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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2016)
NEWS • A curious line of reasoning is leading some Oregon editorial writers to say we need to elect some Oregon Republicans on Nov. 8 to check and balance one-party rule. The Oregon Republican Party no longer reflects Oregon values like Tom McCall and Mark Hatfield did. Art Robinson, recent chair of the Oregon GOP running for the fourth time against Peter DeFazio, does not reflect Oregon values. If you listened to the City Club of Eugene forum Oct. 14 between Republican Kathy Lamberg and Democrat Julie Fahey, you must have been shocked, as we were, at the gap between the two women. Fahey is so much better prepared to go to the legislature in the seat Val Hoyle held. One-party rule should have nothing to do with this vote. • Did you miss the powerful viewpoint written by University of Oregon rape survivor Laura Hanson in our pages last week? You can find it online at eugeneweekly.com or on the Huffington Post, which is now running it. Search for “Advice From A Rape Survivor To Her Alma Mater” online. When Phil Knight gave a $500 million pledge to the UO this week, he said in a statement, “While not without risk, we believe the expected societal returns from such investments are high.” Let’s hope the proposed “Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact” indeed has societal returns as well as academic ones that make the UO and Oregon a better and safer place to live for everyone. • Speaking of the UO, the Ducks didn’t lose this week! LCC TO HOST DOCUMENTARY ON FAMILY LEAVE T he United States, it turns out, is not the best at everything. “Only 12 percent of U.S. private sector workers have access to paid family leave through their employer,” according to the U.S. Department of Labor, making the U.S. an out- lier among developed nations. On Thursday, Oct. 20, Lane Community College will host a free film screening of a documentary that addresses the lack of paid parental leave in the U.S., followed by a discussion. The Raising of America, presented by the pro- gressive group Family Forward Oregon and LCC’s Early Childhood Education Program, focuses on the importance of early childhood care and the relation- ships between children, their parents and caregivers. The film will address how the absence of social poli- cies that support families impacts the nation. Laurie Trieger, regional outreach director with Family Forward Oregon, works on issues such as women’s economic security, paid leave, affordable childcare, family and medical leave and the wage gap. “Colleges are training the next generation of early childhood educators,” Trieger says, “and we want to make sure they’re entering a workforce that supports NEWS • “Be proud of your roots, understand the history that has shaped your community and respect the history of others. Do these things, I tell them, and you will be better writers — and good citizens, too.” That’s the advice UO journalism instructor Héctor Tobar gave in an Oct. 10 opinion piece in The New York Times this week. “My Lesson From White America” is worth a read as he weighs in on white identity in Oregon. • On Oct. 12 the Lane County Board of Commissioners held a public hearing in Oakridge on Old Hazeldell Quarry’s application to rezone 46 acres in Oakridge from forestland to quarry land. Old Hazeldell is a project of Ed King of King Estate Winery fame. The rock mine has met with a large outcry from nearby residents of Oakridge, a former timber community trying to reinvent itself through mountain biking and outdoor pursuits. Local Native Americans have also expressed dismay about the TV Butte project, which they say affects their culture and history. Former Lane County Commission candidate Kevin Matthews and EW columnist and Warm Springs tribal member Kayla Godowa Tufti were among those who testified against the quarry. Matthews and Tufti say the tribal member was forcibly restrained after talking over her allotted five minutes. Tufti says, “This was one of the clearest displays of institutional racism and suppression of rights of a person of color by law enforcement and local government that I have ever experienced.” Read her account and see video of the incident and watch Matthews’ testimony at eugeneweekly.com. SL ANT INCLUDES SHORT OPINION PIECES, OBSERVATIONS AND RUMOR-CHASING NOTES COMPILED BY THE EW STAFF. HE ARD ANY GOOD RUMORS L ATELY? CONTAC T EDITOR@EUGENEWEEKLY.COM 10 October 20, 2016 • eugeneweekly.com BY KIANNA CABUCO them with good wages, good working conditions and provides quality care.” Jean Bishop, a faculty member with LCC’s Early Childhood Education Program, says she hopes many students attend the event. “We have this dilemma where childcare is very high and unaffordable,” she says, “and teachers are being paid very low wages.” Trieger says that Family Forward’s two main ob- jectives are to raise awareness of the systemic fail- ures in place in the U.S.’ policies surrounding medi- cal and family leave and to engage people who want to become involved as advocates or activists. “I want [students] to come away not just in- formed,” Bishop says, “but also inspired to do some advocacy work.” She says she tells students that in order to receive better working terms, they need to advocate for change. “We are the only developed nation in the world that doesn’t provide, at a minimum, paid maternity leave, let alone some paid familial leave,” Trieger says. “What we’re really wanting to do is just have this country catch up to the rest of the world.” The Raising of America screening and discussion is 6:30 pm Thursday, Oct. 20, at the LCC Longhouse on the LCC campus, 4000 E. 30th Av- enue; the event is free and open to the public. B Y K E L LY K E N O Y E R KEPW ONLINE LAUNCH PARTY B eatlemaniacs should get their Sergeant Pep- per jackets dry-cleaned for this one. Local up-and-coming radio station KEPW hosts an Oct. 29 Beatles-themed Halloween party to celebrate the launch of its web platform. The event will be broadcast live on kepw.org, and the night features local talents Maya Love, The Love Truffle, Peter Almeida, Robert Meade and more. Proceeds will go towards putting KEPW on the air. “One of the things that KEPW will do is allow or- ganizers to more easily inform marginalized groups about their rights,” says David Zupan, president of Eugene Peace Works and a key organizer for KEPW. The station will carry beloved national alternative shows like “Alternative Radio” with David Barsami- an, which was dropped from KLCC more than a year ago. Other alternative programs will include “De- mocracy Now,” “Between the Lines” and “Counter Spin,” but the main emphasis of the station is local issues. The station motto is “no voice left unheard,” and Zupan emphasizes outreach to minority Eugene pop- ulations like African-Americans, Latinos, women, the elderly and the homeless. Andrew Rosenthal, a volunteer, says that KEPW aims to connect the various communities within Eu- gene, creating more cohesion and cooperation. “The more we communicate with each other and under- stand about each other, the more likely we are to cre- ate a peaceful world,” Rosenthal says. The station is looking for more volunteers and funding from the community. “There’s social cama- raderie there, there’s space for people’s creativity to be opened and enhanced and flourish,” Rosenthal says. Shows on KEPW will include live shows by lo- cal bands, interviews with people in the streets on local politics and a show called “Non-Profit Eugene” which interviews local nonprofits. Shows are cur- rently available as podcasts on the KEPW website. Those interested in volunteering can go to KEPW’s weekly meetings 7 pm Thursdays, located on the second floor of Grower’s Market, 454 Wil- lamette Street. As for Rosenthal, he says he’ll be at the launch party on Oct. 29. “I’ll be there. Whether I’ll be in a Beatles costume or not — we’ll see!” The Beatles Jamboree is 7 pm Oct. 29 at Whirled Pies on 199 W. 8th Street. Beatles-themed costumes are preferred. Proceeds from the $10- $20 donations will go to the launch of KEPW.
