THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016
FRIDAY EXCHANGE
Forgetting forestry
party, and were very welcom-
ing to our eager and excited
6, 5, and two 3-year-olds. The
view from the restaurant high-
lights the activity on the river,
which kept both young and old
intrigued. And of course, the
gelatos and sorbets were great.
Thanks to the Blacks for keep-
ing the family in mind while
developing a business.
NANCY MAGATHAN
Astoria
oday I want to talk about
forestry. In the last few
years it has been noted that a
large decrease has happened.
Not only in the industry, but
with peoples’ interest as well.
This is saddening, because
Oregon’s second biggest export
is wood products, right next to
machines.
I feel part of the decrease
in interest has to do with mis-
information, and people not
being taught about the indus-
try. This industry is hard work,
but a necessity. The workers in
the industry need some replace-
ments. Many of the workers are
now in their 50s and 60s. Who
will replace them?
People need to be informed
about the industry, like through
the forestry program at Knappa
High School. We won’t lose
the industry, but there may be
a major decrease in production
rates.
TABITHA ADAMS
Astoria
T
Shop downtown
I
Unfair review
ad Mouth. I am really
unhappy with the Mouth
of the Columbia’s review
of the new restaurant, Life
In The Slow Lane (“Astoria
restaurant puts the cart before
the horse,” Coast Weekend,
June 2). After the paper’s
long, interesting stories on
the Blacks’ struggles to build
a cool new eating place, the
Mouth ran a very hurtful
article.
They had barely had
time to get started before
that Mouth person slammed
them. The Mouth should have
waited at least a year to learn
B
ince Astoria was founded
in the 1800s, it has suffered
everything from ires to eco-
nomic downturns. In the past
decade, there have been multi-
ple new businesses opening up
around town. To name a few of
the most prominent ones, also
my personal favorites, are the
Astoria Sunday Market, The
Bowpicker, Frite & Scoop,
Astoria Coffee House & Bis-
tro, Doe and Arrow and Cargo.
The Sunday Market has
always had a high popular-
ity and success rate with not
only the community and peo-
ple who live in this area, but
also is a large tourist attrac-
tion. The Sunday Market offers
everything from amazing local
food, baked goods, homemade
soaps, woodcarving and some
of the best salsa.
Frite & Scoop is also near
the top of my list when it comes
to must-visit places in Astoria.
They offer a wonderful selec-
tion of homemade, creative
ice cream and sorbet lavors as
well as french fries and various
choices for dipping sauce. Frite
& Scoop is a great place to go if
you are in town with your fam-
ily on a hot summer day. It’s the
perfect refreshing treat.
Lastly, one of my must-
visit shops is Cargo. Cargo is
located across the street from
Astoria Coffee House (which
has amazing hot chocolate).
Cargo has all sorts of knick-
knacks ranging from jewelry,
books, party decorations, silly
cards and even clothing.
Overall, Astoria has an
endless variety of restaurants,
shops and attractions. You
may have lived in Astoria your
entire life and think you know
it like the back of your hand,
but I guarantee if you spend an
afternoon downtown you will
encounter some of the most
amazing little shops and places
you never even knew existed.
KYLEE WINLUND
Astoria
S
Defend trees
wish to draw your attention
to a letter written by Roger
Dorband to Sen. Bernie Sand-
ers in the current issue of Hip-
ish. Why Bernie Sanders?
Because he appears to be the
only candidate running for a
major ofice in this state who
just might care that the citizens
of Oregon have a state forest in
the future.
Why this letter? Because
Mr. Dorband lays out the facts
surrounding the current prac-
tices of the people in charge of
our state forests. Also, he sup-
plies solutions to the inancial
crisis in the state that do not
include the clearcut of our state
forests.
More than 2,000 peo-
ple in the Nehalem Water-
shed approached the Ore-
gon Department of Forestry
in January asking them to
spare the old-growth section
of the Homesteader Forest on
the Nehalem watershed. Our
requests fell on deaf ears. If
you would like to see what the
forestry department did, go to
the North Coast Forest Coa-
lition website. If you have a
weak stomach, don’t go.
