The City Club of Eugene Podcast

Eugene's Mayor Talks About Key Issues

Mayor Lucy Vinis spoke with KLCC's Rachael McDonald at a City Club of Eugene meeting. The mayor answered four questions in depth:

1. What is the city doing about the issue of homelessness?

2. What are the city's plans for reforming public safety?

3. What programs are on the schedule for Summer in the City?

4. What are some of the things you do as mayor that the public may not hear about, and why are they important to the city's future?

Watch this episode on City Club of Eugene's YouTube or Facebook channels.

(This program was broadcast on April 16, 2021)

Downtown Riverfront

"Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it." (Norman MacLean)

When a river runs through the middle of your town, how do you honor the resulting relationship? The City of Eugene is turning the former downtown industrial land by the river into a mixed use development. City Club of Eugene talks to several key figures in the planning and development of the riverfront to hear about their vision and how it will change the history of Eugene's relationship with the Willamette River.

Our speakers include James Atkins, PE and Dike Dames of Atkins Dame, developers of the site; Will Dowdy, co-director of community development for the City of Eugene; and Kurt Schultz, principal of SERA Architects.

Schematics, video and other material are available here.

Watch this episode on City Club of Eugene's YouTube or Facebook channels.

(This program was broadcast on April 2, 2021)

Universal Access to Health Care: Can We Get There?

Former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, a physician, admits it was difficult to establish the Oregon Health Plan. Is universal access to health care possible in America? In this episode from the City Club of Eugene podcast, he leads a discussion with Dr. Susan Bailey, president of the American Medical Association, and Dr. Thomas Cooney, chair-elect of the American College of Physicians.

ACP calls for universal access; by a bare majority, the AMA rejected single payer ("Medicare for All") coverage, suggesting alternatives instead.

Watch this episode on City Club of Eugene's YouTube or Facebook channels.

(This program aired on March 26, 2021.)

Oregon's Addiction Crisis

Oregon has an substance addiction problem: #1 for use of marijuana and misuse of pain relievers, #2 in use of methamphetamines, #4 in the use of cocaine and alcohol. Oregon ranks fourth in substance abuse disorders. Our youth are #2 nationally for the use of pot. What can be done to respond to the need for treatment?

We'll hear from Tiffany Brown, PhD and senior lecturer and clinical director at the University of Oregon's Couples and Family Therapy graduate program; Mike Marshall, co-founder and director of Oregon Recovers and in recovery himself; Teri Morgan, CADC II, program coordinator for Springfield Treatment Center and in recovery herself; and Reginald Richardson, Sr., PhD, executive director of the Oregon Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission.

View this episode on YouTube or on the City Club of Eugene Facebook page.

(This program aired on March 19, 2021)

 

Attack on the U.S. Capitol

The Jan. 6, 2021 invasion of the U.S. Capitol made it clear that extremism is part of our national politics. What does this mean for the republic and, in particular, the Republican Party?

This City Club of Eugene podcast episode features three experts to help us understand the motivations of the far right and what the movement means for our political future. Our speakers include investigative journalist David Neiwert; University of Oregon Professor Emerita Priscilla Southworth, an expert in political science; and University of Oregon Professor Peter Walker, who observed the Malheur Wildlife Refuge rebellion and wrote Sagebrush Collaboration about that occupation.

View this episode on YouTube or on the City Club of Eugene Facebook page.

(This program aired on March 12, 2021)

Designer Babies

If we use CRISPR technology to improve, modify, delete or add DNA to a fetus, have we benefited or harmed our species? In this episode, Dr. Francoise Baylis, a bioethicist, walks us through the safety, efficacy and ethics we should consider when creating designer babies.

Baylis is the 2021 Chair of the Wayne L. Morse Center for Law and Politics at the University of Oregon.

Watch this episode on YouTube or the City Club of Eugene Facebook page.

(This program was broadcast on Feb. 26, 2021)

Eviction: Losing House and Home in the Pandemic

An eviction is recognized as a property owner's nuclear option in attempting to solve owner-tenant disputes. While behavior may prompt delivery of an eviction notice, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted renters falling behind on paying rent.

In Lane County, one in three renters is paying more than half of their income for rent; in Oregon, one-quarter of renters are severely burdened by the cost of housing. More than half of BIPOC Oregonians owe back rent. During the pandemic, the Oregon Legislature imposed a moratorium on evictions, but it is set to expire.

House Bill 4401 provides assistance for renters and owners, and it extends the pandemic moratorium on evictions. For a look at evictions and the bill, City Club of Eugene invited three speakers: Rep. Julie Fahey, chair of the House Committee on Housing; Alison McIntosh, policy and communications director for Neighborhood Partnerships; and Jason Miller, legislative director of the Oregon Rental Housing Association.

Watch this program on City Club of Eugene's YouTube channel.

(This program was presented on Friday, Feb. 19, 2021)

This episode is the third of three focused on housing.

Affordable Housing

"Do the math, create the path."

The speakers in this episode discuss the barriers to affordable housing and some of the work-arounds that will help people achieve the American dream of home ownership. The path forward may include community land trusts, cooperative housing, limited equity cooperatives and more. The idea is to create affordability by design.

Speakers include Jeff Albanese, who works on developing affordable, shared-equity housing; Annie Fifield, Economic Strategies Manager for the City of Eugene; and Dylan Lamar, an architect focusing on sustainable and affordable in-fill housing.

Watch this program on City Club of Eugene's YouTube channel.

(This program was presented on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021)

This episode is the second of three focused on housing.

 

Missing Middle Housing: Citizen Involvement

Eugene is developing its implementation of Oregon House Bill 2001, which requires "missing middle" housing in Oregon cities. Part of the planning includes a deliberative planning review panel, consisting of randomly selected residents representing all demographics.

In this presentation, City Planner Teri Harding explains the concept of missing middle housing and the way that the city is approaching it. Two participating members of the review panel, Sam and Robert, join Harding to explain the process.

More information on the history of exclusionary zoning is available on the city's website.

This episode is the first of three focused on housing.

Watch this program on City Club of Eugene's YouTube channel.

(This program was presented on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021)

 

Recovery from the Holiday Farm Fire (2 of 2)

"Without the pure and bountiful McKenzie, we are, as Barry Lopez said, 'somehow a little bit less'." (Jeannine Parisi)

It's been months since the September 2020 devastating Holiday Farm Fire along the McKenzie River east of Eugene. City Club of Eugene checked in on the progress - or the lack of it - on clean up and rebuilding.

Three speakers gave us the status of their work and visions for the area's future: Heather Buch, Lane County's commissioner serving the fire area; Tim Laue, head of McKenzie Development Corporation, which focuses on recovery; and Jeannine Parisi, community and local government liaison for Eugene Water and Electric Board, which sources its water from the McKenzie River.

Watch this program on City Club of Eugene's YouTube channel.

(This program was presented on Jan. 29, 2021; Part 1 of this topic is also available)