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Natural
Resistance: 33 Tantrums: Frustrated Musumeci
resorts to bizarre fiction.
Living Out: Poe Me: Cease that bleeping downstairs
beeping.
Letters:
EW readers sound off.
33 Tantrums
Frustrated Musumeci
resorts to bizarre fiction.
Well they'd made up their minds to be everywhere because why
not. Everywhere was theirs because they thought so.
-- The Last One, W.S. Merwin
Eugene is no longer development-as-usual, and so we have 33 tantrums
called the Gang of 9 cartoons. But for every complaint about the cartoons, I figure
there's a lot to be grateful for:
1. The Gang cartoons are (were) anonymous. We can be grateful
that disapproval of the anonymity of the tantrums ran extremely high, and that citizen
sleuths were persistent in ferreting out the truth that Oregon/California developer
John Musumeci was bankrolling the drawings by Steven DeCinzo, a California cartoonist.
DeCinzo, who parted company with Musumeci after the first 32 of the cartoons, is
under the close-up impression that the real Gang of 9 is one: Musumeci.
2. The Gang cartoons are nasty. Biologist John Cairns aptly
notes, "Entrepreneurs who replace natural systems with human artifacts are called
developers." But Eugene happens to be a community that cares not only for building
things for humans, but also for keeping natural wetlands, rare plants and wild animals,
walking and biking pathways, old trees, neighborhoods, local businesses and respectful
wages, and the last remaining open waterways. This is why most of our City Council
members, having been elected democratically and locally, do not roll over for developers.
Instead, they ask questions, encourage community members to bring innovative solutions
to the table, and consider options.
But certain developers do not take kindly to anyone getting in
the way of their time-honored insider politics, money, and internal combustion machines.
So the nastiness we've seen in the gang cartoons is a response to something we should
be immensely proud of: a City Council that remembers we are a public community and
that "quality of life" means more to us than just concentrated money, roads,
and private real estate deals.
3. The Gang cartoons don't reflect reality. You have to
wonder at cartoons that depict David Kelly as an insane person, violently decked
out in guns. Anyone who has ever spoken directly with Kelly, or watched him address
a problem, knows that he is always careful in his judgments, does impressively intelligent
homework; and never abandons civility.
Or consider cartoons that depict Bonny Bettman as attacking PeaceHealth,
batting at taxpayers, calling a puddle a wetland and being considered incompetent.
Hello? Bettman helps us all look at a full range of alternatives, asks uncomfortably
competent questions, and keeps a better eye on the overall needs of this whole community
than most city councilors anywhere.
We have this to be grateful for: The majority of the council is
so thoughtful and informed, Musumeci has had to resort to bizarre fiction to make
them look bad.
4. The Gang cartoons are simply big money buying people's minds.
As concentrated money is increasingly equated with "free speech" in
our nation, we're all heading for deep trouble. One developer who can throw his tantrum
with $50,000 worth of negative ads against city councilors who work to protect communities,
commands a whole lot more "free speech" than a volunteer who speaks up
at a public hearing about protecting the last 1 percent of Willamette Valley wetlands.
But Eugene still has a great capacity to put limits on what and
who money will control. For instance, we have Eugene Weekly; ward-based elections
of city councilors; organizations like Citizens for Public Accountability, Citizens
for a Hospital in the Heart of Eugene, and Friends of Eugene; and we have humor (watch
this year's Eugene Celebration parade). Most impressively, we have a lot of citizens
who are too thoughtful and active to let one or nine tantrum-throwers control their
minds or surroundings.
In short, there's lots to celebrate: The Gang cartoons have been
drawn because Musumeci isn't getting to control this community or most of its City
Council. In upcoming months and years, each of us will have lots of opportunities
to make sure he and others who believe the land and communities are theirs never
wield undue control. And in the course of helping our community remain free, remember
to actually make sense with your humor.
Mary O'Brien has worked as a public interest scientist for the
past 20 years. Her new book, Making Better Environmental Decisions: An Alternative
to Risk Assessment, has been published by The MIT Press. She can be reached at
mob@efn.org
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Poe
Me
Cease
that bleeping downstairs beeping.
Once upon a morning dawning, while I stumbled stiff
and yawning, over many a quaint and curious
volume of lesbian lore. While my love still lay there sleeping, suddenly
there came a beeping, something birdlike gently peeping, peeping from
the downstairs floor. "'Tis the smoke alarm," I muttered, "beeping
from the downstairs floor, only this and nothing more."
Ah, distinctly I remember, it was hot, not yet September,
and each sunbeam like an ember warmed the day while still she snore.
Eagerly I then descended, down the stairs to have it ended, problems
much worse I have mended, mended as a dykely chore. For a strong and
competent woman can do any household chore, prove her worth for evermore.
And the brightly proud and certain rustling of our
rainbow curtain, thrilled me, filled me with fantastic pride I've
often felt before. So that now, to still the bleating smoke alarm,
I stood repeating, "Tis a battery it's needing, any dyke could this
restore. Just a battery it's needing, any dyke could this restore.
