Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 6, 2016)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian Page 2A Wednesday, July 6, 2016 BRIEFLY Poll on tax plan shows voter volatility By JIM REDDEN Capital Bureau A new poll on the corporate sales tax measure that will appear on the November ballot indicates that the proposal is not only controversial, but also volatile. The latest poll shows the measure, known as Initiative Petition 28, being supported by 65 percent of Oregon voters. However, a survey by iCitizen, a non-partisan public involvement company, also shows that supporters aren’t ixed in their viewpoint. Among those surveyed, 29 percent were “strongly” in favor of the measure, while 36 percent said they “somewhat” favored it. According to the poll of 555 regis- tered voters, which was conducted online, the tax is opposed by 19 percent of respondents, with 16 percent undecided. More than half of the “no” voters characterize their opposition as strong. ‘Very luid issue’ The iCitizen poll is one of at least three recently released polls on the tax proposal, and its results differ markedly from previous surveys that showed weaker support for the measure. A DHM Research poll done in May for Oregon Public Broadcasting and television station KPTV found 51 percent in favor, 32 percent opposed and 18 percent undecided. A poll released in June by Salem’s Action Solutions showed 41 percent would support IP28, with 23 percent opposed and 35 percent undecided. The questions in the three polls were also different. For example, the Action Solutions poll asked voters to respond to a short version of the ballot title. DHM Research asked voters to respond to a longer version of the title. The iCitizen poll paraphrased the title and summary, and also called it “the Business Tax Increase Initiative,” a term that will not appear on the ballot. Traditionally, support for ballot measures falls as campaigns get underway. The iCitizen poll found that IP28 support drops sharply (partic- ularly among Republican voters) if respondents are offered an opposing argument. Although the tax could provide needed funding for popular state programs, support drops to 55 percent if respondents are told oppo- nents claim the additional tax burden will hurt businesses in Oregon. “This is a very luid issue,” says Mark Keida, iCitizen’s director of research. He said the language explaining the measure that will appear on the ballot is favorable to supporters. But, he noted, “Support disappears fast if an opposition argument is mentioned.” Rebecca Tweed, who is helping lead opposition to IP28 as campaign coordinator for Defeat the Tax on Oregon Sales, found the poll hard to believe. “This poll is dramatically inconsistent with other public polling, including polls the Portland Tribune has published previously. “As the nonpartisan Legislative Revenue Ofice made clear in its IP28 analysis last month, the bulk of this $6 billion tax on Oregon sales will be passed on to consumers through higher prices for groceries, medicine, elec- tricity, gas, insurance, phone services — essentials people buy every day. The more Oregonians learn about IP28, the less they like it.” Asked to comment on the new poll, Katherine Driessen, press secretary for the IP28 campaign committee, said, “When you look across the country, Oregon is dead last in corporate taxes. Oregon voters know that if we are going to inally improve our badly underfunded schools and critical services, large, out-of-state corpora- tions are going to have to start paying their fair share.” What is IP28? The initiative has been certiied for the November election but not yet been given the measure number that will appear on voters’ ballots. It is sponsored by a coalition of labor, social justice and small business orga- nizations called Our Oregon. It would impose a 2.5 percent tax on the sales of “C” corporations that exceed $25 million a year, generating an estimated $3 billion a year in additional tax revenue. The measure says the funds are to be spent on education, health care and senior services, although the Legislature could change that. Our Oregon is supported largely by public employee unions, including the Oregon Education Association. The measure is opposed by much of the business community, including the Portland Business Alliance and the Westside Economic Alliance. A report released in May by the Legislative Revenue Ofice found it would slow income, employment and population growth during the next ive years. Among other things, the report said IP28 would be equivalent to a $600 per person tax increase