meeting is available at the bottom of the
archive section, located at www.eugenecat.
org/calendar.html
— Shannon Finnell
NO SCORE ON
ENVIROMENT
IS A BAD SCORE
Lane County’s green credentials haven’t
just slipped lower under the current
conservative board majority, they’ve
disappeared altogether.
In 2010 the Lane County commissioners
voted to protect the environment 10 out of
12 times, according to the Oregon League of
Conservation Voters Environmental
Scorecard.
In 2011 under a new, conservative county
majority there were not enough votes on the
environment to score the Lane County
commissioners at all, the OLCV says. The
Eugene City Council was also impossible to
score, according to the OLCV.
The lack of votes “raised some flags for
us,” says Ashley Miller, Mid-Willamette
organizer for OLCV. On the 2010 card,
County Commissioners Rob Handy and
Pete Sorenson earned scores of 100 percent.
Together with then-commissioner Bill
Fleenor, the two commissioners constituted
a green majority that the OLCV says
protected “farms, forests, clean water and
clean air.”
While Handy and Sorenson continue to
hold their pro-environment stances, the new
conservative majority of Sid Leiken, Jay
Bozievich and Faye Stewart appear to be
preventing the commission from voting
openly on environment issues at all.
The OLCV says, “While we have
environmental champions on both the
commission and the council, issues such as
water quality and land use often won’t be
voted on because there aren’t enough
commissioners or councilors to advance the
issue.”
Miller says the OLCV scorecard
committee found issues were often wrapped
into the “consent calendar” and voted on as
a package. This made it impossible to
distinguish whether a vote was for or against
any particular item. “In the end, there simply
weren’t enough clear environmental issues
that actually made it to a vote,” she says.
“Important environmental issues are not
coming in front of the council and the
commission,” she says, and that’s something
citizens need to be aware of.
The green group says it will continue to
work to elect more pro-conservation
candidates to office as well as to help voters
hold them accountable.
Both Handy and Sorenson, who are
known for their green voting records, face
challengers in the May primary election.
— Camilla Mortensen
PARTIAL VICTORY
ON PARVIN
Attempts to turn rural Parvin Butte into a
gravel mine have turned the once peaceful
hill and the town around it into a morass of
legal and political controversy. In the latest
twist, the decision to allow mining on Parvin
Butte in Dexter without a site review was
reconsidered by the Lane County hearings
official on March 6, resulting in a partial
victory for the Parvin Butte neighbors.
Rural residents of Dexter and Lost Valley
have been working to protect the butte for
more than a year. They have concerns that
include not only the dust, traffic and noise
that will affect humans, but also the effects
the mining will have on a nearby salmon
stream. If they can’t stop the quarry mining,
the neighbors have fought to at least have
input into how and when the mine would
operate via a process called site review.
T HANK YOU
FOR VOTING US
IN
E UGENE W EEKLY ’ S
B EST OF E UGENE
2008-2009
Mother’s Homemade Recipes
Gluten-free Dishes Available
Vegetarian Selections
No MSG, No Dairy
2009-2010
2010-2011
T A R A R IN G IFT C ARDS
Available at restaurant,
come see us for details!
Over 50 Selections of Beer & Wine
See our complete menu online:
www.TaRaRinThai.com
O PEN S EVEN D AYS A W EEK
K !
~ W EEKDAY L UNCH S PECIALS ~
~ D INE I N OR T AKE O UT ~
Mon-Fri: 11 am-3 pm Lunch
4:30 pm-10 pm Dinner
Sat-Sun: 12 noon-10 pm
Located in downtown Eugene at
1200 Oak St.
Phone
541.343.1230
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
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.
EUGENE WEEKLY MARCH 15, 2012 9