2A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2017
‘Tuesday was the 158th birthday of Oregon becoming a state.
What’s your favorite thing about Oregon?’
“My favorite
thing is all the
greenery — it’s
lush green.”
Karen Cullen, Astoria
THE DAILY ASTORIAN // QUESTION OF THE WEEK
“The greenery. It’s
so beautiful to look
at, especially on
Highway 26.”
“I happen to like Oregon. I’ve
been here for more than 20
years. But the cost of living is
getting too much, and a lot of the
food in the markets is not natural.
What I plan to do is move to Costa Rica.”
Christy Peschl, Astoria
Val Bragg, Astoria
Climate change panel urges delay
in Oregon forest policy decisions
Bill limits employers’ ability
to recoup fees in wage fi ghts
Other changes
to labor rules
are possible
By MATEUSZ
PERKOWSKI
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Oregon
employers would be stripped
of the ability to recoup attor-
ney fees if they win a wage and
hour lawsuit under a proposed
bill before state lawmakers,
while another would allow
claimants to fi le liens on their
employer’s property before
winning a judgment.
Only employees who fi le
and win such cases would be
entitled to attorney fees under
House Bill 2169, which is
being considered by the House
Committee on Business and
Labor.
Currently, either workers
or employers can recover such
costs if they win legal disputes
over wage and hour claims.
Proponents of HB 2169
argue the current system effec-
tively prevents workers from
fi ling lawsuits when employ-
ers have paid less than the min-
imum wage or made improper
wage deductions.
“It serves as a real deter-
rent for low-asset house-
holds to proceed with legit-
imate claims,” said Michael
Dale, executive director of the
Northwest Workers’ Justice
Project, during a committee
hearing Monday.
Judges would still retain the
right to penalize plaintiffs and
their lawyers for cases that are
deemed frivolous, Dale said. “I
think it balances out.”
Attorneys who represent
workers in labor disputes said
their clients are typically unwill-
ing to risk paying tens of thou-
sands of dollars in attorney fees
over disputes involving several
hundred dollars in wages.
“It guarantees bankruptcy
for the individual,” said attor-
ney David Schuck.
Opponents of HB 2169
argue the law should remain
impartial as to who can recoup
attorney fees in wage and hour
lawsuits.
“We don’t think Ore-
gon law should stack the
deck against one side or the
other,” said Anthony Smith,
state director for the National
Federation of Independent
Business.
Tim Bernasek, an attorney
representing the Oregon Farm
Bureau, said judges ultimately
decide whether such awards
are appropriate, so workers
don’t necessarily have to pay
the opposing side’s attorney
fees when they lose a dispute.
The prospect of being lia-
ble for attorney fees has a
“sobering effect” on both par-
ties in such disputes, Bernasek
said. “It’s important to keep
that balance.”
Forests store
carbon dioxide
By MATEUSZ
PERKOWSKI
Capital Bureau
FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA
TONIGHT
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
47
ALMANAC
Times of clouds and sun
Cloudy with a little rain
Tillamook
48/53
Salem
47/53
Newport
49/52
First
Feb 26
Coos Bay
49/54
Full
Mar 5
Lakeview
36/42
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2017
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
TOMORROW'S TIDES
Astoria / Port Docks
Time
11:08 a.m.
10:58 p.m.
Low
1.7 ft.
2.0 ft.
City
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Eugene
Ilwaco
Klamath Falls
Medford
Newberg
Newport
North Bend
Hi
37
46
59
59
54
49
63
53
57
64
Today
Lo
34
36
48
46
46
38
44
44
49
49
W
pc
r
r
r
r
r
r
r
r
r
Hi
41
46
51
51
49
46
54
52
52
54
Thu.
Lo
25
29
42
39
41
32
38
38
41
43
W
sh
sh
sh
sh
sh
sh
sh
sh
sh
sh
City
Olympia
Pendleton
Portland
Roseburg
Salem
Seaside
Spokane
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Yakima
Hi
55
38
51
65
55
54
41
58
52
38
Today
Lo
45
37
44
47
47
46
37
45
44
35
W
r
i
r
r
r
r
i
r
r
i
Hi
51
45
52
53
53
49
45
51
52
46
Thu.
Lo
38
34
38
40
38
42
30
40
38
27
W
sh
sh
sh
sh
sh
sh
r
sh
sh
c
TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER
NATIONAL CITIES
Hi
59
42
36
65
45
35
57
29
81
39
50
69
77
54
85
49
62
48
56
49
47
49
64
54
51
Astoria
April 30, 1961 — Dec. 28, 2016
Burns
29/41
Ashland
38/48
W
r
sn
pc
s
s
sf
s
pc
sh
pc
s
s
s
pc
s
pc
pc
c
s
pc
s
s
c
r
pc
Hi
59
37
42
72
60
34
64
22
81
46
67
73
70
62
81
58
64
37
68
41
64
54
63
51
44
Thu.