each year. The Legislative Revenue Ofice also found that, although only about 1,000 corporations would pay the additional tax, they account for 88 percent of the corporate retail trade in Oregon. Utili- ties such as Portland General Electric and large grocery and department stores would be among the entities required to pay the tax. The iCitizen poll showed support for IP28 is strongest among Demo- crats, men and young voters. Young voters are the least likely to return their ballots. When the opposition argument is added, support for IP28 drops among all demographic categories, but espe- cially among Republicans (from 47 percent to 29 percent). Pollsters also gauged support for three other ballot measures headed for the November ballot. Initiative Petition 68 would prohibit the sale in Oregon of products made from 12 types of exotic or endangered animals. Backers of the measure, known as the Wildlife Tracking Prevention Act, expect to submit more than enough signatures to place the measure on the ballot in the coming days. The iCitizen survey found 85 percent of respondents favored the measure. Responses to the other two proposals were far less conclusive. The poll found that 50 percent of respon- dents oppose Senate Joint Resolution 4, a legislative referral to remove the mandatory retirement age for judges in the state, which is 75. Only 36 percent support it, while 15 percent are unsure. Interestingly, older voters were the most likely to support keeping the mandatory retirement age. Initiative Petition 49, which would restrict the Legislature’s use of emergency clauses on legislation has support from 35 percent of voters polled, but even more (39 percent) are unsure. The iCitizen online poll of 555 regis- tered Oregon voters was conducted between June 23 and 27. The data were weighed to U.S. Census benchmarks for gender, age, region, education, income, and race. The margin of error for the full sample was plus or minus 4 percent. The company conducting the poll, iCitizen, was founded in 2012 as a social networking service focused on civic engagement. It envisioned a nonpartisan civic engagement app where people could ind information, be heard and work together with their representatives to create an impact in their communities. The company was relaunched in January 2016 with a broader vision to help citizens, repre- sentatives, candidates, organizations, schools and companies strengthen their relationships with their communities and one another. The company’s vice president of state government relations is former Washington County Republican state Sen. Bruce Starr. (Starr is a co-sponsor of the proposed Wildlife Tracking Prevention Act.) Another Oregon connection is former state Rep. Derrick Kitts, who is iCitizen’s vice president for government relations To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to www.eastoregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday and Dec. 25, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Single copy price: $1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday THURSDAY Partly sunny and nice Partly sunny and pleasant 80° 55° 82° 58° FRIDAY SATURDAY Not as warm with a shower or two Mostly cloudy, a shower or two SUNDAY Mostly cloudy, breezy and cool PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 78° 56° 71° 52° 68° 52° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 84° 57° 85° 61° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 77° 86° 107° (2007) 53° 57° 38° (1932) PRECIPITATION 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date 0.00" Trace 0.05" 6.52" 5.00" 7.66" HERMISTON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE Yesterday Normals Records HIGH LOW 80° 86° 108° (1968) 58° 57° 42° (2012) PRECIPITATION 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date 0.00" 0.00" 0.04" 4.64" 3.16" 5.77" SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today First Full July 11 July 19 5:13 a.m. 8:47 p.m. 7:52 a.m. 10:15 p.m. Last New July 26 77° 57° 75° 57° Seattle 73/58 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 83° 59° Aug 2 Today Spokane Wenatchee 74/54 81/60 Tacoma Moses 73/56 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 82/55 73/45 67/56 73/54 85/58 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 74/57 81/60 Lewiston 85/57 Astoria 81/55 68/56 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 77/61 Pendleton 72/45 The Dalles 84/57 80/55 83/61 La Grande Salem 76/46 80/58 Albany Corvallis 79/54 81/55 John Day 79/50 Ontario Eugene Bend 85/55 83/52 76/45 Caldwell Burns 83/51 79/44 Astoria Baker City Bend Brookings Burns