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 NewsNovember 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-GuardOctober 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 NewsNovember 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-GuardNovember 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 WeeklyNovember 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 NewsNovember 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-GuardNovember 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 PortlandOctober 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-GuardNovember 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-GuardNovember 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 NewsNovember 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-GuardNovember 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 WeeklyNovember 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 WeeklyNovember 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 riddance to parkway

By Michael Wherley, Eugene
The Register-Guard
November 8, 2005
    As a citizen of Eugene and Lane County, I fully support the recent decision by the Eugene City Council to withdraw support for the West Eugene Parkway. It has become a major boondoggle that has major hurdles to overcome and could take years more to even get final approval for construction.
    The price tag has ballooned far beyond what a slim majority of voters approved four years ago when they were led to believe that the funding was all in place and they wouldn't have to shoulder maintenance costs for any of it, neither of which is currently true. The current route would destroy prime wetlands that have been assembled painstakingly over years into rich and valuable habitat. And the planning studies show, for all this, the parkway would only do a mediocre job of relieving congestion in west Eugene.
    It's time to stop flogging this dead horse and get behind some more creative solutions to the traffic congestion in west Eugene. We could get much of the benefit of the proposed parkway by right-of-way improvements to Roosevelt Boulevard between Highway 99 and Belt Line Road and widening West 11th Avenue from Terry Street to Greenhill Road at a small fraction of the cost and with much simpler regulatory hurdles.
    Let's not waste any more time and taxpayer money on an expensive non-solution to our problems.

Letter -- Otters need healthy wetlands

By David & Judy Berg, Eugene
The Register-Guard
November 9, 2005
    We appreciated reporter Susan Palmer's excellent article on the increased incidence of river otters in the West Eugene Wetlands -- and her reference to Judy's otter research in Colorado (Register-Guard, Oct. 29).
    The article illustrates the vitality of an emergent biodiverse community. Because otters are in the top tier of the food chain, they are a key indicator of the overall health of their resident ecological community.
    Certainly, otters are cute, playful and intriguing. But they require sufficient high-quality food in their home range; they are sensitive to the quality of wetland and riparian environments they inhabit for their non-aquatic behaviors of resting, elimination, predator aversion, mating and denning; and they are susceptible to pollution in the watershed they inhabit -- largely manifested by human activity.
    We have an opportunity and an obligation to honor the wealth of biodiversity that the forethought of wetlands preservation in west Eugene has wrought. River otters have long home ranges -- up to 38 linear miles of watershed in Judy's study area -- often used as thoroughfares among resource communities. Otters are conscientious to draw on resources along their home range judiciously, to minimize their impact on the ecology. As stewards of the wetlands, we owe it to them to be equally judicious in protecting them from human disturbance, particularly the imprudent development of thoroughfares of our own.
    Hooray for the otters! Let's preserve their new home in perpetuity. The greater good of a biodiverse community demands it.

Letter -- Does Wildish have a conflict?

By Jonathan Plummer, Eugene
The Register-Guard
November 9, 2005
    In his Oct. 28 guest viewpoint, Gary Wildish repeats some tired arguments in favor of building the West Eugene Parkway. He fails to mention, however, that the parkway would illegally use land originally purchased with federal Land and Water Conservation Funds, would cost twice what was claimed in the 2001 election, and would bisect a contiguous wetland that taxpayers have spent millions to protect.
    Most surprising was his -- and The Register-Guard's -- failure to disclose Wildish's potential financial stake in the project. Wildish is described simply as a Eugene native and a member, in the early 1980s, of a West Eugene Parkway Citizen Advisory Committee. One might be forgiven in thinking that Wildish has been retired to his recliner for the last 20 years, penning the occasional op-ed piece.
    I've read elsewhere, however, that Wildish is still working, currently for Chambers Construction and, I'm assuming, has some connection to Wildish Construction -- two businesses that stand to make millions from the parkway and related work.
    When such a personal financial stake is involved, is it unreasonable that guest viewpoint authors disclose that interest?

Letter -- Money isn't there for parkway

By Paul Nicholson, Eugene
The Register-Guard
November 10, 2005
    The Eugene City Council and mayor have wisely moved the West Eugene Parkway project to the back burner.
    Proponents will inevitably flood the newspaper's mailbox with letters complaining that City Council has countermanded a vote of the people. However, the 2001 referendum, which passed by a paper-thin majority, was for a substantially different project than the one now proposed. Furthermore, voters were wooed in 2001 by a $100,000-plus campaign featuring then-Mayor Jim Torrey's misleading claim that "the money is there" to pay for the West Eugene Parkway.
    In fact, local taxpayers could be on the hook for millions of dollars and also a large share of future maintenance costs for the system. Furthermore, millions more of Oregon Department of Transportation funds that might be applied to a better solution also would be diverted to the parkway.
    Mayor Kitty Piercy and Councilors Bonny Bettman, David Kelly, Andrea Ortiz and Betty Taylor acted responsibly. The parkway should be taken off the priority list, at least until the money really is there and the merits of the new design are fully explored by the public.

Letter -- Parkway vote took backbone

By Doug Heiken, Eugene
The Register-Guard
November 10, 2005
    Thankfully, our elected officials have enough wisdom to recognize when the public interest does not align with the interests of the local gravel barons and construction kings, and thankfully they occasionally have the backbone to say no.
    Three cheers for Mayor Kitty Piercy and the four brave members of the Eugene City Council who voted to stop the wasteful dead-end road known as the West Eugene Parkway. Among all the transportation priorities in our community, the parkway should be at the bottom of the list, not the top.
    I have come to really enjoy nature's peace in the west Eugene wetlands. The new bike path and prairie restoration work west of Terry Street is a tremendous community asset that will only become more valuable as time passes. The West Eugene Parkway would destroy that, both unnecessarily and expensively.
    Now our community can focus on solutions that will more effectively address traffic issues in west Eugene with less cost and less controversy. I am personally convinced that Roose- velt Boulevard is an obvious part of the solution. Roosevelt already links Highway 99 North and Belt Line Road and it is an underused road with plenty of room for improvements to enhance its effectiveness.

Letter -- Alternatives to parkway exist

By Julia Nelson, Eugene
The Register-Guard
November 11, 2005
    I live in Crow and also frequently travel to Eugene from Veneta. I am delighted that there appears to be a realistic discussion beginning about the West Eugene Parkway.
    Highway 126 between the end of the proposed parkway and Veneta is a very busy two-lane road and is likely to remain so, since it is bordered by railroad land on one side and the lake on the other. It is a frequent spot for serious accidents. The parkway would funnel traffic onto this dangerous stretch, not relieve it for people coming to and from the west side.
    The development that has taken place on West 11th Avenue was not planned well. Target built right on the corner of Belt Line Road with no setback, which might have made for a better intersection. Wal-Mart is opening its new superstore, bringing more traffic to the area where congestion is greatest. Further development will not benefit the economy of Veneta or other towns because it will draw more people to shop in Eugene.
    Alternatives already in use by those who live west of Eugene could be developed with less disruption to the newly established and successful wetlands. Danebo Avenue to Roose- velt Boulevard to Highway 99 or to Chambers Street/River Road works well. Greenhill Road to Barger Drive to Highway 99 is another route. I fail to see how the proposed parkway benefits anyone other than those who own the land it goes through.
    Please remember that this will have its heaviest impact on those who have no vote because we do not live in Eugene.

Letter -- Parkway decision undemocratic

By Mary Smith, Eugene
The Register-Guard
November 11, 2005
    I am angered and extremely disappointed in the recent action taken by four Eugene City Council members and the mayor regarding the West Eugene Parkway.
    I was among the majority of the people of Eugene who voted twice to endorse that project. Nevertheless, the City Council and mayor, in a meeting that was not publicized as a meeting addressing continuing the project but rather to simply receive a status report, disregarded that democratic process by voting to discontinue the project.
    Coincidentally, I received my ballot to vote on the issue of restructuring city government to put more power in the hands of these same individuals through their appointment of the police auditor and civilian police review board members. While I had been struggling with the appropriate vote on that issue, their arrogant action helped me decide to vote against the measure on the basis that I cannot rely on their integrity and judgment in selecting and overseeing the operation of such an important review process. Furthermore, I believe that their action justifies recall.
    Hopefully, their action will not result in killing this critical transportation project. I hope I can rely on the integrity and judgment of elected officials of the Lane Transit District, the city of Springfield and Lane County to follow the will of the people.
    No wonder the Oregon Department of Transportation gives little regard to the transportation needs of our community.

Letter -- West Eugene keeps growing

By Steve Baker, Noti
The Register-Guard
November 12, 2005
    It sure is nice to see that another national company, Lowe's Home Improvement, is interested in building in the West Eugene area, close to the intersection of West 11th and Danebo avenues.
    Unfortunately that particular intersection, which is located on the only major highway linking Eugene and the Oregon Coast, happens to carry a large percentage of the Hynix Semiconductor plant employees to and from work already. It is also near the already busy Belt Line Road intersection, which is close to the Wal-Mart superstore, a Target store, a small shopping mall and numerous other businesses in the immediate area.
    I'd like to commend Mayor Kitty Piercy and the Kouncil Kats for getting rid of that nagging West Eugene Parkway albatross. I'll really be thanking them every Friday night on my drive home, when I have the opportunity to sit through three or four traffic light changes at the Bailey Hill Road, Bertelsen Road, Belt Line Road, Danebo Avenue, Terry Street and Greenhill Road intersections, burning up my $3 a gallon gasoline, following the voters of Eugene who approved the West Eugene Parkway plan (several times), on their long, slow drive to the coast. Meow.

Letter -- Piercy needs wider vision

By Rich Gaston, Eugene
The Register-Guard
November 12, 2005
    I supported Kitty Piercy's candidacy for mayor of Eugene because she offered the possibility of consensus as opposed to gridlock. I found her to be bright, open and pragmatic -- all qualities I would value in our mayor.
    Since her election, I have been concerned by a lack of vision, communication and balance in the mayor's actions. I see a lot of tie-breaking votes going in one direction, and now I see absolutely no leadership regarding the West Eugene Parkway.
    The mayor has begun talking about alternatives for the parkway and creative solutions to west Eugene's transportation needs. Now we get a hurried vote of no support for the parkway with absolutely no concrete alternatives on the table.
    Building the West Eugene Parkway is a key project not just for today's traffic needs but to plan for the future. I call upon the mayor to lead our city with ideas and planning -- not obstruction and delay. We need to be viewed as a good partner to the Oregon Department of Transportation, the Metropolitan Policy Committee and other regional planning bodies. We need to claim our share of transportation funds and move projects such as Belt Line Road-Delta Highway and Belt Line-Coburg Road up the priority list. I bought the pitch for a "Mayor for all Eugene," but I am quickly becoming discouraged by the results.


Other Transportation Issues

Task force composes design changes for busy roadway

By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard
November 6, 2005
    Not everyone is happy about a new design for River Avenue in north Eugene. But, in this case, majority rules.
    The Public Works Department, relying on previously approved street plans, wants to repave the narrow, shoulderless street, south of Belt Line Road and east of River Road. It's a busy street used by many residents to get to a post office, plus businesses on the street tucked up along Belt Line Road.
    Some bicyclists use the street to reach the city's hiker-biker paths along the Willamette River. But without bike lanes, cyclists find the street is nerve-racking.
    The City Council has shelved two previous attempts to widen and improve the street, the last one in April.
    Now, after studying the issue for several months, a group made up of property owners, neighborhood leaders and a representative of the Eugene Bike Coalition has reached agreement on key design points that include a wider road with a center turn lane, sidewalks and bike routes, said Michelle Cahill, the city's principal civil engineer. (more...)

David Sonnichsen -- Let public weigh in on proposed I-5 interchange

By David Sonnichsen
The Register-Guard
November 9, 2005
    Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken made a bold statement in September during a presentation on proposed freeway interchange additions for Interstate 5 at Franklin Boulevard:
    "I frankly don't care what the ramps look like as long as you build them," Leiken said to his fellow members of the intergovernmental Metropolitan Policy Committee. "This is a golden opportunity," he added, urging that a final design be quickly presented to Rep. Peter DeFazio and Sens. Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith, who would be told, "Here it is, find the money."
    This expression of wishful free association may demonstrate how some elected officials want things to work, but the reality is that the people who elect the officials get a chance to participate, too. It's called public involvement. (more...)

Ramped Up
Proposed I-5 Franklin interchange could have big impact.

