NEWS BRIEFS
slant
• Claire Syrett has announced her candidacy for the Ward 7
Eugene City Council seat following the decision by Andrea Ortiz to
pull her name from the ballot. We can’t imagine a stronger, more
qualified and more energetic candidate, but there’s still time for
others to join this last-minute race. Syrett has been a solid member
on the Eugene Budget Committee, the Lane County Human
Services Commission, Sustainability Commission, the Airport
Advisory Board and other panels. And her years as field director for
the ACLU and as a labor organizer have helped her plug into a
broad network of people doing good, useful work in the area. Her
experience in land use issues is unknown, but she can tap local
experts on growth, sprawl and toxics.
Last week in this column we mentioned Michael Carrigan as a
likely candidate. Carrigan ran Ortiz’s campaign eight years ago
instead of running himself and appears to be in a similar situation
now. “I’m relieved I don’t have to grapple with the decision about
whether to run or not because Claire Syrett wants to do it,” he says.
“I support her 100 percent. I hope no one signs up to run against
her; but if so, I’ve agreed to help her campaign.” Fans of outgoing
County Commissioner Rob Handy are urging him to run for the
council. “I appreciate the support and validation,” he tells us. “I
have made no decision at this time.”
Speaking of Handy, we hear he has been allowed back in his
county office after being locked out for more than 80 days, but he
still does not have unlimited access. The absurdities continue in
Lane County administration.
• If you missed the Willamette Brews and Blues Festival this
past weekend at Island Park, then you missed Commissioner Pete
Sorenson playing his trumpet to a crowd. Sorenson picked up his
horn and played “Hey Baby” with the Randy Oxford Band and
proceeds from the event went to FOOD for Lane County.
• Local architects appear to be overwhelmingly supportive of
the West Eugene EmX Extension. Some 20 former presidents of the
Southwest Oregon Chapter of the American Institute of Architects
signed a letter recently saying, “We belief that EmX represents an
advanced mass transit system able to support compact livable
communities, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, operate at a lower
cost to the community, encourage development along transit
corridors and create construction jobs in our community.” The
statement goes on to call for community support for EmX in west
Eugene and “additional corridors throughout the area as outlined
in TransPlan and the Metro Plan.”
Meanwhile, who on the City Council remains uncommitted on
the West Eugene EmX? George Poling and Mike Clark are likely a
lost cause, but our list of fence-sitters includes Pat Farr, George
Brown and Chris Pryor. They could use some nudging from their
constituents. And isn’t it about time for some organized community
support for EmX leading up to the council vote and beyond?
• Summer at the Saturday’s markets, both crafts and
produce, always brings special reconnections with former
Eugeneans here to visit family and friends. That’s where we heard
from Erika Hess, who grew up in Eugene, and her husband, Bob
Neustadt, about an exciting project supporting No More Deaths/No
Mas Muertes, a humanitarian group that provides water, food and
medical care to migrants in the desert and to others on the Mexican
side of the border who need help after being deported. Both
professors in Flagstaff, Ariz., they’re fundraising for a CD of border
songs and spoken word with 100 percent of the proceeds going to
No More Deaths. If you’re interested, check out bordersongscd@
gmail.com
• Do long, hot summers lead to more hatred and violence? It
feels that way this year as the scorching heat drags on across the
country. Senseless and hate-filled shootings in Colorado and
Wisconsin follow senseless and hate-filled rhetoric on radio
airwaves. Have we learned nothing from Gabby Giffords and other
mass gun killings? We need stricter gun laws and better health care
for the mentally ill and traumatized war vets, for a start. Our hearts
go out to the Sikh community, including the local folks here in
Eugene.
• Biased political phone calls disguised as “opinion polls” are
back, asking misleading questions in an effort to sway voters in the
November election. We hear the latest push-polls are targeting
voters in Rep. Phil Barnhart’s District 11. Democrat Barnhart is being
challenged (again) by Republican Kelly Lovelace. Expect similar
calls biased in favor of Republican Joe Pishioneri in his open race
for District 12 against John Lively. Both races are reportedly
targeted by conservatives as winnable; out-of-state Tea Party
money is expected to be a factor. The push-polling appears to be by
The Hoffman Group, a subsidiary of Gateway Communications, a
Portland telemarketing company that does a lot of work for right-
wing candidates and causes. We want to hear about these calls and
the misleading questions they ask, so don’t hang up; take notes.
The best way to combat deceptive “polling” is to expose it.
ACTIVIST ALERT
• The annual Eugene/Springfield Pride
Celebration will be from noon to 7 pm Saturday,
Aug. 11, at Alton Baker Park. Entertainment includes
Wetsock, Spin Cycle Squares, Richard Mills,
Champagne GaGa and the Imperial Sovereign
Court of the Emerald Empire. The event is free but
a $5 donation will be asked to help cover expenses.
A “Rhapsody Under the Stars” annual coronation
event is coming up Aug. 17-19 at Valley River Inn.
See Facebook at http://wkly.ws/1c0
• The Green Neighbor (Not Just) Bike Tours
continue with a South East Neighbors gathering at
11 am Saturday, Aug. 11, at Avalon Lodge, 5210
Canyon Dr. See http://wkly.ws/1c1 for schedule and
more information, or leave a message at 632-4321.
• The Lane County Chapter of the ACLU of
Oregon is holding a series of “Civil Conversations”
from 5:30 to 7 pm on the second Tuesday of the
month at Café Yumm, 730 E. Broadway. The next is
Aug. 14 on “Separation of Church and State” with
Dan Bryant as facilitator. See www.aclu-or.org
• Rep. Peter DeFazio will host town hall
meetings at 5:15 pm Thursday, Aug. 16, at Eugene
City Council Chambers, 777 Pearl St., followed by 7
pm at Springfield City Council Chambers, 225 5th
St. Later this month DeFazio will be in Cottage
Grove, Drain, Albany and Corvallis. See defazio.
house.gov
LIGHTEN UP
I can think of only two possible
explanations for the blistering heat all
around the globe this summer: Either the
scientists are right when they say that
human activity is causing climate change,
or whoever has his hand on the world’s
thermostat is really pissed.
BY R A FA E L A L DAV E
M e d i c a l M a r i j u a n a h a s h e l p e d
t h o u s a n d s o f p e o p l e r e d u c e t h e i r
u s e o f p r e s c r i p t i o n p a i n m e d i c a t i o n .
I f y o u s u f f e r f r o m M i g r a i n e s ,
C h r o n i c N a u s e a , F i b r o m y a l g i a ,
D e g e n e r a t i v e D i s c D i s e a s e ,
N e u r o p a t h y , A r t h r i t i s o r a n y
c h r o n i c p a i n c o n d i t i o n , i t ’ s
p o s s i b l e t h a t y o u q u a l i f y f o r y o u r
O r e g o n M e d i c a l M a r i j u a n a C a r d .
D O Y O U Q U A L I F Y F O R Y O U R
M E D I C A L M A R I J U A N A C A R D ?
T o fi finn d o u t , c a l l u s a t 8 8 8 . 9 2 0 . 6 0 7 6
V i s i t u s o n l i n e a t O M M P C A R D . C O M
It’s Your Medicine It’s Your Right
GET LEGAL!
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8 AUGUST 9, 2012
EUGENE WEEKLY
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM