NEW S
GOLDMAN ENVIRONMENTAL PRIZE
HOPE FOR HAITI
CHAVANNES JEAN-BAPTISTE
It’s diffi cult to read about Haiti without feeling heartbroken. The Caribbean country caught the
world’s attention nearly three years ago when an earthquake killed thousands and left over a million
Haitians homeless.
Haiti has suffered greatly from deforestation, with 98 percent of its original tree cover destroyed.
Rife with mudslides, fl oods and soil erosion, the country is an environmental disaster in need of a
hero. That’s where Chavannes Jean-Baptiste comes in.
Jean-Baptiste, a Haitian agronomist and founder of the Peasant Movement of Papaye (MPP), will
speak at LCC Nov. 8 about his active role in the Haitian sustainability movement. A winner of the
2005 Goldman Environmental Prize, Jean-Baptiste and his group have planted more than 20 million
trees, advocated for alternative fuel sources and brought sources of solar power to Haiti.
He also aims to improve water quality in Haiti, where cholera continues to infest drinking water.
“Nothing can move forward if people don’t have clean water to drink,” says Melanie Oommen, a
pastor for the First Congregational United Church of Christ who helped organize the event.
Oommen says that Willamette University law professor Susan Smith arranged for Jean-Bap-
tiste’s visit after her extensive volunteer work with him in Haiti. Since Smith and her church vol-
unteers traveled to Haiti so often, they wanted to give Jean-Baptiste an opportunity to visit Oregon
and spread awareness about the issues in Haiti.
“It’s an extraordinary opportunity to hear directly from Haiti,” Oommen says, “and it’s espe-
cially extraordinary to hear from an international leader on human rights and the environment.”
Jean-Baptiste will speak at 1 pm Thursday, Nov. 8, in LCC’s Center for Meeting and Learning,
Room 226. He will also appear at 6 pm for a potluck and meet-and-greet at Oommen’s church. Both
events are free and open to the public. — Amy Schneider
ACTIVIST
SLANT
• Votes are still being tallied as we go to press this
week, but we’re encouraged by what we’re seeing.
Eugene City Councilor Betty Taylor gets another four
years, and it’s clear Juan Carlos Valle would have done
much better if he had run in a different ward. Chris Pryor,
for example, was unopposed in Ward 8, but he got only
3,600 votes out of 8,200 ballots cast in that ward. That’s
a huge undervote in that race, and also in the race for
the County Commission seat that now belongs to Pat
Farr (16,816 undervotes). Our Lane County Democrats
in legislative races did well against their heavily funded
Republican rivals, helping break the tie in the Oregon
House. Reps. Paul Holvey, Phil Barnhart, Nancy
Nathanson and Val Hoyle cruised to easy victory and
John Lively captured the hard-fought open race against
Joe Pishioneri in District 12. Republicans should take
some lessons here: Going negative, being deceptive and
aligning with the radical right are not effective campaign
strategies in the 21st century. And it’s worth noting that
Fergus McLean managed to get 30 percent of the votes
in Republican Bruce Hanna’s District 7 without spending
a nickel.
• Our endorsements differed from the R-G’s. The
daily has never endorsed Betty Taylor, one of Eugene’s
most popular city councilors ever. We favored Kate
Brown for secretary of state and the daily picked loser
Knute Buehler. We liked James Eagan for Court of
Appeals and he won despite the R-G’s endorsement of
Tim Volpert. We picked a loser in Measure 80 that would
legalize pot, but the daily did not support the successful
Measure 85 sending the corporate kicker to schools. And
hey, the Guard favored Rep. Bruce Hanna who won
District 7 despite our endorsement of long-shot Fergus
McLean.
• Woohoo! Who wants a jail tax? No, seriously. Lane
County polled residents over the summer and the result
from the pollster was that voters just might go for jail
bed tax on the ballot. Commissioner Pete Sorenson
wants to make sure that public safety in Lane County
isn’t just about keeping people in jail but also that
services like WomenSpace, which deal with other
aspects of public safety such as domestic violence and
who have also experienced massive budget cuts, are
part of the conversation. After the coal train debacle
when the Board of Lane County Commissioners was set
• The Eugene Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee
meets at 5:30 pm Thursday, Nov. 8, at the Eugene Public
Library.
to vote on supporting coal exports without letting the
public know in advance, we’re delighted the board is
going to get its agendas out early and with more
information. Go make your voice heard to the board on
everything from jail taxes to coal during its public
comments time slot at around 9 am Wednesday
mornings (Tuesdays after Dec. 1) and stay tuned to our
blog and news briefs for County Commission updates
(and snark).
