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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 6, 2019)
4A FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019 The Observer OTHER VIEWS FROM THE ALBANY DEMOCRAT-HERALD Special session? Sure, but keep it focused Gov. Kate Brown says she’s ready to call for a special legisla- tive session to make sure that a new law limiting the use of the death penalty won’t apply to old cases. During a telephone call with reporters last week, Brown added some asterisks: She said she would call for the ses- sion if one of the law’s key supporters, Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, is able to craft the language for what she called a “very narrow fi x” for the bill and if there was enough support for the fi x to pass in the Legislature. The likely time for such a session would be during the week of Sept. 16, when legislative committees are scheduled to meet anyway. In general, it’s wise for these special sessions to be tightly focused and very limited in their scope: This isn’t the time, for example, for proponents of cap-and-trade carbon legislation to renew their case, even though some advocates are kick- ing around that possibility. (Besides, that effort should await efforts by the governor to reach out to the rural portions of Oregon where opposition to the cap-and-trade measure crys- tallized.) In any event, Prozanski has his work cut out for him over the next couple of weeks: Even though this looks like it should be a relatively easy fi x, the path to fi xing the death penalty bill, Senate Bill 1013, faces a number of potential pitfalls — as we learned during the last days of this year’s legislative session. The bill in question was ingeniously structured to limit the crimes for which the death penalty can be invoked without referring the question to voters. Under Oregon law, only the crime of “aggravated murder” can be punished by death. Sen- ate Bill 1013 reduces the number of crimes that qualify as aggravated murder. Under the terms of the bill, aggravated murder can only be charged in cases in which a defendant kills two or more people as an act of organized terrorism; kills a child younger than 14 intentionally and with premeditation; kills another person while incarcerated for a previous aggra- vated murder; or kills a law enforcement offi cer. Other crimes that used to be included on the list of aggravated murder are now classifi ed as “fi rst-degree murder,” and the maximum penalty for those is life imprisonment without parole. Most legislators and the governor, who signed the bill, be- lieved that it wasn’t intended to be retroactive; that is, it would not apply to the 30 inmates on Oregon’s death row. But legal analysts determined that it could apply to death row cases which were returned to lower courts for retrial or new sentenc- ing hearings — and that could affect those 30 cases, since not of them has exhausted their appeals. Prozanski said last week that he will press for the bill to apply only in cases when the crime is committed after Sept. 29 of this year, which would seem to be suffi cient to clear up any misinterpretation. Whether he can get the necessary votes to move the fi x quickly through a special session, however, is not at all clear. Republican legislators last week were not encouraging. House Republican Leader Carl Wilson of Grants Pass said that rush- ing the bill through the Legislature in a “compressed process” is the “last thing we should do in this situation.” Wilson said the best bet might be to repeal the bill. But it seems doubtful that Republicans have the votes to do that, unless a suffi cient number of Democrats are steamed about being misinformed about the retroactive nature of the bill. The best course available to legislators now is to give Prozan- ski some running room to fi x the bill. If he succeeds at that task on a very tight time frame, legislators should approve the fi x. But the discussion shouldn’t end there: Legislators should work in next year’s short session on referring the broader question to voters: Should Oregon do away with the death pen- alty entirely? It’s time to the let Oregon citizens join this vital debate. B2H project faces strong opposition from Eastern Oregon S tiff opposition led by the STOP B2H Coalition has directly challenged Idaho Power’s quest to build the Boardman to Hemingway transmission line and condemn Eastern Oregon lands. The Oregon Department of Energy received about a thousand public comments on the B2H by the Aug. 22 dead- line, according to the ODOE staff. This was the fi nal deadline for the public, state agencies and local governments to fi le comments on the B2H within the state’s permit- ting process. STOP B2H’s comments on this controversial 300-mile 250-foot- wide clear-cut through fi ve Eastern Oregon counties cover a wide range of non-compliant issues and concerns, so many that the STOP B2H Coalition claims Oregon’s state siting standards cannot be met; therefore the project is not permittable. Idaho Power, and its partners, Pacifi c Corp and Bonneville Power Administration, stand to gain huge profi ts on the backs of rate-payers for at least 30 years. In addition to the guaranteed 6.7% rate of return on construction investments ($1.2 billion), there is a profi t incentive to overbuild the transmission line so additional fees can be charged to move surplus energy to the energy imbalance market for shareholder profi t. Idaho Power might be able to justify its interest in 21% the project, but the full B2H project does not meet the “need standard” under Oregon’s statutes and administrative rules for a project of this nature. The state must deny the project. A blanket exemption to the state noise standards is being requested by Idaho Power. Meanwhile 36 Or- egonians’ homes will exceed these standards if this line is ever built. Furthermore, corona noise model- ing protocols were not followed correctly in at least 83 additional residences and two recreation ar- eas. Threatened fi sh (like bull trout and Chinook salmon) and plants (like those in state Rare Plant pro- gram) went conveniently unnoticed or unstudied by Idaho Power and ODOE but are identifi ed by STOP B2H in its comments. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Stopped account balances less than $5 will be refunded upon request. Subscription rates per month: By carrier...............................................$11.80 By mail, all other U.S. .............................. $15 A division of My Voice The STOP B2H Coalition has a stated purpose to “fi ght the proposed B2H transmission line through NE Oregon.” My Voice columns should be 500 to 750 words. Submissions should include a portrait-type photograph of the author. Authors also should include their full name, age, occupation and relevant organizational memberships. Send columns to La Grande Observer, 1406 Fifth St., La Grande 97850, fax them to 541-963-7804 or email them to news@lagrandeobserver.com. required of any property owner in the counties. Weeds, increased vandalism and fire risks are not the only problem that would be caused by the ex- tensive land disturbance. Carbon will be released with the cutting of mature timber and the disturbance of 5,704.5 acres of vegetative cover. This is a clear violation of Oregon’s Climate Goals, and it is not even being measured or assessed. The release of carbon and loss of sequestration potential (from land disturbance, soil mitigations, timber and vegetative removal, slash burning, etc.) causing the long-term removal of “carbon sinks” from the environmental (ability of soils and plants to absorb more car- bon than released as carbon dioxide) are not part of the current ODOE standards and they should be. The full set of comments from the STOP B2H Coalition can be found at www.stopb2h.org. Idaho Power has 30 days to respond to the public’s tes- timony and written comments (the hearing transcripts can be found on the ODOE-B2H website). The writ- ten public comments will be avail- able soon, according to ODOE. First, they will publish a spreadsheet with a list of commenters. The comment- ing public should review this list to be sure that ODOE received your comments. If not, you are advised to contact ODOE immediately. As one can imagine with processing 1,000 comments, oversights are likely to occur. STAFF Phone: SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE NEWSSTAND PRICE: $1.50 You can save up to 34% off the single-copy price with home delivery. Call 541-963-3161 to subscribe. The irreplaceable Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, Blue Moun- tain Crossing and Morgan Lake and Hilgard State Parks and campgrounds will be invaded by the sight and the noise of crack- ling transmission towers. And the beautiful Grande Ronde Valley viewshed could be transformed into an industrial eyesore. Por- tions of the route, on the west hills of the Grande Ronde Valley, would be built on a fault line with known landslides underneath towers violating geologic and soil standards. Blasting above known slides, the Grande Ronde Hospital, domestic wells and neighborhoods were some of the concerns raised by STOP B2H as well as many private residents in the area. Fire risks are another big con- cern, particularly in La Grande, where the proposed route will come within half a mile of town, the hospital, grade schools and densely populated neighborhoods. Climate and drought-stressed forests cou- pled with images of Paradise, Cali- fornia, and electric transmission weigh heavy on the minds of the residents of these neighborhoods. STOP B2H contends that the Draft Fire Prevention and Suppression Plan is totally unacceptable. If the B2H is ever built, the 1,200 towers could carry 500MW of energy, for which tariffs can be charged, raising the cost of renewable energy and adding to the company’s profi t. Towers will vary in height from 130 to 190 feet. More than 430 miles of new and substantially modifi ed roads would be carved and bladed across the landscape on predominantly private lands. These new roads and the full 670 miles of access roads will create a weed infestation that will decimate native plant com- munities and cost farmers, private landowners, conservation proper- ties and counties millions of dollars. After the fi rst fi ve years of weed monitoring, Idaho Power claims no further responsibility. The Noxious Weed Plan is inadequate. Counties are also demanding that the state require Idaho Power to maintain responsibility for weeds for the life of the project — just as it would be 541-963-3161 An independent newspaper founded in 1896 (USPS 299-260) The Observer reserves the right to adjust subscription rates by giving prepaid and mail subscribers 30 days notice. Periodicals postage paid at La Grande, Oregon 97850. Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (except Dec. 25) by EO Media Group, 1406 Fifth St., La Grande, OR 97850 (USPS 299-260) COPYRIGHT © 2019 THE OBSERVER The Observer retains ownership and copyright protection of all staff-prepared news copy, advertising copy, photos and news or ad illustrations. They may not be reproduced without explicit prior approval. 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