Lo
39
23
30
37
38
22
42
2
69
33
41
56
58
43
58
39
47
26
40
26
45
36
52
42
29
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
s
sn
c
s
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
s
s
pc
s
c
s
pc
pc
s
pc
s
pc
r
sh
s
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Dennis S. Arden passed away at
home, peacefully, from cancer.
He is survived by his wife, Alice;
his stepdaughters, Kathleen, Sandra
and Jymeen; a brother, James; and a
sister, Nancy.
Dennis was founder and CEO of
Newoctave Corp. and International
Piano Supply, furnishing parts and
accessories to six continents. As
an experienced restorer and piano
tuner, he was able to offer help by a
dedicated phone line.
His family was very thankful for
the wonderful care Lower Colum-
bia Hospice gave Dennis. He was
not always the best patient, but he
was grateful for the compassion.
Dennis Arden
ON THE RECORD
DUII
• At 11:11 p.m. Monday,
Randall Layman, 30, of Asto-
ria, was arrested by the War-
renton Police Department
on Burma Road in Fort Ste-
vens State Park for driving
under the infl uence of intox-
icants. Layman allegedly
struck an elk near the Peter
Iredale shipwreck. He drove
away from the scene in a sil-
ver Toyota 4Runner when an
offi cer approached but was
taken into custody by another
offi cer near Ridge Road. His
blood alcohol content was
.16.
DEATH
Feb. 14, 2017
MERRILL, Alice Lorene, 84, of Astoria, died in Seaside. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary in
Astoria is in charge of the arrangements.
MEMORIALS
Saturday, Feb. 18
CAUSLEY, Christopher A. — Informal celebration of life at 1 p.m., Big O Saloon, 89523 Ore-
gon Highway 202 in Olney.
HERRMANN, Alice Winifred — Memorial at 1 p.m., Lighthouse Christian Church, 88786
Dellmoor Loop in Warrenton.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy,
sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries,
sn-snow, i-ice.
Need a Lift?
else who is doing this type of
work,” he said.
Improving forest health
and preventing wildfi res may
involve removing trees, but
these choices involve a “trade-
off” in terms of carbon accrual,
Duncan said.
Wildfi res in Oregon have
been emitting roughly 1.5 mil-
lion tons to 4 million tons of
carbon dioxide a year since the
beginning of the 21st c entury,
but it’s unclear whether this
level is normal or excessive,
the commission found.
The impact of forest fi res
on carbon emissions is compli-
cated by the extent and sever-
ity of fi res — in some cases,
fi res can affect large acreages
but the forest will still store
Dennis S. Arden
Baker
34/41
Ontario
31/41
Klamath Falls
38/46
EO Media Group
The equivalent of about 9.7
billion tons of carbon diox-
ide are stored in Oregon’s
forests, which is roughly
150 times more than the
state’s annual emissions.
OBITUARY
REGIONAL CITIES
Tonight's Sky: Galileo Galilei's birthday. (1564)
Today
Lo
35
30
24
36
32
21
33
5
67
25
35
50
57
34
67
31
45
30
32
28
32
31
57
48
31
La Grande
37/44
Roseburg
47/53
Brookings
47/52
Mar 12
John Day
38/45
Bend
36/46
Medford
44/54
UNDER THE SKY
High
8.5 ft.
7.0 ft.
Prineville
36/47
Lebanon
44/52
Eugene
46/51
SUN AND MOON
New
Pendleton
37/45
The Dalles
35/48
Portland
44/52
Sunset tonight ........................... 5:42 p.m.
Sunrise Thursday ........................ 7:17 a.m.
Moonrise today ........................ 11:00 p.m.
Moonset today ............................ 9:42 a.m.
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Denver
Des Moines
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Honolulu
Indianapolis
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Memphis
Miami
Nashville
New Orleans
New York
Oklahoma City
Philadelphia
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Francisco
Seattle
Washington, DC
49
39
Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs.
ASTORIA
47/50
Precipitation
Tuesday ............................................ 0.17"
Month to date ................................... 7.19"
Normal month to date ....................... 3.73"
Year to date .................................... 13.00"
Normal year to date ........................ 13.93"
Time
4:43 a.m.
5:09 p.m.
