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.