This it is, and nothing more."
Presently my soul grew stronger, hesitating then
no longer. "Smoke alarm," said I, confronting, "I must stop your rude
uproar. For the fact is you are keeping, me from any further sleeping,
with your loud incessant beeping, beeping through the office door."
Here I fetched the small step ladder, climbed two steps above the
floor, poised to do the brawny chore.
Then my hand upon it twisting, its round plastic
case resisting. Screeching, beeping beeps no mortal's ears were meant
to hear before. But the racket was unbroken, and the ruckus gave no
token, and the only words there spoken to the screeching troubadour
were my muttered, "I'll fix you," and its reply beeped back full score.
Only this and nothing more.
I resumed my twisting, turning, all my soul within
me burning, pulled it out but still the beeping, somewhat louder than
before. "Surely," said I, "surely this is not a job for wimps or prisses.
Something very much amiss is, I'll this mystery explore. Let my heart
be still a moment and this mystery explore." This I thought and nothing
more.
From its socket I did take it, wrenched it out but
did not break it. "Doubtless," said I, "I'll find spare batteries
in the kitchen drawer." Here is one task I can master, and avert this
loud disaster, beeping fast now, beeping faster, till my nerves were
getting sore. Replaced the batt'ry with a new one, still my nerves
were getting sore, while it beeped and beeped some more
Tiny print upon the plastic, forcing visual gymnastic,
to decipher why the screech still pulsed insanely from its core. But
the noise had made me weary and my eyes were getting teary, hence
no answer to my query and no silence furthermore. With no answer to
my query, and no silence furthermore, I flung it out the kitchen door.
Yet no surcease was forthcoming, from outside the
beep kept drumming, to my violent urge succumbing, I flung wide the
kitchen door. "Wretch!" I cried and grasped a cleaver, acting like
Sigourney Weaver, whacked it in a frenzied fever, then I grabbed a
two by four. Smashed its little plastic guts out with a heavy two
by four, stepped inside and slammed the door.
Despite how violently we scuffled, the part that
beeped still sits unruffled, and its horrid noise unmuffled by the
cleaver, board, or door. Any dyke who's self-respecting would this
problem be correcting and continue vivisecting till she'd quietude
restore. But my spirit fully daunted could not quash the beep that
taunted and forever will be haunted like a wounded matador.
Stop the beeping? Nevermore.
Sally Sheklow has been a part of the Eugene community
since 1972 and is a member of the WYMPROV! comedy troupe. Her column,
which began at EW, also runs in several other newspapers around
the country.
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SERVE
THE PEOPLE
What are we doing to our community?
Turning vital agricultural land into a gravel pit and asphalt factory;
paving over more wetlands with a west side freeway so more cars can
replenish the stench in our air; building ghastly cell phone towers
(on Springfield school grounds!) so more people can get their e-mail
while driving; putting Coca-Cola machines in our schools so students
can feed their sugar addictions; letting the National Guard put an
army base on the southern entrance to our city, across 30th Avenue
from our community college; paying the city manager $150,000 a year
to louse up the developmental regulations and lose the city $4 million
(then blaming the City Council).
We financed by 60 or 70 million dollars an out of
state corporation to build a huge factory to pollute our air with
dangerous chemicals only to see it close down. We gave them one-fifth
of our electricity and water, so we should be happy when they fail
to open next year. But it was not the present City Council members
who allowed this fiasco, but the Chamber of Commerce and its mayor
(who has yet to apologize for this enormous blunder).
Then letting some other arrogant out of state executives
push us around as if we citizens should not have a say as to the location
of our central hospital.
We have some wonderful people on our City Council
and County Commission, but they must be backed by our citizens, not
tormented and threatened by the rich, greedy and powerful.
Let us start taking back our city into our hands by
having the city buy the existing Sacred Heart Medical Center. Make
it a municipal hospital and let the arrogant, insolent hospital authorities
go anywhere they want and build their health palace. All they want
is a medical empire. Let us have a city hospital to serve our people.
Jim Weaver
Eugene
USE
THE RAIL LINE
On my wish list would be the conversion
of the Coos Bay Line of the Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad from
rail to trail. It's route extends from Eugene to the coast. My observations,
albeit limited, show little activity on the tracks, and when trains
do run, the majority of rail cars appear to be underutilized. The
dangerously narrow, and sometimes nonexistent, shoulder of Highway
126 should not be the only recourse for hikers and bikers headed west.
The line is owned by RailAmerica, the largest railroad
company of its type in the world, with 39 railroads in the U.S., Canada,
Australia, and Chile. It's amazing how easy it is to find examples
of federal waste, even when you're not looking for them. The Oregon
Department of Transportation's website says the company just received
$5.5 million in federal transportation funds to repair one of its
bridges. Not a bad haul for a corporation with assets in the billions
and, per their 2000 Annual Report, revenues rose from the previous
year 176 percent. No, I didn't leave a dot out of that figure.
