          
|
Sister Cities International has a reputation for facilitating cultural and educational exchanges between cities in the U.S. and overseas counterparts. The citizens of Eugene have been enthusiastic supporters of the sister city program and the ideals it promotes. But is it possible for Eugene to do more?
With Lane County's rapidly growing Latino population and the expanding business relations between Mexico and the U.S., "It's a natural move to establish a sister city relationship with Mexico," argues Alfonso Cabrera, secretary for Adelante Sí, the Hispanic organization that produces Fiesta Latina. Adelante Sí took the initiative several years ago and contacted Sister City International to request a match. The organization identified three Mexican cities based on population, industry, educational institutions, geographical area and other factors. Out of the three, Adelante Sí chose the city of Cholula, Puebla, located south of Mexico City. The university town is also home to the Great Pyramid, the largest pyramid by volume in North America. Adelante Si then went to the City Council with the proposal. The next step in the process would be for the council to approve the partnership. Then a delegate from one city would travel to the other where the mayors would sign an official agreement. But the amount of money and time that the council is willing to invest in the Sister City program has been declining. Several years ago, the council voted to establish the Sister City Foundation to relieve some of the duties of the city officials. The non-profit organization coordinates the four sister city committees, one for each sister city, and acts as a conduit for an annual grant from the city. A motion that the City Council will vote on in June would decrease the $30,000 grant to $15,000. In addition, the Council would match three dollars for every one dollar raised by the foundation. The foundation uses the grant to pay its one staff member and office expenses. Adelante Sí says that they do not intend to ask for money from the council. Cabrera maintains that Adelanti Sí will find financial support through the project from local businesses. But finding a delegation of elected city officials for the initiation of the program will be costly. Sister Cities International asks that delegations from a city visit their sister city at least every other year. But Eugene seems to be having trouble meeting its obligations to the sister cities we already have. Betty Taylor, who paid many of her own expenses to travel to Kathmandu on a sister city delegation last year, says our sister city in Russia has requested a Eugene delegation for its 240th anniversary celebration this year, but none of our elected officials can afford to go. Scott Meisner agrees, "Sister city relationships create sister city obligations." When the council approached the foundation last summer regarding a new sister city relationship, the foundation stated that they didn't feel they had volunteer or financial resources to take on a new relationship. The members of the City Council voted unanimously last July not to approve a new sister city. No one is arguing against closer ties with Central America. Nancy Argobast of the Sister City Foundation notes that there are dozens of groups in Eugene who already have exchange relationships in Central America. Councilman Scott Meisner says opportunities already exist for interchanges with our southern neighbors. Taylor agrees with the philosophy behind sister cities. "The idea is that the more we know about people who are different, the more likely we are to have world peace," says Taylor. But Rebeca Urhausen, president of Adelante Sí, sees economic value in cultural exchanges. "Mexico is full of consumers. They buy American products at American prices," she says. Taylor suggests that adopting Cholula as a Friendship City, an
official relationship that requires less of a time and financial commitment, may
be an agreeable compromise. Taylor goes on to say that divorcing one of our
other sister cities may be the only way Eugene could afford to take on Cholula as
a sister city -- and that solution would satisfy no one. Proud &
Passionate
The three-week intensive program in Eugene focused on improving leadership skills and establishing collaborative relationships with other organizations to advance the rights and opportunities of women with disabilities. During their stay the women lived with families in Eugene and Springfield as part of the cross-cultural exchange. Throughout the program, the delegates were engaged in a variety of activities: river rafting with Eugene's River House program, visits to the 4J School District and discussion of disability policy in education, employment, sports and economics. The groups met with agencies and organizations in Portland, Salem and Eugene. "Eugene is an ideal city for experiencing services that are essential to people with disabilities to live independently, said Sophia Avakova, one of the delegates. "We are thinking about how to adapt these ideas to our culture and society -- in Uzbekistan accessibility is lacking in all spheres of life. We don't have an opportunity to leave home to exercise our right to vote or to simply buy a beer. The success of a city depends on the full support and involvement of each of its citizens." The delegates used the LTD accessible bus system daily and said they were impressed with the warm friendliness of the people of Eugene and Springfield. "These women are incredibly motivated to make changes in their community and are now armed with more information and expertise to make those changes," said Tina Singleton, exchange coordinator for MIUSA. "We were privileged to learn about their culture and witness their optimism and passion."
