Health Options Digest
November 13, 2005
Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield (CHOICES)
In This Issue
From the Editor
Hospital War
While there's been a lot of news in the past two weeks, we'll highlight only three major stories: 1) the hospital war, 2) the West Eugene Parkway, and 3) the state of the Lane Transit District.
We'll begin with the story the hospital war, starring the gorilla, the pussy cat and the gadfly.
The gadfly's spokesman, Arlie Chief Operating Officer Scott Diehl, criticized mayor Kitty Piercy, claiming she made comments that scuttled a deal for Triad to site a new hospital at Arlie's Crescent site. How many times have we seen this bad rerun before? More to the point, Arlie always seems to want to have its cake and eat it to.
Joe Harwood reported, "Eugene-based Arlie said it has been quietly negotiating with officials of Triad Hospitals Inc., majority owner of McKenzie-Willamette, since mid-August to put the hospital at Crescent."
But in a letter to The Register-Guard published on August 15, 2005, the same Scott Diehl wrote, "In his Aug. 9 article about Triad Hospital's search for a site, [Register-Guard report Ed] Russo states that Arlie & Company has approached Triad offering the Crescent Village site as a possible hospital site. This is absolutely untrue and is nothing more than hearsay. ... Even though the Crescent site is zoned for a hospital, there is no room left to accommodate a hospital because the planning process is completed with the city for a mixed-use development and construction has already started."
So which is it? If Triad wasn't negotiating with Arlie and there wasn't room for a hospital at the Crescent site, then how could Piercy's comments have had any effect at all?
Nevertheless, expect Arlie and others who are looking for an excuse to criticize Piercy to try to pin her with trumped up charges. We hope The Register-Guard won't join in such a misguided effort.
Rather than blame others for the inability of Triad/McKenzie-Willamette to site a hospital anywhere, the primary responsibility lies with McKenzie-Willamette itself. In brief, McKenzie-Willamette is too nice, like a pussy cat. We mean this as both a complement and a criticism. If we were sick, we'd appreciate the kind of gentle, personal care that McKenzie-Willamette offers. But gentle doesn't always cut it when you are trying to close a difficult real estate deal. Several years ago before Triad showed up and McKenzie-Willamette faced bankruptcy, CHOICES urged McKenzie-Willamette to lobby the Springfield City Council harder that approving PeaceHealth at RiverBend would likely push McKenzie-Willamette out of Springfield, and possibly out of business, and thus that PeaceHealth's proposal was counter to Statewide Planning Goal 9 for economic development. McKenzie-Willamette President and former Springfield Mayor Maureen Weathers should have been the perfect spokeswoman for that message. But McKenzie-Willamette opted to "play nice."
In contrast, PeaceHealth has been like a gorilla, pushing and pulling to get what it believes it needs to continue providing quality health care to our community. Again, we mean this as both a complement and a criticism. If we were sick, we'd appreciate a hospital that did everything it could to make sure it had the facilities and resources to provide us with the best possible health care. On the other hand, gorillas often don't make the best neighbors, especially when they don't care what they bump into -- or what hospital they push out of the way or out of business.
Alas, we expect the hospital war will continue for years to come. Stay tuned to the ongoing saga to find out who gains the right to provide more beds, look for a surprise new character, and laugh at the comic relief provided by the gadfly.
West Eugene Parkway
Follow the money. This advice applies just as well to the West Eugene Parkway (WEP) as to Watergate. You don't need a "Deep Throat" to see the importance of the money -- just listen to what supporters of the WEP are saying.
They are talking about "saving" the $17 million already allocated to the first phase of the WEP. They are talking about who pays if the WEP project is canceled and where that money will go. They are talking about having credibility with ODOT to get funding for other projects.
You should ask yourself: Who precisely stands to gain monetarily from construction on the WEP? Someone should follow the money.
But what you don't hear so much is how the $169 million WEP would actually help traffic flow in west Eugene. If the WEP is intended as a bypass around the west Eugene commercial and industrial area, then who exactly would be using the bypass? People from Veneta commuting to downtown Eugene? How many such commuters are there, and are they numerous enough to be the cause of traffic in west Eugene? In other words, you hear supporters of the WEP talk more about money and less about solutions.
But throwing money at a problem isn't always effective. Just look over the Cascades to the Bend Parkway. This $120-million bypass around the clogged old Highway 97 (which itself is a bypass around Bend's downtown) is itself getting clogged by development which has -- surprise, surprise -- sprung up around the parkway. Now the Oregon Department of Transportation is agonizing about whether to spend millions more to fix up the new Bend Parkway. But until ODOT realizes that highway investments are huge public subsidies that encourage development that generates traffic that in turn undermines the highway itself, we will see the same sorts of failures over and over again.
Here in Eugene, we have an opportunity to learn from Bend's mistakes. We have an opportunity to make sure we implement the right solution and don't merely throw taxpayer money away. We support Mayor Kitty Piercy in calling for a solution that is better, faster and cheaper than the WEP -- a solution that relieves traffic congestion in west Eugene and protects the nationally-recognized wetlands.
Lane Transit District
While the LTD strike has long been settled, the underlying tensions between workers and management remain. There is widespread frustration with General Manager Ken Hamm. The LTD board of directors either needs to find a way to relieve these tensions, or else look for a new general manager.
Speaking of the board of directors, they are still appointed by the governor rather than being elected by the people (as, for example, members of the Lane Community College board of education are). While representative democracy may not be a great form of government, it is better than all the others. At the very least, people who need to stand for reelection every few years tend to be more responsive to the needs of their constituents than those that don't. We wonder if an elected board would have the same "blind spots" that an appointed board seems to have.
For now, people interested in serving on the LTD board have until December 1 to apply to the governor's office. There are three openings:
* Subdistrict 4 (North Eugene): River Road on the west (including a section from the Northwest Expressway on the west, between Park Avenue and Sunnyside Drive on the south and Division Avenue on the north) east to Coburg Road; the Willamette River on the south to the District's northern boundary 1.5 miles north of Junction City.
* Subdistrict 5 (Central and West Eugene), including the University of Oregon area and downtown, and the Whiteaker, Jefferson, and West Side neighborhoods.
* Subdistrict 6 (West Eugene, Highway 99, River Road, and Junction City): western border along Green Hill Road; on the east, the border follows Beltline Road north from Crow Road to Roosevelt, east along Roosevelt to the Northwest Expressway, north to Beltline, and east to River Road; and from Crow Road/West 11th Avenue on the south to the District's northern boundary.
For a detailed map of LTD's subdistricts, visit: http://www.ltd.org/pdf/smbd.pdf
For more information, visit: http://www.ltd.org/search/showresult.html?versionthread=d84bf307279cd98d9c71e54c60976bcb
Potpourri
While housing prices may be rising, houses here are still much less expensive than in other Pac-10 communities.
Former Springfield Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi was named the new city manager.
Finally, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who swept into office on a wave of popularity, is now increasingly under attack in his own state. It turns out that the voters want more than a pretty face but actually want government to provide services.
Rob Zako, Editor
343-5201
rzako@efn.org
Calendar
ODOT invites community to provide ideas about improvements to Hwy. 126
| The Springfield News | November 9, 2005 |
Community members are invited to review and comment on possible designs for improvements to the 42nd Street interchange and the intersections at 52nd and Main streets on Highway 126 in Springfield.
The open house will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17 at Thurston High School, 333 North 58th Street.
The Oregon Department of Transportation, along with the City of Springfield and Lane County, is preparing an expressway management plan for Highway 126 from Interstate 5 to Main Street. Over the next year, the plan will focus on the connections of 42nd, 52nd and Main streets to Highway 126. The next phase of the plan will focus on the Pioneer Parkway and Mohawk Boulevard connections to the expressway.
