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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 4, 2017)
OPINION 4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2017 Founded in 1873 DAVID F. PERO, Publisher & Editor JIM VAN NOSTRAND, Managing Editor JEREMY FELDMAN, Circulation Manager DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager CARL EARL, Systems Manager Water under the bridge Compiled by Bob Duke From the pages of Astoria’s daily newspapers 10 years ago this week — 2007 Even on blustery days, Astoria’s River Trail has a charm that draws bicycle riders, dog walkers, joggers and strollers. On sunny days, the paved path along the Columbia River is a magnet for locals and visitors alike, a link between the city and its waterfront. And all summer long and into the fall, the Astoria Riverfront Trolley adds color and excitement. Envisioned as early as 1989 by then-community development direc- tor Paul Benoit and the late urban planner Robert Murase, the River Trail, known as the Riverwalk in the downtown area, has grown in phases over the years, starting with two blocks between 15th and 17th streets. It now extends from the Port of Astoria on the west, all the way to 44th Street on the east side of town. The city’s goal is for the River Trail to extend from Smith Point on the Astoria side of the New Youngs Bay Bridge, eastward to Tongue Point, a distance of 5.1 miles. The trail will edge closer to that goal thanks to a $78,384 grant awarded by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department’s Recreational Trails Pro- gram to extend the River Trail to 49th Street. On Monday, the Astoria City Council accepted the grant. And agreeing with Benoit, who is now Asto- ria’s city manager, that the Riverwalk is one of the city’s “premier tour- ist-related facilities,” the council agreed to tap into Promote Astoria Funds to come up with its required $19,597 match. 50 years ago — 1967 The Daily Astorian/File Here is an overall view of the main reading room of the new Astor Library, showing for the most part students at study. The new Astor Library with its component Flag Room in the Veterans Memorial section of the building will be dedicated in a public ceremony Sunday at 2 p.m. Arriving Saturday for the event will be Gavin and Lady Irene Astor, representing the family of Lord John Jacob Astor in the United Kingdom, whose original donation of $100,000 in 1964 was the start of the construction fund for the new library, the first civic building erected in Astoria for a specific nation. Join- ing them from England for the occasion will be British Consul Sir James McDonald and his wife Lady McDonald. Arriving Sunday will be Gov. Tom McCall. His party, includ- ing Mrs. McCall, will be met at the Youngs Bay bridge by an escort provided by the Astoria Fire Department. The governor will give the dedication address at the ceremonies. RAYMOND, Wash. — A young housewife escaped with her life and lit- tle else Tuesday when an F-106 jet fighter crashed next to her home, show- ering it with burning material which ignited it and burned it to the ground. Mrs. Jim Lebreck, 30, was alone in the house, 7 miles northeast of here, when the crash occurred about noon. The Lebrecks’ three children were away at school and Lebreck was at work. Astoria’s one and only member of Oregon’s meter maid corps said Wednesday afternoon she would not wear “one of those silly helmets,” as state Attorney General Robert Y. Thornton ruled earlier in the day. Thornton ruled that meter maid carts used by most parking ticket dealers in the state are motorcycles and as such are bound by all laws pertaining to them. The 1967 session of the Oregon Legislature passed a law requiring motorcycle riders to wear protective helmets at all times. Marlyss Parker, Astoria’s meter maid, said she would object to the crushing effect of a helmet on her hairdo. She wears her blonde hair in a bouffant style that could easily fall victim to the headgear. What would she do if ordered to wear a helmet? Well, she left that possibility up in the (h)air! 75 years ago — 1942 The old German war cannon, which rested in solemn dignity on the Clatsop County Courthouse lawn for more than a decade, today became a public curiosity as a happy hunk of scrap worth at least $65,000 worth of war bonds. The big cannon was moved to a downtown corner by the Clatsop Post of the American Legion Friday night, with appropriate ceremonies. On it are inscribed more than a hundred names of persons who have purchased bonds during the last week. Some Seasiders were certain that an air raid was in prospect Friday evening when lights all over the city went out, but they were quickly reassured. The power failure was caused when a tire on a car driven by Robert Lee Mastin of Tillamook blew out and the machine careened into an electric light pole on Third Avenue just east of Holladay Street. The pole fell on Mastin’s car but he was not injured and the car was only slightly damaged Lights were out from 7:30 p.m., the time of the accident, until about 10:30. If only Paddock were a Muslim By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN New York Times News Service I f only Stephen Paddock had been a Muslim … If only he had shouted “Allahu akbar” before he opened fire on all those concertgoers in Las Vegas … If only he were a member of ISIS … If only we had a picture of him posing with a Quran in one hand and his semiautomatic rifle in another … If all of that had happened, no one would be telling us not to dishonor the victims and “politicize” Paddock’s mass murder by talking about preventive remedies. No, no, no. Then we know what we’d be doing. We’d be scheduling immediate hearings in Congress about the worst domestic terrorism event since 9/11. Then Donald Trump would be tweeting every hour “I told you so,” as he does minutes after every terror attack in Europe, precisely to immediately politicize them. Then there would be immediate calls for a commission of inquiry to see what new laws we need to put in place to make sure this doesn’t hap- pen again. Then we’d be “weighing all options” against the country of origin. But what happens when the coun- try of origin is us? What happens when the