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2A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2015 Drone industry awaits government regulations Entrepreneurs should lay plans now, experts say By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI EO Media Group Regulations for commer- cial drones aren’t expected until next year but entre- preneurs should prepare for the government to open the floodgates, experts say. While the Federal Avia- tion Administration is un- likely to finalize rules for unmanned aircraft by the end of the year, as mandated by Congress, it doesn’t make sense for companies to wait to get their business plans in order, according to speakers at the recent Precision Farm- ing Expo in Salem. “It’s not too early to get your skin in the game,” said Andrew McCollough, an an- alyst with SkyWard, a com- pany that makes drone oper- ations software. Even if the rules take another two years, aspiring operators can use that time to figure out which aircraft and equipment best fit their plans, he said. The FAA isn’t regulating drones used for recreation, but the agency takes a dim view of hobbyists venturing into territory that it consid- ers to be commercial, said Wendie Kellington, an at- torney specializing in un- manned aerial vehicles. At this point, the FAA is taking a narrow view of “hobby.” For example, the agency said flying a drone to check if crops need irrigation is only considered recreational if they’re “grown for per- sonal enjoyment” and not if they’re part of a “commer- cial farming operation.” Farmers and others who hope to legally use drones commercially before the FAA’s regulations are com- plete can apply for a “Sec- tion 333” exemption, which allows them to fly unmanned aircraft without a pilot’s li- cense, Kellington said. Applicants should be ready to wait, however. Of the 640 applications re- ceived by FAA, fewer than 50 have been granted in the past six months, she said. Drone operators who ob- tain an exemption must still fly the drone within the “vi- sual line of sight,” and the same requirement is pro- posed in the FAA’s planned regulations, Kellington said. The agency decided the technology isn’t mature enough to allow drones to be flown beyond the line of sight, but those proposed reg- ulations are still up for com- ment, she said. Kellington said the FAA should at least have “place- holder” regulations authoriz- ing such drone use, since the technology is likely to prog- Deaths March 13, 2015 March 18, 2015 52/$1' % - ³%RE´ RI<XPD DAVIS, Mary Ann, 83, of Astoria, died at $UL]GLHGLQ<XPD<XPD0RUWXDU\DQG Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Port- Crematory is in charge of the arrange- land. Ocean View Funeral & Cremation Service in ments. Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. “We know there are peo- SOHÀ\LQJFRPPHUFLDOO\HYHU\ single day and the FAA is not going after them,” she said. Even in remote rural ar- eas, drone operators must be careful not to interfere with aerial spray applicators, said John Stevens, manager of the Pendleton Unmanned Aerial System Range, where drones are tested. “Within the industry, we have the responsibility to make sure we’re doing it EO Media Group right,” he said. A four-rotor, camera-equipped drone hovers during a As drones become more demonstration flight at a McMinnville forum. While the advanced, safety parameters )HGHUDO$YLDWLRQ$GPLQLVWUDWLRQLVXQOLNHO\WR¿QDOL]HUXOHV will be incorporated into their for unmanned aircraft by the end of the year, as mandated operational systems and the by Congress, it doesn’t make sense for companies to wait to issue will likely become less of a concern, said McCol- get their business plans in order. lough. For example, McCol- ress rapidly before the rules an accident or other incident are final. was brought to its attention, lough’s cell phones relies on In reality, the FAA isn’t said Gretchen West, vice radio waves but that doesn’t in the “enforcement busi- president of business devel- mean he must get a ham radio ness” of ensuring that farm- opment and government re- operator’s license to use it. “The rules are going to, ers and other follow its rules lations with DroneDeploy, for drones, but the agency which specializes in drone in large part, be built into the technology,” he said. would likely take action if operations. 