Marijuana-growing light equipment stolen
By Bob Walter
1 rrtwakl Contribute <
A Eugene garden store' tti.it
w.is the subject of .i major Drug
Enforcement Agency investiga
tion last vear was broken into
Monday night
Thieves reportedly made off
with enough high-intensity
electrical lighting equipment to
set up a sizable marijuana
growing operation
William La I’ella. manager ot
the Ruin or Shine Center at 880
U Sixth Ave , told police that
nearly SH.000 worth of property
was missing, including hlgh-tn
lenstty halide hulhs and the
ballasts that go with them,
nearly 100 Vltalite fl uores
cent bulbs, a stereo1 ■■■'receiver,
two high-power microscopes
and a telescope Idle burglars
also took i ! f> pairs Cif sun
glasses, alone worth more than
ST.000, according to La I’ella
Lugetic narcot ic s detec tiv e
Thad Buchanan said lie esli
mates the amount of lighting
equipment taken is soffit lent to
cultivate 100 plants, which
could yield approximately 25
pounds of marijuana worth
$.’1,000 to S4.000 per pound at
wholesale prices
Authorities say tie re are lew
legitimate uses for these lights
because of the t ost arid expense
of running them They are type
taliy found in indoor mari|ua
na growing operations
"The thiexes licit only saved
the price of the equipments
ItIichunan said 1 hey also
avoided the suspicion of being
seen buying it
Michael } Sandsness. who
i o owns the store yvith his \y tie
Christine' is scheduled to lie
senienc I d l ei) ..’i>'on'.charges of
interstate distribution ot drug
paraphernalia
Sandsness and a former Haiti
or Shine salesman yyere arrest
• si last February after an exteii
sive investigation of local man
iiiana gruyvofs led authorities to
the company as supplier of the
h igh ■ i nt erisi t y lights m.irvv
growers were using
I'ite 1>KA agents were .title to
locate even more growers h\
using Ruin or Shine s biistness
records to track down hovers • I
the equipment
The case was dropped from
leiieral to state courts w hen t:
'women pleaded guilts to lie'
charge in Deceintxu They now
tarot up to a \ ear in prison
lire Sanilsnt'sses. who live :
Vancouver Wash . also own-a
similar store in Portland Both
establishment* are operated art
tier the name til Christine it,
terprises Ini
At the time of the arrest in
vestigators reported that hank
rn ords showed company de
p. e.i Is ol si ,M mi lllon ill t 'eld
mostly in cash
Rain of Shine was allowed to
stay in business after the arrests
on the condition that the com
Anti-Measure 5 lawsuit argued
SALEM. On-. (A1 >) Oregon
Tax Court Judge Curl Byers is
weighing u case in which foes
of Measure 5 argue it should fie
nidified as breaching constitu
tional rights of due process
Byers heard arguments
Wednesday in a lawsuit filed
In some I’ortland-ureu taxpay
ers against the initl.ilive meas
ure passed by voters in Novem
ber 1990
The measure “reduces the
taxes oi some people .it the ex
pense of others," Duane Bos
worth, lawyer for the plaintiffs,
told Byers
Attorneys on the other side
argued the measure doesn't
make anyone pay more taxes
and aims to equalize the bur
den
The lawsuit contends the
measure violates the equal pro
tection provisions of the U S
Constitution's 11th Amend
ment
The argument is aimed at a
provision for reducing taxes in
a taxing unit when necessary to
comply with the limits 1 he
provision says percentages
used to reduce taxes "may vary
from property to properly with
in the same taxing unit
The plaintiffs claim that
some property owners might
pay more taxes than others for
the same servicers, even though
the properties have the same
value
‘The purpose of
Measure 5 is to
reduce some
people’s taxes and
put it on someone
else/
Duane Bosworth
"Thu purpose of Measure f> is
lo reduce some people's taxes
and pul tl on someone rise."
Dosworth said
The measure. whi( I) took ef
fri I last July, limited total prop
ertv tax rates fur local govern
merits to Sit) per SI.000 of val
ue
I'he ce .1 mg on si hoot ta x
rates started at S 1 r> per S 1,000
and tier lines to S'> per SI,000
by HM5
Joseph Lurunge. an assistant
state attorney general, dtdended
the measure on several
grounds, including that voters
intended lo distribute revenue
loss from the tax limit propor
tionately among the affected lo
cal governments
Laronge represents the state
Revenue Department, which is
the defendant to the lawsuit
He also said courts gixe great
deferent e to measures up
proved by ihc voters ami t! .t
such measures are presumed to
in; constitutional
people have a right to set a
(etiu)}' on the total amounts i t
property taxes a person should
pay. l.aronge said
Boswurth said the sole pur
pose of the measure is to re
(hu e taxes fur some people and
that there is no external pur
pose, stud) as giv ing lax breaks
to farm land owners
l.regorv liyrne. a lawyer tor
two sponsors of Measure e told
Byers the I'S Supreme (amrt
hits not required precise
equality in taxation" in inter
preting equal protei lion righls
liyrne, who represents Don
Mr I n t i re of (I r e s h a m and
Thomas Dennehy of 1‘ortlunil.
said the measure hasn't mist'd
any one’s taxes
Beaverton attorney Henry
Kane, who intervened In the
lawsuit on behalf of himself,
said the p I a t nt i f fs haven't
shown any actual harm and
merely "complain that they pay
more than someone else
Being treated unfairly is
part of property taxation.'
Kane said "The fat t that some
body pays .1 little less is a fat !
of life "
Bosworth said the plaintiffs
aren't part of any groups but
are "individuals concerned
about 1) poorly i tint eiv ed initia
liv e measure
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; ,un i sniprtali' w.i.th authorities
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hi llutli Sanilsivtv.s ami the
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