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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2021)
8B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD THuRSDAY, FEBRuARY 18, 2021 COFFEE BREAK Crabby distant relative is an unwelcome freeloader DEAR ABBY: My husband is an amazing guy. We have a very nice life except for an older sort-of family member who is living with us. “Nathan” has been living in the house for years, but he isn’t a blood rel- ative. He’s my hus- band’s late step- father’s brother. Nathan is a several-times-divorced curmud- geon who was living in a shed. He was allowed to stay here to get on his feet and, partially, out of respect for the stepfather. Nathan refuses to help out in any way. He comes and goes as he pleases and is living rent-free. We pay the mortgage and all the bills. Nathan buys food and stuff for himself, but then will eat the household food my mother-in-law buys. I’m tired of the garbage he makes. He smokes in his DEAR room, and he’s ABBY nasty, rude and demanding. He needs to move out or pay up, but my husband doesn’t want to do anything. Advice? — UNHAPPY AT HOME DEAR UNHAPPY: Just this. Realize that nothing will change until your husband is finally willing to put his foot down and insist on some changes, or the freeloader leaves this earthly plane for the next. I would have DEAR UNFRIENDED: Are you sure the person who informed you about her plan is credible? Could they be jealous of the close friendship you have with Darlene? Frankly, it would be incred- ibly stupid for a person planning to ghost someone to tell a mutual friend who might leak it before the fact. Talk to Darlene! Do not end the friendship unless you are abso- lutely certain what you were told was the gospel. DEAR ABBY: My 82-year-old mother made a special request of her visiting relatives on Christmas Day. She asked everyone to hand over their cell- phones for the entire celebration used the phrase “goes to heaven,” but it appears Nathan is already experiencing heaven right here on Earth, so do not expect him to move on his own. DEAR ABBY: I was recently informed that my best friend of 10 years, “Darlene,” planned to ghost me as soon as she got preg- nant. I’m shocked that she would say such a thing or plan to do it. I always thought I was a good friend. But now Darlene and her hus- band are getting a divorce, and she has been all chummy. I have a sour taste in my mouth. Do I stay friends and get over it, or give her her wish and disappear? — UNFRIENDED IN THE WEST upon entering or “don’t come.” She said she would return them as we left. Certain family members had major meltdowns because of her request. My mother, as always, pro- vided hors d’oeuvres, dinner and gifts for all 23 people. Do you think this was a fair request? — NOT A BIG DEAL DEAR NOT: Your mother wanted to encourage more than superficial communication. As she indicated, if anyone felt her request was too much of an impo- sition, they were free to refuse her invitation. The oldest rule of entertaining is: The host makes the rules. Of course it was a fair request! News of the Weird In Nevada desert, a technology firm aims to be a government CARSON CITY, Nev. — In the Nevada desert, a cryptocurrency mag- nate hopes to turn dreams of a futuristic “smart city” into reality. To do that, he’s asking the state to let com- panies like his form local governments on land they own, which would grant them power over every- thing from schools to law enforcement. Jeffrey Berns, CEO of Nevada-based Blockchains LLC, envisions a city where people not only purchase goods and services with digital currency but also log their entire online foot- print — financial state- ments, medical records and personal data — on block- chain. Blockchain is a dig- ital ledger known mostly for recording cryptocurrency transactions but some local governments have adopted it for everything from doc- umenting marriage licenses to facilitating elections. The company wants to break ground by 2022 in rural Storey County, 12 miles east of Reno. It’s proposing to build 15,000 homes and 33 million square feet of commercial and industrial space within 75 years. Berns, whose idea is the basis for draft legis- lation that some lawmakers saw behind closed doors last week, said traditional government doesn’t offer enough flexibility to create a community where people can invent new uses for this technology. “There’s got to be a place somewhere on this planet where people are willing to just start from scratch and EYRC