0LOWRQ)UHHZDWHUKRSHV¿QDOO\ WRJHWEH\RQGWKHK\SKHQ “It never goes anywhere be- cause it never pushes through the grassroots,” he said. Memorial MILTON-FREEWATER The alliance hired SERA Ar- Wednesday, April 1 (AP) — No city in Oregon has chitecture of Portland and have Thursday, April 2 PECK, Howard Rankin — Graveside ser- GOODMAN, Sylvia Beatrice Kallina — Me- been affected more by a piece of had a series of public meetings YLFHZLWKPLOLWDU\KRQRUVDWDP+HUPLVWRQ morial at 3 p.m., Cannon Beach Community punctuation than Milton-Free- to gather community input. &HPHWHU\+HUPLVWRQ3HFNRI+DPPRQG &KXUFK ( :DVKLQJWRQ 6W &DQQRQ %HDFK water. The latest meeting was held GLHG )ULGD\ 0DUFK LQ /RQJYLHZ *RRGPDQRI%HDYHUWRQIRUPHUO\RI&DQQRQ While a hyphen joined the at a packed Milton-Freewater Wash. %HDFKGLHG6XQGD\0DUFKLQ%HDYHUWRQ towns of Milton and Freewater Community Building March LQFRQVROLGDWLQJWKHFLWLHV¶ ZLWKRI¿FLDOVIURPWKH0LO- ® downtown areas remains a chal- ton-Freewater City Council, ACCUWEATHER FORECAST FOR ASTORIA lenge. WKH 0LOWRQ)UHHZDWHU 8QL¿HG 2UHJRQ +LJKZD\ EH- School District, Umatilla Coun- Astoria 5-Day Forecast Oregon Weather comes South Main Street, his- ty and Blue Mountain Commu- torically Milton’s downtown nity College in attendance. Tonight The Dalles Shown is Astoria area, as drivers enter town from Instead of a traditional meet- 38/57 41/53 tomorrow’s Pendleton the south. It then splits off and ing, attendees sat at tables fea- weather. Portland 37/56 heads for Walla Walla, Wash., turing a map of Milton-Freewa- 41/54 Temperatures Salem bypassing Freewater’s former ter in the center. are tonight’s 40/54 Mostly cloudy lows and downtown which is clustered Audience members were Albany with a couple of tomorrow’s 39/56 showers around North Main Street to the asked to not only mark where Corvallis Ontario highs 39/56 Bend 41° 34/57 northwest. they live and their favorite spots 24/46 Eugene This awkward marriage of in town, but potential sites for 39/56 downtown areas creates an ex- downtown improvements. Wednesday Thursday Burns ceptionally long Main Street, Popular proposals included 24/48 Medford with the whole northern part un- a parkway that runs alongside the 36/59 touched by the city’s main thor- Little Walla Walla River, the plant- Klamath Falls 22/48 oughfare. This development, ing of trees along Main Street to Mostly cloudy Partly sunny along with other factors includ- unite the disparate downtown ar- with a couple of Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2015 showers ing the city’s proximity to the eas and a rail line that could trans- 53° 41° 54° 40° more prosperous Walla Walla, port passengers through town or Almanac Sun and Moon has contributed to large swaths into surrounding vineyards. With Astoria through Monday. Sunset tonight .................. 7:42 p.m. of vacant and underutilized the recent incorporation of The Sunrise Wednesday ......... 6:56 a.m. Temperatures Friday Saturday Moonrise today ................ 4:22 p.m. High ........................................... 58° storefronts on Milton-Freewa- Rocks District viticultural area, Moonset today .................. 5:11 a.m. Low ............................................ 48° ter’s Main Street. expanding Milton-Freewater’s Normal high ............................... 55° Full Last New First Normal low ................................. 40° The most recent effort to re- wine industry was a frequent topic Precipitation vitalize the city’s sagging down- of discussion. Yesterday ................................ 0.05" Periods of rain Mostly cloudy with town area is the Milton-Free- Although not discussed at Month to date .......................... 6.38" Apr 4 Apr 11 Apr 18 Apr 25 a little rain Normal month to date ............. 7.23" water Downtown Alliance, a the meeting, boosting involve- Year to date ........................... 21.86" 53° 38° 52° 38° QRQSUR¿WHVWDEOLVKHGLQ ment from Milton-Freewater’s Normal year to date .............. 