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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2011)
ACTIVIST ALERT • Families for Safe Meters is leading a community discussion on “Smart Meters: Pros, Cons, the Science and ... Alternatives?” from 7 to 9 pm Thursday, Oct. 20, at Tsunami Books, 25th and Willamette. Speakers include Paul Dark, M.D., and Kathy Ging. • Eugene Zendo will show the fi lm Peace is Every Step — Meditation in Action on the life of Thich Nhat Hanh from 7 to 9 pm Friday, Oct. 21, at 2190 Garfi eld St. • A rally sponsored by the Oregon Education Association is planned for 11:55 am Saturday, Oct. 22, at the Eugene Hilton, followed by a noon march to the old Federal Building at 7th and Pearl for talks by Mayor Kitty Piercy, Rep. Peter DeFazio, OEA President Gail Rasmussen and UO professor Gordon Lafer. The rally is in conjunction with the OEA 2011 Advocacy Conference. • A free fi lm showing for Occupy Eugene is Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story along with book sale will be at 1:30 pm Saturday, Oct. 22, at the Unitarian-Universality Church at 40th and Donald. • A “Close the SOA” benefi t concert featuring singer and storyteller Tom Rawson and the Eugene Peace Choir will be from 7 to 9 pm Saturday, Oct. 22, at the Eugene Friends Meeting House, 2274 Onyx. • A community conversation on public schools titled “Oregon’s Achievement Gap” will be from 7 to 8 pm Monday, Oct. 24, at River Road Elementary School, 120 W. Hilliard Lane. Speakers include 4J Superintendent Sheldon Berman. Feedback will be shared with the governor’s education staff. More meetings are being planned for Nov. 14 and beyond. Contact jmarshall@stand.org • The documentary fi lm Lt. Watada: A Matter of Conscience, will be shown free from 7 to 9 pm Thursday, Oct. 27, at Harris Hall, 125 East 8th, Eugene. Lt. Ehren Watada’s father, Bob Watada, will answer questions and help lead a discussion. Ehren Watada was the fi rst commissioned military offi cer to refuse to deploy to Iraq, saying he could not participate in war crimes. biz beat Do-it-yourself tie dye? A new business in the valley is Kaleidoscope Clothing, owned by Katie Griffi n and Jantzen Albee. Katie tells us her customers bring in their own clothes, maybe something already a bit stained or worn, for a whole new look. Or pick something from their hand-dyed collection. Find them on Facebook or at 325 Main St. in Springfi eld, or call (435) 881-0050. We see the old Bene Gourmet Pizza location on 18th near Chambers now has a “LEASED” banner across the Evans, Elder & Brown sign. Broker Stephanie Seubert says she can’t disclose the new business name until all the lease details are worked out, but says, “You’ll be happy” to see who’s moving in. The building shares a parking lot with Albertson’s and used to be a branch of Oregon Community Credit Union. It still has a big vault. Local nonprofi ts Oregon Toxics Alliance and CentroLatinoAmericano have landed joint Environmental Justice federal grants totaling $46,500 for research into asthma rates in west Eugene, and the relationship between air quality and respiratory health. “In light of the recent news that the Seneca Sustainable Energy plant was found in violation of their air quality permit, Eugene residents are right to be concerned about the air they breathe,” says Lisa Arkin of OTA, which has recently changed its name to Beyond Toxics. Send suggestions for Biz Beat items to editor@eugeneweekly.com and please put “Biz Beat” in the subject line. NEWS BRIEFS Sasha the pit bull and her potential new owner are searching for a pit-friendly home wanted to adopt the dog, but it wasn’t that easy. Novorolsky needs to fi nd a place to live at with Sasha, but the stigma of the pit bull breed seems to be hooked to her leash. “The reason a lot of people surrender their pits is that their housing situations change and won’t allow pits,” Frank says. Novorolsky says, “I put 1,800 miles more than normal on my car in 30 days,” in his two-month search for a home that will take the dog. “Though I answered several ads this Sunday morning, I have not heard back from a one. Why? Sasha’s breed.” Novorolsky says he can remember that in the ’60s and early ’70s pit bulls were one of the preferred family dogs, as he says they are so attentive, cuddly and family oriented. Now, pit bulls have been stereotyped as vicious predators with a short fuse, when really they are still the same family dogs, he says. Novorolsky says most of the rental companies don’t reply to his inquiries, while others state no pets on the property, and specifi cally, “No pits.” Novorolsky says at least one property manager said the owner didn’t want any liability in the event LIGHTEN UP BY R A FA E L A L DAV E that a pit bull harms someone. EW contacted several local rental agencies for this story, but none would agree to speak on record about the issue. Sasha is a recognized hero with proven credentials, and the dog has been looking for a home for close to a year. But Novorolsky’s time is running out; he made a loose agreement with Frank to have a place for himself and Sasha by the beginning of October. He worries that his partnership with