THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JULY 14, 2017
FRIDAY EXCHANGE
5A
Support our parks
e, the Astoria Parks, Recre-
ation and Community Foun-
dation, are proud of the parks, facil-
ities and programs that exist in our
thriving community. Our nonprofit
seeks to support Parks with events
that raise money to fund scholar-
ships for our community members
who need financial assistance.
Parks is responsible for green
spaces, facilities and programs
which feed the health and well-be-
ing of our community. They main-
tain places where individuals and
families, who are both residents and
visitors, can appreciate Astoria and
be active.
Parks encompasses some of the
most beautiful, historical and edu-
cational sights and programs in
our area. They also employ some
wonderful people who care for our
community from our youth to our
elders.
This upcoming week, at 7 p.m.
Monday, the City Council is mak-
ing some vital decisions affect-
ing the future of Parks funding. It
is with this in mind that our orga-
nization is reaching out to you, our
community, to ask you to show
your support to keep Astoria Parks
and Recreation alive and thriving.
You can do this by contact-
ing your city councilors via email
or phone, attend the City Council
meeting, visit astoriaparks.com for
more information and, most impor-
tantly, spread the word that Parks
needs our support now.
TRACY ERFLING
Astoria
W
Parks shortfall
he latest fiscal report showed
the Astoria Parks and Recre-
ation Department exactly on bud-
get. The adopted 2017-18 budget
gives them a $100,000 increase.
Yet they are $475,000 over budget,
right now? I asked how this hap-
pened in a letter, and in a letter to
the editor in the The Daily Astorian
(“Fee is wrong,” June 30). And no
reply in any way.
On Facebook, City Council
member Cindy Price posted a mis-
sive about “people too lazy to do
their research.” I did the research,
and I still want to know:
1. Why does Angela Cosby not
have to balance her department’s
budget?
2. Where did the shortfall come
from?
3. What will stop future city
councils from extorting more
money from water/sewer ratepayers
for other nonessential departments?
I feel like lawsuits and recall
petitions should be next. These peo-
ple are not listening.
This can only happen in a liberal
town where people trust the gov-
ernment not to abuse their power.
In any town in Idaho, this would
be a nonstarter. Congrats Dems,
for rolling over to a blatant abuse
of power, and lack of managerial
competence.
If you ask, I will pay. If you
extort, you have an enemy for life.
City Councilor Bruce Jones is top
of the list. The buck stops with the
director of the department, Angela
Cosby, for her budget. What you
are doing is as undemocratic as you
could possibly do.
There should be a microscopic
investigation of the Parks & Rec-
reation Department, and how they
spend their resources.
ROGER LINDSLEY
Astoria
T
Johnson gets things done
ometimes good projects get
stalled, and architects, land use
S
specialists and attorneys can’t get
them going again. In the case of the
Wallooskee-Youngs salmon hab-
itat restoration project on Youngs
Bay at its confluence with the Wal-
looskee River, the project was 90
percent completed but became
hung up on the rocks for nearly
two years. This complex project to
restore about 200 acres of prime
salmon habitat involved local con-
tractors, Indian tribes and local,
state, and federal agencies.
When all seemed lost, the par-
ties made one last effort to bring in
a well-respected negotiator. She is
better known as the State Senator
for Columbia, Clatsop, and Tilla-
mook counties — Sen. Betsy John-
son. Though she has a law degree,
it is the panoply of skills and tools
that Sen. Johnson brings to a prob-
lem that makes her a truly great
senator, mediator and outstanding
cheerleader for her senate district.
Her Rolodex of key local, state and
federal officials, her articulateness,
her ability to distill a complex prob-
lem to its bare essentials, and her
tireless efforts to coax and cajole
parties back to the bargaining table,
are simply unmatched.
Sen. Johnson just gets it done.
As a result, this multimillion dollar
project to restore salmon habitat in
the Columbia estuary is now in full
operation. You can view the resto-
ration project from the Astoria Col-
umn parking lot. Thank you, Sen.
Johnson.
BRIAN B. DOHERTY
WILLIAM L. RASMUSSEN
Miller Nash Graham & Dunn
LLP
Portland
Romantic musical
ear Friend: I must tell you
about a wonderful roman-
tic musical I just saw. The Penin-
sula Association of Performing Art-
ists’ (PAPA) new production of
“She Loves Me” opened July 7 at
the historic Fort Columbia Theater.
I was not familiar with the show,
but that turned out not to matter at
all. Everything about the produc-
tion was charming, stylish and very,
very entertaining.
