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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 2017)
LANE COUNTY RALLIES TO PROTECT REFUGEES PHOTO: MATT MCRAE • EW attended the Sunday, Jan. 29, rally at the federal courthouse downtown, a response to President Trump’s executive order temporarily suspending the U.S. refugee program for those seeking asylum from a list of seven Muslim nations. (Apparently Muslim is no longer a religious designation but a political one, which begs the question about the so-call Christians now in the White House.) Such a protest, which saw estimated crowds of 1,000 or more, is a right and proper democratic response to such xenophobic, unconstitutional nonsense, and it feels good to gather and vent. With all due concern, however, let us not ignore the more frightening development this weekend: the elevation of Breitbart News co-founder and avowed white nationalist Steve Bannon to a permanent position in the National Security Council, and the demotion of intelligence officials such as the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to an invitation-only status. This is a move perfected by Such a protest, which saw estimated crowds of 1,000 or more, is a right and proper democratic response to such xenophobic, unconstitutional nonsense. Benito Mussolini: create a “shock event” to distract the opposition from a much deeper and more permanent change at the top. And it worked, as seen by the fact that the disastrous installment of Bannon was a story relegated to the bottom of page 4 in the Jan. 30 edition of the The Register-Guard. The breakneck speed at which the Trump circus is moving is so disarming and anxiety inducing that we might miss the fact that we are rapidly going fascist, if we aren’t already there. What’s next? • The Celebration of Life that packed the huge auditorium of the Willamette Christian Center on Jan. 31 would have made Dr. Edwin Leon Coleman II so proud. Terrific jazz played by his sons Callan Coleman and Edwin Coleman III and other local musicians who were his colleagues. Loving tributes from friends and family, including an unplanned Skype call from his brother in the Philippines. A pervasive story that this was a remarkable man who died at age 84, a retired English professor from the UO, a fine musician, an Air Force veteran, a Duck sports fan and track official, a father who deeply loved his family, and a lifelong fighter for fairness and social justice. The service also quietly celebrated his wife, Charmaine Coleman, who was at his side singing, raising the boys and making life better for so many others. To quote an old friend of the Colemans looking over the mostly white crowd honoring a black man, “He really was the crossroads of Eugene.” • The dedication to public education in this community is heartening in the face of blasts against it across the country. For instance, good candidates are lining up to fill vacancies on the 4-J school board in the May 16 election. Mary Leighton, well known for her professional leadership of the Network Charter School, is running to succeed Beth Gerot. We hear rumors that Prof. Jerry Rosiek of the UO College of Education will run. He’s known for his opposition to excessive standardized testing. Jennifer Geller’s position will also be open. These are at-large elections for volunteer, thankless, time-sucking jobs that are so critical to our democracy. • What does it tell us about Oregon that we have one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, and Lane County is one of the worst? Seven percent of our children are not vaccinated for a complex set of reasons, including religion. The City Club of Eugene considered whether this is a public health crisis Jan. 27 with speakers Dr. Pat Luedtke, senior Lane County public health officer; Nurse Practitioner Tricia Schraffner, from Churchill and North Eugene high schools; and Dr. Paul Slovik, expert on risk assessment. “Community immunity” is the key phrase. As Slovik asked, do we have a moral responsibility to ourselves and our community to get vaccinations, including flu shots? • Good news: Eugene is considering becoming a sanctuary city, despite Trump’s threats to cut federal funding. It’s a no-brainer to not use local power for deporting undocumented immigrants anyway, since local law enforcement is not constitutionally empowered to do the work of federal agencies. Also on the good news front: As the Trump administration poses threats to our national efforts on climate change, the Eugene City Council voted on a resolution saying the city opposes oil-by-rail through and within the city and wants environmental and health assessments done before state, regional or federal agencies approve any new oil transfer and storage permits. Here’s to the hope that as Trump plunges the nation (and the world) into chaos, we promote human rights and environmental sanity at the local level and slowly stem the tide of