THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2015
Big goobers
Cruise Host volunteer is proud of Astoria
W
ell, once again we have
shown the world just
what big goobers we are here
in Clatsop County. We expect
thousands of people in town
for the Goonies event, and we
dress our Astoria Column so it
looks like a giant penis with a
condom, especially at night.
Then, in spite of years of
talk about becoming a tourist
destination, we have gone to
great lengths to scare off the
only thing attracting any tour-
ists, sea lions. “Dorca” the orca
was a nice touch. It looked so
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national news.
The sea lions must be laugh-
ing themselves silly at the
attempts to get rid of them. I
know the rest of us are. Keep
up the good work.
DAVE BERGQUIST
Gearhart
FRIDAY EXCHANGE
I
worked as a volunteer Cruise Host
May 14 while a ship visited Astoria.
I am so proud of our community. I had
the privilege of helping an 87-year-old
Australian woman take care of a cou-
ple of concerns. She needed a replace-
ment part for her hearing aid, and had
also broken a tooth during her current
30 days cruising since leaving Hong
Kong. She accompanied me in my car,
and off we went.
questionable working condi-
tions, by workers who are all
but slaves, or at best indentured.
To think that this can be
happening, and that we aren’t
outraged by it, is stunning.
The American worker was the
envy of the world just a few
\HDUVEDFNDQGQRZ¿QGVKLP-
self making poor wages, often
working two jobs just to make
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a meager income. We must
f the person suggesting beach change this.
balls for sea lion deterrence
The answer is to do what
was a female, then it’s easy to has been done for centuries
understand the local reluctance past. We must tax and encum-
to try this method. Pure sexism. ber these cheaply made goods
I think there will also be and encourage the purchase of
UHOXFWDQFH WR WU\ WDOO ÀDJV DV products “ Made in America.”
a method of cormorant deter- We must impose tariffs and
UHQFH 7KLQN VFDUHFURZV ÀDJ embargoes on products that
style. Birds hate them. I mean are produced by poorly paid
WKRVHFDUORWFRORUIXOÀDJVDORQJ workers, and/or under condi-
sidewalks everywhere. These tions that would violate our
are cheap. No more than two own labor laws. Not only will
would be required for a test.
it help American workers, but
J. E. BOLES it might stimulate better wages
Portland and conditions for foreign wage
earners. Both are desirable out-
Wyden for president comes
JACK GUYOT
t this point in time, Hil-
Astoria
lary Clinton seems to be
the only nominee acceptable to
the Democratic Party. The only 6WRSWKHFDQ
he state of Oregon has
other announced nominee is
been playing a long-run-
from New Hampshire — who
is registered as Independent, ning game of Kick the Can in
but now is running as a Dem- UHJDUG WR WKH OLTXH¿HG QDWXUDO
ocrat. He is 73 years old. That gas terminal and pipeline pro-
alone makes him an undesir- posed for Warrenton. Our new
able presidential candidate.
governor, Kate Brown, claims
I believe that Hillary Clin- she will “insist that every reg-
ton would be better served if ulatory board and agency do its
she had a viable opponent at the job fully and correctly” (The
Democrat Party Convention, Oregonian, May 31)
which is now almost a year
The can that continually
away. I personally have been a gets kicked is the Consisten-
supporter of President Obama’s F\ &HUWL¿FDWLRQ 2UHJRQ /1*
policies, and I believe that he requested such a letter from
has done the most of any recent Oregon Department of Land
president to provide for our na- Conservation and Develop-
tion’s peace, prosperity and to ment in July 2013. Seven times
promote world peace.
this state agency has ducked the
+H KDV KDG D GLI¿FXOW WLPH question, and repeatedly kicked
because he has been a minori- the can down the road.
ty president, with a Republi-
Seems like this letter is just
can-dominated House of Rep- one more item on the check list,
resentatives (and now even the but it turns out the Consistency
Senate) who have disagreed &HUWL¿FDWLRQ LV WKH NH\ WR WKH
with him at every turn and have kingdom. When Oregon noti-
tried to block many of the suc- ¿HV WKH )HGHUDO (QHUJ\ 5HJ-
cessful policies he has promot- ulatory Commission that the
ed — such as the antinuclear application does not comply
proposed agreement with Iran, with local and state law, then
the closing of Guantanamo, according to the Coastal Zone
and a variety of economic and Management Act, the applica-
¿QDQFLDO PHDVXUHV WR HQVXUH tion cannot move forward on
economic stability.
the federal level.
