OPINION
6A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016
Founded in 1873
DAVID F. PERO, Publisher & Editor
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
Water
under
the bridge
Compiled by Bob Duke
From the pages of Astoria’s daily newspapers
10 years ago this week — 2006
“I say build anything you want on the waterfront,” said 85-year-old Mel
Hjorten. “If you want to see the river, all you have to do is go up the hill a
couple of blocks.”
Hjorten’s comment, which proved to be a minority opinion, was the first
one Wednesday evening at a work session convened by the Astoria Planning
Commission and Historic Landmarks commission to discuss development
along the Columbia River and Youngs Bay.
Al Rissman, a contemporary of Hjorten, took the opposite tack.
“The city should put teeth in our development code,” Rissman said, and
buildings on the waterfront should be directly related to the river, as they
were in the past. There’s no relationship between condos and the river, he
said, and only rich people can live in them.
And so it went for 2 1/2 hours as speakers took turns expressing their
views on a topic of such tremendous public interest that the session attracted
an overflow crowd of some 120 people tot he Astoria Public Library’s flag
Room.
Clambakes, crabcakes, swordfish steaks and even humble fish
sticks could be little more than a fond memory in a few decades.
If current trends of overfishing and pollution continue, the
populations of just about all seafood face collapse by 2048, a team
of ecologists and economists warns in today’s issue of the jour-
nal Science.
“Whether we looked at tide pools or studies over the entire
world’s ocean, we saw the same picture emerging. Losing species
we lose the productivity and stability of entire ecosystems,” said
the lead author, Boris Worm of Dalhousie University in Halifax,
Nova Scotia.
“I was shocked and disturbed by how consistent these trends
are — beyond anything we suspected,” Worm said.
50 years ago — 1966
This is architect’s sketch of new Oregon State University Seafoods
laboratory to be built near east end mooring basin in Astoria.
Plans for the new Oregon State University Seafoods laboratory have
been announced by Dr. David Crawford, lab program director.
Crawford said the $118,000 facility will be built near the east end moor-
ing basin.
Cost of the lab will be shared equally by the Port of Astoria and the Fed-
eral Economic Development administration.
Ground-breaking ceremonies are expected to be in mid-winter, possi-
bly about Feb. 1.
What happens to a Russian fisherman when he spends several
weeks in a U.S. hospital with a broken leg?
Several things.
He learns to speak a little English, his attitude of hostility
changes to one of friendliness and relaxation, he is impressed
with the generous food servings in the hospital, and he decides to
buy a sweater here for his wife.
Anatoly Kuzmov has been in Astoria’s St. Mary hospital since
Oct. 17. He was airlifted to Astoria by Coast Guard helicopter
after his commander requested U.S. medical aid for Kuzmov’s
serious leg fracture.
Structural steel for Astoria’s new library is now completed and will be
shipped soon, the Portland Wire and Steel company informed city officials
this week. The Portland firm has been fabricating the material for contrac-
tor Albert Mettet.
75 years ago — 1941
The Works Progress administration in Clatsop County is
engaged in building, scooping, shoveling, digging, rocking, dredg-
ing and shaping more than $2,300,000 worth of defense projects.
The WPA national defense projects in this county are the most
extensive in Oregon. Almost every nickel of federal funds that
have been appropriated for this area’s protection, with exception
of the $7,400,000 at Tongue Point and the $400,000 for barracks
at Fort Stevens, is being spent by WPA.
To do this work the agency constructed a large camp, with
a capacity of 1000 men. It is located on both sides of the Ridge
Road, which when completed will probably be the fastest five and
one-half miles of 14-foot highway possible to build. The camp is
about three miles south of the Hammon-Warrenton-Fort Stevens
highway.
Amid the blaze of Klieg lights (street and entrance lights on the build-
ings) screen stars and celebrities...The stars were on the screen and the
celebrities were the men and their families. Fort Canby’s theater was finally
opened presenting the film “Honky Tonk” to a capacity audience of over
two hundred.
Started last July and amid delays that were almost discouraging to the
construction crew composed of enlisted men of the fort the theater has been
unofficially named the Young theater in honor of Col. Young who did so
much to keep the project going.
