OPINION
4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2016
GUEST COLUMN
Founded in 1873
Oregon can deny LNG now
STEPHEN A. FORRESTER, Editor & Publisher
LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor
BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager
CARL EARL, Systems Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager
DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager
HEATHER RAMSDELL, Circulation Manager
Workforce housing
may cause discomfort
With few building sites, leaders
must become pragmatic
f Astoria wants more workforce housing, the City Council and
the public must become more realistic. Two recent situations
illustrate why this will be a challenge.
One was the developer Dick impairment is that the col-
Krueger’s proposal to develop lege for decades charged virtu-
housing on the Central School ally no rent for its use. The col-
block, a site bounded by Irving lege board allowed performing
and Jerome, Ninth and Tenth. groups to live in an unreal world,
The second was a Portland in which there was no revenue
developer’s proposal to buy the stream to maintain the building
Clatsop Community College and build reserves for the inevi-
Performing Arts Center and table capital investment.
7KH ¿UVW V\PSWRP RI WKH
the Josie Peper building for the
building’s mortality happened
purpose of building housing.
Krueger retreated when res- under CCC President John
idents surrounding Central Wubben, when the building’s
School raised concerns about steeple was removed, because
his concept of attached housing. it was rotten. The PAC today
Residents preferred detached has $1 million in deferred
maintenance, according to the
homes.
If anything unites these two FROOHJH¶VFKLHI¿QDQFLDORI¿FHU
The real question is whether
incidents, it is that a constit-
uency decided a developer’s the PAC and the adjoining Josie
interest would put something Peper building could be demol-
they value in jeopardy. For the ished and replaced with work-
Central School neighbors, the force housing. To the PAC’s
lot itself is precious in many supporters, Partners for the PAC,
ways. With the college’s prop- that would be an earthquake.
The larger reality is that
erty, a group wants to see the
Astoria doesn’t have many
PAC preserved in perpetuity.
Working with neighbors is sites to build affordable, work-
part of what a developer must force housing. So if the city
do these days. So it may be that truly wants more, leaders such
another developer would have as the City Council and CCC
the tenacity to negotiate a solu- Board of Directors cannot
tion on the Central School site. afford to dismiss considerations
The Performing Arts Center WKDWVRPH$VWRULDQVPLJKW¿QG
is a stickier wicket, because alarming on the surface. They
WKHEXLOGLQJLVD¿QDQFLDOGDUN must ask, “How can we make
hole. The root of the PAC’s something happen here?”
I
Transparency loses
with Gov. Brown
W
ho owns government
information — citizens,
or the public employees our
taxes pay to produce it?
Oregon continues to struggle
with this issue, as our Capital
Bureau reporters explored in
Tuesday story about the wan-
ing drive for transparency
reforms in the state capital.
Gov. Kate Brown succeeded
in some small efforts directed
at situations arising from the
Kitzhaber/Hayes scandal. But
more meaningful improve-
ments have died on the vine.
A legislative leader told our
reporters that a key reform
stalled this year because city
and county governments
opposed deadlines and fee lim-
its in the bill.
,WLVDOZD\VSRVVLEOHWR¿QG
H[DPSOHV RI JDGÀLHV VWUHWFK-
ing open-records laws by mak-
ing overly broad or burden-
some requests. However, the
American system of govern-
ment deliberately vests the
news media and citizen activ-
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Protesters use signs to shield themselves from the rain during a rally before the Oregon Liquefied Natural
Gas permit public hearing at the Warrenton Community Center.
Meanwhile, the Department of
Land Conservation and Development
has yet to deny Oregon LNG’s pro-
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Oregon’s Coastal Zone law. We urge
you to support agency actions that
reject the Oregon LNG project — at
the earliest possible opportunity.
Such a statement from you would
be timely and appropriate, since both
proposals are faltering badly. Jordan
Cove was denied by FERC in a land-
mark decision. Oregon LNG lacks
By CHERYL JOHNSON and
control of the terminal site, and it has
LAURIE CAPLAN
failed to obtain local permits for a ter-
Columbia Paci¿c Common Sense
minal or a pipeline. Now is the time
he state of Oregon is in a uniquely for the state to intervene decisively to
powerful position to end the issue uphold county and state law.