The person whom I think is
In October 2013, Clatsop
PRVW ÀH[LEOH SROLWLFDOO\ ² DO- County commissioners voted
though he, too, switched par- 5-0 that the 42-mile pipeline,
ties on some votes — is U.S bisecting Clatsop County, does
Sen. Ron Wyden, who is a lot not meet local land use codes.
like President Obama because Will Gov. Brown uphold Or-
his parents were refugees who egon land use law, which re-
came to this country seeking quires consistency with local
freedom. Wyden’s family came land use regulations?
from Europe. His father was a
The path to denial is
refugee from the Holocaust in clear. On April 29, the Land
Nazi Germany.
Use Board of Appeals upheld
Ron Wyden was born in the the Clatsop County decision.
U.S., and so is constitutionally Our state agencies have the
eligible to become president.
tools they need to end this 10-
JACK L. GRAVES year nightmare. They simply
Garibaldi await decisive leadership on the
issue of exporting fossil on the
Columbia River.
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Right now, Gov. Brown
lthough I applaud the pres- holds this key in her hands. Will
ident’s recent call for mod- she back our locally elected of-
eration in the cost of college for ¿FLDOV DQG WKH SHRSOH RI &ODW-
our young people, I feel that sop County who have clearly,
the administration is overlook- consistently said no to Oregon
ing an even greater urgency, LNG?
and that is jobs for the working
The action is simple. We
class.
call upon Gov. Brown to deny
Ever since the Reagan WKH &RQVLVWHQF\ &HUWL¿FDWLRQ
years, the specter of foreign DQGLQIRUP)(5&WKDWWKH2U-
competition for jobs in manu- egon LNG proposal does not
facturing has hung like a shroud meet the land use laws of our
over working Americans, and state.
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Gov. Brown can do better
to relieve their anxiety. Pres- than Kick the Can. We urge
ently, foreign-made goods are our governor to stand up for
available in our stores in di- the people and laws of Oregon.
rect competition with goods
CHERYL JOHNSON
made by American workers in
Astoria
American factories. Since there
are little or no restrictions on
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their import and sale, they are
ometimes, this world turns
in direct and unfair completion
around an axis my heart
with products made here and by
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American workers.
If the Asian workers were listened to, and agreed with,
being paid at a corresponding those who accuse conservatives
wage rate, it would be a fair (in general) of being devoted
competition, but they are not. to the unborn, but not the born,
Many of these goods and prod- with those with the potential to
ucts are manufactured under be, but not those who already
I
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T
A
S
The hearing center had the nec-
essary replacement part for her
hearing aid, and did not charge her
a cent for their assistance. Next, I
took her to my dentist, and he was
able to address her concerns; and
again there was no cost to her. Both
businesses treated her with the ut-
most care and concern and enjoyed
visiting with her, and she shared
where she was from and how im-
are. But recently, I’ve been
reminded of both liberals and
conservatives can fail kids, who
should know the love and pro-
tection of their arms.
Through friends (foster
parents) I’ve come to know
several of the foster children
in our community, an un-
happy circumstance a great
number of people are trying
to change, despite a constant
replenishing tide of challeng-
es and children.
There is one boy’s fate that
particularly grieves me, at
present. He’s 6. I’ve been told
he was moved to this coun-
ty because no one wanted to
adopt him where he’s from.
Now, it seems he’s likely to be
moved to another county, for
the same reason. Of course,
the older he gets, the less like-
ly someone will claim him as
their own.
Here’s a boy that two coun-
ties of liberal and conservative
adults have said no to being his
mom and dad, to offering him
that most essential element in
human happiness — family.
Here, “family values,” and “lib-
eral values” seem empty words,
used more to blame others than
achieve any real good.
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Day for one boy, and that is a
VDG UHÀHFWLRQ XSRQ RXU FRP-
munity, both liberal and con-
servative. Don’t brag about As-
toria to me for a while, I don’t
want to hear it.
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M. ALEXANDER “SA-
SHA” MILLER
Astoria
pressed she was with Astoria.
A veteran world traveler, she shared
with me the friendly, capable assistance
that she received in Astoria would be
the talk at her dining table that night,
and was an experience she’ll never for-
get. I am so fortunate to live here and
call this remarkable community my
home.
CINDY HANSEN
Warrenton
the beginning of the 1970s,
income inequality has sky-
rocketed; union membership
has collapsed, while execu-
tive pay has become obscene.
