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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 18, 2016)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JULY 18, 2016 Voter privacy, emergency clause initiatives fail to make November ballot By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — Two initia- tive petitions — one requir- ing written consent to release voter information and another to restrict the use of emer- gency clauses in legislation — have failed to qualify for the November ballot. The campaign for Initia- tive Petition 49, No More Fake Emergencies Act, failed to submit enough signatures to reach the 117,578 threshold for a constitutional change to the law. The act would have required a two-thirds major- ity vote in the Legislature to declare an emergency when it passes a bill. Lawmakers have increas- ingly used emergency clauses in bills in order to achieve a quicker effective date. Add- ing the clause removes vot- ers’ constitutional right to contest the legislation via a referendum on the ballot. The campaign needed 28,171 additional valid signa- tures to secure a position on the ballot, but turned in only 26,000, according to the Sec- retary of State’s Ofice. Chief petitioners Eric Winters of Wilsonville and Jason Williams of Beaverton proposed the measure. Initiative Petition 50, the Voter Privacy Act, would have prohibited release of speciic voter information without voters’ express con- sent. Public oficials who violated the law would have faced a class A misdemeanor, according to the initiative proposed by Richard Taylor Whitehead of Aloha. Next week, the Secretary of State’s Ofice plans to ver- ify signatures for IP 67, which allows lottery funds to be used for outdoor school pro- grams. IP 68, which would prohibit the sale of products made from 12 endangered species, also is on schedule for signature veriication next week, said Molly Woon, a spokeswoman for the secre- tary of state. The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. Brown unveils plan to reduce gun violence Plan to close loopholes, improve data on gun-related deaths By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau PORTLAND — Gov. Kate Brown has unveiled a multi- pronged plan for decreasing gun violence in the state. The plan, “Oregonians United to End Gun Violence,” involves state legislation to close loopholes on exist- ing gun control measures and executive orders to keep bet- ter records on gun transactions and gun-related deaths. “Since I was sworn in as governor 17 months ago, more than 600 Oregonians have died from violence inlicted by a gun,” Brown said. “Violence answers nothing, offers noth- ing, solves nothing.” Brown said she plans to propose legislation in 2017 to close the so-called “Charleston loophole,” which allows a gun purchase to move forward if law enforcement hasn’t deter- mined the buyer’s eligibility within three days. She said she also intends to close the “boyfriend loop- hole,” which expands the types of relationships that qualify for gun dispossession when con- victed of domestic violence charges. Her third proposal would outlaw future purchases of extended-capacity gun magazines. These magazines enable iring repeatedly with- out having to reload. Brown also plans to issue an executive order to require Oregon State Police to retain irearms transactions for ive years and to require the Ore- gon Health Authority to report annually on gun deaths and their effect on public health and to recommend policy changes. She also is establishing a work group to review counties’ gun relinquishment protocols and recommended a statewide policy to enhance the safety of Paris Achen/Pamplin Media Group Gov. Kate Brown Friday an- nounced a plan intended to reduce gun violence. domestic violence survivors. Brown made the announce- ment Friday at the Veter- ans Memorial Coliseum here lanked by U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, other elected ofi- cials and gun safety advocates. After her announcement, Pastor Mark Knuston of the Augustana Lutheran Church announced that he and other faith leaders plan to circulate an initiative petition to ban assault weapons and high-ca- pacity magazines in Oregon. House Minority Leader Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, issued a statement call- ing for bipartisan dialogue on any gun control measures. “Oregon House Repub- licans welcome a conversa- tion about how to address vio- lence in our communities, but it is absolutely critical that those conversations maintain the appropriate level of respect for Oregonians’ constitu- tional rights and the thousands upon thousands of gun own- ers in this state who respon- sibly exercise their Second Amendment rights and Article I, Section 27 rights every day,” McLane said. “Sadly, this ele- ment of the conversation is all too often an afterthought for politicians in Salem.” The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. Astoria Riverwalk Inn operators want to expand Interested in leasing the Chinook Building By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian William Orr and Ches- ter Trabucco, the operators of the Astoria Riverwalk Inn for the Port of Astoria, want to lease the adjacent Chinook Building. On the agenda of Tuesday’s Port Commission meeting is a proposal by Marina Village LLC, a company registered to Orr, to lease the building for 20 years at $6,000 a month, with two 20-year extension options. Marina Village would take over the building’s leases and handle maintenance. The building includes Northwest Wild Products, the Astoria Yacht Club and ofices for an accountant, real estate com- pany, tax service and ish- ing charter company. The Port makes $4,200 a month in rental income from the tenants. Trabucco said there are no plans to change the tenants. “We see the building as a Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian The Chinook Building is home to the Astoria Yacht Club, a seafood market and offices for a fishing charter company, accountants, tax preparers and real estate agents. long-term … nice enhance- ment to the waterfront,” Tra- bucco said. “I don’t see a change of occupancy by any stretch of the imagination.” He said the tenant mix in the Chinook Building is already similar to that of No. 10 Sixth St., a commercial waterfront building he owned with more than 30 tenants that burned down in 2010. Tra- bucco also restored the Hotel Elliott downtown before sell- ing his interest in 2010. Nearly a year ago, the Port Commission voted to install Orr and Trabucco as short- term operators