WAR DEAD
Since the U.S. invasion of
Iraq began on
March 20, 2003
(last week’s numbers in parentheses):
• 3,849 U.S. troops killed*
(3,839)
• 28,171 U.S. troops injured*
(28,171)
• 128 U.S. military suicides*
(128)
• 304 coalition troops
killed** (303
• 933 contractors killed
(accurate updates NA)
• 83,029 Iraqi civilians
killed*** (82,776)
• $466.1 billion cost of war
($464.1 billion)
blew into Eugene on a day when tempera-
tures were soaring up to 100 degrees. ODA
and LRAPA received hundreds of com-
plaints.
The town hall will take place from 7 to
8:30 pm Wednesday, Nov. 14 at St. Peter’s
Catholic Church Parish Hall, 1150 Maxwell
Road, in north Eugene. For more informa-
tion, contact OTA at www.oregontoxics.org
or 465-8860. — Camilla Mortensen
PARK POLITICS
IN SPOTLIGHT
• $132.5 million cost to
Eugene taxpayers
($131.9 million)
* through Nov. 5, 2007; source: icasualties.org; some
figures only updated monthly
** estimate; source: icasualties.org
*** highest estimate; source: iraqbodycount.org; based
on confirmed media reports; other groups calculate
civilian deaths as high as 655,000 to one million
park plans, Cranz said she’s learned a few im-
portant lessons. One is that ambitious goals
and ideas for parks make them better. “Make
no little plans,” she said.
Another lesson is that parks play an im-
portant role in allowing the denser cities that
are key to sustainability. “The higher level of
density we live in, the greater the need of
amenity we have,” she said. To bring people
into a dense city to live, “it has to be gor-
geous.” — Alan Pittman
Interest in urban parks is growing in
Eugene, with many citizens calling for new
parks across from the downtown library, con-
necting downtown to the riverfront and on
the former EWEB industrial land.
The growing grassroots interest in parks
was demonstrated Monday, Nov. 5 when
about 150 people filled the conference room
at the UO’s Baker Center downtown to hear
an academic talk by Galen Cranz, one of the
nation’s leading urban park experts.
Cranz, an architecture professor at U.C.
Berkley for 33 years and the author of The
Politics of Park Design, lectured on how U.S.
parks have evolved from naturalistic to social
to utilitarian to open space and now to sus-
tainable, ecological designs.
In response to last Saturday’s talk at UO
In Eugene, urban parks have be-
by revisionist historian Mark Weber,
come a political issue with the
the Harold Schnitzer Family
environmental community
Program in Judaic Studies and
pushing for more green open
the UO Honors College have
space while the business
organized a symposium on
community and city staff
“the
phenomenon
of
generally oppose urban
Holocaust
denial,”
on
parks, arguing public parks
Thursday, Nov. 8.
will attract the wrong element
The symposium will take
and the land would be better paved
place on the evening before the an-
over and developed.
niversary of Kristallnacht, also
Mark Weber
Cranz noted a similar debate
known as “the Night of the
took place with the creation of the nation’s
Broken Glass” in reference to all the shop and
first urban park, Central Park in New York
home windows broken during the 1938
City, in the 19th century. The original park
pogrom. Thousands of Jewish businesses
was supposed to be near housing on the wa-
were destroyed, more than 1,000 synagogues
terfront in lower Manhattan, Cranz said. But
were burned and almost 30,000 Jewish men
commercial interests wanted the land for de-
were sent to concentration camps that night,
velopment and pushed the park out to the
according to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial
then hinterlands in the center of the island.
Museum.
But after real estate prices boomed around
Speakers at the symposium will include
the Central Park, “business interest very
professors Shaul Cohen, David Frank and
quickly caught on to the advantages of
David Luebke and Rabbi Jonathan Seidel.
parks,” Cranz said.