Highway 126 and its interchanges and intersections were built over 40 years ago, and the highway is not designed to safely support the amount of traffic expected as the Springfield area continues to grow. The plan will identify needed improvements to the expressway. When it's complete, it will be adopted into the Oregon Highway Plan by the Oregon Transportation Commission, the policy board that oversees the Department of Transportation. Depending on the recommendations included in the plan, it may also require amending transportation or land-use plans for the City of Springfield or Lane County.
Opportunities
LTD has three openings for board members
| The Register-Guard | October 26, 2005 |
People interested in being appointed to the Lane Transit District board of directors are advised to submit applications by Dec. 1 for the three positions that expire at the end of the year.
The positions generally cover north Eugene; central and west Eugene; and west Eugene including Highway 99, River Road and Junction City.
Forms can be submitted online by going to http://governor.oregon.gov/Gov/ boards.shtml and look for "Interest Form" under "How to Apply."
Candidates are advised to speak with a current board member.
For more information, call 682-6100.
LTD Board Seats Open
By Kera Abraham
Eugene Weekly | September 22, 2005 |
Lane Transit District has had a hectic year. A worker strike in early 2005 punctuated accusations of mismanagement by General Manager Ken Hamm, and riders have complained about sweeping service cuts and fee increases. Reactions to the planned Bus Rapid Transit System, which will use hybrid-electric buses for quicker routes between Eugene and Springfield, have been mixed.
Whether you give LTD a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down, you can direct it toward the agency's board of directors, which must approve all major decisions. Three of the seven board members' terms expire at the end of the year, creating an opportunity for change.
Unlike other local agencies funded by public dollars, the LTD board is appointed by the governor rather than elected, in accordance with the state statute. Last legislative session, State Sen. Bill Morrisette of Springfield introduced a bill requiring local election of the LTD board, but the bill died in committee.
LTD board members Susan Ban, Gerry Gaydos and Dave Kleger's terms will expire at the beginning of 2006. LTD spokesman Andy Vobora says that the agency will set a Dec. 1 deadline for potential board members' applications. The governor will then recommend three candidates, and the Senate will confirm or reject the appointments at a January meeting.
LTD doesn't plan to run paid advertisements about the open positions in local newspapers. Vobora says that the governor's office directs the agency not to spend money on recruitment, but governor spokeswoman Holly Armstrong says that LTD is free to advertise as it wishes.
The lack of advertising frustrates LTD rider Dorothy Ehli. "It's a good-old-boy network going on here," she says.
Sen. Morrisette echoes her concerns. "I have always felt that the LTD management makes the recommendations to the governor and that's how appointments are made. It's a closed circle," he says. "There should be some public posting of these positions. We want people over a wide range of socio-economic groups to apply, not just the people who the board thinks would fit. To me, that defeats the whole idea of representation."
Applicants must live within specific geographic areas: north Eugene (east of River Road) and Coburg for Position 4; Central and West Eugene, including the UO area, downtown, and the Whiteaker, Jefferson, and West Side neighborhoods for Position 5; and West Eugene/Highway 99, River Road, and Junction City areas for Position 6. Candidates can download applications from http://www.governor.state.or.us/Gov/pdf/forms/Interestformdown.pdf
PeaceHealth
PeaceHealth PROGRESS
A Periodic Update on Facilities Development Plans
Prepared by PeaceHealth Public Affairs, 686-6868
PeaceHealth | November 1, 2005 |
A message from Mel Pyne, Regional CEO:
As I approach the four-month mark as the new CEO of PeaceHealth in Oregon, I find my enthusiasm and excitement for PeaceHealth's facility plans in the Eugene and Springfield communities is only increasing. With construction at RiverBend well under way and plans for the Hilyard site taking shape, we are firmly moving beyond the conceptual phase. Together with McKenzie-Willamette's plans for a new hospital in the area, we are poised to offer the most convenient and comprehensive care in the region. I can't think of a better place to be a health care administrator than right here, right now. Contact me at mpyne@peacehealth.org if you have any thoughts or ideas that you wish to share with me, and please plan to attend our open house on Nov. 17 to learn about the plans for the Hilyard campus. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend
The cranes on the site of the new Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend are a visual reminder that construction has begun on the 362-bed hospital along the McKenzie River in Springfield. Between now and the end of summer 2006, expect to see the shell for all eight stories of the main hospital erected as well as construction started for the Oregon Heart & Vascular Institute. The hospital is expected to be completed and open to patients in 2008. Check out the Web camera at http://www.peacehealth.org/apps/webcam/ to see the latest pictures from the construction site.
Sacred Heart Medical Center at Hilyard
Plans for this 104-bed facility are going strong, with staff and physician groups meeting regularly and opportunities for public input on the calendar (see below). Perhaps of greatest interest is the effort to change the planned 24-hour urgent care center into a lower level emergency room to support the needs of a hospital that is larger than originally anticipated. The proposed emergency services at Hilyard will be similar to PeaceHealth's current emergency care facility in Cottage Grove, where nonsurgical and nonlife-threatening conditions can be treated.
Under state rules, changing the 24-hour urgent care center into a 24-hour emergency room requires a separate hospital license. To get that license and add needed beds we must complete the state's Certificate of Need review. That review is currently under way and we expect to have a decision in January 2006. The public will have an opportunity to weigh in on the plans for Hilyard at a public meeting with the state regulatory agency tentatively set for Nov. 21. If you are interested in supporting this effort to obtain a new license, please contact Brian Terrett at bterrett@peacehealth.org or 686-7136.
In addition to emergency services, the Hilyard campus will house behavioral health, inpatient rehabilitation, geriatrics and senior health, physician offices, medical imaging, lab, and a pharmacy.
You're Invited!
PeaceHealth is hosting an all-day open house on Thursday, Nov. 17, to introduce the public to the preliminary designs and service strategies for the renovated Hilyard campus. Between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. in the auditorium at Sacred Heart, staff will be on hand to answer your questions, listen to your comments and concerns and explain what the new campus may look like and what services may be available. We'll gather all of the comments received throughout the day and take them back to the various design committees for discussion. Come to the main hospital at 1255 Hilyard St. in Eugene and look for "Open House" signs, or call 686-6868 for details. We hope to see you there!
Partnership with UO and OHSU
The Hilyard campus will also be the staging area for the exciting partnership being developed among Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), the University of Oregon and Sacred Heart Medical Center to bring medical education to the community. Medical students will have the opportunity for hands-on clinical training in Eugene possibly as soon as fall 2006. Under this program, students will train with leading academic researchers and physicians at the top of their field in cardiovascular medicine. Patients, along with the students, physicians and researchers, will benefit tremendously from the rich learning environment that will be created here.
Oregon Heart & Vascular Institute (OHVI) opens 25 new beds
A $2 million upgrade of a previous office area in Sacred Heart will open in mid-November for heart and vascular patients who come to the hospital for same-day procedures. The exclusive use of this space for OHVI patients means more room in other areas of the hospital for acutely ill patients who may be admitted through the Emergency Department or who are transferred to Sacred Heart from hospitals in Coos Bay or Roseburg. Also of note is the new unit's "look" -- paint colors, carpet and other design elements chosen for the new hospital at RiverBend were used in this remodel effort.
For the Record
A recent guest editorial published in The Register-Guard by Roy Orr, CEO for McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center, made several points that need correction.
PeaceHealth is not fighting McKenzie-Willamette's effort to relocate to Eugene or its application for a new Certificate of Need. We simply believe that it is not in the community's best interest to have our application delayed while McKenzie-Willamette tries to find a new site in Eugene. Services at the RiverBend campus and the Hilyard campus are tied together, and we need to plan the services for each campus. Having a new Certificate of Need helps us make decisions right now as to how best enhance patient care at each campus.
