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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 3, 2015)
Entrepreneurs unite Teeing up oysters WEEKEND EDITION INSIDE 143rd YEAR, No. 3 FRIDAY EXTRA • 3C FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 ONE DOLLAR Riverwalk Inn lease still up for grabs Lease transfer never happened By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Combustible mix JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian Customers browse through the selection of fireworks and the firework stand in the parking lot of Fred Meyer in Warrenton. Authorities advise people to stay safe on Fourth of July See LEASE, Page 8A Recreational pot bill goes to governor By KYLE SPURR The Daily Astorian 8nusually dry weather, À ocks of tourists and legal marijuana are cre- ating a potentially dangerous combi- nation for local law enforcement this Fourth of July weekend. Add in the annual concerns about illegal ¿ reworks, and of¿ cials have their hands full. “I think most local folks are pret- ty well versed in what they can and cannot do or should or should not do,” Astoria Fire Chief Ted Ames said. “When we get such a large in- À ux of out-of-town folks, therein lies the issue we have, especially folks from different states. But my biggest concern this year is how dry it is.” Each year, Ames suggests people follow the state Fire Marshal’s Of¿ ce directives known as the Four B’s of safe ¿ reworks use Be prepared before lighting ¿ re- works and keep water available by using a garden hose or bucket; Be safe when lighting ¿ reworks and keep children and pets away from ¿ reworks; • Be responsible after lighting ¿ reworks and never relight a dud. Wait 15 to 20 minutes then soak it in a bucket of water before disposal; • Be aware and use only legal ¿ reworks and use them only in legal places. Ames said people also need to be aware that Oregon has different ¿ re- The Astoria Riverwalk Inn might still be up for grabs, a month after the Port of Astoria Commission vot- ed to allow the lease to transfer from Brad Smithart’s Hospitality Masters to Ganesh Sonpatki’s Param Hotel Group. Sonpatki offered to pay off Smi- thart’s large debts to the Port, the city of Astoria and Clatsop C ounty, in ex- change for assuming his lease. But the lease transfer never hap- pened, Smithart still owes lots of money, and the people trying to make a deal happen are having trou- ble reaching him. “With Brad, it’s always hard to tell whether this is a purposeful stall- ing,” Jim Knight, the Port’s e xecu- tive d irector, said. “Maybe it’s be- cause he’s negotiating with another potential party.” Smithart did not respond to multi- ple requests for an interview. Knight estimated Smithart’s past- due rent and revenue sharing owed to the Port at upward of $250,000. Susan Brooks, director of ¿ nance for the city of Astoria, said Smithart owed the city $92,000 in lodging taxes and $13,000 in past-due water JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian Fireworks on display at the fire- works stand in the Fred Meyer parking lot. JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian Tom Ank helps customers at the fireworks stand in the Fred Meyer parking lot Thursday. works laws than Washington state or Idaho. Fireworks that explode, eject balls of ¿ re, À y into the air, or travel more than 6 feet on the ground or 12 inches into the air are illegal in Or- egon. The Astoria Fire Department spent time inspecting ¿ reworks stands and assisted with preparing the Astoria ¿ reworks display for the Fourth of July. With high ¿ re danger around the region, Ames said, people need to use common sense and not light off ¿ reworks in their backyards, but rather on pavement or cement. The dry conditions have already caused Ilwaco, Wash., and South Bend, Wash., to ban the use of pro- jectile and aerial ¿ reworks. No bans are in effect in Clatsop County. “It makes me nervous over here with the hillside and urban forest we have,” Ames said. “The biggest thing for folks to do is use their good com- mon sense and be safe doing this, please.” Extra patrols Seaside Police Chief Dave Ham said his department will be assisted by Oregon State Police and the Can- non Beach Police Department during the Fourth of July. State police will send nine troop- ers to help with traf¿ c enforcement and crowd control in downtown Sea- side. Cannon Beach Police will send two of¿ cers to Seaside. Ham said his department sends of¿ cers to help with Cannon Beach’s large events such as the recent Sand- castle Contest. Having Cannon Beach Police send of¿ cers for the Fourth is just them returning the fa- vor, he said. In addition to the 11 extra of¿ - cers, Seaside’s own patrol of¿ cers plan to work overtime . The extra staf¿ ng is necessary, Ham said, especially with the holi- day falling on such a warm weekend. Temperatures are expected to reach triple digits in the Portland metro area and Willamette Valley. “The weather pattern is one of the best we have seen,” he said. “With the heat in the v alley, (visitors) are going to be coming here.” Besides preparing for more visi- tors, Ham is prepping his of¿ cers on how to handle the recent legalization of marijuana in Oregon. People can use marijuana in their own homes as of July 1, but are not allowed to take the drug out in public, which Ham is concerned people will try to do during Fourth of July festivities. “We are little bit concerned and paying attention to that,” Ham said. See FIREWORKS, Page 8A Medical shops could sell to all adults in October By HILLARY BORRUD Capital Bureau SALEM — Oregon medical mar- ijuana dispensaries would be allowed to temporarily sell limited amounts of pot to all adults in Oregon starting Oct. 1, under a bill headed to Gov. Kate Brown for a signature. Lawmakers want to provide a legal way for Oregonians to pur- chase marijuana, because the state’s recreational marijuana retail system likely will not launch until late 2016. Possession and consumption of mar- ijuana for adults age 21 and older be- came legal in Oregon Wednesday un- der Measure 91, which voters passed in November. Senate Bill 460 would allow rec- reational customers to purchase can- nabis seeds, plants that are not À ow- ering and up to one-quarter ounce of marijuana À owers or leaves from medical marijuana dispensaries. The Oregon House passed the bill 40-19 on Thursday. The legislation had See POT, Page 8A Court tosses exceptional murder sentence Former Oregon police of¿ cer had been sentenced to 88 years By NATALIE ST. JOHN EO Media Group OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington State Supreme Court has ruled that the s tate Court of Appeals made the right decision in May 2014 when it threw out convicted murderer Brian Brush’s exceptional 88- year sentence. In an opinion ¿ led Thurs- day , a panel of four justices concluded that by providing jurors with guidance about how to evaluate the case, the Paci¿ c County Superior Court violated a rule that prohibits judges from commenting on evidence. That decision means that Brush is still guilty of ¿ rst-de- gree murder, but Paci¿ c County will have to hold the sentencing phase of his trial again. And Brush — who has been serving his sentence in the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Wal- la — will have to return to Pacif- ic County until his fate has been decided again. The ruling “… is manifest- ly unfair to the victim and her family, and an appalling miscar- riage of justice,” Paci¿ c Coun- ty Prosecutor Mark McClain said in an email Thursday. “Mr. Brush received an appropriate sentence for his actions the ¿ rst time around and now this family has to be put through this again. Simply tragic.” McClain said the county has two options. First, prosecutors could try to sentence Brush to something in the standard sen- tencing range for ¿ rst-degree murder with a ¿ rearm. That would result in a sentence of somewhere between 25 and about 31 years, minus time served. Second, the prosecutors could again try to convince the judge that Brush deserves an ex- ceptional sentence. McClain said he has spoken brieÀ y with the victim’s family. He plans to talk with them again See MURDER, Page 8A EO Media Group File Brian Brush, center with bald head, sat with his attorneys in the Pacific County Courtroom during his original sen- tencing in February 2012. He will be heading back to court for reconsideration of that sentence following a Washing- ton State Supreme Court decision Thursday.