Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 11, 2003)
‘SUNSHINE’ DAVIS REMEMBERED Longtime Eugene resident and man- about-town Curtis “Sunshine” William Hubbard Davis died of a heart attack Aug. 31 at the age of 76. A celebration of his life will be at 4 pm Sunday, Sept. 14 at Peterson Barn Community Center in Eugene. He was well known at Saturday Market where he was friends with many of the ven- dors and regulars, and he also spent a lot of time on the UO campus, attending lectures and other activities open to the public. Davis lived in the neighborhood of 29th and High and often rode his bicycle around town. His hobbies included chess, photog- raphy, tinkering with cars and bikes, and his homemade “Universal Game of Cooperation,” a non-competitive game using handballs and paddles. His extended family in Junction City says he was a devoted friend, father and grandfather. Davis was born in Hooks, Texas, and lived in Texas, California, Massachusetts and the Oregon Coast before moving to Eugene in 1988. He co-owned and operated Sunshine Cleaners and Laundromat here from 1988 to 1993, when he retired. — TJT CREATIVE RESISTANCE BREWING IN CANCÚN CANCÚN — Thousands of people have arrived in Cancún, Mexico, to mobilize in opposition to the World Trade Organization (WTO), which will open its fifth ministerial meeting here on Wednesday, Sept 10. The anti-WTO activists in Cancún in- clude youth from Mexico and abroad, repre- sentatives from more than 100 non-govern- mental organizations, and farmers from across Latin America. They claim that the WTO’s policies benefit transnational corpo- rations while degrading labor rights, public health and the environment. Starhawk, a writer and veteran activist from the San Francisco Bay Area, has been • What’s on your kitchen table? That one- item election ballot buried among the bills and junk mail really needs to be punched and mailed this week. Measure 29 has gotten very little attention, and it’s not a very sexy topic. What’s it all about? Even with all the wrangling and hoopla over PERS “reform,” the state is still stuck with a $2.3 billion gap between what it has and what it will need to pay retired public em- ployees. This measure would allow the state to sell bonds to raise money to in- vest to pay off the debt. It makes good financial sense and deserves a “yes” vote. Why bother to vote in this election? Oregon has more than its fair share of anti-government types who think teachers are overpaid and state employees are all lazy bums, and will vote “no” just out of spite. in Cancún for several weeks assisting with the preparations for anti-WTO activists. “We believe that if there’s enough oppo- sition on the street, if we can basically cause enough disturbance to delay the meetings, that that’s going to have an impact that will be amplified and rever- berate inside the WTO,” she said, “and that this ministerial will fail. And if this ministerial fails, that’s a huge blow to the whole system of corporate globalization.” The opposition events will come in many forms, from forums and teach-ins to marches and direct actions against the ministerial. A group of students from Mexico City is mak- ing giant puppets of Mayan deities, claiming that the gods are angry about destructive WTO policies. Other activists are demon- strating naked on the beach, spelling out “No WTO” with their bodies. Last weekend, environmental organiza- tions and government representatives from around the world met at the Global Biodiversity Forum to discuss the effects of free trade on biological diversity, commu- nity sustainability, and intellectual property rights. This week’s planned activities in- clude a peasants’ forum, a women’s forum, a farmers’ solidarity march, and a sustain- able trade symposium. On Sunday night, a Big Noise Productions showed an emotionally evoca- tive film entitled The Fourth World War at a public park in downtown Cancún. More than 500 people attended the showing, many of them locals. The film centered on popular re- sistance movements worldwide, tying to- gether recent civil mobilizations from around the world. At the film’s conclusion, a band from Seattle called the Infernal Noise Brigade marched around the plaza in silver and orange costumes, playing rhythmic music and singing. Afterward, a group of in- digenous people from Chiapas known as Nuestra Voz talked about their long history of broken promises from the government. Though local media in Cancún have primed the population for violent protests, many residents support the anti-WTO ac- tivists. “I respect their ideas,” said Mario