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News
Briefs: Bari Verdict In
| Just the Facts, Ma'am | Democracy
Training | Free The Fee |
Ecology of Taste
News:
City to the Rescue -- Council will consider school support
tax measure for November ballot.
News:
Salmon Spin -- Agencies resist breaching dams.
Happening
People: Ray Wolfe.
BARI
VERDICT IN
The jury in the Judi Bari bombing case has
finally returned a verdict after 17 days of deliberations, awarding
$4.4 million to two Earth First! environmentalists, according to a
story in The New York Times June 12.
Bari, who died of cancer in 1997, and Darryl Cherney,
now 46, were injured by a bomb that exploded in their car in 1990.
The federal civil suit was against three FBI agents and three Oakland
police officers. One FBI agent was cleared in the verdict.
The case contended that Bari's and Cherney's rights
had been violated by the local and federal officers who arrested them
and did not pursue other possible suspects in the bombing. The two
sued investigators for false arrest, violating their civil rights
and illegal search, slanderous statements and conspiracy.
"I feel vindicated and relieved," Cherney is quoted
saying.
An appeal of the verdict is expected.
JUST
THE FACTS, MA'AM
Award-winning BBC investigative reporter
and author Greg Palast will stop in Eugene June 19 to promote his
best-selling book, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy.
The compilation of Palast's articles for the BBC and London Observer
covers such topics as Enron's involvement in a fraudulent energy deregulation
scheme, the illegal 2000 election voter purge in Florida, and the
unsavory business practices of international trade organizations and
banking institutions.
|
Slant
Ç Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith
are both members of the U.S. Senate Energy Committee that voted
last week in favor of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste depository.
No surprise that Wyden voted against the proposal and Smith
voted for the proposal. Yucca Mountain now moves to the Senate
floor for a vote later this month that will affect radioactive
waste management and nuclear security for generations. Smith's
vote also helps set the stage for one of the nation's key Senate
races in November. Smith has aligned himself with the nuke industry
(accepting $70,000-plus in political donations from groups linked
to nuclear power) while his Democratic challenger Bill Bradbury
is lining up with anti-Yucca enviros. Will Smith redeem himself
and change his vote on the Senate floor? It doesn't hurt to
remind him we're watching.
Ç We hear that outdoor chairs, tables and gliders
made of eucalyptus, grown according to strict environmental
standards in Forest Stewardship Council certified forests in
Brazil and Swaziland, are now for sale at Westwood Unfinished
Furniture on West 11th. Hurray!
Ç The Jefferson Westside Neighbors have been
working with the city for years on getting prostitution off
their streets, with some success. Now, after prolonged wrangling
internally and externally, the neighborhood group has finally
published its first list of convicted "johns." Twenty-four names
are in the June newsletter being distributed around the area.
The group members apparently have no indignant attitudes about
prostitution, but they do object to the cruising, harassment
of women and young men who live in the area, and the violence,
disease and drug abuse that accompanies prostitution. We're
curious about what our readers think about this topic. Does
publishing names help? Are exclusionary zones fair and do they
work? Or are we just prosecuting more "victimless" crimes?
SLANT includes
short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes compiled by the EW
staff. Heard any good rumors lately? Contact Ted Taylor at 484-0519,
editor@eugeneweekly.com
|
Palast, an American and graduate of the University
of Chicago School of Business, is considered an expert in racketeering
and consumer fraud issues. What has earned him so much respect as
a journalist is that, according to those who know him well, he has
no axe to grind, does not produce advocacy journalism for either the
left or the right, but simply reports the facts, whether they are
popular or not.
The World Trade Organization has called Palast's reports
on globalization "rubbish" and a White House spokesman simply said,
"We hate that guy."
Palast was the first reporter to break the Florida
story regarding the illegal voter purge that occurred there. He covered
the story for the BBC and it was front page in London at a time when
it wasn't getting much press in the U.S. and the networks were shying
away from his story. But it was his work that generated interest and
eventually raised U.S. awareness of the fraud.