The symposium will take place from 7 to 8
After looking at hundreds of parks and
pm Thursday in 207 Chapman Hall at the UO
HOLOCAUST
DENIAL
DISCUSSION
• Now what? It’s going to take time for the dust to settle following the
defeat this week of Eugene Ballot Measure 20-134. What will help carry
us forward in building a more vital downtown? Let’s start with a better
understanding of why the measure failed. Voters had dozens of reasons
to support or oppose 20-134, but probably the deciding factor was lack
of trust in our city government. For better or worse, a lot of Eugeneans
were uncomfortable writing a $40 million check and not knowing how it
was going to be spent. We’ve seen the bad decisions city government
has made over the decades: Earlier urban renewal fiascos, allowing
Valley River Center to drain downtown, backroom deals to put the pol-
luting Hynix/Hyundai plant on wetlands, unwarranted tax breaks, weak
land-use codes, the ignoring of railyard pollution, outrageous police
behavior going on for years, etc. Our city government is improving, just
not quickly enough to turn around all those years of secrecy and mis-
management.
There are specific things we can do as a city to restore trust in our
city government. An independent performance auditor is a logical first
step to bringing accountability and transparency to each city depart-
ment, from police to public works. Hiring a new city manager who wel-
comes oversight would be another good step.
We’ve discovered in this election that lack of trust is neither a con-
servative nor progressive issue; it’s a Eugene issue. With that in mind,
let’s get over our grumpy disagreements and work together to create
more, smaller downtown successes that we can build upon.
• The Register-Guard is diligent at self-censorship when it comes to the
dreaded f-word, but every once in a while it slips into print in photog-
raphy, most likely by “accident.” A couple of years ago a crowd shot at
an antiwar rally in Eugene showed a small, but very clear “Fuck War”
sign among the protesters. Now, in the R-G’s “Oregon Football” section
Sunday, Nov. 5, the huge photo above the fold shows wide receiver
Jaison Williams trying to catch a pass. Hand-written on his glove, just
above the Nike Swoosh, are the words “Fuck It.” In the R-G sports pages
Tuesday was a blather of silly apologies and excuses, and we expect
Phil Knight got a call since his beloved Swoosh was defiled. No such
embarrassment and fawning over the “Fuck War” sign. Is that because
UO sports has become sacred, even a religion?
Williams claims “Fuck It” it was just a self-admonishment to not take
his occasional fumbles too seriously. Or is this really the new secret
battle cry for the UO football team? Hey, it seems to be working.
Rhyming opportunities abound, so will the UO Cheerleaders work the
new slogan into their repertory? Any suggestions from our readers on
words for such a cheer?
• This week we begin a new column, ¡Ask
a Mexican! by Gustavo Arellano of
Orange County’s OC Weekly. Arellano
answers readers’ questions about all
sorts of topics from culture to immigra-
tion, but mostly dealing with stereo-
types. “What part of illegal don’t
Mexicans understand?” “Why do
Mexicans call white people gringos?”
“What’s La Bamba all about?” “Why are
Mexican girls so beautiful when they are
teenagers, then over the years, they become fat, old bags?” Arellano
tackles all the stereotypes and abandons politically correct language in
this sometimes outrageous column. “There is a lot of racism out there
and stereotyping continues,” Arellano said in a 2006 interview on
alibi.com. “As a child of Mexican immigrants, I’m not going to stand idly
by and let people perpetuate those stereotypes. I’m going to go after
them with everything I have.” The column, with its purposefully stereo-
typed caricature, runs in dozens of alternative newspapers nationwide,
but has also been featured in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times
and Reuters news service.
• What have you been missing on EW! A blog? Oh, just murder, incest,
the sweep of the heroic narrative, etc., etc., etc. Our intrepid (and lucky)
performing and visual arts editor, Suzi Steffen, had an inspiring time
during her fellowship at the 11-day Columbia University/National
Endowment for the Arts Institute in Classical Music and Opera. And
she’s been blogging about it off and on since she returned. If you’re a
taxpayer, you supported this endeavor; read Steffen’s reports out at
blogs.eugeneweekly.com (where you’ll also find Molly Templeton’s
takes on Heroes, Alan Pittman on bike use in Eugene, Ted Taylor’s ran-
dom rants and Chuck Adams on darn near everything on the calendar).
SLANT includes short opinion pieces, observations and rumor-chasing notes compiled by the EW staff.
Heard any good rumors lately? Contact Ted Taylor at 484-0519, editor@eugeneweekly.com
NOVEMBER 8, 2007 13