We know of no evidence to support McKenzie-Willamette's claim that approving PeaceHealth's application will doom McKenzie-Willamette's. To the contrary, a leading expert has conducted a study that found that both hospitals' requests could be granted by the state. While we cannot predict what the state will decide, it is preposterous to suggest that the outcome of the state's review is a foregone conclusion.
PeaceHealth continues to strongly support two viable health care systems in Lane County. We understand that many people want a choice of where they get their health care; we are honored that most continue to choose PeaceHealth.
Consumer Choice Award
Sacred Heart Medical Center has been named a 2005/2006 Consumer Choice Award winner, based on a study by the National Research Corporation, as it has every year since 2002. The award is given to hospitals whose consumers rate them as having the best doctors, nurses, quality, image and reputation. More than 3,000 hospitals were studied nationwide to compile the list of top consumer-choice hospitals in 140 communities around the country.
Hospitals' bed battle goes before a judge
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | November 4, 2005 |
The battle for new hospital beds in Eugene-Springfield came down to dueling experts Thursday as McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center and rival PeaceHealth squared off in Lane County Circuit Court.
McKenzie-Willamette and its majority owner, Triad Hospitals Inc., are asking Judge Maurice Merten to stop state hospital regulators from processing PeaceHealth's plans to turn its Hilyard campus into a 104-bed hospital with an emergency department. The change at Hilyard would come sometime after 2008, when PeaceHealth moves the bulk of its operations to its $350 million RiverBend regional medical complex -- now under construction -- near Gateway in Springfield.
Officials with the state Department of Human Services a month ago declared PeaceHealth's Hilyard plan complete, which started a 90-day clock in which the regulators must approve or deny the proposal.
McKenzie-Willamette insists those state officials erred earlier this year when they declined to begin processing its application for a $225 million Eugene medical center because Triad has thus far failed to acquire a binding option to buy land for the proposed hospital. (more...)
Fight over hospital beds in judge's hands
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | November 5, 2005 |
The state regulator in charge of granting hospital operating permits on Friday insisted she has acted properly in refusing to process McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center's application for a new, 148-bed hospital in Eugene.
Because McKenzie-Willamette and its majority owner, Triad Hospitals Inc., don't own land or hold a binding option on property on which to build the proposed $225 million hospital, reviewing the application would amount to a waste of time and staff, said Jana Fussell, certificate of need coordinator for the Department of Human Services.
Fussell made her comments in testimony at a hearing in Lane County Circuit Court on whether to grant a motion by McKenzie-Willamette to force the state to accept and process the application. McKenzie-Willamette filed the lawsuit against the state last month. (more...)
State Will Continue Processing PeaceHealth Application
While Parties Prepare for Trial on Question of Whether State Erred
By Rosie Pryor, Director of Marketing and Planning, rospry@mckweb.com
McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center | November 7, 2005 |
Today, we learned the court has denied our request that the state stop processing PeaceHealth's application to operate a hospital in Eugene. We sought the delay so a trial can be held to determine whether Oregon Department of Human Services staff erred in denying simultaneous review of both hospital applications.
McKenzie-Willamette has applied for approval to build a $225 million full service hospital. PeaceHealth applied for permission to operate Eugene/Springfield's third hospital by remodeling the current site of Sacred Heart, after it relocates to Springfield.
DHS staff declined to review both proposals simultaneously, and then declined to review McKenzie-Willamette's application at all, saying we must provide evidence of a binding arrangement for purchase of a site before the state will review our application.
We believe simultaneous review is the best way to see both hospital proposals side-by-side. McKenzie-Willamette wants to build a seven-story, state-of-the-art hospital with 148 beds and space to add another 50 beds over the next decade. Our full-service hospital would include a 24-hour Level III Trauma Center Emergency Department, as well as full cardiac, medical/surgical, women's and children's, diagnostic, and rehabilitation services. PeaceHealth has described plans for psych beds, geriatric services, and an Emergency Room providing service at the level current available in Cottage Grove.
We hoped the review process could be stopped prior to a trial. That's not to be. We expect DHS will now schedule a public hearing on the PeaceHealth application for a Hilyard hospital and we encourage Eugene/Springfield residents to learn all they can about both hospitals' plans in order to comment at the hearing.
Questions? Please feel free to contact me. Thank you.
Hospital loses bid to halt rival beds
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | November 8, 2005 |
A Lane County Circuit Court judge on Monday declined to stop state hospital regulators from moving forward with their review of PeaceHealth's plan to create a 104-bed hospital at the Hilyard Street campus in 2008. (more...)
County judge denies M-W petition: Hospital's proposal won't be processed along with PeaceHealth's application
| The Springfield News | November 9, 2005 |
A Lane County circuit judge has denied McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center's request to process its bid for a new hospital along with that of PeaceHealth. (more...)
Editorial -- Triad troubles mount: Court refuses to halt PeaceHealth's application
| The Register-Guard | November 9, 2005 |
To those keeping score, PeaceHealth just won whatever round this is in the local hospital smackdown, but it's possible McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center didn't lose anything of significance. (more...)
Docs Object To Plans
| Eugene Weekly | November 10, 2005 |
More than 60 letters objecting to PeaceHealth's plans to maintain a full 104-bed hospital at Hilyard Street in Eugene were sent to state officials in late September. The letters, from physicians and elected officials, questioned the need for a third acute care hospital in the metropolitan area.
One letter, signed by Rep. Paul Holvey and Sens. Bill Morrisette, Floyd Prozanski and Vicki Walker, voiced concerns that quick approval of PeaceHealth's plans would create "a strong possibility that McKenzie-Willamette will not be able to relocate to Eugene." (more...)
Letter -- More beds should lower costs
By Hilary Anthony, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 13, 2005 |
In The Register-Guard's Nov. 4 article on the local hospital bed battle, reporter Joe Harwood had a novel explanation of why regulators limit the number of hospital beds in an area. He said excess capacity drives up health care costs.
I have taken a couple of economics classes and I realize that economics is no science. In fact, different political views result in different economics. But one of the tenets of plain-vanilla free enterprise economics would have us predict that with more hospital beds, the cost to the community will go down, as the hospitals compete to fill their beds.
So why would Harwood say the regulators are trying to hold down health care costs by limiting the number of hospital beds in the area? Whose line is that? Is that what the regulators say? Does Triad make that claim? I'll bet McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center wouldn't say that fewer beds will result in more affordable health care.
I find the assumption that fewer beds is good for the community to be very controversial, and I am disappointed that it was reported as a fact. Yet, I don't think that the free market can explain why our health costs are so high, and I certainly don't think health care regulations are designed to keep costs down.
Can we get a reporter to look into this with a more critical eye?
Specialty clinics agree to build near new hospital
By Tim Christie
The Register-Guard | November 3, 2005 |
A network of medical specialists has agreed to build a new medical office building next to PeaceHealth's RiverBend hospital in Gateway in Springfield.
Northwest Speciality Clinics, a network of nine practices with more than 50 physicians, will construct the building on land leased from PeaceHealth, said Brian Terrett, a PeaceHealth spokesman. The doctors are the first to commit to locating their clinics at RiverBend. (more...)
McKenzie-Willamette/Triad
Editorial -- West Eugene is best market for hospital
| The Springfield News | November 9, 2005 |
The state of Oregon and PeaceHealth may have just done McKenzie-Willamette Hospital a huge favor. The state is going to go ahead and look at PeaceHealth's proposal to maintain a large hospital in its current location -- a proposal that just emerged recently.