By Alan Pittman
Eugene Weekly
November 10, 2005
    A proposed full freeway interchange at I-5 and Franklin Boulevard could cost $120 million and have a big impact on surrounding neighborhoods and natural areas as well as downtown redevelopment.
    The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) plans to bring concept sketches of connecting I-5 and Franklin to county and city governments this month to get input on whether and how to move the project forward. Right now Franklin connects to I-5 from and to the south but not north.
    In this tentative, scoping phase "what ODOT is going to be looking for is a thumbs up or thumbs down," said Lisa Gardner, a senior transportation planner with the city of Eugene. (more...)

Program Provides Free Bus Service To Eugene-Springfield Students

The Springfield NewsNovember 2, 2005
    Through a creative Oregon Department of Energy program and the Pacific Continental Bank, Commuter Solutions, Lane Council of Governments and Lane Transit District, a School Transit Pass pilot partnership formed to provide nearly 5,000 high school students in the Eugene-Springfield area with another transportation option -- riding the LTD bus for free. The results were so successful that STP partners agreed to extend the program to 22,000 eligible students in all private and public schools. (more...)

People-moving will be no sweat, officials say

By Diane Dietz
The Register-Guard
November 6, 2005
    The Olympic Trials will jam 20,000 additional people onto the Eugene traffic grid. You can imagine them jockeying for lane position, vying for parking spots and bringing new dimension to the term "world-class competition."
    But wait.
    Officials claim that transportation and parking during the June 2008 Trials at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus will be no sweat. (more...)

LTD head under fire as evaluation comes due

By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard
November 10, 2005
    Ken Hamm's performance as general manager of the Lane Transit District is under review, after months of friction between Hamm and the district's union and negative comments about Hamm from some employees.
    A committee that includes three board members will meet Monday to complete its evaluation of Hamm, and may make a recommendation to the full board at that time, said Gerry Gaydos, board president and a member of the committee. (more...)

LTD Employees Question Boss

Eugene WeeklyNovember 10, 2005
    Some employees of Lane Transit District, which provides public bus service around Lane County, are becoming increasingly aggressive in their call for the removal of the agency's general manager, Ken Hamm, who has led LTD since 2000.
    In July, LTD driver Dave Barton delivered a petition to board member Gerry Gaydos. The petition, signed by 164 employees -- 90 percent of the non-probationary union drivers -- complained that Hamm had lost employees' trust, took retaliatory actions against employees who confronted him, spun reality in media pitches and was not truly committed to LTD. The message was simple: "Ken Hamm needs to be replaced."
    The Amalgamated Transit Union, which represented the operators during the labor negotiations and strike last February, did not endorse the petition. (more...)

Emissions task force raises issues

The Associated PressNovember 4, 2005
    SALEM -- A task force created to look at what effect California vehicle emissions standards would have on Oregon submitted its final report, and offered no recommendations. (more...)


Measure 37: News

Measure 37 lives -- or does it?
Ruling Because of an obscure law, the overturning of the property-rights law invites varied interpretation

By Laura Oppenheimer
The Oregonian
October 31, 2005
    Oregon's battered property-rights law is dead in Clackamas County, going strong in Hood River County and stalled by confusion in Malheur County.
    Attempts to develop land or receive compensation under Measure 37 are in limbo as Oregonians try to figure out whether the year-old ballot initiative still exists.
    A judge overturned it two weeks ago, but nobody -- not politicians, not bureaucrats, not state law, certainly not regular Oregonians -- can say definitively to whom the decision applies.
    Marion County Circuit Court Judge Mary Mertens James ruled the law unconstitutional. Until the state Supreme Court takes up an appeal in eight months or more, some counties think it's their duty to continue processing claims. Construction is unlikely, but not impossible.
    For now, ambiguity hangs over Oregon's landscape, property owners and planning departments. (more...)

Oregon Shores hears strategy for response to Measure 37

By Joel Gallob
The (Newport) News-Times
November 2, 2005
    Approximately 150 members of the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition heard Elon Hassan, the 1000 Friends of Oregon Legislative Director, explain the strategy his organization is pursuing in response to the electoral, if not legal, success of Ballot Measure 37. That measure requires city, county and local governments to either waive application of land-use laws that reduce a property's value, or pay the lost value to the property owner.
    The basic strategy the 1,000 Friends is pursuing is twofold. On the one hand, the group would prohibit any land use allowed under Measure 37 or similar measures if it would reduce the value of a neighboring home or harm a neighboring family farm. On the other hand, it would allow property owners to build single-family dwellings on their land if the owner could have done so under the land use laws in effect when the property owner acquired his property -- much as was allowed under the now-declared unconstitutional Measure 37. (more...)

