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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 2012)
NEWS PIERCY BACKS EXCLUSION ZONE; CLDC TO SUE At a City Council meeting Monday Oct. 8, the downtown exclusion zone, which allows people charged with certain crimes to be excluded from downtown Eugene prior to con- viction, transformed into a different beast — one that activ- ists and the homeless hope will turn on itself. Lauren Regan of the Civil Liberties Defense Center plans to fi le suit against the city in November regarding the ex- clusion zone and a host of human rights issues related to the homeless in Eugene. Regan has won several legal cases and settlements against the city. “Unfortunately, once again, we’re going to have to rely on the court system to address and perhaps coerce the city into taking responsibility,” Re- gan says. In addition to the exclusion zone, the suit will address the lack of a legal place for homeless people to sleep and the illegal seizure of their property by police. EPD spokesperson Me- linda McLaughlin says that EPD has been revising property procedures over the past year. “A guiding principle in this has been respect for a per- son’s property, regardless of the monetary value. What is found property often represents the entirety of the owner’s personal possessions,” McLaughlin says in an email. “The policy will be ready to publish soon.” Instead of allowing the exclusion zone, also known as the Downtown Public Safety Zone, to expire Nov. 30, the coun- cil voted 4-4 (with Mayor Kitty Piercy breaking the tie) to extend the zone for another year. The renewed zone has some amendments. It will still be possible to ban people from the downtown core without fi rst convicting them of a crime, but people will no longer be excluded for minor offenses like criminal trespass two or possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. Piercy vowed to vote against exclusion zone renewal in the anticipated tie- breaker unless the changes were made. “We’ve literally been pleading with the city to show us any good faith toward any improvement,” Regan says. “The city is just hoping to drag their feet and delay until the squeaky wheels get tired and run out of steam.” Much of the City Council discussion and public forum centered on the question of what has caused economic im- provements and a more positive public perception of down- town: heightened police presence, economic investment or the exclusion zone. Councilors George Brown, Alan Zelenka, Betty Taylor and Andrea Ortiz all held that an increased police presence made the difference, and Zelenka added that he doesn’t ex- pect the jail bed situation to be fi xed anytime soon. Councilor Mike Clark cited the exclusion zone as necessary to make up for the lack of Lane County jail beds; Councilor Chris Pryor said that the exclusion zone can be a consequence until the city gets a better conse- ˹ L A U R E N R E GA N , C L D C quence. They voted for the amended zone along with Councilors George Poling and Pat Farr. Brown cited EPD statistics that show that 42 percent of requested exclusions between January 2012 and Aug. 15, 2012, were withdrawn by EPD or thrown out by a judge. Of the exclusion orders granted, 39 percent had previously been issued an exclusion order. Brown said that shows that the ex- clusion isn’t an effective consequence. Occupy activist Jean Stacey says that using the exclusion zone as an equivalent for jail beds for dangerous offenders ‘Once again, we’re going to have to rely on the court system to address and perhaps coerce the city into taking responsibility’ >>> CONTINUED ON P. 9 Will Eugene get beachfront property? The Great Oregon ShakeOut is planned for 10:18 am Thursday, Oct. 18, and business owners and managers are invited to join schools and government agencies in the statewide earthquake drill. Geologists predict that Oregon is due for a major seismic event in the coming years with potentially catastrophic damage to buildings and infrastructure. “Drop, Cover and Hold” is the slogan, though we’re not sure what we’re supposed to drop, cover and hold. Sign up free and find out at www.shakeout.org/oregon or on Facebook. More coffee! Yes! Par•en•the•sis Coffee Roasters is a startup Eugene business looking for $5,000 in funding by Oct. 15 through kickstarter. com and so far has $1,600 in pledges. The business is owned by Noah Crabtree who has been roasting his own coffee for six years on a homemade roaster and is now looking to expand production with bigger, better equipment. “I was fascinated with the extent to which the growing, processing and subsequent roasting of coffee could influence the quality of the cup,” he says. A video is on the Kickstarter website at wkly.ws/1d7 and his phone number is 913-1242. The internet has an office, and faces! Expedia CruiseShipCenters now has a franchise office in Eugene at 98 E. 13th Ave., phone 953-6411. Owners Matt and Debra Velure offer vacation planning for individuals and families through the Expedia travel booking company. Matt Velure is a former airline pilot who recently earned an MBA. A new doc in town who understands the mind- body-spirit connection? Ajay J. Mohabeer, M.D., has joined the practice of Pain Management Partners, 2401 River Road in Eugene. Mohabeer specializes in occupational medicine and pain management in conjunction with “mind-body-spirit” medicine. He received his medical degree from Manchester University in England. Phone number of the clinic is 344-8469. BY PAUL NEEVEL HAPPENING PEOPLE 8 Good news for the downtown lunch crowd. Noisette Pastry Kitchen opened Oct. 4 in the former Broadway Market space at the corner of Broadway and Charnelton downtown. We hear the eatery had such a successful opening weekend they “ran out of everything” and had to close early Sunday. Owner is Tobi Sovak, a former pastry chef at King Estate in Lorane and Marché restaurant in Eugene. The new restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch and light dinners. Phone number is 654-5257. Find customer comments on Noisette’s Facebook page. JULIA MOONEY “Dad was looking for a job, and California was the place to go,” says Julia Mooney, who left Rockford, Illinois, in a car and trailer with her parents and three siblings, when she was 5. Her dad trained as a typewriter repairman in San Bernardino, bought a house after two years and had three more kids. “We all went to Catholic school,” says Mooney, who entered a convent. She worked as a home health aide, but left her order after eight years and joined Stephen Gaskin and his caravan of hippies on their way to The Farm in Tennessee. She got pregnant, had a baby, then rejoined her parents, two sisters and one brother on their move to 40 acres outside Marcola. She met Dan Mooney at a Fourth of July party. “We’ve had three children,” she says. “We got married in ’75 and started building our house a week later.” Dan Mooney also started a business, maintaining broadcast towers, while Julia got involved in volunteer work in the schools. In 2003, when the nearby Mohawk Grange, a 1918-vintage schoolhouse, was about to be sold after five years of inactivity, she took a lead role in bringing it back to life. “We needed 15 people to be members,” she says. “We got the building and started having fun here.” Her husband, Dan, will demo chainsaw carving at the grange’s October Festival on Oct. 20. Learn more at mohawkgrange.org. October 11, 2012 • eugeneweekly.com October is national Farm to School Month and the Willamette Farm and Food Coalition is hosting “tasting table” events at select local schools to encourage healthy eating and local agriculture. In addition, the Organically Grown Company is offering bags of Farm to School Fuji apples to local retailers including Red Barn, Kiva, New Frontier, Sundance, Capella and Eugene Local Foods, with 70 percent of the proceeds supporting nonprofit programs that offer farm-to-school education programs. Call 225- 8807 or email mkemple@lanefood.org The EuGenius Winter Market opened Oct. 6 and will continue weekends through Jan. 27 at the EuNique Indoor Street Faire Marketplace inside the Gateway Mall in Springfield. So far, 27 vendors have signed up and more spaces are still available. The 14,000-square-foot storefront is near Cinemark. Email eugeniusmarket@hotmail.com or call Dave Wells at 729-2608. Send suggestions for Biz Beat items to editor@eugeneweekly.com with “Biz Beat” in the subject line.
