EISENBERG IN EUGENE
David Eisenberg believes that using tradi-
tional techniques and modern innovations may
repair some of the negative impacts of main-
stream construction. Eisenberg will visit
Eugene to share his
ideas on construc-
tion and ways
that designers,
builders and
local officials
can merge the
goals of safe
buildings with
sustainable
human activities.
A nationally known
expert on sustainable construction, Eisenberg
will speak 7 pm Friday May 9 at the EWEB
Training Room, 500 E. 4th Ave. The presenta-
tion is free and open to the public.
“We are very lucky to have a person of Mr.
Eisenberg’s stature in Eugene,” says Bruce
Sullivan, president of the Eugene Chapter of the
Northwest EcoBuilding Guild. “His ideas will
inform our discussion about construction and
development in a way that can help us move
forward.”
This presentation is a great opportunity to
hear from someone who makes technical infor-
mation understandable and the concept of sus-
tainability practical and tangible, according to
Keli Osborn, with the City of Eugene’s
Planning & Development Department. “Green
building can be another tool for us — designers,
contractors, homeowners, business people and
others — to build healthy, vibrant communities
together,” Osborn said.
Eisenberg has been active at the national
level to promote better acceptance of sustain-
able building practices within model building
codes, which serve as the basis for codes in
Oregon.
HOW DO WE HELP?
Men batter more than 132,000 Oregon
women a year. In 80 percent of cases, victims
don’t initially seek services designed to help
battered spouses. But they often do tell their
friends and family members. If someone comes
to you, how can you help? Sacred Heart is spon-
soring a free educational session to provide the
answer from 7-9 pm Tuesday, May 13 in the au-
ditorium at 13th and Hilyard. Margo Schaefer
of Womenspace will give the presentation. Call
485-8232 for information and 984-4245 to reg-
ister. — Alan Pittman
METRO FIRE
Should Eugene merge its fire department
with Springfield and area rural districts to
save money and increase safety?
Eugene appears to be moving away from
the idea. The city recently whithdrew from an
agreement to cooperate in ambulance billing
and FireMed memberships.
But Eugene Fire Chief Tom Tallon wrote to
the city council last month that he remains open
to merger ideas. “This does not mean that we
are unwilling in general to work in partnership
with Springfield or that there is some type of a
‘feud.’”
Tallon said many of the rural districts in the
metro area value their autonomy and would be
unlikely to support a merger. “I know of no
local jurisdiction other than Springfield that has
reached the conclusion that formation of a fire
district would be in the best interests of its con-
stituency.”
One big unresolved question would be
money. Eugene has a far larger and richer tax
base than Springfield and nearby rural areas.
Will Eugene taxes go to subsidize fire services
in Springfield and rural Lane County?
“I do not believe it would be wise for
Eugene or any other neighboring fire district to
respond in haste to suggestions” about a merger,
Tallon said. — AP
CPA Members will review last year’s events
and accomplishments and discuss this year’s
priorities. A new steering committee and offi-
cers will be elected. Alan Siporin and Kitty
Piercy will be guest speakers beginning about 8
pm. Siporin is expected to talk about Eugene’s
“unique culture”; Piercy will talk about reach-
ing consensus on a “healthy direction for
Eugene.” For more information, call Jan
Spencer at 686 6761.
The LandWatch meeting will include pre-
sentations by Robert Emmons, Lauri Segel and
Lane County Commissioner Tom Lininger. For
more information, call 741-3625.
CPA, LANDWATCH GATHER
AMERICAN PARITY
Local watchdog group Citizens for Public
Accountability (CPA) will hold its 7th annual
membership meeting from 7 to 9 pm
Wednesday, May 14 at the Eugene library’s
Bascom Room. LandWatch Lane County is
planning its annual meeting the same time, same
night at the EWEB Training Room, 500 E. 4th.
Both meetings are free and open to the public.
President George Bush wants to spend $1.7
billion to rebuild Iraq.
But local Congressman Peter DeFazio asks,
“Where’s the plan to rebuild America?”
“Forty-five million Americans have no
health insurance. Oregon has a $4 billion prob-
lem with crumbling bridges. We can’t afford to
fund an entire school year,” says DeFazio. To
TO PAY OR NOT TO PAY
The Hult Centers’ newest residency company, Willamette
Repertory Theatre, is under fire from local actor Bary Shaw for
not honoring a payment contract. Shaw, who had the leading role
of ethical lawyer Atticus in the Rep’s critically and most finan-
cially successful show, To Kill a Mockingbird, a play about social
justice, can’t understand why WRT is refusing to honor a signed
contract, which states that he would be paid by Feb. 21, 2003, the
end of the show’s run.
Kirk Boyd, WRT artistic director, says the theater company,
like many arts organizations locally and nationally, is currently
having some financial troubles because the depressed economy
has resulted in fewer grants being offered this year. It hopes to do
well enough with its upcoming production of The Complete
Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) to satisfy back debts.
During its short history, WRT has relied on box office receipts of
one show to pay debts incurred from the last.
But Shaw isn’t satisfied with that answer. He points to a letter
to cast members from the WRT board dated Feb. 27 that lists five
reasons WRT hadn’t yet paid the actors. Shaw points out that “all
of those reasons were known at the time of the signing of the con-
tract,” which makes him believe the contract was signed in bad
faith.
Boyd says that although there is a written, dated contract,
WRT had a “verbal understanding” with all of the actors going
into the show that they might have to wait for their money. He ad-
8 MAY 8, 2003
mits that including a date of payment on the contract was not a
wise decision. “We shouldn’t have done that,” he says.
Meanwhile, another letter to the cast from the board dated April
11 states that WRT has “made some changes” and that includes
not delineating a particular date of payment in the future.
Meanwhile, Mockingbird’s Equity (actors union) cast mem-
bers have already been paid. Boyd says he must pay those actors
“in order to continue our relationship with the union” and that
also, Equity demands that actors receive the majority of pay up
front, with the remaining compensation doled out during the
length of the contract.
The upcoming production of Complete Works employs three
actors, two of whom are Equity. That means those two actors
might receive the majority of their compensation for that show
before most of the Mockingbird cast members have been paid.
So far, the only non-Equity actors to have received any pay for
Mockingbird are those who have “asked for a payment plan,” says
Boyd, and Shaw was not one of those actors. Boyd says he called
Shaw after Shaw wrote a letter of complaint to the board, but
Shaw never returned his call. Shaw agrees Boyd called him to
“have a chat” but he didn’t respond.
“For a theater company that calls itself ‘professional,’ I don’t
believe they’re behaving professionally,” says Shaw.
“We’re not trying to hide anything or screw anybody,” says
Boyd, adding that he and the WRT board “are working on this on
a daily basis.”
According to WRT Board President Jonathan Brandt, ticket
help people here, DeFazio and Rep. Rahm
Emanuel (D-Ill.) last month introduced the
“American Parity Act,” a bill to match Bush’s
Iraq money with funding for health care, educa-
tion and infrastructure here at home. — AP
CORRECTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS
• In our “Raid Brings Lawsuit” story last
week, some information was incorrect. The
official complaint to the Eugene Police
Department was not just planned but actually
filed April 30 by the Whiteaker Community
Council. The impending lawsuit will be filed
on behalf of only the four victims of the police
raid last October. Also, a statement about the
incident attributed to the WCC was actually
from attorney Lauren Regan. For information
on the case and related neighborhood organiz-
ing visit WCC’s new website
www.whiteaker.us
• A quotation near the end of our cover story
on Latinos last week was missing a word. It
should have read, “It’s easier to criticize some-
body you know a little about.”
sales for Complete Works are going well and WRT is also await-
ing word on whether or not it will receive a grant from the Silva
Trust, which would pay the salaries of Equity actors for next sea-
son’s Moon for the Misbegotten. The company has also begun a
$500,000 capital campaign, for which $80,000 has already been
pledged. “There are so many things that are positive for us,” says
Brandt, “and we’re absolutely committed to paying actors and
raising the funds to do so.”
The Rep was formed in 1999 and touted as “Eugene’s only
professional theater company.” Boyd meant to employ a large
number of Equity actors to meet this claim and to raise the bar of
performance. After the first season, however, he determined that
not only were local, non-Equity actors cheaper, they were often
just as talented. Boyd also learned that local actors had box office
draw, bringing in family, friends and local fans.
Meanwhile, other area theaters, who employ the same non-
Equity actors hired by WRT, have also begun to pay, although on
a smaller scale. And although many local actors are willing to ap-
pear in plays around town without pay, some won’t perform un-
less they’re paid. Shaw, who has years of experience acting in
Eugene, says he wouldn’t have taken this role without compensa-
tion, as he invested hundreds of hours preparing, rehearsing and
performing, and used up 40 hours of his vacation time.
Brandt says he “feels bad we haven’t been able to pay people,”
and Boyd points out, that despite the delay, “The important thing
to remember is that everybody has always been paid, eventually.”
— Aria Seligmann