Measure 37 won't be in effect during appeal

The Associated PressNovember 2, 2005
    SALEM -- Measure 37, a counterweight to Oregon's land use laws, will not be in effect while its dismissal is being appealed, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled. (more...)

High court OKs halt of Measure 37
Lower judge's ruling against property law remains in effect

By Crystal Bolner
The (Salem) Statesman Journal
November 2, 2005
    Correction: Because of an editor's error, the headline in the original version of this story was incorrect. The Oregon Supreme Court approved the halt of Measure 37. This is the corrected version.
    A Marion County Circuit Judge ruled in October that the voter-approved property-compensation law known as Measure 37 was unconstitutional. Now, Oregon's Supreme Court has refused to stop that decision from taking effect.
    On Tuesday, the high court denied a request to postpone enactment of Judge Mary Mertens James' ruling, forcing the state and several counties, including Marion, to abide by the ruling and stop all decisions about claims.
    Marion County officials will continue to process and hold public hearings about 59 outstanding claims but won't make decisions in the cases.
    The county also is not accepting new claim applications or requests for building permits on already-approved claims, said County Administrator John Lattimer. (more...)

Oregon Supreme Court idles Measure 37 pending appeal

By Laura Oppenheimer
The Oregonian
November 2, 2005
    Measure 37 will not stay in place while its demise is appealed, the Oregon Supreme Court decided Tuesday. (more...)

Land use compensation law to get expedited review by top state court

By Brad Cain
The Associated Press
November 9, 2005
    SALEM -- In a move to end the uncertainty pervading Oregon's land use planning system, the Oregon Supreme Court said Tuesday it will expedite its review of a judge's order that threw out the Measure 37 property rights law enacted by voters a year ago.
    The state's highest court said it will hear oral arguments in the case on Jan. 10. Those arguments likely would not have come until sometime next summer if the court had followed its normal scheduling of cases. (more...)

Oregon Supreme Court will hear Measure 37 appeal in January

By Laura Oppenheimer
The Oregonian
November 9, 2005
    Oregon's Supreme Court will decide the future of the state's property rights law this winter.
    Justices agreed Tuesday to hear arguments Jan. 10 in the appeal of a Marion County Circuit Court decision to strike down Measure 37. They had been expected to wait until next summer. (more...)

Measure 7 judge sues over property next door

The Associated PressNovember 7, 2005
    SALEM -- Oregon voters five years ago passed Measure 7, which required governments to pay property owners for land use rules that reduced value.
    Critics challenged the law, and Judge Paul Lipscomb overturned it.
    The group that wrote Measure 7, Oregonians in Action, returned in 2004 with an alternate version, Measure 37. Voters handily approved it.
    Now Lipscomb has again objected, only this time it's personal. (more...)

Judge's land-use suit adds ethics to Measure 37 saga
Property rights A jurist's challenge to a neighbor's plan to divide acreage raises new questions

By Laura Oppenheimer
The Oregonian
November 5, 2005
    Just when Oregon's property rights drama seemed to be stabilizing, a Marion County judge wrote a Shakespearean twist.
    Paul Lipscomb, who overthrew Measure 37's predecessor four years ago, sued the state this week for approving his neighbor's application to split farmland into 5-acre plots.
    His litigation comes weeks after colleague Mary Mertens James tossed out Measure 37. The clincher: The case will be heard in Marion Circuit Court, where Lipscomb is the presiding judge. (more...)

Yamhill County hit with another Measure 37 suit

By David Bates
The (McMinnville) News-Register
November 5, 2005
    Measure 37's wheels continue to turn in the Yamhill County Courthouse, including the part where litigation helps determine whether they spin free or gain traction.
    Two weeks after a Marion County judge ruled the property compensation initiative passed last year unconstitutional, a Newberg property owner has sued Yamhill County, alleging it improperly fixed the date of her ownership of a 16-acre parcel. (more...)

