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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 23, 2016)
9A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016 Homeless: Rural communities have been hit hard Continued from Page 1A Student homelessness in Clatsop County The Oregon Department of Education report blames a lack of affordable hous- ing statewide for the increas- ing number of homeless children. (Statistics by school district, 2015-16) Local figures In Clatsop County last school year, 287 students were reported as homeless, up from about 235 the year prior. The designation includes students without a permanent home, doubling up with friends and family because of economic hardship, or staying in shel- ters or commercial lodg- ing. The state tracks unshel- tered students staying in cars, trailers, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, sub- standard housing, bus stations and other areas not equipped for sleeping. Wa r r e n t o n - H a m m o n d School District reported 130 students considered homeless, nearly 13 percent of the dis- trict’s enrollment and up from 117 homeless students the year prior. Two-thirds were Astoria Seaside Warrenton -Hammond Knappa Jewell Unaccompanied minors 19 <5 — <5 — Sheltered 7 <5 — — — Doubled up 69 37 98 <5 — Unsheltered 8 <5 32 <5 — Hotel/motel 8 20 — — — Total 92 59 130 6 0 4.9% 43.8% 3.8 28.3 13 11.1 1.3 -25 — — Circumstance Percent of enrollment Percent change from 2014-15 NOTE: Amounts of five or fewer students are redacted for student privacy. Sources: Oregon Dept. of Education; Warrenton-Hammond School District doubling up, with the rest unsheltered. Astoria reported 89 stu- dents homeless, nearly 5 per- cent of enrollment and up more than 1 percent from the year prior. Nineteen of those were unaccompanied minors, by far the county’s largest share. Seaside reported 59 stu- dents — or 3.8 percent of enrollment — homeless, with 20 students living in hotels Edward Stratton and Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group and motels, the county’s larg- est share. Knappa reported six home- less students, down from eight the year prior. Jewell reported none, after having five or fewer the year prior. Eviction Reacting to the report, the Stable Homes for Oregon Families Coalition urged the Legislature to protect tenants at risk of losing their homes because of eviction and severe rent increases. The number of homeless students increased by more than 1,100 from the previous year, the new report said. Lincoln County Commis- sioner Bill Hall said rural communities have been hit hard, with nearly 1-in-7 stu- dents experiencing homeless- ness for part of the 2015-16 school year in his county. “Our children should be ‘Our children should be thinking about their homework and playtime, and not worrying about where they will sleep at night.’ Bill Hall Lincoln County commissioner thinking about their home- work and playtime, and not worrying about where they will sleep at night,” Hall said on Facebook. “We can do more to protect kids and fam- ilies from experiencing home- lessness in Oregon.” State law allows landlords to evict families at any time without stating a reason and prohibits local governments from enacting rent stabilization measures, the Stable Homes for Oregon Families Coalition said. The United States Con- ference of Mayors has identi- fied eviction as a leading cause of homelessness, especially for families with children, the coalition said. The instability that home- lessness causes often leads to school absences and falling behind, Marti Heard, home- less program liaison for Port- land Public Schools, was quoted as saying by the coa- lition. That can jeopardize future college or career suc- cess, Heard said. In some districts, 20 per- cent or more of their stu- dents count as homeless by the federal definition, the education department said. Unemployment and a lack of family-wage jobs and afford- able housing in rural areas have contributed to the rise, it said. Edward Stratton of The Daily Astorian contributed to this story. Parade: Community thanked for ‘amazing amount of support’ Continued from Page 1A AP Photo/Mike Groll New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a rally to raise the minimum wage in Alba- ny, N.Y., in February. A federal court today blocked implementation of a rule imposed by President Barack Obama’s administration that would have made an estimated 4 million more higher-earning workers across the country eligible for overtime pay starting Dec. 1. Overtime: Department of Labor could appeal the Tuesday ruling “Each school will be sending out an invitation to their students in this week’s newsletter,” Seaside School District Superintendent Sheila Roley said Friday. “It is a wonderful honor for our students to be invited to be the grand marshals of the Parade of Lights.” Roley thanked the com- munity for their “amazing amount of support for our students.” “With the passage of the school construction bond, our voters have expressed how highly they value our young citizens,” she said. “We are so grateful.” Local Pacific Power employees and their families ‘Our voters have expressed how highly they value our young citizens.’ Sheila Roley Seaside School District superintendent will participate in the parade this year, Pacific Power’s Regional Business Manager Alisa Dunlap said. “We will be decorating a bucket truck for the festivities. And look forward to handing out our signature glow sticks along the parade route.” The parade formation begins at 6 p.m. at First Ave- nue on Necanicum Drive with participants facing south. The parade ends at the Downing and Broadway pocket park. Noncommercial winners receive a $50 check and commercial winners receive a plaque. Follow- ing the parade, participants are invited to join tree-light- ing, caroling and visits with Santa Claus. Dunlap has an additional advisory this holiday season: For home lighting, make sure you are using an appro- priate outlet and check dec- orations for damage prior to plugging them in. Continued from Page 1A “Businesses and state and local governments across the country can breathe a sigh of relief now that this rule has been halted,” said Nevada Attorney General Adam Lax- alt, who led the coalition of 21 states and governors fighting the rule and has been a frequent critic of what he characterized as Obama administration over- reach. “Today’s preliminary injunction reinforces the impor- tance of the rule of law and constitutional government.” Skip OT pay The regulation sought to shrink the so-called “white collar exemption” that allows employers to skip overtime pay for salaried administrative or professional workers who make more than about $23,660 per year. Critics say it’s wrong that some retail and restaurant chains pay low-level managers as little as $25,000 a year and no overtime — even if they work 60 hours a week. Under the rule, those work- ers would have been eligi- ble for overtime pay as long as they made less than about $47,500 a year, and the thresh- old would readjust every three years to reflect changes in aver- age wages. The Department of Labor said the changes would restore teeth to the Fair Labor Stan- dards Act, which it called “the crown jewel of worker pro- tections in the United States.” Inflation weakened the act: overtime protections applied to 62 percent of U.S. full-time sal- aried workers in 1975 but just 7 percent today. The agency said it’s now considering all its legal options. “We strongly disagree with the decision by the court, which has the effect of delaying a fair day’s pay for a long day’s work for millions of hardworking Americans,” the labor depart- ment said in a statement. “The department’s overtime rule is the result of a comprehen- sive, inclusive rulemaking pro- cess, and we remain confident in the legality of all aspects of the rule.” AP Photo/Ben Margot Protesters demonstrate outside a McDonald’s restaurant in Oakland, Calif. A federal court today blocked implemen- tation of a rule imposed by President Barack Obama’s ad- ministration that would have made an estimated 4 million more higher-earning workers across the country eligible for overtime pay starting Dec. 1. ‘This overtime rule is totally disconnected from reality’ Karen Kerrigan president and CEO of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council Up with the times The ruling dealt a major blow to the Obama adminis- tration’s effort to beef up labor laws it said weren’t keeping pace with the times. Opponents fought hard against the rule, saying it would increase compliance costs for employers who would have to track hours more meticulously and would force companies to cut employees’ base pay to compensate for overtime costs that kick in more frequently. “This overtime rule is totally disconnected from real- ity,” said Karen Kerrigan, pres- ident and CEO of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council. “The one-size-fits-all doubling of the salary thresh- old demonstrated ignorance regarding the vast differences in the cost-of-living across America.” The court agreed with plain- tiffs that the rule could cause irreparable harm if it wasn’t stopped before it was sched- uled to take effect next week. The Department of Labor could appeal the Tuesday rul- ing, which might end up at a Supreme Court that includes some Trump appointees. But the injunction takes political pressure off the incom- ing administration at an oppor- tune time, according to labor law professor Ruben Garcia of UNLV’s Boyd School of Law. With no new overtime changes kicking in Dec. 1, Trump can accept the status quo and won’t have to risk angering workers by walking back overtime ben- efits shortly after employees start receiving them. His administration could choose to make its own rule changes through the lengthy administrative process. Or Congress could amend labor laws. The impending rule wasn’t front and center in the presi- dential campaign, but Trump did tell the news site Circa in August that he would love to see a delay or carve-out for small businesses in the over- time regulation. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan was more vocal against it, say- ing it would be an “absolute disaster” for the economy and was being rushed through by Obama to boost his political legacy. We are thankful For your support. Happy Thanksgiving from Our Family To Yours The caregivers at Columbia Memorial Hospital (CMH) would like to wish our community Happy Holidays. From all of us at CMH, we would like to thank you for your support and trust in allowing us to be your healthcare provider. This Holiday Season and throughout the coming year, may you all be surrounded with peace, joy, good health and love. CMH Urgent Care offers convenient locations in Astoria and Warrenton. 2111 Exchange Street, Astoria, Oregon • 503-325-4321 www.columbiamemorial.org • A Planetree-Designated Hospital
