slant
• Waldo Lake’s quiet wilderness ambiance got a reprieve Tuesday night in
Springfield with a 3-2 decision by the Oregon State Marine Board to maintain the
long-fought ban on gas-powered motor boats and float planes. The fight is not over
as a lawsuit continues in the Oregon Court of Appeals, but this is good news and
shows that the voice of the people can sway sometimes intransigent agencies to do
the right thing. It might take the Legislature to put an end to the legal squabbles.
Kudos to Oregon Wild, the Sierra Club and other groups and individuals who have
worked on this ongoing effort to protect this rare gem of lake.
Last week, former congressman Jim Weaver spoke at an Oregon Wild gathering
about his work in Congress in 1984 to create wilderness designation for 36,500 acres
of forest surrounding Waldo on three sides. He said the struggle over wilderness
“rivals any religious war.” He said, “I’ve been shot at, hung in effigy many times,” and
said his “big enemy” at the time was timber baron Stub Stewart. “His family is still
fighting me over the ban of motors on Waldo.” Weaver said he was surprised to learn
many years after the wilderness designation that Waldo Lake itself was not protected.
“That was the intent of Congress,” he said. “I was the intent of Congress — to include
the lake and not allow motorized traffic.”
• Eugene was Track City USA and Dance City Oregon on April 7 when national
track athletes competed in the Pepsi Team Invitational and Oregon dance athletes
performed and practiced in the first Northwest Dance Festival. Sponsored by the
Eugene Youth Ballet, the official youth division of the Eugene Ballet company, the
festival brought young Oregon dancers from five companies for workshops at the
UO, a sparkling show at the Wildish Theater in Springfield and a reception at June
restaurant across Willamette Street from the dance studios. At the end of the day,
the UO men and women both won the big track meet and all the dancers “won” in
their own ways.
• “Don’t be surprised,” we wrote in Slant back in Feb. 2, “if Occupy becomes a
major issue for conservatives seeking city office,” and we saw a bit of that at the City
Club forum April 6 when mayoral candidate Kevin Prociw said the “city climate has
degraded because of Occupy Eugene,” and said if he were mayor he would not allow
anyone to camp in city parks. He’ll pick up some votes for that stand, but we think
most Eugeneans appreciate the way Mayor Kitty Piercy, the city manager and police
chief responded to Eugene’s Occupy camp. Piercy’s other challenger, John Walrod,
didn’t have much to say other than that he’s a “conservative, economically, socially
and environmentally.”
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
• It appears the only real race at the city level is between longtime Councilor Betty
Taylor and challengers Juan Carlos Valle and Jim Ray. The eloquent Valle says he
wants to “continue Betty’s legacy” on the council, and they likely agree on many
things. But Taylor is very clear in her positions on many issues, including her firm
opposition to tax breaks for private developers, support for making downtown
inclusive for all Eugeneans, and protecting our environment in specific ways. So far
we have not seen that clarity from Valle. Regarding the tax breaks for private
developers, Valle said, “We need to talk about it.” Ray called for “cleaning up the
drugs” in public schools and to “get rid of panhandlers to attract more people
downtown.” Well, as it turns out, panhandling is constitutionally protected as free
speech.
SLANT includes short opinion pieces, observations and rumor-chasing notes compiled by the EW staff. Heard
biz beat
GloryBee Foods will host its annual Bee
Weekend April 13-14 at its new location,
29548 B. Airport Road. This community
event is “packed with beekeeping education,
distribution of pre-ordered packages of live
bees, honey sampling and additional
activities.” Dick Turanski, founder and
beekeeper, will demonstrate bees
installation into hives. Friday demo times
are 9:30 and 11 am, 12:30, 2, 3:30 and 5 pm,
and Saturday at 8:30, 10 and 11 am. The
store will be open until 12:30 pm Saturday.
Need cheap office space? We hear
Growers Market, 454 Willamette St., has an
office for rent starting May 1. The space is
132 sq. ft. and rents for $100 per month,
including utilities, internet access and
additional meeting space. Contact the
building manager at growmgr@gmail.com
Local ad agency bell+funk has moved
to new offices in the Broadway Commerce
Center, 44 W. Broadway, Suite 210. The full
service agency offering marketing,
advertising, design and research is headed
by David Funk and Jennifer Bell. Call 653-
8969 or visit bellandfunk.com
Scott Landfield of Tsunami Books at
25th and Willamette says his new and used
book business “keeps improving since
Borders closed its doors,” and “It’s actually
growing faster than we have cash flow to
deal with; an interesting dilemma.” Landfield
says he only has three years left on his
20-year lease, and someone will need to
buy the building “for us to continue beyond
the lease.” He says Lawson’s Piano Store
across the street has closed after 30 years,
but the South Willamette shopping district
is “becoming one of the hippest spots in
town.”
A two-day intensive biogas workshop
is being planned for April 14-15, and the
instructor is Warren Weismann, owner of
HESTIA Home Biogas and “an internationally
recognized expert on biogas and anaerobic
digestion with over 20 years experience as
a builder, heavy equipment mechanic and
power plant operator.” Cost of the workshop
is $225. Email weiswar@yahoo.com of call
337-5690 for more information.
Fifth Street Public Market has two new
businesses opening this month at the base
of the new hotel. Outdoor Elements,
owned by Wendy Jacobson and Mike
Jacobson offers “modern eclectic
furnishings, accessories, home accents,
gifts and art for the garden, patio, kitchen
and indoors.” The H Boutique, owned by
the Ritchie family, is a jewelry and fashion
store that will offer “plush interior amenities
and an air of fresh exuberance in customer
service,” says Melanie Diamond, general
manager of the market.
Need a laugh? The Tai Chi Yoga Center
is offering an all-day laughter yoga retreat
from 10 am to 3 pm Saturday, April 14, in
Elmira.
Call
515-0946
or
visit
taichiyogacenter.com
Send suggestions for Biz Beat items to editor@eugeneweek-
ly.com with “Biz Beat” in the subject line.
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
LOW, LOW RATES ON RV,
BOAT AND ATV LOANS.
Up to 180-month terms for
affordable payments with
Northwest Community Credit
Union. Because fun has taken
a back seat long enough.
northwestcommunity.com
All loans are subject to approval. Loan terms available may vary depending on amount
borrowed, credit history, length of contract, or payment method. NCUA insured.
EUGENE WEEKLY APRIL 12, 2012 9