D
Anyone who does know the
show will recognize why I used
“Dear Friend” in my introduc-
tion. In a “boy meets girl” with a
twist, the star-crossed lovers don’t
even know each other’s names,
only communicating through letters
filled with their deepest hopes and
dreams.
Set in a perfume shop in the
1930s, the show touches on all the
confusing aspects of the human
condition of romantic love. You’re
sure to recognize yourself and your
loved one in the universal themes.
Take your sweetie for a date night.
You’ll be glad you did.
MARK SCARBOROUGH
Seaview, Washington
Terrific presentation
hat a fabulous cast at the
Peninsula Association of Per-
forming Arts for “She Loves Me.”
We saw it opening night at Fort
Columbia in Washington State
Park. Thank you for the great write
up in the Coast Weekend by Mar-
ilyn Gilbaugh (“She Loves Me,”
July 6).
The performers were well pre-
pared, enthusiastic and professional
in their presentation. They were
young and older and terrific. The
play is a high spirited musical, and
they did just that, with excellent
voices and dancers.
We recommend it. It is showing
weekends through Aug. 6.
KATHLEEN and JIM
HUDSON
Hammond
W
Preventing gun tragedies
waiting Gov. Kate Brown’s
signature, SB 719 will
empower family members of the
mentally ill, and also law enforce-
ment, to prevent gun tragedies.
The family or officer who observes
a person showing risk of harm to
themselves or another by using a
gun, may petition the court to issue
an “extreme risk protection order.”
The order could include intent on
suicide or domestic violence. The
judge must find the “evidence clear
and convincing.”
A
According to Oregon Physi-
cians for Social Responsibility,
there are more fatalities in Oregon
each year from firearms than from
motor vehicle crashes or uninten-
tional poisonings. Gun violence is a
public health problem that deserved
legislative action. Thank you, Ore-
gon legislators, for passage of SB
719.
JUANITA PRICE
Astoria
No toxic highway
he Daily Astorian ran an edi-
torial on June 26, “Chemical
plant fails the sniff test,” about the
perils of using our beautiful Colum-
bia River to haul hazardous chem-
icals, such as methanol, from the
proposed plant upriver in Kalama,
Washington. On July 6, the Asto-
rian ran an editorial on shipping oil
on the Columbia, “Oil-by-rail proj-
ect carries too much risk.” Thank
you to the Astorian for spotlighting
these issues.
On July 7, an oil tanker ran
aground near Skamokawa, Wash-
ington, carrying millions of gallons
of witches’ brew including ethanol,
glycol and oil. Fortunately this did
not result in catastrophe since none
of the cargo leaked into the river.
Think this an unusual occur-
rence? Think again. In the last year
there have beens four other ground-
ings on this stretch of the lower
river. Luckily, no environmental
harm was reported for any of these
cases. How much longer will our
luck hold?
It is time we call a halt to these
disastrous proposals upstream
which use the Columbia as a “toxic
highway” to transport products
overseas. Our global economy pro-
motes the depletion of our natu-
ral resources to the highest bidder,
driving up prices for Americans and
endangering our environment —
including the river which offers us
a livelihood — just to fill the pock-
ets of others.
The Columbia is much more
valuable than to serve as a “high-
way” of hazardous products.
JOHN GREEN
Gearhart
T
Voter misinformation
n reviewing the June 7 Gearhart
City Council minutes (http://bit.
ly/2tGYd7m), I found some inaccu-
rate information being given out in
regard to voter registration.
In response to a question asked
by Gearhart resident, Susan Spring,
regarding the procedure for chang-
ing one’s voter registration, City
Manager Chad Sweet Sweet stated,
“There are some tests done such as
how long you have been registered,
where the title of your car is mailed
and where you receive your taxes.”
When attempting to open the
Pacific Way Cafe, John Allen was
faced with the same issue from the
city. Judge Thomas Edison ruled
against the city, costing Gearhart a
great deal of money. The sooner the
flow of foggy and misleading infor-
mation being fed to the residents
of Gearhart from its City Hall is
stopped, the better.
Per Cameron Moore, Clatsop
County manager, “A person must
have a valid Oregon driver’s license
with an address in the county. If
they do not have an Oregon driv-
er’s license they can provide the last
four digits of their social security
number and a current utility bill,
bank statement, government check
or other government documents that
show their name and address which
must match the residence or mail-
ing address submitted on their voter
registration card.
“A person’s residence must be
the place in which habitation is
fixed and to which, when a per-
son is absent, the person intends to
return. Some factors to consider in
determining residence include:
Where a person receives per-
sonal mail.
Where a person is licensed to drive.
Where any immediate family
members of the person reside.
The address from which the per-
son pays for utility services.
The address from which the
person files federal or state income
tax returns.
