NEWS
• Volunteers are needed to help in the annual
count of homeless people in Lane County and a
training is planned for 5:30 to 7 pm Thursday,
Jan. 22, at Health and Human Services,
Charnelton Room, 151 W. 7th Ave. The count date
is Wednesday, Jan. 28. Organized by CALC, call
485-1755 or email calcoffice@gmail.com.
• Rep. Phil Barnhart will host a town hall at
11 am Saturday, Jan. 24, at Esslinger Hall, Room
112, on the UO campus. RSVP to rep.
philbarnhart@state.or.us or call 968-1411.
• A gathering and benefit for climate activist
David Oaks, who has been in a wheelchair since
his spinal injury, will be from 1 to 4 pm Saturday,
Jan. 24, at Cozmic, 199 W. 8th Ave. The event is
also a birthday party for David Zupan (turning
70) and other Aquarians. Music will be by The
Vipers with Deb Cleveland, Elizabeth Cable, David
Rogers, Takilma Slim, Michael Brown and Chico
Schwall. Sliding-scale donation. See
supportdavidoaks.org for more information.
• We the People-Eugene is planning a
meeting to support Oregon becoming the fourth
state to call for a constitutional convention to roll
back Citizens United. The meeting will be at 3:30
pm Saturday, Jan. 24, at the Unitarian
Universalist Church, 13th and Chambers.
Speakers include Pastor Dan Bryant, Charlie
Swanson and John Flannery. Email
willamettedams@q.com or call 937-3034.
• Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy will hold her
monthly Mayor’s One-on-One outreach meeting
from 5 to 6 pm Tuesday, Jan. 27, at Albertsons,
4740 Royal Ave. For more information, call
Regan Watjus at 682-8340.
• A program on “How Green is Your Home
Town?” will be from 7 to 9 pm Thursday, Jan. 29,
at the UO School of Law Room 184. Sponsored
by the Many Rivers Group Sierra Club and Land,
Air, Water. Speakers include Babe Sullivan of the
city of Eugene and Sibyl Geiselman and Eli
Volum of EWEB. Free.
GSA HOSTS INAUGURAL
SEX SYMPOSIUM AT LCC
As a transgender man who identifies as queer, Emmett El-
and Andrew Clark, the GSA advisor at the Looking Glass Riv-
lingson-Ford says adolescence was difficult enough navigat-
erfront School.
ing his gender identity, and the fact that high schools focus
“Oregon has some really fantastic sex-ed laws for high
on heteronormative sex education didn’t help. Now, Ellingson-
school and middle school students,” Clark says, but there’s
Ford, as president of the student-
“not a lot of info for queer youth.”
run Gender & Sexuality Alliance
He adds, “I hear consistently huge
at Lane Community College, is
amounts of disinformation repre-
hosting LCC’s first-ever Sex Sym-
sented.”
posium Jan. 23.
Clark says, in addition to an-
“The wider purpose is to open
swering questions, he will discuss
up the discussion and provide
consent, condoms and lubrications,
information about LBGTQ sex
how to engage in condom negotia-
and intimacy since it tends to get
tion, sex toys, sexually transmitted
brushed over in traditional educa-
infections and sero-positioning
tion,” Ellingson-Ford tells EW. “It
— or strategically choosing sex
will be a really blunt and specific
positions to reduce risk depending
— EMMETT ELLINGSON-FORD
conversation.”
on a sexual partner’s or couple’s
Ellingson-Ford says much of
HIV status. For example, Clark
the symposium discussion will fo-
says for a gay man, “If you are the
cus on answering questions that students submit anonymously
HIV-positive partner, you have less risk of transmitting HIV if
beforehand to the drop box at the GSA office (Building 1,
you’re the bottom or receptive partner.”
Room 206 at LCC) or online at wkly.ws/1wh.