A plan to convert any active railroad from rail to
trail can be daunting, and possibly quixotic in this case, but I'm
still interested in further exploring it. If anyone else is interested,
I have an e-mail address at westsidetrail@yahoo.com for sharing thoughts
and ideas.
Bob Berman
Elmira
WORKERS
TRUST
There was another offshoot of the
Hoedads that was not mentioned in your article (cover story, 8/2).
In the early 1980s, members of the Hoedads, Great Notions, and other
forest worker cooperatives formed Workers Trust, an entity designed
to support democratically managed workplaces.
One of its services was the Workers Trust Health Plan.
Coverage was provided for same sex partners years before this policy
made it into the mainstream. Workers Trust also recognized acupuncture,
chiropractic, and massage therapy as effective modalities. Internally,
Workers Trust had a policy that the highest paid worker not receive
more than two and a half times as much as the lowest paid worker.
At its peak around 1985, Workers Trust had hundreds
of businesses all over the country employing thousands of workers.
But it never got big enough to self-insure and had to purchase its
coverage on the open market and got squeezed out by double digit inflation
in health care costs. Workers Trust provided health insurance for
the staff of the Utne Reader, In These Times, and a
fledgling publication titled What's Happening.
Doug Hintz
Eugene
A
GREAT YEAR
As general manager of the Saturday
Market, I want to make clear that we are having a wonderful and profitable
year in our lovely location in downtown Eugene.
This year has proven exciting and filled to maximum
capacity with a remarkable blend of new vendors and products. We are
about 15 percent over last year in vendor count and income and are
proud of the investments we've made in our new information booth,
new fencing, and extra restroom facilities for the disabled. The city
has proven supportive by providing another walkway from our food court
to ease crowding.
It is a challenge and a delight to provide our city
with a public marketplace. We pride ourselves on making available
a place for individual businesses to sell their local handmade wares.
We exist per the traditional model of a downtown market wherein vendors
display a distinct vision through their product and the customer is
able to meet the producer directly. It is undeniable that as everyone
is welcome at the Market, we also reflect a greater personality --
that of Lane County.
We cannot say thank you enough to those of you who
respect handmade products and understand that every business needs
a supportive environment in which to become profitable.
Beth Little
Eugene
LAW BREAKERS
So the Oregon Legislature believes
that if a majority of citizens involved are breaking the law anyway,
the law should be changed to reflect this trend. Are they talking
about raising the speed limit on I-5 to 70 mph or legalizing marijuana?
Chris Pender
Eugene
INSULAR
THINKING
Alan Pittman's story (8/9), "Hospital
Choice," portrays this area as lacking in health care beyond Eugene's
urban growth boundary.
Although they are different cities, Springfield and
Eugene form one population base that is served by two
hospitals. McKenzie-Willamette Hospital already provides competition
to Sacred Heart and both hospitals provide the highest level of trauma
care in their emergency departments. And McKenzie-Willamette has embarked
on a major expansion.
Calculate the hospital per residents ratio including
both cities and that would be a realistic picture. Are the 10 hospitals
in "the Portland area" inside the city limits? If not, then EW
readers are being intentionally mislead by comparing apples to oranges.
I sense the same kind of snobbery toward Springfield
that put many Eugeneans into shock when the city of Springfield made
a viable bid for the federal courthouse. I also sense a mean-spiritedness
in the column's references to Sacred Heart as a Catholic entity. Didn't
JFK's presidency prove that the pope is not interested in running
American civic affairs?
I'm sure Pittman doesn't want to be seen as insular
or intolerant in his thinking! However, this story is full of both
qualities.
Candace Shorack
Eugene
EFFECTIVE
ADVOCACY
I want to take strong exception to
what I consider an insulting accusation made by Robert Ackerman in
the Aug. 2 EW that the LCC faculty union "kicked around" the
administration bargaining chair and labor relations consultant, Barry
Hebert. Mr. Hebert, by virtue of extensive experience and character,
was not someone whom our union could gain from kicking around even
if we chose to. In fact, both bargaining teams were committed to engage
in effective advocacy within an interest-based bargaining framework,
which was inconsistent with such behavior.
The benefit to our members and the college was that
Mr. Hebert did not engage in defensively attacking the faculty union.
This allowed us to tackle long standing problems and reach truly win-win
agreements that serve everyone and benefit our students and the community.
This situation was reversed in the last year with the appointment
of a new consultant.
As LCC Board chair, Ackerman is in a position to stop
this reversal away from the productive collective bargaining environment
established over many years at LCC. This is an attack on LCC's capacity
to serve our community, and an attack on LCC's role as a national
model for systemic improvement of the students' learning environment
which rests on collective bargaining and faculty union initiative.
This matter has serious consequences for our community
and deserves serious attention. Thank you, EW.
Margaret Bayless
LCCEA president
LETTERS POLICY: We welcome letters on all topics
and will print as many as space allows. Please limit length to 250
words, keep submissions to once a month, and include your address
and phone number. E-mail to editor@eugeneweekly.com, fax to
484-4044, or mail to 1251 Lincoln, Eugene 97401.
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