Kat L'Estrange, a Eugene activist who is involved
with www.VoterMarch.org, an internet-based voting rights organization
that was formed after the 2000 election and is co-sponsoring Palast's
visit, says Palast "sticks with the facts. He's no conspiracy theorist;
he shies away from that."
The UO Cultural Forum is also sponsoring Palast's
June 19 visit, which includes appearances on Noon News Live
with Shelley Kurtz and the Hats Off with Betty Snowden Show,
followed by a booksigning from 6 to 7 pm at Tsunami Books and ending
with a 7:30 pm presentation at the McDonald Theatre. Alan Siporin
will introduce Palast at the McDonald.
Tickets for the evening presentation are $6 stu/sr.,
$8 gen. and available at Tsunami or the UO ticket office. —
Aria Seligmann
DEMOCRACY
TRAINING
Eugene Quaker and peace activist Peg Morton
is scheduled to go on trial July 8 in Columbus, Ga., following her
second arrest at Fort Benning last November. Her first arrest in 2000
was during a protest of the School of the Americas (SOA) at Fort Benning.
Her second arrest was when she returned to the site, not to protest,
but to attend an informational event for the public.
Morton, 70, is one of 43 people (including Oregon
PeaceWorks staffer Chani Geigle Teller, 19, of Salem, and at least
one nun) who are being brought to trial for committing civil disobedience.
"From experiences of other years, we can assume that most of us will
be fined up to $5,000 and sentenced to a prison term of about six
months," says Morton. "My case is a bit different, so this may not
be the result for me."
After her first arrest, she was given a "ban and bar"
letter threatening stiff consequences if she should enter the facility
within five years. She said she considered committing civil disobedience
again, but decided against it because of a slow recovery from back
surgery.
"We did actually call ahead and asked if people with
ban and bar letters could go, and were told 'yes,'" says local activist
Nick Routeledge in an e-mail to Oregon PeaceWorks. "And now they're
hauling her off to jail for six months for endeavoring to accept their
invitation to learn more about 'democracy training.' Naughty military
industrial complex."
SOA, recently renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute
for Security Cooperation, has been heavily criticized for decades
of training right-wing dictators, military leaders and even assassins.
The national organization SOA Watch is providing lawyers,
training and other support for the trial. A fund to support the Oregon
contingent is set up at Oregon PeaceWorks, 104 Commercial St, Salem
97301, and supporters are gathering at 7 pm June 30 at the Friends
Meeting House in Eugene. For more information, visit www.soaw.org
or contact Eugene PeaceWorks at 343-8548. — Ted Taylor
FREE
THE FEE
Saturday, June 15, will be a national day
of action to end forest fees. People from coast to coast will be gathering
to urge Congress to restore funding for recreation and protection
of America's public lands.
In the Eugene area, a gathering is planned from 10
am to 2 pm at the Free Speech Plaza at Pearl and 8th. People can learn
more about Fee-Demo at the gathering and write their comments on a
large card to be delivered to a public official (to be determined).
Fee-Demo was introduced in Congress in 1996 as a three-year
experiment to help fund national forest management. But paying to
park in public forests is seen as discriminatory because it creates
access barriers only for those persons who are unable or unwilling
to pay a separate user-fee in addition to the taxes they've already
paid. "And Fee-Demo is un-American because it violates this nation's
long held tradition of free access to wild nature," says a statement
from Wild Wilderness.
"In 2002, the experiment drags on as Congress continues
to give federal managers further time in which to try and turn recreation
and tourism into revenue generators while turning you and me into
paying customers," says Wild Wilderness.
As of early this week, details for 30 demonstrations
in nine states were listed online at www.wildwilderness.org/docs/2002doa.htm
ECOLOGY
OF TASTE
Slow Food has come to the Northwest, only
it did so quickly. This past April, Eugene joined both the Portland
Convivium and the High Desert Convivium in Central Oregon to become
the third Oregon outpost of this international non-profit movement
dedicated to preserving "the right to taste."
