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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 2018)
Best of Eugene time is here! And this year we are shaking up the process. Don’t worry, this gives you even more chances to vote. First we’ll have a nomination round, which will look just like our ballot in previous years. Then, after you, our lovely readers, have had a month to vote, we will take your top five or so choices and move them to a runoff round to determine the winner and top two. The runoff round will be overseen by the STAR voting initiative (Score, Then Automatic Runoff), whose effort to change voting in Lane County (and later the U.S.) has the signatures needed to qualify for the November ballot. • Republican candidate for governor and state Rep. Knute Buehler seems to be having a problem much like Sen. John McCain had in 2008. No, he doesn’t have an inept running mate. Instead, he seems to be struggling with trying to prove that he’s a conservative and not a right-leaning moderate. It’s almost like he’s afraid that maybe the Oregon Republican Party really wanted Trump-wannabe Sam Carpenter. • The best thing to come out of New Jersey is still Bruce Springsteen. But here’s an idea that could rival the Boss: The Civic Info Bill. State leaders have included $5 million in their state budget to support innovative projects to improve local news coverage. This could be a civics lesson for Eugene — and the state of Oregon — to start pitching in to help out local journalism. • In back-to-back stories that broke this week, a pair of big-name pro athletes spoke out against racism, taking their criticism right to the top. First, San Francisco 49ers defensive back Richard Sher- man — never one to mince words — blasted Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for his recent decision to bench any player who kneels during the National Anthem. “The owner of the Dallas Cowboys, with See the ballot on page 2 or vote online bestofeugene.com the old plantation mentality,” Sherman told USA TODAY. “What did you expect?” And then, in an interview with CNN, Lakers forward LeBron James, perhaps the most famous athlete in the universe, said that he would never sit across from Donald Trump. “We’re in a position right now in America where this whole race thing is taking over,” James told CNN. “One, because I believe our president is trying to divide us. He’s dividing us, and what I’ve noticed over the last few months is that he’s kind of used sport to kind of divide us.” Unlike FOX News host Laura Ingraham, who earlier this year suggested on air that James “shut up and dribble” instead of talking politics, we applaud these athletes for speaking out — as famous sports stars, yes, but also as concerned citizens in a country backsliding into big- otry, intolerance and, in the case of Trump and the NFL, a serious shredding of our Bill of Rights. • Did you make it out to Sunday Streets and the EUG Parade this past July 29 weekend? We did and it was awesome. We still miss the Eugene Celebration, but we’re glad the city hasn’t forgotten how to cel- ebrate what makes it a fun, quirky place to live. On that note, the SLUG queen application deadline is Aug. 3. Is it your time to slime? Go to slugqueen.com. SLANT INCLUDES SHORT OPINION PIECES, OBSERVATIONS AND RUMOR-CHA SING NOTES COMPILED BY THE E W EDITORIAL BOARD. HEARD ANY GOOD RUMORS LATELY? CONTAC T EDITOR@EUGENE WEEKLY.COM BY PA U L N E E V E L HAPPENING PEOPLE ANDY TRAISMAN “I was born and raised in suburban Chicago,” says Andy Traisman, whose T-shirt inscription in Latin, “Eamus Catuli,” translates as, “Let’s go, Cubs!” Traisman is retiring this summer after 17 years teaching language arts, humanities and drama to 7th and 8th graders at Eugene’s Waldorf-inspired Village School, one of the first public charter schools in Oregon. He created a program that matches middle-schoolers with mentors in the community to have real-life work experiences, and teamed up with non- profits to engage the children in learning about climate change. “For the last 11 years, I’ve co- taught with a math, science and art teacher,” he notes. “I’ve had the opportunity to teach with my heart, where relationship was the doorway to everything, and the experience of teaching some extraordinary people, including three of the plaintiffs in the children’s climate lawsuit against the U.S. government.” After two years of study at Illinois State in Normal and Kendall Community College in Evanston, Traisman fin- ished a sociology degree at Northern Arizona, where he met renowned professor of humani- ties and peace Vasant Merchant. “I took seven classes from her,” he says. “I was turned on by the power of ideas and stories.” He remained in Flagstaff for three years after graduation, working with kids in a parks and rec summer program, then moved to Seattle in 1981 and completed a yearlong internship program for teacher certification. He taught junior high in Seattle suburban schools for ten years before relocating to Eugene in 1992. “I opened a coffee cart at 24th and Agate,” he recounts, “2nd Base Espresso, Home of the Everyday Double Play.” Two years later, he took a few University of Ore- gon courses and returned to teaching part time. He joined the Village School in 2001, its second year of operation. ■ PRIDE IN THE PARK Saturday, August 11 2018 Noon to 6PM at Alton Baker Park The Mission of PRIDE is Promoting Respect In Diverse Expression (P.R.I.D.E.) for Arts and Culture of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Ally communities. For more information eugene-pride.org THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS Levi’s • Royal Caribbean • Walmart Playground Sports • Off the Waffl e • Moss Crossing Hop Valley • Oregon Design Shop • Symantec • Cornbread Café • Storm Family • Wildcraft • Starbucks • Iris • Drake • Luckey’s • Starlight Lounge eugeneweekly.com • A ugust 2, 2018 9
