PEPPER BALLS NOW
IN POLICE ARSENAL
Eugene police have bought a new weapon
to use against protesters. The pepper ball gun
shoots volleys of paint-ball like spheres that
hit victims at 380 ft. per second and explode
in a cloud of concentrated pepper powder.
Police use of the weapon has been contro-
versial in other cities, according to news re-
ports. Protesters against a President George
Bush fund-raiser in Portland last year com-
plained that Portland police opened fire on
them with the weapons without provocation.
At Wesleyan College in Connecticut, stu-
dents complained after police attacked a
peaceful street gathering by firing pepper
guns.
In the past, Eugene police have been zeal-
ous in their use of pepper spray, emptying can
after can of the searing chemical on peaceful
tree sitters protesting the cutting of stately
trees downtown in 1997. The City Council
recently passed a controversial new ordi-
nance banning unpermitted gatherings of 25
or more downtown, providing the police yet
more opportunities to use their pain compli-
ance weapons. — Alan Pittman
PEOPLE OFFER DIFFERENT
TAKE ON STATE OF CITY
In response to Mayor Torrey’s annual
State of the City Address Jan. 7, local pro-
gressive groups are joining forces once again
for the Third Annual Citizens’ State of the
City Address from noon to 1:30 pm Monday,
Jan. 12 at Harris Hall at 8th and Oak.
The event, organized by Citizens for
Public Accountability and Friends of Eugene,
is billed as “the people’s companion” to the
mayor’s perspectives, and will include sev-
eral speakers:
Cara Stevensen will speak on creating
networks, empowerment and community at
the neighborhood level. Gary Gillespie will
speak for the Eugene Springfield Solidarity
Network on jobs, justice and the local econ-
omy. Lauri Segel of 1000 Friends of Oregon
will speak on key Eugene land use issues. A
speaker from Community Alliance of Lane
County (CALC) will talk on human rights is-
sues affecting transgender people and immi-
grants. And Becky Reilly will speak on the
environment and public health.
The mayor’s State of the City Address
Jan. 7 will be recorded by Metro Television
for broadcast at 9 am and 4:30 pm Jan. 8; 9
and 10:30 am Jan. 9; and 10:30 am and 12:30
and 3 pm Jan. 10 on Comcast Channel 21.
SCIENTISTS TALK ABOUT
POST-INFERNO LOGGING
Two leading scientists with very different
perspectives will be discussing in a public
forum one of the most controversial topics in
public land management today — the log-
ging of burned-over forest lands..
The free dialog with John Sessions and
Bob Beschta will be held at 7 pm Jan. 13 in
Harris Hall at 8th and Oak.
Jan. 20 is the deadline for public comment
on the most ambitious post-fire logging pro-
ject in modern history slated for the Siskiyou
Wild Rivers area.
The Forest Service used Beschta’s recom-
mendations to develop one logging alterna-
tive that would log 105 million board feet
(21,000 log truck loads) and a report authored
by Sessions to develop another alternative
that would cut nearly 10 times as much (1.02
billion board feet or 204,000 log truck loads).
For more information, call the Cascadia
Wildlands Project at 434-1463.
GEOGRAPHER TO LECTURE
ON GLOBALIZATION
Neil Smith, geogra-
pher, anthropologist
and current holder
of the Wayne
Morse Chair of
Law and Politics
for 2003-04, will
speak on “Lost
Geographies
and
Failed Globalizations:
From Versailles to Iraq.” The free public talk
will be at 7:30 pm Thursday, Jan. 15 at the
Hilton downtown.
Smith is a distinguished professor of an-
thropology and geography at the City
RiverBend Can’t Snarl Traffic
LUBA decision could cost PeaceHealth millions.
PeaceHealth may have to pay millions of dollars more to improve roads to build its
huge new hospital complex on the banks of the McKenzie River, according to a decision
Jan. 5 by the state Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA).
PeaceHealth has argued that it doesn’t need to pay for most new road infrastructure
to serve its hospital because congestion would be at acceptable levels by 2018, when
Springfield planned to build new roads to serve the area.
But critics charged that would leave people struggling with traffic snarl for more
than a decade and said the hospital was legally required to address traffic concerns now.
“Real compliance would require almost $100 million in new roads on or before the date
the hospital and associated commercial facilities become operational,” Jan Wilson of
CHOICES commented on the RiverBend proposal.
