The Festival
of Dark Arts
Bowpicker to
head home soon
COAST WEEKEND
BUSINESS • 4A
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015
142nd YEAR, No. 162
ONE DOLLAR
Gov. Kitzhaber rethinks resignation
Says he won’t resign, despite rumors to the contrary
clear, three people with direct knowledge
of the situation said Wednesday.
They said the Democratic governor in-
formed some of his aides on Sunday that
SALEM— Embattled Oregon Gov. he was going to resign and on Tuesday he
John Kitzhaber had reached a decision asked his would-be successor, Secretary of
to resign because of an ethics scandal State Kate Brown, to rush back from a con-
VXUURXQGLQJ KLP DQG KLV ¿DQFpH EXW KH ference in Washington D.C. They spoke to
changed his mind for reasons that are un- The Associated Press on condition of ano-
By PETER WONG AND HILLARY
BORRUD
Capital Bureau
nymity because they were not authorized
to talk about private discussions.
Brown’s abrupt and unexplained return to
Oregon sparked speculation that Kitzhaber
planned to quit. Hours later, Kitzhaber is-
sued a statement saying he would stay put.
“Let me be as clear as I was last week,
that I have no intention of resigning as
governor of the state of Oregon,” he said
MORE INSIDE
Read a timeline of ethics issues
surrounding Gov. Kitzhaber on
Page 10A.
in a statement Wednesday. “I was elect-
ed to do a job for the people of this great
state and I intend to continue to do so.”
See KITZHABER, Page 10A
Take a hike for your heart
Gov. John A.
Kitzhaber
Partial
port
closure
looms
Contract talks
stall, impacting
Port of Astoria
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
Interpretive Park Ranger Sally Freeman walks the Netul River Trail at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park Wednesday. Freeman and
Cardiologist Dr. Robert Morse will lead a 2-mile hike through the trail as part of the Heart Health Hike program Feb. 28.
National park brings doctor along
on free Heart Healthy Hike
By KYLE SPURR
The Daily Astorian
W
ARRENTON — When it
comes to heart health, doc-
tors agree one of the best
preventative measures a person can do
is take a hike.
Clatsop County residents have a
rare opportunity with miles of state and
national park trails, waterfront paths
and other various routes to get moving
outside.
Scott Tucker, Lewis and Clark Na-
tional Historical Park superintendent,
saw an obvious connection between
his park and the health of the local
community.
Tucker is taking action this month
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a 2-mile hike led by Providence Sea-
side Cardiologist Dr. Robert Morse
and Interpretive Park Ranger Sally
Freeman.
The free hike will take place at 1
p.m. Feb. 28.
“We can provide a link for the com-
munity for health and well-being,”
Tucker said. “I started this conversa-
tion last summer with local residents.
People don’t realize they can go for a
walk, a run or a hike and completely
disappear in the trees. Sciences has
proven getting fresh air is good for
you.”
Morse will host a presentation in
the Netul River Room at the park’s
visitor center before the hike. He will
discuss the risk factors for cardiovas-
cular disease. After talking about heart
health, Morse and Freeman will lead
the group from the visitor center along
the Netul River Trail.
The trail passes many highlights of
the park including Fort Clatsop, where
Lewis and Clark camped two centuries
ago, and the Colewort Creek Resto-
ration Project, where wetlands are be-
ing restored in old pastures.
Freeman, a local park ranger for
the past 25 years, said she will answer
questions and share some history along
GET MOVING
Lewis and Clark
National Historical
Park hosts the first
“Heart Healthy Hike,” at
1 p.m. Feb. 28. The free,
2-mile hike will be led
by Providence Seaside
Cardiologist Dr. Robert
Morse and Interpretive
Park Ranger Sally Free-
man. Morse will speak
about the risk factors of
cardiovascular disease
prior to the hike. After
the hike, participants
will enjoy refreshments.
Providence Seaside will
have gifts and a prize
drawing.
Those interested in
attending are asked
to register by calling
800-562-8964.
See HIKE, Page 10A
Amid an increasingly damaging
labor dispute, 29 West Coast seaports,
which handle about $1 trillion of goods
annually, will be mostly closed four of
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members, citing what they characterize
as “severely diminished productivity,”
announced Wednesday they are shutting
down vessel operations Thursday, Satur-
day, Sunday and Monday to avoid pay-
ing longshoremen holiday or weekend
rates. Yard operations are still allowed.
That includes the Bunun Fortune,
still moored next to Pier 1 at the Port
of Astoria. The ship was expected to be
loaded and gone by Tuesday, Port Direc-
tor of Business Development and Oper-
ations Mike Weston said last week.
“By looking at where things are
right now, it’s a couple more days,”
Port Executive Director Jim Knight
said today, adding that logs are still be-
ing moved from Pier 3 to Pier 1 to be
staged for export.
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three log ships in close succession. The
next is the African Swan, scheduled to
arrive noon Wednesday.
No special pay
“Weekend and holiday pay rates
command a premium of at least 50 (per-
cent) of the basic longshore wage rate,”
the PMA said in its release Wednesday.
“As a result, working hours on those
days would be paid at between $54 and
$75 per hour for longshore workers and
clerks, and between $77 and $92 per
hour for foremen. PMA members have
concluded that they will not conduct
vessel operations on those dates, paying
full shifts of ILWU workers such high
rates for severely diminished productiv-
ity while the backlog of cargo at West
Coast ports grows.”
See PORT, Page 10A
Hanjin carrier pullout ‘devastating’ to ag exporters
By MATEUSZ
PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
PORTLAND — The loss of a
major ocean carrier at the Port of
Portland will effectively eliminate
export opportunities for some ag-
ricultural shippers, experts say.
“This is a very devastating
blow,” said Bill Wyatt, the port’s
executive director during a Feb.
11 port commission meeting.
Farm products — including
peas, lentils, beans, french fries,
grass seed, potatoes, onions and
hay — are commonly shipped
from the port to Asian markets.
With the Hanjin shipping
line no longer calling on Port-
land, those exporters will now
have to spend up to $800 more
per container to truck those
crops to ports in Seattle and Ta-
coma, Wyatt said.
For some shippers, the cost
of getting farm goods to port
will now exceed the price of
ocean freight, he said.
“Some of these commodi-
ties cannot bear the added cost
because they would not be com-
petitive,” Wyatt said. “For peo-
ple who depend on the service
for their business interests, this
is very consequential.”
Hanjin, a carrier that shipped
farm products from Portland
to South Korea and China, an-
nounced it will stop calling the
port on March 9.
A dispute between the long-
shoremen’s union and the termi-
nal operator, ICTSI Oregon, has
negatively impacted productivity
at Portland’s container terminal.
Via Wikimedia Commons
Hanjin Olso passes under the Astoria Bridge, heading up-
river to the Port of Portland in 2006.
The port and operator
blame work slowdowns by the
International Longshore and
Warehouse Union, while long-
shoremen claim inadequate
equipment and safety problems
are causing the problem.
Hanjin was caught in the
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ed to discontinue service rather
than endure further costly de-
lays, said Wyatt.
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pull the plug. They just couldn’t
take it any longer,” he said. “It
was obvious something had to
give, and something did.”
Hanjin’s looming departure
will affect agricultural exporters
beyond the immediate vicinity
of Portland and Oregon’s Willa-
mette Valley, said Josh Thomas,
marine media relations manager
for the port.
Container barges deliver
farm goods to Portland from
Lewiston, Idaho, providing a
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to trucks for shippers in North-
east Oregon, Southeast Wash-
ington and Western Idaho, he
said.
“Those connections have
always been a selling point,”
Thomas said.
See CARRIER, Page 10A