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1
Photo by Andrr K«m«n
Mike Schwartz, speak in# at a public forum Monday to debate the proposed reopening of the
f.'iiftene Mall, said he is in favor of the proposal.
Majority supports mall reopening
By Brian Bloch
Emerald Reporter
Overwhelming support dominated testimonies
given to the Kugene < itv Council in the final puli
lie forum on the proposed downtown redesign
project Morulas night
Thirty three businesspersons, merchants and
concerned citizens voiced support for the rede
sign projee I t ailing for the opening of Willamette
and Olive streets and Hast Broadway on the
doss ntosvn mall
Onls about 1(1 people testified in opposition to
the proposal
The city < oum il Is si heduled to take a< lion on
the redesign proposal during a svork session
Wednesdas at Kugene City Hall If the couni il ap
proves the proposal, it vs 1H likids he placed on
the Mas ballot
Business owners cried out tor changes thes
hope vs 111 bring better at c ess. more patrons and a
revitalized downtown
"Closed streets are like closed doors said All
I-azar. owner of tsvo downtown businesses
Mike Schwartz said revenues from downtown
businesses have dropped from S'l 1 million in
I!I7!> to .i projected $?r> million this year because
of a failing downtown
"The mall has not lieen the sui i ess that we had
onginallv hoped." said Don Amac.her. a down
tow n real estate agent
"The mall |ust simply doesn't function, it's too
patk like." said Roger N'eusladter "Moving more
people through our downtown can only bo
i" 1
positive
Gene Swan, president of the representative Eu
gene Downtown Inc said a recent survey of the
organizations 82 downtown member businesses
showed that l>7 support the redesign proposal
Many citizens and business owners said they
do not believe the redesign will completely solve
all of downtown's problems, hut that it offers a
starting point for improvement
"Downtown is dying I feel we need a change
and we need new strategies." said Richard
Green "This is a beginning "
"There are fewer and fewer reasons for the av
erage ( iti/.en to come downtown." said Margaret
burke " The arteries must tie opened before g€in
grene sets In
"1 can't understand how doing nothing can he
an option," said local business owner bob Ku
benstein "YVe need to take action and save
dow ntown by opening the streets "
However, a handful of citizens disagreed with
the proposal
"The question here is who's going to pay for
it." said William Mason "There's no guarantee
this w ill solve any of dow ntow n's problems We
cannot afford this."
"The owners downtown should pay for their
own experiments " said William Eaton
"One of the i its s most livable areas would lie
destroyed." said George Schafer "The problem
isn't accessibility, it's content
"Many people have asked for change." said
Merton Saling "It will change, just leave it
alone."
Group seeks drug legalization
By Kim Wuebbenhorst
I meiakl Contnbutof
Students for the Oregon
Marijuana Initiative is a
small, but determined group
ol I'niversity students work
ing to decriminalize mari
juana in Oregon.
"We think the laws are
based on oppression of peo
ple who behave peacefully
but art* other wise law-abid
ing citizens." said Adam
Handwerger. a junior phys
ics major and SOMI mem
ber
The group formed in late
1‘IHK when a couple of
friends, who wish to remain
anonymous, got together to
officially voice their opin
ions
The group does not have
muc h of an offi< ial member
ship be< ause people who are
tor the legalization ol mart
juana arc also afraid of gov
ernment action, Handwerger
said
Regardless of its lack of
numbers, SOM1 will petition
for the initiative as soon as
the final draft is finished,
probably within a few
months.
The last Oregon Marijuana
Initiative would have al
lowed people 21 years or
older to cultivate three mari
juana plants on their own
property or possess four
ounces in their home. The
initiative did not discuss use
or possession outside a per
son's private property, but
did prohibit selling marijua
na or driving under the in
fluent <■ of marijuana.
Under current Oregon
law. possession of marijuana
can result in a $500 to
$1,000 fine tor less than one
ounce, or up to 10 years in
jail and $100,1)00 fine for
more than one ounce. A
judge can impose an addi
tional fine of twice the value
of any resulting property or
money gain, regardless of
the amount of marijuana
sold
The group believes these
laws are excessive,
Handwerger said, and it will
work to get the initiative on
the ballot for the 1992 elec
tion. Voters rejected the
measure during the 1986
election, and it did not re
ceive enough petition signa
tures to be placed on the bal
lot in the 1988 or 1990 elec
tions.
Another of the group's ob
jectives is to educate people
on the marijuana issue and
its uses, which members say
include paper products, pe
Turn to GROUP. Page 6