Architects/Blockchains LLC via AP This undated illustration shows a proposed “smart city” in Nevada. A cryptocurrency company that owns 67,000 acres in rural northern Nevada wants state government to grant technology companies power to form local governments on land they own. ness incentives as they struggle to fund health care and education. This proposal differs from the big tax rebates they have grown wary of offering, like the $1.3 bil- lion given to Tesla to build its northern Nevada battery factory or the billions New York and Virginia offered Amazon to build new cor- porate headquarters. But it raises deeper issues about increasing tech companies’ grip on everyday life at a time when antitrust regulators and Democrats in Congress allege tech giants Facebook and Google are controlling markets and endangering people’s privacy. Blockchains LLC and so-called innovation zones were a key part of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s January State of the State address, say, ‘We’re not going to do things this way just because it’s the way we’ve done it,’” Berns said. He wants Nevada to change its laws to allow “innovation zones,” where companies would have powers like those of a county government, including creating court systems, imposing taxes and building infrastruc- ture while making land and water management decisions. The prospect has been met with intrigue and skep- ticism from Nevada law- makers, though the legisla- tion has yet to be formally filed or discussed in public hearings. Most in the Dem- ocratic-controlled Legisla- ture are eager to diversify Nevada’s tourism-depen- dent economy, but many fear backlash against busi- weather Sen. Ben Kieckhefer, a Republican who sponsored blockchain-related legisla- tion in 2017 and 2019. If lawmakers back the proposal, technology com- panies with 50,000 acres of land that promise a $1 bil- lion investment could create zones governed by three people like county com- missioners. The draft leg- islation says two of them initially would be from the company itself. In Storey County, which is home to Tesla’s factory, officials are waiting for more information before offering opinions but say questions still need to be answered. Commissioner Lance Gilman, who owns the Mustang Ranch brothel and bought most of the county’s land to turn it into an industrial park when he outlined plans to rebuild a more diversified economy after the corona- virus pandemic. Sisolak, whose cam- paign and affiliated political action committee received a combined $60,000 from the company, said the proposal would transform Nevada into “the epicenter of this emerging industry and create the high-paying jobs and revenue that go with it.” The governor’s office declined to comment fur- ther on innovation zones. But with Sisolak’s backing, the idea could garner serious consideration in the Legislature. “I don’t know enough yet to say whether I’m comfort- able with this as the next step or not. But, look, it’s a big idea and Nevada has been built on big ideas, so let’s hear it out,” said state AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION Astoria Longview 41/47 Kennewick 40/45 St. Helens 39/47 30/39 31/43 40/48 39/48 Condon FRI SAT SUN MON Overcast with snow, 1-3” A snow squall, up to 1” Morning snow showers A rain or snow shower Mostly cloudy 26 39 25 39 28 41 31 42 33 Eugene 3 3 3 42/50 40 32 43 34 47 34 0 1 3 La Grande 31 40 26 Comfort Index™ Enterprise 0 3 27 37 20 Comfort Index™ 0 40 29 46 35 0 2 8 0 ALMANAC NATION (for the 48 contiguous states) High Tuesday Low Tuesday High: 87° Low: -46° Wettest: 2.23” 41° 29° 39° 33° 36° 33° Tuesday Trace Month to date 0.28 Normal month to date 0.33 Year to date 0.65 Normal year to date 1.13 0.93 2.38 0.63 3.42 2.26 0.90 3.00 1.35 7.31 4.52 PRECIPITATION (inches) AGRICULTURAL INFO. HAY INFORMATION FRIDAY 55% W at 4 to 8 mph 0.0 0.04 RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Wednesday) Phillips Reservoir Unity Reservoir Owyhee Reservoir McKay Reservoir Wallowa Lake Thief Valley Reservoir 43/51 9% of capacity 50% of capacity 50% of capacity 45% of capacity 38% of capacity 96% of capacity STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Tuesday) Grande Ronde at Troy 1520 cfs Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder 59 cfs Burnt River near Unity 11 cfs Umatilla River near Gibbon 114 cfs Minam River at Minam N.A. Powder River near Richland 88 cfs West Palm Beach, Fla. Ely, Minn. Fort Lauderdale, Fla. OREGON High: 53° Low: 21° Wettest: 1.87” Eugene Crater