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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2009)
news briefs and trim in America. But it appears unlikely that would produce much in the way of local wages as that would undermine the point of the tactic. — Alan Pittman an extensive system of annual bike counts at 165 locations. The data there show a six- fold increase since 1991 in the percentage of commuters who across bridges by bicycle into downtown. — Alan Pittman BIKE RIDING OLCV DROPS, OR NOT SCORECARD RATES LAWMAKERS Bike commuting in Eugene declined from 8.5 percent in 2007 to 8 percent in 2008, according to the American Community Survey (ACS), but it’s hard to tell if that means much. The ACS reports a margin of error of 1.7 percent for its biking in Eugene number, making a half a percent change statistically insignificant. The U.S. Census Bureau does the ACS by sending forms to about one in 40 households in the nation. In the past the ACS bike commute num- bers have fluctuated wildly from 5.2 percent in 2006 to 8.5 percent in 2007. The 2007 number had a 2.1 percent margin of error. More accurate historical numbers have come from the 10-year Census long form sent to one in six households. Those num- bers show bike commuting declined in Eugene from 8 percent in 1980 to 5.5 per- cent in 2000. The Census will do another count in 2010, but dumped the long form to save money. That leaves only the less accurate ACS survey for commute data. It’s difficult to tell how to compare the fluctuating ACS numbers with the 10-year Census numbers. ACS survey results on bike commuting could vary widely depending on the time of year the survey is conducted, for example. To get more accurate data, Portland uses Lane County’s state lawmakers beat state averages with higher scores in the Oregon League of Conservation Voters’ 2009 Environmental Scorecard, released last week. The OLCV assessment looks at how Oregon legislators voted on 21 key bills addressing clean energy, water manage- ment, transportation, land use and public health. Earning 90 percent scores were Sen. Bill Morrisette, and Reps. Phil Barnhart, Paul Holvey and Nancy Nathanson. Not far behind were Sen. Floyd Prozanski at 79 percent, former Sen. Vicki Walker at 78 percent, former Rep. Chris Edwards at 86 percent and Rep. Terry Beyer at 71 percent. “Lane County legislators know that their communities care about clean air and water, energy independence and a better legacy for our kids,” says Andy Maggi, OLCV Lane County organizer, in a press release. “We applaud our local representatives and sena- tors for their work.” Bringing up the rear was Rep. Bruce Hanna of Roseburg with a 10 percent rating. Hanna was included since parts of south slant • The Eugene police auditor’s Civilian Review Board is scheduled to do its long-delayed, first full-on review of a community impact case this Thursday just after EW hits the streets (see Activist Alert). But the city has refused to say just what the review board will be actu- ally reviewing. Huh? That’s right. Whether the police chief decided to discipline any officers involved in the Tasering of a peaceful environmental protester last May is a secret. It’s also a symptom of the wacky police oversight rules the Eugene mayor and City Council set up in defiance of two citywide votes for police account- ability and transparency. Elected officials and the police union have long shown that they care more about keeping police misconduct secret than actually stopping it. We saw how well that worked when Eugene police officer Roger Magaña was out in uniform raping women. • Looks like the clipboard gang wrangled more than enough signatures to put tax fairness before the vot- ers next January. Two ballot measures will attempt to override the Legislature’s modestly higher taxes on corporations and Oregonians who can afford it. The big argument for blocking the tax hikes is to protect jobs in Oregon. But we heard from a local home health care worker who tells us, “If the tax fairness legislation does not [prevail], it will actually cost jobs.” Jewel Hall works for Senior and Disabled Services. “Before the tax fairness legislation, we were looking at extreme cuts to services, and in turn workers losing hours and jobs,” she says. She goes on to say that more seniors and the disabled will have to be institutionalized, “or WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM Lane County are included in his House District 7. Likewise, Sen. Joanne Verger of Coos Bay was included. She earned a 70 percent in Senate District 5. “More times than not, legislators repre- sented the will of the vast majority of Oregonians, voting to protect public health, preserve fish and wildlife habitat, and take responsibility for making sure we pass on Oregon’s natural legacy to our grandchil- dren,” says Evan Manvel, OLCV legislative affairs director. “But despite significant progress, the science is clear that we’ve got much more work to do.” More