THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2017
Legal immigration
ver the last couple of
years, there has been more
and more (deliberate?) blurring
of the terms legal immigration
and illegal immigration. It has
become: If you are against ille-
gal immigration (i.e. if you are
for effective borders), you are
considered to be against immi-
gration, period. In America,
unless you are an American
Indian, you are a descendant
of an immigrant. My father
was an immigrant from Russia.
But, I don’t understand con-
doning illegal immigration.
The Astoria City Coun-
cil is considering a Resolu-
tion of Inclusion, supporting
immigrants (“Astoria considers
adopting ‘city of inclusivity’
resolution,” The Daily Asto-
rian, Feb. 22). Well, unless it
points out that it is not encour-
aging illegal immigration, I’m
afraid it would be a sanctu-
ary city thing after all. I do not
understand why illegal immi-
grants who commit crimes
should get off easier than citi-
zens who commit crimes.
Those interested in these
matters should attend the
March city council meeting, as
I hope to do.
By the way, on another
matter, the politics of “the
wall” is one thing, the engi-
neering is another. Those who
want the wall: Don’t be dis-
appointed if it isn’t a pile of
bricks or concrete, if there are
more economical, effective
ways to protect our border.
LELAND KERIN
Astoria
O
Port accountability
he Daily Astorian reported
the “Port Commission
needs to stop its in-house
squabbling” (“Port Commis-
sion’s petty infighting needs to
stop,” Feb. 14). It may seem
disruptive to point out that
the Port president submitted
an award nomination, even
though the Port’s bylaws for-
bid commissioners from act-
ing independently. This action
demonstrates the Port’s lack
of accountability to the Port’s
rules; the bylaws require open
meetings and decisions made
by a public vote.
Had the Port followed
proper procedure, it wouldn’t
have released a lien and
incurred a potential $700,000
collateral loss. This occurred
when staff disregarded com-
mission direction and didn’t
appraise the property prior
to releasing its lien for less
than the established value. If
staff was providing the com-
mission with a weekly activ-
ity summary, or attested doc-
uments by the commission
secretary (actions required in
the bylaws), the improper lien
T
FRIDAY EXCHANGE
A stranger’s kindness warms visitor
hank you Astoria, Seaside and Can-
non Beach. I am not a resident of the
area, but absolutely adore it, and it means
more to me than you know. I’ll explain.
I have been coming to the area for
some time, five years ago, to be exact,
since I first discovered it. I adore it, and
come as often as I can, it’s truly special.
In fact I’ve been here for the last few
days. A little over a year ago my mother
and father died, 13 days apart, and it
ripped me to pieces.
They loved the ocean, my mother
especially. The last ocean they laid their
eyes on was at Seaside at sunset. I can’t
imagine a better end. Since then, the area
has been a refuge, something good and
a feeling of some sort of familiarity of
my parents to hurt, rejoice and connect.
When I’m there it’s like they’re not gone,
like I’m not gone.
Not long after they died, my dog (her
dog as well) fell ill with cancer. She’s
getting treatment, but will pass away. She
is the last living link to mother I have, to
something special just between us. She’s
always gone with me, and she will con-
tinue to until she can’t — she shares the
T
release could have been uncov-
ered and reversed. However,
the commission majority chose
to retroactively approve this
transaction, rather than hold
anyone responsible.
At the Port meeting, Feb
22, the commission president
attempted to block a motion
to allow discussion on the
Englund Marine subordination
contract. Allowing a transfer
of a contract is simple for the
commission, but very import-
ant to one of the Port’s valu-
able tenants. In this case, the
president’s action to censor dis-
cussion could have harmed one
of the Port’s tenants.
This is why I have been
critical of the commission
majority: They continue to
allow themselves and staff to
operate outside of the bylaws,
without accountability. The
Port Commission should be
accountable to prevent the
waste of taxpayer money/
property and to avoid unnec-
essary risk. I support hold-
ing the Port’s leadership being
accountable to our taxpayers.
STEPHEN C. FULTON
Commissioner,
Port of Astoria
Astoria
Play by same rules
he growing unregulated,
short-term vacation rent-
als and operations like Airbnb
and others must play by the
same rules as the hotel/motel
industry. Local and state tran-
sient taxes should be collected
by each entity and paid to the
local and state agencies, and
all city and state regulations
required by the hotels/motels
T
Submitted Photo
Michael Quatrociocchi and his dog
in Cannon Beach.
love of the area with me. She means so
much. We are the best of friends, she’s
all I have. I will continue time to give her
the best life possible.
Something happened Sunday. Along
Cannon Beach, adjacent to Haystack
Rock, my dog and I stopped to watch the
must be required for any entity
offering the same type of ser-
vices (overnight accommo-
dations). It is fundamentally
wrong to require hotels/motels
to have smoke detectors, sprin-
kler systems, health depart-
ment codes to follow, build-
ing requirements, and much
more, and not require the same
thing for a vacation rental or an
Airbnb operation.
The current loophole for
these mostly nonregulated
businesses creates an unfair
advantage, as they do not have
the same costs as the regulated
operations. Businesses left to
their own devices will seek the
absolute minimum required to
get the job done, and this can
mean trouble. Buildings con-
verted for vacation rentals
cause problems for local infra-
structure in residential neigh-
borhoods, which have been
planned for residential use, not
transient traffic coming in and
out on a regular basis.