Eugene (with almost 30 members), Bend and Seattle
will be joining with Portland, the oldest convivium in the country,
to host Slow Food USA's first grassroots international event, the
Salone Northwest, this weekend, June 14-16, at various venues around
Portland.
The "convivium" name attached to the groups emphasizes
the importance of conviviality around the dining table.
The Salone will feature taste seminars showcasing
the culinary riches of both the Northwest and Italy's Emilia Romagna
region, and will promote Slow Food's philosophy of regional and seasonal
food production, the proper stewardship of the land, the revival of
the kitchen and table as centers of pleasure, culture, and community,
and advocacy for a slower, more harmonious rhythm of living.
Seminars will cover how to cook responsibly and sustainably
using Oregon's bounty, a tasting and exploration of the surprising
variety of American artisanal cheeses, how to properly care for and
prepare sourdough, a vintage Oregon wine tasting, the Emilia Romagna
style of curing meat, a tasting of the latest
spirits from Clear Creek Distillery, an intensive on cooking with
balsamic vinegar, and an outdoor barbeque that will feature the joy
of real "slow" cooking.
Featured speakers include Alice Waters, founder of
San Francisco's Chez Panisse restaurant, and Patrick Martins, president
of Slow Food USA. Speaking by phone from his office in New York City,
Martins says Slow Food's mission is to educate consumers so that they
are not conned by the latest advertising gimmicks of fast food chains.
"Fast food companies try to co-opt Slow Food ideas
in order to sell their products," says Martins. "But they do nothing
to contribute to a reform in how Americans prepare their food or what
they eat. Subway tells you to 'Eat fresh,' Boston Market recommends
that you 'Go slow,' and Applebee's latest tag line is 'Eatin' good
in the neighborhood.' But these companies have done nothing but contribute
to our growing fast food nation, this language only serves to ameliorate
our guilty conscience."
For more information, visit www.slowfood.com,
or call toll free (877) 756-9366. Tickets for the Salone Northwest
are available at (877) 410-8654 or e-mail slowfoodportland@pastaworks.com—Daniel
Mackay
Back to Top
City
to the Rescue
Council
will consider school support
BY
ALAN PITTMAN
Local schools are on the chopping block
in Salem.
School District 4J may lose $14 million this year
with an additional $22 million cut next year, according to Superintendent
George Russell. "Obviously we can't sustain that," he says.
Already 4J has cut $8 million this year, including
55 teachers. Since Measure 5 passed in 1990, cuts have forced 4J to
serve the same number of kids with 200 fewer teachers, a 20 percent
reduction.
Eugene's Bethel School District is also hurting. The
district cut seven teachers this year with more cuts likely to come.
Since 1990, Bethel is teaching 40 percent more children with only
17 percent more teachers.
With local school children at risk, and the state
Legislature more likely to make the situation worse rather than better,
the city of Eugene is riding to the rescue.
This week, the City Council voted 6-2 to move forward
with a plan for the city to get around Measure 5 and 47 limits by
passing a property tax levy to bail out local schools. The council
will vote in August on whether to refer a measure to the November
ballot.
"There's certainly a lot of community support for
this," says Bethel Superintendent Kent Hunsaker.
"School districts have cut as much as they can cut,"
says Councilor Pat Farr. "It's important that we take care of the
kids of the city."
City and district staff have discussed a possible
levy of about $1 per thousand of assessed value. That would raise
roughly $6 million to $7 million per year.
Councilor Gary Rayor voted against the city helping
schools, arguing that it would let the Legislature off the hook for
funding schools. "We're just enabling the Legislature to get by longer."
Councilor Bettman says she is also troubled that the
measure is "enabling the dysfunction of the state Legislature." But
she added, "I don't want the children of the city to have to wait
for the Legislature to wake up."
Mayor Jim Torrey, often at political odds with Bettman
on the council, agreed that the city must act to help schools. Torrey
says he is unwilling to "leave our children out in the cold for three
years or five years while people in Salem try to work this out."
