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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 24, 2013)
ACTIVIST form detailing where they are staying and how long they have been homeless, while also providing other information about their current state. During 2012’s One Night Homeless Count, 2,140 home- less people were found. That one-night count only included people in shelters and not on the street, so organizers Joanna Bernstein and Michael Carrigan of Community Alliance of Lane County (CALC) are concerned that this troubling num- ber isn’t even close to Lane County’s total. “The numbers are alarming,” Carrigan says. “The num- ber of people who are living on the streets indicates a very serious problem that needs to be dealt with by the local gov- ernment. We feel that housing is a human right that every person is entitled to. It’s part of that effort that everybody can be housed in Lane County.” Infl uencing the public and local government to take ac- tion is one goal, but so is making the people living in dire situations feel like they are somebody and, in turn, give them a sense of belonging. “To count somebody, you are kind of legitimizing their existence as an individual to say that we recognize that you are there,” Bernstein says. “Even though this isn’t a com- prehensive survey — it’s just kind of enough information to see where somebody is at — for some folks revealing this amount of information to somebody who is listening and re- ally wants to know that can be a very empowering and heal- ing experience for them.” In its effort to help the homeless, CALC will be working with other organizations, including SLEEPS (Safe Legally Entitled Emergency Places to Sleep) and Opportunity Vil- lage Eugene. “They are going to help us,” Carrigan says. “They are go- ing to be going out and talk to other homeless people. They have their relationships; they know where to go, so it is go- ing to be a real grassroots effort.” Positively affecting the minds of the homeless and giving them the shelter they need are the main objectives. CALC thinks Eugene’s effort can create a domino effect of assis- tance and empowerment. “We can set an example for the entire nation, having these safe, temporary places,” Carrigan says. “Eugene can do it. We are really pushing the city to make that happen.” — Nick Poust TH E FIGHT FOR SALMON As salmon populations continue to decline on the West Coast, policy makers and government offi cials argue over ways to prevent extinction. But according to Caleen Sisk, spiritual leader and tribal chief of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe in Northern California, the salmon can’t wait much longer. Sisk and the Winnemem Wintu’s fi ght to prevent salm- on extinction in the McCloud River of northern California is constantly hampered by government regulations and the tribe’s status as federally unrecognized. Sisk will speak about salmon restoration and her tribe’s other causes at the UO on Jan. 25. When McCloud River salmon were transported to New Zealand around the turn of the 20th century, they were up- rooted from their native waters. In hopes of repairing the natural balance of her home, Sisk says she wants to take salmon from New Zealand and return them to their original river. Some organizations seem reluctant to consider this plan. Sisk says that the Federal Bureau of Reclamation re- cently announced how it will distribute its salmon restora- tion funds but did not include the Winnemem Wintu tribe in its allocation discussions. “Our salmon were sent to New Zealand without our consent so you’d think they could be brought back,” Sisk says. “Right now, the conditions are on the breaking edge. If things don’t happen right away, it’s a decision to cause the extinction of the salmon.” Sisk says she will show clips from her tribe’s documen- tary on salmon at the UO talk, which will feature a salmon dinner during Sisk’s presentation. Jessica Rojas, diversity coordinator for the Women’s Center at the UO, says that tribal-caught salmon will be served in order to support Native American fi shing rights. “It complements everything Caleen is fi ghting for,” Ro- jas says. The free talk is at 5 pm Friday, Jan. 25, at the Many Na- tions Longhouse. — Amy Schneider • A community discussion on “Gun Violence: Let’s Talk Solutions” will be at 6:30 pm Thursday, Jan. 24, at the First Christian Church, 1166 Oak St. in Eugene. Panelists include Sen. Floyd Prozanski, Mayor Kitty Piercy and Craig Opperman, CEO of Looking Glass Youth & Family Services. Sponsored by the Democratic Party of Lane County, MotherPAC and CALC. Free, but donations accepted. Call 486-0960 for more information. • The Lane Latino Leadership Forum 2013 will address where the Latino demographic might be headed in Lane County. Discussion will center on what role the Latino community