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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2011)
NEWS BRIEFS about the intersection of industrial agriculture and the environmental impact of food production and genetically modified organisms. “There’s a real problem with food sovereignty and food security,” Kimbrell says, because companies like Monsanto are patenting seeds and spreading products like Roundup Ready alfalfa that promote pesticide use on a usually low-pesticide crop. “For 10,000 years farmers have saved their seed after each planting,” but patents on seeds are taking away farmers’ rights to use seeds as they wish. Farmers who want to be organic or non-GMO run the risk of contamination by wind or bees, so they could begin infringing on seed patents despite their desire to avoid the patented seed. “I think the Willamette Valley is sort of ground zero for seed production for many crops, particularly vegetable crops,” Kimbrell says. “It’s a wonderful place to grow.” Local crops like organic chard and table beets are at risk for contamination. Kimbrell says not only are local crops at risk for contamination by GMO and patented seeds, seeds that are grown here that are then used across the country for food production are at risk as well. “That contamination is going to spread,” he says. In addition to hurting food choice, the infestation of crops with GMO seed has the potential to hurt the economy. “A lot of the Pacific Northwest sends their food to countries like Japan that reject GMO,” Kimbrell says. “Similar to domestic sensitive markets, these export markets are also at risk.” Companies use myths like the need for GMO crops to combat climate change or increasing yields to justify their use, Kimbrell says, but that’s not what they do. “They are engineered to do one thing, which is be resistant to herbicide,” he says, which will promote pesticide dependence as the seeds spread. The Harvest Feast will include a locally grown four-course dinner from chef C. Ashley Hawkins and music by Sol de los Andes. Cost is $35 per person, $65 per couple, $10 for kids 12 and under. RSVP to 687-9180 or visit www.cldc.org — Shannon Finnell BACKING UP ON 13TH AVE. Early media reviews of the city’s controversial bike lane-removal and back-in parking makeover of 13th Avenue near the UO, one of the busiest bike corridors in the nation, are in, and they aren’t all positive. “I think it stinks,” barber Pete Peterson told The Register-Guard. “There’s going to be a lot of accidents.” slant “I jokingly said at one point, ‘I need to get a kiosk here where all I do is leave exchange forms and accident reports here so people don’t have to go far to get it,’” Eugene police officer Randy Ellis told KEZI TV. “People are pulling clearly into the bike lane across the street to get in which will probably pose some sort of a problem,” Ellis told KVAL TV. KVAL aired video of cars using the remaining bike lane as a passing lane, posing the danger of head-on collisions with cyclists. EW observed the same thing when a reporter visited the street. After the city eliminated the eastbound bike lane, KVAL also shot video of bikers going dangerously head-on in the remaining bike lane. Before the city rebuilt the street with a design that prioritized car parking, cyclists could use a westbound cycle-track protected by cement barriers and parked cars and an eastbound bike lane. But the city converted the protected cycle-track into an exposed bike lane going one way and eliminated the bike lane going the other way to make room for the back-in parking. The dangers with backing drivers and eastbound cars and bikes going head-on in the westbound bike lane without a physical barrier were predicted a year ago when the city’s controversial design was revealed in a grant application. But city staff and their supporters bristled at critics and did nothing to change the design to make it safer. The staffer responsible for the design has since left for a job in Canada. A design that eliminated a few parking spaces would have provided room for a physically separated, two-way cycle-track and wider sidewalks. The crowded area has far more people going to businesses and the UO by foot and by bike than by car. But the city never publicly considered a design that would prioritize people over car storage. The city’s failure raises the question of if the city won’t remove even one parking space to increase safety for people on foot and bikes in its most heavily concentrated bike and pedestrian area, will it do it anywhere? The city plans to better paint the remaining bike lane and add “sharrow” bike markings in the street after a final asphalt layer is added. That could improve safety if the city frequently maintains the paint and regularly tickets drivers for using the bike lane or for not sharing the street with bike riders. But such ongoing maintenance and policing are rare in other parts of the city. Next month, thousands of inexperienced drivers and cyclists will return to Eugene to try to navigate the city’s controversial new design on busy 13th, hopefully without many accidents. — Alan Pittman CORRECTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS EW inadvertently offended local royalty when we implied in our “It’s Good to be Queen” story last week that the newest “raining” SLUG Queen Holly GoSlugly “branded” the SLUG Queen monarchy. Indeed 2008 Queen Slugtoinette was the slimy creator of the SLUG Queen as a local and national brand. Slugtoinette took Eugene’s delightful gastropodal contest to new heights when she got it put into the slimelight in the Wall Street Journal, and promoted the SLUG-branding of local products such as wine, coffee, pastries and ice cream. EW has been covering the campy contest for decades and is just happy to help keep the tradition alive and salt-free. WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • Sept. 13 is the deadline for weighing in on Lane County’s land grab. Proposed revisions to the Metro Plan would result