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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 26, 2016)
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016 144TH YEAR, NO. 18 ONE DOLLAR GOLF: COAST INVITATIONAL BRINGS OUT THE CHAMPIONS SPORTS 4A Council rules library to stay put FOR RENOVATING EXISTING LIBRARY Concerns about cost, public support of expansion FOR NEW LIBRARY By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian Zetty Nemlowill Cindy Price Russ Warr Schools fi nd lead in water Drew Herzig Arline LaMear A fractured Astoria City Council voted Monday night to scale back a library project, directing city staff to study how to renovate the aging library without asking voters for a bond sale. A majority found that the high cost and lack of public support were obstacles to expanding the library at 10th and Exchange streets, branching into the vacant Waldorf Hotel next door, or building a new library at Heritage Square. The cost estimates for the six options that had been under review ranged from $7.2 million to $24.1 million, which would likely have required a bond measure or loan. See LIBRARY, Page 10A ACROSS THE BIG POND Astoria, Seaside fi nd trouble spots as early test results return By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Several water taps have been switched off in Astoria and Seaside as lead-testing results for local school districts start to trickle in. Superintendent Craig Hoppes of the Astoria School District said two fountains at Astoria High School tested at 17 and 74 parts of lead per billion, respectively, and were shut off. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends schools collect 250 milliliter fi rst-draw samples of stagnant water from outlets used for consumption, taking them out of service if the lead level exceeds 20 parts per billion. The trigger for treatment in a public water system is 15 parts per billion. Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian See LEAD, Page 10A Jeremy Yuenger, 9, casts his fishing line into the waters of Coffenbu ry Lake on Monday at Fort Stevens State Park. Yuenger is from England and on vacation with his family. Clinton highlights lack of women in offi ce This story is part of Divided America, AP’s ongoing exploration of the economic, social and polit- ical divisions in American society. By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY Associated Press Hillary Clinton and Mary Thomas have little in common, except for this: They both hope to add to the meager ranks of Ameri- ca’s female elected offi cials come January. You know about Clinton, but probably not Thomas — a con- servative Republican, opponent of abortion and Obamacare, for- mer general counsel of Florida’s Department of Elder Affairs. She’s running in Florida’s 2nd District to become the fi rst Indian-American woman in Congress. It’s no easy task. “There is still a good ol’ boys network that is in place,” she says, though she insists that “A lot of people see the value in hav- ing different types of people in Washington.” Even as Clinton attempts to shatter what she has called “the highest, hardest glass ceiling,” other women like Thomas are test- ing other, lower ceilings. There are many: Women in the U.S. remain signifi cantly underrepresented at all levels of elected offi ce. “Historically, we have centuries of catching up to do,” says Missy Shorey, executive director of the conservative-leaning Maggie’s List, one of a number of groups supporting female candidates. More than half Though women are more than half of the American population, they now account for just a fi fth of all U.S. representatives and See DIVIDED, Page 10A AP Photo/Mark Wallheiser Republican candidate for Florida’s Second Congressional District Mary Thomas, right, talks to supporters at DSH Firearms in Tal- lahassee, Fla. in July. Port awards million-dollar stormwater bid Hunsinger and Fulton call foul over process By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Bill Hunsinger Stephen Fulton Over the objections of two com- missioners calling the bidding pro- cess unfair, the Port of Astoria Commission awarded a multimil- lion-dollar contract for stormwater improvements to Conway Construc- tion Co. on Monday The company will build a sys- tem to pump stormwater from much of the Port’s central water- front to a series of settling ponds and bioswales. The state Department of Environmental Quality required the 2016 Clatsop e Blu on! b Rib County Fair August 2-6 For more information go to www.clatsopfairgrounds.com system after the Port’s stormwa- ter tests in 2014 showed high lev- els of copper entering the Columbia River from drains at the end of Pier 3, under a dock near Bornstein Sea- foods and another at the base of the agency’s western slip. Copper can damage the olfactory and naviga- tional abilities of salmon and other marine life. The state required the Port have the system operational by June 30, but has not taken any action as long as the agency makes progress. By not complying, the Port could lose its stormwater permit, and the ability to use large swaths of the waterfront. The Port was originally going to award the contract a week ago, when The Daily Astorian/File Photo See PORT, Page 10A Much of the Port of Astoria’s central waterfront will under- go stormwater improvements. Go or The BLUE ! F Bring out your BEST in the T alent C ontest, K araoke F inale, Open Class, M utton B ustin’, P uzzlemania or C ircus W orkshop!