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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 2013)
SLANT • The fate of Civic Stadium has stirred a plethora of news stories, letters and op-eds and we keep looking for perspectives that get little attention. Jim Watson of Friends of Civic Stadium sent a letter to the mayor and Eugene City Council this week talking about the environmental impact of trashing a huge wooden stadium that’s still in good condition and replacing it with new concrete, steel and pavement. He also wrote about the social implications of a major soccer facility with affordable events that everyone could attend, and would attract our growing Latino population. “Civic Stadium is the kind of place that will build social bonds by bringing diverse citizens together,” he wrote. What about the YMCA? Watson notes the Y has other options for building; Civic Stadium has only one place to be. All good points worthy of elaboration. We haven’t heard much talk about how Springfield would relish being the soccer center of the region. We love our neighbors up the creek, but hey, Springfield got our hospital and Glenwood (how the !@#%& did that happen?). Let’s not blow another opportunity. Can anyone say “public-private partnership”? He says having fi ve residents serve on the commit- tee, as required under Oregon law “is to provide an ‘outside’ perspective on the process. It’s important.” The Budget Committee reviews and approves the proposed budget, limits levied taxes and tenta- tively establishes maximum spending amounts each fund in the county’s budget, according to a recent press release. The county’s General Fund alone is facing a possible $5- to $6-million shortfall. Former budget committee member Scott Bartlett says that appointees can make a difference on specifi c issues when they really dig into the budget. Bartlett, who served on the budget committee for 16 years periodically between 1986 and 2011, and was appointed by both liberal and conservative commissioners, adds, “Budget is policy, and the priorities in the budget refl ect the majority political will — in the current case refl ecting a Republican and highly partisan and right-of-center orientation.” Sorenson and the county have been sending out requests for applications to fi ll this vacancy. Ac- cording to the county press release, “Vacancies on this committee will not be advertised unless other- wise requested by the board member whose district representation has been vacated.” To apply go to wkly.ws/161, call 682-4203 or go to the Public Service Building at 125 E. 8th Ave. — Camilla Mortensen UO DISC GOLF TEAM BEST IN THE WEST Last year at the West Coast College Open in Monterey, Calif., the UO Disc Golf C lub didn’t win a match, fi nishing dead last in the tournament. This time around, it was a different story for a program that not long ago was struggling for its survival. Paul Fraser and Cory Higdon both joined in Febru- ary and have watched the roster quadruple in size. They were part of a teamwide effort to not only win a match but also win the open. Despite being deep and talented, that they had this much success took them by surprise. “It surprised us a little bit,” Fraser says. “When we were driving back, every once in a while Cory and I, sitting in the front of the van, would be like, ‘We just won that thing. That really just happened.’” Their win ended the supremacy of host school CSU Monterey Bay, a team that entered having won eight of the last nine opens. In the fi rst year of the match-play format, UO faced off against the jugger- naut in the fi nal and proved they too were a force to be reckoned with, prevailing in a playoff. Nonethe- less, it was still an upset of epic proportions. “It’s David vs. Goliath, round 2, and David hit the gym,” Higdon says. David’s win awarded the team a bye come Nationals in March. “That was a huge thing for us, earning that bye,” says Zach Schwartz, club president. “When we went to the fi nals [of the WCC Open], we just settled into what was actually going on and decided then that we had an awesome chance to put our name on the trophy.” Higdon, UO’s number-one seed, beat a Monterey opponent who statistically scores a stroke or two better on average over 18 holes. The underdog status continued across the board for all six UO team mem- bers, but the success is a testament to just how much the team has improved, grown and come together. “We went to Monterey and came back a family,” Higdon says. “There was no power struggle,” added Fraser. The team suffered a letdown this past Sunday in Cottage Grove, losing by three strokes to Central Or- egon. Part of an ongoing tournament, this match was structured like Nationals, with two rounds of singles and a round of doubles. Despite the loss, the team is still in good position and is rightfully setting the bar high. “We are the best team on the West Coast,” Hig- don says. “And in March we have another chance to prove that.” — Nick Poust • It looks like rock and gravel from Parvin Butte is going to start moving out to the coast. Neighbors out on Green Hill Road tell us they are seeing permits posted and work going on at the Lost Creek Rock products multimodal transfer station. Parvin breaks our hearts a little — it’s hard to wrap our minds around why the McDougal brothers and Greg Demers would level a scenic butte in the center of a small town. Not only are residents of Dexter dealing with explosions and rock crushing in their small, rural community, they also have to deal with trucks and traffic. There’s no sign so far that Lane County is going to do anything about all the noise and problems or fix what the county says is poorly worded language in the county code. What are the chances the McDougals and Demers are going to be better neighbors out on Green Hill than they have been to Parvin homeowners? Slim to none. • John Nichols and Bob McChesney, authors of the new book Dollarocracy, shouted out a rousing call to action Nov. 14 to a full house in the law school on the UO campus. It’s necessary to amend the U.S. Constitution to get the money out of politics, the two progressives argued, and 16 states already are demanding the change. We agree, but while chasing that structural change, progressives better beat the money on the local level in every little election. • Kudos to the City Club of Portland for putting out gutsy proposals to get rid of what their research panel calls Oregon’s “Frankentax,” our flawed and unfair property tax system. As summarized by The Oregonian: Repeal Measures 5 and 47/50; replace with base levies, adjusted annually for inflation and population changes; apply property to a rolling average of real market values; create a task force to develop recommendations to re-establish local control over K-12 funding; eliminate exemptions of property from tax bases; improve equity and efficiency of property tax administration. • It’s probably too early to book your tickets to Texas for the Final Four, but the Oregon men’s basketball team looks very promising. The Ducks can score points fast. Damyean Dotson, Dominic Artis, Johnathan Loyd, Joe Young, Jason Calliste and Mike Moser have all demonstrated they can hit three-pointers and ring up 30 points in a hurry. Refs are calling games closer this year, so Oregon’s guards should be able to drive and dish to many good shooters. Coach Dana Altman will have to keep all these scorers happy and find enough rebounding to keep the Ducks in high gear. Watch the Ducks take on San Francisco at 5 pm Sunday, Nov. 24, at Matthew Knight Arena. • We hear Eugene City Councilor Betty Taylor was re-elected to the National League of Cities Board for another two-year term. She was also re-appointed to the University Communities Council Steering Committee. Taylor represents Eugene well on national panels. Makes us look good, makes us proud. lighten up BY RAFAEL ALDAVE POLLUTION UPDATE The U.S. Department of Justice has issued a proposed settlement of a Clean Air Act and Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act case that the DOJ filed against Dillard-based Oregon Door Company. The case alleges illegal emissions of the hazardous air pollutant toluene, as well as recordkeeping and reporting violations. The proposed settlement would require Oregon Door to pay a civil penalty of $50,000, and also includes various terms related to future compliance. The DOJ is taking comments on the proposed settlement through Nov. 25. For more information visit goo.gl/62vKj3. — Doug Quirke/Oregon Clean Water Action Project The latest addition to the endangered species list is a climate-change denier who lives in the Philippines. SLANT INCLUDES SHORT OPINION PIECES, OBSERVATIONS AND RUMOR-CHASING NOTES COMPILED BY THE EW STAFF. HEARD ANY GOOD RUMORS LATELY? CONTACT TED TAYLOR AT 484-0519, EDITOR@EUGENEWEEKLY.COM eugeneweekly.com • November 21, 2013 11