Opponents, including CHOICES, 1000 Friends of Oregon, Lane County and Robin and
Jon Jaqua, appealed the city of Springfield’s approval of land use changes to accom-
modate the hospital to LUBA and the appeals board agreed that PeaceHealth’s traffic
impacts must be addressed before 2018. LUBA cited previous decisions and court cases
that waiting a decade or more could make state regulations requiring traffic mitigation
for such major projects “meaningless.”
“To conclude that OAR 660-012-0060 is unconcerned with such potentially lengthy
periods of failure seems inconsistent with the rule’s prime directive: to assure that al-
lowed uses are consistent with the function, capacity, etc. of transportation facilities,”
the LUBA opinion stated.
LUBA noted that given financial and other constraints, it is “something of a polite fic-
tion” to assume that all the city’s planned road improvements for the Gateway area will
in fact be constructed by 2018. Therefore, area roads may be failing with congestion
8 JANUARY 8, 2004
University of New York Graduate Center. He
also serves as director of the Center for Place,
Culture and Politics, an interdisciplinary
center providing an forum for the examina-
tion of a wide range of vital contemporary is-
sues.
Along with public lecture on Jan. 15,
Smith is teaching a geography course and
leading a roundtable for activists on Jan. 22.
“In the early 21st century we are living
through a new and dangerous American im-
perialism that Americans have the responsi-
bility to challenge,” Smith says. During his
visit, he will explore “the origins of this new
empire over the last century and especially
highlight the largely unacknowledged politi-
cal geography of its creation.”
For more information, call 346-3700 or
visit www.morsechair.uoregon.edu
TOP SLOGANS PICKED
Purely subjective judging has been com-
pleted in EW’s Eugene Slogan Contest (see
story in our Dec. 31 issue). The idea was to
come up with a tourism slogan for Eugene in
light of our state’s new slogan: “Oregon: We
Love Dreamers.”
• “Eugene: Sometimes a Great Notion,”
by Benton Elliot takes a prize for being a slo-
gan that might actually become adopted
someday. The hopeful message honors the
literary and philosophical insights of Ken
Kesey.
• “Eugene: Sustainable Disagreement” by
Rachael Dillman wins for being succinct and
insightful, and only slightly cynical.
• “Eugene: Caucasians for Cultural
Diversity” by Martin and Linda Sage wins
for its wit, truth and irony.
• “Eugene: Come for the rain, stay for the
hippies” by Jake Wilson takes a prize for re-
minding us that life is unpredictable and full
of surprises.
Winners can claim their prizes, a choice
of Bijou tickets or an EW sweatshirt, at our
offices.
“well beyond” 2018, according to LUBA.
To address immediate traffic congestion from the project, PeaceHealth and
Springfield could build a smaller/less dense hospital development, redesign the facility
to better promote buses, amend the regional TransPlan to provide more roads or bus
rapid transit and/or amend the plan to accept higher levels of congestion, LUBA noted.
But amending TransPlan would require potentially difficult city and county approvals
and PeaceHealth has strongly resisted any restraints on the size or location of it’s plans
for a car-oriented hospital. Another option would be to pay for more roads. PeaceHealth
had earlier agreed to pay $10 million for road improvements to mitigate congestion that
would otherwise continue after 2018. PeaceHealth officials have said the hospital is al-
ready paying “more than it’s fair share” for roads in the area.
What the higher road tab for PeaceHealth may be is unclear but could be hefty.
Wilson has totaled $130 million in area transportation projects that PeaceHealth will
rely on that are mostly unfunded. The list includes $38 million for extending BRT to the
development but doesn’t include the $122 million estimated cost of upgrading the I-
5/Beltline interchange.
Another option would be hoping to win an appeal of the LUBA decision in state court.
One of the three LUBA members did dissent from the majority on the road congestion
issue.
Of course, RiverBend opponents could also appeal and challenge LUBA’s dismissal of
their complaints that RiverBend violates rules about building in flood plains, building a
hospital in a residential zone, and requiring county and city of Eugene approval and co-
ordination.
LUBA also ruled that PeaceHealth’s RiverBend plan was inconsistent with
Springfield’s adopted Commercial Lands Study, which designated the area for far less
commercial development. But LUBA did say that PeaceHealth and Springfield may be
able to get around that problem later with arguments that RiverBend met the overall
policy goals of the study. — Alan Pittman