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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 23, 2017)
UFOs STILL EVASIVE 70 YEARS AFTER PILOT’S TOUCHSTONE REPORT 144TH YEAR, NO. 256 WEEKEND BREAK • PAGE 1C ONE DOLLAR WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017 Homebuilders respond to housing scarcity Warrenton is site of over 500 units in the pipeline By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Dale Barrett, a surveyor with Otak Inc., recently walked along an overgrown dirt road on the western edge of War- renton, pointing out lots and the occasional abandoned home- less camp. The road could one day be the main artery through Fort Pointe, a proposed hous- ing development hugging Ridge Road south of the KOA camp- ground with up to 150 homes and a similar number of apartments. Fort Pointe is the largest of several pro- posed and approved housing develop- ments on the ridges and hills around War- renton, as homebuild- ers respond to the housing short- age and an improving economy. According to Skip Urling, Warrenton’s planning direc- tor, myriad projects are in the works, ranging from Fort Pointe and smaller subdivisions to several new apartment complexes . “By my count, there’s some- thing like over 500 dwelling units that are in the pipeline,” Urling said, adding many are in the application or conversation phases. See HOUSING, Page 7A Antoine Simmons/Submitted Graphic Antoine Simmons is planning the Skipanon Riv- er Apartments with approximately 37 units at the corner of First Street and Skipanon Drive. AT REPAIR CAFE, NEW LIFE FOR BROKEN STUFF THE FIX IS ON Dems give up on new biz taxes Path forward on transportation By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Harold Gable sharpens a knife at a recent Repair Cafe event . The gatherings feature people who repair a wide variety of tools, appliances and other items, so customers don’t have to throw them away and purchase replacements. Volunteers help repair broken or worn-out items By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian T ake some broken stuff, add a skilled assortment of volunteer tinkerers, menders, builders and all-purpose fi xers and you get Repair Cafe: a monthly event where your items get a second, third or even fourth chance at a useful life. People with broken electronics, torn clothes, dull knives and even, memorably, a shattered ceramic cobra have turned to Repair Cafe. A group of volunteers, all skilled in various crafts, work alone or together to fi x the items for free. See REPAIR CAFE, Page 6A SALEM — Major changes to the way Oregon taxes businesses won’t materialize before the Legislature adjourns, the governor and top legisla- tive leadership said Thursday. The announcement comes after several weeks of height- ened revenue discussions at the Legislature, and months of disagree- MORE ment between busi- INSIDE ness and labor groups over how the state Tax package should tax businesses failure could after a divisive ballot pave way for transportation measure campaign. bill. The decision effectively tables Page 3A reforms to the state’s public pension system and “clears a path forward” for a major transporta- tion funding package, said Gov. Kate Brown. It also means that a state hiring freeze will continue and that legisla- tion attempting to curb the costs of state government from education to forestry will likely advance. Brown, state Senate Presi- dent Peter Courtney, D-Salem, and Speaker of the House Tina Kotek, D-Portland, say structural changes to the state’s tax system will have to wait until the next long legislative session in 2019. The Legislature meets for approx- imately fi ve-month long sessions in every odd-numbered year, alternat- ing with short month-long sessions in even-numbered years, and is constitu- tionally required to fi nish its business — primarily, balancing the state bud- get — by July 10. With a $1.4 billion gap between projected revenue and expenses in the next two-year budget, only partially closed with the Legislature’s passage Wednesday of a new tax on health Harold Gable hones the edge of a kitchen knife at a recent Repair Cafe event. See TAXES, Page 7A Storytelling through the state’s parks on the North Coast Arch Cape native Deur on state parks commission By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian ARCH CAPE — When Arch Cape native Doug Deur thinks about his life on the North Coast, time spent in Oregon State Parks seems to be a common thread between his memories. “I grew up with state parks on the coast,” Deur said. “My family has been in this area for generations. My grandpar- ents watched these parks being built — they saved their gas rations to go to Ecola during World War II. Every time a baby was born, photos would be taken at Hug Point.” Between those personal connections and a career study- ing national state parks history and North Coast cultural heri- tage as a professor at Portland State University, stepping up as the new coast representative on the Oregon Parks and Rec- reation Department Commis- sion seemed like a natural fi t. Road to commission Deur has replaced Can- non Beach resident Robin Ris- Maya Dooley/ Submitted Photo Doug Deur ley on the commission after she reached her eight-year term limit. The commission establishes policies, sets fees, acquires property and pro- motes the state ’s outdoor rec- reation policy, among other tasks. Commissioners serve four- year terms and are appointed by the governor, then con- fi rmed by the state Senate. There are two other new com- missioners starting their terms with Deur: Steve Grasty, rep- resenting Burns, and Victoria Berger, representing Salem. When Risley came near the end of her term in May, mem- bers of the North Coast com- munity started encouraging him to apply for her spot, Deur said. “It’s about my personal connection to Oregon parks. I feel like all Oregon citizens have an obligation to take care of parks so future generations can see these same places I enjoyed and my grandparents enjoyed,” he said. “It was an offer I could not refuse.” Deur has been studying North Coast history for years, which included publishing “Empires of the Turning Tide.” The book, published and funded by the National Park Service, details the creation of the parks and tells the stories of the relationship between these places and indigenous people. See DEUR, Page 7A