Lake Meacham Severe thunderstorms roared across north- eastern Indiana and northwestern Ohio late in the day on Feb. 18, 1992. The storm produced hail and funnel clouds. SUN & MOON THU. FRI. 6:49 a.m. 6:47 a.m. 5:24 p.m. 5:26 p.m. 10:03 a.m. 10:29 a.m. none 12:47 a.m. MOON PHASES First Feb 19 Full Feb 27 Last Mar 5 Beaver Marsh 42/49 New Mar 13 Burns Jordan Valley Paisley Frenchglen 31/40 City Astoria Bend Boise Brookings Burns Coos Bay Corvallis Council Elgin Eugene Hermiston Hood River Imnaha John Day Joseph Kennewick Klamath Falls Lakeview Hi/Lo/W 47/38/r 44/27/sf 40/29/c 49/40/r 40/24/sn 50/41/r 49/38/r 34/21/sn 39/25/sf 50/41/r 43/33/pc 39/34/r 42/25/sn 41/26/sf 36/21/sn 41/28/pc 43/27/sh 40/26/c Hi/Lo/W 47/44/c 42/32/sn 39/25/pc 49/40/sh 38/22/sn 50/42/sh 49/41/c 35/24/sf 39/33/sf 49/42/c 46/41/c 45/37/c 39/23/sf 38/27/sf 35/23/sf 44/40/pc 41/24/c 37/18/sf Grand View Arock 26/46 34/47 32/42 Klamath Falls 30/43 Lakeview 30/40 McDermitt Shown is Friday’s weather. Temperatures are Thursday night’s lows and Friday’s highs. SAT. Diamond 31/40 Fields 39/49 FRI. Boise 30/37 29/43 32/41 Medford Brookings 30/42 30/40 42/50 44/49 Juntura 30/40 Silver Lake Chiloquin Grants Pass Ontario 28/41 30/42 30/40 RECREATION FORECAST FRIDAY REGIONAL CITIES WEATHER HISTORY Sunrise Sunset Moonrise Moonset 29/38 28/37 Roseburg Powers Brothers 39/44 Coos Bay Huntington 29/37 33/44 Oakridge 25/34 30/40 Seneca Bend Elkton TUESDAY EXTREMES TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin Lowest relative humidity Afternoon wind Hours of sunshine Evapotranspiration Florence 44/50 Comfort Index takes into account how the weather will feel based on a combination of factors. A rating of 10 feels very comfortable while a rating of 0 feels very uncomfortable. 33/41 34/45 Council 26/39 John Day 30/45 Sisters 43/48 36 23 30/38 Baker City Redmond 43/47 45/49 Halfway Granite 29/34 37/43 40/48 Corvallis 34/42 40/49 Newport Enterprise 27/37 31/40 Monument 31/38 Idanha Salem TONIGHT 3 Elgin 30/39 La Grande 31/40 Maupin 0 31/41 Pendleton The Dalles Portland Newberg Lewiston 32/41 Hood River 29/41 TIllamook Comfort Index™ Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021 Walla Walla 26/41 Vancouver 37/46 41/48 Baker City decades ago, has sup- ported luring technology companies to the area and growing its population. But Gilman, who worked in marketing for Block- chains LLC from 2018 to 2019, said there are many unknowns about ceding control to a new juris- diction that falls within county borders. “(The bill) wants the host county to let it form, become successful, not pay them very much money, and eventually let them take over the whole county and all the operations, if it becomes successful,” Gilman said. “If it doesn’t become successful, who becomes responsible for all the stuff that was built in the meantime?” The county’s master plan doesn’t permit residential development in the Tahoe- Reno Industrial Center, where most of Blockchain LLC’s property lies, but it allows for 3,500 homes in Painted Rock, a subsection of the company’s 67,000 acres. Berns said officials told him in an informal dis- cussion two years ago that they weren’t interested in zoning for more homes, a meeting that former County Manager Pat Whitten confirmed. Berns understands that elected leaders in Storey County may not want an experi- mental city in their back- yard but believes the idea should be a state decision because of its potential to “singularly define Nevada going forward.” “We bought 70,000 acres of land in the county. What did they think we were going to do?” Berns said. — Associated Press City Lewiston Longview Meacham Medford Newport Olympia Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Powers Redmond Roseburg Salem Spokane The Dalles Ukiah Walla Walla FRI. SAT. Hi/Lo/W 41/27/sh 45/37/r 39/24/sn 49/38/sh 47/40/r 46/36/r 41/27/c 45/27/pc 41/31/pc 48/40/r 51/39/r 45/26/sn 49/40/r 48/38/r 34/28/sn 43/34/c 37/25/sf 41/31/pc Hi/Lo/W 39/33/sf 46/41/sh 38/33/sf 47/35/sh 47/43/sh 46/40/sh 43/26/c 47/37/pc 41/39/c 48/41/sh 48/39/sh 43/31/sn 50/40/sh 48/41/c 35/32/c 46/38/c 37/29/sn 40/36/c Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice ANTHONY LAKES PHILLIPS LAKE Snow, 1-3” Not as cold 21 13 37 26 MT. EMILY REC. BROWNLEE RES. P.M. snow showers Snow and rain 29 22 40 25 EAGLE CAP WILD. EMIGRANT ST. PARK Cold with fl urries A little snow 26 13 34 24 WALLOWA LAKE MCKAY RESERVOIR A bit of a.m. snow Inc. clouds 36 21 42 34 THIEF VALLEY RES. RED BRIDGE ST. PARK Not as cold A snow squall 39 25 40 26