"We were very effective in generating public pressure," said Tim Hooten, vice president of the AWPPW Local 677. And he notes that the company had a difficult time convincing the community that it couldn't afford a modest increase in worker salaries, benefits, and pensions while it was negotiating a multi-billion-dollar takeover of Willamette Industries. "[The strike] probably came at a poor time for Weyerhaeuser," Hooten said. Local support for workers at the Springfield linerboard mill was surprisingly potent, compared to past labor disputes. The Teamsters, IWW, and other unions made a strong show of force. UPS drivers and other pro-union workers refused to cross the picket line. The Local 246 Woodworkers union held sympathy shut-downs at Weyerhaeuser's chipping plant and sawmill. Organized labor, though, wasn't the only champion of the pulp workers. Many students and activists stood on the picket line, along with families and local citizens. The Main St. Market filled strikers' Thermoses with coffee each morning and donated boxes of doughnuts. Passing motorists honked horns in support and sometimes even dropped off handfuls of cash. "I've never seen anything like this," said Local 677 President Bert Henderson, a pipe fitter who has worked at Weyerhaeuser for 36 years and participated in five strikes. He felt the public's affinity with the millworkers "shows how far corporate America has brought the workforce down." David Brewer, who works in the mill's shipping department, added. "There's been enough downsizing and people laid off. People recognized that they may be next." Others noted that Weyerhaeuser's well-paid workforce (the average wage is about $22 per hour, and employees get lots of overtime) contributes greatly to the local economy, while corporate profits go elsewhere. (The multinational company is based in Federal Way, Wash.). Workers at the Springfield mill also donate generously to charities such as Toys for Tots and United Way. But Hooten said AWPPW members are now indebted to the community. "Other local labor organizations have really stepped up to the plate for us," he said. "We've made a big withdrawal from the karma bank of local labor. --We're going to need to publicly show our support for other labor groups, not only as a sign of solidarity but also in thanks." -- Cheri Brooks
Here's a rundown from the Eugene Police of businesses with the highest number of calls for shoplifting, theft and criminal trespass: Meier & Frank, Valley River Center: 88 -- AP
The series, called "Heart of a City," describes store vacancies, high rents, riverfront squabbles, parking management problems, lack of nightlife, competition from shopping malls on the outskirts, absentee landlords, lack of City Council leadership, and yes, even "mall rats." The stories also look at solutions to revitalizing Salem downtown, such as public investment, historic preservation, residential development, riverfront park projects, attracting movie houses downtown and installing awnings over sidewalks. Part of the series looks at what other cities around the country have done to revitalize their downtowns. In the story on "Successful Downtowns," reporter Angela Yeager writes, "If you talk to downtown business owners and activists, they all have different ideas about solutions to downtown Salem. Housing. More retail. Riverfront Park. Conference Center. But downtown redevelopment experts say cities need to get away from the 'magic bullet' theory and focus on the city center as a whole. It is a lesson many cities have learned the hard way." The series ran in late April and early May and can be found at the Eugene Public Library. At the request of Eugene Weekly, the SJ archived the series in its "Special Sections" category on the web at http://online.statesmanjournal.com -- TJT
ESSN
Meets ESSN has had a busy year supporting labor rights for employees of The Register-Guard and Bi-Mart, and other community efforts. The group plans to discuss connections between local and global struggles for economic and social justice. The Eugene Living Wage Campaign is intended to "establish standards to ensure that our public dollars are not paying poverty-level work," according to ESSN's Annual Report 2001. "We intend to use this campaign to build and sustain powerful, permanent alliances between community, labor and religious organizations as a force for social change now and in the future." -- TJT
The popular camps for young scientists grades 1-8 will start June 25 and run through Aug. 17. Morning camps will be from 9 am to noon, and afternoon camps will be from 1 to 4 pm. A week-long half-day camp costs $75 for WISTEC members and $85 for non-members. Call 682-7888 or e-mail wistec@wistec.org. Camps this year will delve into kitchen chemistry, organic gardening, alternative energy, the science of sound and music, advanced rocketry, endangered species, beginning mountain climbing, dinosaurs, computers, cartography and Grossology -- "the science of mold, snot, slime and other disgusting discoveries."
Mission
& Scope The brochure is a collaborative effort involving IPRP and several other community organizations offering support to citizens who believe they have experienced incidents of police misconduct, says IPRP volunteer Carol Berg. "The three goals (of the IPRP) are to provide community education, extend support to the community and improve police accountability." The guide describes the mission and scope of each local organization profiled, and includes contact information. Government organizations such as the Eugene Police Commission and Eugene Human Rights Commission are also described. IPRP formed in May 2000 following the narrow defeat at the polls of a measure to create an official independent panel to review complaints against police officers and police tactics. IPRP can be reached at 485-3020 or 343-5128. The mailing address is 2113 Riverview St., Eugene 97403. -- TJT
Drawing
Boundaries The city is seeking community feedback on criteria to be used in revising the ward boundaries. Written comments will also be accepted at the June 4 meeting, or can be mailed to Keli Osborn, City Manager's Office, 777 Pearl St., Eugene 97401 or e-mailed to keli.m.osborn@ci.eugene.or.us. The latest community group response was from the Eugene Neighborhood Leaders Council. The group called for maintaining recognized neighborhood organizations as much as possible, making incremental rather than drastic alterations in ward boundaries, striving for diversity within wards, viewing the Willamette River as a unifying element, protecting the political voice of minority communities, keeping the residences of incumbent councilors within the wards that elected them, keeping ward populations within a plus or minus 3 percent range, avoiding "anticipatory biasing of population counts," and considering the residences of incumbent EWEB board members. -- TJT
Corrections/Clarifications -- In our "Take It Back" story on Sexual Assault Support Services May 17, SASS was described as a "volunteer-run crisis center" but SASS tells us the organization "relies heavily on volunteers, but has a paid staff of 14." -- The phone number and website for the 22nd Annual Oregon Folklife Festival were incorrectly printed in our Summer Guide May 24. The correct phone number is (514) 757-6977 (the Majestic Theatre Box Office). And the website is www.oregonfolklife.com -- A May 17 story regarding federal subpoenas in the investigation of a local arson at a car dealer incorrectly described the grand jury process. A witness can usually take the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination. However, a grant of limited immunity from a prosecutor can limit that ability.
|
Stephanie
Harris