6A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, 2017
Astoria police:
Halverson taking
over until interim
chief is found
Continued from Page 1A
“There’s some frustration
… with regards to the fact
of rising call levels and the
staffing levels we have now,”
Estes said.
“We know that, inter-
nally, those stressors are pro-
viding some level of frustra-
tion,” he added, “and so now
is the time to be able to focus
on some sort of internal stra-
tegic planning process …
to say how do we address
this while at the same time
looking at what sort of qual-
ities do we need in a new
chief to be able to lead this
department forward in the
future.”
Johnston, who has not
returned messages seek-
ing comment on his depar-
ture, resigned as assistant
city manager in July and
retired as police chief on
Wednesday.
Estes said he did not ask
for Johnston’s resignation
or retirement. The city man-
ager also could not say what
role, if any, the independent
assessment played in John-
ston’s decision to leave the
police department after 25
years.
Filling the gaps
Deputy Chief Eric Halv-
erson is now juggling
both his regular duties and
Johnston’s until an interim
chief is found. He has
taken on hiring, union nego-
tiations, supervising ser-
geants and patrol officers
and other day-to-day oper-
ations as a part of his new
responsibilities.
The police department is
in the middle of conducting
background checks on three
potential new hires to replace
three officers who left ear-
lier this year — one resigned,
two went to work for the
Clatsop County Sheriff’s
Office. Halverson hopes to
make three conditional offers
by next week.
“I’m working on moving
those people forward,” Halv-
erson said. “That’s going to
continue regardless of the
chief’s retirement.”
Caught by surprise
Mayor Arline LaMear
commended
Halver-
son for taking on the extra
responsibilities.
City councilors said they
had been told of Johnston’s
retirement Wednesday night.
They said the news was sud-
den and caught them by sur-
prise. They also said they
were sorry to see Johnston go.
“I’ve always enjoyed my
working relationship with
(Johnston) and wish him well
with whatever he decides to
do,” LaMear said.
“We know that the depart-
ment is important to the safety
and welfare of the city,” said
Councilor Tom Brownson.
“We need to make sure we
do everything we can to sup-
port it.”
Assistant city manager
Several weeks before
Johnston retired, the former
police chief stepped down as
assistant city manager. Estes
said Johnston told him he
was resigning to focus more
on the police department and
staffing issues there.
The title of assistant city
manager did not come with
a pay increase, nor is it a
role the city consistently has
someone fill. Estes said there
has only been three assistant
city managers who were also
heads of other departments.
Estes was one of them, John-
ston was another. The third
was Paul Benoit, a former
community
development
director and city manager.
Estes does not plan to
advertise a dual police chief
and assistant city manager job.
“Honestly, I’m not look-
ing at filling an assistant city
manager role at any point
in time,” Estes said. “It’s all
based upon fit.”
If Estes needs some-
one to fill in for him due to a
temporary absence, he can
call on any of the city’s
department heads, he said.
Public Works Director Ken
Cook has served as acting
city manager multiple times
over the years.
Jack Heffernan contrib-
uted to this report.
Dollar General:
More than 13,000
locations nationwide
Continued from Page 1A
Only three of the five
Design Review Committee
members were present at
the meeting — Vice Presi-
dent LJ Gunderson, Hilarie
Phelps and Leanne Hensley.
They all commended Fer-
ber for her thorough report
and voted unanimously to
deny the application.
“It feels to me like there
is a lot missing from you
folks on this,” Gunderson
told Stults.
“We’re really proud of
our town here,” she contin-
ued. “When I see this kind
of packet and I’m looking
at the design and I hear you
saying you’re willing to do
some things, I don’t know
if you can do enough to
really make it fit this com-
munity here. Everything I
see here looks like a retail
box and there’s no charac-
ter to it.”
Phelps and Hensley
agreed. Hensley remarked
that the developers have
been discussing their appli-
cation with Ferber for two
months; she wondered how
they hadn’t been able to fig-
ure out ways to adapt their
vision to Astoria’s require-
ments in that time.
The application only
came to the design com-
mittee for review because
the property falls within the
Civic Greenway Overlay
zone that extends from 16th
Street to 41st Street and
the Gateway Overlay zone.
Both zones are intended, in
WORLD IN BRIEF
Associated Press
AP source: Mueller using grand
jury in DC in Russia probe
WASHINGTON — Special Counsel Robert Mueller is using
a grand jury in Washington as part of an investigation into poten-
tial coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia, a per-
son familiar with the probe says.
The use of a grand jury, a standard prosecution tool in crimi-
nal investigations, suggests that Mueller and his team of investi-
gators are likely to hear from witnesses and demand documents
in the coming weeks and months.
The person who confirmed to The Associated Press that Muel-
ler had turned to a grand jury was not authorized to discuss the
investigation by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the use of a grand jury.
Grand juries are common vehicles to subpoena witnesses and
records and to present evidence, though they do not suggest any
criminal charges are near or will necessarily be sought. It was
not immediately clear how or whether the Washington grand jury
was connected to the work of a separate one in Alexandria, Vir-
ginia. That panel has been used to gather information on Michael
Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser.
