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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2016)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016 Oregon games not implicated Federal hydrologist says in lottery ¿xing scandal Oregon’s snowpack in good shape for summer By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — The likelihood of winning a lottery jackpot is less than dying in a plane crash, catching a Àesh-eating bacteria or being duped by a corrupt lottery employee. The integrity of lottery games nationwide are in question amid an investi- gation into jackpot ¿xing that started in Iowa and has spread to at least four other states — Colorado, Wiscon- sin, Oklahoma and Kansas, according to The Associated Press. There is no information that games offered in Oregon have been compromised, said Oregon Lottery spokesman Chuck Baumann. The investigation stems from accusations that a for- mer security director at the Urbandale, Iowa-based Multi-State Lottery Associ- ation installed root kit soft- ware on the association’s random number generators to ¿nd out winning numbers in advance, The Associated Press reported. Former security director Eddie Tipton, who worked for the lottery association for 11 years, was convicted in July of fraud for work- ing with associates to try to claim a $16.5 million Hot Lotto jackpot he had rigged in Iowa. He has since been charged with criminal con- duct and money laundering involving lotteries in Colo- rado, Wisconsin and Okla- homa, The Associated Press reported. Games in 44 states The nonpro¿t lottery asso- ciation administers a variety of lottery games in 44 states, including Hot Lotto, Wild Card, Powerball and Mega Millions. The only Multi-State Lot- tery Association-adminis- tered games Oregon partic- ipates in are Powerball and Mega Millions, Baumann said. The winning numbers for those games are selected in a live televised drawing. The Powerball drawing is held at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. The pro- cess is the same for Mega Millions except that the drawing takes place in Atlan- ta, Georgia. Idaho Lottery Director Jeff Anderson, chairman of the lottery association board, did not immediately respond to messages inquiring wheth- Associated Press SALEM — While it’s too soon to say Oregon’s drought is over, experts say they’re relieved by December’s abundant snowfall. “It’s so awesome to see the snow hanging on the trees. We sure didn’t see that last year,” hydrologist Julie Koeberle of the United States Department of Agri- culture’s Natural Resources Conservation Station in Port- land told The Capital Press. Koeberle was at Timber- line Lodge on Mount Hood, trekking through the snow on cross-country skis to take measurements. She learned that as of Dec. 29, 7 feet of snow had accumulated there. EO Media Group There is no information that games offered in Oregon have been compromised by a lottery fixing scandal involving the Multi-State Lottery Association. er Tipton had access to lot- tery equipment or computers outside of Iowa, where the association is based. Security precautions Oregon’s Game Mega- bucks uses an International Game Technology random number generator to yield winning combinations. That computer is housed at the Oregon Lottery headquarters in Salem. The random num- ber generator is a stand-alone computer under 24-hour vid- eo surveillance and is not part of the Oregon Lottery’s cen- tral computer system, Bau- mann said. International Game Tech- nology and the Oregon State Police Lottery Security Sec- tion evaluate and monitor the security controls, he said. The random number gen- erator “has no knowledge of the ticket number combi- nations that have been pur- chased for any of the draw- ings,” Baumann said. At draw time, the lottery’s central computer system, with no human involvement “asks” the random number generator for the set of win- ning numbers, he said. An independent testing laboratory also certi¿es the number generator at random, he said. He did not immediately have information about how many people have access to the random number genera- tor. Geoff Greenwood, spokesman for the Iowa At- torney General, said that of¿ce would notify proper authorities of any alleged il- legal activity in other states that might be discovered during the course of its in- vestigation. Tough odds What are the odds of win- ning the lottery in Oregon? The odds of winning the jackpot in any of the three games offered in Oregon are dismal, but players have bet- ter chances winning at the state’s homegrown game, Megabucks. According to the Oregon Lottery, the odds of winning that is 1-in-6.1 mil- lion compared with winning Powerball, 1-in-292 million, and Mega Millions, 1-in-258 million. The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. Neighbors: Couple ¿nds a place to grow in Astoria Continued from Page 1A masculinity, along with the rustic, outdoorsy feel of the store and her appreciation for Native American culture. She primarily runs the shop, handpicking the eclectic array of clothing, grooming and hygiene products, from mustache wa[ to Àeece Nordic leggings. Conn handles the ex- pansive vinyl record collection and helps source the mens- wear. In his day job, he is one of several commercial brewers at Buoy Beer Co., where he started in June. Moving up the West Coast Johnsen and Conn original- ly met as teenage undergradu- ates in San Francisco. “I was going to art school, and I decided that wasn’t for me,” said Conn, who eventual- ly found his calling in brewing. Shortly after meeting, and after bouncing some around California, the two moved north to Portland. “Without even visiting Ore- gon, I knew I wanted to live up north,” Johnsen said, adding there was a more supportive artistic community and a better brewing culture than in Cali- fornia. After growing up in the deserts of eastern San Diego, the rain and trees also appealed to Johnsen, who said the only thing she misses about home is the burritos. The couple went through a separation and Conn left Portland for Chicago, where he earned a brewing degree from the Siebel Institute. After school, he moved back to the Bay Area and worked at Tru- mer Pils in Berkley, not return- ing to Portland until