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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 30, 2011)
NEWS BRIEFS tomography. Pincus said this “cutting edge technology” provided a much more “comprehensive view of the interior of the tree than the city of Eugene’s normal selection of resources.” He said, “I believe that sonic tomography should be a standard tool for the city for assessing mature street trees. If the city staff had this technology on hand, there might be many more happy endings and greater public understanding when a tree finally had to be removed.” Pincus advises anyone looking to save street trees in Eugene to “insist on or acquire the best scientific information available” and, he said, “be persistent.” — Kendall Fields ACTIVIST ALERT • Classified UO workers are hosting a march through campus to mark the expiration of their contract. The Workers’ March for Fairness will begin at noon Thursday, June 30, at Oregon Hall on the east side of campus and will end at the Johnson Hall Administration Building. Speakers include Melissa Unger of SEIU and Local 085 President Gary Malone. “At a time when the Oregon University System is flush with cash because of record enrollment and increased tuition, they continue to ask their lowest-paid workers to make increasing sacrifices in the form of wage and benefit cuts,” says Brett Moser, SEIU organizer. • The next Civic Stadium clean- up party is from 10 am to noon Saturday, July 2. Bring hand tools, gloves, sunscreen and water. Forecast is partly cloudy and 75 degrees — perfect for weeding. • Local artist Jerry Ross and friends are seeking $5,000 in donations to create a movement and capital campaign to establish a historic and arts center downtown, and the group is eyeing the old downtown post office on lower Willamette as an anchor. To get involved, visit www.indiegogo.com/ poem LANE COUNTY SPRAY SCHEDULE • Western Lane County: Rosboro LLC plans to do aerial spraying of Sulfomet Extra, Accord XRT and Chopper near the headwaters of Swartz Creek and Ferguson Creek. See notice 2011-781-00405. • ODOT will be spraying noxious weeds, grasses and brush on shoulders, around structures, curves and intersections on Highway 36 beginning June 26. • If you have suffered any ill effects from ODOT spraying, please let Forestland Dwellers know. We are encouraging ODOT to mow or manually manage vegetation in lieu of spraying. Compiled by Jan Wroncy, Forestland Dwellers: 342-8332, www.forestlanddwellers.org ELF IN THE COURTS As the Sundance Film Festival award- winning film If A Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front hits theaters across the country this month, including Eugene’s Bijou Cinemas, some of the subjects of the documentary have been hitting the courts. Jake Ferguson, who is listed in court documents as having participated in at least 14 arsons and acts of destruction around the Northwest in the name of the ELF, was originally not sentenced to federal prison for his crimes. Ferguson’s cooperation with federal agents, including wearing a body wire while talking to fellow participants in ELF activities, led to the arrest of many of his fellow ecosaboteurs. Under his plea agreement at the time, Ferguson pleaded guilty to only one count of arson and one count of attempted arson. On June 27 Ferguson was sentenced to nearly five years in prison by Lane County Circuit Judge Charles Zennaché. Ferguson pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine; manufacturing, possessing and selling heroin; and neglecting and endangering a 4-year-old child, who according to court records was present in the home when drugs were being manufactured and sold. At the time of his original sentencing in 2007, Ferguson said he was on methadone and had been for the past three and half years. Methadone is a common treatment drug for heroin addiction. Ferguson faces federal charges for the drug crimes as well, and is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken — who sentenced all of the Oregon ELF cases — for a probation revocation hearing at 9:30 am July 14. He was to avoid criminal conduct as part of his plea agreement. In Washington, ELF defendant Briana Waters has pleaded guilty to participating in the $6 million arson at the University of Washington’s Center for Urban Horticulture in 2001. She originally argued that she was innocent, but after a trial she was convicted and given a six- year sentence in 2008. The conviction was overturned due to judicial misconduct last year, and Waters was released from prison after serving 37 months pending a new trial. She pleaded guilty to arson, conspiracy to use a destructive device, possessing an unregistered destructive device and the use of an explosive device in a crime of violence. Justin Solondz, Waters’ former boyfriend and another defendant in the ELF arson cases, is expected to be returned later this summer to the U.S. from China where