• Kudos to voters who approved (or did not ban)
gay marriage in Washington, Maryland, Minnesota and
Maine, and to those who voted for regulated pot in
Washington and Colorado. We’re jealous. Maybe when we
have concrete proof that gay marriage isn’t contagious
and no apocalypse happens, Oregon can work on
catching up.
• California’s Bears have given the Ducks trouble in
recent years. But, with Oregon picked as 28-point
favorites Saturday at Berkeley, the 4 pm game is likely to
offer little suspense. So, while Oregon runs past the
Bears, consider these pressing questions: Could one
team offer up two Heisman Trophy finalists? Will Kenjon
Barner and De’Anthony Thomas carry the ball enough
against Cal to stay in the Heisman race? They have
hardly played in the second half of some Oregon blowout
wins. That’s good sportsmanship and keeps them
healthy, but may make it harder for a Duck to win the
Heisman. Watch for Barner to run for 200 yards and
Thomas for another 100, while the Ducks roll by 30.
• How not to flirt with an EW staffer: Stagger up to us
at Cowfish and loudly complain that the bar got Best
Singles Scene in our Best of Eugene issue, but you’re
not meeting any hot chicks. It really helps your cause if
you leer drunkenly as you bemoan the lack of babes that
are susceptible to your slurred advances. Hey dude, it’s
a readers’ poll; you chose Cowfish — we just count the
numbers. Our annual Best of issue was flying out of the
red boxes this past week, our rainbow-and-unicorn
bedecked awards are up all over town and we are
curious: What categories are we missing, what should
we cut and what can we do to make Best of Eugene even
better? It’s all about you, so comment at wkly.ws/1dq,
drop us a note at letters@eugeneweekly.com or hit us
up on Facebook.
S L A N T IN C LU D E S S H O R T O P INI O N P IE C E S , O B S E R VAT I O N S A N D R U M O R- C H A S IN G N OT E S C O M P IL E D B Y T H E E W S TA F F.
H E A R D A N Y G O O D R U M O R S L AT E LY ? C O N TA C T T E D TAY LO R AT 4 8 4 - 0 519 , E D I TO R @ E U GE N E W E E K LY. C O M
10
November 8, 2012 • eugeneweekly.com
LERT
• The Metropolitan Policy Committee is holding a public
hearing related to “West Eugene EmX preliminary engineering
funds” from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm Thursday, Nov. 8, at the
Eugene Public Library.
• A post-election briefing and discussion about what’s next
is planned for 7 to 9 pm Thursday, Nov. 8, at Washington Park
Community Center, 2025 Washington St. in Eugene. Speakers will
include Mayor Kitty Piercy, Dan HoSang and Sharon Gary-Smith.
Sponsored by the McKenzie River Gathering Foundation. To RSVP
or for more information, email sheryl@mrgfoundation.org or call
(503) 289-1517.
• UO psychology professor Paul Slovic, Ph.D. will speak
on “What Motivates People to Help Others in Need?” at 6 pm
Thursday, Nov. 8, at the Eugene Public Library downtown. Free.
Call 682-5450 for more information.
• A homeless activist training is planned for 9:45 am
Sunday, Nov. 11, at First Christian Church, 1166 Oak St.
Organizers from Portland and Seattle who organized
Nickelsville, Tent City 4, Dignity Village and R2D2 will help local
homeless people and their advocates do the same in Eugene.
• Mayor Kitty Piercy will facilitate the next Civil
Conversations sponsored by the Lane Chapter of ACLU Oregon.
The topic of this post-election conversation is “Our Civil Liberties
& Civil Rights — Election Winner or Loser?” It will be held from
5:30 to 7 pm Monday, Nov. 12, at The Davis Restaurant, 94 W.
Broadway. For more information contact aclu-or.org/lanecounty
or lanechapter@acul-or.org
• Free immunizations will be offered by the Student
Nurses Association of LCC in association with the Oregon Adult
Immunization Coalition from 1 to 5 pm Wednesday, Nov. 14, at
the Eugene Mission. Vaccines available are Hep B, tetanus,
influenza and pneumonia. contact laneccsnaprojects@gmail.
com
• “The PERS Picture in Oregon and Springfield” will be the
topic at Springfield City Club at 11:45 am Thursday, Nov. 15, at
Willamalane Center, 250 South 32nd St., Springfield. Panelists
will include John Thomas, Brett Yancey and Bob Duey.
• The LCC Peace Center and CALC are sponsoring a forum,
“Debunking the Myth of the Muslim Tide,” at 1 pm Thursday,
Nov. 15m at LCC Building 19, Room 26. Retired UO professor
Dan Goldrich will speak on U.S. post-WW II foreign policy actions
that have had an impact on the Middle East. LCC sociology
professor Nadia Raza will emcee the panel. For more information
contact Michael Carrigan of CALC, 485-1755.