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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 2005)
The return of kickball I 5 An independent newspaper at the University of Oregon www. dailyemerald. com Since 1900 \ Volume 107, Issue 013 | Tuesday, August 2, 2005 Task force takes on sustainability Tim Bobosky | Photo editor Mike Russo, professor and department head in the University's Lundquist College of Business, talked about the need for well-planned economic structure and strategy at the Sustainable Economic Development Task Force meeting held at the Eugene Public Library on Thursday afternoon. The group is part of an initiative to improve the economy while protecting natural resources BY NICHOLAS WILBUR NEWS REPORTER A 2004 community survey con ducted by the City of Eugene found that the most important problem facing Eugene was eco nomic development. The latest economic indicators index is at its lowest mark since October 2004. In response to these statistics, Mayor Kitty Piercy has recently created a new, 16-member task force under the Sustainable Busi ness Initiative to help expand and develop business and job opportu nities by soliciting ideas from local businesses, the public and sustain ability experts. “We’re here to take the step to make Eugene a more sustainable place,” Piercy said about the new Sustainable Economic Development Task Force. “I had developed a five-point economic plan when I was run ning for mayor and the SBI is ful filling my commitment. As I talked to people, knocked on doors and got the results of sever al surveys, it was apparent to me that across the political spectrum, members of our community want to protect our natural resources and have a strong economy that provides good jobs and benefits. I thought we should leverage what we have to build our eco nomic base and to invest in our future,” Piercy wrote in an e-mail. The new task force, which is based on this five-point initia tive, will work to establish a TASKFORCE, page8 Response forcivil rights Supporters gathered to react to the fall of SB 1000 and an ad that argued against the bill BYGABE BRADLEY NEWS EDITOR About 70 people gathered at Alton Baker park on Thursday to protest the demise of Senate Bill 1000 and respond to an advertisement by the De fense of Marriage Coalition, “These people are here to support civil unions or civil rights,” event organizer Hallie Edwards said. Edwards said the primary impetus for the event was a half-page advertisement that the De fense of Marriage Coalition placed in the City/Re gion section of The Register-Guard on July 26. The ad argues against Senate Bill 1000, which would have made provisions in Oregon law al lowing civil unions for same-sex couples. “I felt it was attacking me,” Edwards said. “It had a little family: the mom, the dad, the two kids.” Tim Bobosky | Photo editor Dan McGuire of Eugene takes a picture of supporters of Senate Bill 1000, a bill that was killed in the Oregon House, in Alton Baker Park on Thursday afternoon. Edwards said the display of a nuclear family was an unrealistic portrayal of many American families. In order to respond, Edwards decided to gather supporters of SB 1000 together to take a picture and raise money for a response ad. “I sent out some e-mails. Some other people sent out some e-mails. And here we are,” she said. Edwards said she was impressed by the turnout. She didn’t have any previous event-organizing experience. “It never even occurred to me that I could,” Ed wards said. “I keep to myself, and I’ve kept to myself for too long.” At the event, supporters were collecting do nations in order to place the photograph in the Register-Guard as an advertisement. An RESPONSE, page 4 Tim Bobosky | Photo editor Robin Hostick from the Eugene Parks Department rep resents the city at the West University Neighbors meet ing at the Glenwood Restaurant on Thursday night. Neighbors board aims to open park near campus EPD Officer Randy Ellis shared his concern that the park would become a haven for crime because of lack of visibility and lighting BY NICHOLAS WILBUR NEWS REPORTER The West University Neighbors meeting at the Glenwood Restaurant on 13th Avenue and Alder Street on Thursday continued the debate about reopening West University Neighborhood Park. Eugene Police Officer Randy Ellis told the board and other neighbors at the start of the meeting that their chances of convincing the city to reopen the park are slim considering the criminal reputation that closed the park down about 10 years ago. The poor visibility of the “pocket park,” with no lighting and two escape routes for potential criminals, made West University Neighborhood Park a haven for residential transients, Ellis said. “We had people camping, drug dealing and Dumpster diving ... these are the same issues the park still will face; I have to tell you,” Ellis said, “I’ll bet a month’s pay that the same is sues will confront the park again.” University student and WUN Board mem ber Craig Laupheimer argued that the positive community effort that is going into this en deavor far outweighs the negative. “To have the potential for positivity you must realize the dark side. But it’s important to realize also the positive things that do come from parks,” Laupheimer said, PARK page 3 Classified workers, OUS reach agreement If passed, the new agreement will put an end to the two-year freeze on service employees' salaries BY NICHOLAS WILBUR NEWS REPORTER After almost six months at the bargaining table with Oregon University System manage ment, the Service Employees International Union reached an agreement on salary increas es and benefits coverage. SEIU members will now be sent ballots to vote on the tentative agreement. The classified workers at the University and throughout Oregon are the administration as sistants, custodians, food service and mainte nance workers, public safety officers, depart ment staffers, filers, secretaries, people in charge of class scheduling and other behind the-scene jobs at the University. An SEIU ban ner at a rally in early July read, “The University Works Because We Do.” “This is a fair settlement with significant compensation and benefits increases that rec ognizes die integral support role that classified SEIU, page 4 COURTESY IN BRIEF Eugene police search for campus criminal The Eugene Police Department contin ues to search for a man who pulled a gun during an attempted robbery in Klamath Hall on July 25. The 5-foot-10-inch white male in his late 20s was confronted by a University staff member when he was trying to steal a laptop computer. The man fled the scene and has yet to be captured. Tom Hicks, director of the University’s De partment of Public Safety, said DPS will con tinue to aid EPD in any way possible. EPD has provided a sketch of the man based on witness descriptions. Anyone with information relating to this incident is asked to call EPD at 682-5111. — Gabe Bradley