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of LNG export altogether. We urge
you, as the State Land Board, to sup- hired by the city of Warrenton denied
port state actions that stop proposals the Oregon LNG export terminal pro-
posed for Warrenton.
to export LNG from Oregon.
• Oregon LNG does not have use
As the State Land Board, you have
of its proposed site. In
the authority needed to
2015, a federal mag-
protect Oregon from
It’s time late
istrate judge dismissed
LNG export. This
Oregon LNG’s attempt
DXWKRULW\ZDVFRQ¿UPHG
to stop
to overturn the 60-year-
by Federal Energy Reg-
old easement held by
these
ulatory
Commission
the U.S. Army Corps of
(FERC) Commissioner
Marc Spitzer. Voting to proposals Engineers on the site in
approve the Bradwood
and put Warrenton.
• FERC’s denial con-
Landing LNG proposal,
he wrote on Sept. 18,
Oregon ¿UPV WKDW WKH SURSRVDOV
do not serve the public
2008, that Oregon has
back on interest. The speculators
“an effective veto over
backing these reckless
LNG projects.”
track.
proposals are willing to
Last month, FERC
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denied both the Jordan
&RYH /1* WHUPLQDO DQG LWV 3DFL¿F regional economies, and our natural
Connector pipeline, concluding that world for their own gain.
• Both proposals depend on using
the adverse effects to landowners
and communities outweigh the pub- eminent domain to take private prop-
HUW\IRUSULYDWHSUR¿W0RUHWKDQ
OLFEHQH¿W
The case against Oregon LNG is percent of landowners along the route
similar and increasingly clear. Last year, for the proposed Jordan Cove pipe-
Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals line oppose it, and have refused to
upheld Clatsop County’s unanimous sign easements. The State Land Boar-
5-0 decision in 2013 to deny a permit dand Oregon’s natural resource agen-
for Oregon LNG’s proposed pipeline. cies should protect Oregon families
Clatsop County successfully defended from these unnecessary projects that
the denial against multiple court chal- cannot demonstrate a plausible mar-
ket or public interest.
lenges by Oregon LNG.
This is a condensed version of a
letter sent by 22 organizations from
14 counties to the State Land Board,
urging it to stop the Jordan Cove and
Oregon liTue¿ed natural gas ter-
minals proposed for Oregon. The
Land Board, comprised of Gov. Kate
Brown, Secretary of State Jeanne
Atkins, and Treasurer Ted Wheeler,
has the power to stop both projects
now.
T
• Each proposal would become
the largest greenhouse gas polluter in
Oregon. LNG is not “clean energy.” It
appears that natural gas is equal to, or
worse than coal as a greenhouse gas
polluter.
• The projects would have a huge
industrial footprint — including the
destruction of farms, forest, water-
ways, and our natural environment
— to construct and operate pipelines
and terminals. The Oregon LNG proj-
ect would dramatically degrade criti-
FDOVDOPRQKDELWDWDQGGLVUXSW¿VKLQJ
in the Columbia River.
• Both proposals violate Oregon’s
land use laws, planning goals and
guidelines.
• Both proposals involve con-
structing and operating dangerous
facilities on unstable soils in Ore-
gon’s infamous subduction earth-
quake and tsunami zone. Oregon
should reject the proposals to con-
struct high-pressure, nonodorized gas
pipelines through steep, erosive Coast
Range soils, in our often inaccessible
forests and mountains.
Please support our commit-
ment to a thriving sustainable Ore-
gon economy — one that relies on
fair treatment for Oregon landown-
ers, protection for our scenic estuar-
ies, and the ongoing cultivation of
VXVWDLQDEOH ¿VKLQJ DQG VKHOO¿VKLQJ
industries.
Finally, please support the thou-
sands of Oregonians who have been
devoting time, talent, money, and
heart to stop these proposals since
2004, almost 12 years. As FERC
Commissioner Spitzer said in 2008,
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been built over opposition from the
local community.” We are counting
on you to use your authority to deny
LNG export proposals in Oregon.
