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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 2011)
NEWS BRIEFS encourage the use of contraception and reduce the number of unintended pregnancies.” — Shannon Finnell HUMAN TRAFFICKING, A LOCAL ISSUE The FBI claims more than 100,000 children are sold in the U.S. for sex each year. “Trafficking these girls has become the new drug,” says Liz Ness, a past- president of Eugene’s Zonta International chapter. “A young girl is a commodity that they (pimps) can get years and years of profit from,” says Ness. Zonta, an organization of professionals and executives working to advance the status of women, is hosting three upcoming events to shed light on human trafficking, which Zonta calls modern day slavery, from children forced to work as prostitutes to people working in factories for no pay. “We want to help adults recognize this is not a problem just overseas, or in impoverished communities,” says Zonta member Pat Frishkoff. Zonta will be hosting its first event, a discussion of the book Renting Lacy: A Story of America’s Prostituted Children with author Linda Smith at 5:30 pm Thursday, Feb. 24, at Tsunami Books, 2585 Willamette St. Smith, a former congresswoman, will be one of four panelists at Zonta’s forum celebrating the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, at 11:30 am Tuesday, March 9, at the Eugene Hilton. Pre-registration is required at 345-7836. Open to the public, cost is $25, lunch included. Representatives from the Eugene and Springfield police departments will join Smith on the panel to discuss their experiences working with victims of human trafficking. “Having panelists from our local area really drives home the fact that this is a local issue for all families to be concerned about,” says Ness. The City Club of Eugene will host a speaker, yet to be announced, Friday, March 11, to complement the forum. “There is so much to share on this issue, we really hope people can come to all three events as they are intended to build on one another,” says Frishkoff. — Heather Cyrus PESTICIDES VS. CLEAN WATER, GOP VS. DEMS A congressional committee hearing in Washington, D.C., was called “a transparent attempt by lawmakers beholden to industrial agriculture interests to subvert the Clean Water Act,” by environmental groups. Activists are concerned the Feb. 16 joint House committee meeting was an attempt to undermine rules protecting waterways from pesticides. Aquatic pesticide residues and drift from aerial pesticide spraying are pollutants under the CWA, according to the conclusion reached by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2009. As pollutants they must be regulated to minimize impacts on human health and the environment. This conclusion was made final in February 2010 when the Supreme Court chose not to review the case National Cotton Council v. EPA. Under the ruling virtually all commercial pesticide application to, over and around waterways require National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits. NPDES permits allow for citizens to comment on plans to apply pesticides and to demand oversight by regulatory agencies, which must evaluate the effects of individual pesticide applications on fish and wildlife, monitor the amount of pesticide that goes into the water and monitor the cumulative impact on organisms in the water. Charlie Tebbutt, Eugene-based lead attorney on the case, said the decision “was a clear victory for clean water and human health.” But the recent joint public hearing was conducted “to consider reducing the Open Everyday 11am to 9pm $ 1 OFF HULI HULI CHICKEN with this coupon. Regular or Tsunami Size. CATER WITH RON’S Great Prices • Short Notice Open Everyday • All Events Bicycle Delivery from Campus Location 4 GREAT EUGENE LOCATIONS 2506 Willakenzie Rd. | 342-3006 55 W. 29th | 344-5880 1249 Alder St (Campus) | 344-1960 401 W. 3rd Ave. | 344-3324 (11am-4pm) Celebrating 12 Years! WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM EUGENE WEEKLY FEBRUARY 24, 2011 7