What did you do in 2016?
By DAVID LEONHARDT
New York Times News Service
ne day, Americans who were
too young to have followed
the 2016 campaign will look
back and try to make sense of it.
They will want to know how such a
dangerous person
could have gotten
so close to the pres-
idency — a man
who spoke of aban-
doning our allies,
admiring foreign
despots, weakening constitutional
rights, and serially molesting women.
Those future adults may also pose
a more personal question to their
elders:
Mommy and Daddy, what
did you do in response to Donald
Trump?
It will be a fair question. The real-
ity is, Trump could still win. It is
unlikely, yes, but the gift he received
from a surprisingly bumbling FBI
shows that campaigns aren’t over
until they’re over.
With seven days left, it is not too
late for anyone alarmed by Trump to
get involved. As it happens, Trump
himself has pointed toward the best
way to do so. Again and again, he
has attempted to undermine demo-
cratic legitimacy, be it inviting for-
eign interference or flirting with
voter intimidation.
The right response to anti-democ-
racy is more democracy. It’s also the
way to defeat Trump. His paths to
the presidency depend on large third-
party vote shares and low turnout.
Fortunately, we know a lot more
about how to encourage democratic
participation than even a decade ago,
thanks to a flowering of research in
psychology and political science.
O
How to fight
Here, then, is a how-to guide for
fighting Trumpism:
• First, obviously, you should
vote. You knew that, but many peo-
ple who intend to vote become way-
laid — by a traffic jam, a sick kid
or a work meeting. Make a detailed
plan now, about when and where you
will vote.
Voting plans increase voter turn-
out. In an experiment by David Nick-
erson and Todd Rogers, involv-
ing tens of thousands of phone
calls, some people received a vague
encouragement to vote. They were
no more likely to vote than people
who received no call. Other people
received calls asking questions about
their logistical plans — and became
significantly more likely to vote. The
questions nudged them.
• Second, tell other people about
your plan, and ask about theirs. The
power of peer pressure increases
voter turnout. One aggressive exper-
iment mailed people a sheet of
paper with their own turnout history
and their neighbors’. A more gen-
tle experiment presented Facebook
users with head shots of their friends
who had posted an update about hav-
ing voted. Both increased turnout, as
have many other experiments.
You don’t need an intricate
effort to influence people, though.
Post your own voting plan to Face-
book, and ask your friends to reply
with theirs. Text or call relatives in
swing states and ask about their vot-
ing plans. Do the same when you see
friends.
And when people tell you their
plan, don’t just nod and smile. Say
that you expect to hear from them
after they’ve executed their plan.
“Social pressure is mighty persua-
sive,” says Carolyn DeWitt, presi-
dent of Rock the Vote.
• Third, with the people you feel
most comfortable, consider tak-
ing the risk of talking politics. I’m
well aware of how awkward the sub-
ject can be. I come from a close and
politically diverse family, and we
avoid politics at most gatherings.
But this election is different.
Trump threatens American values,
threatens America’s interests and —
as is clear from the financial markets’
dire view of a Trump presidency —
threatens the economy.
It’s worth reminding undecided
voters in your life about who he is:
what he has said about prisoners of
war and the disabled, how he has
humiliated women, how he has pro-
moted online racism and anti-Semi-
tism. Almost everybody loves some-
body who is part of a group that
Donald Trump has demeaned.
If you do talk politics, you’ll have
a lot of company. In each of the last
three presidential campaigns, at least
40 percent of adults tried to influ-
ence someone else’s vote, accord-
ing to the American National Elec-
tion Studies.
• Finally, it’s not too late to vol-
unteer to get out the vote. You can do
so through a campaign’s website or
through a group like Rock the Vote,
which is looking for volunteers who
have a few spare minutes to call peo-
ple and ask about their voting plans.
Other steps
You can also sign up with a non-
partisan group to help protect vot-
ing rights. That work is vital, given
the efforts to restrict rights. (In Texas,
for example, some poll workers last
week falsely told voters that they
needed photo identification.) The
Election Protection Coalition, a large,
well-regarded group, is seeking both
laypeople and lawyers to work at
phone banks or polling sites.