Stream of Measure 37 cases continues

By David Bates
The (McMinnville) News-Register
November 8, 2005
    Yamhill County commissioners will resume voting on Measure 37 claims Wednesday, despite a judge's ruling that the property compensation initiative approved a year ago is unconstitutional.
    County Counsel John Gray advised officials last week the Marion County order does not apply here because Yamhill County was not named among the defendants.
    He said all counties he surveyed last week are taking the same approach except Benton. And he said that's only because the county commissioners there ignored the advice they got from their legal counsel. (more...)

Measure 37 claims put on hold
Benton County halts action to await Oregon Supreme Court ruling on land-rights law

By Rebecca Barrett and Bennett Hall
The (Corvallis) Gazette-Times
November 8, 2005
    Benton County's Board of Commissioners voted 2-1 on Monday to put all Measure 37 claims on hold until the state's highest court resolves a challenge to the law. (more...)

Cannon Beach agrees to proceed with Measure 37 claims

By Laurel Eddy
The Daily Astorian
November 3, 2005
    CANNON BEACH -- The city of Cannon Beach should continue exactly as before on Measure 37 claims, City Attorney Bill Canessa advised the City Council Tuesday night. (more...)

County goes ahead with more Measure 37 waivers
Property owners warned state law still applies

By Joel Gallob
The (Newport) News-Times
November 4, 2005
    The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners this week approved five Measure 37 claims and the waiver of county land use regulations the claimant property owners say impair their ability to use the properties.
    But that waivers, County Counsel Wayne Belmont made clear, do not mean the claimants get a parallel waiver of applicable state land use laws -- and the state is not issuing such waivers as it has been told by the Marion County Circuit Court that Measure 37 is unconstitutional. (more...)

Klamath County continues to process Measure 37 claims

By Angela Torretta
The (Klamath Falls) Herald and News
November 11, 2005
    Klamath County will continue to process land-use claims under Measure 37 despite a judge's ruling that the measure is unconstitutional. (more...)


Measure 37: Views

Nena Cook -- Popular opinion versus the rule of law

By Nena Cook
The Oregonian
November 1, 2005
    The state Constitution Party has filed a recall petition against Marion County Circuit Court Judge Mary Mertens James, who recently held Measure 37 unconstitutional. While that ruling is evaluated by the parties on both sides of the issue, and by the higher courts, voters should be mindful of a judge's role as they consider the recall issue.
    It can be difficult to understand how a court can make a ruling that in essence reverses the will of the people. But those who criticize judges for doing that misunderstand the critical role the courts play in upholding our rule of law. In fact, the ability to reverse a vote that is popular, yet violates the law, is exactly the role that the framers of both the Oregon and the U.S. constitutions intended in our system of checks and balances. (more...)

William Jaeger and Andrew Plantinga -- Parsing the economics in the land-use debate

By William Jaeger and Andrew Plantinga
The Oregonian
November 8, 2005
    In a recent commentary in The Oregonian, James Huffman of Lewis & Clark Law School writes that the circuit court judge who invalidated Measure 37 misunderstands basic economics ("Measure 37 is overturned: Two opposing views," Oct. 23). Well, let's have a closer look at those economics. (more...)

Editorial -- Judges aren't supposed to cater to will of voters
Politicking in judicial branch is wrong for our country

The (Salem) Statesman JournalNovember 3, 2005
    Majority rules when we're electing our executive branch -- our president or governor. It holds when we're electing our legislative branch -- our congressional representatives or legislators. But heaven help us if our judicial branch becomes as politicized.
    Yet that's happening these days, from Salem to Washington, D.C. Some Marion County residents are collecting signatures in hopes of recalling Judge Mary Mertens James, who declared that Measure 37 violates Oregon's Constitution. (more...)

Editorial -- Focus turns to recall effort

The OregonianNovember 8, 2005
    Last month, Marion County Circuit Judge Mary Mertens James ruled that Measure 37 was unconstitutional. Some supporters of Measure 37 [have filed a petition to] have her recalled. We are opposed to this effort.
    The reason we have a three-branch system of government is for each branch to check the power of the others. The court's role is to review governmental action, which includes initiatives, and to decide whether the action is allowed under our state and federal constitutions. For this reason, the court must be impartial and independent. (more...)

