slant
• Lane County Commissioners voted on a tight and ugly budget on June 25. The
vote, like so many of the board’s votes these days, was 3-2 with the conservative majority
for it and the liberal minority against it. Commissioner Jay Bozievich trotted out the
same-old same-old about wanting to cut more trees on public lands. We’d ask him about
that tired old anti-environmental stance, but he’s told us he’ll only talk to EW if we file a
public records request. But the county policy recently has been to charge even for
researching a public records request. We’d like some innovation in county funding, but
charging for government transparency is not the way to go. Why doesn’t the county look
to Commissioner Rob Handy’s proposal to go to the Legislature to raise the absurdly low
taxes on private timberlands? The reason, of course, is that conservatives on the county
board are in the pockets of the timber industry. Let’s work on getting some better
commissioners elected.
• Too bad for all of us that the American Civil Liberties Union office in Eugene is
closing in September. Because of budget cuts, Claire Syrett left in May and Bonnie Souza
will be leaving in September. Dave Fidanque, ACLU state director, said it all in his
invitation to their “thank you” party June 27: “Please help celebrate their dedication and
accomplishments for civil liberties and civil rights in Oregon.” We look forward to the day
when that office can reopen in Eugene. We need it.
• EWEB has decided to put its smart meter program on hold for a couple of years
and that’s good news. The technology is constantly improving and the utility has lots of
other big projects and concerns in the works. Families for Safe Smart Meters can
probably take some credit for the delay, but we’re not sure all their concerns are justified.
We’ve been hearing horror stories about electromagnetic fields and radio frequency
radiation for 30 years and the science is inconclusive and contradictory. Liberal Ashland
has come up with a solution of sorts regarding its smart meters: Customers who are
hypersensitive or worried about exposure to electrical devices can opt out without paying
any extra fees to have their old meters read manually.
• What’s going on inside the R-G? We blogged last weekend that Chief Operating
Officer David F. Pero is no longer on staff and his LinkedIn profile confirms that his five-
plus-year reign has ended. The last day his name graced the top of the Opinion section
was Friday, June 22, but no word of his departure so far in the daily, nor clues to what
comes next. Seems unlikely that the Baker family will resume managing the daily
operations in these challenging times for print media.
• How has Portland dealt with its homeless population? Portland Commissioner Nick
Fish oversees the city’s Housing Bureau and spoke at City Club June 22 outlining
Portland’s innovative and comprehensive efforts to get more people out of the cold. He
talked about preventing homelessness as the “best and most cost-effective strategy,” the
need to “marry housing and services,” and the importance of “wet beds” — housing for
people who are active alcoholics and drug addicts. The big lesson here for Eugene (and
Lane County) is that it’s cheaper over time to provide or subsidize housing for the
homeless than it is to fund all the costs associated with police intervention, courts, jail
beds, ambulances and emergency rooms.
S OUTHERN AND N ORTHERN I NDIAN C UISINE
EW's BEST ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET 2008-2009
L UNCH B UFFET
7 Days a Week 11:30am - 2:30pm * Dinner 5–9:30pm * 5 Years in Eugene
E AT & P ARK
F REE P ARKING
E VENTS
AT
* 1525 Franklin Blvd. Eugene, OR
* 136 SW Third • Corvallis, OR *
541-343-7944
541-754-7944
• Bakery
• Pasteries
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Fresh Meats
• Taco Shop
• Beer
• Panaderia
• Pasteleria
• Frutas
• Verduras
• Carnes Frescas
• Taqueria
• Cerveza
• ODOT is spraying highways in Lane County. For more information call (888) 996-
8080.
• Rosboro LLC, (541) 746-8411, is hiring Western Helicopter Services to aerially spray
Sulfomet Extra, Accord XRT and Chopper with Phase on 98 acres near Wycoff, Quartz and
Sugar Creeks and another 110 acres near Quartz Creek, in the Finn Rock area. See ODF
notices 2012-771-00484 and 2012-771-00503.
• Roseburg Resources, (541) 935-2507, plans to ground spray Atrazine, Clopyralid,
Glyphosate, Hexazinone, Imazapyr, Metsulfuron Methyl, Sulfometuron Methyl, Tryclopyr
Amine and/or Triclopyr Ester with surfactants on 6516 feet of roadside in Sections 29 and
30 of Township 19S, Range 03W southwest of Creswell. See ODF notice 2012-781-00450.
OPEN Till 9pm
DAILY
)SHPY,\NLUL
541 338-9086
541 743-0779
We Accept
WIC & EBT Cards
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
LANE COUNTY AREA SPRAY SCHEDULE
M ATT K NIGHT A RENA
WHEN YOU DINE WITH US
• Congrats to Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy for winning the 2012 Lynne Angland Award
for “contributions to the improvement of child care in Oregon.” The award was presented
by the Oregon Commission for Child Care last week in Portland. Piercy has served on the
Oregon Commission for Child Care since 1996 when she was a state representative. Part
of her ongoing work has been on affordable child care that she says is “key to the
employment and economic well-being of Oregon families.”
• The final home game of the Eugene Metro Fútbol Club’s Azul team will be at 2 pm
(note the earlier time) Saturday, June 30, at South Eugene High School, vs. Emerald City.
The inaugural season of this women’s premier soccer league is wrapping up and we’re
pleased to see the big turnout of excited fans. Follow the Azul on Facebook or check out
www.emfc.org
FOR
V
Nachos
Veggie
Choice
B u
Burrito
of Meat
$
3. 99
*OPSHX\PSLZ
^P[O,NNZ
a att
Choice of Meat
4. 99 $ 6. 99
$
Compiled by Jan Wroncy, Forestland Dwellers: 342-8332, www.forestlanddwellers.org
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?
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EUGENE WEEKLY JUNE 28, 2012 11