he has been serving a three-year sentence for drug charges. According to the plea documents, Waters has agreed to testify against him. Her sentencing was set for Sept. 23, but that is subject to change. Three other alleged ELF ecosaboteurs have never been caught by the FBI: Joseph Dibee, Rebecca Rubin and Josephine Sunshine Overaker. — Camilla Mortensen WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM slant • Two tough and splendid Oregon women, both with UO degrees, died this spring, leaving the state legal profession forever indebted to them. Helen Frye, 80, died April 22 after a career that started with an English degree from the UO and ended with her serving as Oregon’s first female federal judge. Betty Roberts, 88, passed June 25 after a remarkable record as the only woman in the 1968 Oregon Senate, serving in the Court of Appeals, and finally accepting an appointment from Republican Gov. Vic Atiyeh to sit as the first woman on the Oregon Supreme Court. Not all the male judges joyfully accepted either Judge Frye or Judge Roberts into their club. These women were way ahead of their time. Now the presiding judge of the U.S. District Court is Ann Aiken of Eugene. Two women, one of them Martha Walters of Eugene, sit on the Oregon Supreme Court. Judge Mary Ann Bearden presides over Lane County courts, which are nearly equal male-female. We want to send bouquets to the families of Helen Frye and Betty Roberts — they helped their matriarchs blaze hard-earned history. • The Fourth of July for most people these days is all about a long weekend of beer, barbecue and fireworks, and we are admonished to “have a safe holiday” and “keep your pets safe.” We tend to forget that this date honors a very unsafe time in our history, an era of uprising against a powerful ruling elite who were out of touch with the people. The Fourth of July should revive the spirit of revolution (this time without the muskets, cannon balls and flying body parts, please) to bring our government and society into the 21st century. War is old-fashioned and counterproductive. Corporate domination of elections is obsolete and undemocratic. Ignoring environmental devastation is so 20th century. Oppressing immigrants and the disadvantaged among us is not only outdated but damned expensive in the long haul. The best way to celebrate our freedom is to actively ensure our freedom doesn’t slip away in these unsafe times. Beer, barbecue, fireworks, revolution! • Musical chairs on campus? We’ve heard complaints about community groups getting booted out of Agate Hall by July 1 to make room for the School of Journalism and Communication during Allen Hall’s renovation. The UO tells us displaced community groups are being offered other places on campus, but last we heard the Eugene Swing Dance Club is having trouble finding a suitable new location to rent after 15 years at Agate Hall, and club members are petitioning UO President Lariviere to stop the eviction. Work has already started on the J-school and won’t be done until late 2012. It’s great that the UO shares its facilities, and we hope everyone finds a home during the unsettling construction. Have some unused space to lend or rent? Contact the UO facilities folks or send a note to the Swing Dance Club prez at eugenejean@gmail.com • If you missed the premiere of Hot Coffee on HBO June 27, you can still catch it in the next few weeks on HBO and on-demand cable. Susan Saladoff, a respected Ashland trial lawyer, left her practice to put together this documentary starting with the famous case against McDonald’s by the 79-year-old woman scalded by coffee and including other personal injury stories. You probably already have an opinion on this case, but take a look at the documentary and you might share Saladoff’s rage at how we have been duped by corporate America. • We hear Bach Festival attendance is starting out great in Eugene and Portland with a bunch of sold-out performances. If you snooze you lose, whether you’re nodding off in the audience (unlikely this season) or waiting too long to get tickets. Find ticket updates at http://wkly.ws/12r • Run, Amelie, run! Admittedly, we have heard Amelie Rousseau speak only once, at the City Club of Eugene June 24, but that was enough to persuade us she should stay in politics in Oregon. As ASUO student body president in 2010-11, she was responsible for a budget of $13 million in student fees. She helped organize the registration of 6,000 students to vote. She was part of the effort to start a sustainability center in the UO. She told her much older audience that we should educate students to know more about what goes on around them in their community. She was articulate about the big issues facing higher ed and the UO in this state. She comes from Portland. Sounds like one of those super young Oregonians we need to help move us along. 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 JUNE 30, 2011 9
