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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 10, 2004)
The West 11th Jiffy Lube crew JIFFY LUBE MOVES FROM GREASY TO GREEN In the automotive industry — usually considered gritty, grimy and greasy — there shines an environmentally conscious ray of light: Jiffy Lube at City View and West 11th Avenue has been certified as an ecological business by the Automotive Eco-Logical Business Program. The program, a joint project of associa- tions representing the automotive repair trades, the Pollution Prevention Outreach Team (a group of environmental experts from seven Portland-area agencies) and AAA of Oregon/Idaho, recognizes automotive repair shops that “go the extra mile to minimize their environmental impact to the earth.” Kathy Arbuckle, owner of the shop, de- scribes herself as “the most unlikely automo- tive business owner. I paint watercolors and am trained as a Montessori teacher,” she says. But last July, Arbuckle found herself in charge of the business. Following her 2002 divorce from the shop’s previous owner, under whom the business filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Arbuckle, formerly an investor, was left with the choice of Chapter 7 bank- ruptcy or making the business work with her own plan of reorganization. As an owner now, she says, “There’s been a really steep learning curve. But when I found out automotive businesses could be ecologically certified, I thought, ‘There’s something I can get behind.’” Jiffy Lube had already been recycling oil and radiator fluid, and Arbuckle has found resources for recy- cling oil bottles, windshield wiper blades, even radiator caps. The process for certification began with an extensive checklist detailing, among other things, hazardous waste management, spill prevention and handling of waste oil. The checklist was sent to John Taylor of the Department of Environmental Quality in Salem. Taylor, who works in DEQ’s Small Business Assistance Program, helps assess environmental compliance for the Eco- Logical Business Program. He, along with representatives from LRAPA and the city of Eugene’s Wastewater Management division, then conducted an onsite visit to go through the checklist point by point. “One of the advantages for consumers is it gives people a chance to do some basic com- parisons,” says Taylor. “You can decide if you want to work with an ecologically certi- fied business or not. More generally, it’s just a higher level of knowledge, and that aware- ness benefits everyone.” Unlikely as the combination of the auto- motive crowd and environmentalism might seem, Arbuckle says new recycling habits are sticking. “At our monthly crew meeting, one guy even said, ‘Now you’ve got me doing this at home.’ Changing the world starts with one person,” she says. Two other automotive businesses in Eugene — Mack’s Radiator on West 11th and Wayne’s Garage on E. 27th — are also eco- logically certified. — Bobbie Willis • Just as we go to press we hear that opponents of PeaceHealth’s mega-hospital plans in Springfield have won a major victory in the Oregon Court of Appeals. Details are slim, but it seems PeaceHealth lost on most, if not all, contended issues, including the need for transportation plan- ning, economic impact planning and neighborhood zoning. Congratulations to the opponents of this development who have fought for two and a half years against what many figured was a “done deal.” • David Turner’s talk at City Club June 4 was a timely follow-up to our cover story last week on the significance of the arts to the vitality of our community. Turner is director of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at UO which will be reopening in October after major remodeling that has doubled the size of the facility. He tells us art is a “connecting link” that can bring diverse communities to- gether. He’s particularly interested in using arts to bridge that 12-block gap between Johnson Hall at UO and City Hall downtown. And Turner’s not only talking about visual arts but also music and performing arts. How can we all strengthen the town/gown connection? We can support the arts and artists on both ends of 13th Avenue, and make more effort to visit art venues across town. We can encourage the UO to build more student housing and other facilities west of campus. And we can emulate European university cities where academics, business and city government have a long history of working in close collaboration for their mutual benefit. • Is it in poor taste to speak ill of the dead? So be it. Reporters, politicians and pundits are praising Ronald Reagan as “one of the greatest U.S. presidents” and the man responsible for the downfall of communism. Even the R-G and NPR are blaring trumpets on the Reagan bandwagon. We have 8 JUNE 10, 2004 KELLY TALKS POLITICS AT CPA GATHERING Should progressives in Eugene see their victories in the May elections as a mandate to charge ahead with a whole new liberal agenda for the community? Not necessarily, said Councilor David Kelly, keynote speaker at the Citizens for Public Accountability (CPA) annual meeting June 2. CPA formed nearly 10 years ago in re- sponse to behind-closed-doors plans to build a huge polluting Hyundai factory on west Eugene wetlands, and the group has taken leadership roles on many environmental and social issues over the years. Past annual meetings have not been as upbeat as this year’s, due in large part to the frustrations of dealing with conservative, pro-sprawl city and county governments. CPA was involved in supporting progres- sive council and mayor candidates this year and members celebrated their victories at the annual meeting. Kelly says the election out- come was “a repudiation of what has hap- pened in the past” on the council, but he warned that “Nancy (Nathanson) did get 46 percent of the vote and those people have not gone away.” Kelly urged caution in council action next year to “avoid a backlash in two years, and we can’t accomplish much in two years.” Kelly says he hopes to see council initiatives that target “common ground,” such as creat- ing good jobs and a healthy local economy. What energized the local election cam- paigns this year? Kelly figures having an open mayoral race helped get people acti- vated, and “people are so disgruntled with what’s happening on the national level, at least they could get involved on a local level.” Kelly also said “winning takes organi- zation, volunteers and money, and we had all three this time.” Jan Spencer of the CPA Steering Committee outlined CPA’s work over the past year in “educating the public and ourselves about issues of land use and transportation.” He noted successes in not only the election, but also in foiling attacks on Eugene’s Toxics Right to Know law, effective opposition to the proposed gas-fired power plant in Coburg, work on the third annual Citizens’ State of the City Address and other projects. CPA is now meeting at 7 pm the third Wednesday of each month at Oregon Toxics Alliance, 1192 Lawrence St. A special meet- ing will be held at 7 pm June 16 at OTA to talk about the election results and plan future different memories of the Reagan years and it serves no purpose to gloss them over. Reagan’s legacy includes the closing of mental institutions, quashing unions, slashing education, cutting so- cial programs and benefits, ignoring the AIDS epidemic, the outrageous Iran/Contra scandal, tax cuts for the wealthy and massive deficits. Reagan’s bloated military budget is credited with ending the Cold War, but the Soviet Union was already collapsing under its own weight. We can praise Reagan for his personal integrity, his courage in facing a tragic and debilitating disease, and his personal contribution to removing the stigma associated with Alzheimer’s. But let’s also recognize his foibles and how he inspired and legitimized a conservative movement led by hard-headed, hawkish ideologues — a movement that has set back progress toward world peace, justice and prosperity. • Eugene has been having a love affair of sorts with Joanie McGowan, the Queen of Duct Tape, who has inspired us with her energy, humor and irony. She and her little troupe have performed politi- cal theater in Eugene several times in the past year including opening for Molly Ivins and support- ing local candidates. Joanie tells us she was assaulted by a drunk on the streets of Ashland the night of June 2. She got “sucker punched” in the face, fracturing her skull and shattering her eye socket. She got away and her assailant was arrested, but she needs reconstructive surgery and ti- tanium implants. Duct tape won’t do it this time. Friends say her medical bills will likely top $4,000 after insurance. And here’s a Joanie-style twist: Any donated funds left over will go to help her as- sailant with his recovery and healing. A Joanie McGowan Medical Fund has been set up at Rogue Federal Credit Union, 415 Lithia Way, Ashland 97520.
