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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 14, 2012)
slant • It’s decent weather now, but winter is coming. Opportunity Village Eugene (OVE) is a nonprofit forming to organize and help manage a few acres of unused land in the city next fall, providing life-saving transitional shelter and assistance for people and families in desperate need. The project is evolving from the mayor’s Opportunity Eugene task force on homelessness, and is now including elements of permaculture and low-cost structures. Other cities, such as Portland with its Dignity Village, have created such places for people to be, but their success depends on support from a broad coalition of community groups, government agencies and dedicated individuals. We can do it. The Occupy Eugene camps of last fall and winter proved that many of the challenges can be dealt with effectively. OVE promises to improve substantially on the Occupy model and a comprehensive plan is expected to go before the City Council July 23 in anticipation of a site before October. Where would this project locate? One possibility is the vacant Naval Reserve land at 13th and Chambers, across from the new Unitarian Universalist Church. Google “Opportunity Village Eugene” to read the mission statement and to get on emailing lists. • Lane County is the winner of our Black Hole of Information Award. Media requests to County Administrator Liane Richardson for comment on pressing public issues, such as how the county is spending its money and not spending its reserves, get ignored. Public records requests get met with huge charges (Commish Rob Handy’s attorney was quoted $3 million for a recent public records request for emails). We did finally hear back from Richardson, who tells us she gets a lot of emails and can’t re-prioritize work for a press deadline. But wait, isn’t the press primarily how the public gets information? What about the county’s public information officer, who according to a recent job posting makes up to $71,000 a year? Richardson told us in an email that “As to other requests for information, or requests for county employees to provide opinions or the ‘whys and ‘why nots’ regarding a particular issue, for the most part, those requests will not rise to the level where we will have time to address them.” Richardson continues, “The public information officer position does not exist for the benefit of the media. It exists for the benefit of the county.” But the PIO’s stated duties include: “maintaining cooperative relationships with the public, media, community leaders and public officials,” and “providing timely, accurate information on county operations, services and programs to the public, media and employees and to assist county departments in doing the same.” And our personal favorite: “generating positive and fair media coverage of county issues even during incidents of negative exposure.” Offi ce visits starting at $99 Same Day Appointments Justin Montoya, MD 1410 Oak St, Ste 102 in the Keiper Spine building 541-228-3270 • www.prohealthfamilymedicine.com traveling soon? medical advice for global travelers t he t ravel c linic John D. Wilson, M.D. 1200 Hilyard St., Suite S-560 541/343-6028 www.TravelClinicOregon.com Questions? Email us at travelclinicoregon.343-6028@gmail.com Questions? Email us at travelclinic3436028 @ gmail.com • Here’s a friendly little “to-do” list for new UO President Michael Gottfredson: 1) Be sure to put all the meetings of the Board of Higher Education on your calendar. They hired you and until the structure changes, they can fire you. 2) Don’t diss the governor. He’s a smart and powerful guy. 3) Consult with former UO president David Frohnmayer. His political and educational roots go deep in this state. 4) Heed The Oregonian and seldom describe UO as “Oregon’s flagship university“ except in UO faculty meetings or recruiting sessions. Portland’s daily says this description causes hackles to rise “everywhere in the state outside Lane County.” 5) Follow Richard Lariviere’s lead in trying to break down town-gown barriers in Eugene and Lane County. 6) Fill your closet with yellow and green T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, windbreakers, umbrellas. 7) Take time to enjoy the arts and the outdoors. • The Olympic Track and Field Trials that start June 21 are bringing thousands of people to Eugene for the first time and this is a great opportunity to show off our town and all its attributes. Our Chow restaurant guide this week has a center-fold map of Eugene titled “Eat Like the Locals” and it includes eateries near Hayward Field along with a mix of downtown favorites. EW is also doing something very different this year, the Best of Eugene Express: bus tours during the Trials that take track fans to downtown drinks, dinner and either a blues show or a theater performance. Check out bestofeugene.com for schedule and tickets. • If you follow Nate Silver’s 538 website (fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com) of potent political forecasting, you know that he has given Obama a slight edge in the November election with caveats about the economy, of course. A disquieting note for Oregon is deep in his analysis. Silver suggests that Oregon could be a sleeper state for Romney, remembering the close Gore-Bush vote. California and Washington are dark blue on his “probabilities” map, but Oregon’s a lighter shade of blue. It’s tough to think of Romney swaying Oregon voters, but we’ll keep watching Silver’s numbers. 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 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. WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM EUGENE WEEKLY JUNE 14, 2012 9
