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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 2016)
OPINION 4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 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 OUR VIEW Pay attention to safeguard fishing fairness ODFW Commission considering worthwhile changes in gillnet ban T his year’s mandated end of salmon gillnetting in the mainstem of the Columbia River raises many compelling issues the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission will dis- cuss at its Wednesday meeting. The fact the meeting is in Salem rather than Astoria says a lot about the commission’s inclinations regarding truly substantive changes. Although there are still reasons to scrap the whole plan, a lim- ited extension of some gillnetting into 2017 is the more likely decision. The Washington commission considered the issue last week but didn’t take up the possibility of asking for statutory reforms. In a comprehensive report published Nov. 4, Columbia Basin Bulletin notes the failure to keep some promises made to com- mercial fishermen in 2013 when former Gov. John Kitzhaber abruptly ordered an end to gillnetting in the main river. Despite the failure of alternative methods and off-channel areas to meet expectations, there is some indication that gillnetters are feel- ing beaten: Leading up to this week’s meeting, the commis- sion received only two letters from commercial fishermen sup- porting a partial extension of gillnetting between St. Helens and Bonneville next year. More than 100 letters were received from sportsfishermen and others who oppose the change. Even if gillnetters are convinced the states will not backtrack on the ban, it remains important to maintain this proud tradi- tion in some form. Continuing activism is the best way for gill- netters — and consumers who depend on them for local salmon — to ensure some measure of rationality and fairness in salmon allocations. It remains crucial to note that residents and businesses in the Lower Columbia River counties also strongly value sportsfish- ing. There is no doubt that salmon enthusiasts pump millions into our economy. But the three-year transition period during which recreational fishing has been alloted more salmon did not generate an increase in sportsfishing trips. Not only was there no gain in anglers tak- ing advantage of more summer Chinook, “the level of angler effort has not been able to fully exploit catch allocations of more than 50 percent with the recent larger than average run sizes,” the Bulletin reports. This may change in future years when run sizes are smaller, but for now, sportsfishermen aren’t taking advantage of the fish they demanded at the expense of gillnetters. Relatively good salmon runs returning to select area fisher- ies like the one in Youngs Bay helped gillnetters during the tran- sition period, but overall there was an average loss in total com- mercial ex-vessel value of $631,200 during the three years. Efforts to develop alternative commercial harvest methods that allow fishermen to separate hatchery and naturally spawning salmon, without harming the latter, have so far failed to live up to hopes. For example, purse seines kill 21 percent of released Chinook and beach seines kill 33 percent — a worse result than professionally operated gillnets. Besides extending some mainstem gillnetting another year, Fish and Wildlife is recommending a variety of changes to acknowledge the facts and aid commercial fishermen in the continuing transition. Though not everything gillnetters would wish, the commissions of both states should adopt these recommendations. One bit of good news: Fish and Wildlife wants more harvest of hatchery Chinook in the lower river, in order to avoid having them compete with natural fish runs in tributaries. This will gen- erate a larger allocation of hatchery fall tule Chinook and coho from ports like Warrenton, Astoria and Ilwaco, Wash. See www.cbbulletin.com/437921.aspx for more on the pro- posals being considered in Salem this week. LETTERS WELCOME Letters should be exclusive to The Daily Astorian. Letters should be fewer than 350 words and must include the writer’s name, address and phone numbers. You will be contacted to confirm authorship. All letters are subject to edit- ing for space, grammar and, on occasion, factual accuracy. Only two letters per writer are printed each month. Letters written in response to other letter writers should address the issue at hand and, rather than mentioning the writer by name, should refer to the headline and date the letter was published. Discourse should be civil and people should be referred to in a respectful manner. Submissions may be sent in any of these ways: E-mail to editor@dailyasto- rian.com; online at www.dailyas- torian.com; delivered to the Asto- rian offices at 949 Exchange St. and 1555 N. Roosevelt in Seaside or by mail to Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 SOUTHERN EXPOSURE Hillary Clinton, James Comey, Martha Stewart and untruths B efore there was Hillary, Huma and Anthony Weiner, there was Martha Stewart. A little more than a decade ago, I was editing a weekly newspaper in an East Coast town not unlike Can- non Beach. One of its illustrious res- idents was Martha Stewart. In sum- mer 2003, at the height of her fame and fortune, the most beloved home- maker of our time was arrested and subsequently convicted by a jury in federal court of stock fraud. After her release in March 2004 from federal prison, the media descended, camp- ing