It seems pretty likely that this new plan came about after someone pointed out the danger involved in moving to Springfield. After all, there's a reason McKenzie-Willamette is the smaller of the two hospitals; Springfield is (thank Heaven) the smaller of the two towns. If Eugene as a whole transferred its patronage to a "new" local hospital, PeaceHealth, in its gorgeous new facility, would start withering; that's a risk no businessperson is going to take. We doubt it was an attempt to destroy McKenzie-Willamette, although lots of folks at M-W would likely disagree.
However, if you ask us, downtown Eugene has never been anything but a trap for McKenzie-Willamette. There's really no place in downtown Eugene that's convenient to get to unless you live in downtown Eugene. That's one of the reasons PeaceHealth wanted out of there in the first place. (more...)
Arlie puts pressure on Piercy
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | November 9, 2005 |
Development firm Arlie & Co. on Tuesday challenged Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy to declare her support for a new McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center anywhere in the city -- not just the City Council-preferred location of somewhere south of the Willamette River.
In a letter released to The Register-Guard on Tuesday, Arlie Chief Operating Officer Scott Diehl castigated Piercy, alleging that she made comments that scuttled a deal that would have put the proposed $225 million hospital on Arlie's Crescent Village development in north Eugene.
In the letter, Eugene-based Arlie said it has been quietly negotiating with officials of Triad Hospitals Inc., majority owner of McKenzie-Willamette, since mid-August to put the hospital at Crescent. As recently as Oct. 25, Triad and Arlie officials were working on a memorandum of understanding, according to e-mails between the sides.
Diehl alleges in the letter to Piercy dated Monday that Piercy told the chief executive of Triad, the majority owner of McKenzie-Willamette, that she could not support putting the hospital at Crescent. (more...)
Editorial -- Fish or cut bait
| The Register-Guard | November 11, 2005 |
If Triad Hospitals Inc. chooses to build its new $225 million home for McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center anywhere but in the Eugene city limits, it will represent a colossal failure of political and economic leadership on the part of Eugene's elected officials.
Granted, city officials have tried awfully hard to make good on their top priority of luring a full-service hospital to Eugene. But voters, like corporate stockholders, rate performance above passion in their assessment of public servants.
The fact remains that Triad, which desperately wants to build in Eugene, is perilously close to cutting its losses and heading for Glenwood because, frankly, Eugene can't seem to get the job done. (more...)
Letter -- Build hospital in west Eugene
By K.M. Pomerleau, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 3, 2005 |
I concur with the Oct. 5 letter by D.J. Barber of Eugene and the Oct. 6 letter by Marc Shapiro of Eugene in that Eugene needs a hospital, and it should logically be built in the west end, possibly west of Belt Line Road in an area between 11th Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard. This would not only facilitate the Eugene area's needs, but would also accommodate the coastal towns.
If they installed a helicopter pad on top of the hospital for emergencies, they could bring in seriously injured patients from outlying areas and the coastal towns, which are badly in need of hospital services. The powers that be should stop trying to accommodate a few by insisting that the main hospital be in an area such as the Eugene Water & Electric Board site.
Why, in heaven's name, would such a suggestion even be considered? Think of the bottleneck that would cause.
Letter -- Hospital siting criteria wrong
By Bob Kintigh, Springfield
The Register-Guard | November 4, 2005 |
It seems to me that the Eugene city leaders and their supporters in their discussion of the location for a new hospital in Eugene are using the wrong criteria. Their desire to have the hospital within a certain distance of downtown Eugene as well as their desire to make it a cornerstone of reviving downtown Eugene should not be the most important items to consider.
What is the purpose of a hospital? I always thought a hospital was to serve people in need of medical care, no matter where they live, not to serve as an anchor for civic development. The prime consideration should be how it can best serve its patient base.
We have been told repeatedly that this hospital would be a regional hospital. If this is really the case, then they should consider how well the location will serve the entire patient base, not just the people in the center of Eugene. People in Junction City, Harrisburg, Veneta, Florence, Cottage Grove, Oakridge and points in between all need access to the hos- pital, preferably without fighting their way through downtown Eugene traffic congestion.
Another prime consideration that would be really important in case of a major disaster is that hospitals not be clustered close together. This would reduce the chances of all hospitals being rendered inoperable or inaccessible at the same time.
Let's look at this as a regional issue, not just something for downtown Eugene.
Letter -- Condemn land for hospital site
By Robert A. Olsen, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 9, 2005 |
Instead of letting PeaceHealth constantly define the site agenda for a new Eugene hospital, how about having those who are empowered to represent the public do the job that they are supposed to do?
Let the Eugene City Council decide where the hospital should best be located and use the power of eminent domain to make sure that the public interest is served. A couple of alternate locations could be designated, and occupants of the property would be compensated for the land taking. If the land cost is too high for the hospital organization, the city might retain ownership of the land and use its investment position to benefit the public.
From what I can tell, the city has been reactive rather than proactive in the location process leading to endless delay, increased cost and bad feeling all around. To me, a downtown location offers the greatest public benefit in terms of access, convenience and ancillary benefit -- adding life to the downtown core.
The city should not act as bully, but neither should it act as doormat where a noncompetitive and essential public service is involved.
PeaceHealth got what it wanted all along. A rural campus, but in another city. Eugene needs move on and decide what is best for its residents.
Health Care
Loren Barlow and Nancy Hayner -- Clinics for uninsured have been big success
By Loren Barlow and Nancy Hayner
The Register-Guard | November 8, 2005 |
We hold dear our quality of life in Lane County, and nothing is more central to quality of life than personal health. Unfortunately, nearly 20 percent of our neighbors and their children in this scenic locale are without health insurance, and therefore lack appropriate access to affordable health care that can preserve good health and prevent chronic illness. (more...)
Health care advocates put energy into future
By Jim Feehan
The Register-Guard | October 31, 2005 |
Backers of a universal health care measure that Oregon voters overwhelmingly rejected in 2002 say they plan to sponsor a similar proposal in 2008. (more...)
Official: Expand drug benefits
By David Steves
The Register-Guard | November 2, 2005 |
SALEM -- A Springfield lawmaker wants to expand a prescription drug assistance program by means of the ballot box -- something he was unable to do in the Legislature. (more...)
Jimmy Unger and Mary Lou Hennrich -- Schools, public must cooperate on fighting child obesity
By Jimmy Unger and Mary Lou Hennrich
The Register-Guard | November 1, 2005 |
The Register-Guard has devoted considerable space to the epidemic of childhood obesity and its implications. Most readers are well aware of this epidemic and its importance. (more...)
Oregon hospital quality Web site launches
| The Business Journal of Portland | October 31, 2005 |
Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems has launched a new public Web site providing information on how often hospitals provide some of the recommended care for several of the most common and costly conditions that hospitals treat. (more...)
Ore. hospital settles class-action claim
By William McCall
The Associated Press | November 1, 2005 |
PORTLAND -- A settlement was reached Tuesday in a closely watched class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of uninsured patients who claim a major nonprofit hospital system overcharged them.
The complaint alleges that Providence Hospital System contradicted its stated mission of providing universal access to health care by charging uninsured patients higher rates for the same services than other patients.
The agreement, if approved by the court, will affect tens of thousands of low-income Oregonians, attorneys say. "This is a historic agreement and it will stick," said Brian Campf, an attorney representing uninsured patients. (more...)
High Deductible, High Risk
'Consumer-Directed' Plans a Health Gamble
By Christopher J. Gearon, Special to The Washington Post
The Washington Post | Tuesday, October 18, 2005; Page HE01 |
Elizabeth Fowler can be called an educated health care consumer: An expert on health care policy, she used to be the chief health and entitlements counsel for the Senate Finance Committee. But she was pushed to the limits of her knowledge and patience keeping track of her so-called consumer-directed health plan -- a type of insurance designed to protect consumers from catastrophic medical costs while prompting them to shop wisely for routine care. (more...)