Councilor Scott Meisner says rural county school districts
were also hurting and schools would be better funded by a countywide
measure. He says a countywide measure would also solve the problem
of the 15 percent of 4J students who would benefit from a city tax,
but live outside city lines and don't pay city taxes.
But city Library, Recreation and Cultural Services
Director Angel Jones says she spoke to county commissioners about
a county levy but found no interest. "There's just not a desire to
put something on the ballot right now," she says.
City and district staff say they are studying the
possibility of fees for non-city residents to address the equity issue
of students who don't pay city taxes. Councilor Nancy Nathanson suggested
the city could also create a larger special taxing district to address
the issue.
City and district staff say they were modeling a Eugene
measure on a measure by the city of Ashland that funds $1.6 million
per year of school physical education, sports, art, music, library
and grounds maintenance services. The funding frees up district money
that can then be spent on core academics and keeping classroom size
down.
But Councilor Bettman says funding such extras while
the district is cutting teachers would confuse voters. Money from
the Eugene tax should be directed to "core services" and educational
needs for schools and not just extras. The city shouldn't be "funding
clubs when you don't have the teachers there to meet the basic needs,"
she says.
Jones told the council that the city couldn't legally
fund such core educational services. But after the meeting, city staff
said legal issues require further study.
"To the best of my knowledge, there's no reason why
the city couldn't give directly to the schools [core programs]," says
city finance analyst Patty Boyle. But she added the city needs to
do more legal research.
The city of Portland has given its schools about $37
million over the past six years to avert teacher cuts, without legal
challenges. Nancy Heiligman, school finance manager for the state
Department of Education, told EW in February that cities can
directly fund core school programs without violating state laws or
rules. "Any grant or donation from the city, the schools could keep
that and it wouldn't be equalized through the school fund."
City staff and councilors now say they see adequately
funded schools as a key part of a healthy city. According to a staff
report on helping schools, "If drop-out rates increase because students
are less engaged in school, or get less help from over-taxed teachers,
or because the functions they most enjoy are eliminated, public safety
can be impacted. The quality of the public school system is one of
the major factors in maintaining and attracting businesses to provide
jobs for residents."
Back to Top
Salmon
Spin
Agencies
resist breaching dams.
BY CHRISTIAN
MARTIN
When Pacific salmon and steelhead stocks
were listed as an endangered species throughout the '90s, all eyes
turned towards the four dams on the lower Snake River in Eastern Washington.
Breaching the dams was widely accepted as the best strategy to save
the imperiled wild salmon populations of the inland Northwest, and
everyone from scientist to anglers to Native Americans argued for
their removal.
Disregarding a broad scientific consensus and overwhelming
public support for dam breaching, the Army Corps of Engineers instead
decided to pursue "aggressive non-breach," and created a 10-year Salmon
Plan that instead relies upon habitat restoration, fish passage improvements,
changes in the way reservoirs and energy production would be managed
and other measures. The plan went in to effect in December 2000, with
the stipulation that there would be periodic "check-ins" to see if
the measures were working or not. If it is determined that the Corp's
199 specific actions to restore salmon populations are unsuccessful,
then the plan automatically triggers a renewal of the dam breaching
option.
Last week, federal officials, including representatives
from the Army Corp, Bonneville Power Administration, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife and the Environmental Protection Agency, met and took their
first look at the Salmon Plan's one-year progress. They confidently
reported that they were "on track" towards meeting the plan's legally
binding goals.
BPA chief Steven Wright claimed that "under less than
optimal conditions, a lot was accomplished in 2001. Substantial progress
was made toward achieving structural improvements to benefit endangered
fish. Despite the second worst water year in recorded history, adult
survival through the dams was the best ever and juvenile survival,
with the exception of some steelhead stocks, was within the range
recommended by scientists as necessary to avoid extinction."
These claims were immediately countered with loud,
unanimous disagreement from salmon and watershed restoration groups.
"If federal agencies believe they are on track, they are either suffering
from delusion or else they hired Arthur Anderson to do the analysis,"
countered Bill Arthur, Northwest regional director of the Sierra Club.