I refuse to believe our state
Legislature cannot generate
the funds necessary to run our
counties. I have a great deal of
conidence in the human mind,
and I am willing to help ind
ways to fund our state that does
not include clearcutting our
state forests.
We need to make noise.
Liqueied natural gas (LNG)
went down to defeat in Astoria
and Warrenton because Ore-
gon citizens refused to accept
LNG polluting our waters
and land. The developer who
somehow bought Arcadia
State Park East withdrew his
plans to develop this land.
Why? Because citizens of
Clatsop and Tillamook coun-
ties refused to accept our state
parks being used for a housing
development. In short, they
made noise.
We all use wood, and I am
not against the harvesting of
our trees. I am against clear-
cutting what is left of our old-
growth and second-growth for-
ests. I am also for developers,
just not development of our
state parks.
The state parks and the
state forests are mine, as well
as every citizen of Oregon,
and it is time we start defend-
ing our trees. It can be done. If
you stand with me on this issue,
I would like to hear from you.
We need to mobilize all of us:
children, adults and visitors.
If you plan to visit our state to
enjoy our pristine beauty, much
of which relates to trees, feel
free to take a stand in defense
of trees.
LOUISE CHRISTIANSON
Nehalem
5A
‘Do we need to build it at all?’
really appreciated the open house at
the Astoria Library showing the six
choices proposed for upgrading the
library. I liked the exhibits and the abil-
ity to offer feedback.
As a longtime resident of Astoria, I
remember when the library was built, so
I really looked forward for a chance to
study the proposed plans. It was quite
educational, and it ended up changing
my choice.
First, I looked at the Metz Library
Renovation Requirements Poster, which
recommends a library of 18,133 square
feet. I liked it a lot, but felt that some
of the dedicated areas could be slightly
downsized.
Then I started looking at the options
presented. Option A, building into the
basement and utilizing the existing
building, would provide 17,430 square
feet, only 703 square feet short of what
was recommended by the Metz study.
Option B, building out into the park-
ing lot, would provide for a library
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the ropes. I doubt very many
eateries can survive that cruel
a story.
DICK DARBY
Astoria
Trump truths
e aren’t liars, most of
us. However, most of us
have known someone who con-
sistently, pathologically, told
lies, embellished the truth, and
used put-downs to make them-
selves appear more important,
knowledgeable or successful.
They’re called braggarts. Then
there are others, who tell lies to
get folks to do something that
beneits them, or to give them
money. These are called frauds
and swindlers.
Donald Trump is all three;
he has proved that time and
again.
The braggart. Trump brags
about how handsome he is; he
brags about his sexual prowess;
he brags about how success-
ful he is. He uses put-downs
regularly — remember “Lit-
tle Marko,” or “Lyin’ Ted” or,
for Carly Fiorina, “Look at
that face. Would anyone vote
for that?” He insinuated that
Megyn Kelly of Fox News was
menstruating when she asked
him a question he didn’t like.
The fraud. According to
PolitiFact.com, only 2 per-
cent of the claims he has made
during his campaign have been
true. Only 2 percent. Six per-
cent were mostly true, 15 per-
cent were half true, another 15
percent were mostly false, 43
percent were completely false,
and 18 percent were “pants on
ire” outright lies. How do you
compare to a score like that?
The swindler. And now we
have Trump University, touted
to make people more success-
ful so they can become billion-
aires like himself. In fact, the
folks who signed up with his
bogus university were bilked
out of thousands of dollars,
and received little more than
fancy how-to manuals. He is
currently defending himself in
court against some of his for-
mer students and blaming his
problems on the judge, who is
of Hispanic heritage.
Failing businesses: Trump
University; Trump Steaks;
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space of 23,930 square feet, which gen-
erates 5,797 square feet of space beyond
the requirements of the Metz study.