Please let us know how we can
help you do the right thing. It’s time
to stop these proposals and put Ore-
gon back on track to lead our coun-
try into a resilient, sustainable
future.
ists with a large role in mak-
ing certain the public knows
what civil servants are doing
and saying. Inconvenience and
expense are never valid excuses
when an agency fails to live up
Police disappoint
tor, and someone to look up to when
I believe her experience and pro-
to fundamental expectations.
fessionalism is what Clatsop County
arly one morning recently, I con- QHHGLQJDSRVLWLYHLQÀXHQFH
Without a doubt, I know that needs for a Circuit Court judge.
tacted the police to report an ille-
The rise of email — and a
gally
parked
vehicle
blocking
my
David
will go above and
Join me in voting for Dawn
trend of government employees neighbor’s private driveway. The beyond Goldthorpe
for Clatsop County. He will McIntosh.
and elected leaders using per- police informed me that they can only ¿JKWDJDLQVWDOORGGVDQGZLOOGHOLYHU
KERRI WHITTEN
respond
to
this
if
the
property
owner
justice
professionally
and
equipped
HOAGLAND
sonal accounts to conduct what
submits the report.
with care for what is best for our
Astoria
is supposed to be public business
Now if I understand this pol- community.
By electing David Goldthorpe,
— makes it particularly import- icy correctly, as a concerned citizen
who
witnessed
a
violation,
the
police
we
can expect to see a brighter future Give old papers
ant that transparency laws keep won’t respond unless I’m the vic- for Clatsop
County for generations to
o you purchase or subscribe to
up with changing technology. It tim. This policy is interesting. Does it come.
The Daily Astorian, Columbia
apply
to
all
crimes
or
violations?
SHAYLYN
Press,
Seaside Signal, The Orego-
LVUHDVRQDEOHWRUHTXLUHRI¿FLDOV
CONNELLY-FRENCH nian, or any other newspaper? Do you
JOHN SIRI
to promptly submit such emails
Warrenton shop at or donate goods to the War-
Astoria
renton Goodwill? If so, after reading
IRURI¿FLDODUFKLYLQJ
your paper, instead of putting it into
Beyond the issue of govern- Elect Goldthorpe
McIntosh for judge
the recycling or garbage, put it into a
ment documents in all formats,
hen I moved to Clatsop County,
am supporting Dawn McIntosh for bag or box and give it to Goodwill the
I had a lot of odds against me,
Circuit Court judge. I am a retired next time you go.
some public entities in Oregon
They always have a need for
and at times I could have sworn that I 30-year employee of Clatsop County
routinely shut the press and would never catch a break.
courts. I have had the experience of unsoiled newspaper with which to
Then I met David Goldthorpe, working with all three candidates, wrap breakable purchases. The only
public out of meetings, or fail
way they get the paper is if you give it
ZKR FKDQJHG P\ OLIH LQGH¿QLWHO\ and I have respect for all of them.
to publicize them. This is never , H[SHULHQFHG ¿UVWKDQG ZKDW LW¶V
I feel Dawn McIntosh is the best to them. They do not get it from any-
acceptable.
OLNHWRKDYH'DYLG*ROGWKRUSH¿JKW candidate. She has the experience, where else, and are not given money
Oregon prides itself on for me and feel undeserving of it. I dedication and knowledge needed E\ WKH FRUSRUDWH RI¿FH WR SXUFKDVH
H[SHULHQFHG ¿UVWKDQG ZKDW KLV SUR- to be a fair and impartial judge. I paper, so they run out sometimes. It
strong adherence to democratic fessionalism and public service con- have witnessed her abilities both as doesn’t cost you anything, and I bet
a prosecutor in the district attorney’s you get a big smile and thank you to
principles. Our leaders must do sisted of.
I was honored to arrive to the other RI¿FH DQG LQ SULYDWH SUDFWLFH 'DZQ brighten your day.
much better at living up to these side of my endeavors and have the is always prepared for her cases, and
DIANA TALARSKY
blessing of calling him a friend, men- works very hard to present the facts.
Warrenton
aspirations.
Open forum
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