9A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2016
Inn: Port heard proposals Irom several diIIerent groups
Continued from Page 1A
Deal gone bad
+unter¶s client, *anesh
Sonpatki, had been negotiat-
ing with the Port and heavil\
indebted hotelier Brad Smi-
thart since 1 to take over
the Riverwalk ,nn and pa\ oII
Smithart¶s debts to the cit\ and
the Port ,n exchange, Son-
patki would get the two \ears
remaining on Smithart¶s lease
and an option Ior a ¿ve-\ear
extension
The Port &ommission
voted in -une to have staII
¿nalize an agreement, but the
deal was never ¿nalized Luke
Reese, the Port¶s attorne\,
claims Param canceled con-
tract negotiations beIore the\
were completed, while Hunter
claims the Port wrongIull\
walked awa\ Irom a binding
agreement
While the deal with Param
languished, the Port was the short-term operators while
approached in -ul\ b\ Orr, the agenc\ created a reTuest
president oI Signature Sea- Ior proposals Ior a long-
Ioods in Seattle, and Trabucco, term understanding Within
a local developer Iormerl\ a month, Param ¿led suit
behind the Hotel
The Port put the
(lliott The two
reTuest Ior propos-
oIIered a similar
als on hold, pending
deal to Sonpatki¶s
the outcome oI the
The Port even-
lawsuit
tuall\ heard pro-
posals Irom sev-
Public issue,
eral
diIIerent
or private
groups, including
gain?
local restaurateur
,n
Januar\,
and adult home
Hospitalit\ 9en-
operator Kruparao
tures¶ law\er, Wil-
Ganesh
Kancharla, &om-
liam 0iner, ¿led
Sonpatki
Iort Suites &olum-
a motion to strike
bia River owner James Param¶s claim against Hos-
0ullo\ and Bellingham, pitalit\ 9entures and take his
Washington, hotelier 0ark clients out oI the case His
motion rests on a state law
Hollander
The Port &ommission ulti- covering the right oI petition
matel\ voted in September and Iree speech on issues oI
to install Orr¶s and Trabuc- public interest — the public
co¶s Hospitalit\ 9entures as issue being the Port-owned
Daily Astorian/File Photo
The Astoria Riverwalk Inn as seen from the West End Mooring Basin last year.
Riverwalk ,nn The law is
known as an anti-SLAPP
(strategic lawsuit against
public participation statute
Hunter responded to 0in-
er¶s motion to strike, sa\-
ing Orr and Trabucco are
not covered b\ the statute
because the\ interIered with
Param¶s business relation-
ships Ior their own private
¿nancial gain
“As courts have repeat-
edl\ recognized, conduct
oI that nature is not subMect
to the anti-SLAPP statute,”
Hunter wrote “(ven iI the
statute applies, Param has
introduced substantial evi-
dence in support oI its claim
Ior interIerence”
Liquor: &raIt beer, winemakers oppose privatization
Continued from Page 1A
Replacing that revenue
might be challenging given
that the Oregon Legislature
neeGs a three¿Iths maMorit\
to pass a new tax, said Paul
Romain, a lobb\ist Ior the
Oregon Beer & Wine Distrib-
utors Association, which is a
member oI the coalition
The measure also would
liNel\ increase the num-
ber oI liTuor outlets in Ore-
gon There were liTuor
stores in the state, as oI 0arch
, according to the Oregon
LiTuor &ontrol &ommission
Beer, wine opposition
&raIt beer and winemaNers
oppose privatization because
liTuor would compete with
beer and wine Ior both store
shelI space and bu\ers
³,I there is liTuor in the
store, the shelI space has to
come somewhere,” said Paul
Romain, a lobb\ist Ior the
Oregon Beer & Wine Distrib-
utors Association ³,n Wash-
ington state, a lot oI the winer-
ies that had product in stores,
their numbers went down
because the shelI space was
then used Ior liTuor”
Oregon is one oI a dimin-
ishing number oI states that
still regulates pricing, mar-
keting ,distribution and retail
sales oI liTuor, according to
Oregonians Ior &ompetition,
a coalition oI grocers, retail-
ers, craIt distillers, and con-
sumers who support the ini-
tiative Oregon is one oI
13 states that still controls
retail sales through govern-
ment-operated stores or des-
ignated agents, according to
the National Alcohol Bever-
age &ontrol Association
“We believe Oregonians
are read\ to end the state¶s
monopol\ on liTuor sales
and allow Oregon consum-
ers to bu\ liTuor at Tuali-
¿ed grocer\ and retail stores
² Must like consumers do in
most other states,” co-sponsor
L\nn *ust, retired president
oI Portland-based )red 0e\er
6tores, said in a statement
“The initiative will allow the
state to Iocus more on alco-
hol law enIorcement, which is
what Oregon voters originall\
intended the OL&& to do”
Don Ryan/AP Photo
Joe Bascuti stocks shelves at a liquor store in Portland.
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