Oregon daily emerald., January 11, 2001, Image 1

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Thursday
January 11,2001
Volume 102, Issue 71
Weather
today
RAIN LIKELY
high 45, low 30
Frohnmayer advises of planned tuition hike
The University
President
deems Gov.
Kitzhaber’s
proposed
higher
education
budget ‘not
satisfactory’
By Andrew Adams
Oregon Daily Emerald
University President Dave Frohnmayer came before the
University Senate on Wednesday afternoon to discuss Gov.
John Kitzhaber’s proposed higher education budget.
The budget proposal recommends $94.3 million less than
what the Oregon University System requested for the 2001
2003 funding biennium and has left many administrators
and educators worried the state’s universities will be left
scrambling to cover holes in their programs.
Senate President and English Professor James Earl intro
duced Frohnmayer by saying reports of the budget situation
have left an atmosphere of “upcoming crisis” hanging over
the University.
Frohnmayer began his speech by saying painting an accu
rate picture of the budget at this early stage is like “nailing
Turn to Budget, page 6A
Adam Amato Emerald
The old and the young walk away from the closing McDonald Theatre as cinema employee Brent Simon sweeps the
sidewalk in front of the doomed long-time city landmark.
Last of the old-time theaters
■ The McDonald Theatre, an historic
landmark, ends its 75-year run
with a final showing of ‘Cast Away’
By Darren Freeman
Oregon Daily Emerald
For the final time, Regal Cinemas employees
will tonight pour corn kernels into McDonald
Theatre’s glass popcorn popper, set nachos in
the three-tiered heating tray and project a film
on the wide screen.
Regal Cinemas, which has recently experi
enced financial troubles, has cut the theater
loose. The last movie showing will be tonight at
9:55 p.m.; the last film: Cast Away.
Since the closure was announced earlier this
week, the theater has experienced a boom in
business, according to theater General Manager
Elizabeth Becker.
“It’s amazing how many people are upset this
isn’t going to be a theater anymore,” she said.
It is still uncertain if Eugene’s most ornate the
ater will find its way back into business, though
there is already one prospect.
Ray Sewell, owner of the nearby Chez Ray’s
restaurant, said he is considering leasing the
theater and turning it into a venue for live per
formances. Sewell said he plans to decide with
in 60 days whether to make the investment.
“We’re exploring using it for live performanc
es, concerts, plays and vaudevilles,” he said.
Sewell said the 900-seat theater would fill a
much-needed niche in Eugene for a medium
sized venue, one that could attract acts that
couldn’t fill the Hult Center but are too popular
for the city’s smaller stages.
“We could get what’s left of the Grateful Dead,
or B.B. King-type performers or Robert Cray,” he
said.
Sewell said he foresees using the theater in
conjunction with his own cafe and stage, as well
as with a blues club he’s considering opening on
the block.
Turn to McDonald, page 5A
Laura Smit Emerald
During Wednesday’s University Senate meeting at Willamette Hall, President Frohnmayer explains what a funding
model looks like for both the University of Oregon and the state as a whole.
City, UO to join forces
on downtown renewal
■The Eugene mayor’s state-of-the-city speech em
phasized creation of new jobs and revitalization of
the city’s core
By Darren Freeman
Oregon Daily Emerald
Mayor Jim Torrey said today in his fifth state-of-the-city
address that the city will work with the University on de
veloping an economic strategy to bring quality jobs to Eu
gene, revitalize the downtown mall and help struggling
businesses.
The announcement came just days after the Symantec
Corp. downtown customer service center declared it will
move its operation and 550 employees into Springfield,
and just less than a week after the Eu
gene Water and Electric Board decided
to hike electric rates.
Both events could hurt Eugene busi
nesses and set back the city’s efforts to
promote a thriving downtown busi
ness area.
“Our region needs a new economic strategy to replace
the jobs we will be losing,” Torrey said during his speech
Wednesday afternoon before a crowd of more than 300 peo
ple in the Eugene Hilton.
“The University of Oregon and its president have agreed
to work together with us on this,” he said. “We’re fortunate
to have this facility in our community, and we’re going to
call on them to help develop a new strategy.”
Dan Williams, vice president for University administra
tion, said the partnership will not likely be a formal one, but
will signify increased cooperation between University re
searchers and the city.
“It’s been an ongoing relationship between the Universi
ty and the city, but this is a more pressing issue to the may
or,” Williams said. “Exactly what form it takes is still un
known.”
Torrey described downtown Eugene as a connect-the
dots drawing, with the dots being successful but isolated
business areas that must be connected to each other to cre
ate a unified, prosperous downtown.
“We have these independent, successful areas that need
to be connected, and we don’t have a lot of time to do this,”
he said. “We need to do this now.”
He repeated his call to reopen West Broadway Avenue
to traffic, reiterated his desire to attract the new federal
courthouse to Eugene, supported a Lane Transit District
plan to build shuttle routes from outlying areas into down
town and suggested the city aggressively move to attract
businesses to occupy the 162,230-square-foot building
Symantec will vacate early next year.
Other goals include completing the city’s embattled
Tu rn to State of City, page 6A
Inside
TheEPD’s week
end party patrol
calls it quits after
three years. PAGE
3A
^ We have
these inde
pendent,
successful
areas that
need to be
connected
and we
don't have
a lot of time
to do this.
Jim Torrey
Eugene
mayor / /