could play in developing the next generation of political leaders and what expertise Latino businesses can provide to the next generation. The gathering will be from 6:30 to 8:30 pm Thursday, Jan. 24, at LCC Forum Building 16. Panelists include Juan Carlos Valle, James Garcia, Charles Martinez Jr., Andrea Ortiz and Commissioner Pete Sorenson. For more information, call 337-6391. • “Whither Willamette: Sharing the Street,” a panel on the future of south Willamette Street in Eugene, will be at City Club of Eugene at 11:50 am Friday, Jan. 25, at the Hilton downtown. Panelists include Chris Henry, city transportation engineer, Scott Landfield of Tsunami Books and Paul Moore of Arriving By Bike. A public forum on the issue is scheduled for Feb. 27 before a final plan is presented to the Eugene Planning Commission and the City Council. • The UO student group designBridge is planning a free community workshop for meeting the needs of Eugene-area homeless at 9 am Sunday, Jan. 27, at First Christian Church, 1166 Oak Street. Email Erica at thecommongoodeugene@gmail.com or visit thecommongood.designbridge.org • Oregon Wild will give a presentation on the nonprofit’s ongoing efforts to protect old-growth forests across the state at a public event from 6 to 8 pm Wednesday, Jan. 30, at Rogue Ale House and Eugene City Brewery, 844 Olive St. Speakers will include Chandra LeGue, Jason Morrow and Brian French. • A panel discussion on “What We Can Do About Our Crowded Classrooms” will be from 7:30 to 9 pm Wednesday, Jan. 30, at the South Eugene High School cafeteria. Panelist include State Rep. Phil Barnhart, writer and EW columnist Anne Bridgman, activist Joy Marshall and SEHS Principal Randy Bernstein. Free. • A meeting with the LaurelRidge PUD planning consultant is planned for 6 pm Thursday, Jan. 31, at the Comfort Suites Hotel at the I-5 Glenwood interchange. This meeting is to view the current development plans for the 126 acres southwest of Laurel Hill Valley adjacent to 30th Avenue near Spring Boulevard. SEEKING CLARITY ON THE ECONOMY Fiscal cliff, debt ceiling, recession. The words out of Washington are gloomy and confusing, but Jared Bernstein, who has been chief economist and economic adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, executive director of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class and a member of Presi- dent Obama’s economic team, says when he comes to give a talk in Eugene on Jan. 28, he comes “with a message of hope for the future” and that he is also here to listen and help clarify the economic news out of the nation’s capital. Bernstein, who is now a senior fellow with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, tells EW his talk will discuss “how we got into this eco- nomic mess and how to get out.” He says, “I think we are thwarted by bad policies, policies that are driven far too much by narrow interests.” Bernstein will be speaking on income inequality, the state of the middle class and economic growth, and he argues that inequality blocks opportu- nity and keeps working families from benefi ting from the growth they are helping to create. The goal, he says, is equal economic opportunity and that includes access to education from pre-school upward. Oregon in particular, Bernstein says, has wonderful natural resources “and it’s critical to complement the natural beauty of Oregon with a set of institutions that provide folks with the opportunities they need to preserve them.” Bernstein’s economic opinions have appeared everywhere from cable news shows to The New York Times as well as on his own prolifi c blog at jaredbernsteinblog.com Bernstein is coming to Eugene, as well as Portland, through the Oregon Center for Public Policy and the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics. He will speak at 5:30 pm Monday, Jan. 28, in Room 175 in Knight Law Center, 1515 Agate St. on the UO campus. — Camilla Mortensen LERT LANE COUNTY AREA SPRAY SCHEDULE • Jason Klemp, 927-3118, plans to spray 2,4-D and/ or Glyphosate near a tributary of Lake Creek, about a half mile from Triangle Lake School athletic field on Sam Brown Road, sometime in 2013. See ODF notice 2012- 781-00289 continued. • Transition Management, 521-5897, plans to spray aminopyralid, glyphosate, imazapyr, sulfometuron methyl, triclopyr amine and/or triclopyr ester near Preacher Creek, Doak Creek, Coyote Creek and Spencer Creek sometime in 2013. See ODF notice 2012-781- 00444 continued from last year. • Lane Forest Products, 345-9085, plans to remove biomass for power generation from Seneca Jones, 689- 1231, units west of Creswell that were clearcut and sprayed last fall. See ODF notices 2012-781-00510 and 2013-781-00026. Compiled by Jan Wroncy, Forestland Dwellers: 342-8332, www.for- estlanddwellers.org JARED BERNSTEIN eugeneweekly.com • January 24, 2013 7