Pride, Prejudice, Insurance
By Paul Krugman
The New York Times | November 7, 2005 |
General Motors is reducing retirees' medical benefits. Delphi has declared bankruptcy, and will probably reduce workers' benefits as well as their wages. An internal Wal-Mart memo describes plans to cut health costs by hiring temporary workers, who aren't entitled to health insurance, and screening out employees likely to have high medical bills.
These aren't isolated anecdotes. Employment-based health insurance is the only serious source of coverage for Americans too young to receive Medicare and insufficiently destitute to receive Medicaid, but it's an institution in decline. Between 2000 and 2004 the number of Americans under 65 rose by 10 million. Yet the number of nonelderly Americans covered by employment-based insurance fell by 4.9 million.
The funny thing is that the solution -- national health insurance, available to everyone -- is obvious. But to see the obvious we'll have to overcome pride -- the unwarranted belief that America has nothing to learn from other countries -- and prejudice -- the equally unwarranted belief, driven by ideology, that private insurance is more efficient than public insurance. (more...)
Nearby Developments
Council to re-zone much of downtown
By Stacy D. Stumbo
The Springfield News | November 11, 2005 |
It may take years before the difference in Springfield's appearance is noticeable, but city officials have begun a process that will alter the character of Lane County's second-largest municipality for decades to come.
The City Council agreed Monday to rezone portions of downtown and the Mohawk Boulevard District from mixed-use to "nodal." (more...)
Playing the Cards
Natural resource values get lost in the real estate shuffle.
By Kera Abraham
Eugene Weekly | November 3, 2005 |
A parks acquisition is like a poker game, said Eugene Parks Director Johnny Medlin -- an elaborate poker game, with six-figure sums in the pot and developers, city staff, appraisers, activists and lawyers at the table.
In one "game" that has dragged on for years, the biggest chip is a 40-acre parcel of pristine forest off Nectar Way and Dillard Road. (more...)
Natural resource zone open for review
By Jack Moran
The Register-Guard | November 7, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- A widespread mailing has yielded few comments from the public about a proposal to limit development on property next to wetlands and waterways. (more...)
Residents air concerns over wetlands plan
By Jack Moran
The Register-Guard | November 8, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Five people testified Monday before the City Council during a public hearing to consider adopting a rule to limit development on property near wetlands and riparian zones. (more...)
A gritty disagreement
Delta Sand & Gravel wants to expand. Some of its neighbors are drawing a line in the sand.
By Diane Dietz
The Register-Guard | November 13, 2005 |
Delta Sand & Gravel wants government permission to expand its pit mine westerly through a 72-acre agricultural field. Homeowners on the other side of the field say the mining will wreck their neighborhood.
That sounds like the plot line for an epic land use battle featuring dueling attorneys, sparring experts, volumes of technical reports, plaintive cries for jobs, anguished pleas to save property values, and politically cornered public officials. Character assassination. Intrigue.
That's how it went a half-dozen years ago when Eugene Sand & Gravel tried to open a gravel mine on farmland along River Road north of the city -- a project that the Oregon Court of Appeals eventually denied.
Now another of Eugene-Springfield's five major gravel mining companies is proposing to dig new ground, though this time adjacent to its existing pit. The first public hearing of a series aimed at approving or denying the company's plans will be Tuesday night.
The drama already has begun. (more...)
Eugene Sand may be a model for job loss fears
By Diane Dietz
The Register-Guard | November 13, 2005 |
Eugene-Springfield needs rock, gravel industry officials say -- about 2 million tons a year for roads, bridges, hospitals and houses.
Big projects are on the horizon, including PeaceHealth's RiverBend regional medical center and reconstruction of the Interstate-5/Belt Line inter- change. (more...)
Oregon Scores In Home Affordability
By Scott Maben
The Register-Guard | November 3, 2005 |
In what alternate universe would the University of Arizona, Oregon State University and Washington State University be riding atop the Pac-10 standings this fall?
Don't think football. Together, the three schools have twice as many losses as wins. But when it comes to buying a house, they're smelling like roses. (more...)
Editorial -- Housing? It's academic
| The Register-Guard | November 4, 2005 |
A sleep-deprived doctoral student, struggling to balance the demands of an unfinished dissertation with a heavy teaching load, staggers into a coffee shop, orders a three-shot latté and glances at a newspaper. The headline slowly comes into focus. It informs her that even if she succeeds in finding a job on the faculty of a Pac-10 university, she'll never be able to afford to live there. (more...)
Letter -- Bad Example
By Roxie Cuellar, Director of Government Affairs Home Builders Assn. of Lane County
Eugene Weekly | November 3, 2005 |
Two articles pertaining to housing appeared in the 10/27 Eugene Weekly. The first discussed the profits of home builders, using Toll Brothers as an example. The second detailed residential developments in the south hills.
Toll Brothers does not build homes in Oregon, is traded on the NYSE, and owns subsidiaries that sell everything from insurance to broadband Internet. Using Toll Brothers to gauge the profits of a local builder who constructs six homes a year is silly. By contrast, a discussion about building in the south hills is very appropriate. The Home Builders Association (HBA) of Lane County paid LCOG for a slope analysis of the remaining buildable residential lands within the Eugene-Springfield urban growth boundary. Currently, one out of every five acres of vacant residential land is on slopes greater than 25 percent. Given our restricted land supply, we need to build in the south hills. However, the HBA very much agrees that it needs to be done responsibly.
Alan Pittman stated in his article that "building costs in labor, land and materials increased comparatively little" over the last year. Mr. Pittman is wrong. The cost of both land and materials is rising substantially each year. Also, the local building market is very competitive for skilled construction workers and the amount of money they can demand has increased accordingly.
We have a land supply problem. Until we engage in a serious discussion about it, we are simply encouraging more long commutes from outlying communities.
Letter -- Extend urban growth boundary
By Charles and Karen Van Duyn, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 3, 2005 |
Affordable housing is needed in Eugene. We are currently forcing our population to buy homes in the outlying areas. This population has no choice but to get in a car and put on the miles.
We need to extend the urban growth boundary and create more high-density, affordable housing closer to employment in Eugene. The critics seem to think there is plenty of affordable building space remaining within the urban growth boundary. They obviously haven't been shopping lately. Eugene City Councilor David Kelly's suggestion that we bring in higher paying jobs in order to support costlier housing on hillsides is shortsighted, unrealistic and elitist. At the very least, Eugene has a poor track record of attracting and keeping industries that can pay higher salaries.
That's not going to happen fast enough for the housing demand. Avalon Village, Michael's Landing and Royal Creek have done a wonderful job creating attractive, environmentally sensitive, affordable housing. There are more flat, viable areas north of these developments but outside the urban growth boundary. What does it take for our City Council to appreciate the assets within our reach and extend the boundary?
Growth needs are here. By not dealing with this issue, the city is promoting the very thing it wants to avoid -- urban sprawl. Eugene likes to think of itself as being on the cutting edge environmentally, yet the city promotes increased fossil fuel consumption and all that goes with it.
Get out the map and extend the boundary.
Board takes no action on sale of housing complex
| The Register-Guard | November 5, 2005 |
PORTLAND -- The state Board of Higher Education took no action Friday to prevent the University of Oregon from moving forward with a plan to sell the Westmoreland student housing complex.
After hearing comments from Westmoreland residents and others, the board asked the UO to report back in January on its plans to address student concerns about alternate housing, child care and other issues. Board action is not required for the university to pursue a sale, but the board has to approve any proposed deal before a sale can be executed. (more...)
