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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 26, 2004)
Such a foundation is critical support for communities struggling against not only ex- ploitation by oil companies, but also a corrupt judiciary system. In 1995, the Nigerian government exe- cuted Ken Saro-Wiwa, an outspoken Ogoni leader fighting for the rights of his commu- nity in the face of Shell Oil’s environ- mental and human rights abuses. Saro- Wiwa’s defense lawyer, Oronto Douglas, is Amaduobogha’s law part- ner and co-founder of the founda- tion. “With so much focus on energy needs and the Middle East, it’s important not to lose sight of other countries that are supplying oil,” says E-LAW U.S. Communications Director Maggie Keenan. “A lot of people might not be aware of the problems caused by oil compa- nies in Nigeria. To hear Simon talk about it first-hand is truly shocking.” Amaduobogha’s presentation will be from noon to 1 pm Tuesday, Aug. 31, at the UO Knight Law School, Room 243. — Kera Abraham BEAUTY SHOPS TARGET NAILING THE ELECTION target of a number of local and nationwide campaigns to get out their votes. The original study of the 2000 election conducted by Women’s Voices, Women’s Votes revealed that single women were the largest group of nonvoters. And if they had voted at the same rate as married women, six mil- lion more votes would have been cast. “Elections shouldn’t be nail- biters,” says Becky Bones of Salon Delange. “Everyone should be ex- ercising their right to vote.” Local salons will draw attention to the untapped power of women’s votes by providing voter registration forms and encouraging clients to register. Nail files emblazoned with catchy slogans telling women to “Shape the Oval Office” will be available at participating salons. The group behind this initiative is 1000 Flowers, whose goal is to recruit at least 1,000 salons to register at least 10,000 women. Says Francesca Vietor of the organization. “We’re targeting beauty salons because it’s one place where women hang out and have time to dis- cuss important issues.” The campaign will run until Oct. 12, which is the last day to register in Oregon. For more information, visit www.1000flowers.org or call 344-9948. More than 100 people volunteered this week to join a campaign to get local beauty sa- lons to participate in a non-partisan “Nail the Election” national voter registration drive. CORRECTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS “When we learned that 22 million women had not voted in 2000,” says Stacey Conlon, part owner of Bello Salon, “we jumped at the chance to participate in this innovative campaign to get out the vote.” Other shops involved early on the campaign were Lexy’s Salon and Spa and Salon Delange. Those 22 million nonvoting women are the • The name of a source in last week’s story on the Torrey write-in campaign was misspelled. The state elections division compliance specialist’s name is Josi Travinski. • In our “Do Something” blurb Aug. 12 we misspelled the name of the newly ap- pointed Eugene coordinator for the Kerry/Edwards campaign. Shum Preston is his name. Campaign HQ is at 114 E. 16th. BY PAUL NEEVEL TYLER THOMAS AND PEGGI BOSWORTH Recent visitors to the West Moon Trading Company on 13th near the UO campus may have noticed a hand-lettered “Rock the Vote” sign on the entrance door and a stack of voter registration forms on the counter. “If we get into a con- versation, we’ll ask if they are registered,” says West Moon employee Catharine Army. Store owner Peggi Bosworth observes that much of her clientele is of high school and college age. “I’m really concerned about young people not registering to vote, especially girls,” she says. “We’ve gotten a good response.” A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bosworth moved in the late ’70s to southern Oregon, where she worked for Rare Earth, an import business based in Ashland. She ran the Medford store. After eight years as a waitress in Eugene, she opened West Moon, based on the Rare Earth model, in 1995. The family business also employs her daughter Jamie Decker — “she’s my buyer” — and her son Tyler Thomas, who manages a two-year-old second store in Corvallis. “Participation feels good,” Bosworth says. “I like being around kids. We don’t encourage them to vote one way or the other.”— Paul Neevel AUGUST 26 , 2004 9
