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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 2012)
NEWS BRIEFS biz beat Steven Michael Todd speaks out about the exclusion zone MISSION: EXCLUDABLE When Steven Michael Todd crouched down to speak to a friend this fall, he didn’t intend to commit a crime, and he certainly wasn’t trying to attract the cops’ attention. But that action, next to a wall by Lazar’s Bazar, led to Todd being served with an order excluding him from downtown for 90 days. The exclusion order against Todd was later dropped, but Eugeneans campaigning for an end to Eugene’s Downtown Public Safety Zone (DPSZ), aka the exclusion zone, say it’s typical that the ordinance isn’t used for the benefit of public safety. Instead, they say, the police’s ability to ban people from the core of downtown without a court conviction is used to make people like Todd, who is homeless, less visible downtown. Michael Carrigan of Community Alliance for Lane County says, “We feel that what’s happening with the exclusion zone is a human rights issue, and we’ve found that the human rights of folks that are being excluded are being violated by this program, and it needs to change.” The Eugene City Council will vote Monday, Feb. 27, on whether to extend the DPSZ or allow it to sunset in April. The program went into effect in 2008 and has already been extended once, in 2010. The cops would like it to be permanent. Civil rights groups like ACLU of Oregon and the Civil Liberties Defense Center oppose Eugene’s exclusion zone because, they say, being able to punish someone — and to exclude people from public services including the bus station and the FOOD for Lane County’s Dining Room — without due process is unconstitutional. Councilor George Brown, who owns a store in and represents the downtown area, has opposed the DPSZ from the beginning and said at a Feb. 17 rally that criminals not jailed for their offenses are going to other neighborhoods, and police data doesn’t prove that the downtown area is safer due to the DPSZ. “I understand the intent, but this is not the way to go about it.” Some of the 14 pro-extension speakers (of 43 total speakers) at a Feb. 21 public hearing said that they’ve come to feel safer downtown since 2008, when the zone was first enacted. Councilor Betty Taylor said that didn’t necessarily prove a causal relationship, and a safer atmosphere might have been due to other factors. EPD bike patrols have tripled from two officers to six since 2008. — Shannon Finnell which got a subcommittee hearing Feb. 16, would also use logging to provide money for the cash-strapped Oregon counties that are home to large swaths of “O&C” federal lands that do not generate taxes, and it would have similar effects in other states. A temporary fix for county funding woes is also addressed in President Barack Obama’s proposed 2012 budget. The nonpartisan group Headwaters Economics analyzed the Hastings bill and says Oregon would have to cut 10 billion board feet a year in order to meet revenue targets in that bill. That’s more than twice the highest amount of timber cut in a year between 1980 and 2010, according to Headwaters. DeFazio says his bill resolves the controversy of overharvesting old growth, defines old-growth reserves and provides “perpetual revenues for the counties.” Information provided by the congressman’s office says the bill would also create 90,000 acres of new wilderness, 150 miles of new Wild and Scenic River designations, and it excludes environmentally sensitive areas, parks and recreation areas, Wild and Scenic corridors, and wilderness areas. But Josh Laughlin of Cascadia Wildlands says the plan goes back to the status quo of using logging to generate revenue. “This scheme that’s being proposed once again targets our recovering federal public lands to become our workhorse to solve our county funding challenges,” Laughlin says. WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM He says that native, unlogged stands of trees 80 to 120 years old are not protected under DeFazio’s plan. “Those aren’t young stands; those are stands critical to the survival of a host of species teetering on the edge of extinction.” An analysis of the bill by conservation groups shows 70 percent of the 2.4 million acres of O&C lands would go to timber harvest and only 30 percent into the conservation trust, according to Laughlin. The increased logging, even in younger stands of trees, could harm native and endangered species and wildlife corridors that allow species to move from one protected area to another, he says. Of special concern to Lane County residents is that the plan would increase logging in the McKenzie River watershed, source of Eugene’s drinking water, and “drastically decrease” streamside protections, he says. — Camilla Mortensen STUDENTS FOR LGBT RIGHTS Eugene’s Gay/Straight Alliance student leaders will be special guests at a meeting that will discuss equal rights for the gay, lesbian and transgender community in Oregon — and the students are excited about the chance to gain insight from statewide activists. Basic Rights Oregon and the Lane County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are presenting CONTINUED P. 8 Loggers are arriving for the 74th annual Oregon Logging Conference Feb. 23-25 at the Fairgrounds. As we noted on our Facebook page last week, this year’s theme “The World Needs Our Wood” sounds like the loggers are looking for dates while they are in town. We expect the conference T-shirts to sell out quickly. Springfield area leaders will be meeting to talk about transportation investments and the economy from 5:30 to 8 pm Thursday, Feb. 23, at the Springfield Justice Center. Featured in this public meeting will be Springfield’s experience with EmX transit and ideas generated by the UO Sustainable City Year Program (see EW cover story, 2/2). Eugene’s newest art gallery is the Pacific Rim Art Guild, founded by longtime Eugene artist Dan Chen and about 20 other artists, with a grand opening from 10 am to 6 pm Saturday, Feb. 25, at 405 Highway 99 N., out past Roosevelt on the right. See pacificrimartguild.com or call 554-3744. Collins Cycle Shop is hosting a job fair from 1 to 5 pm Sunday, Feb. 26, at the shop, 60 E. 11th Ave. in Eugene, for those interested in a career in bike manufacturing, repair, shipping, warehousing, sales, design, accounting, etc. Email collins1@teleport.com or call 342-4878. Sunstone Games, LLC is game development studio in Eugene that just released its debut title, “Sun Stones” for the Android market and iTunes app store. This original game has a “Hopi inspired aesthetic,” according to CEO Bashi Ale. See www.sunstone.co for updates on apps. Brendan Mahaney of Belly restaurant is a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s “Best Chef: Northwest” category. We’re not surprised in the least! To plan your next road trip around award-winning food, check out the rest of the semifinalists at http://wkly.ws/17b Meanwhile, Belly is planning to add a second and larger restaurant at the 30 E. Broadway space previously occupied by Adam’s Place. Send suggestions for Biz Beat items to editor@eugeneweekly.com with “Biz Beat” in the subject line. ACTIVIST ALERT • Ben Cannon, education advisor to Gov. Kitzhaber, will speak on “Public Education: Oregon’s Commitment To Learning and Equal Opportunity” at City Club of Eugene, 11:50 am Friday, Feb. 24, at the Hilton, lobby level. • David Wagner, who writes and illustrates the “It’s About Time” column in EW, will be leading a Life Among the Mosses Walk from 1 to 3 pm Saturday, Feb. 25, at Mt. Pisgah Arboretum. Fee is $5. Call 747-3817 for more information. No registration required. • Occupy Eugene supporters are planning a People United march and parade beginning at 11 am Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Free Speech Plaza at 8th and Oak. See video with more info on the EW blog. • “Terrorizing Women: Feminicide and Gender Violence at the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands” will be a talk by Cynthia Bejarano of New Mexico State University at 3 pm Tuesday, Feb. 28, at the Knight Library Browsing Room on the UO campus. • Lane County Emergency Management’s update to the Lane County Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan reviews the county’s vulnerabilities to snow and ice storms, floods, windstorms, wildfires, earthquakes, tsunamis and landslides. A public meeting on the plan will be at 10 am Thursday, March 1, at Lane County Public Works, Training Room 3. The plan is also at www.lanecounty.org/ prepare and comments can be submitted online or by email to prepare@co.lane.or.us To receive emergency text alerts directly to a cell phone, visit http://www.lcog.org/alertme EUGENE WEEKLY FEBRUARY 23, 2012 7