Enterprise Eugene Heppner Hermiston John Day Klamath Falls La Grande Meacham Medford Newport North Bend Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Redmond Salem Spokane Ukiah Vancouver Walla Walla Yakima Hi 68 75 76 64 79 72 83 78 84 79 79 76 73 88 63 66 85 84 80 77 80 80 74 73 76 81 85 Lo 56 42 45 52 44 45 52 52 57 50 45 46 42 57 53 55 55 57 55 61 46 58 54 43 59 60 58 W pc pc pc s pc pc s pc s pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc s pc pc pc s pc pc pc pc s Today Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Lo 57 50 50 53 51 52 56 55 61 58 50 56 52 61 53 55 63 61 58 60 50 59 57 52 60 62 57 W sh pc pc pc pc pc c pc pc pc s pc pc pc c sh pc pc pc c pc c pc pc c pc pc Lo 66 84 68 57 53 57 53 68 69 56 74 W s t s pc t c pc s sh pc pc Thu. Hi 94 92 86 69 75 66 76 87 82 65 88 Lo 71 84 68 59 54 52 58 68 70 54 74 W pc t s pc t c s s pc sh pc WINDS Medford 88/57 (in mph) Klamath Falls 79/45 Boardman Pendleton REGIONAL FORECAST Coastal Oregon: Clouds giving way to some sun today, but sunny to partly cloudy in the south. Eastern and Central Oregon: Partly sunny and beautiful today. Mainly clear tonight. Partly sunny tomorrow. Western Washington: Clouds giving way to some sun today. Increasing amounts of clouds tonight. Eastern Washington: A shower near the Idaho border and in the mountains today; mostly sunny elsewhere. Cascades: Partly sunny today. Partly cloudy tonight. Partly sunny tomorrow. Northern California: Low clouds followed by sunshine at the coast today; plenty of sunshine elsewhere. Today Thursday WSW 4-8 W 6-12 WSW 7-14 W 7-14 UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. 2 5 7 Classiied & Legal Advertising 1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678 classiieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com NEWS • To submit news tips and press releases: • call 541-966-0818 • fax 541-276-8314 • email news@eastoregonian.com • To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News: email community@eastoregonian.com or call Tammy Malgesini at 541-564-4539 or Renee Struthers in at 541-966-0818. • To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries: email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit www.eastoregonian. com/community/announcements • To submit a Letter to the Editor: mail to Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com. • To submit sports or outdoors information or tips: 541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com 7 5 COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Mike Jensen 541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. WORLD CITIES Hi 94 90 85 68 73 69 71 84 79 63 82 EUGENE (AP) — A lumber mill west of Eugene has been on high alert since learning that an environmental group may have put metal spikes inside some of its logs. The Register-Guard reports that some environmentalists turned to such tactics during logging debates in the 1990s. They’d pound the spikes into live trees, making them potentially dangerous for loggers to cut down. A group called SAP claimed on an Earth First! website that it placed spikes in logs at the Swanson Brothers mill on June 11. Swanson Brothers president Larry Konnie says the mill operated as usual for two days before learning about SAP’s claim. He says no one has found any spikes. The editor of Earth First! Newswire says the people behind the website don’t know who is involved with SAP. NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Thu. Hi 65 83 79 64 84 80 75 81 85 87 82 82 78 89 61 65 92 85 82 72 80 72 76 78 71 83 81 Group claims to have sabotaged lumber mill’s logs Corrections REGIONAL CITIES Forecast Phillips and Oficer Stephen Anderson went to Johnson’s room and took cover in the hallway when confronted with the realistic-looking gun. Prosecutors say Johnson followed into the hallway with the weapon in a shooting position. Phillips told Johnson to stop and get on the loor, and ired when Johnson continued approaching him. Phillips shot Johnson multiple times. Johnson was treated at a Spokane hospital and jailed four days later on assault charges. The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818. Multimedia Consultants • Jeanne Jewett 541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com • Terri Briggs 541-278-2678 • tbriggs@eastoregonian.com • Dayle Stinson 541-966-0806 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com • Stephanie Newsom 541-278-2687 • snewsom@eastoregonian.com • Audra Workman 541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • Chris McClellan 541-966-0802 • cmcclellan@eastoregonian.com • Amanda Jacobs 