"If this train is 'on track,' then I want off," echoed
Nicole Cordan of the coalition group Save Our Wild Salmon (SOS). The
group performed its own detailed analysis of the Salmon Plan by researching
each of the 199 measures‚ successes and failures, reviewing
agency reports and interviewing agency officials. They found that
less than 25 percent of the actions the federal government deemed
necessary to save wild salmon were actually completed. Many of the
actions had not been implemented yet, and many others were ignored
in favor of maximum hydropower production during last summer's "energy
crisis." SOS's investigation discovered that 2001 actually saw the
poorest survival rate for juvenile spring/summer chinook salmon and
steelhead since they were granted protection under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA).
SOS, a nationwide coalition of conservation organizations,
sport and commercial fishing associations, businesses, river groups,
and taxpayer advocates, released its own report card for the Salmon
Plan's performance, assigning grades based on the standards and timelines
in the plan. The group's findings were contrary to the fed's claims.
"Water quality," "dam operations," "habitat restoration," "hatcheries
& harvest," "studies & reporting" and "funding" were each
evaluated and given failing grades, while "tributary & estuary
habitat improvements" earned the the highest grade of "D."
In addition, federal agencies, before public release
of the report card, have admitted to researchers that their recovery
efforts were "not on target" and that they were actually "behind"
in their obligations to the ESA.
Bureaucrats dispute the SOS report card. "This is
not a par three hole," said BPA spokesman Ed Mosey, "It's a par five."
Mosey instead gives the feds an "A" on implementing the plan. "Some
of these folks expect a hole in one," he said.
Trout Unlimited's Western Conservation Director Jeff
Curtis accuses the government of trying to "spin their way to salmon
recovery." "How you can complete less than a quarter of the measures
you say are necessary to recover listed salmon and steelhead in the
Colombia Basin and then say you're on track‚ is a mystery to
me," Curtis said.
Most crippling to the plan's viability has been the
lack of federal funding. The Bush administration has not requested,
nor has Congress appropriated, enough money to fully implement the
plan. When the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) estimated
that $857.9 million was required for the plan's second year, Bush
countered with an offer of less than half that amount. Congress, at
the behest of the Pacific Northwest delegation, eventually provided
$440 million for fiscal year 2002.
Bush has proposed to raise the plan's funding levels
to $506 million in FY 2003, but this figure still amounts to little
over half of the NMFS's FY 2003 estimate of $918 million.
SOS points out that the plan's total price tag of
$5.3 billion would pay for removing the Snake River dams five times
over, "with change back." Gov. Kitzhaber recently reiterated the fiscal
benefits of dam-breaching, saying "it is not the only option, but
it is a responsible one that should not be disregarded out of hand."
The full Salmon Plan Report Card can be viewed at
www.wildsalmon.org Christian
Martin is a freelance writer living in Bellingham, Wash.
Back to Top
 Ray
Wolfe
A Navy pilot in the Philipines theater during
WW II, Ray Wolfe flew nighttime bombing missions in the Formosa Straits.
Afterwards, he completed a doctorate in biochemistry, then taught
chemistry and conducted research in enzymology at the UO until his
retirement in 1983. "All those years I studied one enzyme, pivotal
for getting energy from food," he notes. "Our data led us to a model
that hasn't been disproven since 1968." A political activist since
the '60s, Wolfe took part in the Future Power Committee campaign that
blocked EWEB's participation in the WPPSS nuclear power plant fiasco.
"We saved Eugene taxpayers $50 million to $60 million," he says. More
recently, he has opposed "growth at any cost" projects like the West
Eugene Parkway through involvement with Friends of Eugene and Citizens
for Public Accountability. At age 82, Wolfe is in his fifth year as
producer, technician, and editor of "In the Public Interest," a weekly
half-hour interview program on Community Access TV. "Ray is a one-man
army — he continues to fight the good fight," says activist
Cary Thompson. "In the Public Interest" airs at 6 pm Wednesdays and
Fridays.
… Paul Neevel
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