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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 22, 2016)
143RD YEAR, NO. 250 DailyAstorian.com // WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2016 ONE DOLLAR OLD HIGH SCHOOL RIVALS SPLIT DOUBLEHEADER PAGE 4A Keeping copper out of the river Stormwater projects top of the list in Port of Astoria budget By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Evening sun casts light upon the Liberty Theater as two people walk by Tuesday in Astoria. Starting in July, Liberty Theater will begin its Sunset Series of concerts showcasing alternative artists. Inaugural indie folk concert kicks off new summer series By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian T he Liberty Theater is launching an indie folk concert series this summer to attract theatergoers, particularly younger ones, who don’t always get stoked on symphonies and concertos. The Sunset Series — a six-part pilot pro- gram that may extend into next year — will feature alternative folk, alt rock and alt coun- try — the kind of non-mainstream music that appears in your “Blind Pilot” Pandora station. “It’s the blue-collar singer-songwriters that have made a name for themselves regionally Darren or nationally,” said Dar- Orange ren Orange, an Asto- ria artist who joined the theater board earlier this year. A low-price, dual-bill preview show fea- turing Horse Feathers and Mandolin Orange will kick off the concerts July 13. Then Blind Pilot — a Portland band with Astoria connections — will open the series proper Aug. 19 with a release concert for their latest album, “And Then Like Lions.” The familiar faces of Blind Pilot — billed as “hometown heroes” — provided the the- ater board with an example of “what we’re trying to do, and what class acts we’re trying See PORT, Page 7A Submitted P hoto Astoria-Portland band Blind Pilot will perform Aug. 19 as part of Liberty Theater’s Sunset Series. to bring in,” Orange said. Brian Bovenizer, the series promoter and “talent buyer,” said the music on offer is not “your normal Top 40 — for lack of a better word — garbage.” “It’s just a good way to see a quality tour- ing live band at the Liberty, which is just a fantastic venue,” he said. By and large, the nonprofi t Liberty The- ater — a historic building famous for its clas- sical and orchestral performances — appeals to community’s golden agers and patrons with highbrow tastes. It is currently hosting the 14th season of the Astoria Music Festival. The goal of the Sunset Series is to expand the Liberty’s traditional offerings and enlarge the clientele. Local breweries and wineries will provide beverages. “It’s about opening up the doors to the Lib- erty more often,” Orange said, “and to more audiences.” Hometown heroes Orange has wanted to get the concert series off the ground for about two years. He’d talked about it at length with Bovenizer, of the band Brian Bovenizer & the Koala Cowboys; and Israel Nebeker, Blind Pilot’s frontman and co-founder who joined the Liberty board shortly before Orange did. “It’s fi lling a need that I’ve recognized myself for 15 years,” Orange said, “and I think that contemporaries my age and younger have also felt a need for change because of the lack of diversity in programming. And I decided to kind of put my money where my mouth is.” Retail constraints also considered By LYRA FONTAINE The Daily Astorian Mark Barnes CANNON BEACH — Although 63 per- cent of Cannon Beach voters approved a state measure to legalize recreational marijuana in Oregon, some residents say that does not indicate residents want a retail cannabis shop in town. A petition asking for the rejection of the licensing of cannabis sales in Cannon Beach will be presented to the City Council in July . In April, Cannon Beach offi cials declined to vote to ban marijuana facilities in Can- non Beach. Opponents of retail cannabis shops gathered enough signatures to bring a November vote . The ballot petition was certi- fi ed for the November ballot on June 14, with Nonprofi ts may be hit hard with OT rules Changes impact for-profi ts, too By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau Pending the vote’s outcome, staff and city councilors are working to get time, place and manner restrictions on medical and recre- ational marijuana businesses in place. “Depending on how the vote goes, we could either implement this or erase it from your ordi- nance,” City Planner Mark Barnes said to the City Council at a June work session. Cannon Noel Mickelberry, executive director of Oregon Walks, often works weekends when she organizes a fundraiser for the nonprofi t organization or works on projects to advo- cate for protecting Oregonians’ “right to roam.” During one such event Nov. 20, Mickel- berry led a crew of 30 volunteers in setting up white silhouettes along roadsides to com- memorate World Day of Remembrance for Traffi c Victims. Mickelberry’s long hours will have to end or be reduced under new federal rules requiring mandatory overtime pay for many salaried workers who work more than 40 hours. New rules, effective Dec. 1, require both Noel for-profi t and non- Mickelberry profi t employers to pay overtime to salaried employees who receive less than $47,476 per year, up from a threshold of $23,660. Both of Oregon Walks’ employees, including Mickelberry, earn less than $47,476. With a budget of about $150,000 per year, the nonprofi t will have to be care- ful about keeping employees’ hours down, Mickelberry said. See BALLOT, Page 7A See OT RULES, Page 12A See THEATER, Page 12A ‘No pot’ option headed to Cannon Beach ballot Nancy Giasson The Port of Astoria Commission approved a nearly $15.9 million operating budget Tuesday, with about one-tenth of the money earmarked for stormwater treatment projects . The state Department of Environmen- tal Quality required the Port to install treat- ment systems by the end of June on the cen- tral waterfront and at North Tongue Point after above-benchmark amounts of copper were found in stormwater samples. Copper is a neurotoxicant that damages the sensory capabilities of salmon at low concentrations and can manifest in minutes to hours, with the effects lasting for weeks. The Port plans to collect runoff on the central waterfront and pump it to a series of settling ponds, a bioswale and a shellfi sh fi l- ter on Pier 3. The agency has already pur- chased $80,000 in pumps for the system. Estimates on the project’s cost range as high as $1.5 million. Executive Director Jim Knight said the Port has tentatively secured fi nancing through a local bank, with the full faith and credit of the Port as collateral. Staff plans to meet with tenants and organize a repayment plan in which the Port and ten- ants will contribute proportionally based on how much land they occupy. In exchange for paying $750 a year to the Department of State Lands for the parcel on which the settling ponds will be built, the Port will create a park, with educational kiosks showing how stormwater treatment works. 155 valid signatures, according to Clatsop County Clerk Valerie Crafard. Nancy Giasson, a former city councilor, led the petition drive. The City Council can either accept the ini- tiative, meaning it will become law without a November vote; reject the initiative , mean- ing voters will decide in November; or reject the initiative and send a competing measure to the ballot for voters to also consider. Time, place, manner discussion
