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Today Tuesday Wednesday
High: 49 High: 50 High: 52
Low: 28 Low: 32 Low: 36
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IN BRIEF
City Council to consider
new scooter pathway laws
The Eugene City Council will con
sider an ordinance tonight restricting
the use of motor-assisted scooters on
park paths and requiring stores to
post laws concerning the vehicles.
A motor-assisted scooter is a ve
hicle operated with three wheels or
less that has handlebars, a seat or
foot support and a power source in
capable of propelling the vehicle at
speeds of more than 24 m.p.h.
on level ground, according to
the ordinance.
Complaints from pedestrians and
bicyclists about the noise level and
use of motor-assisted scooters on
bike paths prompted the city to look
at its laws, said Eugene police Sgt.
Derel Schulz.
“When these things first started
off, they were pretty (non-invasive),”
said Schulz, who supervises the de
partment’s traffic enforcement unit.
“Now you have these things that can
look almost like motorcycles.”
The law would prohibit motor-as
sisted scooters from all off-road paths
and would require scooter retailers to
post the laws governing motor-assist
ed scooters “in a prominent place,”
according to the ordinance.
Existing city laws require motor
ized vehicles be kept off park bike
paths, but don’t account for some
sections of pathways, including the
path between Alton Baker Park and
Valley River Center, Schulz said.
Existing state laws also require
users of motor-assisted vehicles to
I
wear helmets, to not ride on side
walks, not go faster than 15 m.p.h.
and not travel on roads with speed
limits of more than 25 m.p.h. unless
they have bike lanes, Schulz said.
Citations for breaking motor-assist
ed scooter laws are generally $94,
with a few fines of $25 and about
$80, Schulz said.
He said the ordinance would fill in
gaps in state and city laws. He didn’t
believe it would affect many people
in the Eugene area.
“Some people who use these de
vices as a means of commuting are
now going to be more limited in
terms of where they operate them,”
Schulz said.
The council will discuss the ordi
nance at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the Eu
gene City Council Chamber at
777 Pearl St.
— Kara Hansen
Police: Oregon man used
Internet to solicit suicide
PORTLAND — A man who used
an Internet chat room to try to set up
a mass suicide on Valentine’s Day
had been trying to persuade women
for at least five years to engage in sex
acts with him and then kill them
selves, a sheriff said Sunday.
Gerald Krein faces charges of solic
itation to commit murder, but prose
cutors are expected to increase the
charge to attempted manslaughter
Monday, said Klamath County Sher
iff Tim Evinger.
Combing through old chat-room
records, investigators discovered
that Krein had been enticing women
across North America to commit
suicide as far back as 2000, Evinger
said. Krein told investigators he
elicited more than two dozen sui
cide pledges for the Valentine’s Day
plot, authorities said.
“The common theme is that these
were women who were vulnerable,
who were depressed. He invited
them to engage in certain sexual acts
with him — and then they were to
hang themselves naked from a beam
in his house,” Evinger said. “He was
indicating in these chat groups to
these women that he had a beam and
that it would hold multiple people. ”
No deaths had been found that
were linked to Krein, Evinger said,
but he said he would not be surprised
if someone had killed herself as a re
sult of Krein’s alleged activities.
Shiites and Kurds big
winners in Iraq's election
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Clergy-backed
Shiites and independence-minded
Kurds swept to victory in Iraq’s land
mark elections, forcing Sunni Arabs
to the margins for the first time in
modern history, according to final re
sults released Sunday.
But the Shiites’ 48 percent of the
vote is far short of the two-thirds ma
jority needed to control the 275-mem
ber National Assembly. The results
threw immediate focus on Iraqi lead
ers’ backdoor deal-making to create a
new coalition government — possibly
in an alliance with the Kurds — and on
efforts to lure Sunnis into the fold and
away from a bloody insurgency.
Interim Prime Minister Ayad
Allawi, the secular Shiite chosen by
the United States to lead this country
for the last eight turbulent months,
fared poorly — his ticket finished a
distant third behind the religious
Shiites and Kurds.
Blair appeals to voters
for third term in office
GATESHEAD, England — Prime
Minister Tony Blair, whose popularity
crashed in the wake of the Iraq war,
sought Sunday to reconnect with the
British public and appealed to voters
for a third term in office.
In a soul-searching speech to
Labour Party loyalists, Blair ac
knowledged that the war had
strained his relationship with the
party and the country.
“And now you, the British people,
have to sit down and decide whether
you want this relationship to contin
ue,” Blair said.
The Associated Press
Enter the FREE Valentine’s Day
Raffle at the UO Bookstore.
Entries collected February 14
at 3 p.m.
One lucky winner will receive:
■ Dinner for two at Marche Restaurant
■ A one-hour rental for two at Onsen Hot Tubs & Spas
■ Two tickets to Bijou Art Cinemas
Winner announced on Monday, February 14 at 5 p.m.
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
BOOKSTORE
www.uobookstore.com
021473
- Chief judge Mary M. Schroeder -
“Whatever Happened to Diversity?"
Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2005
Room 175,
Knight Law Center
5:00 pm
Free and Open to the Public
Sponsored by Women’s Law Forum
3atry
^ell*
Fhvio
The
Captains
of Team
Qalznos
13th and Alder
(inside Starbucks)
Let us cater
your next event!
(541) 338-7098
Fred was near panic. Every year
it was like this on Valentine's Day.
He knew his future depended on making
the right choice of a Valentine1s
gift for Jessie, his long-suffering
wife, but it was always a challenge.
Clothes never worked. Either you buy
them too small and they don't fit, or
too large, and you get that dirty
look, you know the one.
Jewelry hadn't worked, either.
Jess told him that the earrings he
got looked like exercise equipment.
Oddly enough, it was a fortune
cookie that saved his day. His had
said "The path to true fulfillment
will lead you to euphoria." "That's
it," he cried, and out the door he
ran.
The people at Euphoria were
great. They steered him to a beauti
ful heart-shaped box, filled with
Euphoria's Oregon Wine Truffles. He
also picked up a few loose hearts for
sprinkling around the house, as a
little hint of what was to come. His
day (and tail) saved, Fed moved on
the planning the perfect place to
dine for maximum effect, with m-in-imim
sweat. He vowed never to shop any
where else.
Create/your own/memorC&y...
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