NEWS BRIEFS
says Peter Shapiro of Portland Jobs with
Justice. “The new federal law isn’t a
‘government takeover,’ it’s an insurance
industry takeover. Tax dollars that could be
used to heal the sick are subsidizing an
industry that contributes absolutely
nothing to our health.”
New legislation, called the Affordable
Health Care for All Oregon Act, is being
introduced in the 2011 Legislature by Rep.
Michael Dembrow and Sen. Chip Shields,
The bill means Oregon is seeking to join
Vermont, California and Pennsylvania in
promoting single-payer financing as an
alternative to the national legislation.
To register for the conference visit
www.SinglePayerOregon.org or call (503)
262-4970. Registration is $20, but
scholarships are available so no one will
be turned away.
EUGENE
HAS TOP
COMMUTE
Eugene has the best work commute in
the nation, according to a ranking of 90
cities by TheStreet and Bundle news
websites.
The ranking, based on Census and
other data, shows Eugene with a 17 minute
commute, 11 hours of congestion delay per
year and an estimated average of $348 per
month in car and gas spending. That
compares with bottom ranked Dallas,
Texas, with a 25 minute commute, 53 hour
delay and $593 per month transportation
cost.
The websites’ study (http://bit.ly/
eXxMFf) cites research from the Center
for Neighborhood Technology that links
urban sprawl and freeway dependence to
higher costs of living and wasted
productivity.
Eugene ranks number one in the nation
for bike commuting for a city of its size or
larger, has held in sprawl with an urban
growth boundary and has a comparatively
well supported public transportation system.
But the city is now moving forward
with a possible urban growth boundary
expansion and half a billion dollars in
spending on the Beltline freeway while
bus and bike advocates struggle to improve
cycling facilities and complete a bus rapid
transit system. — Alan Pittman
ACTIVIST ALERT
• Oregon WAND (Women’s Action for
New Directions) monthly program will be
at 6:45 pm Thursday, Jan. 27, at the First
United Methodist Church, 1375 Olive St.
(see www.wandoregon.org). On the
agenda are immigration and the DREAM
Act. Guadalupe Quinn, immigrant rights
activist with Amigos, will speak, along
with Penny Palmer who will share photos
and stories of her experience with “No
More Deaths” from last summer. This
faith-based organization, headquartered in
Tucson, leads volunteer on paths through
the desert, depositing gallon jugs of water
and picking up empty containers.
• Veteran foreign correspondent Reese
Erlich returns to Oregon with a new book,
Conversations with Terrorists: Middle East
Leaders on Politics, Violence, and Empire,
and the award-winning reporter will speak
at 1 pm Thursday, Jan. 27, at LCC Building
17, Room 309, and later at 7 pm in Harris
Hall, 8th & Oak. Free. He will also speak in
Portland Jan. 28. For more information, call
Progressive Voices at 484-9167.
• Author Amina Wadud, who gained
national notoriety in 2005 for leading a
Muslim prayer service and thus breaking a
taboo, will speak on “Islam, Justice, and
Gender Reform” at 7 pm Thursday, Jan.
27, at the Memorial Union Journey Room
at OSU.
• LCC is inviting the public to three
long-range planning workshops this week.
The first was Jan. 26 and the second is
from 1 to 6 pm Thursday, Jan. 27. The
third is from 1 to 6 pm Friday, Jan. 28. All
are held at the Center for Meeting and
Learning (Building 19), Room 214, on the
LCC
main
campus.
Contact
masterplanning@lanecc.edu
• State Sen. Lee Beyer and Rep. Phil
Barnhart are hosting district gatherings
at 7:30 am Thursday, Jan. 27, at Randy’s
Main Street Coffee in Brownsville; and at
7:30 am Friday, Jan. 28, at Creswell
Coffee Company in Creswell. Contact
rep.philbarnhart@state.or.us or call 607-
9207.
• Project Homeless Connect is
preparing for its fifth annual event March
17 at the Fairgrounds. Organizers are
collecting coats, hats, gloves, scarves,
socks, sleeping bags and backpacks, along
with personal hygiene products. Donations
may be dropped off at any St. Vincent de
Paul store. Checks can also be sent to
United Way of Lane County, 3171
Gateway Loop, Springfield 97477.
CIVIL RIGHTS AND
ENVIRO JUSTICE
Environmental justice scholar and activist Beverly Wright, Ph.D. will lecture on,
“The Perilous Consequences of Public Policy Decisions: Weathering the Storm of
Natural and Man-made Disasters in the Gulf,” at 7 pm Wednesday, Feb. 2, at UO’s
EMU Ballroom.
Wright, founder of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice at Dillard
University in New Orleans, has worked for more than 30 years connecting social
justice, environmental hazards, community activism and education.
“In the U.S., ethnic minorities and poor communities bear the brunt of
environmental disasters,” explains Lamia Karim, associate director of the Center for
the Study of Women in Society (CSWS) at the UO. CSWS invited Wright to the UO
as part of its inaugural Lorwin Lectureship, “Women’s Rights in a Global World.”
The lecture series will focus on civil rights and civil liberties,
“Dr. Wright’s research offers
us the kind of insights we require
B EVERLY W RIGHT
to think about effective policies
to protect our environment and
natural habitats,” said Karim.
Founded in 1992, Wright’s
Center for Environmental Justice
focuses on research, policy and
community assistance. In 1995,
the center received federal
funding to develop a training
program in dealing with
hazardous waste cleanup. In a
recent interview, Wright said she
estimates that 75 of her trainees
are involved in the efforts to
clean up the BP oil spill in the
Gulf of Mexico.
For a full listing of the
Lorwin Lectureship series visit:
www.csws.uoregon.edu
— Heather Cyrus
EUGENE ON SCREEN
AT SUNDANCE
Eugene videographer Tim Lewis, known for his YouTube channel
PictureEugene as well as his long history of documenting environmental and
other protests around town, has footage appearing in a documentary film
premiering at the Sundance Film Festival this week.
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front has been screening
this week at the festival to positive reviews. The film centers on Daniel
McGowan to tell the story of the ecosaboteurs, many of whom lived in
Eugene, and who burned timber companies, car dealerships, an Eastern
Oregon slaughterhouse that was butchering wild horses, a $12 million ski
lodge at Vail, Colo., and other facilities around the Northwest.
According to the filmmakers, Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman, the film
asks questions about environmentalism, activism and the way terrorism is
defined, rather than attempting to answer them. In addition to its focus on
McGowan, the documentary features Lewis’ footage of the Warner Creek
protest in 1995-1996 and other iconic moments in the environmental and
Eugene scene, as well as interviews with federal agents and business owners
and others affected by the arsons and other actions.
Lewis who is in Park City, Utah, for the film festival says he is videoing
his experiences for PictureEugene. — Camilla Mortensen
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EUGENE WEEKLY JANUARY 27, 2011 11