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