Sports
Oregon wrestlers leave no doubt as they
defeat Portland in their season-ender.
PaqeQ
News
Student Senate hears a grievance
about American Sign Language.
Pap 3
Pylse
University performers prove opera
can be just as political as theater.
Pags 5
Thursday, February 21,2002
Since 1 900 University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Volume 103, Issue 101
Politics is for the Ducks
ni
mm
Danielle Hickey for the Emerald
The University mascot encourages Dan Vickery (left) and Lisa Appel (center) to vote in the ASUO primary election, which began Wednesday. Students
can vote for ASUO Executive, Student Senators and other student representatives on DuckWeb from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Friday.
EWEB considers another rate increase
■The utility may have to raise
residential rates modestly through
2004 to pay off debts incurred
during last year’s energy crisis
By Brook Reinhard
Oregon Daily Emerald
Students may see their electric bill go
up for the second time in six months.
Eugene Water and Electric Board
commissioners met Tuesday to dis
cuss increasing residential rates by
2.6 percent to bridge EWEB’s $40 mil
lion budget deficit. The board is ex
pected to reach a final decision at
their March 5 meeting. They will also
continue to examine pay cuts, pay
freezes and short term bonds as other
funding options. ^
EWEB implemented a 36 percent rate
increase in November 2001. The pro
posed increase would average $2.25 on
a monthly bill and be eliminated by the
end of 2004.
“It’s not something that would be
long-term,” board president Dorothy
Anderson said.
Energy consultant and former EWEB
board member Jeff Osanka said EWEB’s
talk of another rate increase is troubling.
“I think rate increases hit those least
able to pay, like students and seniors,”
he said. EWEB, like many other North
west utilities, is struggling to raise cash
Residential EWEB costs
EWEB is proposing a slight rate increase in March
SOURCE: Lance Robertson
90 r
I 80
| 70 h
^ 60
§
§ 50
E
| 40
§
^ 30
20
10
0
Before
November
After
November’s
36% increase
$88.25
With March’s
2.6% proposed
increase
Nick Olmstead Emerald
to pay off loans taken out during last
year’s energy crisis.
Energy deregulation and a severe
Northwest drought drained the local
utility’s coffers and left EWEB strug
gling to overcome a $40 million debt.
EWEB buys nearly 10 percent of its
power on the open market and was hurt
last year by energy brokers such as En
ron who sold power at prices as high as
$1,000 per megawatthour. The situation
worsened with last year’s drought be
cause EWEB generates most of its own
power through hydroelectricity.
Northwest Power Planning Council
spokesman John Harrison said the wa
ter shortage was also severe in the Co
lumbia River Basin, where the Bon
neville Power Administration provides
Turn to EWEB, page 3
Campus plans
for increases
in fines, fees
■Traffic fines, parking permits and course fees
are some of the items tagged to go up, and there
may even be a $5 fee for bicycle riders on campus
By Eric Martin
Oregon Daily Emerald
University administrators want to increase the fees and
fines students pay for hundreds of courses and services
in order to cover rising expenses, according to a notice is
sued Tuesday by the Secretary of State’s office.
Scores of fees and some fines would be introduced,
deleted or decreased if the proposal gamers approval. The
proposed fees and fines will offset increases in annual, ex
isting costs of University services, such as ink for laser
printers or repair of parking lots.
“It’s not a process used to compensate for declining rev
enue elsewhere,” associate vice president for resource
management Francis Dyke said — including decreasing
state revenues for higher education.
• Some of the fees directly add to the price of the class
because some courses require expensive materials or re
sources, which the University must purchase, senior vice
president and provost John Moseley said.
Turn to Fees,page 4
Safety lights wait
for consensus,
not for funding
■ Campus officials have $150,000 to spend on
improved lighting, but no decisions have been made
By Diane Huber
Oregon Daily Emerald
In spring 2001, the ASUO granted Facilities Services
$150,000 of the overrealized fund to try to improve safe
ty on campus by increasing outside lighting, but facili
ties isn’t just going to plop a new light wherever there’s
a dark area.
Instead, Facilities Services, the ASUO, the Office of
University Planning, the Office of Student Life and
the Department of Public Safety envision improving
lighting on “campus corridors” — highly traveled, des
ignated paths.
Student Life Associate Director Sheryl Eyster said in
the past, new lighting has been put up rather sporadically.
“Boom — a light goes here and a light goes there. But if
we put a light by Deady (Hall), for example, students
might be drawn to walk there because they think it’s safe,”
she said. “Rather, we should put a lot of lighting in desig
nated areas to keep traffic” there.
She said all the organizations involved want every de
cision to be well thought out. But right now, no concrete
decisions about where and when the money will be spent
have been made.
Another question that has arisen is whether adding
more lights conflicts with ASUO’s “Doin’ it in the Dark”
campaign to reduce energy costs and ultimately eliminate
the energy fee.
Electrical supervisor Bob Springer said because the new
lights will be more energy efficient, the additional costs
will probably be minimal. Operations manager Ron Bloom
said facilities is waiting for student input before deciding
Turn to Lighting, page 4