Sasha could be at risk if he can’t fi nd a home that will let him have the dog. “If only landlords were able to look at things on a case-by-case basis, maybe we could make some progress,” Frank says, “but not if we are still going to judge based on breed or even just the way a dog looks.” She asks, “If a Red Cross hero can’t fi nd a home, how can a pit without any credentials?” “The world is often an upside down place. I need some help to straighten this little corner of it out,” Novorolsky says. For more on Sasha or if you know of a good rental, drop Frank a note at sashathepit@gmail.com — Kendall Fields When County Commissioner Jay Bozievich creates 11 or 12 redistricting scenarios to replace the current plan — which complies with the law — either he’s up to no good, or he’s in training for a job with the secretary of state’s office. slant • We were delighted to see that the Occupy Eugene protest was the 11th largest in the nation on Oct. 15, and so far it’s been a peaceful, inspiring and educational demonstration. Want to know how else to get your voice heard and change government? Participate. The Lane County commissioners are about to make a decision on redistricting that could change where you vote, and change the political makeup of the board to make it even more conservative and less “green.” If you want to have a say in local politics and change the way things are run around here, then show up at 1:30 pm Wednesday, Oct. 26, at Harris Hall. For more information read our story this issue and go to the county website at http://wkly.ws/14d to see maps of the various scenarios. • The highly visible signs opposing EmX in west Eugene are having the intended impact on public opinion, so how about some signs or flyers favoring EmX? We know EmX has a lot of support, but where’s the organized community campaign to make it happen? If nothing else, residents should contact their city councilors since the next council vote could go either way. Find their individual emails on the city website or email everyone at mayorcouncilandcitymanager@ci.eugene.or.us One point that appears to get lost in the discussion is that the west Eugene EmX is just the next logical part of a metro area mass transit system that has already proven itself to be both popular with riders and cost-efficient. 10 OCTOBER 20, 2011 EUGENE WEEKLY LTD’s cost per rider on EmX is two-thirds that of a regular bus. Taken by itself, west Eugene EmX doesn’t make sense, but as part of the whole regional transportation system, it’s a logical extension that makes the entire system more efficient. And let’s not forget that bus rapid transit is not just LTD’s pet project; it’s integral to Eugene’s long-range Transportation Plan, or TransPlan, adopted in 2001. • If you hang around the Hilton the night before home games you’ll probably see Duck football players hanging around, too. That’s where they all stay when they play the next day at Autzen. A prudent plan, considering some of the team’s hearty partiers off the field. Last Saturday morning before the evening Arizona State game, the players and Coach Kelly strolled through the Farmers’ Market in a community-building gesture. Why not? Lots of bemused expressions from farmers, shoppers, players, but we liked it. • Are Democrats the only “green” lawmakers in Oregon? Many Republicans value clean air and water, but they still block a lot of environmental legislation in Salem, saying jobs and corporate profits are more important. Now their overall voting record is improving. The semi-annual Oregon League of Conservation Voters Scorecard is out (see News Briefs this week) and some R’s are cranking out dramatically better votes this time around. Sen. Jason Atkinson of Central Point appears to be the first Republican to earn a 100 percent record, up from 24 percent from the last tally in 2009. Sen. Bruce Starr (R-Hillsboro) improved from 32 to a commendable 91 percent. Rep. Bruce Hanna (R-Roseburg) went from 10 to 60 percent. In fact, nearly all the Republicans improved. What’s going on? We like to think that increased awareness and public pressure in favor of environmental sanity are making the difference. Good job, OLCV, in holding lawmakers accountable for their votes, and we look forward to the local rankings early next year. A remarkable amount of volunteer work goes into these analyses. • Free trade agreements passed through Congress this week and not everyone is celebrating. Previous trade agreements such as NAFTA in 1994, touted as great for the U.S. economy, actually led to the loss of at least 900,00 U.S. jobs, according to the Economic Policy Institute, and huge trade deficits. Big business and industry want these trade agreements; unions and human rights activists have been fighting them. Whether the new trade agreements benefit us or not remains to be seen; regardless, they do not include substantive conditions regarding the environment, government corruption, human rights and labor rights, particularly in notorious Colombia and Panama, where joining a union can prove fatal. A missed opportunity for both the U.S. and our trading partners. WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