The Gender & Sexuality Alliance hosts the Sex Symposium
There will also be three panelists: LCC human sexuality
5 to 7 pm Friday, Jan. 23, at Lane Community College’s Center
instructor Samantha Gibeau, Oblio Stroyman, former marriage
for Meeting and Learning, Building 19, Rooms 102-103. The
and family therapist who now works at As You Like It — the
event is free. For more information contact gsalanecc@gmail.
new eco-conscious gender-inclusive sex shop on West 11th,
com or visit wkly.ws/1wi. — Alex V. Cipolle
‘The wider purpose is to open
up the discussion and provide
information about LBGTQ sex
and intimacy since it tends to
get brushed over in traditional
education. ’
20 15
Legislative
Coverage
LINES DRAWN IN SALEM
OVER EDUCATION ISSUES
Those couple days of icy, freezing
temperatures last February might stick out in
your mind, but while a brief spell of cold days
may affect your personal impression of the
weather, don’t forget that the climate is heating
up across the globe, thanks to rising levels of
greenhouse gases.
Overall, 2014 was Oregon’s second hottest
year since record keeping started in 1895,
according to researchers with the Oregon Climate
Change Research Institute at Oregon State
University. The average statewide temperature
in Oregon in 2014 was 3 degrees above the
average for the 20th century.
Globally, 2014 was the hottest on Earth in
134 years of recordkeeping, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
says.
How can we slow the heat? The city of Eugene
recently got shout-outs in Grist and Mother
Jones for its energy inventory, reductions in
emissions from transportation and for the City
Council’s goals “to reduce community-wide
greenhouse gas emissions 10 percent below
1990 levels by 2020 and to reduce community-
wide fossil fuel use 50 percent by 2030.”
8
January 22, 2015 • eugeneweekly.com
The state legislative session begins Feb. 2. Several bills
proposal, which Kruse calls a “wishlist,” the co-chairs haven’t
have already been introduced, and House Speaker Tina Kotek
yet put hard numbers on anything.
(D-Portland) confirmed at City Club of Eugene last Friday that
Part of the governor’s plan is to keep funding early learning
education will take top priority. The topic could prove divisive,
hubs, which focus on early childhood education and pool com-
even in Oregon’s Legislature with its Democratic majority.
munity resources for children and their families.
Sen. Jeff Kruse, a right-wing Republican from Roseburg,
Kruse says he objects to the state stepping in on people’s
says he likes the budget framework proposed by the Demo-
lives from “womb to tomb,” and says he is worried that adding
cratic budget co-chairs a lot more than the one proposed by
new programs will “distract” people from the other programs in
Gov. John Kitzhaber. Both plans
education that are already in place.
increase spending on education
“The focus for these young kids
Part of the governor’s plan is to keep should be growing strong family
and prioritize expanding opportu-
nity for young Oregonians.
funding early learning hubs, which focus units, not having the government
Kotek emphasized the need to
on early childhood education and pool take over,” he says. The co-chairs’
focus more on career and techni-
budget mentions increases in fund-
community resources for children and ing to the early learning hubs, but
cal education, skills training and
their families. doesn’t indicate by how much.
expanding access to higher ed for
all Oregonians. She has introduced
Statewide full-day kindergar-
a bill that would change the way
ten is another area in the gover-
eligibility for a childcare subsidy
nor’s budget that Kruse and other
works. At a minimum, parents would qualify for a year’s eligi-
Republicans have voiced opposition to. The school districts
bility, even if their employment status changed.
that don’t provide full-day kindergarten “are going to be los-
The budget proposed by Sen. Richard Devlin (D-Tualatin)
ers in the funding formula,” Kruse says. The co-chairs’ budget
and Rep. Peter Buckley (D-Ashland), who co-chair the Joint
does provide funding for implementing full-day kindergarten,
Committee on Ways and Means Committee, allocates 51 per-
but some rural schools don’t have enough space in their build-
cent of the general fund and lottery fund to education. Their
ings to host all kindergarteners all day. The co-chairs’ budget
framework proposes spending $200 million more on education
suggests that the Legislature consider a temporary capital as-
than the governor’s budget does. But, unlike the governor’s
sistance program to help implement it. — Lucy Ohlsen