Cities baffled as Jeff Sessions
targets them on immigration
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Attorney General Jeff Sessions
took new steps Thursday to punish cities he believes are not
cooperating with federal immigration agents in a move that was
met with bewilderment by local officials who said they did not
know why they were being singled out.
The Justice Department sent letters to four cities struggling
with gun violence, telling them they would not be eligible for
a program that provides money to combat drug trafficking and
gang crime unless they give federal immigration authorities
access to jails and notify agents before releasing inmates wanted
on immigration violations.
Baltimore, Albuquerque, and Stockton and San Bernardino in
California all expressed interest in the Justice Department’s Pub-
lic Safety Partnership, which enlists federal agents, analysts and
technology to help communities find solutions to crime.
None of the four has declared itself a “sanctuary city,” a mostly
symbolic term that nevertheless is strongly associated with ordi-
nances aimed at shielding illegal immigrants.
Regardless, “by taking simple, commonsense considerations
into account, we are encouraging every jurisdiction in this coun-
try to cooperate with federal law enforcement,” Sessions said in
a statement that accompanied the letters. “That will ultimately
make all of us safer — especially law enforcement on our streets.”
The threat marks Sessions’ latest effort to force local author-
ities to help federal agents detain and deport people living in the
country illegally as part of a push to reduce crime he believes is
linked to illegal immigration. The attorney general has repeatedly
vowed to withhold federal money from cities that do not cooper-
ate, similar to how previous administrations have held back high-
way funds during debates over the speed limit and drinking age.
But it was not immediately clear to some of the cities why
they were targeted.
APNewsBreak: Flynn details tie
to data firm, transition pay
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s former
national security adviser, Michael Flynn, is revealing a brief
advisory role with a firm related to a controversial data analysis
company that aided the Trump campaign, The Associated Press
has learned.
The disclosure of Flynn’s link to Cambridge Analytica will
come in an amended public financial filing in which the retired
U.S. Army lieutenant general also discloses income that includes
payments from the Trump transition team, according to a per-
son close to Flynn who spoke to AP on condition of anonym-
ity Thursday to describe details of the filing made to the White
House.
The amended disclosure shows that just before the end of the
campaign, Flynn entered into a consulting agreement with SCL
Group, a Virginia-based company related to Cambridge Analyt-
ica, the data mining and analysis firm that worked with Trump’s
campaign.
The person said Flynn didn’t perform work or accept payment
as part of the agreement with SCL Group. The details of Flynn’s
role with SCL weren’t fully laid out, the person said, noting that
Flynn terminated his involvement shortly after Trump won the
presidency.
Cambridge Analytica was heavily funded by the family
of Robert Mercer, a hedge fund manager who also backed the
campaign and other conservative candidates and causes.
Cambridge Analytica also worked for the successful pro-Brexit
campaign in 2016 to pull Britain out of the European Union.
Trump administration chief strategist Steve Bannon was a vice
president of Cambridge Analytica before he joined the Trump
campaign.
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs after a closed-
door meeting with members of the Senate Judiciary Com-
mittee about Russian meddling in the election at the Cap-
itol in Washington.
Fire put out at 86-story
residential skyscraper in Dubai
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Police in Dubai have
reopened the streets around one of the world’s tallest residential
skyscrapers after firefighters put out a blaze that erupted early
today in the high-rise, forcing residents to evacuate in the mid-
dle of the night and sending chunks of debris plummeting below.
No major injuries had been reported. A few people were
treated for smoke inhalation, according to Dubai’s Gulf News
website.
Several residents said the fire broke out just after 1 a.m. at the
86-story Torch Tower — a more than 1,100-foot-tall (335 meters)
residential building in Dubai’s popular waterfront Marina dis-
trict. The same building had also caught fire just two-and-a-half
years earlier.
The cause of the fire on was not immediately known but in the
past, such infernos in Dubai have been linked to highly flamma-
ble building cladding — as was the devastating June tower fire in
London that killed at least 80 people.
“You never think it’s going to happen to you,” said Alireza
Aletomeh, a resident of the tower. “I had cash in there, furniture,
paintings. ... Many things that are very valuable to me.”
All-powerful Venezuelan
assembly to open amid protests
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan President Nicolas
Maduro is heading toward a showdown with his political foes,
promising to seat a new constituent assembly today that will
rewrite the country’s constitution and hold powers that override
all other government branches.
Leaders of the opposition urged Venezuelans to fill the streets
of the capital today, hoping to provide a strong showing that
many people object to the assembly.
The body’s 545 delegates were expected to be installed at the
legislative palace in a room just yards (meters) from the chamber
where the opposition-controlled National Assembly meets. Mad-
uro, who has said he will use the assembly to punish his oppo-
nents, planned to attend the opening session.
The legislature building has been the scene of bloody clashes
in recent weeks and the installation of the all-powerful assembly
will intensify a political struggle that has brought three months of
bloody anti-government protests to Venezuela. Maduro vows the
assembly will strip opposition lawmakers of their constitutional
immunity from prosecution, while members of congress say they
will only be removed by force.
