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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 5, 2004)
Forty people turned out for the EW River Romp singles party on the McKenzie River July 31. Three vans, seven boats, 10 miles of wet and wild fun in the sun. Boaters had such a good time together they are organizing a follow-up camping trip. To get on the mailing list for future singles outings, send a note to mark@eugeneweekly.com BARNHART PREDICTS ‘NASTY’ CAMPAIGN Rep. Phil Barnhart says his House District 11 seat is being targeted by well-funded right wing ideologues making false accusa- tions, and he’s hoping fellow Democrats and progressive in- dependents won’t take his victory for granted as the November election nears. Barnhart represents Central Lane and Linn counties and his opponent in November is Republican Michael Spasaro. The two candidates are distinctly differ- ent in education, experience and atti- tude. Spasaro has a bachelor’s degree in crimi- nal justice and recently retired from 30 years as a police officer and federal DEA special agent. Spasaro is endorsed by pro-life and anti-tax organizations. Barnhart is a psy- chologist, attorney, educator and lawmaker with the endorsement of labor, environmental and pro-choice organizations. Barnhart says he’s con- cerned about the tactics used by Spasaro and Spasaro’s supporters, and he’s not look- ing forward to what he fore- sees as a “dirty, nasty cam- paign” over the next few months. Letters supporting Spasaro went out to Republicans in the district this week • Hey, it’s August and where’d everybody go? Streets are nearly deserted at times. But not everyone’s at the beach or in the mountains. School districts are busy fill- ing staff vacancies in anticipation of the coming inva- sion. PeaceHealth lawyers are mulling over plan amendments to submit to the Springfield Planning Commission to keep RiverBend hospital alive. Springfield officials, meanwhile, are trying to get Glenwood’s zip code changed from Eugene to Springfield in order to entice McKenzie-Willamette to build its new hospital in Glenwood. Neighbors in the Fairmount area east of the UO campus are pondering the potential impact of a $180 million basketball stadi- um at the Williams’ Bakery site. On top of huge traffic, parking, noise and development issues, area residents and businesses are facing the prospect of aroma change in the neighborhood — from fresh-baked bread to stale sweat socks. • Bruce Anderson will be a guest on JPR’s Jefferson Exchange Friday morning from 8 to 10 am (1280 AM), and the program is repeated from 8 to 10 pm. Anderson is the outspoken editor/publisher of the Anderson Valley Advertiser (AVA) in northern California who’s commuting back and forth to Eugene and plans to start a newspaper here called ’Gene. What’s Anderson all about? His fans, such as columnist Alexander Cockburn, say Anderson is “one of the most vivid pens of our time” and compares him to “Paine, Twain, Steffens and H.L. Mencken.” His opponents, such as Mike Sweeney of Ukiah, say Anderson will “deliber- ately lie in order to sell papers, settle scores, or just abuse people for his own pleasure” (see Sweeney’s 24- page exposé of Anderson at www.LiarUnlimited.com). A 8 AUGUST 5, 2004 from the well-funded Oregon Right to Life PAC saying that Barnhart is “pro-abortion” and Spasaro will “advocate for the interests of House District 11 residents, both born and unborn.” More letters went out July 27 from Oregon Citizens for a Sound Economy claiming that Barnhart supports a sales tax and “voted to spend your tax dollars on a multi-million dollar boondoggle, a new major league baseball sta- dium for the city of Portland.” These allegations are wrong, says the Democrat. Barnhart says he hasn’t supported a sales tax since 1993, and the stadium he voted for would be financed by an income tax paid only by the major league players. Barnhart says he’s also concerned that Spasato is misrepresenting him on his web- site, saying Barnhart has voted for “extreme, partisan policies,” and is “out of touch with the people who live in this district.” Barnhart notes he won 62 percent of the vote in the 2002 election. Spasato did not respond to questions about his campaign by press time. Barnhart can be reached at 484-5119 or phil@philbarnhart.com — TJT LUSTIER LOVERS ESCHEW MEATY MEALS Members of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) have never been shy July 14 article in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat says Anderson “is known for a bruising, confrontational style that some say often overlooks reality and fact, though Anderson defends as satire the fictional inter- views, quotes and anecdotes he’s published. … Cruel, crazy, brutal, abusive and outright fictional are some of the terms used by some of his past targets.” The article also quotes former AVA writer Michael Koepf saying, “Only crazy people will miss Bruce Anderson” when he moves to Eugene. Well, folks, he’s already here, he’s itchin’ for a fight, and he’s on the radio. • Whitey Lueck, cofounder of the Eugene Tree Foundation, was the guest speaker at the final City Club meeting July 30 before the summer break, and he tossed out some radical ideas, by Eugene standards. He raised a few eyebrows when he said it’s OK to cut down some big old urban trees, even if they aren’t diseased, as a way to avoid problems in the future. The important thing, he says, is to keep planting a variety of new conifers and deciduous trees so we maintain a healthy urban forest. What do you think? • Ballots in last week’s EW are still coming in and we’ll wait another week before publishing the results. The opinion poll asks how YOU think the city should spend $30 million squirreled-away for a new police palace. Can’t find last week’s paper? An interactive ballot is also on our website at www.eugeneweekly.com/2004/07/29/news.html#news 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 B u s Pr oj ec t A u g. 6- 7 • Oregon Bus Project is inviting everyone to join the fun with a kickoff event and canvass training beginning at 10:30 am Saturday at Skinner Butte Park. Some 150 volunteers from around the state will be descending on Eugene to hit the streets for candidates Floyd Prozanski, Phil Barnhart and Bev Ficek. Downtown art walk follows along with free pizza at Cozmic. • Friday evening there is a John Kerry fundraiser at Valley River Inn, with discus- sion of Kerry’s visit to Oregon next week. Contact jamesmattiace@yahoo.com or call 914-0293.
