Apparently this is the City of Eugene Administration’s latest foray in their quest to rid our downtown of “undesirables,” aka people who dare to be downtown but aren’t buying anything. Please read this great article by Alley Valkyrie published in the Eugene Weekly.
Renting Sidewalks? | eugeneweekly.com
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OE Endorses Fee Waiver for Whoville Shut-down Public Records
From Jean Stacey:
It would be a real loss in the power of our activism and a travesty of justice to the unhoused to let the Whoville Closure continue to go unchallenged. Toward that end, we have requested public records on the Whoville Closure and need you to join us in our public records requests and in a request for a waiver of the quoted $652 fee for same (electronic copies only). Our justification for the waiver is that this information is for the benefit of the public as informed citizens and participants in our democracy.
In talking with Lauren Regan of the Civil Liberties Defense Center, she advised that we apply for the waiver rather than simply paying for the
information as we should establish a precedent that such information is entitled and that the government has the responsibility to produce it
(without creating a financial barrier). This precedent will serve us well now and also on future requests.
There are huge contradictions on the Whoville Closure between what was said in public, what was said in private, what was written and what actually happened. Innumerable “misrepresentations” were made either during the process or by rewriting the history. Understanding how it transpired will, hopefully, help us better navigate the city’s process next time to avoid similar tactics on their part, tactics that are frequently used on many issues (Capstone, City Hall to name a few) that make it nearly impossible to have transparency or accountability.
Please agree to put our joint “power” and ability to represent a wide array of citizens and investigative journalism behind this fee waiver
request.
Eugene Dismisses Charges Against SLEEPS Activists
City Hall Reprieve
They’re Gonna Rip Down Eugene City Hall. WHY?
Remodel our neglected City Hall for less than $15 million, and you get:
• The entire 75,000-square-foot structure refurbished, spruced up and brought up to modern earthquake and insulation standards
• The iconic round City Council Chambers and art work saved
• Some 35,000 square feet of office space ready for move-in, with another approximately 40,000 square feet of shell space available for future development as city offices.
• A phase-out of the $1.2 million a year the city currently pays to rent office space scattered around town, once city departments move back into the refurbished City Hall
• 125 parking spaces under the building saved
Spend $15 million to tear it down and build a new building, and you get:
• A small ceremonial building, not really a “new City Hall,” on one corner of the current square block, housing only council chambers and offices for the mayor & council, city manager and one or two city departments
• Three-fourths of a block of parking lot
• The need for a new city office building next door at a cost of $44 million or more in taxpayer money to house the rest of city offices. City officials aren’t talking much about this – for now.
City Hall was once a beautiful building – you need only to look at photos of when it was completed in 1964 to understand that. If it seems ugly now it’s because of years of official neglect. Deferred maintenance has become no maintenance. It didn’t have to be that way.
Its award-winning design by local architects Stafford, Morin & Longwood, is an outstanding example of Mid-20th Century Modern architecture. It is an historic survivor in a town that’s torn down too much of its history. The building is eligible for the National Historic Building Registry – which the city doesn’t want, willfully ignoring state historic preservation law.
Rather than destroying this public asset immediately, why not pause and consider all of the above? Even if the building will not to be saved as a City Hall, it has potential millions-of-dollars in value to the city for private redevelopment as retail/office/market space.
Why the rush to bring the wrecking ball to millions of dollars of value in our City Hall? DEFER DEMOLITION!
If you agree this is no time to Rush to Demolition, contact Mayor Kitty Piercy and Council members at (541) 682-5010 or mayorcouncilandcitymanager@ci.eugene.or.us. Do it now!
(Save City Hall Committee, 541-343-0892 or 541-342-3755)
Occupy Eugene Wins Protest Case in Federal Court
“A Wizard in Eugene”
Check out this beautiful short documentary which tells the story of The Wizard, James Hardin, an un-housed man in Eugene. Shout out to Occupy Eugene videographer Jana Thrift and friends (Gina Ginsberg, David Zupan, Liddy Soto, Ryan Stefan, and others) who put this together so that we can know.
Without Public Bathrooms, Eugene’s a Latrine
SLEEPS and OE staged a Potty Protest in Kesey Square to put pressure on the City Council to reopen park bathrooms and keep downtown bathrooms open 24 hrs. People voted in a penny poll by pitching pennies into a toilet marked “Tax Breaks for Developers” or a toilet marked “Public Bathrooms.” It’s all about priorities.
Liberating Kesey Square
Some call it economic revitalization, we call it class cleansing. In Eugene’s “downtown activity zone” there were more police, more security, more people being hassled and vendors publicly selling their art told they had to be regulated. Kesey Square, the only public space downtown, was threatened. Occupy challenged that – and won.
Burrito Brigade Needs You (Who me? Yes, you!)
Burrito Brigade feeds the hungry of Eugene & Springfield through a community network of food banks and personal donations and engages our community in the fight to end hunger. You can become part of their family by volunteering to help with cooking and hand delivery of their nutritious burritos every Sunday. Even though Lane County has enough food to feed every hungry person, excess food is not widely distributed, and some don’t have the knowledge or resources to access the food. Burrito Brigade gives away hot burritos to hungry locals and travelers on Sundays, when free food is especially scarce. For more info about the project and ways you can help email burritosundays@gmail.com.