CITIZENS CALL FOR A
NEW VISION FOR CITY
This year’s Citizens’ State of the City
Address at Harris Hall Jan. 12 had an unspo-
ken theme of “we can do better,” and in-
cluded an unusual diversity
of speakers. The presen-
ters called for building
neighborhoods and
local culture, peace ac-
tivism, racial and
transgender justice,
protection of urban nat-
ural areas, more pro-labor
candidates for public office, hos-
pital planning that benefits citizens over cor-
porations, and improvements in air quality.
The presenters this year, introduced by
Ruth Duemler, were Kara Steffenson of
Friendly Neighbors for Peace, Hannah
Persson of Community Organization of Lane
County (CALC), Gary Gillespie of Eugene
Springfield Solidarity Network, Lauri Segel
of 1000 Friends of Oregon, and Becky Riley
of the River Road Community Organization
and Friends of Rasor Park.
New this year was a presentation on social
justice from a gender perspective.
“Marginalized groups, such as immigrants
and transgendered people, bear the brunt of
oppressive systems and it is hardly no-
ticed,” said Hannah Persson who also
noted the “lack of commitment to social
justice that we have here in Eugene.”
Persson talked about the failed attempt
this past year to add gender identity to the
city code on non-discrimination. “A small but
vocal group of people opposing transgender
protections were able to persuade the mayor
and City Council to exclude transgender pro-
tections,” she said. “The opposers accom-
plished this by creating a serious public dis-
comfort and phobia about transgendered peo-
ple using public restrooms — an issue that
has very little relevance to what the code pro-
visions would actually do, such as making
BY PAUL NEEVEL
KIMBY MAXSON
Eugenean Kimby Maxson began to study
midwifery while she was pregnant with her
daughter Maraya. “I’ve been a midwife for
13 years now,” she notes. “Maraya has
been invited to a dozen births — she can
take care of the 3-year-old.” In 1998,
Maxson had surgery for ovarian cancer.
“Last June was five years for me,” she
marvels. “That means I beat it!” Since the
operation, she has given birth to a second
daughter, Jade, and added massage thera-
py to her practice. After a good friend died
of breast cancer last February, Maxson
turned her attention to complementary
care for cancer patients. “Gail got mas-
sage, acupuncture, and nutritional help,”
she explains. “I believe it gave her a better
quality of life.” Within months, Maxson
launched the Hearts and Hands Comfort
Center, a resource to connect cancer patients with volunteer caregivers. (Call 343-
0886 for details.) She currently logs 20 hours a week scheduling care and applying for
non-profit status. “We have around 25 volunteers and eight patients,” she reports. “We
think that people should have everything available to improve their lives, regardless of
their financial means.”
• McKenzie-Willamette/Triad was hoping to nail down its
new hospital site by the end of 2003, and a decision might
be near. We hear the board is leaning toward the Delta
Road site, and even claiming that physicians prefer Delta,
but we think board members will be making a strategic
error if they do not locate south and west of the
Willamette. Land is available off lower Chambers in an area
that is the geographic center of Eugene and has excellent
access via 6th, 7th, 11th, 18th, Chambers, Northwest
Expressway, River Road, etc. The site is close to the highest
population center of Eugene, already has good infrastruc-
ture, and is relatively undeveloped. PeaceHealth is likely
hoping McKenize-Willamette picks the Delta site. If most
Eugeneans have to cross a river and maneuver freeways to
get to either hospital, it’s not that big a deal to continue to
RiverBend. Locating a new hospital and trauma facilities
south and west of the river would be good business strat-
egy as well as benefit the people of Eugene.
• Congrats to Bonny Bettman who this week finally got her
turn as president of the City Council. Last year she got
pushed out of the normal rotation in a spiteful political
move by council conservatives. This year it might have
happened again, but Scott Meisner was absent, Gary Papé
8 JANUARY 15, 2004
discrimination of transgendered individuals
illegal in employment, housing and other im-
portant public sectors.”