of the Riv- erwalk Inn. Cliff Fick, an adviser to Orr and Trabucco, regularly reports to the Port Commission on renovations and repairs to the hotel. Fishy problem The lease could help solve disagreements between the Port and NW Wild Products over plumbing issues and util- ity bills. The company claims the Port has not plumbed the underside of the Chinook Building properly, causing repeated backups. The Port, which delivered a notice of default on NW Wild Products’ lease in May, claims the com- pany is causing the backups by not properly disposing of seafood and sand. As part of its lease, Marina Village would pay $7,200 in past-due bills the Port says NW Wild Products owes for pipe repairs and clogs. Trabucco and Orr have also shown interest in the for- mer Seafare Restaurant next to the Chinook Building. The Port announced in February that a new master plan for the agency was needed before offering up the former restau- rant. Vacant since the 2000s, the restaurant was once a popular destination and was used for a dinner scene in the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie “Kindergarten Cop.” Ongoing lawsuit Astoria Hospitality Ven- tures — Orr and Trabucco’s partnership — is technically the short-term operator of the Riverwalk Inn while the Port waits for the resolution of a lawsuit over the operation of the hotel. The Port, Executive Direc- tor Jim Knight, Trabucco and Orr are defendants in a suit iled by Param Hotel Group, the spurned suitor for the Riverwalk Inn. Param has claimed the Port breached an existing agreement with the company when it chose Hos- pitality Ventures to take over operation of the hotel from indebted former operator Brad Smithart and his com- pany, Hospitality Masters. Orr and Trabucco were added as co-defendants in the case on claims they had inter- fered with the agreement by using their connections on the commission. Orr’s broth- er-in-law is Port Commis- sioner Stephen Fulton. Param also claims Orr is friends with Port Commissioner Bill Hunsinger. Clatsop County Circuit Court Judge Philip Nelson in May granted Trabucco and Orr’s motion to be removed from the case, agreeing that the company’s lobbying of the Port Commission was pro- tected activity. Hospitality Ventures requested more than $89,000 worth of attorney fees for seven different attorneys used in the case. Param objected, claiming the fees were grossly unreasonable and asking the court to award Hospitality Ventures $10,000. The parties are set to next meet in court in late July. New Mr. Doobees pot store coming to the peninsula By LUKE WHITTAKER EO Media Group SEAVIEW, Wash. — Pen- insula residents looking to buy marijuana will soon have an option close to home. Mr. Doobees, a Raymond-based retail marijuana dispensary, is branching out to Seaview. The new store on 40th Street is likely to open in late July, pending a inal inspection by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board. “We’re shooting for the end of July,” said H.J. Norris, a managing member of Mr. Doobees. Looking for a chance After an initial bid to open a shop in Long Beach didn’t pan out, Mr. Doobees opened in Raymond in November 2014. Upon returning to the pen- insula when a commercial lot became available, Norris believed there would likely be some resistance by residents in their bid to open the irst dis- pensary in Seaview. The dif- ference this time was support and letters of recommendation from Raymond city oficials, including one from the chief of police, according to Nor- ris. He presented the testimoni- als during a permit meeting in June where Seaview residents weighed in with concerns. Some attendees expressed concern that the new pot shop, located in a building that pre- viously housed a Windermere real estate ofice, could bring unwanted trafic to the area. Others said they did not want a marijuana shop so close to the a school bus stop at North Place. Norris was willing to comply with the suggestions, which included a temporary fence to shield the marijuana business from view from the bus stop. “It’s a very reasonable request,” Norris said, “We’re really trying to do our best to be good stewards of the community.” Luke Whittaker/EO Media Group Mr. Doobees, a Ray- mond-based retail marijua- na dispensary, will open a store in Seaview in July. “They asked us if we could change the name,” Nor- ris said. After some thought, a new name came to him. “I remembered the irst concert I ever went to, it was the Doo- bie Brothers,” he said. It was during that long-ago show in Los Angeles where Norris tried marijuana for the irst time. It left a lasting impression. Norris altered the spelling from “Doo- bie” to “Doobee” to avoid any potential trademark clash with the rock band. “It was a great accidental choice that people identify with,” he explained. Locally grown, low price Norris is mindful that there’s less disposable income in rural areas, where minimum wages and ixed incomes are more common and lower prices are often a primary selling point. “We offer very fair pric- ing,” Norris said, adding there are often strains of pot in stock that sell for just $4 to $6 per All in the name “Mr. Doobees” wasn’t the original name of the business. They were just about to open their irst store in Raymond when they became aware the initial name was consid- ered too similar to an existing company. NEWS TALK FOR THE COAST W A NTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A Contact: Steve Axtell • 360-430-0885 or John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Pro viding live a nd lo ca l new s co vera ge every da y Y ou could see it ton igh t, rea d a bout it tom orrow or h ea r it live N O W ! gram. “The majority are under $10 per gram,” Norris said. The average price for pot is $10.34 per gram, according to the liquor and cannabis board. Norris and his partners strive for a balance between quality and affordability. “We don’t look at it as being cheap, we look at it as being as fair as possible,” Norris said. Since opening in 2014, Mr. Doobees has totaled $454,430 in retail sales. They’ve been averaging about $20,000 a month in sales so far in 2016. Their best month was August 2015, when nearly $36,000 in sales were recorded, according to state igures. Norris credits a people-irst philosophy for being the secret behind their early success. “We treat them like human beings — we’re not here to just collect their money,” Norris explained. “We’re not here to just serve cannabis. We’re here to help you achieve any goal you might have. And I think that goes a long way with most folks.”