news briefs
BAD SUMMER
FOR OUTDOORS?
With gas prices soaring and a spate of
outdoor-adventure related deaths in the
news is the “staycation” going to trump fit-
ness oriented wilderness treks?
Five people have died on southern
Oregon’s Rogue River since the first of June
thanks to higher water and faster currents on
the popular whitewater destination. Half of
those people were wearing life jackets. This
isn’t the first time Oregon has had a high
number of boating deaths. In 2006 it was the
Deschutes River that claimed the most lives
— six — while the Rogue claimed two that
year.
After Chapin Clark, the retired dean of
the University of Oregon’s law school, was
killed when a fishing boat overturned on the
Rogue on 2002, Oregon required that boat-
ers on guided trips navigating Class III rap-
ids or stronger wear lifejackets and carry a
throw bag to pull overboard rafters to safe-
ty.
The group American Whitewater, which
tracks rafting and kayaking related deaths,
showed the highest number of deaths
occurred in 2003, when 57 people died
TED TAYLOR
The participants found empty
metered parking spaces in the area
of 8th Avenue, Pearl and Broadway
and rolled out green carpeting or
even real grass sod and set up lawn
chairs and hammocks. To keep
city meter readers happy, the group
fed the parking meters and got
some help from amused and sup-
portive passers-by. Some fed the
meters, and one woman left a dol-
lar bill since she had no change.
City ordinances apparently do not
prohibit such peaceful activities as
long as meters are fed.
“I’ve never done anything like
this, and it’s great, lots of fun,”
said Lauren Robertson from her
parking space on 8th a few feet
away from sidewalk diners at
Mezza Luna Pizzaria.
Others who came by got
involved and stopped to chat. One
woman stayed and talked for an hour.
“We’re getting a lot of questions, and a
few weird looks,” said Aubra Penner,
Robertson’s daughter and a PSU student on
vacation.
What did the merchants think about
nearby parking spaces being occupied for
eight hours? “Starbucks was not a great
vibe, but everyone else has been great,” said
Robertson.
Others participating included Amy
Annino, Christo Brehm, Krinstina Koenig,
Michelle Parkins, Lanbin Ren, Rena
Schlachter, Lauren Schwarts and Anne
Godfrey.
PARK(ing) Day (parkingday.org) began
in San Francisco in 2005, and by 2007 had
grown to more than 200 temporary parks in
50 cities worldwide. Its mission statement:
“To rethink the ways streets are used, call
attention to the need for urban parks, and
improve the quality of urban human habitat
… at least until the meter runs out.”
— Ted Taylor
slant
Michelle Parkins (in hammock),
Lauren Robertson and Aubra Penner relax
in front of Mezza Luna and Starbucks
shooting the rapids on America’s rivers.
However, with 10 million people a year raft-
ing the rivers, the number is still fairly low.
Other Oregonian injuries reported this
summer include a Salem man who fell to his
death while hiking Smith Rock in Central
Oregon and a Springfield man who survived
a grizzly bear attack near Yellowstone.
Despite the possible dangers of the out-
doors, Eugeneans may want to stay healthy
and live a little longer by heading out to por-
tions of the newly acquired Amazon
Headwaters Forest after the Lane County
Fair to hike off some of that fried food and
cotton candy. — Camilla Mortensen
PERMACULTURE
GATHERING
For 11 years, people have been gathering
in Lane County to share ideas and inspira-
tion about creating sustainable human envi-
ronments. This year’s Permaculture
Gathering, also known as the Cascadia
EcoFair, runs Aug. 29-31 at River’s Turn
Farm north of Coburg. Information is avail-
able by visiting cascadiaecofair.org or
emailing jflan@efn.org or calling
345-6822.
The content of the gathering is based on
“an ethic of interacting with the natural
world in mutually beneficial ways,” and is
not just for permaculture designers, but for
“anyone wanting to harmonize their life
with the biosphere.”
The event includes camping, meals,
entertainment, farm tours, and workshops
on appropriate technology, permaculture
plants, adapting to the climate crisis, alter-
native energy, ecobuilding, fermented foods,
culture change, relocalization of the econo-
my, gardening, farming and farmscaping,
cheesemaking and more.
Sliding scale ticket prices start at $45;
daily rates, work trades and scholarships are
available.
ACTIVIST ALERT
• An LRAPA public hearing on “stream-
lining” the permitting process for industrial
polluters is scheduled from 5:30 to 8 pm
Aug. 26 at the Springfield Public Library.
