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ASTORIA REGATTA
Regatta opens with a coronation
Astoria High School
junior crowned queen
Megan Postle-
wait of Astoria,
center, wipes
away tears as
she is crowned
the 2017 Astoria
Regatta Queen
Wednesday
night during
the coronation
ceremony at the
Liberty Theater.
By KAELIA NEAL
The Daily Astorian
Megan Postlewait, an Astoria High School
junior, was crowned Astoria Regatta queen Wednes-
day night at a coronation at the Liberty Theater.
“I cried a little,” Postlewait said as she stood in
the hallway of the theater with her crown and cloak .
Colin Murphey
The Daily Astorian
See REGATTA, Page 4A
County
endorses
needle
exchange
IF YOU GO
Thousands of people are expected for the Regatta.
Here are some of the main events. A full schedule
can be found online at AstoriaRegatta.com
• Wednesday: Regatta Queen Coronation,
Liberty Theater
• Today: Junior Parade, 5:30 p.m., downtown
• Friday: Seamen’s Memorial, 3 p.m.,
Maritime Memorial Park in Uniontown
• Saturday: Grand Land Parade, noon, downtown
• Sunday: Sailboat Races, 1 p.m., West Mooring
Basin
Coastal hospitality
FORMER INTEL ENGINEER TAKES ON HOTELS, APARTMENTS ON NORTH COAST
Pilot program could
protect public health
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
A pilot needle exchange program has
received offi cial support from Clatsop
County .
The Board of Commissioners unani-
mously approved a resolution Wednesday
supporting the six-month program, which
will be funded by a $50,000 donation from
Friends of Columbia Community Health.
While the county Public Health Depart-
ment has been developing the program for
months, the resolution gives it political back-
ing before the fi rst exchange session takes
place later this month.
Commissioners initiated the idea of draft-
ing a resolution during a July work ses-
sion. At the session, Public Health Direc-
tor Michael McNickle introduced them to
the program and described potential benefi ts
such as cost reduction, curbing the spread of
disease and limiting the number of needles
in parks. McNickle also said the exchanges
could be a fulcrum for nurses at the
sites to develop trustful relationships with
those who use drugs, which could then lead
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Taslema Sultana walks around the grounds of one of the hotels in Cannon Beach that she now manages. Sultana re-
cently took over management of four hotels in the area as well as other real estate properties.
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
F
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
or Taslema Sultana, a former engineer
at Intel, taking over management of four
hotels and two apartments in Cannon
Beach and Seaside has been a relaxing step
back.
Sultana, whose husband Masudur Kahn
runs four hotels in Seaside, is part of an own-
ership group that recently purchased hotels in
South County owned by Antoine and Rocio
Simmons, who has transitioned out of the local
hospitality industry.
Before hospitality, Sultana, who has a
Ph.D. in chemical engineering, was a senior
engineer at Intel for eight years , overseeing
high-volume manufacturing for the chip maker
and helping set up a new factory.
By 2015, she had already been thinking
about starting her own business, likely in real
The Gilbert Inn is just one of the hotels in Seaside and Cannon Beach that
are now managed by Sultana and her husband.
See HOSPITALITY, Page 4A
See NEEDLE SWAP, Page 4A
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
The needle exchange program coming
to Clatsop County in August is being
funded by a $50,000 grant from Friends
of Columbia Community Health for six
months, at which point the program will
be examined for possible permanent
implementation.
Expanded recycling makes its debut in Astoria
Curbside yard
debris and glass
recycling
By KATIE
FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
Submitted Photo
Astoria will soon have curbside glass and yard debris pick-
up. The City Council approved additional services in June.
Astoria residents will have
curbside yard debris and glass
recycling carts to add to their
regular recycling and garbage
bins by the end of August.
Pickup won’t start until
September, however, with
the fi rst yard debris collec-
tion occurring on customers’
regular service day beginning
Sept. 4. The fi rst glass pickup
is scheduled for Sept. 25.
The City Council voted
3-2 in June to approve a rate
increase to add these services
offered by garbage collection
company Recology Western
Oregon.
City Councilors Zetty
Nemlowill, Bruce Jones and
Tom Brownson voted in favor
of the increase, saying, at most,
it would add only a few dollars
to a customer’s monthly bill.
Mayor Arline LaMear was
against yard debris pickup,
but in favor of curbside glass
pickup. Councilor Cindy Price
opposed the increases, citing
concerns about raising fees.
She remains concerned about
where people will put the
extra bins, especially in places
where space is already limited.
The total cost of garbage
and recycling pick up services
with the addition of these new
services will vary from cus-
tomer to customer based on the
size of bins they already have
and how often they are sched-
uled for pickup.
People can opt out of the
program — residents are
already able to drop off glass
and yard debris at the Asto-
ria Transfer Station for free
— but they can’t opt out of
See RECYCLING, Page 4A