OUS Board gives University go-ahead for Westmoreland Sale
Officials must report about efforts to alleviate effects of the sale at a future meeting
By Meghann M. Cuniff
Oregon Daily Emerald | November 5, 2005 |
PORTLAND -- The University will continue planning the sale of the Westmoreland Apartments and report to the State Board of Higher Education at a future meeting about the progress made on the efforts to mitigate the effects selling the property could have on the 592 people who live there.
Though no formal vote was taken Friday morning when the University asked the board for permission to sell, board members voiced their approval to proceed on the condition that University officials continue their efforts to help the potentially displaced tenants keep the board informed.
The board must formally approve the final sale of the property. (more...)
Editorial -- Benefits of apartment sale require clear outline
By Emerald editorial board
Oregon Daily Emerald | November 7, 2005 |
This University exists, both as a physical campus and as an institution, by result of foresight and planning by past administrators. Formulating long-term strategies about how to expand this "land-locked" University must account for a multitude of interwoven factors, and we understand such planning is difficult.
Yet the administration's current plan to sell Westmoreland Apartments does not appear to fit into a clear, practical long-range vision. Statements made by President Dave Frohnmayer during a hearing before the Oregon State Board of Higher Education on Friday failed to clearly disclose the University's plans, if any, for the use of sale money. He emphasized the need to quickly put the property on the market to keep potential buyers interested but did not disclose how long the University has been plotting a sale or why administrators announced the sale so suddenly. (more...)
University continues plans for apartment sale
The higher education board said officials must report on efforts to assist tenants
By Meghann M. Cuniff, News Editor
Oregon Daily Emerald | November 7, 2005 |
PORTLAND -- The University will continue planning the sale of the Westmoreland Apartments and will report to the State Board of Higher Education at its January meeting about the progress made to mitigate the effects selling the property could have on the 592 people who live there.
Though no formal vote was taken Friday morning when the University asked the board for permission to sell, board members voiced their approval on the condition that University officials continue their efforts to help the potentially displaced tenants and keep the board informed of any progress made. (more...)
Two nonprofits eye UO property
By Scott Maben
The Register-Guard | November 8, 2005 |
At least two nonprofit groups that provide low-income rental housing are interested in buying the University of Oregon's Westmoreland Village family housing complex in west Eugene. And the university might be willing to sell to them, even if it receives higher offers from other parties, a UO official said Monday. (more...)
University discusses plans to sell apartments
The Lane County Housing Policy Board reviewed the possible Westmoreland Apartments sale
By Meghann M. Cuniff, News Editor
Oregon Daily Emerald | November 8, 2005 |
Lane County's Housing Policy Board had its chance to hear from the University firsthand Monday about its plans to sell the Westmoreland Apartments in West Eugene. (more...)
UO Senate to discuss Westmoreland sale
The University's intent to sell the 404-unit complex will be discussed as supporters and those opposed explain the decision's implications
By Meghann M. Cuniff, News Editor
Oregon Daily Emerald | November 9, 2005 |
Proponents and opponents of the University's plan to sell Westmoreland Apartments will speak at the University Senate meeting today at 3 p.m. in the EMU Fir Room. University President Dave Frohnmayer will also deliver his annual State of the University speech.
University Vice President for Administration and Finance Frances Dyke will speak about the possible apartment sale, accompanied by Interim Vice President for Student Affairs and Director of University Housing Mike Eyster and Associate Dean of the Graduate School Marian Friestad.
Bing Li, chair of the Westmoreland Tenants Council, will outline the council's reasons for opposing the sale.
University Senate Vice President and finance instructor Jeanne Wagenknecht hopes the senate discussion will be pointed and constructive. She said it's important for the University to help the students who may be displaced if the 404-unit apartment complex is sold. (more...)
University Senate demands answers
Administration officials fielded pointed questions from faculty about the sale of Westmoreland
By Meghann M. Cuniff, News Editor
Oregon Daily Emerald | November 10, 2005 |
The University administration's failure to notify faculty members until after the plan to sell Westmoreland Apartments was put in motion isolates them and is an example of the administration's detachment from the faculty, professors told University officials at Wednesday's University Senate meeting. (more...)
Increases in home prices slowing
Bloomberg News
By Courtney Schlisserman
The Register-Guard | November 3, 2005 |
The rise in new home prices may be slowing, a government report Wednesday suggested.
The U.S. Census Bureau's constant quality price index rose 0.6 percent in the third quarter after a 2.5 percent gain from April through June. The increase was the smallest since the second quarter of 2003, when prices were unchanged.
The report adds to evidence that the housing market is cooling as increases in prices and interest rates make homes less affordable. Housing affordability fell to near a 14-year low in the second quarter, according to the National Association of Realtors. (more...)
Courthouse gets a green thumbs up for its efficiency
By Bill Bishop
The Register-Guard | November 7, 2005 |
Beneath the curving skin of Eugene's new federal courthouse, the unheralded nuts and unglamorous bolts of the building's inner life aspire to something beyond its destiny as an architectural landmark.
The under-floor heating and cooling system, the adhesives, the paint, the manner in which it is built and other features will earn the building a certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Although the courthouse won't garner the highest LEED ranking, its status as a centerpiece to downtown will send a strong message that public agencies from the federal government to the city of Eugene are strongly behind energy efficiency, sustainable building practices and better-quality indoor environments, local leaders say. (more...)
Courthouse to get a fresh new look
Construction of the new courthouse flourishes, adding to downtown area development plans
By Christopher Hagan, News Reporter
Oregon Daily Emerald | November 8, 2005 |
The skyline north of Franklin Boulevard near the Ferry Street Bridge has been changing as a giant glass and steel structure slowly rises.
The structure is the new Wayne L. Morse Federal Courthouse, expected to be completed next summer. Construction on the 270,000-square-foot courthouse is expected cost the federal government $70 million.
Beyond its role as a judicial hub, many hope it will lead to a revitalization of downtown Eugene. (more...)
Architects get to work on design for arena
By Greg Bolt
The Register-Guard | November 11, 2005 |
The Duck basketball teams aren't the only ones back on the boards this week.
Almost at the same time that the University of Oregon men's and women's basketball teams were launching their exhibition seasons on the Mac Court hardwood, the architects went back to the drawing boards to start working out a concept for a new arena. By next spring, the athletic department hopes to have a much better idea of the arena's cost and then decide whether to build. (more...)
Whole Foods a bit closer to downtown
By Sherri Buri Mcdonald
The Register-Guard | November 11, 2005 |
The much talked-about possibility of a Whole Foods Market coming to downtown Eugene is now a step closer to reality.
The natural and organic food retailer said Thursday that it has signed a lease for future space on East Broadway where it intends to open a store in 2007. (more...)
Lowe's files Eugene store site plans
By Joe Mosley
The Register-Guard | November 2, 2005 |
Lowe's, the nation's second-largest home improvement retailer, has filed preliminary development plans to join an already crowded field in the Eugene-Springfield lumber and home products market. (more...)
Public Facilities and Services
Fire services bracing for shortfall
By Jack Moran
The Register-Guard | November 5, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Providing a high level of service on a bare-bones budget is nothing new for the city's Fire and Life Safety Department, Chief Dennis Murphy says.
But it has reached a point where there's no more fat to cut, and somebody at City Hall will have to bear the brunt of his department's projected $1 million budget shortfall in the fiscal year beginning next July, he says. (more...)
SUB rates go up as EWEB's come down: But power is still cheaper through Springfield's municipally-owned utility
By Stacy D. Stumbo
The Springfield News | November 4, 2005 |
Increasing water and electricity rates are coming to Springfield.
The Springfield Utility Board will meet at 7:30 a.m. Nov. 10 in Suite F at 223 A St. at a free business breakfast to discuss potential rate increases that are slated to go into effect in 2006.
SUB staff proposes a 3.5 percent rate increase on electricity bills for May, and a 9.6 percent increase in water charges for February. (more...)
