X," Eugene-Springfield's Hispanic radio station, will not hear the station's popular morning show hosted by Mary Salvatierra and Polo Diaz.
Salvatierra and Diaz, as well as the station's sales manager, Rebeca Urhausen, and program director, Ruben Villalobos, were fired Friday and asked to leave the premises, Urhausen said.
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KXOR, which launched 13 months ago, is one of two stations -- the other is the liberal-leaning KOPT 1600-AM -- under the banner of Churchill Communications, which is owned by Suzanne Arlie, developer John Musumeci's wife. The couple also owns the Eugene-based development firm, Arlie & Co. (more...)
People
Slant -- Sid Leiken
| Eugene Weekly | December 8, 2005 |
Regarding our Slant blurb last week on the Sid Leiken exposé in the Springfield News, we heard from SN Editor John Finn that George Beres' source for the research in the piece was not from the SN staff. Most likely it was a SN contributing columnist, says Finn. Meanwhile, Leiken, in response to the accusation in Beres' commentary that he is "shifty" in supporting, then opposing Commissioner Bill Dwyer, notes, "Didn't John Kitzhaber and Vicki Walker both endorse Ted Kulongoski before?" Leiken also noticed our news brief on Dwyer calling for Triad/MWMC to build in Glenwood, and says, "I am glad Bill feels the same way I do ... I don't know if he just realized this all of sudden or if he is finally up to speed with the vast majority of Springfield citizens." This is all pissy little stuff. The big issues coming up will be how Dwyer and Leiken differ or agree on sprawl, corporate candy, public safety funding, GLBT rights and natural resources management.
City Manager Mike Kelly says goodbye to old friends, frets about his coming retirement
By Stacy D. Stumbo
The Springfield News | December 7, 2005 |
Today, 62-year-old retiree Mike Kelly is at a loss for what to do.
"I'm not an idle person," he said. "Maybe I'll follow my wife around with a stopwatch and tell her how to do things more efficiently." (more...)