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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 2015)
What’s cooking? Braised wild boar Groundhog Day dust-up WEEKEND EDITION FRIDAY EXTRA • 1C IN ONE EAR • 1B FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2015 142nd YEAR, No. 158 ONE DOLLAR Twists and turns on The Way to Wellville &(2ORFDOSDUWQHUVVSHDNWRSDUWLFXODUVRI¿YH\HDUHIIRUW Initiative Coordinating Coun- cil (HICCup), which created The Way to Wellville, said 5LFN %UXVK LV WKH ¿UVW WR there has been some confusion admit he and other organizers since the initiative evolved behind The Way to Wellville, from a competition for a $5 a national five-year challenge million prize to a collabora- to promote health across five tion with no prize money, but a communities including Clat- chance to share ideas and con- sop County, could do a better nect with investors for overall job explaining the details be- better health. hind their initiative. “Honestly, we have not been Brush, the CEO of Health our best PR agency,” Brush said. By KYLE SPURR The Daily Astorian Rick Brush “Our website is, as you know, very out of date. We are now talking to a Web designer and a communication consultant.” +L&&XS VHOHFWHG ¿YH FRP munities under 100,000 in pop- ulation in August for the chal- lenge. The other four communities selected out of 42 applicants are Greater Muskegon, Mich., Lake County, Calif., Niagara Falls, N.Y., and Spartanburg, S.C. When the communities ap- plied to be a part of The Way to Wellville, each was told the one that improves the most would win $5 million at the end of the ¿YH\HDUFKDOOHQJH However, when representa- tives from each community met A BLAST FROM OUR PAST Sept. 16 to 18 in Tampa, Fla., for a Way to Wellville introduction conference, the Wellville Five requested to shift the initiative so the communities could col- laborate with each other. See WELLVILLE, Page 8A Another proposal afoot to change Port picks Group wants voters to decide by district By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian Astoria’s Historic Landmarks Commission has filed an application to designate the property with the old White Star Cannery boiler as historic. Iconic cannery boiler from ¿UHPLJKWEHKLVWRULF By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian T he old White Star Cannery boiler, a stark and solitary reminder of Astoria’s past, may get historic designation. The city’s Historic Landmarks &RPPLVVLRQ KDV ¿OHG DQ DSSOLFD tion to designate the property with WKHROGERLOHUDSLOH¿HOGDQGEDO last rocks in the Columbia River west of Second Street as historic. City planners are also explor- ing development restrictions over the river near the old boiler as part of the Bridge Vista phase of the Riverfront Vision Plan that would keep building heights to the top of the riverbank. Taken together, the historic des- ignation and building height limit would essentially shield the property from development and preserve an unobstructed view of the river, the shipping lane and the Astoria Bridge. Jill Stokeld, the owner of The Ship Inn, who pays $4,750 a year to lease the property around the old boiler as view protection for her SRSXODU ¿VK DQG FKLSV UHVWDXUDQW described the view as “priceless.” See PAST, Page 8A JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian Jill Stokeld, owner of The Ship Inn, walks through dining room of the restaurant. The dining room has an expansive view of the boil- er, the river and the bridge. Stokeld pays $4,750 a year to lease the property around the boiler as view protection. The Committee for Democratic Change at the Port of Astoria hopes to start collecting signatures soon for a ballot initiative in the May 2015 election or later that would make Port of Astoria Commission elections by district, similar to the Clatsop Coun- ty Board of Commissioners. The ballot initiative is a response to the recent initiative petition by the Committee to Restore, Revi- talize and Reor- ganize the Port of Astoria. That group is collect- ing signatures for a possible ballot initiative in the May 2015 election or lat- Larry er that would Taylor ask voters in Clatsop County whether they want Port commission- ers recommended and vetted by local governing bodies, but ultimately ap- pointed by the governor of Oregon. The Committee for Democratic Change at the Port of Astoria seeks to: • Make Port commissioners elect- ed by districts, similar to the county commission. +ROGDQHOHFWLRQIRUDOO¿YH3RUW commissioners in the May 2017 elec- tion. “It is not appropriate to jettison democratic processes just because the current Board of Commission- ers is not popular with some people” wrote Larry Taylor, chief petitioner in the effort, in a press release. See PORT, Page 8A Kitzhaber unlikely to comply with calls to quit Gubernatorial turnover is rare here, but not unprecedented By HILLARY BORRUD and PETER WONG EO Media Group Pamplin Media Group SALEM — Democratic leaders in the Oregon Legisla- ture said Thursday they do not want the controversy around *RY-RKQ.LW]KDEHUDQG¿UVW lady Cylvia Hayes to distract lawmakers from important policy and budget work. Lawmakers spoke out af- ter The Oregonian editorial board on Wednesday called Pamplin Media Group/Jonathan House Gov. John Kitzhaber deflected questions about first lady Cyl- via Hayes’ tax returns during a press conference Friday in Portland. The Oregonian has called for Kitzhaber to resign. for Kitzhaber to resign, and wrote that he is “now less a governor than a source of un- ending distraction.” Hayes accepted sever- al paid jobs at organizations with an interest in the same state policy issues on which she advised the governor, and The Oregonian reported this week that people involved in Kitzhaber’s 2010 campaign helped Hayes secure two of those positions. Kitzhaber does not plan to resign, and said in an emailed statement that “I was elected to serve the citizens of the state of Oregon and I intend to continue to do so.” Although gubernatorial turnover is common in some states, only four Oregon gov- ernors have resigned in the state’s 155-year history. Near- ly all did so in order to accept a different elected or appoint- ed position. “We’re not Illinois, and we’re not Louisiana,” said Jim Moore, a political science professor and director of the Tom McCall Center for Poli- F\ ,QQRYDWLRQ DW 3DFL¿F 8QL versity. At the same time, Moore acknowledged the ethical questions Kitzhaber now fac- es are unprecedented for a sit- ting governor in Oregon. For- mer Gov. Neil Goldschmidt KDG EHHQ RXW RI RI¿FH PRUH than a decade by the time Or- egonians learned he sexually abused a teenage girl while he was the mayor of Portland. Kerry Tymchuk, executive director of The Oregon His- torical Society, also said Or- egon governors resigned for mundane reasons. “Oregon’s been fairly clean in that respect,” Tym- chuk said. See QUIT, Page 8A