City to skip process of bids on justice center: Council says change will make process cheaper, faster
By Stacy D. Stumbo
The Springfield News | November 9, 2005 |
Springfield's City Council voted Monday to bypass a public bidding process and hire a construction manager-general contractor to oversee development of its voter-approved multimillion-dollar justice center -- which, at this point, may or may not include a jail.
The effort will accelerate groundbreaking on the $28.6 million police department, city prosecutor's office, municipal court and (maybe) jail, while minimizing costs to the city. (more...)
Builder speaks out against bidding plan for new justice center
By Jack Moran
The Register-Guard | November 12, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- John Hyland is bound and determined to have his hometown construction company involved in the building of a voter-approved municipal justice center, even if it means playing second fiddle to a larger firm hired to lead the project.
Hyland, owner of John Hyland Construction Inc. on Laura Street, told the City Council this week that he opposes Springfield's plan to bypass the normal bidding process and instead hire a contractor for the justice center job. Hyland said that process eliminates local firms and ultimately will cost the city far more than it should. (more...)
Arresting development
By Jack Moran
The Register-Guard | November 12, 2005 |
The council on Monday will hear a presentation on a recently completed study outlining possible funding options for a municipal jail. (more...)
Board agrees safety tax should go before voters
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | November 3, 2005 |
If more taxes are to be levied for public-safety services in Lane County, it will be up to the voters to approve them. That much Lane County commissioners can agree on. (more...)
Public safety meeting draws meager crowd
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | November 4, 2005 |
The Lane County commissioners' two public hearings this week on taxing for public safety drew a crowd of mostly empty seats at Lane Community College.
Regular folks were easily outnumbered by officials, staff and the media, and just 19 people spoke, all told. Commissioners found the turnout disappointing. But they diverged over whether to draw conclusions from it. (more...)
Lane officials settle on income taxes for public safety funding
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | November 10, 2005 |
An income tax -- perhaps coupled with a tax on business profits -- emerged Wednesday as the Lane County commissioners' preference as the way to raise tens of millions of dollars for public safety. (more...)
West Eugene Parkway: News
Mayor's roadblock a sore point
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | November 1, 2005 |
Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy wants residents and other elected leaders to chart a course different from the West Eugene Parkway to solve traffic problems on the city's west side.
But listen to some of the other elected leaders and it's apparent that the mayor's path could quickly turn rough.
Meanwhile, transportation experts will recommend that local elected officials develop a "Plan B" in case the plug is ultimately pulled on the West Eugene Parkway, one of the city's most divisive issues. (more...)
Is the WEP Whupped?
Eugene council vote sparks debate.
By Alan Pittman
Eugene Weekly | November 3, 2005 |
The Eugene City Council vote last week against the West Eugene Parkway (WEP) has set off a heated debate on the wetland freeway.
A central question is: Do voters want the WEP? Supporters point to the close 2001 vote for the freeway as evidence of voter support. The WEP passed 51 to 49 percent.
But opponents point to last year's mayoral election. Kitty Piercy was openly opposed to the WEP, preferring traffic solutions that would not destroy valuable wetlands, whereas Nancy Nathanson openly supported it. The WEP was one of the few clear, substantive differences between the two candidates. But Piercy knocked Nathanson out (52 to 46 percent) in the primary. In the primary 21,582 voted for the anti-WEP Piercy. That's more than the 17,899 who voted for the WEP in 2001. In the uncontested general election, 53,732 (84 percent) voted for Piercy, despite her opposition to the WEP. (more...)
West Eugene Parkway plan hits impasse
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | November 11, 2005 |
Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy on Thursday ran into a roadblock in her quest to kill the proposed West Eugene Parkway.
Piercy and Eugene City Councilor David Kelly failed to persuade other elected local officials, meeting as the Metropolitan Policy Committee, to drop the controversial highway from a list of planned regional road projects.
The result: a draw in the first round of the resumed fight over the road, the long-planned 5.8-mile highway, and one of the city's most contentious issues. (more...)
Papé Gave Gov $60K
By Alan Pittman
Eugene Weekly | November 10, 2005 |
Randy Papé, brother of Eugene City Councilor Gary Papé and a member of the powerful Oregon Transportation Commission, is a key backer of the West Eugene Parkway (WEP). After the Eugene City Council voted last month to not support the freeway through rare wetlands, Randy Papé quickly said he would oppose state support for a city study of alternatives to help solve traffic problems.
Unlike Eugene's mayor and council, Papé, CEO of the Papé Group which sells heavy equipment for construction projects, wasn't elected, but appointed to the commission by Gov. Ted Kulongoski. Papé and his company have given Kulongoski at least $60,000 in campaign contributions since 2002, according to campaign finance reports.
Papé is a Republican and Kulongoski is a Democrat. But Papé, who sells highway construction equipment, could financially benefit directly from big freeway projects like the $169 million WEP. Papé has denied any conflict of interest.
Otters Emerge Along Amazon Creek
By Susan Palmer
The Register-Guard | October 29, 2005 |
The sudden ripples on the water were the first clue. Then, near the bank along Amazon Creek, a sleek head poked up, followed by another.
And another.
And another.
And another.
On Friday morning, just as the sun broke briefly out of the clouds, five river otters rolled at the surface then disappeared before re-emerging 15 feet upstream, snacking on crayfish as they went. (more...)
Officials seek perspective on species' habitat map
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | November 8, 2005 |
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to know what Oregonians think about designating 3,901 acres, including land in Lane County, as important habitat for a type of butterfly and two plant species. (more...)
Acreage north of town may be 'critical habitat': Public comment on proposal will be accepted until Jan. 3
| The Springfield News | November 9, 2005 |
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last week proposed to designate critical habitat for three Oregon species native to the prairies of the Willamette Valley: the endangered Fender's blue butterfly, the threatened Kincaid's lupine and the endangered Willamette daisy. All three species are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.
One of these areas is in the Coburg Hills, just north of Springfield. (more...)
Bend Bypass Needs Major Surgery
Rapid Growth Has $120 Million Parkway Clogged
By Frank Fiedler
The (Bend) Source Weekly | October 6, 2005 |
Just four years after the Bend Parkway put the pedal to the metal, the $120 million bypass needs major surgery to keep the economic heart of Central Oregon pumping at full throttle.
And our "medical insurance"--state funding, that is--won't cover all the costs on this congested stretch of U.S. Highway 97. (more...)
West Eugene Parkway: Views
Editorial -- Money can't be moved
| The Register-Guard | November 4, 2005 |
The Eugene City Council's vote to withdraw support for the West Eugene Parkway has created a great deal of confusion. Officials at the local, state and federal levels are unsure of what the vote's consequences will be. It's not certain that Eugene can unilaterally scrub the parkway from the transportation plans in which it is embedded, and, if it can, what would happen next.
But one thing won't happen. The state Department of Transportation won't take the $17 million it has pledged to the first phase of the West Eugene Parkway and reassign it to some other project more to the liking of the council majority and Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy. If Eugene succeeds in killing the parkway, the state's commitment will die with it. (more...)
Slant -- West Eugene Parkway
| Eugene Weekly | November 3, 2005 |
Mayor Piercy is taking a lot of guff for her tie-breaking vote last week to pull city support from the problematic West Eugene Parkway, and seek better solutions. Much of the criticism focuses on the previous two advisory votes on the WEP, but support for the parkway has been eroding for years. The last vote barely passed, and only with a big-buck campaign from developers, coupled with a load of misinformation. More importantly, the recent elections of openly anti-WEP city candidates Piercy, Betty Taylor, Bonny Bettman and Andrea Ortiz should put those arguments to rest. Why have so many people turned against the WEP? The reasons are many, but for starters, the project violates federal laws protecting wetlands purchased with federal money, it would only have a marginal impact on traffic, it's not the same project voters looked at in the past, the cost has grown immensely, and even state and federal officials are divided on whether it's a good idea. The city's been divided for 20 years on the WEP. Piercy wants to resolve the west Eugene traffic dilemma. Let's give her our support and work for solutions that make sense.
