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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 2, 2005)
hasn’t stopped them in the past. Councilor Betty Taylor was the lone “no” vote on the city’s building plans. Taylor said she wanted the city to really listen to public input and be open to reconsidering renovation and the use of the $30 million. But Friends of Eugene President Kevin Matthews said it doesn’t look like that’s what citizens will get. “It’s as if the council is an un- movable rock.” — Alan Pittman COMMENT NOW ON GENDER ID The Eugene Human Rights Commission (HRC) is currently accepting public comment re- garding a proposal to add protections based on gender identity to the city’s anti-discrimination code. Proposed code revisions including gender identity protections were developed and submit- ted to the HRC by the Gender Identity Work Group, an ad hoc committee of the commission. The proposed code revisions can be found on line at www.ci.eugene.or.us/hrc-erac/hrc- site/code/codedraft1.htm Community members are encouraged to submit comments by phone, letter, or email to the Eugene HRC, hrc@ci.eugene.or.us; 777 Pearl St. Room 105, Eugene 97401, 682-5177. The public comment period closes June 20. A public hearing is also coming up at the HRC meeting at 7 pm Tuesday, June 21 in the Council Chambers at City Hall. Gender identity is defined in the proposed code revisions as “a person’s actual or per- ceived sex, including a person’s identity appear- ance, expression or behavior, whether or not that identity, appearance, expression or behav- ior is different from that traditionally associated with the person’s sex at birth.” The code revi- sions would provide protections based on gen- der identity in places of employment, housing, and public accommodation. Similar code lan- guage has already been adopted in Portland, Salem, Beaverton, Bend, Lake Oswego, and Multnomah and Benton Counties, as well as in more than 70 other cities, counties and states across the country. ECO-TOURISM HERE AT HOME Eco-tourism usually conjures up visions of bird-watching in tropical rainforests, but a local non-profit group is saying Lane County could become a major destination for people wanting to learn how to live sustainably. A community gathering and dinner is coming up to talk about how to build the local economy through eco- tourism. The public is invited to the Family and Community Town Supper (FACTS) from 6 to 8 pm Wednesday, June 15 at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church parish hall, 13th and Pearl, Eugene. The event is presented by Helios Resource Network (www.heliosnetwork.org, 284-7020). Food (pozolé and flan) will be prepared by Juventud FACETA of the Amigos Multicultural Services Center. Tickets are $5 and children who are not eating can get in free. Presenting will be County Commissioner Pete Sorenson, Mayor Kitty Piercy, Sue Gorham of the Convention and Visitors Association of Lane County, and others. “Lane County is already seen as ‘the sus- tainability county’ by environmental groups around the country, with good reason,” reads a statement from Helios. “However, in order to attract these organizations to hold conferences, retreats and meetings in Lane County, and envi- ronmentally conscious tourists who choose to travel green and see the sustainable sights, there are some gaps in the infrastructure to fill. “These gaps in services and products could provide many living wage jobs in Lane County, while making Lane a veritable sustainability showcase, and an even greater place to live and work. There is no upper limit in sight for the kinds of clean, earth-friendly businesses and at- tractions that could be created and supported by tourists and locals alike.” POLITICAL TERRORISM What is terrorism? The FBI’s official defini- tion broadly includes any politically motivated crime. But the Bush administration appears to define it only as any politically motivated crime from the political left, not right. Congressional Quarterly reported recently that a Department of Homeland Security do- mestic anti-terrorism planning document fo- cuses on environmental and animal rights ac- tivist property destruction to the exclusion of right-wing terrorist groups who have killed or maimed hundreds of Americans. In 1995, 168 people died in the Oklahoma City bombing. In 2003, a Texan white supremacist and anti-gov- ernment radical was caught with a weapon of mass destruction, enough cyanide bombs to kill hundreds of people, CQ reported. William Krar was also caught with machine guns, 60 pipe bombs and remote-controlled brief case bombs and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Five years ago, local environmental activist Jeff Luers got double that sentence after burning up a few SUVs. — Alan Pittman EW TAKES SIX AWARDS Eugene Weekly won six regional awards from the Society of Professional Journalists’ Northwest Excellence in Journalism contest. The awards were based on 2004 editorial con- tent and design and were judged by journalists from out of state. Art Director Kevin Dougherty won first place in the cover design category, based on a series of covers during the year. Alan Pittman won four awards in the Oregon non-daily newspaper category. He won a first place for environmental reporting for “Unraveling Measure 37,” a Dec. 2 cover story about the legal tangles of an anti-land use regu- lation initiative. He won a second place for gov- ernment reporting for “Squirrelly,” a July 29 piece about the city squirreling away money for a new police station while neglecting other city services. He also won a second place in compre- hensive coverage for the July 5 piece, “More Magañas?” (and follow-up stories), about po- lice reform in the wake of an officer sex abuse scandal. Pittman won a third place for investiga- tive reporting for the March 18 news piece, “Red Faced,” about allegations of drunken fights, groping and nudity at a sheriff’s deputy Christmas party. Kera Abraham won an honorable mention in environmental reporting for “Restoration,” a July 1 cover story about volunteers working to preserve and restore urban natural areas. The Register-Guard, competing with other large dailies, won four SPJ awards, including a first place for its 2004 series on domestic vio- lence. CORRECTIONS/ CLARIFICATIONS The Gemini Festival listed in last week’s Summer Guide is a private gathering and should not have appeared. Also, McMenamins Edgefield’s 94th Birthday Celebration takes place June 2, not June 3 as listed. BY PAUL NEEVEL ETHAN HUGHES Having seen the fishing industry crash as a kid in Gloucester, Mass., Ethan Hughes got into environmental science at the University of Vermont and spent six months at a pipeline spill in the Ecuadoran rainforest. “I lived with the Siona tribe,” he says. “That’s where the superhero was born.” Equally inspired by comic books and tribal animal costumes, Hughes became “Yuccaman” to address a group focused on “Forests for Justice” in Quito. Later, as a roving environmental educator during the ‘90s, he adopted other superhero identities. After a year on staff at Aprovecho Research Center in Oregon (www.aprovecho.net), Hughes settled on a homestead near Cottage Grove in 2000. In his current guise as the “Blazing Echidna,” an endangered burrowing mammal in New Guinea, he maintains the Heroes Alliance Hotline at 942-3118. “We have around 50 superheroes in Eugene and Cottage Grove,” he says. “Each has a cos- tume and an identity. Anyone can call for help — carpentry, planting trees, whatever. It’s all volunteer, no pay.” JUNE 2, 2005 9
