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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 2017)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2017 Robbery, shooting unnerve Seaside Elk invasion Suspects are still at large By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian Jeff TerHar/For The Daily Astorian Elk made themselves at home in Gearhart over the weekend. SEASIDE — A robbery and shooting occurred at about 2 a.m. Sunday at the Beachside Inn near the inter- section of Fifth Avenue and North Downing Street in Seaside. The victim, a 36-year-old from Washington state, was taken to Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria and later flown to a Portland-based hospital where he is being treated for injuries, accord- ing to Seaside police. The suspects are unknown and remain at large. No other injuries have been reported other than the victim of the shooting. Based on witness statements and other infor- mation obtained, police R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian Police tape outside a room at the Beachside Inn, scene of a shooting early Sunday morning. believe the public is not at risk, according to spokesman Jon Rahl. Anyone with informa- tion related to the inci- dent can contact Detective Guy Knight with the Sea- side Police Department at 503-738-6311. Container ships returning to Port of Portland in wake of labor dispute Vessels expected early next year By CONRAD WILSON Oregon Public Broadcasting More than a year and a half after the final ship sailed fol- lowing a bitter labor dispute at Oregon’s only international port, container ship service is poised to return to the Port of Portland in January. It’s the port’s final push at demonstrating to global carri- ers and the region’s shippers alike both that there’s a market and that labor conditions have improved between the Inter- national Longshore and Ware- house Union and its employer. “Is this our last, best hope? Probably,” said Port of Port- land CEO Curtis Robinhold. “I’d say it’s far from hopeless. We have some really good options. We just need to make it work and everyone needs to do their part, from labor to the port to the shippers.” Starting in January, Hong Kong-based Swire Shipping will start calls at the Port of Portland’s Terminal 6, roughly every 35 days. The route takes goods from Portland to Aus- tralia and New Zealand, and then onto China, with a possi- ble stop in South Korea before returning to Portland. The deal was finalized last month during Gov. Kate Brown’s trade mission to Asia. Brown and Robinhold met with Swire executives in Hong Kong. The new container service is “going to give more options to Oregon companies as we work to maximize Terminal 6,” Brown said in a statement. “Strong trading partnerships and access to global markets allow our Oregon businesses to grow, helping to sustain a thriving statewide economy.” In 2014, some 8,000 con- tainers moved through the Port of Portland, taking agricultural goods from around the North- west to Asia and European markets. Containers were packed with crops like peas, beans and lentils from eastern Washington and central Ida- ho’s Palouse region, barged down the Columbia River and trucked, with hay, from the Willamette Valley. The region’s shippers imported things, too. Fred Meyer grocery stores served as a solid base. But the region’s small businesses relied on the port, too, bringing in goods designed in cities like Portland and manufactured in Asia. In March 2015, the region’s container service changed dra- matically. First, South Kore- an-based Hanjin pulled out. Shortly after, German-based Hapag-Lloyd said it too was done with Portland. Together, the two carriers represented between 95-99 percent of the Port’s container service. In May 2016, Washing- ton-based Westwood Shipping announced it would no longer make its monthly calls at the Port of Portland. Westwood’s decision left Portland the lone major West Coast city without container ship service. The carriers complained it was taking too long to load and unload ships because of a nearly three-year local labor dispute between the ILWU and its then-employer, ICTSI Oregon. Being 70 miles upriver from the coast, Portland is already a tough sell, com- pared to the bigger ports of Seattle and Tacoma. The added local labor challenge proved not to be worth it to the carriers. In March, the port and ICTSI Oregon dissolved their 25-year lease. ICTSI paid the port about $11.5 million in cash. It also left about $8 mil- lion in equipment at Terminal 6, known as T6. Now, with Swire’s deci- sion to restart container ship service next year, the Port of Portland is trying to demon- strate that its labor problems are a thing of the past. “This is really walking before you can run,” said Rob- inhold, the port’s CEO. “What we’re really trying to do is show we can get T6 working again.” With ICTSI Oregon out of the equation, the port’s resolved a sticking point for the ILWU, which said it objected to the way the com- pany conducted business. “What we are really need- ing to prove now is that we can make it work and that it can make money; at least that it can break even,” Robinhold said. He said the port has identi- fied five or six smaller carriers that could be a good fit. The governor’s office has chipped in $250,000 from the state’s strategic reserve fund. Labor issues Robinhold said he’s spent time personally with the unions that work at the port, particularly the ILWU. “We have essentially resolved all of the lawsuits between the Port of Portland and the Longshoremen,” he said. “What we’ve essentially said is we want to push the reset button, get going again and really give it a try. And if we can’t, we’re going to have to have some harder conversa- tion about what to do with T6. This is really our last meaning- ful chance to get container ser- vice started again.” The ILWU didn’t immedi- ately return a request for com- ment over the weekend. WANTED I got screened. Now it’s your turn. Gretchen Darnell Seaside, Oregon Colorectal cancer is the #2 cancer killer. But screening can prevent it or catch it early when it’s highly treatable. Talk to your doctor today about getting screened. Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA COLORECTAL CANCER The cancer you can prevent. Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 www.TheCancerYouCanPrevent.org NOW OPEN MONDAYS! A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded campaign MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL!!! 20% OFF ALL FOOD FREE APPETIZERS DURING GAMES $ 1.00 OFF BEVERAGES 451 Ave U, Seaside 503-738-5261 seasidegolfcourse@gmail.com 2 FOR 1 GOLF (Mondays Only!) Now monthly, year round! Buy directly from local farmers for healthy meals! Fresh produce, seafood, eggs, meats, $ 10 SNAP match, and more! THURSDAY NOVEMBER 16 TH 2:30-5:30 PM N ovember 16 Clatsop Community College President Chris Breitmeyer A Columbia Forum Presentation Chris Breitmeyer started his career in education as a high school biology instructor in Bloomington, IL. After a few years his interest in learning more about the world around us led him to enter graduate school to study ecological genetics. Eventually his passion for teaching led him to a faculty position at Yavapai College in Arizona, where he taught and learned with students for ten years. Looking to challenge himself he made the transition to academic leadership with a job at Saint Charles Community College, eventually becoming Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs. He now feels like he has the best job in higher education as the president of Clatsop Community College. He is an advocate for the mission of community colleges, the change they can bring to their students, and their communities. TO ATTEND: LIMIT E SEAT D For Members: Dinner & Lecture: $25 each; Lecture only: no charge RESER ING SPACE VE YOUR For Non-Members: Dinner & Lecture: $35 each; Lecture only: $15 ea. TODA Y! Appetizers will be available at 6 p.m. • Dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. The speaker will begin after the dinner service is complete and non-dinner members and guests of the audience take their seats. Forum to be held at the CMH Community Center at 2021 Exchange St., Astoria. ColumbiaForum 577 18 th S treet 503.465.0921 northcoastfoodweb.org Join North Coast Food Web for grilled pizzas on market day. FOR RESERVATIONS OR TO JOIN COLUMBIA FORUM CONTACT: Holly Larkins at 503.325.3211 ext. 227 or forum@dailyastorian.com by Nov. 14, 2017 Columbia Forum is sponsored by: The Daily Astorian • Craft3 • OSU Seafood Laboratory • KMUN-FM Cannery Pier Hotel & Spa