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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 18, 2017)
MOTHER ELK MENACES GEARHART BEACHGOERS PAGE 3A DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, JULY 18, 2017 145TH YEAR, NO. 12 ONE DOLLAR Hotel tax hike will help fi nance Astoria parks Aquatic Center, sports programs spared for now By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian The Astoria Aquatic Center and youth and adult athletic programs are off the chopping block after the City Council agreed Monday night to increase the lodging tax to help pay for parks. City staff had said the cash- strapped Parks and Recreation Depart- ment required a minimum of $425,004 to keep it afl oat. If the City C oun- cil didn’t approve two recommended funding options — a $3 parks and rec- reation fee on water customers and an increase in the lodging tax from 9 per- cent to 11 percent — the city said it would have to consider closing the pools and eliminating the sports pro- grams by the end of August. The City Council tabled the parks fee, instead embracing voluntary donations and an increase to the lodg- ing tax to fund parks. Donations can be made immediately, while the lodg- ing tax increase will not take effect until January. The tax increase alone will raise an estimated $410,000 in revenue, enough to keep the pools open and Astoria City Councilor Tom Brownson prep s for a meeting Monday at City Hall that included discussions of a proposed new fee and tax increase to fund park operations. Colin Murphey The Daily Astorian See PARKS, Page 4A SWAPPING NEEDLES Big bucks go toward maritime sciences Win for the college in the state Legislature COUNTY WILL LAUNCH PILOT PROGRAM IN ASTORIA, KNAPPA By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Clatsop Community College has secured $8.1 million in state bonds to renovate and expand its maritime -science program. State Senate Bill 5505 provided $1.3 bil- lion in general obligation and revenue bonds for capital construction projects around the state. The college’s bonds will help add a second story and new infrastructure to the main building at the Marine and Environmental Research and Training Sta- tion, which houses the mar- itime -science program. College President Chris- topher Breitmeyer, who tes- tifi ed on behalf of the bill in May, said the college had Chris initially been left off the Breitmeyer capital construction proj- ects list , but fought hard to make sure the project was included. “It’s going to allow us to upgrade a lot of our infrastructure for the courses we have,” Breitmeyer said. By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian A needle -exchange program com- ing to Clatsop County later this summer is being lauded by public health offi cials concerned about the spread of disease, but some in law enforcement are wary. The six-month program, funded by a $50,000 donation from Friends of Columbia Community Health, will begin in August. Specifi c times and locations have not yet been released, but nurses with the Clat- sop County Public Health Department will establish one sta- tion in downtown Astoria and another in Michael McNickle the Knappa area. The nurses will hand out a clean syringe for every used one they collect. The Public Health Department will review the number of needles collected once the pilot program is complete to determine the viability of a permanent version. Clatsop County would become the ninth out of Ore- gon’s 36 counties with a needle -exchange program and the fi rst on the North Coast, Public Health Director Michael McNickle said. Maritime science The college offers one-year certifi cates and two-year degrees in vessel operations, See COLLEGE, Page 9A See NEEDLES, Page 4A Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian A needle -exchange program coming to Clatsop County in August is concerning law enforcement but is being lauded by public health officials. The Daily Astorian/File Photo Bill Ham, a maritime-sciences instructor, shows the Electronic Chart Display and Information System computer-based navigation system simulator at Clatsop Community College, which received more than $8 million in state bonds to help expand and modernize the program. JUSTICE REINVESTMENT Oregon takes new steps to reduce prison use Grant money, sentencing reforms OK’d By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian Oregon will invest another $40 million over the next two years on incentives to counties to reduce prison use for drug and property crimes. Along with the local grants, the state will also lessen the presumptive prison sentences for people convicted of theft and identity theft and expand short-term transitional leave so inmates can get out of prison sooner. The fi rst-time penalty for possession of heroin, meth- amphetamine and other illegal drugs will drop from a felony to a misdemeanor. The grant money and the sentencing reforms are ele- ments of justice reinvestment — an initiative to contain the growth of prison spending and lower the number of con- victs who commit new crimes after they are released. Coun- ties are encouraged to super- vise more offenders locally, Josh Marquis Tawna Sanchez through probation, parole and county jails, and identify the ones who need treatment for drug and alcohol abuse or counseling for mental health problems. Clatsop County has had among the highest rates of prison use for drug and prop- erty crimes per capita since justice reinvestment began in 2013. District Attorney Josh Marquis, one of the initiative’s most persistent critics, said he might join a legal challenge against the latest round of sen- tencing changes. Oregon will spend more than $1.7 billion on prisons in the two-year budget cycle, an expense that has convinced many state policy experts that prison should be reserved for violent criminals. See PRISON USE, Page 4A JUSTICE REINVESTMENT Oregon has directed grants to counties to reduce prison use. 2017-19: $40.1 million Clatsop County: $486,302 2015-17: $38.7 million Clatsop County: $414,410 2013-15: $15 million Clatsop County: $188,853 *Source: Oregon Criminal Justice Commission