President Eisenhower’s demo-
cratic promise of a free college
education has been quashed.
College is now out of the reach
of our middle class. While the
military corporate complex
grinds on to perpetual war, our
privacy has disappeared down
a black hole.
Is it any wonder that ordi-
nary Americans can all agree
that our democracy is broken,
because there is too much mon-
ey in politics?
Maybe there is too much
transparency in government?
Individually, citizens may be
protected by the secret ballot
box, but Congress has no such
protection from corporate bul-
lying and bribery. The tsuna-
mic rise of the cost of running
IRU RI¿FH VLQFH WKH V KDV
compounded their reliance on
special interest Political Action
Committees.
Our slide to self-destruction
began after Congress lost all its
privacy, with the quiet passage
of the Legislative Reorganiza-
tion Act of 1970 under the guise
of “transparency.”
Maybe it is no accident
that Oregon Rep. Julie Parish,
who moved with her House
Bill 3505 to quash safeguards
now in place that shield our
VWDWH¶V HOHFWHG RI¿FLDOV ZLWK
her double speak — that it
was about money in poli-
tics and democracy), is from
the “right” side of the aisle?
Maybe complete transparen-
cy since 1970 has no doubt
7UDQVSDUHQF\
exposed the American people
ur approval rating for our to the hijacking of our democ-
JRYHUQPHQW RI¿FLDOV LV racy? Maybe, with less trans-
an abysmal 7 percent. Since parency in 2008-2009, the
O
Riverfront Vision Plan would
never have come to pass?
I may be called grey-haired.
However, in a time where red is
blue, war is peace, freedom is
slavery, ignorance is strength,
right is wrong, and transparen-
cy is confused — maybe being
able to remember is not such a
bad thing.
DANI WILLIAMS, ESQ.
Astoria
No gossip
I
am writing regarding the
Mouth of the Columbia re-
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ingredients and proper prepara-
tion, Seaside restaurant makes
simplicity sing,” Coast Week-
end, June 4).
My husband, Dennis, and
, SXUFKDVHG WKH )LUHKRXVH
Grill and took over on May
12. In the review, which hit
the stands three weeks later,
the Mouth states that we own
Dooger’s, and that is not so. I
love social media and reviews,
which over 95 percent of the
time are favorable for the
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eown’s Restaurant and Bar,
The Irish Pub at McKeown’s,
Nonni’s Italian Bistro and now
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I appreciate reviews because
they are normally unbiased per-
sonal experiences, and there is
always constructive criticism
that can be taken and used to
provide a better product or ex-
perience for people. I do, how-
ever, think that the last part of
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focused on hearsay and projec-
tions of change and declining
food quality.
In my opinion, that should
have been left out of this re-
view, and we should be given
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the chance to prove ourselves
to the Mouth by an actual vis-
it or experience, and not what
gossip is going around town.
NANCY MCKEOWN
Seaside
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our Astoria City Council
members (Cindy Price,
Zetty Nemlowill, Russ Warr
and Arline LaMear) voted to
allow developers to construct
35-foot-high buildings over
the Columbia River along
the western Riverwalk, thus
depriving walkers and trolley
riders, as well as patrons of
the Ship Inn and Stephanie’s
Cabin, of the current expan-
sive views of the river and
bridge.
Monday’s council meet-
ing includes a required second
reading and vote on the Bridge
“No Vista” Plan. That offers
Councilor Price an opportuni-
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what her constituents have
said loudly and clearly — that
they do not want tall structures
blocking views of the river. It
is sad that Councilor Nemlow-
ill, who represents the affected
area, supported such construc-
tion. The council could have
voted for a maximum of 25 or
12 feet or even bank-high, but
they chose three-story build-
ings instead.
When Price, Nemlowill and
LaMear campaign for re-elec-
tion in three years, many of us
will recall their votes on this
“No Vista” plan, and remind
others that they chose to ignore
the voices of Astoria’s resi-
dents. I doubt that their votes
will be featured in their cam-
paign literature.
5HDGHUV FDQ ¿QG HPDLO DG-
dresses on the city website for
contacting council members at
www.astoria.or.us/City_Coun-
cil.aspx, and the public can be
heard at the 7 p.m. city council
meeting on Monday.
We also need to thank
Councilor Drew Herzig for his
vote against the plan as cur-
rently written. Perhaps he and
others can convince our coun-
cil to modify and improve this
plan before our splendid views
of the Columbia River and the
Astoria Bridge are merely a
memory.
MARY LANGLEY
Astoria