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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 16, 2018)
4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2018 editor@dailyastorian.com KARI BORGEN Publisher JIM VAN NOSTRAND Editor Founded in 1873 JEREMY FELDMAN Circulation Manager DEBRA BLOOM Business Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN Production Manager CARL EARL Systems Manager OUR VIEW Press is not enemy of the people Every size publication plays a role in democracy EDITOR’S NOTE: The Daily Astorian is joining today with publications around the U.S. to issue a warning about the ongoing assault on America’s free and independent press, one of the paramount institutions enshrined in the Constitution. We stand together in defense of our profession and the vital role it plays in government for and by the people. N ews people are accustomed to having a complex relationship with public officials and the partisan citizens who side with them. In some ways, we are like the stereo- typed “Internal Affairs Division” in too many television cop shows. Just as Internal Affairs generates hisses by “policing the police,” in America a free press jousts with those in power, trying hard as we can to document their deeds, misdeeds, selflessness and self-dealing. While we work to objectively cover government, basic human nature inclines us toward feeling some sympa- thy toward those who share our inter- est in public service, along with disgust at those who abuse the public trust. We must constantly guard against becoming either too friendly or too cynical toward politicians and bureaucrats. It isn’t our job to be pals or foes. Most American journalism is intensely local. We report on what we know best — our own towns, counties and states. Our readers tend to be inter- ested in the same fundamental ques- tions. Can we afford the taxes that pol- iticians want? Are those taxes fair? How are they being spent? Are we safe? Do our kids have a decent future? Answering these questions — along with chronicling the day-to-day lives of our neighbors — is both our passion and how we make a living in this capitalist system. If we fail at this job, our readers and advertisers abandon us. At newspapers like The Daily Astorian, we have a strong sense of alli- ance with the public. Citizens ask for help nearly every day, ranging from answering obscure historical questions to investigating alleged criminality or official malfeasance. Our small staff takes every one of these requests seri- ously, sometimes responding with back- ground work that spans months — to the frustration of those who hope for quicker justice. Resulting coverage in recent years has included detailed reporting on the housing crunch and homelessness, man- agement turmoil between county com- missioners and the county manager, gaps in mental health and drug treat- ment, and data-driven examinations of the criminal justice system, among other topics important to our readers. Our family-owned newspaper group Newsboys gather in front of the Astoria Budget before their rounds in the 1920s. has partnered with another to dramati- cally increase news coverage of Oregon government in Salem. We constantly watch for other opportunities to be use- ful during a time of dramatic changes in the U.S. We’re proud of our work. But we’re the first to admit these efforts are not very remarkable in a nation that, despite our industry’s well-docu- mented economic challenges, still pos- sesses a vibrant and dedicated news corps. From one end of the U.S. to the other, journalists are engaged in a moment by moment quest to improve government accountability and tell the stories of this great land. The Daily Astorian and its sister newspapers in the Columbia-Pacific region aren’t your enemy. Neither is the rest of the American press. Be annoyed all you want at errors we make, or if we exhibit instances of bias, insensitivity or laziness. But don’t believe anybody who says we’re pursuing any agenda, other than digging out the truth and reporting it as well as we can. Most of all, we are proud of our com- munities. We stand shoulder to shoul- der with you in striving to keep alive the great American experiment in democ- racy. We need you with us. Self-governance demands that our citi- zens need to be well-informed and that’s what we’re here to do. We go beyond the government issued press release or brief- ing and ask tough questions. We hold people in power accountable for their actions. Some think we’re rude to ques- tion and challenge. We know it’s our obligation. People have been criticizing the press for generations. We are not perfect. But we’re striving every day to be a better version of ourselves than we were the day before. That’s why we welcome criticism. But unwarranted attacks that undermine your trust in us cannot stand. The prob- lem has become so serious that newspa- pers across the nation are speaking out against these attacks in one voice today on their editorial pages. As women’s rights pioneer and investigative journalist Ida B. Wells wrote in 1892: “The people must know before they can act and there is no educator to compare with the press.” GUEST EDITORIAL We’re standing up to bullying Public and press must work together to defend democracy W e’ve been complacent. We thought everybody knew how important a free press was to our world and that all this talk about us being the enemy of the people would be dismissed for the silliness that it is. But the reckless attacks have contin- ued — instigated and encouraged by our president. When the leader of the free world works to erode the public’s trust in the media, the potential for damage is enor- mous, both here and abroad. We once set an example of free and open government for the world to follow. Now those who seek to suppress the free