24.62" Alliance Director Randy Hispanic community has also Grant said a plan to improve been a continual talking point. Regional Cities Under the Sky Tonight's Sky: Waxing gibbous moon near Today Wed. Today Wed. Main Street has been proposed Despite comprising more than Jupiter. City Hi Lo W Hi Lo W City Hi Lo W Hi Lo W every decade but never materi- 40 percent of the population, Olympia 54 37 t 54 35 sh Baker City 53 27 sh 47 25 c alizes. Pendleton 57 37 sh 56 36 pc Bend 47 24 sh 46 24 c Latino involvement in city gov- Brookings Eugene Ilwaco Klamath Falls Medford Newport North Bend 54 55 54 49 61 52 54 40 pc 39 t 42 t 22 pc 36 pc 41 t 42 t 55 56 53 48 59 51 54 41 36 42 20 36 41 40 pc sh sh pc pc sh sh National Cities Today City Hi Lo W Atlanta 73 57 s Boston 48 29 s Chicago 55 37 s Denver 78 48 s Des Moines 75 48 s Detroit 48 32 pc El Paso 81 57 pc Fairbanks 44 21 c Honolulu 84 70 sh Indianapolis 63 39 s Kansas City 76 50 s Las Vegas 89 60 s Los Angeles 74 57 pc Memphis 77 58 t Miami 81 64 s Nashville 78 45 s New Orleans 81 63 pc New York 46 33 r Oklahoma City 85 62 t Philadelphia 52 34 r St. Louis 75 47 s Salt Lake City 79 44 pc San Francisco 66 51 pc Seattle 54 43 t Washington, DC 67 40 t Portland Roseburg Salem Seaside Spokane Vancouver Yakima 57 57 56 55 56 57 64 41 t 39 t 40 t 41 t 34 t 40 t 33 pc 54 56 54 53 51 54 60 40 38 37 41 30 38 35 sh pc sh sh c sh pc Source: Jim Todd, OMSI ernment and civic life is virtual- ly nil. Unhappy with the lack of /DWLQRSUHVHQFHDWWKH¿UVWFRP- munity meeting, the alliance KHOG D PHHWLQJ VSHFL¿FDOO\ IRU Hispanic community leaders to provide input. Grant said Latino leaders’ concerns were in lockstep with many of their Anglo counter- parts, with an overall emphasis on expanding the local econo- my. “There’s more ownership from our Hispanics than we give them credit for,” he said. Using the ideas generated by the community members that at- tended the meetings, SERA will return to Milton-Freewater May ZLWK D EDVLF SODQ IRU 0DLQ Street improvements. Grant said creating a com- prehensive plan is key to the city’s revitalization, as com- munity members will use it to leverage private investment from developers for the needed improvements. To kick off community ef- forts, the alliance organized a leadership group to create a project that can be built between -XO\DQG-XO\ The completed project would be used as an example to Milton-Freewater residents of what a revitalization project could do. Proposals for the kickoff project include creating a com- munity meeting place in a va- cant lot by McLoughlin High School where a Dairy Queen used to stand. Public meetings Tomorrow’s Tides Astoria / Port Docks Time High 12:29 a.m. 8.0 ft. 12:27 p.m. 7.7 ft. Time 6:29 a.m. 6:50 p.m. Low 1.7 ft. 0.7 ft. Tomorrow’s National Weather Wed. Hi Lo W 78 58 s 43 29 pc 64 52 s 71 34 t 79 52 pc 51 38 s 83 59 s 42 17 c 85 71 pc 67 50 s 81 56 pc 81 56 s 74 56 pc 78 62 t 84 68 s 75 55 pc 81 68 c 47 37 pc 83 62 s 52 35 s 75 61 s 55 34 pc 66 52 s 53 41 sh 60 44 s By ANTONIA SIERRA EO Media Group Fronts Cold Warm TODAY Astoria Historic Land- marks Commission, SP $VWRULD&LW\+DOO'XDQH6W WEDNESDAY Sunset Empire Trans- portation District Budget Committee, WR DP WUDLQLQJ ZRUNVKRS IRU ¿VFDO \HDU$VWRULD7UDQ- sit Center Conference Room, 0DULQH'ULYH THURSDAY Northwest Oregon Housing Authority Board, DP 12+$ RIILFH 6 0DLQ$YH :DUUHQ ton. (VWLPDWHGMDFNSRWPLOOLRQ WASHINGTON Monday’s Daily Game: Monday’s Hit 5: (VWLPDWHGMDFNSRW Monday’s Keno: Monday’s Lotto: Estimated jackpot: $6.4 mil- lion Monday’s Match 4: 03-04- Stationary Lotteries Showers T-Storms Rain Flurries Snow Ice -10s -0s 0s 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s 110s OREGON Monday’s Pick 4: 1 p.m.: 4 p.m.: 7 p.m.: 10 p.m.: 0-3-3-0 Monday’s Megabucks: Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. Forecast high/low temperatures are given for selected cities. Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice. The Daily Astorian publishes paid obituaries. The obituary can include a small photo and, for YHWHUDQVDÀDJV\PERODWQRFKDUJH7KHGHDGOLQHIRUDOORELWXDULHVLVDPWKHEXVLQHVVGD\SULRU Obituaries may be edited for spelling, proper punctuation and style. Death notices and upcoming VHUYLFHVZLOOEHSXEOLVKHGDWQRFKDUJH1RWLFHVPXVWEHVXEPLWWHGE\DPWKHGD\RISXEOLFDWLRQ Obituaries and notices may be submitted online at www.dailyastorian.com/obituaryform, by email at ewilson@dailyastorian.com, placed via the funeral home or in person at The Daily Astori- DQRI¿FH([FKDQJH6WLQ$VWRULD)RUPRUHLQIRUPDWLRQFDOOH[W APPLIANCE PACKAGE DEALS APPLIANCE AND HOME FURNISHINGS 529 SE MARLIN, WARRENTON Mattresses, Furniture & More! OBITUARY POLICY 503-861-0929 HOURS OPEN: MON-FRI 8-6 • SATURDAY 9-5 • SUNDAY 10-4 We Service What We Sell The Daily Astorian Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published daily, except Saturday and Sunday, by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503- 325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. 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