CABLE
Continued from Page 1
"I'm getting experience in managing and how TV and
video work. I want to produce my own documentaries,
but with the sketchy budget. I don't know how long this
job is going to last," she said.
To use the community c able TV equipment and facil
ities. all people need to do is attend a monthly orienta
tion. Child said, and take classes on equipment use and
editing. People with some television lietkground can chal
lenge the c ourses.
After someone takes the classes, she said, they am cer
tified to use the equipment and can do so fret* of charge
The classes include came order operation and l«isic edit
ing as well as a hands-on studio production class S|h>
c.ial editing or computer classes are taught according to
interest. •
The classes are small, with usually no more than 10
people in them, which allows for more hands-on expe
rience, Child said.
While many of the c lasses are taken by adults, there are
classes for children in the sixth through 12th grades, she
said,
"I've gotten some excellent shows out of the kids,"
Childs said. "They like to produce talk shows, news shows
or creative music videos. Some of them are so sharp it's
incredible.”
The final agreement between the station and a pro
ducer is that the station receives a finished copy of the
program to air "We re desperate for programming.”
Child said.
In addition to the people who take classes and then use
the equipment. Child said University and I.ane Com
munity College students use the facilities. i>s|ms rially when
editing suites at the schools are full
Programs produced without the use of community cable
equipment can also he aired through agreement with
the station.
"You cam take completed tapes to the downtown offii e.
sign a « ablecast request and get it aired," she said.
The cable facilities are used by Sheldon High Sc hool
during the day to teach classes and by the c ommunity
channel in the evenings and on occasional weekends
Community cable television has a long history in
Kugene. and Chuck Aylworth said it may have been bet
ter in the "good old days."
In 19B0. two years after a committee was formed to
begin a public: ac cess i hannel. it was doc ided that a pub
lic access center would be built on 12lh Avenue, between
Lincoln and Lawrence streets
"We got together and with volunteer work and volun
teer effort, we got most of the work done." Aylworth said
The center opened in October l*)H:t, two weeks before
the Hull Center opened. Aylworth said
Aylworth suid the Kugene City Council tried to cut cable
ac cess funding in 19H8 but did not succeed
Instead, the community station was told too mm h mon
ey was being spent at the 12th Avenue location and had
to move from the facility built by volunteer labor five
years earlier to another studio next to Sheldon High
School.
"When we went on the air 10 years ago." Ay (worth said,
"we had two-channel capability, we had our own chan
nel six hours a night, five days a week, and we < mild
broadcast live."
"Now. we have loss than three hours a night. three days
a H wli. and our tinu> is often prt-ompted by government
cablecasting," ho said.
On-air time is not the only thing limiting the commu
nity access cable program, Avlworth said. He said TCI
Cables ision of Eugene In< , had given $75,000 to lie used
for equipment, but of that money, coinnnmity access i able
had only ret oived Sfl.000. the rest going to government
in i ess
While remote cameras were installed in government
coufervtnt e rooms, t aides were laid in puhlii buildings
and three editing suites wen> built, Avlworth said i orn
t minify act ess cable could only afford two i amor as
"I think it's appalling We should have had a third of
that money Our cameras are 10 years old. and the $8,000
we used last month was to pun huso two hottom-of the
line cameras The portable i amt orders the government
bought went for $15,000 each." he said.
' So, here we are." Avlworth said, "hard to find, with
poor act ess to the rest of the t ommunity and without our
live capability They ve tried to starve the plat e The t itv
of Eugene does not understand modem tot hnologv and
where the future is going "
And if Eugene re< ogni/.ed the importance ol i ommu
nity ai t ess t able. Avlworth said, things would he dif
ferent
"We'd have a i hannel of our own. we'd have a
sequencer for switching ta|ies. and we'd tie cablet asting
at least 18 hours a day." he said
"We would tie working with i oiimiunits organizations
and we would have diversity with Spanish language pro
gramming and mure programs from the Afrit an Ameri
can t ommunitv." Avlworth sun!
TAX
Continued from Page 1
effect, real estate values were reassessed.
While the tax rates ore going down, the
assessed values of homes are rising in the
state, leaving many to pay the same or
even more in property taxes.
Most of the tax savings in Measure 5
went to commercial property owners
While homeowners' rates declined, busi
ness' rates declined further, so although
your parents might pay the same amount
in taxes as before, businesses by and large
are paying less, creating a hidden revenue
shortfall.
Some people refer to articles claiming
that Oregon is a high fax state already.