Short-term rentals (less than
30 days) cause problems for
neighbors with noise and park-
ing, and also threaten the value
of property surrounding those
operations. Tourists staying in
those operations pay no addi-
tional fees or taxes, but get
the benefits of all that Clatsop
County, and especially Asto-
ria, has to offer. The Astoria
City Council must create reg-
ulations as soon as possible
to avoid the many problems a
multitude of communities are
now experiencing as a result of
the unchecked proliferation of
these short-term rentals.
If these unregulated opera-
tions want to play in the hospi-
tality industry, then they need
M ARCH 7
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A Columbia Forum Presentation
Nigel Jaquiss is an American Journalist who
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His story was published in Willamette Week in
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Week.
Jaquiss graduated from Dartmouth College in
1984; he spent 11 years as a Wall Street and Singapore-based crude oil
trader, working for Cargill, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. After
some concerns about business practices, he sought a career change,
eventually enrolling at Columbia University Graduate School of Jour-
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career in Portland in January 1998, working for Willamette Week.
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Cannery Pier Hotel & Spa
sun go down. Those sunsets are the most
beautiful; Sunday was the most beautiful.
Now I know the people of the area
are wonderful. I’ve interacted with them
for years, and they’ve been kind to my
parents and pooch, and myself. As I was
leaving, a woman approached me and
said she was a photographer. She said
she had a picture for me, and normally
doesn’t approach subjects, but felt I
needed a picture she had taken
of us.
When I saw it, I didn’t know what to
say, but cry. First it made me happy, sad
she was going to die, sad for my parents
gone, but joyous in its connection, it’s
love, hope, and something we all share
that can’t ever die. All because a resident
I didn’t know — a stranger’s kindness, a
common thread of all residents — who
knew enough to know what it meant, and
that I needed it.
I know the area is special, and has
given me, us, so much, and brought it all
together yesterday. I’d like the communi-
ties to know that.
MICHAEL QUATROCIOCCHI
La Grande
to play by the same set of rules,
regulations and requirements. If
not, we are asking for many of
these operations to continue to
spring up all over, and eventu-
ally cause many more problems
for our local community. The
hotel/motel industry is required
to follow the rules, so must
the vacation rentals and busi-
nesses like an Airbnb. I would
also argue that the Astoria City
Council has an obligation to
make this a priority.
DON WEST
Astoria
Sportfishers respond
wo clicks and one can
access an infinite array
of accurate information from
countless sources. That is why
it is so baffling that the edi-
torial, “Brown puts political
correctness above jobs” (The
Daily Astorian, Feb. 13) would
actually be published.
The editor made statements
that were simply untrue. How-
ever, the claim that the North-
west Sportfishing Industry
Association (NSIA) “owes its
T
existence to fat-cat Texas oil-
men” was a blatant fabrication.
I would challenge the editor to
respond with the source of this
ludicrous claim.
NSIA is a trade organiza-
tion made up of hundreds of
businesses. Most are small
and locally-owned, not politi-
cally correct urban dwellers, as
reported. Members make their
living serving the recreational
fishing industry, and employ
thousands of hard-working
people. They’re the citizens
who guide our waterways, sell
tackle, build rods and manu-
facture boats. They don’t live
in Texas, and they certainly
aren’t oilmen. Please correct
this baseless assertion.
The argument that the
reforms are aimed at coddling
politically correct urban dwell-
ers is simply inaccurate. One
call, one email would have
produced a wealth of codified
data regarding the real eco-
nomic metrics from recent
studies. NSIA could have pro-
vided member profiles and the
demographics of the 600,000-
plus sport fishermen we serve.
5A
In reality, the commis-
sion’s decision runs counter
to corroborated science and
economic data. The opin-
ions of Washington, the Ore-
gon Department of Fish and
Wildlife, and most who are
not invested in the gillnetting
industry, flies in the face of the
editor’s assertions.
I don’t expect my response
will be published expeditiously,
or at all. I can however, assure
you that it will ultimately get
much greater exposure beyond
your readership. Remember,
just two clicks …
DON M. NEW
Board member,
Northwest Sportfishing
Industry Association
West Linn
Immigrant confesses
y family arrived by
boat. Our language, reli-
gion and skin color were vastly
different from the majority
population. We came to avoid
religious persecution and to
seek better economic opportu-
nities. These reasons for emi-
grating to America may have
been the same for your family.
I understand the vast major-
ity of people seeking to be
America’s newest immigrants
are trying to escape ethnic or
religious persecution, often
threatening their very lives. Of
course, most would also realize
economic advantages, as have
virtually all immigrants. As
with your family, their success
will contribute to our nation’s
success.
The boat my family arrived
on was named Mayflower.
The year they arrived was
1620. In the nearly 400 years
my family has lived here, our
country has welcomed mil-
lions of immigrants of diverse
ethnicities, religions and
socioeconomic status. That
practice should continue. I
don’t believe the arrival date
of my family, or your fam-
ily, bestows any authority to
deny entry of new immigrants
to this good country. Neither
does race, religion or country
of origin of those who wish
to join us in calling America
home.
JACKSON ROSS
Astoria
M
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