One week from Tuesday night,
the often-depressing campaign of
2016 will be over. Before it is, take
a moment to imagine how it would
feel to live in a country that had
voted for and was run by Donald
Trump.
Then go out and do your part to
keep America great.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Unnecessary
M
easure 4-181 is completely
unnecessary. Rather than a
problem that begs for a solution,
Measure 4-181 is a solution that begs
for a problem. Transparency and
public input already exist during the
sale and/or disposal of city-owned
assets. Moreover, Measure 4-181
contains several unintended conse-
quences that would restrict the rou-
tine business of the city.
Measure 4-181 would require that
the city be subject to a double-major-
ity approval of the voters whenever
the city would attempt to trade-in
or sell an asset, or attempt to trans-
fer a lease of a city-owned asset in
excess of $100,000. The city of War-
renton would be responsible for the
cost of putting the sale on the ballot,
which could be as much as $9,000 to
$12,000 each time.
Even if the sale is approved by
a majority of the voters, more than
50 percent of registered voters must
have voted in that election. This
would dictate that only Novem-
ber elections every two to four years
could the petitioner be confident that
a double-majority requirement be
achieved since voter turnout is rou-
tinely low except during a presiden-
tial election.
Measure 4-181 would apply to
equipment such as fire apparatus and
to parts of the water and sewer sys-
tems. Measure 4-181 would apply
to any leases of city-owned property
that could be valued at more than
$100,000 over the term of the lease.
Measure 4-181 could affect grants
negotiated to assist social service
agencies and community organiza-
tions as municipal partners.
The ability to transfer any leases
or to transfer the ownership of assets
after sponsoring a grant would be
subject to this measure. Measure
4-181 would effectively eliminate
city-owned leases and future grant
sponsorship to worthy organizations.
Measure 4-181 is a solution that
begs for a problem. It would crip-
ple or eliminate many of the routine
business activities of the city of War-
renton. The Warrenton City Commis-
sion strongly urges voters to reject
Measure 4-181.
MARK KUJALA
Mayor of Warrenton
LINDA ENGBRETSON
City manager
WARRENTON CITY
COMMISSION
school seem to focus on these days.
Outdoor School is often the first
chance kids get to have a hands on,
natural science curriculum in the
actual outdoors.
Lottery funds have been priori-
tized for conservation, education and
economic development. Outdoor
School is the best way to expose kids
to the science, technology, engineer-
ing and mathematical skills Oregon
will need to power our 21st century
economy, while instilling conserva-
tion values that will keep our state
a great place to live. Please invest
in the future by voting yes on Mea-
sure 99.
JACK HARRIS
Astoria
Outdoor school
W
he slate of initiatives on this
year’s ballot gives us all a lot to
think about, but one measure seems
to stick out as an easy “yes” vote for
me.
Ballot Measure 99 will dedicate a
portion of lottery funds toward fifth-
and sixth-grade Outdoor School pro-
grams. While Outdoor School was
practically a right of passage for gen-
erations of Oregonians (I still have
very fond memories of the experi-
ence), almost half of today’s school
kids are denied this program, as
school funding has been cut back.
As a parent, I am always look-
ing for educational opportunities for
my child that don’t revolve around
screens and laptops, as many edu-
cational experiences in and out of
T
Shortman for mayor
atergate, Bridgegate, Barngate,
Recordgate, Signgate, Recall-
gate, Rentalgate … the city of Gear-
hart is like a listing ship that has lost
the ability to right itself and sail with
integrity. Fortunately, there are now
two willing and viable candidates
volunteering to lead the city. Sadly,
they are running for the same posi-
tion, so a choice has to be made.
Bob Shortman has years of life
experience to right this listing ship.
He has owned his own business and
has successfully captained his own
fishing boat. He may know a few
things about sailing straight and true.
Furthermore, he is not endorsed by
the majority of the elected officials in
the city of Gearhart. That alone rec-
ommends his candidacy for mayor.
JOY SIGLER
Gearhart