DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2018
145TH YEAR, NO. 231
ONE DOLLAR
Legislature approves business tax break expansion
Governor had called special session
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown on
Monday got her wish to expand an
existing business tax break that will
cost the state $11.3 million in 2018.
During Monday’s eight-hour spe-
cial session, the state House voted
51-8 and the Senate voted 18-12 to
pass the tax break for certain sole
proprietorships via House Bill 4301.
“It was really clear in general, that
Republicans wanted more — more
tax breaks for small businesses,”
Brown said. “The Democrats wanted
different or more revenue-neutral
proposals. We weren’t able to reach
a compromise in those conversa-
tions so we went with my very sim-
ple straightforward proposal that
would ensure tax fairness for our
businesses.”
Brown, a Democrat who is seek-
ing re-election this year, called the
special session after signing another
tax bill — Senate Bill 1528 — in
MORE INSIDE
Ethics commission asked to
weigh in on special session by
Republican state senator/Page 3A
April that was unpopular with some
members of the business commu-
nity. That law eliminated a 20-per-
cent business tax deduction that was
included in federal tax reform and
would have resulted in the loss of
$200 million to $300 million in state
revenue. Oregon’s tax code automat-
ically conforms with federal code
unless lawmakers specifically pass
legislation to change it.
The governor said while she was
considering Senate Bill 1528, she
realized that state lawmakers needed
See SESSION, Page 4A
HUNGRY BIRDS
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Josh Saranpaa, executive director of the Wildlife Center of the North Coast, holds a brown pelican treated at the facility.
Food a concern for brown pelicans
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
T
he Wildlife Center of the North
Coast has already cared for sev-
eral starving young California
brown pelicans this spring.
Brown pelicans, which migrate north
in the spring from nesting colonies off
Southern California and Mexico, spent
several decades on the federal endangered
species list because of exposure to pesti-
cides like DDT and other contaminants.
Their delisting in 2009 was a success
story, but concerns remain about the birds’
continued survival.
Chief among these concerns is the
availability of food.
Anchovy and sardine stocks — import-
Several
brown
pelicans
are treated
at the
wildlife
center.
ant sources of food for brown pelicans —
have collapsed in portions of the birds’
range. At nesting colonies in the south,
researchers are concerned that lack of
food is affecting the pelicans’ productiv-
ity. Some researchers theorize shifting
ocean conditions could drive both prey
and predators northward. In the meantime,
a northern stock of anchovies remains an
important source of food in the birds’ non-
breeding range, which includes roosts in
Clatsop County.
“That’s a major concern and threat for
this species,” said Michelle McDowell, a
biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
Brown pelicans have long lives — with
See PELICANS, Page 4A
Column to
be lit up for
Pride Week
Usually, landmark
is lit twice a year
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
E
ven though Astoria has already hit the
maximum number of requests to light
the Astoria Column different colors for
different causes, the City Council approved a
request Monday night to light the monument in
honor of Astoria Pride celebrations in June.
To organizers, the action signals important
solidarity and support by city government.
“That seems particularly important,” said
Cameron Toman, the member of the Astoria
Pride Committee who submitted the lighting
request, “not to the individuals who will be at
the Pride Parade — you know the ‘out and loud’
folks among us — but to the middle school kids
who still get bullied because there’s nothing
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
The Astoria Column is illuminated in pink light in October for Breast Cancer Awareness month.
See COLUMN, Page 4A