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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (April 30, 2009)
slant NEWS BRIEFS Coalition of Oregon in Salem from 9 am to 3:30 pm Thursday, April 30, to support the Tobacco Prevention Act of 2009 (HB 2122). The act would increase the state’s cigarette tax by 60 cents to increase funding for tobacco education programs. Activists are gathering for an 11:30 am press conference at the Capitol building’s press room. • The free Beyond Patriarchy con- ference is May 1-3 on the UO campus. Keynote speaker this year is Andrea Smith, author of Conquest and co-founder of Incite! Women of Color Against Violence. She will speak at 7 pm Friday at the EMU. The gath- ering is “intended to provide information, support, and healing surrounding all forms of oppression through a radical and feminist perspective,” according to the conference vision statement. “Patriarchy is a system of domination which privileges masculinity and enforces strict, exclusive, and unequal gender roles; and which interlocks with rac- ism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, xenophobia, and all other forms of oppres- sion.” See schedule at http://beyondpatriar- chyconference.wordpress.com • The 10th Annual Global Marijuana March begins at noon Saturday, May 2, at the old federal building, 7th and Pearl (see cover story this week). Speakers include Elvy Musikka, Dr. Arthur Livermore, Allan Erickson, Brian Michaels, “Nurse Ed” Glick, Jennifer Valley, Shawn Flury, Barry Stull, the Rev, Will I Am, Jim Greig and Dan Koozer. Salem’s gathering will be from 9 am to 3 pm Friday at the State Capitol Gallery. Portland’s colorful march and rally run from 10 am to 5 pm Saturday, beginning at Pioneer Courthouse Square. • Town hall meetings with Sen. Bill Morrisette and Rep. Phil Barnhart are planned at 11:30 am Saturday, May 2, at the Creswell Community Center; 10 am Saturday, May 16, at the Eugene City Council chambers, 777 Pearl St.; and 11:30 am Saturday, May 23, at Coburg City Hall. • Oregon attorney Tom Nelson will speak on Gaza at 5:30 pm Sunday, May 3, at happening people the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library; and at 7 pm Monday, May 4, at Harris Hall, 8th and Oak in Eugene. Nelson visited Gaza as part of an eight-member National Lawyers Guild delegation to inves- tigate possible “violations of international humanitarian law” committed by Israel dur- ing its military offensive in Gaza. He will share the delegation’s findings. The talks are sponsored by the Al-Nakba Awareness Project and the Corvallis-Albany Friends of Middle East Peace Group. • Author George Wuerthner is speak- ing at a public forum at 7 pm Wednesday, May 6, at Harris Hall, 8th and Oak. The forum is titled, “Wildfire Hysteria & ‘Forest Biomass’ Greenwash,” and is sponsored by Eco Advocates. See Viewpoint this week. • Designer Jimi Witt of Mindful Living solid wall yurt manufactures (for- merly Oregon Yurtworks) will speak at 7 pm Wednesday, May 6, at BRING’s Planet Improvement Center, 4446 Franklin Blvd. His talk, hosted by the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild, will discuss “the design processes and the beauty and benefits of yurt living.” • WOW Hall’s annual meeting is coming up at 6 pm June 2, and the Community Center for the Performing Arts is looking for more candidates for board positions, particularly people who have a background in business, nonprofit manage- ment and fundraising. To be eligible for the board, candidates need to be members for at least 30 days, so the deadline to join the organization is May 2. ON THE WEB THIS WEEK • More letters and Viewpoints, and additional commentaries on medical mari- juana. • On the blog: Black Lips review and photos. BY PAUL NEEVEL MINALEE SAKS A New England native who moved with her parents to California at age 13, Minalee Saks earned a degree in psychol- ogy from UC Berkeley. She got into edu- cation as an intern with the Native American Teacher Corps in Black River Falls, Wisc., and taught at Eastside School after she and her then-husband moved to Eugene in 1975. She also got pregnant and had Joshua, the first of two sons, a year later. "When I took him for a walk in the stroller, there was no one around," says Saks, who signed up for an infant temperament study at the UO. "I wanted to talk to someone about my kid." Saks joined with researchers Andi Fischoff and Sue Kelly to found Birth To Three, a non- profit organization that brings families with young children together to create support groups and share parenting experiences. Since 1978, when it began