Editorial -- Too big a break for landowners

The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionNovember 3, 2005
    A group of misguided state lawmakers is working on a measure to "fix" a problem that doesn't exist.
    A bill being drafted by Sen. Chip Pearson (R-Dawsonville) and several Senate colleagues would require state and county governments (read: taxpayers) to compensate landowners for the lost "value" of their property if it could not be developed a particular way because of environmental regulations. If the government couldn't pay, it would have to abandon the offending regulation. (more...)

John Echeverria -- The House takes an ax to the Endangered Species Act

By John Echeverria
Georgetown Environmental Law & Policy Institute
November 2005
    As former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis put it, the states can serve as "laboratories of democracy" by testing new approaches to see if they might work for the nation as a whole. The idea is that if a new approach falls flat, the rest of the country can learn from the mistake without going through the same experience.
    Unfortunately, state experiments sometimes fail, and politicians still don't learn the lesson.
    A case in point is Oregon's Measure 37, a sweeping "takings," or property rights measure passed by Oregon voters in November 2004. The measure has been a surprising disaster for Oregonians. Nonetheless, the U.S . House of Representatives recently passed a bill amending the Endangered Species Act that would convert Oregon's isolated mistake into national policy. By so doing, the House took an ax to the law, effectively repealing the law as it applies to private lands. (more...)


Other News

Steve Duin -- DEQ is no advocate for environment

By Steve Duin
The Oregonian
November 1, 2005
    Inspired by Michael Milstein's Monday piece on water quality, I spent the day trying to figure out whether the problem at the state's Department of Environmental Quality is the money or the mission.
    The problem, it turns out, is that too much of the agency's money arrives from the people DEQ regulates, and too much of the agency's mission is dictated by Gov. Ted Kulongoski.
    Milstein, an environmental reporter for The Oregonian, wrote about a nifty coincidence: The rule changes that allow for cloudier rivers are partially underwritten by the very companies that aim to muddy the waters.
    Along the way, Milstein talked to several environmental groups, which gave me pause: I thought DEQ was the state's environmental group.
    Clearly, I'm a rube . . . and far from the only one out there. (more...)

A new era calls for a new model

By Patrick Lagadec and Erwann Michel-Kerjan
International Herald Tribune
November 1, 2005
    In September, one of us was looking at the ravages of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the other was in China discussing the potential impact that the eruption of a new flu pandemic could have on dozens of other countries. Though these events are distinct in several aspects, they are also similar in their fabric as the new types of crises to be faced. As such, they embody a fundamental challenge: a qualitative jump from local to global risks.
    Two dimensions have to be considered. First, a new scale in destruction. Beyond the human tragedy, Hurricane Katrina is the most costly event in the history of insurance (at $50 billion to $60 billion, more than the total insurance payments for the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and for Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the two previous record holders). It also mobilized the most federal aid provided in the wake of a disaster: $60 billion, with more to be expected.
    The other dimension is the world's growing interdependence. The increasing competitiveness and globalization of economic and social activities are being bound together with just-in-time processes and interconnected operations. That has bred a new type of risk: interdependent threats that will require coordinating complex multi-actor decision-making. (more...)


People

Springfield ironing out manager compensation

The Register-GuardNovember 1, 2005
    SPRINGFIELD -- The City Council appears nearly ready to offer the city manager's job to a preferred candidate.
    A three-councilor committee met in closed session Monday to begin piecing together a potential compensation package for retiring City Manager Mike Kelly's successor. Council President John Woodrow would not reveal if the group was focusing on a specific candidate, saying only that councilors hope to announce their top choice sometime this week.
    On Friday, the City Council interviewed three people identified as finalists for the job and began deliberating about hiring options. Councilors then called a closed-door meeting on Sunday for "candidate review and more information gathering," Woodrow said.
    Interviewed Friday for the job were Springfield's Assistant City Manager Cynthia Pappas; city Development Services Director Bill Grile; and Jim Payne, city administrator of Waukesha, Wis.

Still no decision on city manager: Council is working on contract details, expects offer next week

By Stacy D. Stumbo
The Springfield News
November 2, 2005
    Springfield officials are still hammering out contract details before making a job offer to one of three candidates for city manager. (more...)

