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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 11, 2004)
news briefs SPYING ON SPAWNING Wild Chinook salmon are completing their life cycle this time of year by returning to small streams to spawn and die. The phe- nomenon can be witnessed in a protected, no- fishing area about 45 minutes from Eugene at Whittaker Creek Campground. The salmon were born in the creek about five years ago and made their way downstream to the Siuslaw River, and then to the Pacific Ocean where they lived and fed for about three years. Now they are returning. To watch salmon spawn, drive west to- ward the coast on Highway 126. Roughly six miles past the town of Walton, look for a small BLM sign directing you to Wildcat Creek and Whittaker Creek. Take a left and follow the signs for about two miles. Take a right turn and drive across a bridge and look for Whittaker Creek Campground. Park near the creek and explore upstream across the footbridge. Please do not allow dogs near the water or otherwise disturb the salmon. ELECTION QUOTABLES • “When you hear people saying, ‘Take a deep breath, we will pull through this, we need to work harder, we need to organize,’ • OK, so it’s tempting to bail out and head for Canada or Costa Rica for the next three years. Vancouver, B.C. is almost utopian in its appeal, and a new website (www.MarryAnAmerican.ca) is having fun inviting immigration, saying “Now that George W. Bush has been officially elect- ed, single, sexy American liberals — already a threatened species — will be desperate to escape.” We could also peacefully and politely secede from the union. But the his- toric precedent is a little scary, and if we were to succeed, we would just iso- late and discourage the millions of edu- cated and open- minded people in our nation’s middle and South, the eco- nomically and socially disenfran- chised, minorities, and moderate Republicans who depend on us bleeding hearts to provide balance to the rabid right. Top priority in addition to organiz- ing, however, should be to fix our flawed 8 NOVEMBER 11, 2004 no. We will not. It’s over. Unless electronic vote tabulation is history, and these compa- nies are driven out of business, it’s their coun- try. Not ours. Nobody knows, and no one will ever know, what the actual vote count was. There are no checks and balances left. The U.S. Senate now has 55 of these Republicans. When they hit 60, which is what will happen in 2006 mid-term elections — trust me — that means that no matter what Bush and the crime family want to do, they can do it. The House (of Representatives) is gone for the next two to five generations. It’s gone.” — Larry Chin, Online Journal (http://onlinejournal.com) • “I am committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year.” — Walden W. O’Dell, chief executive of Diebold Inc. in a fund-raising letter to fellow Republicans last year (New York Times, 11/9/03) • “The global implica- tions of the U.S. election are unde- niable, but inter- national monitors at a polling station in southern Florida said Tuesday that voting procedures being used in the extremely close contest fell short in many ways of the best global practices ...” — International Herald Tribune (11/3/04) • “There was trouble with our elections in Ohio at every stage. It’s been a battle getting people registered to vote, getting to the ballot on voting day and getting that vote to count. There is a pattern of voter suppression; that’s why I called for [Ohio Secretary of State] Blackwell’s resignation more than a month ago. Blackwell, while claiming to run an un- biased elections process, was also the co- chair of the Bush-Cheney campaign in Ohio. … Blackwell learned his moves from the Katherine Harris playbook of Florida 2000, and we won’t stand for it.” — Ohio State Sen. Teresa Fedor • “The election in Oregon was very suc- and fraud-prone electoral system. Nothing makes us want to scream and rant more than the idea of corrupt vote-counting, and we wouldn’t put it past anyone in the Bush administration. • The Eugene City Council met Nov. 8 on new housing standards for Eugene rentals, and it looks like we will end up with a code similar to that of Corvallis. This new way of dealing with landlord-ten- ant issues will affect more than 50,000 renters in Eugene, particularly those experiencing prob- lems with landlords. The short R-G story Nov. 9 outlined the issues, but of course things are never quite so simple. Landlords them- selves are divided on the topic, including a split among mem- bers of the Rental Owners Association. Some landlords say renters already have the upper hand in disputes, but the ROA board is not fighting the new standards, cessful. Nobody in Oregon has any reason to apologize for this election. The things that we worked on we did very well. It was the Floridians and Ohioans and people like that who had problems; not here. It’s so easy to think that because the national election went south, somehow or another we went wrong. It’s not as though we can accept responsibility for that one.” — Rep. Phil Barnhart MARSTON LEAVES LABOR GROUP Hope Marston of Eugene-Springfield Solidarity Network/Jobs with Justice orga- nizer has left ESSN for a part-time job at UO. Marston says she hopes to pick up another part-time job as Western regional organizer for the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, be- telling us their organization is focused more on education than advocacy. “We’re a good, solid group of people who care about our tenants,” says Jim Straub of the board. He says local rental owners are trying to dispel the prevailing image of greedy, uncaring landlords. The new hous- ing standards could get a first vote Nov. 22. All things considered, we think the code is a good idea, and the small city agency it creates will provide a local clearing house for information and com- plaints, and hopefully keep some people out of small claims court — a benefit for both tenants and landlords. • Locate PeaceHealth’s new medical cen- ter in Glenwood instead of north Springfield? Excellent idea, and PeaceHealth’s objections about poor traf- fic access to Glenwood are silly. The area is on a main highway between Eugene and Springfield, bus rapid transit is already planned, a new I-5 interchange at Franklin has been talked about for years, the hospital could have its “healing” river frontage (there’s even a river bend near- by), Glenwood could use an economic boost, and PeaceHealth’s major donors in ginning in January. Fund- raising is currently going on to support the position. “Given the ap- parent results of the apparent elec- tion, there is plenty to be done to con- tinue agitating the grassroots about abuses HOPE MARSTON of our fundamental rights,” says Marston. She was one of the key people in the region during 2002 and 2003 coordi- nating local resistance to elements of the USA PATRIOT Act, including persuading local governments to write resolutions in op- position. Marston had the simple title of “orga- nizer” at ESSN, a staff position she took over when Sarah Jacobson left last year for Guatemala. Jacobson is back and doing some Eugene might respond better to a less contentious and more central location for the new hospital. We suspect PeaceHealth’s biggest objection is that it has already poured millions into its flawed plans at RiverBend. • More feedback to the editor this past week: Lots of speculation on why the con- servative John Musumeci would buy a radio station and give it liberal Air America programming, and even local progressive content. Readers speculate Musumeci just wants a tax write-off, and maybe suck ad revenue from EW, the R-G and other “liberal” media. Bottom line? Diversity in media is always a good thing. More complaints this week about our free ads for free pets. We’re looking into it. A McKenzie River resident complained about ODOT’s plans to designate the scenic Highway 126 as a “freight express- way.” We also heard from several readers saying our nation’s entire electoral system needs to be overhauled. And a couple of folks pointed out The Portland Mercury’s spoof of Willamette Week. If you can’t find a hard copy, check it out at www.portlandmercury.com