out in front of the 152-acre for- mer egg farm she bought a couple years earlier from a nice old lady named Mrs. Sharp. Martha obliged CNN and NBC with friendly waves, one chilly morning going as far as to hand out cups of hot chocolate to the freezing reporters in perfect host- ess style. The TV spotlight, the jail term, the reporters’ stakeouts after Stew- art’s house arrest — would have probably never happened if it hadn’t been for James Comey. R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian Martha Stewart under house arrest at her Bedford, New York, home in 2005. Prosecutor Comey was a U.S. prosecutor in White Plains, New York, in 2004 when I interviewed him about the Stewart prosecution. According to the federal com- plaint, Stewart avoided a loss of $45,673 by selling all 3,928 shares of her ImClone Systems stock on Dec. 27, 2001, after receiving mate- rial, nonpublic information from Peter Bacanovic, Stewart’s broker at Merrill Lynch. The day follow- ing her sale, the stock value fell 16 percent. Stewart was found guilty of fel- ony charges of conspiracy, obstruc- tion of an agency proceeding and making false statements to federal investigators. It was those false state- ments that led to the attorney gen- eral’s involvement. “The nuances in Stewart’s case ultimately drove the government to back down from charging her with insider trad- ing,” wrote the Columbia Journal- ism School’s “Covering Business.” Instead, the prosecution focused its case on the lies she told to cover the trade. Stewart was sentenced in July 2004 to serve a five-month term in a federal correctional facility in Alderson, West Virginia, followed by a two-year period of super- vised release, including five months of electronic monitoring that was extended three weeks after Stewart violated terms of her release. Her many fans asked: Would a man have gone to jail for the same crimes? They rallied to her support. She was a victim, they said, not a criminal. James Comey About lying In a wide-ranging conversation in 2003 in his office at the Federal Building and Courthouse in White Plains, Comey agreed to discuss aspects of the case. The prosecution wasn’t popular, “but Comey pursued it steadfastly,” I wrote at the time. “This criminal case is about lying — lying to the FBI, lying to the SEC and investors,” Comey told me. “That is conduct that will not be tol- erated. Martha Stewart is being pros- ecuted not because of who she is, but what she did.” Comey is a complicated and thoughtful man. In that same con- versation we talked about ramifica- tions of the Patriot Act and whether aspects represented federal over- reach. He was clearly uncomfortable with the policy established by John Ashcroft and others within the Bush administration. It made me real- ize why a face-to-face interview is incomparably better than a long-dis- tance one. When in 2004, after Attorney General John Ashcroft’s hospitaliza- tion (“so sick he transferred the reins of power to Mr. Comey,” wrote the Washington Post), Comey was asked to “certify” controversial elements of the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance program, he refused. In 2005, Comey resigned from the Justice Department and entered the private sector. He has not elaborated on his reasons for depart- ing, but U.S. Senate hearings in 2006 revealed the intensity of the pressure he faced under then Attorney Gen- eral Alberto Gonzales. I felt I could understand that stance more clearly by knowing of his doubts beforehand. I ran into Comey one time after our meeting in White Plains, stand- ing in a line for a soft-serve cone at King Cone in Somers, New York. In September 2013 he was sworn in as the seventh director of the FBI, a rare appointee of both the Bush and Obama administrations. As he did in the prosecution of Martha Stewart, Comey opened an investigation of Hillary Clinton not for any deed or misdeeds associ- ated with the emails, but for lying to investigators. Will his insistence on following his own path change the course of American history? While the successful prosecution of Martha Stewart put the design diva behind bars, it was only Mar- tha Stewart — and her stockholders and fans — who suffered from her crimes. In an election process that has badly veered out of bounds, his choices assume great consequence. R.J. Marx is The Daily Astori- an’s South County reporter and edi- tor of the Seaside Signal and Cannon Beach Gazette. LETTER TO THE EDITOR Support Opry his Wednesday, we’re hop- ing for a supportive crowd to come to the Lovell Room at 14th and Duane streets to eat Fort George pizza and help keep the Astor Street Opry Company afloat. Since 1985, “Shanghaied In Astoria” has entertained us. ASOC is real community theater, where 250 volunteers work to hone acting skills, perform in seven productions T throughout the year and support an incredible teen theater club. Teamwork, learning, cooper- ation, and all the creative human powers blossom in theater. This group functions on less than a shoe- string of finances. They need your support. The silent and oral auction on Wednesday is made possible by the donations of over 100 businesses and individuals. They understand the value of theater. Please attend to help ASOC. It’s a fun evening with great items to auction. This night honors Judith Niland for her many years of guidance at the theater. The doors open at 5:30 p.m. for food and a silent auc- tion. The oral auction begins at 6:30 p.m. A $25 ticket get you dinner and drink and a bidding number. SARA MEYER Astoria