Oregon does have a slightly above aver
age per-capita tax rate, but it's hardly
practical to compare the value of taxes
based solely on a comparison of the rates
themselves. A useful comparison would
tuke into account the differences in state
economies, and would compare the costs
with the benefits, Unfortunately, no one
has come up with a comprehensive way
to do all of that yet.
Oregon does churge minimal levels for
fees. For example there ore no toll roads,
nor is there a large vehicle registration
fee. Citizens for Tax Justice, a national
watchdog group, consistently ranks Ore
gon ns having one of the top-10 progres
sive state tax systems Nevertheless,
according to the polls, most Oregonians
are resistant to paying more taxes
Measure 5 received the most votes from
the Port land-metro area, where skyrock
eting property value assessments were
moiled out just days before the eltx turn It
was not the result of a hunch of angry
rednecks Because of this it has been
called tile "revolt of the haves" - as
opposed to one of the "have-nots "
Arguments over the message of Mea
sure 5 are rehashed with every new poll
To some it was a resounding blow against
big government. Others heard it us a cry
for a fairer tax system.
The political battle surrounding it.
however, has been in plain view. It has
tieen a game of hardball
Why hasn't this been resolved yet/ The
Republican leadership has consistently
refused to refer u replacement revenue
package to the voters. This luck of a reso
lution results in part from honest politi
cal differences, but in part, it has resulted
from a high-power game of political
chicken.
Oregon, with 9 percent more registered
Demur rats than Republicans, has had a
Democratically controlled legislature
since 1971. During the 1990 election, the
statu Domex ralii Party and its Speaker of
tfin House David Dix were plagued by an
ethics controversy
Although the Senate remained IXattoi
ralic territory, Dix lost Ins seat and the
Democrats lost their majority in the
House of Representatives It was a major
defeat to the Democrats
The 1990 election, in part, expressed a
dissatisfaction with the polii ms or prat
tices of the state's leading Democrats
With that leadership in dei line, the
Republicans found themselves with a
tremendous opportunity They hail little
need to cooperate with the Democrats
and had a great deal to gain by holding
replacement revenue hostage and
demanding the further "downsizing" and
deregulation of state government
Neither Republican nor Democratn leg
islators were really prepared to t oiuprii
mise or cooperate with each other at the
1991 Legislature They were not interest
ed enough in the business at hand
The other key development from the
1990 election was the three-way gover
nors' race. It gave us tiov. Harbaru
Roberts, elected with roughly 45 percent
of the vote, and the remaining 55 percent
was split among the two Republican can
didates.
Because of tier slim victory, she has lieen
seen .is heatable sim i' her lirsl day In
offi< c Hoc ause the Republic .ms art! not
afraid to say "no” to hur. ami liecause htir
"outsidtir" polite a! approac li has report
edIy loft ht*r with reduced leverage among
legislators. llii> Senate Democ rats do not
have tho momentum to ste.unroll ovnr tin'
Republic an opposition in tln< Minis«*
Koiierts t a Unit a spot nil legislative ses
sion to refer hur tax reform plan to tlm
voltirs following her Conversations With
Oregon Thu conversations wuru widely
suun as inoru of an on hestrated piti h for
a s.ilus tax than a surious dialogue Thwy
still wore, howovur, remarkably informa
tive and a groundbreaking experiment
with the town hall style that Hill Clinton
and Ross Perot have popularized.
At the special session. Roberts played
tough and lost big The session failed to
pass a ( ompromisit out to the voters The
battle was between Roberts and power
ful House Speaker Carry Campbell
Camptiell essentially demanded that the
governor bac k away from the split-roll
tax. but she refused to For that. ( jimpl>ell
killed her plan
Most political observers expec t that the
1993 Legislature will refer a tax reform
proposal to the voters in the fall Hut the
dramatic: c hanges in slate government are
far from over
1
Attention Students:
We are pleased to announce that we have recently signed
a contract with the University of Oreeon-to give fM
Moving Services at a Discount Date!
• Go Anywhere Service:
Local, Long distance and International
• Ask about our |y^ Drive Pro8ram
Moving and Storage
683-5453 • 1-800-327-4354
2380 W. Broadway
EARN EXTRA CASH!
The U of O Student Health Center is seeking already
CERTIFIED CPR INSTRUCTORS
to teach CPR and First Aid workshops.
• Applicants should be
U of O students
• Time commitment:
4-hour workshops
Contact Joanne Frank: 346-2728
at the Student Health Center.
Call by Fri., June 11, to make an appointment.
Hiring for 1993-1994 academic year!