DailyAstorian.com // WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2017 145TH YEAR, NO. 83 ONE DOLLAR ‘The whole city was on fire’ Strike force returns from Santa Rosa By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian SEASIDE — Imagine the city of Seaside ablaze — and then some. Santa Rosa, California, a city of more than 175,000, fought blazes on every side, south and east to Sonoma and Napa, one of 12 wildfires burning in eight counties. “It was one of those things where the whole city was on fire,” Seaside Fire Chief Joey Daniels, among the Clatsop County Strike Force mem- bers returning from Santa Rosa, said. “They lost malls, they lost the hospital … It basically took out a whole city.” “The news does not give it jus- tice,” Gearhart’s Fire Chief Bill Eddy, also a strike force member, said. In areas where livestock, pets and wild animals caught in the fire per- ished, “you could definitely smell it,” Eddy said. Seaside firefighters join crews in Santa Rosa. Gearhart Fire and Rescue See FIREFIGHTERS, Page 5A ASTORIA FERRY PROJECT BACK OFF THE ROCKS Oregon active against Trump State involved in several lawsuits By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Work continues in Astoria on the restoration effort to the historic Tourist No. 2 ferry. Historic vessel could dock for tours at Pier 39 By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian T he dream of bringing back the his- toric Tourist No. 2, recently on the rocks and in search of money and a fresh infusion of volunteers, is afloat once again. An expanded cadre of volunteers, gathered in part by Cannery Pier Hotel developer Robert Jacob and ferry owner and Capt. Christian Lint, is gussying up the 93-year-old Columbia River ferry for a move to Pier 39. The Astoria Ferry Group was formed as a nonprofit to restore and eventually acquire the ferry from Lint, who, with co-Capt. Jim Peacock, brought the vessel to Astoria in August 2016 from Bremer- ton, Washington. The ultimate goal, after gaining certi- fication from the Coast Guard, is to make the ferry a floating platform for events and a unique tourist attraction, a water- borne counterpart to the Astoria River- front Trolley. Khayman Bacon takes a hammer and chisel to the top deck of the historic Tourist No. 2 ferry in Astoria. In August, board members Cindy Price and Dulcye Taylor sounded the alarm in an article in The Daily Astorian, saying the group’s efforts had plateaued and needed $100,000 and some new board members by the end of September, or the effort to bring the ferry back would fold its sails. “That article was kind of our SOS,” Taylor said, adding the group has since backed off from the ultimatum. “Jake kind of answered the call.” One bite at a time Jacob, 68, has helped bring back his- toric attractions like the trolley, Lib- erty Theatre and Astoria Armory. Over a 12-year period, he developed a Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosen- blum has sued the federal government at least eight times and taken dozens of other actions to challenge federal policies since President Donald Trump took office nine months ago — and there’s more in the works. So far those actions have cost taxpayers more than $100,000. In contrast, Oregon joined in no law- suits against federal agencies in the first nine months of President Barack Obama’s first term. “I and my state Depart- ment of Justice are all hands on deck in this fight to look out for our people and our state in the face of one of the most dangerous lead- Ellen ers in American history,” Rosenblum said in a speech Rosenblum Saturday at the Democratic Party of Oregon summit in Sunriver. Legal action isn’t cheap. Four of the major cases — involving policies related to Deferred Action Donald for Childhood Arrivals, Trump health care subsidies, pub- lic records and immigration — have cost Oregon taxpayers $100,259 to date, said Kristina Edmunson, Rosenblum’s spokeswoman. Rosenblum’s office was unable to pro- vide costs for other litigation against the administration. Rosenblum, a Democrat, was elected to a second term as attorney general on the same day Trump, a Republican, won the presidency. “Twenty-two states have Democratic attorneys general, and let me tell you, we’re all in this together — meeting weekly by phone and every few months in person,” Rosenblum said. “And we have had a num- ber of successes that have convinced us we must not let up, in this seemingly unending barrage of attacks against the civil rights and environmental protections of our country.” See FERRY, Page 7A See OREGON, Page 7A Long Beach go-kart fugitive captured in Mexico Merrill suspected of gun and drug crimes By NATALIE ST. JOHN EO Media Group SOUTH BEND, Wash. — Former amuse- ment park operator, suspected gun and drug dealer and fugitive Robert Anthony “Tony” Mer- rill is no longer wasting away in Margaritaville. Last week, his stay in Mexico came to an abrupt halt when federal marshals apprehended him at a Western Union outlet in Cabo San Lucas. Local and federal law enforcement offi- cials have been pursuing Merrill since he disap- peared in May, after his family bailed him out of Pacific County Jail. In Pacific County Superior Court on Mon- day, Prosecutor Mark McClain charged Mer- rill, 52, with a new count of bail-jumping and asked that he be held on a total of $1.5 million bail. However, visiting Court Commissioner Bill Faubion set Merrill’s bail in his two ongo- ing criminal cases at $800,000. On Tuesday morning, a Pacific County Sher- iff’s Office official said the U.S. Marshals Ser- vice has thus far provided few details about Mer- rill’s time in Mexico, or how he was captured. Merrill was first arrested on suspicion of dealing heroin and other drug-related offenses in the spring, after police raided his former home and go-kart and moped rental businesses in Long Beach. Superior Court Judge Doug Goelz set his bail at $250,000 and allowed him to travel to Cali- fornia, where he was supposed to enter Fresh Start, a private drug treatment center. In an April See MERRILL, Page 7A Natalie St. John/EO Media Group Robert ‘Tony’ Merrill appeared in Pacific County Superior Court on Monday. Federal marshals apprehended him in Mexico in late October.