summer 2012, when he started working at Laurelwood Brewing. Johnsen said she stayed in Portland to become a resident while studying at Portland State University. College was on-and-off for Johnsen, de- pending on job opportunities. About four years ago, she started thinking about Doe + Arrow, after gaining enough experience working in bou- tique shops, but said much of her initial savings for a shop went into a backpacking ad- venture around Europe. While she was gone, her parents moved from Rocka- way Beach to Astoria, where she lived for a while a few years ago and said she had dreamed of opening her busi- ness. Eventually, she and Conn came back together again in Portland. After an Easter visit to Astoria and getting in touch with Paul Caruana, owner of the Astor Hotel building, they moved to the coast last spring. Weaving into local fabric “It’s rewarding to be in a town with so much history, and slowly interweaving into that fabric,” Conn said, adding he gets dual exposure through the brewery and Doe + Arrow. Much of the couple’s com- munity involvement has come through their business. At Doe + Arrow, they sell Sackcloth & Ashes Blankets. For every one sold, another is donated to the Astoria Rescue Mission. Both music connoisseurs, they sell vinyl records at the store and recently joined an inaugural vinyl record exchange at the Commodore Hotel. Johnsen said they eventually want to do record nights at Doe + Ar- row, gathering people to eat, drink and enjoy music — “like a record happy hour,” added Conn. In their spare time, Johnsen and Conn said they enjoy exploring the outdoors and spending time with their pug, Oliver, and a black lab-shep- herd mix named Barry Ma- nilow. Johnsen said she and other female business owners also gather to talk about their challenges and successes. “I haven’t had a bad day,” Johnsen said, feeling as if she’s reached her dream. “We re- ceive a lot of positive support. I’ve woken up happy and ex- cited for what the day holds.” What’s more, she said it con- tained 21.5 inches of water on Dec. 29 — already more than the 20 inches measure at the peak snowfall in April. “Snowpack is the life- blood of the West. This is such a relief from last year,” she said. The mountain snow stores water that will help ir- rigate crops, cool salmon and spin turbines come summer- time. The past season’s North- west snowpack was mostly gone by May. The drought stunted crops, killed ¿sh and left the land dry and vulnera- ble to ¿res. The NRCS maintains 82 monitoring sites in Oregon that electronically report snowfall and water content information. At the end of December, they were re- porting water levels that were 150 percent of normal for that date. But last year, nearly half of the long-term locations were reporting the lowest snowpack on record. “This is a great way to start,” Koeberle said. “To be already better than last year is a little bit comforting.” Some complications re- main, though. The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center said the rest of the season should be warmer than normal in the Paci¿c Northwest. Koeberle said by email that the forecast makes her worried that January could be warmer and drier. Slope: City staff was surprised by developer’s interest in area Continued from Page 1A “The way our code is writ- ten, it would be dif¿cult for the city to say ‘no’ if they had an engineer — a geotechnical engineer — who said they felt it could work,” Estes said. The property in Up- pertown might be in the un- mistakable risk category, both geologically and politi- cally. Skip Hauke, who is now the executive director of the Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce, had sought to build a commercial proj- ect on the land after the new Safeway went in across the street at the site of the old Hauke’s Sentry Market. Neighbors complained when excavation work at the foot of the slope by Jim Wilkins, a local contractor, caused slides that damaged property. Lawsuits over the damage were eventually set- tled, but the experience has become a cautionary example of the risks of building on or near hillsides. Hauke eventually donated the property to Clatsop Com- munity Action, a nonpro¿t that intended — but was nev- er able — to establish a com- munity garden. A surprise Given the turbulent his- tory, and the idea that the property would be used as a community garden, city staff was surprised that a commer- cial developer was interested in building. Both the city and Clatsop Community Action declined to identify the developer. Clatsop Community Ac- tion has sought to sell the property because the non- pro¿t has to pay property tax- es and liability insurance on the land, which is not being used to advance the nonprof- it’s mission. “We’re not wanting to promote any development,” said Elaine Bruce, the direc- tor of social services at Clat- sop Community Action. “We just want to be released of the property. “We’re a nonpro¿t orga- nization. We’d rather use the money to help low-income clients.” Estes said the city would work with Bruce and Clatsop Community Action on op- tions to potentially reduce the nonpro¿t’s tax liability and ease the pressure to sell. “They understand the city’s concern,” he said. “And they don’t seem to be wanting to get sideways with the city on this, either.” The Liberty Theater Presents... e T R a la c A kind! ne of a .o .. e ic r ....one p one size THE $99 ART “a la cARTe” SALE A FABULOUS FUNDRAISER FOR THE LIBERTY THEATER . SATURDAY, JANUARY 16, 2016: 2 to 3:30pm at the historic Columbia Maritime Barbey Center. Each original piece is created by local NW artists and from across the country. Participants include well- known artists like N OEL T HOMAS , E RIC W IEGARDT , D ARREN O RANGE , C AROL R ILEY , G IN L AUGHERY , D ON N ISBETT and some yet to be discovered newcomers to the art scene. Astoria Visual Arts, Artist-in-Residence Program , will be participating this year at Art ala cARTe. TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW FOR $15 AT THE LIBERTY BOX OFFICE , WHICH IS OPEN WEDNESDAY TO SATURDAY FROM 2 TO 5 PM . LAST DAY TO PURCHASE TICKETS IS JANUARY 15, 2016. S PONSORED BY : US B ANK , T HE D AILY A STORIAN , T HE B ANK OF THE P ACIFIC , AND C OLUMBIA B ANK