Hernández, owner of Mario’s Bar in down- town Cancún. “I can understand that they are struggling for the benefit of a lot of peo- ple and that’s something that we can not do • The City Council is eyeing zoning issues that will affect where McKenzie- Willamette/Triad builds its new hospital. A hearing was held Sept. 8 and the public record will remain open until Sept. 15. The best place for a new hospital is down- town, or nearby, and certainly west and south of the Willamette River. Let’s build it where infrastructure already exists and where it is easily accessible in an emergency or disaster. We don’t want both our major hospitals on the same side of the river. Send comments to steven.a.nystrom@ci.eugene.or.us or mail Eugene Planning & Development, 99 W. 10th, Eugene 97401. • We hear the state LCDC is planning a meeting in Ontario Sept. 18-19 to talk about “taking care of” the problems associated with gravel mine denials and legislation limiting gravel mine locations. State plan- often. So at least I will respect them and support them as much as I can.” — Kera Abraham 9/11 ANNIVERSARY BRINGS LOCAL EVENTS Several events are happening in Eugene on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. An interfaith service sponsored by Two Rivers Interfaith Ministries will begin at 7 pm at First Christian Church, 12th and Oak, in Eugene (see coverstory this week). And activists with the Justice Not War Coalition are gathering for a film series at 7 pm in Willamette 100 at the UO campus. Prior to these gatherings will be a 5:30 pm rally at the Federal Building downtown for music, poetry and some “facilitated community drumming” with Jill Sager. “Our intention with this (5:30) event is to create a forum for our diverse community members to express whatever they need to with signs, banners, fliers, etc,” says a state- ment from Justice Not War. “Mostly, we’ll let the poets and musicians speak for us; we’ve heard a lot of speeches over the last ners have been in bed with the gravel in- dustry for decades so we need to pay close attention to administrative rule changes that are contrary to the public interest. • Bobbie Burns was right in that “the best laid schemes o’mice an’ men, gang aft a- gley,” but some of the worst laid schemes somehow stay on track. The West Eugene Parkway keeps wiggling its way through elections, transportation planning, LUBA and back again. Some huge planning and environmental issues remain, but will these issues be debated and resolved be- hind closed doors based on “new” and tweaked data? It wouldn’t be the first time. Meanwhile, the R-G is still calling the WEP an $88 million project, but the final cost is expected to be much higher. ODOT’s mum on their latest estimates, but word on the street has the WEP’s price tag pushing $150 million. two years, and we’d like to use this occasion to engage a different way of communicat- ing.” For more information on the early event, e-mail jnotwar@efn.org or call 343-8548. The film series includes Aftermath: Unanswered Questions from 9-11, by Guerilla News Network, with nine experts addressing 11 key areas of inquiry, includ- ing the Bush administration’s prior knowl- edge of the attacks, the failure of the mili- tary to follow well-established response procedures, connections and the impact of the USA PATRIOT and Homeland Security acts on our civil liberties. Another film to be shown is The Great Deception by Vision TV of Canada, a na- tional non-profit television station. The film is the creation of Barrie Zwicker, a com- mentator, journalist and teacher. BUSTED MUSICIANS NEED LEGAL FUNDS An August paramilitary police raid in Cheshire has left a popular area band with mounting legal bills and the possible confis- • So here we are on the anniversary of 9/11 and Bush wants another $87 billion to fight “terrorism” and “build democracy” in Iraq. We spend billions blowing up Iraq and Iraqis, and now we spend billions more repairing the damage, fighting an urban guerrilla war and building security systems while civil war looms. We need the U.N. to help us get out of this mess, but who can blame other nations for not wanting to rescue us from our idiotic and arrogant blundering? Meanwhile, Bush’s pride carries a big price. Critics of the pro- posal say $87 billion would cover health care for a year for every uninsured person in the U.S. SLANT includes short opinion pieces, observations and rumor-chasing notes compiled by the EW staff. Heard any good rumors lately? Contact Ted Taylor at 484-0519, editor@eugeneweekly.com SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 9