in land use decisions once made together by Eugene, Springfield and Lane County being made by Lane County — and the current conservative majority — alone. Given the county’s tendency to allow all kinds of exceptions to land use rules, like letting houses and their septic systems be built right on the river, and given the county’s inability to come up with a plan to protect Eugene’s valuable drinking water, letting the county take control is a bad idea. Gravel company Knife River is all for the plan, because it would allow for gravel mining close to residential neighborhoods that previously the cities have been able to block. The plan would no doubt also allow for more industrial development near neighborhoods. If this plan goes through, Eugene and Springfield residents will see themselves excluded from the decision-making process that affects the land around us. Tell the county what you think at http://wkly.ws/13n • We hear rumors that the EWEB board is pondering paying board members $200 a month in partial compensation for their time, and $300 for the chair. Nothing on the agenda yet, but might be there for the Sept. 6 meeting. Interesting timing with EPUD’s paid board embroiled in controversy. It’s not a lot of money, but we predict an unhappy response from households struggling to make their utility payments. • The Oregon Ducks and the LSU Tigers will tee up the football Saturday night in Dallas, TX for an early season match-up of two top-five teams. Unfortunately, the game might showcase more than exciting football. Between these two programs in recent years we’ve witnessed player arrests and convictions, suspect dealings with scout Willie Lyles, player drug and alcohol violations, recruiting violations and more. Both teams will be missing marquee players due to suspensions: LSU is already on NCAA probation, and Oregon may be headed there. Not a great showcase for the troubled game of major college football. Good news is that RV parking near Cowboys Stadium in Dallas can be reserved for only $220 a night. Go Ducks and trucks! • Natural disasters in the news keeping you awake at night? Rest easy in Corvallis. According to the latest New York Times “Week in Review” (http://wkly.ws/13p), Corvallis is ranked #1 in low risk based on historical data for hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, drought and earthquakes (of course The Big One is overdue, but let’s worry about that tomorrow). The analysis is by Sperling’s Best Places. Also on the safe list are Salem, several Washington cities and Grand Junction, Colo. Texas is ranked highest risk for disaster and that doesn’t even include Gov. Rick Perry’s ambitions. On a different ranking, the NYT Aug. 27 also put Oregon #2 in the nation for child hunger, right below Washington, D.C. The ranking is based on 2009 statistics for “children in food insecure households,” documenting 29.2 percent of households and 252,510 kids, and it’s certain to have gotten worse since 2009. Our flawed state tax system contributes to the problem by allowing multiple tax exemptions for wealthy corporations and individuals. Oregon’s high unemployment and poverty are also due in part to nobody wanting to pack up and move to where jobs are more plentiful. North Dakota has the fewest hungry kids. Fargo is far to go. • Rep. Peter DeFazio was in town over the weekend for the Eugene Celebration and pulled no punches at City Club Friday talking about the economy, even poking Obama for going along with the Republican ideology that cutting taxes creates jobs. DeFazio said investing in education and our nation’s bridges, dams and other infrastructure would create millions of jobs and help turn our economy around. But cutting tax revenues, such as the temporary Social Security tax break, adds to the deficit and just puts a few bucks in people’s pockets that will go to pay higher gas prices to pump up profits for Big Oil, “and Exxon is not hiring.” DeFazio denied media reports that members of Congress are abandoning town hall meetings across the country this summer. He’s held 14 town halls across his district and the tone is different from last year’s Tea Party rage. The Eugene meeting and questions were a civil, polite platform for one of America’s toughest congressmen right now when “tough” is so rare. • Congrats to Next Big Thing co-winners Betty and the Boy, and Tyler Fortier. The split decision by the judges came after both bands performed energetic, crowd- pleasing sets Saturday afternoon at the Eugene Celebration’s Eugene Weekly Stage. Stay tuned for more about these bands and be sure to catch their future performances, along with other Next Big Thing top-16 finalists (Boomchick is playing at 8 pm Friday at Cowfish). The CD is coming out soon. Thanks to everyone who listened, voted, sponsored, showed up for the finals Saturday and otherwise supported this effort to showcase local talent on the rise. 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 ACTIVIST ALERT • The Eugene-based Health Care for All organization monthly meeting will be at 7 pm Wednesday, Sept. 7 at EWEB, and will focus on organizing special events for the single-payer campaign statewide and in Eugene. A leader from the campaign will speak, and time will be provided for questions. Contact ruthduemler@comcast.net • The Oregon Board of Forestry will discuss the economics of wildfire protection, management of federal forestlands and use of forest biomass at its 8:30 am Sept. 7 meeting at the Fremont-Winema National Forest Headquarters, 1301 S. G St., in Lakeview. On Sept. 8, the board will tour a large area of insect- killed timber on federal and private forestland. Public comment times are planned for the Sept. 7 meeting. See www.oregonforestry.gov for details or email rnichols@odf.state.or.us • Lane County Commissioner Pete Sorenson is expected to file his reelection papers at 7:30 am Thursday, Sept. 8, at Lane County Elections, 10th and Lincoln. EUGENE WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 1, 2011 9