Slant -- LWCF purchase of wetlands
| Eugene Weekly | November 10, 2005 |
One important point seldom surfaces in this community's 20-year argument about punching a freeway through the west Eugene wetlands. With the urging of our Congressman DeFazio, the federal government through the Bureau of Land Management has spent close to $12 million over a 10-year period to purchase these wetlands. This money comes from the Land [and] Water Conservation Fund to protect wetlands and hold them in perpetuity. Certainly seems like a violation of the public trust to pave a destructive strip through those wetlands bought with our tax dollars.
Mary O'Brien -- Priceless Moments
Otters remind us of what's at stake.
By Mary O'Brien
Eugene Weekly | November 3, 2005 |
Like many of my fellow Eugeneans, I was enchanted last week by news that river otters have returned to Amazon Creek in our West Eugene Wetlands. So last Sunday morning I searched for them in the creek's pre-dawn waters. It was a Halloween landscape: low, cold mists hovering above the prairie; great blue herons silently hunched in the dark creek; wet, heavy spider webs draped on tall grasses; Canada geese slipping in front of a fingernail-sliver moon; red-winged blackbird sounds coming from unseen locations.
Two elements were missing from those pre-dawn wetlands, one of which (otters in the creek) I hope to soon see; the other (a four-lane freeway roaring above that creek) I hope I never see. (more...)
Letter -- Not a mayor for all Eugene
By Sherry Schaefers, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 2, 2005 |
Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy ran her election campaign on a platform of being a "Mayor for all Eugene." Her tie-breaking vote against the West Eugene Parkway is not consistent with that campaign pledge.
Eugene voters voted twice in favor of the West Eugene Parkway. If she were "Mayor for all Eugene," wouldn't she follow through on what the majority of Eugene voters supported?
The City Council members as well as the special interest groups so vehemently opposed to the parkway must not have occasion to travel Belt Line Road or West 11th Avenue during rush hours. If they did, they would see roadways operating at maximum capacity.
These roadways will become even busier with the population growth moving farther from the city core. While some city leaders may not support growth, it is a fact of life and cannot be ignored.
It is important to keep pace with our infrastructure needs and even more critical to plan for the future. And, if you are going to ask for the public's opinion, then I suggest using it.
Letter -- Council voids parkway votes
By Jeff Moore, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 6, 2005 |
Once again, Mayor Kitty Piercy and her bare majority band of like-minded councilors have flaunted their power and defied the will of the citizens of Eugene (Register-Guard, Oct. 27).
Whether or not you support the West Eugene Parkway, it was approved in two different votes by the citizens of Eugene. With a stroke of their pens, these officials voided citizens' votes when they struck the parkway from the priority project list. Only under fascist and communist regimes could such a violation of the public will occur.
A similar approach was taken by not submitting for a vote the issue of a gasoline tax. Since it would obviously not have passed on the ballot, they enacted the tax without the approval of the citizens.
Currently, the City Council is promoting a ballot measure to spend approximately half a million dollars annually on council-appointed auditors and committees for police oversight. Is this another grab for council-mayor power? Can we afford an additional tax of this magnitude every year when other cheaper and better alternatives are available?
Please, the only way to stop this abuse of power is to recall the mayor and her cronies. Show your outrage in every way you can and at the ballot boxes before you lose all your rights and are truly just another comrade in the People's Republic of Eugene.
Letter -- Do we trade freeways for food?
By Ray Wolfe, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 6, 2005 |
The Oct. 28 editorial and guest viewpoint on the West Eugene Parkway overlooked important factors relating to urban transportation.
Large European cities long ago recognized that efficient public transit, not endless freeway construction, must be the final response to population growth. Local urban villages are now being implemented as part of the transition to rapid public transit by promoting short-walk neighborhood shopping. Weakened immigration laws now make the United States the only First World country with a destructive Third World population growth rate.
Imminent peak oil production will be followed by supplies decreasing at about 3 percent per year. The price of gasoline will continue to rise. Cost will likely dominate convenience in choosing transportation. A reverse migration from suburbia to urban living seems likely, reducing the need for costly freeways.
The American Farmland Trust states that 1.2 million acres of farmland, almost the area of Delaware, are lost per year to urban sprawl, while for the first time the United States imported more food than it exported. Erosion continues to reduce farm productivity irreversibly, so increased local farmland production will likely become imperative.
This information was probably not available to many voters who approved the parkway in 2001. Professional ecologists recognize that mitigation is less than equivalent to the wetlands destroyed. Is parkway convenience a reasonable trade-off for an adequate future food supply?
Letter -- Parkway vote affects housing
By Dean Livelybrooks, Crow
The Register-Guard | November 6, 2005 |
How ironic. Four members of the Eugene City Council and Mayor Kitty Piercy vote to torpedo the West Eugene Parkway just days after affordable housing proponents at St. Vincent de Paul and Habitat for Humanity decry a lack of affordable land in Eugene in The Register-Guard.
Lack of housing for all of Eugene in Eugene forces working-class home buyers to the west and this, coupled with unchecked commercial development along West 11th Avenue, drives the need for the West Eugene Parkway.
Rather than defying the wishes of a majority of Eugene voters (twice affirmed!), the City Council and mayor should be working fervently to expand affordable housing options in Eugene, lest their actions portray them as elitists.
Alas, this council majority is quite satisfied with "feel good," when "do good" is urgently needed.
Letter -- Why does council ignore vote?
By Walter Morgan, Junction City
The Register-Guard | November 7, 2005 |
Where are the environmentalists? Why aren't they holding a sit-in at the Eugene City Council chambers? Why aren't they chaining themselves to the traffic signals on West 11th Avenue?
After all, everyone knows that cars in stop-and-go traffic expel more noxious emissions than ones traveling at a steady pace of 35 miles per hour. I would think they would be up in arms about the obvious irresponsibility of not accelerating the progress of the West Eugene Parkway.
Maybe responsible citizens should be heard on this subject. Oh, I forgot, they were heard. They voted to proceed with the parkway.
Why were they ignored?
Letter -- Parkway vote hurts democracy
By Dave Crosby, Monroe
The Register-Guard | November 7, 2005 |
The issue of the West Eugene Parkway is most disturbing. The issue is not whether the parkway should be built. The issue is the City Council's disregard for the will of the voters.
The voters have twice voted in favor of the project. For a handful of people to ignore the voters is a slap in the face to one of the basic underpinnings of democracy. The majority rules, period. Council members who cannot support this basic concept should resign immediately.
Letter -- A mayor for some of Eugene
By Susan Iverson, Eugene
The Register-Guard | November 7, 2005 |
It's obvious now that despite her claims of being the "mayor for all Eugene," Kitty Piercy is not the mayor for the majority of Eugeneans who voted for the West Eugene Parkway. She's the mayor for the minority, and the rest of us can just go hang.
No big surprise there.
Letter -- Name parkway Rosa Parks Way
By John & Dorothy Cadwalader, Springfield
The Register-Guard | November 7, 2005 |
Ask the people who use West 11th Avenue every day if they would like the new highway built. If they would, build it!
We suggest it be named Rosa Parks Way. She opened more eyes to the problem than most of us never knew was going on. Honor her brave act and name it after her. Martin Luther King Jr. has enough named after him, name it after that lady who absolutely stood on her own and went to jail by herself. It's time she was honored!
And it wouldn't hurt to plant a few roses along the highway. We ask City Council members to please change their minds.
Letter -- Good r