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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 2004)
On Measure 37, forcing government to pay owners or to override restrictions when certain use restrictions reduce property value, EMO says “Oregon’s land use laws have given us a beautiful state that we enjoy each time we visit our mountains, beaches and farmland. Without our land use restrictions and zoning laws, we could lose our unique beauty and become just another thoughtlessly overdeveloped state.” Measure 38, forcing the dissolution of the State Accident Insurance Fund (SAIF), gets a thumbs down from EMO. The board says “The greater public good regarding SAIF would be to permit its continuation with changes in management or operation to en- sure workers compensation insurance rates stay affordable.” EMO’s “2004 Guide to the Ballot Measures” can be found at www.emoregon.org and information on Measure 37 from 1000 Friends of Oregon can be found at www.friends.org LAW SCHOLAR REFLECTS ON U.S. FOREIGN POLICY David Caron, director of international legal studies at UC-Berkeley, will be speak- ing about “The United States and the Laws of Power: Looking Back on the Bush Administration and U.S. Foreign Policy,”. at a lecture that is free and open to the public. The event will be at 7 pm Thursday, Oct. 14 at the Knight Law Center, Room 175, 1515 Agate St. Caron’s scholarship focuses on public and private international dispute resolution, the U.N., and the law of the sea. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including Bringing New Law to Ocean Waters (2004). Caron’s writings cover a spectrum of top- ics from global environmental change to in- ternational tribunals. His review of U.S. pol- icy in Iraq is informed by his previous work on claims arising out of the first Gulf War. “The U.S. has sought unilateral actions in pursuit of national interests, which it per- ceives as best protected by the preservation of our discretion,” he says. “In doing so, [the Bush administration] has alienated longtime allies and belittled the value of cooperation.” Professor Caron has been invited to the UO as a distinguished speaker by the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics (see www.morsechair.uoregon.edu). EUGENE TO HOST REGIONAL BIONEERS CONFERENCE In 1990, journalist and community activist Ken Ausubel founded the Bioneers Conference to bring together what he calls “brilliant social and scientific pathfinders” — people who looked to nature for integrated so- lutions to problems in human health and the environment. The idea behind the gathering, writes Ausubel in the introduction to Ecological Medicine, is “that none of us is im- mune to the assault of environmental harms compromising our health and that we cannot ultimately solve our personal health problems without cleaning up the environment.” Fifteen years after its founding, the Bioneers Conference reached capacity at its location in Marin, Calif., and organizers de- cided to expand the event. This year, the con- ference will be held simultaneously at 15 centers across the nation. Eugene will host the Northwest conference at the Lane Center for Meaning and Learning from Oct. 15-17. BY PAUL NEEVEL ANNEMARIE HIRSCH School nurse Annemarie Hirsch shows off the five furry finger puppets she uses to help grade-schoolers with their vaccinations. One of two RNs with the Bethel School District, Hirsch divides her time between Danebo, Fairfield, and Malabon Elementary, Cascade Middle, Willamette High, and Calapooya Alternative High Schools. “I try to go to each school one day a week,” she says. “I’m really busy.” Hirsch grew up just out- side Oslo, Norway, then moved, at age 18, to a commune near Crow. She got a nursing degree from LCC in 1980 and worked in several departments at Sacred Heart before returning to school for a bachelors and certification as a school nurse. She started work for the Bethel District in 1998. “I work with students and families who have health issues,” Hirsch says. “I’m an advocate for students in terms of getting medical care.” She also trains school staff to care for students with health problems or severe disabilities. “Each year I do a special public health project,” she adds. “Last year it was asthma management — 10 percent of kids have asthma. This year I’m targeting the obesity epidemic.” The Oregon Bioneers Conference will fea- ture 17 local speakers — from permaculturist Jan Spencer to drummer Jill Sager to dialogue facilitator Tree Bressen — and 15 plenary speakers, whose live presentations will be beamed in by satellite from Marin. The ple- nary speakers include renowned thought-lead- ers such as environmental economist Amory Lovins, who will discuss energy security; journalist Amy Goodman, who will speak on independent media at a critical political cross- roads; and author Michael Lerner, who will address the connections between personal and planetary healing. Other conference highlights include a film festival, a youth open mic, and an inter-generational dialogue. Art teacher Jeremy Olsen and social ser- vice program developer Sherisa Aguirre, who met at the Bioneers 2002 Conference, put to- gether the proposal to bring the event to Eugene. “Our intention when we proposed it was to bring a grounded, heart-centered ap- proach to activism to the Northwest,” says Olsen. Bioneers organizers chose Eugene as a conference host, says Aguirre, because of the city’s activist reputation. “Eugene has a record of people standing up for what they believe in,” she says. “That said, we’re often estranged in those efforts, and this offers us an opportunity to share what we’ve been doing with the community, and to work to- gether to generate new solutions.” The event will integrate innovative con- cepts in science, agriculture, spirituality, so- cial justice and art to create holistic solutions for healing. “Bioneers offers many portals into the mysterious. Whether we’re talking about art or gardens, it offers a way into a source that imparts wisdom, regardless of the discipline,” says Aguirre. The conference costs $100 for three days. Youth scholarships and work-trade are avail- able. For more information or to register, visit www.bioneers.org or www.bridgingworld- snw.org — Kera Abraham james von boeckmann attorney at law G E N E RA L P RAC T I C E , I N C LU D I N G : fa m i l y • b u s i n ess • c r i m i n a l l aw a p p ea l s • i m m i g ra t i o n * C O S T- F R E E I N I T I A L C O N S U LTAT I O N S * H O M E V I S I T S AT YO U R C O N V E N I E N C E 968-0781 J LV O N B O @ M S N . C O M F O R A N A P P O I N T M E N T, P L E A S E P H O N E : OR EMAIL: www.dwco.com • 541-942-7088 OCTOBER 7 , 2004 11
