Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 2000)
cheos jazz clu6 jAKG SVCNDSGN TRIO IHMHHMM—9BEBIII JCFF LAPALCDC QUARTGT Featuring Don't miss our i // Doors open at 8pm Serving Fine coffees and desserts All Ages Welcome! Featuring FULL CITY COFFEE 8. ESPRESSO ♦ RELAXING ATMOSPHERE ♦ STUDY/CONFERENCE ROOM ♦ PATIO SEATING M-F 6am-10pm Sat 9am-10pm Sun 9am-2pm HOURS: LA 226 W. Broadway (Tel.344-6491) 150 W. Broadway •On the Downtown Mall• > Gk/eMeB*! Run your for sale item in the ODE classifiedsfor five days (items under $1,000) ... if you don't sell it, we'll run it more days for free! Voter info available online ■ Lengthy voters pamphlet is placed on the Web in hopes of increasing accessibility and voter participation By Andrew Adams Oregon Daily Emerald To help Oregon residents get a head start on reading this year’s general election voter’s pamphlet, which will surpass many Oregon phone books in size, the secretary of state’s office posted all the mate rial on the Internet this week. Hard copies of the pam phlet are due to be mailed Oct. ll, and the secretary of state’s office hopes the early Internet release will give vot ers more time to study election is sues. Only information on the state measures is available at the site right now, but the office plans to add the candidate information when the print copy of the voter’s guide is released on Oct. 18. The pamphlet, at www.ore gonvotes.com, will spare voters the task of thumbing through the 376 page printed voter’s pamphlet, to be mailed out on Oct. 11, said Pad dy McGuire, chief of staff for the secretary of state’s office. “It’s about as long as the Eugene Springfield white pages, and it’s the first voter’s pamphlet to be bound like a phone book,” he said. McGuire said the pamphlet was placed online because of its size and to inform voters living outside the state. “On the very first day the site was up, we received an e-mail from an Oregonian living in Scot land who found a problem with one of the site’s links,” McGuire said. “That’s pretty instantaneous results that folks all over the globe are using it.” McGuire added that the problem was quickly solved. Every registered voter will still be receiving a copy of the voter’s guide, so there won’t be any re duced cost from posting the pam phlet on the Internet. But McGuire said the secretary of state’s office received non-profit bulk rate postage from the post office and will save money through that re duced rate. He said the state saved approximately $700,000 through the rate, which reduced mailing costs from $1.2 million to about $450,000. Annette Newingham, Lane County elections manager, said the information online will help voters understand the issues, but couldn’t say whether or not that will im prove voter turnout. “I’m not really sure if that’s go ing to be a factor,” she said. Information on the two Lane County bond measures — 20-38 and 20-39 for a forest work camp for minor offenders and jail im provements — is available at the Lane County Web site: www.co.lane.or.us. Brian Tanner, the state affairs co ordinator for the ASUO, said the Web site should help students find voter information. He added that the ASUO will be putting together its own guide about measures that will have a direct effect on higher education: as for other state meas ures, the Web site would be a bet ter source than the bulky pam phlet. “I don’t think any student in their right mind with all the other reading they have to do anyway would look through [the voter’s pamphlet],” he said. Citizen input needed for TransPlan ■ City planners are requesting information from Eugene residents regarding their uses of automobiles, as well as alternative transit methods for an area transportation plan Welcome back ! Ullr Sport Shop Performance Matters! Saturday & Sunday ONLY ! COOImnm gear - HOTsummer savings 207 Coburg Road 687 - ULLR Student Season Pass* I pass I Sale Starts Saturday * (Limited tijg| offer) By Erin Zysett For the Emerald Community members have the opportunity, through Oct. 6, to tell city planners exactly what stan dards should be used to measure TransPlan’s effectiveness in reduc ing dependency on automobiles. TransPlan is the city’s 20-year public transportation plan, which has been in the development stage for seven years. The standards TransPlan officials adopt will gauge the city’s success in reduc ing the use of single-occupancy vehicles and promoting alternative transportation, such as buses, bi cycles and carpools. The state has another standard — miles traveled in cars per capita — but the TransPlan standards will be more complex. The stan dards include the increased per centages per capita of non-auto mobile trips, households with access to rapid bus transit systems, miles of rapid transit bus routes, acres of bike paths, and develop ment in densely populated com munities. “What we are asking the public is whether or not they think these standards go far enough and whether they feel the measures are realistic,” said Lee Shoemaker, a senior project member for Trans Plan. “The state has a regulation that we reduce vehicle miles trav eled by five percent. We believe that this plan will keep vehicle miles traveled flat, while increas ing the availability of alternative forms of transportation.” In order for TransPlan’s alterna tive measures to be affirmed, state and local officials must approve them. “The state is certainly going to hold our feet over the fire to make sure we are tracking our progress,” said Peter Watt, a TransPlan com mittee member. “My feeling is that we’ve done a good job of coming up with alternative measures, and the state will see that we have made a sincere effort to come up with alternative ways to track progress. I think the measures will pass.” 4 C What we are asking the public is whether or not they think these stan dards go far enough and whether they feel the measures are realistic. Lee Shoemaker Senior project member TransPlan According to Watt and Shoe maker, there hasn’t been much public response to the measures. People have shown more interest in TransPlan itself than in how the city will track its effectiveness, they said. “I think that these measures seem pretty effective because it looks at other ways of getting around — not just one thing,” said University student Alicia Loren zetti. “Also, checking to see how many cars are left at home because people have another way; basical ly seeing how many people don’t have another way to get around.” Comments on the alternative plan performance measures must be submitted in writing. For more information call Shoemaker at 682-4355 or e-mail him at Ishoemaker@lane.cog.or.us. \ Raw Talent The Oregon Daily Emerald is always looking for young writers who want to learn and grow at a real newspaper For information on how to freelance for the Oregbrt Daily' Emerald call346-5511.