A county elections official may
inquire at any time into the validity
of the registration of any elector.”
HAROLD T. GABLE, DMD
Gearhart
I
Bungled collusion is still collusion no matter how you spin it
By CHARLES
KRAUTHAMMER
Washington Post Writers
Group
W
ASHINGTON —
The Russia scandal
has entered a new
phase and
there’s no
going back.
For six
months, the
White House
claimed that
this scandal
was nothing more than innu-
endo about Trump campaign
collusion with Russia in
meddling in the 2016 elec-
tion. Innuendo for which no
concrete evidence had been
produced.
Yes, there were several
meetings with Russian
officials, some only belatedly
disclosed. But that is cir-
cumstantial evidence at best.
Meetings tell you nothing
unless you know what hap-
pened in them. We didn’t.
Some of these were casual
encounters in large groups
like the famous July 2016
Kislyak-Sessions exchange of
pleasantries at the Republican
National Convention. Big
deal.
I was puzzled. Lots of
cover-up, but where was the
crime? Not even a third-rate
burglary. For six months,
smoke without fire. Yes,
President Donald Trump
himself was acting very
defensively, as if he were
hiding something. But no one
ever produced the something.
My view was: Collusion?
I just don’t see it. But I’m
open to empirical evidence.
Show me.
The evidence is now
shown. This is not hearsay,
not fake news, not unsourced
leaks. This is an email chain
released by Donald Trump
Jr. himself. A British go-be-
tween writes that there’s a
Russian government effort
to help Trump Sr. win the
election, and as part of that
effort he proposes a meeting
with a “Russian govern-
ment attorney” possessing
damaging information on
Hillary Clinton. Moreover,
the Kremlin is willing to
share troves of incriminating
documents from the Crown
Prosecutor. (Error: Britain has
a Crown Prosecutor. Russia
has a State Prosecutor.)
Donald Jr. emails back. “I
love it.” Fatal words.
Once you’ve said “I’m
in,” it makes no difference
that the meeting was a bust,
that the intermediary brought
no such goods. What matters
is what Donald Jr. thought
going into the meeting, as
well as Jared Kushner and
then-campaign manager Paul
Manafort, who were copied
on the correspondence,
invited to the meeting, and
attended.
“It was literally just a
wasted 20 minutes, which
was a shame,” Donald Jr. told
Sean Hannity. A shame? On
the contrary, a stroke of luck.
Had the lawyer real stuff to
deliver, Donald Jr. and the
others would be in far deeper
legal trouble. It turned out
to be incompetent collusion,
amateur collusion, comically
failed collusion. That does
not erase the fact that three
top Trump campaign officials
were ready to play.
It may turn out that they
did later collaborate more
fruitfully. We don’t know. But
even if nothing else is found,
the evidence is damning.
It’s rather pathetic to hear
Trump apologists protesting
that it’s no big deal because
we Americans are always
intervening in other people’s
elections, and they in ours.
You don’t have to go back to
the ’40s and ’50s when the
CIA intervened in France and
Italy to keep the communists
from coming to power.
What about the Obama
administration’s blatant
interference to try to defeat
Benjamin Netanyahu in the
latest Israeli election? One
might even add the work of
groups supported by the U.S.
during Russian parliamentary
elections — the very origin of
Vladimir Putin’s deep animus
toward Hillary Clinton, then
secretary of state, whom he
accuses of having orches-
trated the opposition.
This defense is pathetic
for two reasons. First, have
the Trumpites not been telling
us for six months that no col-
lusion ever happened? And
now they say: Sure it hap-
pened. So what? Everyone
does it.
What’s left of your credi-
bility when you make such a
casual about-face?
Second, no, not everyone
does it. It’s one thing to be
open to opposition research
dug up in Indiana. But not
dirt from Russia, a hostile
foreign power that has repeat-
edly invaded its neighbors
(Georgia, Crimea, Eastern
Ukraine), that buzzes our
planes and ships in interna-
tional waters, that opposes
our every move and objective
around the globe. Just last
week the Kremlin killed addi-
tional U.N. sanctions we were
looking to impose on North
Korea for its ICBM test.
There is no statute against
helping a foreign hostile
power meddle in an American
election. What Donald Jr. —
and Kushner and Manafort
— did may not be criminal.
But it is not merely stupid.
It is also deeply wrong, a
fundamental violation of any
code of civic honor.
I leave it to the lawyers
to adjudicate the legalities of
unconsummated collusion.
But you don’t need a lawyer
to see that the Trump defense
— collusion as a desperate
Democratic fiction designed
to explain away a lost elec-
tion — is now officially dead.