killer was only a disturbed American armed to the teeth with military-style weapons that he bought legally or acquired easily because of us and our crazy lax gun laws? Then we know what happens: The president and the Republican Party go into overdrive to ensure that nothing happens. Then they insist — unlike with every ISIS-related terror attack — that the event must not be “politicized” by asking anyone, particularly themselves, to look in the mirror and rethink their opposition to common-sense gun laws. So let’s review: We will turn the world upside down to track down the last Islamic State fighter in Syria — deploying B-52s, cruise missiles, F-15s, F-22s, F-35s and U2s. We will ask our best young men and women to make the ultimate sacrifice to kill or capture every last terrorist. And how many Americans has the Islamic State killed in the Middle East? I forget. Is it 15 or 20? And our presi- dent never stops telling us that when it comes to the Islamic State, defeat is not an option, mercy is not on the menu and that he is so tough he even has a defense secretary nicknamed “Mad Dog.” But when fighting the NRA — the National Rifle Association, which more than any other group has prevented the imposition of common-sense gun-control laws — victory is not an option, moderation is not on the menu and the president and AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez An investigator works in the room at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Ca- sino where a gunman opened fire on a music festival in Las Vegas. If you are as fed up as I am, then register someone to vote or run for office yourself or donate money to someone running to replace these cowardly legislators with a majority for common-sense gun laws. the Republican Party have no mad dogs, only pussy cats. And they will not ask themselves to make even the smallest sacrifice — one that might risk their seats in Congress — to stand up for legis- lation that might make it just a little harder for an American to stockpile an arsenal like Paddock did, including 42 guns, some of them assault rifles — 23 in his hotel room and 19 at his home — as well as several thousand rounds of ammunition and “electronic devices.” Just another deer hunter, I guess. On crushing ISIS, our president and his party are all in. On asking the NRA for even the tiniest moderation, they are AWOL. No matter how many innocents are killed — no matter even that one of their own congressional leaders was shot playing baseball — it’s never time to discuss any serious policy measures to mitigate gun violence. And in the wake of last month’s unprecedented hurricanes in the Atlantic — that wrought over $200 billion of damage on Houston and Puerto Rico, not to mention smaller cities — Scott Pruitt, Trump’s head of the Environmental Protection Agency, also told us that it was not the time to discuss “the cause and effect” of these superstorms and how to mitigate their damaging impacts. We need to focus on helping the victims, he said. But for Pruitt, we know, it’s never time to take climate change seriously. To take the Islamic State seriously abroad, but then to do nothing to mitigate these other real threats to our backyards, concert venues and coastal cities, is utter madness. It’s also corrupt. Because it’s driven by money and greed — by gunmakers and gun-sellers and oil and coal companies, and all the legis- lators and regulators they’ve bought and paid to keep silent. They know full well most Americans don’t want to take away peoples’ rights to hunt or defend themselves. All we want to take away is the right of someone to amass a military arsenal in their home and hotel room and use it on innocent Americans when some crazy rage wells up inside them. But the NRA has these cowardly legislators in a choke hold. What to do? Forget about persuading these legislators. They are not confused or under-informed. They are either bought or intimidated. Because no honest and decent American lawmaker would look at Las Vegas and Puerto Rico today and say, “I think the smartest and most prudent thing to do for our kids is to just do nothing.” So there is only one remedy: Get power. If you are as fed up as I am, then register someone to vote or run for office yourself or donate money to someone running to replace these cowardly legislators with a majority for common-sense gun laws. This is about raw power, not persuasion. And the first chance we have to change the balance of power is the 2018 midterm elections. Forget about trying to get anything done before then. Don’t waste your breath. WHERE TO WRITE • U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D): 439 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20515. Phone: 202- 225-0855. Fax 202-225- 9497. District office: 12725 SW Mil- likan Way, Suite 220, Beaverton, OR 97005. Phone: 503-469-6010. Fax 503-326-5066. Web: bonamici.house. gov/ • U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D): 313 Hart Senate Office Building, Wash- ington, D.C. 20510. Phone: 202-224- 3753. Web: www.merkley.senate.gov • U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D): 221 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510. Phone: 202-224-5244. Web: www.wyden. senate.gov • State Rep. Brad Witt (D): State Capitol, 900 Court Street N.E., H-373, Salem, OR 97301. Phone: 503-986- 1431. Web: www.leg.state.or.us/witt/ Email: rep.bradwitt@state.or.us • State Rep. Deborah Boone (D): 900 Court St. N.E., H-481, Salem, OR 97301. Phone: 503-986-1432. Email: rep.deborah boone@state. or.us District office: P.O. Box 928, Cannon Beach, OR 97110. Phone: 503-986-1432. Web: www.leg.state. or.us/ boone/ • State Sen. Betsy Johnson (D): State Capitol, 900 Court St. N.E., S-314, Salem, OR 97301. Telephone: 503-986-1716. Email: sen.betsy john- son@state.or.us Web: www.betsy- johnson.com District Office: P.O. Box R, Scappoose, OR 97056. Phone: 503-543-4046. Fax: 503-543-5296. Astoria office phone: 503-338-1280. • Port of Astoria: Executive Director, 10 Pier 1 Suite 308, Asto- ria, OR 97103. Phone: 503-741-3300. Email: admin@portofastoria.com • Clatsop County Board of Com- missioners: c/o County Manager, 800 Exchange St., Suite 410, Astoria, OR 97103. Phone: 503-325-1000.