with 45 families, BT3 has served more than 80,000 parents and children in Lane County. "This is my life," says Saks, the prima- ry author of Make Parenting a Pleasure and other curricula now in use in over 800 sites around the US and in 13 other countries. "I believe that being a parent is the most important thing that any of us can do." Learn more at birthto3.org. WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • A judge punished Taser victim Ian Van Ornum last week with probation and com- munity service for two misdemeanors. That’s how the criminal justice system works: punishment by a judge after a trial. Unfortunately, the EPD already tried, convicted and more than amply punished Van Ornum on the street last year for annoying a police officer. His EPD-imposed sentence was harsh: twisted arms, yanked hair, slammed to the pavement, a concussion and two torturous 50,000-volt shocks. • EWEB is meeting this week to talk about the Seneca biomass generation plant proposal and a decision is expected at the board’s May 5 meeting on whether or not to buy electricity from Seneca. EWEB is in a bit of a bind since the electricity generated from this plant could be sold to another utility, but regardless, we urge EWEB to say “no thanks,” and not become a party to environmental degradation beyond what we already endure. For those used to the smog of Los Angeles and other metro areas, the air in the Eugene-Springfield area seems pristine on most days. But not only do we generate a remarkable amount of air pollution in our area, the hills and mountains surrounding our valley tend to hold pollution in place. In national health studies, Lane County ranks high in childhood cancer deaths and asthma, and our air is ranked high for carbon monoxide and hazardous chemicals. A good book on this topic is The Truth About Where You Live: An Atlas for Action on Toxins and Mortality by Benjamin Goldman. EWEB has plenty of electricity for now and even sells its excess to California utili- ties. That could change when BPA reduces its output by more than a third in 2011, but that gives EWEB time to work on conservation and develop new and cleaner power sources. The Seneca biomass plant also needs approval by LRAPA, our local air quality agency, and public hearings will be held. Here the decision might be easier to quanti- fy. LRAPA can compare the air quality impact of seasonal slash burning with the 24/7 output of a wood-fired generator upwind from our population centers, plus the diesel exhaust from logging equipment and countless truck trips hauling wood debris as far as 50 miles. And why do we need to haul so much wood mass out of our forests? Fire protec- tion? Or simple profits for Seneca? George Wuerthner in Viewpoints this week out- lines the role of dead wood in forest ecosystems. • The U.S. has set a bad example for the rest of the world with our sprawling car culture and excessive consumption, according to Eugene architect Michael Pease. But perhaps, if we can find the will, Eugene can become a more walkable, transit-friendly example for the nation and the world. Pease laid out his concerns about our future at a City Club talk April 24. Pease says Eugene, like all American cities, has become suburbanized with low- density housing and car-dependent transportation. The problem, of course, is that our way of life consumes far too many resources to be sustainable. Painful changes are already being forced upon us, and future generations will feel it the most. We’ve heard all this before, but Pease remains hopeful for three reasons: Eugene is still a small enough community that we can talk about changes and make them happen; we have a strong “communitarian” sense that encourages working together; and Eugene is a “very beautiful place” to live and work — we can be a magnet for people from all over the country who want to join us in building a model for positive and proactive adaptation. There’s no time left for baby steps, he says. The economy, transportation, urban design, energy and the environment must be addressed “all at once,” and with a clear vision of what we want to see happen. Radical change will not come from local government, he says. He’s right. We have some good people in elected office and on city staff, but they are thwarted by those who fear change and enjoy talking good ideas to death. It’s time for the many smart and visionary people in our community to rise up and provide the decisive leader- ship to confront the serious challenges we face. Government will follow. 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 EUGENE WEEKLY APRIL 30, 2009 9
