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3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017 Businesses appeal to Bonamici to spare development fund from cuts Craft3 and other lenders tap resource By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian On a visit to the North Coast Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici ate lunch in the upstairs dining room of the Bridgewater Bistro, a restau- rant aided financially by Craft3 inside a building the nonprofit lender helped restore. Surrounding her were other business owners gath- ered to share their stories of how Craft3 helped them. They asked for the congresswom- an’s help to protect the funding Craft3 and similar community financiers depend on from cuts in Congress. Craft3, which often takes on higher-risk financing proj- ects than commercial banks, has since 1998 secured more than $11 million in competi- tive grants from the Commu- nity Development Financial Institutions Fund. The fund was established in 1994 to support economic revitaliza- tion and development among underserved communities. The development resource, which received nearly $250 million this fiscal year, would face a 23 percent cut under a U.S. House budget proposal. President Donald Trump’s budget would ax the grant pro- gram entirely. Walt Postlewait, executive vice president of Craft3, said that every $1 Craft3 receives from the fund helps leverage another $5 from banks, foun- dations and other investors to finance projects often too risky for commercial lenders. is what sets the Community Development Financial Insti- tutions Fund apart from com- mercial banks. “This is the type of thing we should be investing in,” Bonamici, D-Oregon, said of the fund. “Those investments that help your businesses grow are really important.” Success stories Craft3 is also hoping for Bonamici’s help in protect- ing programs like New Mar- kets Tax Credits. The program helps attract private capital to projects by providing investors credit on their federal income taxes in exchange for equity investments in community development institutions. Craft3 has received $83 million in such tax credits since 2003. The credits have helped finance a tribal well- ness center, an RV park, a Wil- lapa Bay oyster company, an agricultural exports program at the Port of Grays Harbor and the redevelopment of Clatsop Community College’s main campus. Carl Seip, a Craft3 spokesman, said the lender has not received any New Markets Tax Credits since 2009, but often works with entities that use them to help leverage addi- tional capital. “Our message is not to get rid of some of these critical economic development pro- grams,” Seip said. Protect tax credits “I would have never been able to open a business if it wasn’t for their help,” said Wendy Hemsley. In 2014, Hemsley opened North Coast Medical Clinic, which now employs 11 peo- ple and provides both pri- mary care and substance abuse services. Hers was a common refrain among several business own- ers who told Bonamici how Craft3 took a chance on them. David Oser, chief financial officer for Craft3, said the group has invested $44.7 mil- lion in Bonamici’s congres- sional district over the past 23 years, helping create and retain more than 1,600 jobs. “The only reason a bank lends money is to make money,” Postlewait said. “That is their sole purpose for lend- ing. Craft3 … that is not our primary objective of lending.” Postlewait said the willing- ness to take a risk on projects that support the community Boone, Bonamici discuss energy, the environment in Cannon Beach Appearance at chamber breakfast By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian CANNON BEACH — State Rep. Deborah Boone on Tuesday praised a bill approved by the Legislature that allows electricity pro- duced from an ocean wave technology test site at Camp Rilea in Warrenton to be used to power the site. Boone, a strong supporter of wave technology as renew- able energy for the Oregon Coast, said initial tests con- ducted last summer showed promise for future growth in the industry. The test site, funded by the Oregon Wave Energy Trust, was introduced three years ago and faced initial skepticism about impacts to crabbing and fishing industries, as well as ocean aesthetics. So far, Boone said, she has not been made aware of any negative environ- mental impacts. “When we have a Cascadia event, we will not have power. We aren’t talking for three to five weeks — we are think- ing three to five years,” Boone said. “So we will be relying on local energy.” Boone, D-Cannon Beach, and U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, dis- cussed legislative priorities and answered questions at the Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce’s monthly commu- nity breakfast meeting. Bonamici discussed envi- ronmental and emergency pre- paredness-related bills she had worked on this year in Congress, including a marine debris bill that would provide a funding source for research and cleanup. The congresswoman also celebrated the bipartisan sup- port for legislation that would help improve weather fore- casts and storm warnings. Bonamici came to Can- non Beach to talk about local issues, but also faced questions from the audience on national topics like immigration pol- icy, the Paris climate agree- ment and what it is like to be in Congress during the Trump administration. The Cannon Beach City Council voted recently on a resolution to support the Paris accord, despite President Don- ald Trump’s decision to with- draw. Mayor Sam Steidel asked Bonamici what kind of impacts small cities could make with resolutions like these. “It’s been heard,” she said, adding that any support helps when she still spends a significant portion of time debating the existence of cli- mate change with some of her House colleagues. Bonamici said she has been seeing record turnout at town hall meetings, often filled with inquiries about “polarization” in Washington, D.C. “There are concerns about the Trump adminis- tration on both sides of the aisle,” Bonamici said. “But there are still lots of bipar- tisan efforts in the House.” Sessions has ‘serious questions’ about Oregon’s pot market Letter to Brown outlines authority By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — U.S. Attor- ney General Jeff Sessions has alleged that Oregon may be violating the Obama adminis- tration’s requirements to keep marijuana out of the illicit market. Sessions sent a letter to Gov. Kate Brown July 24 reit- erating the Department of Jus- tice’s authority to enforce the federal ban on marijuana and highlighting ways in which Oregon may have failed to comply with the “Cole memo.” The memo, issued in 2013, represents the Obama admin- istration’s policy not to pros- ecute the state legalized mar- ket provided that the state has a robust regulatory system that prevents leakage of the drug into the illicit market. Thus far, the Trump administration has honored the policy. The attorney general stated that an Oregon State Police report in January raised “seri- ous questions about the effi- cacy of marijuana ‘regula- tory structures’” in the state. He added that the Cole memo does not preclude the Depart- ment of Justice from investi- gating or prosecuting viola- tions of the federal prohibition. “Congress has determined that marijuana is a dangerous drug and that the illegal distri- bution and sale of marijuana is a crime,” Sessions wrote. “The department remains commit- ted to enforcing the Controlled Substances Act in a manner that efficiently applies our resources to address the most significant threats to public health and safety.” Sessions, a longtime mar- ijuana foe, did not specify W A NTED how he intended to act on his authority to enforce the ban. Lauren Ehrsam, a Depart- ment of Justice spokeswoman, declined further comment on the purpose of the letter and the attorney general’s plans to address the concerns outlined in the letter. Brown’s office did not respond Tuesday to multiple messages seeking comment on the letter. Sessions wrote almost iden- tical letters to the governors of Washington state and Col- orado, according to a report by Slate on Monday. Oregon, Washington state and Colo- rado represent only three of the eight states that have legalized pot for recreational use, rais- ing the question whether the federal government plans to prioritize its resources toward cracking down on the industry in those three states. Only about 30 percent of marijuana market activity in Oregon complies with state regulation, according the Ore- gon State Police report. “There is ‘pervasive illicit Consult a P ROFESSIONAL Q: What causes a dry mouth? possibilities exist A: Many here which need to begin JEFFREY M. 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