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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 12, 2004)
tricted into this district and though he won the last election, people were not familiar with him and he did not have an opponent who ran a serious campaign.” This week Barnhart responded to the above statements as again “misleading.” “On taxes, he’s probably referring to Measure 30,” says Barnhart, who supported the mea- sure, but didn’t vote on it since it was referred by petition. “The actual vote on Measure 30 in the district was 48.9 percent yes to 51.1 percent no — not exactly an overwhelming repudiation. I think it’s actually pretty good that that percentage of the district was willing to raise their own taxes to pay for basic public services such as schools, health care and pub- lic safety.” Barnhart also says he was not “redis- tricted in” but rather has lived in the district for 50 years, though the district boundaries have changed to include less south Eugene and more rural areas and small towns. He says he knows the new district very well, and is well known in return. He says he did have a serious opponent in fellow Democrat Al King, in the 2002 primary, but his Republican challenger in the general election did not ac- tively campaign. Spasaro has also accused Barnhart of sup- porting a sales tax, citing a story in the Hermiston Herald that says Barnhart “thinks a sales tax is a better long-term answer, but doesn’t see any public support.” Barnhart says, “Mr. Spasaro is really stretching” to read that quote as supporting a sales tax. “The quote in the paper does not say I support a sales tax, in fact it says the opposite.” The Herald story goes on to quote Barnhart say- ing, “We need to not spend time on the ideal tax system but on the realistic one that people will accept.” — TJT MAJOR UO BIZ CONFAB COMING IN SEPTEMBER Registration is now open for a major UO business conference that will focus on the BY PAUL NEEVEL MARY ELLEN BENNETT After growing up on a Hood River orchard, Mary Ellen Bennett came to the UO for a degree in Community Health Education. She stayed on in Eugene and currently coordi- nates a variety of ener- gy-assistance programs for Lane County’s Human Services Commission. A couple of years ago, Bennett purchased an empty lot directly behind her house, a few blocks from downtown Eugene. “I didn’t want to see it developed,” she explains. “Then I thought, ‘Now, what do I do?’ I hardly keep up with the dandelions in front!” Bennett approached her neighbors with the idea of starting a community garden. “We had talked about it before, like, ‘what if …’” she says. “I was amazed — easily 20 people pitched in.” Neighbors from two blocks around showed up for work parties to remove blackberries and till the soil. Hoses, implements, and hay bales were donated, and the first garden was planted in the summer of 2003. This year’s garden has 10 vegetable plots plus a communal flower garden. “I have berry patches available to everyone,” Bennett says. “But I’m not in charge. They do all the work — it’s a symbiotic relationship.” — Paul Neevel T a s t y Th ai K i tc he n T r ad it i o na l T h a i Cu i si n e by Owner and Chef Pismai WEEKLY SPECIALS FOR LUNCH & DINNER VEGETARIAN & VEGAN OPTIONS AVAILABLE WE HAVE BUBBLE TEA BEER & WINE NOW AVAILABLE NOW OPEN FOR LUNCH ON SATURDAYS! Mon - Fri 11 AM - 9:30 PM • Sat & Sun 12 PM - 9:30 PM 80 E. 29th & Willamette 302-6444 10 AUGUST 12, 2004 “practical applications of sustainable devel- opment and climate change policies and pro- grams for Eugene-Springfield, Lane County, and other Northwest local communities.” The event will be held Sept. 23 at the UO Downtown Baker Center, 975 High St. The conference title is “Making Sustainable Development Work” and is spon- sored by the UO Sustainability Leadership Academy along with numerous UO, city and state organizations and agencies. Featured speakers will include mayor-elect Kitty Piercy, along with mayors and sustainable business experts from across the nation de- scribing their successful initiatives and enter- prises. Early registration is recommended since space is limited. Cost is $15 which includes lunch. For more information, visit http://cwch.uoregon.edu/conference or call 346-4231. WEBSITE REPORTS BUSH IS ON DRUGS Capitol Hill Blue magazine (www.capitolbluehill.com), which June 4 re- ported that President Bush is prone to “erratic and paranoid” behavior, now says Bush is re- ported to be taking “powerful anti-depressant drugs” to control his behavior. The July 28 report by magazine editor Teresa Hampton, says, “Although GOP loy- alists dismissed the reports as anti-Bush pro- paganda, the reports were later confirmed by prominent George Washington University psychiatrist Dr. Justin Frank in his book Bush on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President. Dr. Frank diagnosed the president as a ‘paranoid meglomaniac’ and ‘untreated alcoholic’ whose ‘lifelong streak of sadism, ranging from childhood pranks (using fire- crackers to explode frogs) to insulting jour- nalists, gloating over state executions and pumping his hand gleefully before the bomb- ing of Baghdad’ showcase Bush’s instabili- ties.”
