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.