flow of informa- tion are doing so with impunity. The time has come for us to stand up to the bullying. The role journalism plays in our free society is too crucial to allow this degradation to continue. We aren’t the enemy of the people. We are the people. We aren’t fake news. We are your news and we struggle night and day to get the facts right. On bitter cold January nights, we’re the people’s eyes and ears at town, vil- lage and school board meetings. We tell the stories of our communities, from the fun of a county fair to the despair a fam- ily faces when a loved one dies. We are always by your side. We shop the same stores, attend the same churches and hike the same trails. We struggle with daycare and worry about paying for retirement. In our work as journalists, our first loyalty is to you. Our work is guided by a set of principles that demand objectivity, independence, open-mindedness and the pursuit of the truth. We make mistakes, we know. There’s nothing we hate more than errors but we acknowledge them, correct them and learn from them. Our work is a labor of love because we love our country and believe we are playing a vital role in our democracy. A guest editorial from the New York Press Association, part of the nationwide defense of freedom of the press. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Thanks to Price for her public service T he news that Cindy Price is leaving the mayoral race due to family issues is a great disappointment (“Price withdraws from Astoria mayor’s race,” The Daily Astorian, Aug. 15). Over the past two decades, Cindy has proven herself worthy of the position of mayor by being a thoughtful and responsive city councilor and by her selfless volunteer work, which includes serving on the governing boards of Astoria Visual Arts, KMUN/Coast Community Radio, and the Astoria Ferry, and working night shifts at the Astoria Warming Center. Those of us who have volunteered alongside Cindy like and respect her immensely. We thank Cindy for her service, and wish her and her fam- ily the very best. The Astoria Visual Arts Board looks forward to reaping the benefits of her con- tinued service in the future. LISA SMITH Astoria Why can’t Astoria restrict fireworks? I ’m adding my name to the list of requests to limit fireworks. Each year, for several nights, many of us here on Irving Avenue are subjected to watching our pets being traumatized from the blasts of fireworks in our area, including all the wildlife and bird population, not to mention our veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) — there are more than you may realize. Many of the blasts are illegal, reaching dan- gerous heights, capable of starting fires in the dry brush. Each year we report the incidents to the police, only to be told that there were no incidents on arrival of the patrol cars. The inci- dents go on all night, especially from the Harri- son Circle area, the same places each year. We are fortunate to have an excellent display of fireworks at the East End Mooring Basin. Why can’t Astoria restrict fireworks in our neighborhoods, as other cities in Oregon do? TERRIE REMINGTON Astoria Paranoia or political expediency? G eorge Washington hired the Prussian gen- eral Friedrich Von Steuben to organize the colonial forces. He also hired the French Mar- quise De Lafayette, who was of significant assis- tance to Washington and the war effort. Neither was an American citizen. These, and many other foreign citizens, fought in the Colonial War. Whatever George Washington and the American Congress prom- ised them was honored. The 10,000 immigrants who enlisted in the U.S. military, starting with President George W. Bush, in order to improve their chances of citizenship, now find that prom- ise meaningless. There are some obvious sim- ilarities between the current administration’s handling of immigrant enlistees, and the way it was done during the height of the Cold War. The current administration’s requirement that the U.S. military discharge such immigrant enlist- ees is shabby, and reminds me of my own situa- tion in 1962. As a result of the paranoia created by Sen. Joseph McCarthy, I could not be promoted to staff sergeant or go to officer candidate school. Never mind the fact that I had defected from behind the Iron Curtain — I was suspect because I had contact with my mother and sib- lings in East Germany. Writing to them with my return address of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, might have been giving away secrets. It appears that there are certain similari- ties between the paranoia of the Cold War and the tactics of the current administration; except that our current policies on the subject are likely driven by political expediency, rather than for alleged reasons of national security. ERHARD GROSS Astoria We need to get out of our comfort zone T he other morning as I sat on a bench over- looking my “Walden Pond,” where Alder Creek flows into the mighty Columbia River, I got to pondering what are the keys to success and self-fulfillment, and what are some of the things that limit it. irst, a clue from the Bible: “Do not neglect the gift given you.” It’s there — “seek and you will find” it. Second, we all have gifts, but the sad thing is that many of us fail to use them. Why? Because, as Shakespeare said: “Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.” Third, we need to get out of our comfort zone and have the guts to share our unique gifts with others. We cheat ourselves, the world and our creator by not harvesting and sharing our unique gifts. A wise sage has this advice “Of all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these: ‘It might have been.’” So, if we start now and share our unique gifts, we won’t be faced with “it might have been,” and hopefully realize success. JIM BERNARD Warrenton F