slant
• What’s up with the R-G’s beef with Commissioner Pete Sorenson? The daily
is filling its pages with unrelenting spin trying to sway the public into thinking
Lane County’s green and liberal commissioner is somehow both a political
mastermind and utterly incompetent. To read the Feb. 18 R-G article about the
Democratic Party of Lane County (DPLC) endorsements, you would think
Sorenson engineered the whole event just to get a nod from the Dems. And
you’d think the reporter who wrote it actually showed up to the event he was
writing about. Apparently not.
The Feb. 18 article failed to mention that this was a regularly scheduled
meeting of the DPLC that also endorsed Kitty Piercy for mayor of Eugene,
Denise Bean for mayor of Springfield, George Brown for Eugene City Council,
and Nephi Perry and C.J. Mann for Springfield City Council. The R-G’s follow-up
editorial Feb. 21 was also based on this sketchy, second-hand reporting.
Sorenson’s opponents complained they weren’t notified of the meeting
until late, but if they wanted the endorsement why weren’t they keeping close
track of key groups like the DPLC? If they can’t figure out how the election
process works, you have to wonder if they can figure out how to run the
county.
• Many in Eugene are mourning the death Feb. 16 of Ellen Bombaro, a former
Eugene resident and one of the people who made possible Lane Independent
Living Alliance. “Ellen will be remembered as one of the unsung heroes of the
local disability rights movement,” says Lynne Braverman McKinney, who wrote
a tribute to Bombaro on our website this week. “She is a shining example of a
person with a significant disability who helped empower and support others.”
A remembrance gathering is planned for 11 am Saturday, Feb. 25, at the LILA
Peer Support Club at 10th and Oak in Eugene. Call 461-4057 for more
information.
Do You Qualify for Your
Oregon Medical Marijuana Card ?
- Weekly Clinics
- Professional and
Private Setting
O fice hours
10am - 5pm
Monday
thru Friday.
- Free Record Review
- New Patients and Renewals
Welcome
Call Today
1-888-920-6076
www.OMMPCard.com
Northwest Alternative Health is now serving the Greater Eugene Area
• We’ve been hearing casual comments around town that the UO is awash in
money. Seems unlikely when K-12 education, human services and the state
budget generally are so austere. But The Oregonian confirmed the comments
in a front-page story Feb. 20. According to Harry Esteve, former R-G reporter
now in Portland, “Record enrollments coupled with higher-than-ever tuition
rates have helped give Oregon’s higher education system something almost
unheard of in this time of civic austerity: a fluffy cushion of cash reserves.” We
have some suggestions: How about lowering tuition for Oregon kids? How
about figuring out a way to send some of that fluff to K-12? Maybe the UO
should cap its growth, considering the physical plant and setting. All unlikely
possibilities.
• The world’s leading environmental conference happens in Eugene each
March, but it gets very little attention in the local mainstream media. Why is it
ignored? Some of the topics of the Public Interest Environmental Law
Conference are a bit wonkish, which scares off lazy reporters, but most of the
workshops and keynote lectures are timely and highly relevant to the biggest
issues of our time (and no, we’re not talking about whether Angelica Swartout
really had a baby, or whether Whitney Houston’s daughter got high for Mom’s
funeral). We’ll be there to join the 3,000 or so environmental attorneys,
activists, professors and students who are gathering for the 30th annual
PIELC March 1-4 on the UO campus. The schedule is now available at pielc.org
along with a new video about PIELC.
• Should city councilors and county commissioners get involved in national
politics? This issue comes up a few times a year. Last week the Eugene City
Council voted on a resolution in support of a national citizens’ campaign to
overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. Councilor Pat Farr says
it’s not city business, but reform in national policy often comes from the
bottom up more than from the top down. Local governments and individuals
have a right and an obligation to weigh in on issues that affect us all.
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
listen up
morning edition
4 to 9 am
mo to fr
VISA BALANCE TRANSFER
WITH 1% CASH BACK.
®
Pay off higher rate cards with our
low rate Visa and get 1% of the
balance transfer amount back
instantly. Eliminate the debts you
don’t want; get the stuff you do.
northwestcommunity.com
Credit subject to approval. Balance transfer requires advance notice and approval. Only available
for Gold or Classic VISA with checking. Expires March 31, 2012. Federally insured by NCUA.
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
EUGENE WEEKLY FEBRUARY 23, 2012 9