“The only way they’ll get us out of here is by killing us,”
declared Freddy Guevara, the National Assembly’s first vice
president. “They will never have the seat that the people of Ven-
ezuela gave us.”
A journalist’s murder underscores
growing threat in Mexico
MEXICO CITY — The staff of the weekly newspaper
Riodoce normally meets on Wednesdays to review their plans for
coverage of the most recent mayhem wrought in Sinaloa state by
organized crime, corrupt officials and ceaseless drug wars. But
on this day, in the shadow of their own tragedy, they’ve come
together to talk about security.
It’s important to change their routines, they are told. Be more
careful with social media. Don’t leave colleagues alone in the
office at night. Two senior journalists discuss what feels safer: to
take their children with them to the office, which was the target of
a grenade attack in 2009, or to leave them at home.
Security experts have written three words on a blackboard
at the front of the room: adversaries, neutrals, allies. They ask
the reporters to suggest names for each column — no proof is
needed, perceptions and gut feelings are enough
Allies are crucial. In an emergency, they would need a friend,
a lawyer, an activist to call.
Wikimedia Commons
Dollar General will have
to rethink the design for
a proposed store in the
Mill Pond neighborhood
of Astoria.
Pink: Drug’s potency can vary from pill to pill
Continued from Page 1A
part, to preserve the char-
acter of Astoria, protect-
ing views and access to the
Columbia River and com-
plementing downtown and
the community as a whole.
The Design Review Com-
mittee was the only city
panel that reviewed an
application from the busi-
ness. The land is zoned
local service development
and a retail use is allowed
outright.
Dollar General has
more than 13,000 locations
nationwide and sells a vari-
ety of goods. Stults said the
company is dedicated to
becoming a “good neigh-
bor” to the community.
“We’re not here to dic-
tate what the (city) staff
needs or what you need, we
just want to work with you,”
he told the committee.
If the developers decide
not to resubmit an appli-
cation, they will have 15
days to appeal the Design
Review Committee’s deci-
sion to the City Council.
“There’s no controls,”
Giuliani said. “They are fly-by-
night, unmonitored, so they’ll
do whatever they want.”
Officials have often com-
pared consuming the drug to
playing a game of Russian rou-
lette. In the same batch, the
drug’s potency can vary from
pill to pill.
“It has the same effects
as any other opiate, it’s just
stronger than some of them,”
Giuliani said. “You might be
able to take one pill and do
whatever it is to get you high.
But the next time, it might
have triple the amount in there
and you’ll die.”
After dozens of overdose
deaths on the East Coast from
late 2015 to late 2016, the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Admin-
istration listed the drug as a
Schedule I substance.
As in many regions
throughout the country, pre-
scription drug and heroin over-
doses have been a nagging
problem for Clatsop County
in recent years. Since 2014,
at least 12 people have died
from these overdoses. Now,
though, the arrival of synthetic
opiates represents a potential
amplification.
“Yeah, have they existed? I
guess so, but not on our radar,”
Giuliani said of the synthetic
drugs.
house taking drugs, fell asleep
on the couch and never awoke.
“Since it’s so new to me, I
can’t imagine he had the real-
ization of what he was dealing
with,” said Giuliani, who has
investigated hundreds of over-
dose deaths in her 15 years as
the county medical examiner.
The victims
Hard to prosecute
Because the synthetic drugs
often are nearly identical to
regular opiates, like OxyCon-
tin or Percocet, young peo-
ple who purchase the drugs
may not always be aware of
what they are consuming. This
scenario is what most scares
Giuliani.
“If you want to play Rus-
sian roulette, that’s fine. I’m
talking about the unsuspect-
ing person who buys this from
somebody else and doesn’t
know what it is,” she said.
The young man who died in
April — officials are withhold-
ing his identity to maintain his
family’s privacy — likely was
not aware of what he was tak-
ing, Giuliani said. He had
spent the night at a friend’s
Though families of those
who die of overdoses tend to
focus their attention on finding
the dealer, prosecuting these
cases can be harder than usual
when synthetic opiates are
involved, Giuliani said.
They do not lead to positive
opiate results during the initial
tests Giuliani conducts. There-
fore, the state medical examin-
er’s lab must conduct further
testing to determine the true
cause. Due to a high volume
of cases that are processed on
a first-come, first-served basis,
these results can take months.
“I don’t even know what
I’m dealing with,” Giuliani
said. “That puts us right behind
the eight ball from the very
beginning.”
Law enforcement is unable
to make any arrests until they
know what drug is the main
cause of death. The lengthy
waiting period provides dealers
more time to hide their tracks.
Because clear evidence such as
text messages — rather than
hearsay from family members,
friends or associates — are
required for prosecution, these
cases often do not lead to many
arrests or convictions.
“We have to be able to
show a clear path,” Giuliani
said. “They do whatever they
can to throw us off the scent.”
Concerned, alert
For a veteran medical
examiner such as Giuliani, the
recent overdose death raised a
number of questions while she
waited for the test results. Now
that she knows the results, she
is concerned, but alert.
“It blew me away when I
got a negative opiate on this
gentleman because I’ve started
doubting my ability to discern
what’s going on,” Giuliani
said. “We’ve all had our anten-
nas raised.”