anger and confusion. • We’ve been running our Activist Alert updates for years, but now more than ever we realize that as people get “woke” they need to turn their frustration and anger into action and activism. Got an activist event planned? Send it to editor@eugeneweekly.com as well as to our calendar at cal@eugeneweekly.com. • Occupy Medical is celebrating its 5th anniversary! Code Red and Daniel and the Blonde will play at the benefit 5 to 10 pm Friday, Feb. 3, at Whirled Pies, 8th & Charnelton. “Every Sunday, rain, ice or shine, Occupy Medical has been open from 11:45 am to 3:45 pm to provide free health care to anyone in need,” event organizers say. “Volunteer doctors, wound care nurses, herbalists and many others have provided services to over 3,100 patients during 8,470 visits in the last five years of Sundays.” Treatments range from frostbite care to diabetic education. Occupy Medical’s First Friday event will include music, dancing and raffle ticket drawings. Suggested donation is $10, but no one will be turned away for lack of money. Go to Occupy-Medical.org for more info. • At 12:30 pm Feb. 3 there will be a Rally and Hearing to defend the People of Lane County’s Initiative Powers at the Lane County Circuit Court, 125 E. Eighth Ave. The rally is at 12:30 pm in the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza, and the hearing starts at 1:30 pm in Courtroom 307. Community Rights Lane County says: “At the hearing, Judge Karsten Rasmussen will decide whether initiative opponent Stan Long will get his way to keep voters from exercising their constitutional right of initiative in Lane County. In his lawsuit, Long seeks to stop the initiatives currently being circulated to ban the aerial spray of herbicides and recognize our Right of Local Community Self- Government.” More info at CommunityRightsLaneCounty.org. • 350 Eugene is hosting daylong Non-Violent Direct Action Skills Training Saturday, Feb. 4. See EW’s What’s Happening calendar for more information. • The 13th Annual Corvallis Eco-Film Festival takes place Fridays in February at Odd Fellows Hall, 223 SW Second St. The program begins at 7 pm. Beer from Oregon Trail Brewery and snacks from New Morning Bakery will be available for purchase. Local experts will be on hand after each film for a brief discussion and audience Q&A. Suggested donation is $5 per person or $10 per family. Films include: On Feb. 3, Wolf OR-7 Expedition, a documentary telling the story of Oregonians who traveled 1,200 miles tracking a wolf. On Feb. 10, To the Ends of the Earth examines extreme oil and gas extraction. On Feb. 17, Seed: The Untold Story features passionate seed keepers protecting our 12,000 year-old food legacy. On Feb. 24, A Plastic Ocean deals with plastic pollution. • The Oregon Humanities Conversation Project comes to Lane and Benton counties and around the state with its goal of bringing Oregonians together “to discuss provocative issues and ideas” through community conversations. The nonprofit says, “This season’s programs address such topics as homelessness, food choices, immigration and refugee communities in Oregon, and returning home from war.” Upcoming talks include “Mind the Gaps: How Gender Shapes Our Lives” with Jade Aguilar 5:30 pm, Wednesday, Feb. 15, at Springfield City Hall, 225 Fifth Street and “You’re In or You’re Out: Exploring Belonging” with Lori Eberly 7 pm Thursday, Feb. 16, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis, 2945 NW Circle Blvd. Want to lead a conversation? Applications are due Feb. 28. Go to OregonHumanities.org for the full calendar and more details. • SMART (Start Making A Reader Today) has announced its Volunteer of the Year for the South Valley Area, serving Benton, Lane and Linn Counties: Sue Brown, a volunteer Site Coordinator at Bertha Holt Elementary in Eugene, has earned the honor for 2017. SMART is a statewide nonprofit organization that “envisions an Oregon where every child can read and is empowered to succeed.” Community volunteers read one-on-one with PreK-3 children, helping to strengthen literacy skills and to encourage a love of reading. Kids in the program get 14 new books throughout the school year to keep and read with their families. Visit getSMARToregon.org or call 541- 726-3302 to learn more. POLLUTION UPDATE The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality recently sent a warning letter to Arclin USA concerning numerous hazardous waste law violations observed by DEQ during an unannounced inspection at Arclin’s Springfield facility in December. Violations included failure to make arrangements with emergency responders, failure to post emergency information, failure to label hazardous wastes, failure to inspect hazardous wastes, failure to manage hazardous wastes in proper containers and failure to train employees in hazardous waste handling. Doug Quirke/Oregon Clean Water Action Project eugeneweekly.com • February 2, 2017 11