information can be found at www. olcv.org/scorecard WAR DEAD Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq began on March 20, 2003 (last week’s numbers in parentheses): In Iraq • 4,348 U.S. troops killed* (4,347) • 31,510 U.S. troops injured* (31,501) • 185 U.S. military suicides* (185) • 1,123 U.S. contractors killed (accurate updates NA) • 101,805 to 1.2 million civilians killed*** (101,608) • $686.6 billion cost of war ($684.5 billion) • $195.2 million cost to Eugene taxpayers ($194.7 million) In Afganistan ACTIVIST ALERT • 844 U.S. troops killed* (835) • 4,081 U.S. troops injured* (4,004) • Eugene’s Civilian Review Board will meet at 6 pm Thursday, Oct. 1, in the Bascom- Tykeson Room of the Eugene Public Library to conduct its review of the Ian • $227.9 billion cost of war ($227.3 million) • $64.8 million cost to Eugene taxpayers ($64.6 million) * through September 28, 2009; source: icasualties.org; some figures only updated monthly ** sources: icasualties.org, defenselink.mil *** highest estimate; source: iraqbodycount.org; based on confirmed media reports; other groups calculate civilian deaths as high as 655,000 (Lancet survey, 2006) to 1.2 million (Opinion Research Business survey, 2008) Lane Area Herbicide Spray Schedule • Damage from gypsy moth spraying (SE Eugene)?: If you feel you or your family members were sickened, property contaminated, or your rights were violated by the forced exposure to the Oregon Department of Agriculture's aerial spraying of the biological (and chemical) insecticide FORAY 48B during April and May, you need to file a Notice of Tort Claim against the state of Oregon no later than Monday, Oct. 26, in order to preserve your right to recover dam- ages. For forms and information, go to forestlanddwellers.org/News/ GypsyMothSpray/ Compiled by Jan Wroncy, Forestland Dwellers: 342-8332, www.forestlanddwellers.org their families will have to come up with the money to keep them in their homes.” About 93 percent of the state’s budget goes direct- ly to education, health care, human services and public safety (see www.defendoregon.org), which means not only social service workers are at risk. Add teachers and cops to the list. • Former governor John Kitzhaber was in Eugene last week talking about what’s broken in our state govern- ment. He wants to be our chief executive again, due in large part to his frustrations: Kids in Oregon today are less likely than their parents to graduate from high school, and they will die younger. These disturbing trends, he tells us, are the result of our continuing to prop up obsolete education and health systems. He’s right. Our health care dollars support a bloated system rather than targeting improved health outcomes. Our education system invests little in the pre-school years that are so critical to keeping kids in school, and out of jail later in life. He also talked about how our energy dollars support an obsolete, fossil fuel–based transpor- tation system. “Everybody loses under the status quo,” he says. “We’re on a trajectory of failure.” What about the national health care debate? Kitzhaber doesn’t expect any significant reforms to come from “inside the Beltway,” but he is optimistic that his Oregon Health Plan could be expanded to become more of a “public option,” perhaps even as a regional demonstration project including Washington state. When it comes to ideas, eloquence and experience, Kitzhaber has set the bar high. Now let’s see what Bill Bradbury and other governor candidates have to say. Bradbury is scheduled at City Club Oct. 30. • Convicted eco-saboteur Jake Ferguson was inter- viewed on CNN this week, and it was irritating to watch. Ferguson didn’t have much to say, but Anderson Cooper trotted out the same old misnomers of “eco- terrorism” and “domestic terrorism,” leading viewers to link sabotage of property with the bloody acts of real terrorists. And CNN didn’t bother to check facts. The Earth Liberation Front (ELF) was talked about as though it were a real organization. It’s actually has no central leadership and no membership. And “The Family” was mentioned several times, even though the loose collaboration of activists didn’t call themselves that. For another view of Eugene’s eco-avengers, search our archives for our national award-winning “Flames of Dissent” series, and follow-up stories on the activists and their trials. • We hear Corvallis radiation oncologist Dr. Michael Huntington has arrived in Washington, D.C., for a big rally this week. He’s been traveling cross-country with the "Mad as Hell Doctors" caravan. Along the way he has been quoted saying, "Americans aren't getting the information they need to make an educated decision about health care. The reality is that a single-payer health care system has been working in other coun- tries for decades and it can work here. But there's so much misinformation, so much undue corporate influ- ence, that the truth doesn't penetrate." EUGENE WEEKLY OCTOBER 1 , 2009 9