Option C, building into the Merwyn,
would generate 26,715 square feet for
library space, more than 8,582 square
feet recommended by the Metz study.
Option D, demolishing the Merwyn
and building into that space, would gen-
erate library space of 22,475 square feet,
again more than requested by 4,342
square feet.
Options E and F would give the
library the ideal building, but building
on Heritage Square in a space I think
should be left as open space.
The question that jumped out to me
was, given the costs of construction
of $300 to $400 per square foot, why
are we planning on building a much
larger building for the library than rec-
ommended by the Metz Study? While
it might be nice to have all that extra
space, I really don’t think Astoria can
afford it. I asked the project manager,
Trump Water; Trump Wine;
Trump Magazine. And, how
many bankruptcies?
This billionaire, born with
a silver spoon in his mouth,
who never worked a day for
wages in his life, claims he will
bring back to working Amer-
icans jobs outsourced over-
seas. Really? When asked why
he is outsourcing his signature
Trump-brand apparel to China
he answered, “It’s very hard
to have anything made in this
country.”
ROD DAWSON
Seaside
Rail change
was involved with a local
passenger rail study in the
late 1980s and into the 1990s.
It became an incredibly frus-
trating process. One needs to
fully understand that nearly all
of the rail lines are privately
owned, and system operators
are extremely risk adverse. In
addition, passenger rail disrupts
their business model and inter-
feres with freight trafic, where
real money is to be made.
In the minds of the rail
industry, to minimize risk, all
equipment must meet the stan-
dards of freight rail. This means
heavy-duty locomotives and
heavily reinforced cars. One
way to look at this is if the Ore-
gon Department of Transpor-
tation banned all passenger
cars from the highways, and
insisted everyone drive freight-
liners. This would minimize the
risk of accident, as everyone is
driving the same vehicle.
When we drive our cars on
the highway we take risks, but
at the same time accommodate
other trafic. This is not how
freight rail works. They own
the playing ield and determine
who the players are. This is
politically and regulatory rein-
forced by the Federal Railway
Administration.
Efforts to penetrate this in
the past have been stopped
cold. Even the rail equipment
manufacturers are in this loop.
They don’t want those “unsafe”
and possibly lower-cost passen-
ger rail cars from European rail
systems on the U.S. rail system,
which raises the cost of buying
equipment and sends the oper-
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and he said you don’t have to build all of
it out. I question, “Do we need to build
it at all?”
I don’t think Astoria should build
a much larger building than is rec-
ommended by the Ruth Metz Associ-
ates Library Renovation Study, espe-
cially one with extra costs for space not
needed.
Originally I went into the meeting
favoring Option B, expanding into the
library parking lot, but came out favor-
ing Option A, itting into the existing
building, using the basement. I would
be open to a little expansion into the
parking area, if needed, for utilities and
entrances but it looks to me the cheapest
and most practical solution for Astoria
is to rebuild the existing library as it is.
Thanks to the city of Astoria and
the Astoria Library for providing the
spreadsheet with all of the data for all of
the various options.
PAXTON HOAG
Astoria
ating costs through the ceiling.
Recently I traveled from
Exeter to London, then the fol-
lowing day London to Paris on
the Eurostar. I have even taken
a train from London to Dub-
lin. How? Take the train from
London to Wales, get off, walk
a few feet and catch the ferry.
This was a stunning trip.
What if we had a modest
rail connection between Port-
land and Astoria? It would also
be an absolutely stunning trip,
and end up as a huge economic
shot in the arm for our area. If
ocean and river cruise ship pas-
sengers could ly into PDX,
take the MAX to a connect-
ing platform to for the “AST
Line,” it would make passen-
ger transfers far easier, and fur-
ther anchor the cruise ship trade
to our area.
What if a school group in
Gresham wanted a day trip to
the coast? Catch the MAX to
the AST Line platform and
have nice day out. I have been
on similar trips many times.
We can do it here, but it takes
a huge change in policy and
culture.