Those who cannot attend the hearing can
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
• Lane Regional Air Protection Agency is holding a public hearing on “streamlining”
the permitting process for industrial polluters but you probably don’t know about it unless
you are in the habit of reading legal ads. From what we can tell, no press releases were
faxed or emailed, and the notice is nearly impossible to find at lrapa.org (click on
Permitting & Enforcement, then Public Comment, then Rulemaking).
This hearing deals with 385 pages of changes proposed by LRAPA staff, and buried in
the minutia are some significant changes that could affect the quality of the air we
breathe for generations. The new rules are intended to align LRAPA more closely with
DEQ and appear to be more geared to minimizing staff workload than proactive and
innovative air quality management. LRAPA has the legal authority to develop more
stringent rules and regulations than the weak state DEQ, and if we’re not going to pursue
stronger controls, then what’s the point of funding our own agency?
The new rules, for example, “encourage” polluters to ”take into account the overall
impact of the control methods selected, considering risks to all environmental media and
risks from all affected products and processes.” Why not change “encourage” to “require”
and set standards and benchmarks?
We can’t blame just the staff for weak rules. They answer to the LRAPA board, which
is currently split between industry interests and public health interests, with industry
carrying more weight. That balance needs to change if we’re ever going to see any
innovation in the public interest. Meanwhile, public input does make a difference (see
Activist Alert for more info and contacts).
• Parking meters downtown? As much as we might find them irritating, there’s no con-
sensus to be found on whether parking meters have an overall positive or negative force
on the vitality and livability of our city. We have debated this topic for years. In the end it’s
an emotional but inconsequential issue, and City Councilor Mike Clark knows that. His pro-
posal to remove downtown parking meters is just part of his campaign to distract us from
more substantive issues (such as the crying need for an independent performance audi-
tor), put Mayor Kitty Piercy in an awkward no-win position and get his name in the paper.
Oops. It just happened again.
• In this column Aug. 7 we wrote about the big photo in the R-G of Scott Thomas hold-
ing a misleading sign reading “A Million Dollars for Police Review While Criminals Run
Loose.” Turns out there’s a Detective Scott Thomas in the Eugene Police Department. Is it
the same guy? The EPD isn’t saying. And a Scott Thomas has gotten two recent letters
published in the R-G supporting the cops and blasting civilian review. Thomas has a right
to his express his opinions, of course, but it seems relevant to the community discussion
that he identify himself as a police officer, just as the police union leaders identify them-
selves in op-eds. Makes us wonder who else on the EPD is actively politicizing police
review.
On the other hand, we know not all cops on the force think alike. We get off-the-record
comments from EPD officers who think reform of the department is long overdue,
including a strong civilian review process.
• We’re delighted that Eugene’s annual S.L.U.G. Queen competition is getting the publici-
ty it deserves from the mainstream press this year. Hopefully this means that even more
of Eugene’s usually wacky candidates will turn out in slimy costumes on Sept. 5 with their
typical display of talents. We cheer S.L.U.G. Queen contender Constance Van Flandern’s
efforts to jazz up Eugene’s quirky contest, but we’re puzzled by her reported “disappoint-
ment” in the voters’ choice not to give $40 million to developers in the city’s urban
renewal measure last fall. The S.L.U.G. Queen’s traditionally use their “rain” to raise
happening people
BY PAUL NEEVEL
JOY HATCH
“When I was pregnant,
there was a lot of pres-
sure to buy stuff,” says
Joy Hatch, a teacher at
Shasta Middle School. “I
didn’t want to do it.” The
daughter of frugal Iowans
who honeymooned in
Oregon and decided to
stay, Hatch grew up in
Newport. “My dad was a
game warden, and my
mom stayed home,” she
says. “She hung up the wash, canned, and made our bread, yogurt and hand
soap.” Hatch had stayed in touch with college friend Rebecca Kelley, who was
pregnant at the same time in Portland. Unable to find a book on eco-friendly
child raising, they decided to write one. “We had no idea how to publish a
book,” says Hatch, who started writing in the spring of 2007, six months after
her son Roscoe was born. “It was a lot of trial and error.” While waiting for
their agent to find a publisher, Hatch and Kelley launched a website, The
Thrifty Green Baby Guide (greenbabyguide.com). “We started a blog in
December,” says Hatch. “Every month the number of viewers has doubled.
Last month we had 10,000 visitors.” Three weeks ago, Hatch and Kelley got
the news that their book will be published in 2010.
EUGENE WEEKLY AUGUST 21, 2008 9