Periods of sun
SUNDAY
50
36
REGIONAL WEATHER
Astoria through Tuesday.
Temperatures
High/low ....................................... 59°/33°
Normal high/low ........................... 52°/37°
Record high ............................ 64° in 1934
Record low ............................. 22° in 1990
Feb 18
49
37
Variable clouds with
showers; breezy
Breezy with rain at times
Last
SATURDAY
50
40
SALEM — Activists often
urge a speedier government
response to climate change,
but the Oregon Global Warm-
ing Commission doesn’t want
to rush any decisions involving
forest policy.
Angus Duncan, the com-
mission’s chair, recently told
lawmakers it’s better to wait
until it’s better understood how
forest management can offset
carbon emissions, which are
blamed for climate change.
Up until now, the commis-
sion has focused on quanti-
fying the amount of carbon
absorbed by forests across dif-
ferent regions in the state.
Altogether, Oregon’s for-
ests store the equivalent of
about 9.7 billion tons of car-
bon dioxide — roughly 150
times as much as the state
emits per year, according to
the commission.
Before making forest man-
agement recommendations,
the commission plans to deter-
mine the historical carbon fl uc-
tuations in Oregon forests and
how they’re affected by cli-
mate change and human inter-
ventions such as logging, said
Duncan.
“We don’t see anybody
carbon in burned trees, he said.
Of the 63.4 million tons of
carbon dioxide emitted in Ore-
gon in 2015, about 37 percent
came from the transportation
sector, 35 percent came from
the residential and commercial
sectors and 20 percent came
from the industrial sector,
according to the commission .
With about 8 percent of the
total, the agricultural sector
contributed the smallest share
of Oregon’s emissions.
Oregon is expected to
fall short of its carbon emis-
sions-cutting goals in com-
ing years, but Duncan said he
expects the output of renew-
able energy to increase in the
state and the nation due to
technology improvements and
lower costs.
In the future, the energy
industry will move away from
a “command and control”
structure, with utilities buying
electricity from a variety of
sources as needed, similar to
the stock market, he said.
Oregon’s contribution to
reduce global emissions will
depend on a “mutually-rein-
forcing club” of other states
and countries taking similar
steps, Duncan said.
“If we do our job and
nobody else does theirs, we’re
toast, and I mean that literally,”
he said.
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
OBITUARY
POLICY
The Daily Astorian pub-
lishes paid obituaries. The obit-
uary can include a small photo
and, for veterans, a flag sym-
bol at no charge. The deadline
for all obituaries is 10 a.m. the
business day prior.
Obituaries may be edited
for spelling, proper punctua-
tion and style. Death notices
and upcoming services will
be published at no charge.
Notices must be submitted by
9 a.m. the day of publication.
Obituaries and notices
may be submitted online at
www.dailyastorian.com/forms/
obits, by email at ewilson@
dailyastorian.com, placed via
the funeral home or in person
at The Daily Astorian office,
949 Exchange St. in Astoria.
For more information, call 503-
325-3211, ext. 257.
WEDNESDAY
Seaside Tourism and Advisory
Committee, 3 p.m., City Hall,
989 Broadway.
Gearhart City Council, 5
p.m., special meeting on brew
pub appeal for video lottery
machines, City Hall, 698 Pacifi c
Way.
Astoria School Board, 6:15
p.m., executive session (closed
to public), study session following,
7:30 p.m., regular meeting, Capt.
Robert Gray School third-fl oor
boardroom, 785 Alameda Ave.
LOTTERIES
THURSDAY
Cannon Beach Parks and
Community Services Com-
mittee, 9 a.m., City Hall, 163 E.
Gower St.
Cannon Beach Design Review
Board, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E.
Gower St.
Gearhart Planning Commis-
sion and City Council, 6 p.m.,
joint work session, City Hall, 698
Pacifi c Way.
Seaside Transportation Advi-
sory Commission, 6 p.m., City
Hall, 989 Broadway.
The Daily Astorian
Established July 1, 1873
(USPS 035-000)
Published daily, except Saturday and Sunday, by EO Media Group,
949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503-
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OREGON
Tuesday’s Pick 4:
1 p.m.: 2-6-7-2
4 p.m.: 6-8-1-1
7 p.m.: 4-3-3-9
10 p.m.: 4-1-5-0
Tuesday’s Mega Millions:
7-11-33-60-68, Mega Ball: 15
Estimated jackpot: $46 million
WASHINGTON
Tuesday’s Daily Game: 8-8-7
Tuesday’s Keno: 04-08-11-
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48-56-60-63-64-65-67-72-75
Tuesday’s Match 4: 01-19-
20-21
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