Dark-horse candidate a surprise for Springfield

By Jack Moran
The Register-Guard
November 3, 2005
    SPRINGFIELD -- Mayor Sid Leiken's surprise announcement Wednesday left City Hall employees speechless for a moment. Then came the applause.
    City staff members needed a second to digest the fact that their new city manager will not be drawn from the ranks of three finalists who were introduced to the public last week.
    Rather, the City Council on Tuesday said it will hire former Springfield official Gino Grimaldi to succeed retiring City Manager Mike Kelly. (more...)

Grimaldi 'comes home' again: Surprise candidate wins city manager job; but he's not exactly an unfamiliar face

By Stacy D. Stumbo
The Springfield News
November 4, 2005
    It was a big surprise -- particularly for the three finalists who were widely publicized by the Springfield City Council as being ideal for the job. But an unexpected-yet-familiar face was appointed the new city manager Wednesday.
    During a hastily-scheduled press conference, Mayor Sid Leiken announced that former Springfield Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi will be taking the post by July 1, 2006. (more...)

Editorial -- Welcome Grimaldi, but process could have been better

The Springfield NewsNovember 4, 2005
    The process of naming City Manager Mike Kelly's replacement took a couple really strange twists this week. The final result is, we got a great new city manager -- someone who we can be pretty confident will be able to fill Mike Kelly's shoes. And that's no small order.
    However, chances are the process we've just gone through is leaving a bad taste in more than a few mouths. (more...)

Editorial -- Stability for Springfield

The Register-GuardNovember 4, 2005
    Springfield City Manager Mike Kelly's tenure hasn't followed the arc that is typical of his counterparts elsewhere. He's worked for the city of Springfield his entire career, has been manager since 1989, and will retire while still enjoying support from the City Council and the community. Given that record, it's fitting that in seeking a successor to Kelly the council would value continuity more than change, and would hire Gino Grimaldi. (more...)

Poling seeking 2nd term on council

By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard
November 2, 2005
    Saying that four years is not enough, George Poling on Tuesday announced that he will seek a second term to the Eugene City Council. (more...)

Ackerman quits after three terms in state House

By David Steves
The Register-Guard
November 1, 2005
    SALEM -- A veteran Eugene lawmaker announced he would not seek re-election, clearing the way for a former city councilor and mayoral candidate to run for his House seat.
    Rep. Bob Ackerman, D-Eugene, said he would retire from House District 13 in north Eugene when his current term expires in January 2007. (more...)

In Special Election, California Governor Faces Tough Battle
Mr. Schwarzenegger Loses Momentum as He Takes On Powerful Public Unions; A Gaffe Over Nurse Protest

By Jim Carlton
The Wall Street Journal
November 5-6, 2005; Page A1
    ONTARIO, Calif. -- A year ago, there was talk of changing the U.S. Constitution so Arnold Schwarzenegger -- the Austrian immigrant-turned-Hollywood star-turned-California governor -- could run for the president of the United States.
    The 58-year-old Republican had saved California from a fiscal crisis, made peace with the state's warring political factions and added so much star power to his party that he nabbed a primetime speaking role at the GOP convention when President Bush was nominated for re-election last year.
    Today, the "Terminator" star and former Mr. Universe may have a tough time just holding onto his day job. Gov. Schwarzenegger's voter approval rating has plunged 37% from 65% over the past year, according to the California Field Poll, a nonpartisan research group. Protesters dog him at public appearances, chanting slogans like "Arnold, Arnold, you can't hide, we can see your greedy side." While the possibility of unseating him seemed inconceivable 12 months ago, Democrats are now gearing up to take him on when he comes up for re-election next year.

Actors disrupt Schwarzenegger event

The Associated PressNovember 6, 2005
    SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Actors Warren Beatty and wife Annette Bening tried to crash a campaign appearance Saturday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as the governor sought to drum up last-minute support for a group of statewide ballot measures. (more...)

Schwarzenegger's political clout wanes

By Beth Fouhy
The Associated Press
November 10, 2005
    LOS ANGELES -- The strong man of California politics is looking awfully weak.
    California voters Tuesday rejected all four government overhaul measures that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had put on the ballot, a resounding defeat for the Republican in his bold attempt to go over lawmakers' heads and take his agenda straight to the people.
    The setback comes at the same time the former action hero is gearing up for a re-election bid in 2006. (more...)