News Briefs:   Election Reform | Harm to Salmon | Hult Hearing | Baker's Gifts | Two-Week Issue Happening People: Joy DuYan, Joyful Confections proprietor. Election Reform Following a month of electoral irregularies in the presidential race, Congressman Peter DeFazio has introduced bipartisan legislation in Congress to create a Federal Elections Review Commission. DeFazio collaborated on the bill with Iowa Republican Rep. Jim Leach. The commission, says DeFazio, would be made up of experts in election law, the U.S. Constitution, and U.S. history, "not elected officials or party loyalists." DeFazio says the commission "would not be created to look into allegations of irregularities in the most recent election. Rather, the commission would take a more sweeping, analytical look at the process used to elect those who represent the American people in federal offices. A review of systematic, structural and procedural issues to ensure the integrity of, and public confidence in, federal elections is long overdue. Restoring faith in democracy demands no less." DeFazio says he's concerned about problems with the electoral college system, but is not calling for its immediate abolishment. "Thanks to the 17th Amendment, senators are now elected by popular vote," he says. "There is a strong argument the president should be elected the same way, or at least by allocating electors proportionally by congressional districts within a state." -- TJT Harm to Salmon Some 170 federal timber sales in Washington, Oregon, and northern California have been stopped due to their "harmful effects" on salmon and salmon habitat. A federal district court in Seattle Dec. 8 ruled that the U.S. government violated the law by approving Northwest Forest Plan timber sales that could harm endangered salmon species. As a result, the court has enjoined approximately 170 federal timber sales in Washington, Oregon, and northern California. "This ruling gives Northwest salmon a reprieve from federal logging practices that are harming fish habitat," says Jan Hasselman, an attorney for the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund. "The federal government must make sure that logging heeds the mandates in the Northwest Forest Plan to protect salmon habitat." In the case, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA) v. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), federal Judge Barbara Rothstein ruled that in approving the timber sales, the federal government failed to comply with Northwest Forest Plan mandates to ensure logging will not destroy salmon habitat. Judge Rothstein concluded that, "There is a discrete and immediate harm posed to listed species by logging and timber activities ... that fail to properly assess the potential environmental harm associated with such forestry action." The court injunction halts Oregon sales in the Umpqua, Siuslaw, Mt. Hood, Siskiyou and Rogue national forests; and the Coos Bay, Salem, Eugene, Roseburg and Medford Bureau of Land Management forests. Hult Hearing Fans accustomed to hearing music in the Hult Center's Silva Hall weren't surprised when, at the recent Eugene Symphony concert featuring a premiere by Robert Kyr, Miguel Harth-Bedoya asked the technicians to raise the house lights and encouraged the audience to read along with the libretto, as the words being sung would not be audible to most of the crowd. "But that's going to be taken care of soon," said Harth-Bedoya. Acoustics in the Silva have long been a problem, turning arias, pastorals, symphonies and opuses performed by world-class professionals into little more than Oregon mud for most listeners. A few spots in the hall aren't so bad -- such as the first row in the balcony -- but those seats are sold out quickly. Now comes the good news: The Hult has decided to go ahead with a long-anticipated acoustic refurbishment that will delight the ears, if bruise the pocketbook. The Silva Hall Acoustic study was identified as a work plan item in support of the current council goal, "Accessible and Thriving Culture and Recreation." This June, Kirkegaard and Associates of Chicago, one of the leaders in this highly specialized field, completed an acoustic study of the Silva Hall and devised a list of recommendations. City Cultural Services staff, Hult resident company executives and the executive director of Library, Recreation and Cultural Services met to review the recommendations and decided to pursue approximately $2 million dollars worth of replacements and upgrades out of the $2.5 million in recommendations that were made. The project will be financed by a combination of grants, individual and corporate contributions and public funds, with the chief source of public funds coming from the patron user fee collected on each ticket sold at the Hult Center. Gretchen Hult Pierce has agreed to chair a fund-raising committee for the project. The Arts Foundation of Western Oregon (AFWO) has agreed to serve as fiscal receiver, holding contributions and grants in their accounts until they are required for the project. -- AS Baker's Gifts Ted Baker got up on his "soapbox" Dec. 8 at the City Club of Eugene to talk about what virtual "gifts" he would give to the city if he could. Baker is a retired publisher from the second of three generations that have managed The Register-Guard and Guard Publishing's diversified holdings. In a rare talk broadcast on KLCC radio, Baker offered a pro-growth, pro-automobile agenda for the city. He also called for the elimination of ward representation on the City Council, the reopening of Broadway to traffic, and Christmas trees in public places. "I'd give more open expressways to ease future traffic problems," he said. "I'm for bicycles too ... but let's face it, automobiles are here to stay. People use them because they are convenient, easier, and I think safer most of the time. ... Let's quit kidding ourselves and plan for the long-term needs of the automobile." On council elections, "I would do away with the ward system," said Baker. "I believe the whole city should vote for the best person to sit on the council." The elder Baker also called for better signage on I-5 to attract more people to visit Eugene, beautification through flower planting and "improved relationships between Eugene and Springfield." Baker was one of a number of local people chosen to speak at the City Club Dec. 8. -- TJT Two-Week Issue The holiday season brings our annual two-week issue which will be published Thursday Dec. 21. Our offices will be closed Dec. 21 through Wednesday, Dec. 27. We will re-open Thursday, Dec. 28, which will be our regular 5 pm deadline for Calendar items and an early advertising deadline for our Jan. 4 issue. Our offices will be closed Monday, Jan. 1. For more information, call 484-0519. Back to Top Joy DuYan Joyful Confections proprietor Joy DuYan (on the left) shows off her proudest achievement -- a smiling and efficient workforce. DuYan's small west Eugene chocolate factory provides mentorship opportunities for mildly disabled high school students, including Ryan and Peter (back row), and Annie (center front), through the Eugene School District's Work Experience and Transition Program. A single mom who worked two jobs to see her son through college, DuYan was downsized out of work in 1990 after half a lifetime in the corporate world. "I started this business because I was crazy for a piece of candy," she says. "I wasn't satisfied with any I bought." DuYan relocated from Chicago to Eugene in 1997, seeking a friendlier climate for small business. Two weeks after she opened her kitchen, she began selling at the Holiday Market. "They took me in," she says. "They're the warmest people I've ever met." DuYan's signature confection is Contradictions -- "sweet and salty, smooth and crunchy, all at once" -- but there's also something new every week at booth 177. "I'm in it for the satisfaction," she says. "And for all the chocolate I can eat." -- Paul Neevel Happenin' People Archives Nominate A Happenin' Person Table of Contents | News & Views | Arts & Entertainment Classifieds | Personals | EW Archive