• PeaceHealth and the city of Springfield are continuing to exude confidence that the
RiverBend hospital is on track, despite staggering court rulings in opposition. But
there is a hint of concession evident in 15 little words buried in an otherwise charge-
ahead op-ed July 7 in the R-G by PeaceHealth board members. Jan Oliver and Jack
Courtemanche wrote: “If the courts prevent us from pursuing the dream, we will have
to accept that.” Well, every court decision so far has thrown up ever-larger roadblocks
to the project, so it’s time for Plan B. In a June 24 Slant we called for the two hospital
board executive committees to get together and hash out sitings and facilities that
make sense for both patients and doctors. Come on, people! Collaboration is not an
absurd idea. Read your mission statements!
• We hear reports that Eugene City Manager Dennis Taylor and UO VP of
Administration Dan Williams were seen having an intense huddle at the Glenwood last
week. Overheard amidst the noise were the words, “Hey, this place is good and
cheap.” Were they talking about the food, or a site for a new basketball stadium?
Word on the street is that the Romania car dealership east of campus is back on the
short list, but that site has size and parking challenges. We’d rather see such develop-
ment on the other side of campus where it can help build that vitally important link
between the university and downtown.
Saturdays
7-9pm
www.klcc.org
• One of the petitions being pushed on Oregon street corners would send to voters a
measure to re-establish term limits for Oregon House and Senate members. Arghhh.
It was a great day when the Supreme Court tossed out this bad idea the last time
Oregon voters eagerly and ignorantly jumped for it. Term limits sounds like a good
idea on the surface, but it’s that old baby and the bath thing. Tossing out productive,
seasoned lawmakers along with the jerks just gives more power to lobbyists who are
eager to fill in the knowledge gap. State government is complicated business and it
can take a couple of terms to learn the process of working together and finding com-
mon ground. And those fresh faces grabbing the seats of the old-timers often shine
with naïve ideologies and narrow agendas that can only be tempered with time. Our
recent failed legislative sessions can be blamed in part by our earlier, failed experi-
ment with term limits. We already have term limits. It’s called voting. Don’t sign the
petitions.
• The Lane Bus Project (see cover story 4/15) is expanding its campaigning after help-
ing elect a progressive mayor and City Council in Eugene last spring. In Salem July 10,
the Bus rolled north for a Women’s Day canvass for three candidates (Katherine
Firestone, Claudia Howells, and Betty Komp), all running in the Salem area. So far, Bus
Project volunteers have knocked on more than 80,000 doors around the state for
various progressive candidates. This kind of activity gets results! To get on the Bus, e-
mail lane@busproject.org or call 914-0293.
• Bush is attempting to dilute the Clinton-era roadless rules for national forests by al-
lowing state governors to request exemptions. So should we stop calling them na-
tional forests? The whole point of having federal lands administered by the USFS and
BLM is to protect our greatest natural resource areas from exploitation by the ever-
changing whims of state and local officials. Once again, environmentalists are on the
defensive, and maybe that’s the point. Attack on many fronts and scatter the resis-
tance.
• Cinemark cinema is cranking up its customer service! When checking out Spider-
Man 2 this weekend, an employee behind the counter skipped the entire greeting
process by efficiently asking, “Large popcorn?” We’d always thought that the simian
habit of acknowledging one another was a bit trite, overdone and dispensable. After
checking the human behind the counter for a cord that we could unplug, or a switch
we could turn off, we replied, “Yes, and now that you mention it, we will have three hot
dogs.” Go Cinemark!
• Pink Martini’s playing outdoors at the Cuthbert Friday night and it seems the band is
pledging a chunk of this year’s tour take to the Kerry campaign. We hear some con-
servative ticket-holders are irritated at the news and are calling the Hult Center to
protest, and maybe even ask for refunds. But hey, the Hult is apolitical and the con-
cert is not billed as a “benefit” for anyone. Meanwhile, we’re left wondering: Is
Brubeck a Bush backer? Cyndi Lauper a Naderite? No word yet on whether or not
Cuthbert security guards will be checking bags Friday night for voter registration
cards.
JULY 15, 2004 9