541-278-2863 • ajacobs@eastoregonian.com Copyright © 2016, EO Media Group TODAY SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The Spokane County Prosecutor’s Ofice says a Spokane police oficer was justiied in shooting a man who was pointing a BB gun at him at a motel. The Spokesman-Review reports the prosecutor’s ofice said Tuesday it was reasonable for Oficer Shane Phillips to use deadly force on May 2. Authorities say Aaron Johnson had called 911 several times to say a roommate was threatening him with weapons. ADVERTISING Advertising Director: Jennine Perkinson 541-278-2683 • jperkinson@eastoregonian.com SUBSCRIPTION RATES Local home delivery Savings off cover price EZPay $14.50 41 percent 52 weeks $173.67 41 percent 26 weeks $91.86 38 percent 13 weeks $47.77 36 percent *EZ Pay = one-year rate with a monthly credit or debit card/check charge www.eastoregonian.com Prosecutor: Spokane police oficer justiied in shooting man What’s iCitizen? Didn’t receive your paper? Call 1-800-522-0255 before noon Tuesday through Friday or before 10 a.m. Saturday for same-day redelivery 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Ofice hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays PORTLAND (AP) — The Oregon Court of Appeals has decided to reconsider a lawsuit against the state that was dismissed in April over its decision last year to remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list. The decision Tuesday means environmentalists will have another chance to argue for a judicial review of the delisting decision, which they say was premature. They may also challenge the validity of House Bill 4040, the controversial new law that prompted the court to toss the case. The bill was among the most controversial issues this year at the Legislature. It was crafted to block the lawsuit by upholding the delisting decision into state law and therefore render moot the request for judicial review, which environmentalists say could be unconstitutional. State oficials did not immediately respond for comment. Support for three more Subscriber services: For home delivery, vacation stops or delivery concerns: 1-800-522-0255 — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — Wolf delisting lawsuit against Oregon reinstated 2 8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m. 0-2, Low 3-5, Moderate 6-7, High; 8-10, Very High; 11+, Extreme The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num- ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection. Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2016 -10s -0s showers t-storms 0s 10s rain 20s flurries 30s 40s snow ice 50s 60s cold front 70s 80s 90s 100s warm front stationary front 110s high low National Summary: Locally drenching storms will affect the Southeast and Midwest today with severe weather over the central and northern Plains. Storms will frequent the northern Rockies with spotty storms farther south. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 111° in Needles, Calif. Low 30° in Bodie State Park, Calif. NATIONAL CITIES Today Albuquerque Atlanta Atlantic City Baltimore Billings Birmingham Boise Boston Charleston, SC Charleston, WV Chicago Cleveland Dallas Denver Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Fargo Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Jacksonville Kansas City Las Vegas Little Rock Los Angeles Hi 96 88 86 91 79 89 82 90 97 84 90 92 99 93 91 101 64 84 86 96 86 96 93 103 95 77 Lo 67 73 74 73 53 76 57 70 79 71 70 72 79 57 71 77 55 63 75 80 73 75 76 79 80 64 W s t pc t t t s s t t t pc pc s t s sh t pc pc t s pc s pc pc Thur. Hi 95 92 86 94 82 94 90 82 97 83 86 87 99 88 87 100 69 77 86 97 86 98 94 104 96 79 Lo 66 76 74 74 57 77 62 65 79 71 72 72 80 58 71 76 54 60 74 80 74 76 71 79 81 65 W pc t t t pc pc pc t t t t pc s pc t pc c r s s t s s s s pc Today Hi Louisville 90 Memphis 94 Miami 92 Milwaukee 85 Minneapolis 85 Nashville 90 New Orleans 96 New York City 92 Oklahoma City 98 Omaha 93 Philadelphia 94 Phoenix 107 Portland, ME 86 Providence 93 Raleigh 90 Rapid City 85 Reno 89 Sacramento 86 St. Louis 91 Salt Lake City 90 San Diego 72 San Francisco 67 Seattle 73 Tucson 100 Washington, DC 92 Wichita 101 Lo 75 79 80 68 69 76 81 76 76 72 78 83 60 70 73 56 57 56 78 64 63 55 58 77 77 79 W t t pc t pc t pc pc pc pc pc s pc s t t s s t s pc pc pc s t s Thur. Hi 89 96 92 80 83 94 95 93 98 89 95 107 74 89 92 78 91 83 94 92 72 67 66 99 93 101 Lo 77 81 79 67 64 77 81 76 76 68 78 85 59 71 75 51 59 54 79 70 65 55 59 77 77 75 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. W t s s t t t t t s t t s pc t t pc s s t s pc pc sh pc t s