Eugene weekly., June 23, 2011, Page 9, Image 9

NEWS BRIEFS
Pasko decided to be one of the program’s
guinea pigs and had 18 solar panels installed
on his family’s home in early June. He says
the process took about three weeks from the
evaluation to solar power. “It will literally
save me, over about 20 years, about $12,000
in energy bills,” Pasko says. “They look
great on my house, and things went up
really smoothly.”
Pasko hopes that the Sierra Club’s deal
for its members helps kick off a sustainable
energy trend. He says, “We’re really excited
to offer our members the opportunity to
save a lot of money and be part of Oregon’s
energy future.”
Sally Nunn, chair of the local Sierra
Club, says members of the Many Rivers
Group, which includes Lane, Douglas and
Coos counties, are also responding
favorably to “this incredible opportunity to
reduce their carbon footprint.”— Shannon
Finnell
CITY PLANS
CAR SHARE
PROGRAM
The city of Eugene, working with Lane
Transit District and point2point Solutions,
is developing a citywide car sharing
program, tentatively set to begin next fall.
“Basically we’re in the process of
developing a RFP (request for proposal)
for car sharing in the city,” said Theresa
Brand, program manager of point2point
Solutions, a government alternative-
transportation program run out of LTD.
“The ideal would be that the program
would have representation in Eugene and
Springfield and then eventually expand.”
The goal of the program is to reduce
pollution and congestion on the road
through carpooling and ride sharing, as
well as improve parking conditions in the
downtown area.
The proposal would bolster the city’s
existing transportation infrastructure,
providing car share services to residents in
Eugene and Springfield, allowing them to
reserve cars online and then go to centrally
located depots to pick them up.
“National studies have shown that
having a car share car can take up to 15
cars off the road” per shared car, said
Brand. “For people who don’t drive as
much, it can be a very cost-effective means
of transit.”
The city is taking its lead from UO,
which has been contracting with WeCar
for the past two years to provide car
sharing services to students. The university
has been trying to lower motor vehicle use
on campus, hoping to eventually institute a
no-car policy for incoming students.
“The idea is that the university needs to
reduce the number of cars coming to
campus,” said former UO Student
Government Environmental Advocate
Nathan Howard. “The idea is to have
multiple
options
for
alternative
transportation.”
Because UO has had limited success
with the WeCar program, it has signed a
three-year contract with Zipcar, another
car sharing company.
“WeCar has some perks, and provides
services to many regions, but Zipcar is the
superior carshare program,” said Howard.
“We’ve been pretty impressed with
Zipcar’s results.”
In addition to Zipcar the university has
signed a contract for next year with a ride
sharing service called Zimride, which will
provide a networking service for students
looking for carpools. According to
Howard, 10 to 20 percent of the student
body will use Zimride within the first year,
resulting in a savings of over 190,000
pounds of carbon.
Although the programs are limited to
the university campus, Howard believes
they are a good example of how alternative
transportation can be implemented in the
Eugene area. “I think people are realizing
that there is no one silver bullet for
solutions after cars,” he said.
“Transportation is a large part of
sustainability.” — Nils Holst
Our Environment
MUSICIANS JAM AT CITY CLUB
Lane County has a vibrant and growing live music scene, and thousands of
musicians make their homes here, performing, teaching, composing, producing and
doing whatever else is needed to make a living. City Club of Eugene invited four
professional musicians to talk about their art and their lives June 17, ending with a
jam session of George Gershwin’s “Summertime.”
Musicians Paul Biondi, Laura Kemp, Jessie Marquez and David Burham (from
left in photo above) talked about how they became musicians, their daily routines,
their challenges and sacrifices, and the importance of music in their lives.
One theme that ran though all their stories is the significance of early childhood
education in music and concern that arts are being cut from public school budgets.
“Every person has a gift, and if they are not able to find out what that gift is and
nurture it, that gift could be lost,” said Burham, a violist with the Eugene Symphony
for 27 years. “My life would be barren, soulless without music.”
Biondi, a jazz and blues saxophonist who has toured with many nationally known
musicians, said he was introduced to music in the fourth grade and it changed his life.
“I was able to take band, get an instrument and get lessons from the band director. …
Programs are being slashed today, programs that keep kids out of trouble. It’s a big
mistake if we don’t get back to supporting music in our schools.”
Marquez, a singer and composer who combines Cuban, Brazilian, jazz and pop,
said she also discovered music as a young girl. She laments that not all children get
to explore music. “So many children do not have opportunities for private music
lessons today due to money issues.”
Kemp has been a fixture on the local music scene since 1990, performing and
composing everything from bluegrass to jazz to Indian kirtan music. “I love to pass
along my passion to students, teaching young people how to make music, and then
running into them years later and finding they are still making music.”
Making a living as an artist in Eugene has never been easy, and these musicians
talked about the drop in pay for gigs, the limited performance venues, the lack of
health insurance, the need to do other work to pay the bills (Burham builds electric
violins), and the sometimes tedious business and entrepreneurial side of being a
musician in the age of the internet.
But all were upbeat about living in the Eugene area and the future of our local
music scene. “The support of the community makes it possible for us to do what we
are doing,” said Biondi. “Please keep it up — and maybe crank it up some more.”
“Why can’t we have Eugene Celebration every week?” asked Biondi, noting that
our area has some of the most talented musicians in the country. He noted that about
13 percent of the economy of the city of Austin, Texas, is based on music and the
arts. In Eugene, he says, it’s only 1 percent. — Ted Taylor
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EUGENE WEEKLY JUNE 23, 2011 9