Speaking on the city’s environmental
health, Becky Riley lauded the city for im-
provements in water quality and bike paths,
but said we can do much more. She called for
the city to not only educate the public about
toxic runoff from yards, but also “set a high
standard and lead by example by adopting a
policy to minimize its own use of weed
killers and fertilizers in city parks and …
minimize new paving projects in the city.”
Riley said the ongoing discussions about
getting “back to the river” have led to “de-
structive proposals” for more development
along the river — such as the Riverfront
Research Park and the recurring proposal for
a new Valley River Bridge over the
Willamette.
“Let’s challenge our ‘pro-business’ city
leaders to also be ‘pro-environment,’ ‘pro-
public health’ and ‘anti-pollution,’” she said.
“these goals should not be mutually exclu-
sive.”
nominated Nancy Nathanson but she declined, George
Poling nominated Bettman and it passed unanimously.
Bettman then nominated Poling for VP and the whole
shooting match was over in about the time it takes to read
this.
• Did Nancy Nathanson decline a nomination to become
council president because she plans to run for mayor in
’04? That would only be the case if Jim Torrey announces
this week that he won’t seek a third term. Torrey delayed
his press conference until just an hour after we go to press
this week, perhaps on purpose to leave us guessing.
Regardless of the mayor’s decision, it’s time for new, and
true leadership in Eugene. Torrey has a war chest from de-
velopers and old timber money, but marginal popularity.
He ran unopposed in 2000 and only garnered 37,000
votes out of 60,000 ballots cast. He could face an embar-
rassing loss in 2004 if he decides to run again and pro-
gressives field a serious candidate — a loss that could hurt
his ambitions for state office. Meanwhile, Kitty Piercy has
surpassed the $20,000 in pledges she said she would need
to raise before announcing a mayoral bid, but was waiting
this week to see what Torrey did before making an an-
nouncement.
• Chemical de-icers for Eugene city streets and bridges?
The council was too eager to give this proposal a nod for
Lauri Segel talked at length about citizen
participation in land use planning and cited
the West Eugene Parkway issue as an exam-
ple: “We need to work together to craft alter-
native plans focused on fixing existing prob-
lems in west Eugene without causing more
problems. We can and must protect our valu-
able wetlands and remaining fragments of
native prairie. We must solve existing access
and mobility problems. These challenges can
be accomplished by starting with community
dialogue and foregoing high stakes ballot box
campaigns.”
Segel also talked about the current shuf-
fling of medical facilities in the valley and the
problems that have arisen. “Now, more than
ever, it is imperative that citizens get in-
volved in pending hospital siting and related
land use and transportation planning deci-
sions.” — TJT
COLLINS RAPS UO IN
WU COVER STORY
Former UO law professor Robin Morris
Collins talks about the UO and its lack of
even temporary, experimental use. Calcium magnesium
acetate might be a big improvement over rock salt and
other road agents, but the jury is still out on its long-term
environmental effects. One thing we do know about such
chemicals is that they are harmful to vegetation. That
should be enough of a red flag to justify a call for more
study.
• One of the largest timber sales ever offered in the
Northwest is the proposed salvage logging of more than
500 million board-feet of timber from the burned-over
Biscuit Fire in the Siskiyou National Forest. The Forest
Service originally called for a much more modest salvage
of 96 million board-feet outside of roadless areas, but an
OSU team funded by timber money is pushing for the
much larger sale. The remaining timber is of relatively little
value and would be expensive to access and log, particu-
larly in the roadless areas. Is this just another attempt to
nullify Clinton’s Roadless Area Conservation Rule? Salvage
logging is ecologically risky under the best of circum-
stances, and in this case we’re talking about the Kalmiopsis
— a rugged but fragile low-elevation wilderness area that is
globally unique habitat for rare flora and fauna. Leave it
alone for Mother Nature to heal.
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