Here is a warning: One does
not need a focus group, vision-
ing session, a self-serving com-
mittee process or hiring a car-
petbagger consultant to work
this out. It takes vision, stamina
and leadership.
JIM SANTEE
Astoria
Safe rails
he safe and reliable trans-
port of America’s energy
resources is vital to our econ-
omy. It’s important to note that
North America’s rail network
moves 99.99 percent of hazard-
ous materials, including crude
oil, without incident, accord-
ing to the Association of Amer-
ican Railroads (“This accident
won’t be the last,” The Daily
Astorian, June 7).
A 2015 Department of
Energy report found no data
showing a correlation between
the properties of crude oil and
the likelihood or severity of a
ire in train incidents. Further,
multiple studies by regulators
and industry show crude oil
from the Bakken region, which
is often transported by rail,
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does not present greater than
normal transportation risks for
lammable liquids.
Recognizing that the vast
majority of train derailments
are caused by broken tracks and
human error, the oil and natu-
ral gas industry is working with
the railroads and regulators to
implement a comprehensive
approach that emphasizes pre-
vention, as well as mitigation
and response.
To promote effective
response efforts, the oil and
natural gas industry, in part-
nership with the railroads and
the Transportation Commu-
nity Awareness and Emergency
Response organization, has
created an awareness program
to assist irst responders and
emergency management pro-
fessionals prepare for potential
incidents involving trains car-
rying crude oil.
Further, the oil and natu-
ral gas industry voluntarily
adopted new standards for
state-of-the-art rail tank cars
in 2011 — surpassing federal
requirements — that now make
up the majority of the leet.
To realize the full bene-
its of America’s energy abun-
dance, we must have the ability
to transport energy to fami-
lies and businesses that need it.
America’s railroad and oil
and natural gas industries are
working closely with regula-
tors to achieve our goal of zero
incidents.
ROBIN RORICK
Group director, Midstream
and Industry Operations
American Petroleum
Institute
Washington, D.C.
Thanks, Slow Lane
ife in The Slow Lane:
Home of the River Dog
restaurant provided the per-
fect spot for our 6-year-old’s
birthday party. This is truly a
child-friendly place, open for
children to move around and
explore an old-fashioned car
and watch cartoons from days
past. The menu of fries and hot
dogs hit the spot for our relaxed
family get-together.
The owners, Donna and
Tracy Black, set the tone with
extra decor for a birthday
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Ways to greatness
e won’t pay for eternity
if you are “feeling the
Bern,” according to Thomas
Friedman (“Politicians and the
lies that matter,” The Daily
Astorian, June 2).
Here is the truth. The con-
servatives want you to think
that a Bernie Sanders adminis-
tration will make you pay taxes
for eternity, but history (and I
lived the history) points out that
it’s not true. History has been
kind to many of the Boomers.
I paid $90 a quarter at Cal State
University, Los Angeles in the
early 1970s. That’s because the
top federal tax rates were at 50
percent for earned income, 70
percent for unearned income
and 32 percent for capital gains.
Education was subsidized
— then came Reagan. The
conservatives’ goal is to starve
government by cutting taxes
for the wealthy and businesses
so we can’t afford to have a
functioning democratic society.
This has almost been accom-
plished. That’s why there is so
much anger.
How will a Bernie admin-
istration or a socialistic admin-
istration accomplish the great
ideas? It’s easy:
1. Raise the ceiling on
Social Security so the wealthy
pay more into the program. No
tax increase on everyone, just
the wealthy.
2. Charge a .025 fee on high-
speed stock transactions to pay
for college. No tax increase.
3. Medicare for all is paid for
by paying a tax instead of a pre-
mium. What’s the difference?
We already pay into Medicare,
so we keep on making the pay-
ment and voila, Medicare for
all. No tax increase.
4. Break up the banks and
large corporations by activat-
ing the Sherman Antitrust Act.
5. Bring back Glass-Stea-
gall Act.
So, these are the ways we
can make America great again
… more equality.
PAMELA JACOBSON
Arch Cape
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