mic check!
BY VICKIE NELSON
Occupy Eugene
Update
Where we are and what we are doing?
o has Occupy Eugene dropped the ball
on the homeless situation?” a friend
asked me recently.
Our summer issue of the Eugene Occupier
had just come out, and I happened to have
a stack with me. I handed him a copy and
invited him to read the front-page article
on Opportunity Village by Jean Stacey.
Opportunity Village is an exciting new
project whose goal is to create a safe place
where homeless people can sleep, live and
contribute — and eventually transition back into
the larger society. Activists from OE Homeless
Solutions committee together with activists from
other organizations, such as CALC and Occupy Inter-
Faith, are creating a new nonprofi t to make this dream a reality.
I could have also pointed my questioner to the article on the Downtown
Public Safety Zone by Ally Valkyrie. This exclusion zone, as many call it,
targets the homeless. A majority of the people who get cited for acts
such as jaywalking and who end up being excluded from the zone are
the poor and the homeless. Other people jaywalk downtown on a regular
basis, but if they look like shoppers or business people, they are usually
not cited.
The DPSZ was slated to sunset last April. The police recommended
that the zone become permanent and the City Council seemed willing to
extend it for two years, but OE activists, along with other opponents of the
law, argued for ending it. The council compromised by extending the zone
— but only until November. When public hearings come up in September,
OE will again testify against the DPSZ, questioning the constitutionality
of a process that targets the homeless and disenfranchised and can
exclude them from downtown Eugene without fi rst convicting them of
any crime.
So, no, OE hasn’t dropped the ball on the homeless situation.
We realize, however, that we have become much less visible to
people since our eviction last December from our encampment at the
Washington-Jefferson Park. And now, with the closure on July 11 of our
colorful, fl ag-fl ying Outpost VI at the old Federal Building, people are
once more asking us where we are and what we are doing. We are happy
to provide some answers.
Is Occupy Eugene still around? Yes, we are. We have offi ces and
meeting spaces at two locations. We have a donated storefront and
warehouse we call Occupy Eugene V at 1274 W. 7th Ave., and we have
space at the Growers Market at 454 Willamette St. You can also fi nd us
outside at our biweekly General Assemblies, Tuesdays beginning at 7 pm
and Fridays beginning at 6 pm at the Free Speech Plaza. We have over a
dozen committees that meet regularly too.
Since meeting times and places may change, always check our
calendar at occupyeugenemedia.org for the latest information.
What Is OE Doing These Days? In addition to our work supporting
the homeless, we hold free medical and dental clinics open to all from 1
to 5 pm Sundays at the Park Blocks at 8th and Oak. We help homeowners
who are attempting to save their homes from foreclosures. We protest
big banks in front of Bank of America at 4:30 pm every Friday and
encourage people to move their money to credit unions or small, locally
owned banks.
We fundraise most Saturdays at the Free Speech Plaza by Saturday
Market. We publish and distribute thousands of copies of our newsletter.
We broadcast TV shows created by our talented media team on Comcast
Cable Channel 29 on Sunday and Wednesday at 7:30 pm and on Monday
at 8 pm. We air radio programs from 6:30 to 8 pm every Wednesday on
KWVA 88.1 and we have 30 audio podcasts available for download.
We support our allies who are working in areas such as health care for
all, a cleaner, safer environment and a country where corporations do
not count as people.
How can I fi nd out more about OE? You can explore our website or
join our announcement list by signing up at http://occupyeugenemedia.
org/contact You can call us at 525-0130.
Can I attend a meeting? Yes. All our meetings are open, both General
Assemblies and committee meetings. We make decisions by consensus,
work openly and welcome anyone who wants to join us in our efforts to
move toward a better world.
“S
Vickie Nelson is a retired librarian who has been working with Occupy Eugene since last fall. She is
on the Communications Committee and the Newsletter Committee. You can find Occupy Eugene’s
newsletter at occupyeugenemedia.org/newsletter
4
AUGUST 9, 2012
EUGENE WEEKLY
letters
TO THE EDITOR
EMX IS A WINNING PLAN
Kudos to Eugene City Councilor Betty
Taylor for her recent decision to support
the West Eugene EmX Extension [Slant,
7/26]. Taylor was initially skeptical, but
after putting in the legwork to educate
herself about the actual facts on the ground,
she changed her mind.
One of the reasons for Taylor’s
support is the effi cient land use pattern
that EmX encourages. Contrary to some
opponents’ beliefs, the West 11th area is
planned to accommodate a large chunk
of Eugene’s future growth. EmX will
allow densifi cation of both housing and
businesses along West 11th, because it
will mitigate brewing traffi c overload
problems while providing a fast, reliable
and permanent rapid transit system to serve
new residents and customers.
Eugene cannot afford a do-nothing,
head-in-the-sand approach to growth
management planning. We have an
opportunity to secure $75 million in
earmarked federal grants to build a project
that will carry us into the next 50 years, set
the table for a more livable and affordable
community, and help prevent sprawl onto
rural lands.
The concerns of affected businesses
are important, but those can be adequately
addressed — we do not need to throw away
this opportunity. Prior EmX construction
projects have not caused the closure of
any businesses. Further, LTD revised
the original West Eugene EmX plan in
response to business concerns; the number
of lost off-street parking places can be
reduced to just 18.
Those who are still skeptical should
follow Taylor’s lead, and learn more about
this important transit project. It’s a winner.
Mia Nelson
Willamette Valley Advocate
1000 Friends of Oregon
Eugene
OOZE ALONG WITH ME
Dear citizens of Eugene, I am writing to
introduce myself to you and to encourage all
of you to cheer me on at the SLUG Queen
Coronation Ceremony and Competition at
6 pm Friday, Aug. 10, in the Park Blocks
downtown. I may be the new slug in town
and I may lack experience, but I hope that
my smarts, luck, uniqueness and glittery
attitude will help me to rise to the slimy
throne and into your hearts.
After moving to Eugene a few years ago,
I fell in love with this amazing monarchy
of strong women and drag queens, and I
hope to join their ranks. Should I win the
crown, I promise you this:
There will be fun. There will be silliness.
There will be SLIMEM!
Citizens of Eugene, cast away your
shells and ooze with me.
Gloria Slimem
aka Shannon Rose
2012 SLUG Queen hopeful
DANGEROUS BUMS
Lynn Porter writes [8/2]: “I also
wondered why they think homeless people
are dangerous.”
Let me relate some of my own, personal
experiences. This reality therapy is needed
for all the saps who think the homeless are
“old and disabled” or abused moms, or just
harmless hobos.
Not long ago I parked my car at
Walmart on 11th. Two homeless guys used
an ice axe to break into my car and steal my
lunch, causing $900 of damage and putting
my car in the shop for a week. This is not
what I would consider “harmless.” When I
worked for the state highway department,
we would clean the homeless camps under
the bridges. Found in a typical camp:
knives, axes and hypo kits, not unusual and
not harmless.
My buddy Greg took a homeless
woman into his house. She stole his money,
invited her “boyfriend” over when Greg
was gone, and then proceeded to party and
trash Greg’s house. My buddy no longer
brings street people back to his house. In
our former town, bums would camp by
the river. One of the bum’s girlfriends was
found drowned, an apparent homicide after
a quarrel with her boyfriend, another bum.
This is not harmless.
I was a social worker for awhile.
Talking with derelicts, I discovered: The
vast majority are men. Yes, bums are down
on their luck, but they choose to drink,
take drugs, quit their jobs, abandon their
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