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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 25, 2017)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2017 Gearhart to reconsider video poker machines City Council had voted against gaming in April By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian GEARHART — The Gear- hart City Council will take a sec- ond look at its decision to deny a permit that would have allowed video poker machines at a new brew pub in a neighborhood down the road from City Hall. At an emergency meeting Wednesday night, the council voted unanimously to recon- sider its denial of a permit application submitted by Terry Lowenberg, owner of Gearhart Crossing. The Planning Commis- sion denied the permit in Janu- ary and the council upheld the denial in April, citing concerns about maintaining the neigh- borhood character and say- ing there was no proven need for the machines at the pub. In reconsidering the per- Lowenberg, who had appealed the Planning Commission’s mit, “obviously the City Coun- decision, appealed the coun- cil could come to a different conclusion (about the cil’s decision to the permit),” Watts said. state Land Use Board “They could come of Appeals. to the same conclu- The city then sion. I’m not sure what had the option to let will happen. It would the appeal go for- be a reconsideration ward or to bring the but whatever conclu- application back for sion the City Coun- reconsideration. Terry City Attorney Peter Lowenberg cil comes to we would make sure that the find- Watts recommended the council reconsider the permit ings (reflect) that conclusion.” “I still question why we’re application. While the council and the Planning Commission expending so much political came to the same conclusion to capital, if you will, fighting not allow video poker machines this,” said City Councilor Dan at Gearhart Crossing, city coun- Jesse. He was the only one to cilors had slightly different rea- vote in the permit’s favor in sons for their “no” votes, Watts April. “Well I think the good news said. Currently, the findings the state would see only reflect the is it’s for reconsideration,” Planning Commission’s reason- Mayor Matt Brown said. ing. If the council brought the “So we have a lot of choices permit back, this would give depending on what happens in them a chance to make sure the the reconsideration.” The five councilors voted official findings represented the opinions and conclusions of unanimously to bring the per- mit back and review it a sec- both groups. R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian The new look at the Gearhart Crossing Pub & Deli, which wants to add video poker. ond time. The city is now required to hold another public hearing, something it plans to do as soon as possible — likely in late June or early July. Anyone who testified at the previous hearing, whether for or against the lot- tery machines, can speak again. Lowenberg and his lawyers believe the city’s denial of the permit ignores state law and that Lowenberg does not need the city’s approval to install the lottery machines. “The denial does not appear to be based on any relevant fact, but rather on a prejudice against gaming and the people that par- ticipate gaming,” Lowenberg wrote in his appeal. State House approves ballot measure for impeachment process By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau Donaldjtrump.com The state House of Representatives voted Wednesday to join a group of states that want to elect the president by the national popular vote. The movement has intensified since President Donald Trump’s election in November. State House votes to join effort to elect president by popular vote By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — The state House of Representatives voted 34-23 Wednesday to join a group of states that want to elect the president by the national popular vote. Under the Constitution, the president and vice president are the only officials selected through the Electoral Col- lege process. Candidates are awarded votes equal to the number of senators and repre- sentatives from the states they carry. Under the bill, Oregon’s electors would be awarded to the winner of the national pop- ular vote, regardless of who wins the state. “House Bill 2927 ensures every vote in every state will matter,” said state Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer, D-Portland. The House has voted three times since 2009 to join the National Popular Vote com- pact. Each time, Senate Pres- ident Peter Courtney blocked the legislation. Courtney, D-Salem, has said he would support the effort this year only if the deci- sion were referred to voters. “I would be open to amend- Clatsop Post 12 Commander Pat’s Stuffed Green Pepper Dinner Friday th May 26 4 pm until gone $ 8. 00 6PM “Karaoke Dave” ASTORIA AMERICAN LEGION Clatsop Post 12 1132 Exchange Street 325-5771 ing the bill and sending the question to the bal- lot,” Courtney said. “If you believe in the popular vote, then let the popular vote decide the issue.” The popular vote cam- paign took on new life after President Donald Trump won election by the Elec- toral College while losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by almost 3 million votes. “Oregon deserves a voice in who becomes pres- ident,” Keny-Guyer said. SALEM — The state House of Representatives voted 49-5 Wednesday to send a constitu- tional amendment to voters to create a process for impeaching the governor. Oregon is the only state in the nation that has no mechanism for executive impeachment. State Rep. Jodi Hack, R-Sa- lem, has been working on the joint resolution since 2015, the year Gov. John Kitzhaber resigned amid an influence-ped- dling scandal. Hack and other lawmak- ers introduced the proposal to address the lack of an impeach- ment process. The proposal was not a direct reaction to the Kitzhaber debacle, said Pres- ton Mann, a spokesman for the House GOP. “I think most Oregonians would be surprised to learn that our state does not have a mech- anism for executive branch impeachment already in place,” Hack said. “In fact, Oregon con- tinues to be the only state in the nation without this kind of pro- tection against executive branch misconduct. I am of course hopeful that we would never need to pursue an impeachment proceeding, but we should not pretend that Oregon is immune to potential political scandals.” The measure would allow the House to impeach a state- wide official on the grounds of malfeasance in office, cor- ruption, neglect of duty, felo- nies or misdemeanors. The pro- cess would require a three-fifths majority vote in the House. The official would then face a trial in the Senate, where convic- tion would require a two-thirds majority vote. The proposal was first offered in 2015 but stalled in the Senate, Mann said. “As I have said since I orig- inally introduced this concept in 2015, this resolution is not intended to create a new weapon for partisan politics, but rather a tool for holding our executive branch accountability when necessary,” Hack said. “Let’s do right by the people of Oregon, pass HJR 10 out of the Legis- lature, and give Oregonians an opportunity to weigh in on this discussion.” The resolution now heads to the Senate. If approved, the measure would appear on the 2018 general election ballot. The Capital Bureau is a col- laboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. Leinassar Dental Excellence Trusted, Caring and Affordable Dental Care Hear what loyal and new patients alike are saying... I was experiencing tooth pain, and was able to get in the same day. Th e staff is awesome and so is Dr. Leinassar. Always a very comfortable experience. 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