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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 2015)
Pac 12 Pitcher of the Week Our Coast magazine SPORTS • 4A INSIDE WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015 142nd YEAR, No. 171 ONE DOLLAR Lawsuits paint grim picture of Port Fired employees allege reprisal, wrongdoing from former interim director By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian 5HFHQWO\¿UHG3RUWRI$VWRULDHP ployees Colleen Browne and Tami Herman don’t have very good reviews of their former boss, Michael Weston, who is now the agency’s director of business development and operations. %URZQH WKH 3RUW¶V IRUPHU ¿ nance director, and Herman, the IRUPHUIDFLOLWLHVPDQDJHUHDFK¿OHG a lawsuit last week through their attorney, Anne Foster. Each seeks more than $2.5 million on claims of whistleblower retaliation, aiding and abetting retaliation, unautho- rized disclosure of a whistleblower’s identity, breach of employment con- tract, defamation of character and post-employment retaliation against the Port and/or Weston. The Port’s and Weston’s lawyer in the case, General Counsel Ron Downs from the Special Districts Association of Oregon, said he’s still formulating an answer to the suit. The Port was served Thursday Cause Your Facebook page lives on, or maybe not Ocean Park bicyclist puts in miles on two wheels for fun, and fundraising By KYLE SPURR The Daily Astorian very chance he gets, Chase Millsap rides his bicycle. Millsap, a 23-year-old from Ocean Park on the Long Beach (Wash.) Peninsula, commutes daily on his bicycle to his job at Jack’s County Store. On days off, he rides his Trek Domane road bike from the penin- sula down the North Coast toward Seaside and Cannon Beach. The 30- to 50-mile rides help Millsap train for various competitions, such as the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic, a 200-mile ride he completed in about 15 hours last year. Millsap regularly wakes up early, rides to Ilwaco, catches a transit bus across the Astoria Bridge and continues riding his bike over the Youngs Bay Bridge, staying along U.S. Highway 101. “There are not a lot of people that have this passion for cycling on the Oregon Coast,” Millsap said. “There are not a lot of locals who have this goal to get out on a bike and ride.” E By BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writer A large part of Millsap’s motivation stems from being able to visit his grand- mother, who lives at Necanicum Village, an assisted living and memory care communi- ty in Seaside. His grandmother has Alzhei- mer’s disease and severe arthritis. Seeing his grandmother struggle with her illnesses, especially the painful arthritis, led Millsap to do his part to help. Last year, he raised funds and entered the California Coast Classic Bike Tour, an eight-day, 525 miles ride along Highway 1. The Coast &ODVVLF EHQH¿WV WKH $UWKULWLV )RXQGDWLRQ Money raised provides educational resourc- es for adults and children and scholarships for the national Juvenile Arthritis Confer- ence and kids’ camps. ³,GLGWKHULGHIRUWKH¿UVWWLPHODVW\HDU and it was the ride of my life,” Millsap said. “It was emotional. It was exciting. It was WKH ¿UVW WLPH , KDG DQ RSSRUWXQLW\ WR WDNH my bike down to California. I always want- ed to do it.” See MILLSAP, Page 12A Contributed photo Chase Millsap of Ocean Park, Wash., rode his bicy- cle 27,000 miles in the past two years. He is plan- ning to ride in the 2015 California Coast Classic this fall to raise funds for the Arthritis Foundation. HOW TO HELP Contributed photo During the 2014 California Coast Classic last fall, Chase Millsap stops for a pho- tograph. He is planning to ride this year in the eight-day, 525-mile Coast Classic, which supports the Arthritis Foundation. Chase Millsap is planning to ride in the 2015 California Coast Classic Bicycle Tour, an eight- day, 525 mile ride from San Francisco to Los Angles, which directly supports the Arthritis Foundation. Millsap is hoping to raise $10,000 for the Arthritis Foundation. To help Millsap reach his fundraising goal, visit his webpage at http://bit.ly/1FUBbvK Warrenton plots path on pot Mayor believes residents want restrictions By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian WARRENTON — Mayor Mark Kujala said Tuesday night he believes residents might be interested in a ballot initiative in November 2016 to restrict marijuana. The city adopted a one-year mora- torium on medical marijuana dispensa- ries and voted to tax recreational sales last year before Oregon voters in No- vember approved Measure 91, which legalized the drug. But the moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries expires May 1 and there is a cloud over whether local See PORT, Page 7A After you’re gone Riding for a and has 21 days to respond, unless Downs gets an extension. Former Executive Director Hank Bynaker resigned in September 2013, after which Weston took over as interim executive director un- til the Port Commission hired Jim Knight in October. taxes on the drug that were back he has received from passed before the statewide residents since the election vote are legal. has been concern about the People 21 and over can impact of marijuana legal- legally possess marijuana for ization. personal use starting in July “It seems like people and applications for produc- would like to put some safe- tion, processing, wholesale guards in place,” the mayor and retail licenses are ex- said after the City Commis- pected at the Oregon Liquor sion held a work session on Control Commission after marijuana Tuesday night. Mark Kujala January. “They’re really worried The earliest cities and counties can about our schools, worried about the restrict the drug through ballot initia- community in general.” tives is November 2016. Local govern- Kujala said later in an email that ments that opt out, however, will not while he does not know whether resi- be eligible for state tax revenue sharing dents would pursue an outright ban, “I after July 2017, when the formula will do believe folks want some time and be based on the number of licenses is- place restrictions on marijuana. It is up sued. to citizens to put an initiative together While Warrenton voters, like other and we will deal with zoning issues and voters in Clatsop County, backed Mea- See WARRENTON, Page 7A sure 91, Kujala said the public feed- NEW YORK — Facebook is making it easier to plan for your on- line afterlife. The world’s biggest online social network said it will now let users pick someone who can manage their account after they die. Previously, the accounts were “memorialized” after death, or locked so that no one could log in. But Facebook says its users wanted more choice. Beginning in the U.S., Facebook users can pick a “legacy contact” to post on their page after they die, respond to new friend UHTXHVWVDQGXSGDWHWKHLUSUR¿OHSLF ture and cover photo. Users can also have their accounts deleted after their death, which was not possible before. If you want someone to manage your account after you die, click on the upside-down triangle on the top right corner of your page, open “set- WLQJV´ DQG ¿QG ³VHFXULW\´ )RU 86 users there will be an option to edit your legacy contact, who must be a Facebook user. But you don’t have to pick someone else to manage your account. You can also check a box to permanently delete your account when you die. The person you choose to manage \RXU DFFRXQW ZRQ¶W EH QRWL¿HG RI your choice until your Facebook ac- count is memorialized. But you can send them a message before. Face- book will also send you an annual re- minder of your pick. This could help if the person dies before you do, for example, or if your friendship cools as the years pass. If you give your contact addi- tional permission, they will be able to download and archive your pho- WRV SRVWV DQG SUR¿OH LQIRUPDWLRQ after you die. They will not be able to access your private messages. To log into your account, they will have to use their own Facebook login — they won’t be able to sign in as you. Facebook accounts are memorial- ized at the request of loved ones, who must provide proof of the person’s death, such as an obituary. Facebook tries to ensure that the account of the dead user doesn’t show up as a “sug- gested friend” or in other ways that could upset the person’s loved ones. See FACEBOOK, Page 7A coast weekend THURSDAY Sing a song of fi sh