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2A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018 Oregon’s high court to consider Group threatens lawsuit over proposed gun-control measure habitat protection for orcas Backers want November vote By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press PORTLAND — A pro- posed ballot measure that would restrict ownership of assault weapons and large-ca- pacity magazines wound up in the Oregon Supreme Court after a gun rights proponent petitioned for a review of the ballot title, saying it was polit- ically charged and deceptive. The state’s high court received the review one day before the deadline, said Phil- lip Lemman of the Oregon Judicial Department. The topic has become incendiary amid a flood of school shoot- ings, many of them carried out with AR-15 semi-auto- matic assault rifles. Backers of the statewide initiative told a news confer- ence in a church in Portland they are ready to launch a statewide campaign to gather enough signatures to put the measure on the November ballot as soon as the court fin- ishes its deliberations. “We want to move for- ward and give Oregonians the chance to vote,” said Pastor Mark Knutson of the Augus- tana Lutheran Church, one of the three chief petitioners. “We are ready. As an orga- nization we are building tre- guns; and magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds. Background checks would also have to be conducted. Weapons would have to be disposed of if they’re not reg- istered. The attorney gener- al’s office on May 23 issued its review, edit and approval of the ballot initiative’s cap- tion, statement and summary. But Beyer had issues with it. “A fair read of IP43 leaves only one reasonable impres- sion as to its major effect and intended purpose, and that is to criminalize the posses- sion, purchase or transfer of most semi-automatic firearms and their magazines,” Beyer wrote in his petition with the Supreme Court. In the press conference in Knutson’s church, Knut- son joined with a rabbi and a Muslim imam to announce that from June 29 through July 1 a signature-gathering campaign will be launched at churches, synagogues and mosques around the state — if the Supreme Court has fin- ished assessing the request for review. State law says the court’s review “shall be conducted expeditiously” so the signa- tures can be collected. The Supreme Court can either approve the certified ballot title as-is, rewrite it or order the attorney general to make changes. mendous capacity through- out the state to get the 88,000 signatures that are required in the time that we are given, by July 6.” The campaigners are counting on the participa- tion of youth, who protested across the nation to demand stricter gun laws, to help gather signatures, and on places of worship. In his request to the Supreme Court for a review, gun rights advocate Roger Beyer said the ballot lan- guage “uses the politically charged and emotionally laden words, ‘assault weap- ons,’ and ‘large capacity magazines.’ The description is also misleading, argumen- tative, and deceptive because it implies the measure applies only to a limited and bellig- erent group of ‘assault weap- ons’ gun owners.” The proposed measure, known as Initiative Petition 43, would go before vot- ers in the November elec- tion if enough verified sig- natures are collected in time. If on the ballot, a “yes” vote would require registration with the Oregon State Police of “assault weapons,” defined to include certain semi-auto- matic rifles or pistols with a detachable magazine; pistol or rifles with a fixed maga- zine holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition and certain semi-automatic shot- FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA TONIGHT SATURDAY SUNDAY 59 47 48 Mostly cloudy with a little rain 60 49 Mostly cloudy with a couple of t-showers ALMANAC Rather cloudy with a couple of showers First Newport 47/55 Coos Bay 51/58 Brookings 47/55 July 6 Baker 51/57 John Day 48/54 Ontario 58/73 Bend 45/57 Medford 53/60 Burns 47/57 Klamath Falls 44/55 Lakeview 45/54 Ashland 52/59 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018 UNDER THE SKY REGIONAL CITIES Tonight's Sky: Giovanni Cassini's birthday (1625). City Baker City Bend Brookings Eugene Ilwaco Klamath Falls Medford Newberg Newport North Bend Source: Jim Todd, OMSI TOMORROW'S TIDES Astoria / Port Docks Time 4:43 a.m. 4:26 p.m. Low 1.4 ft. 1.7 ft. Hi 84 78 58 65 59 77 80 64 58 62 Today Lo 51 45 48 47 51 44 53 51 47 50 W pc pc pc r sh pc pc sh sh r Sat. Lo W 37 sh 34 sh 45 t 42 t 50 t 29 t 44 t 46 t 46 t 47 t Hi 57 57 55 58 58 55 60 60 55 58 City Olympia Pendleton Portland Roseburg Salem Seaside Spokane Springfi eld Vancouver Yakima Hi 62 84 67 71 67 60 77 68 66 78 Today Lo 45 50 54 51 51 50 51 50 53 50 W sh pc sh r r sh pc r sh pc Hi 61 64 62 60 61 59 56 58 61 67 Sat. Lo W 42 t 46 sh 50 t 45 t 47 t 49 t 44 sh 45 t 49 t 44 c TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER NATIONAL CITIES Today Hi Lo 91 70 79 59 72 61 94 57 89 70 81 63 103 76 68 47 89 75 91 70 86 69 101 78 81 63 95 73 88 78 95 69 92 72 82 66 86 71 84 65 93 74 90 67 69 56 66 51 86 70 Prineville 46/59 Lebanon 51/59 W pc s t pc t pc pc c pc t t s pc pc t s s pc pc pc pc s pc sh pc Sat. Hi Lo 90 70 79 60 82 63 94 63 89 69 77 63 98 75 68 49 88 76 86 70 92 71 103 76 81 63 93 74 87 76 94 71 91 72 80 62 93 72 82 64 93 74 94 56 67 53 62 48 85 71 By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian Haystack Rock Awareness Program program coordina- tor Melissa Keyser has been appointed by Gov. Kate Brown to serve on the Oregon Ocean Policy Advisory Council. The council is a state- wide marine policy advisory body that advocates for envi- ronmental conservation and coastal community interests. Keyser, who has led the Hay- La Grande 50/55 Roseburg 51/60 Last June 27 Pendleton 50/64 Salem 51/61 Eugene 47/58 Full June 20 City Atlanta Boston Chicago Denver Des Moines Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Honolulu Indianapolis Kansas City Las Vegas Los Angeles Memphis Miami Nashville New Orleans New York Oklahoma City Philadelphia St. Louis Salt Lake City San Francisco Seattle Washington, DC Nice with some sun SEATTLE — A conserva- tion group wants the federal government to move forward with protecting offshore areas along the West Coast to help endangered killer whales. The Center for Biologi- cal Diversity told the National Marine Fisheries Service on Wednesday that it plans to take legal action if the agency keeps delaying a designation for offshore habitat where the Puget Sound orcas would be protected. The fish-eating whales typi- cally spend summers in inland waters of Washington state and winters foraging along the coast. They have struggled with food shortages, pollution and noise and disturbances from boats. There are now just 76 of the animals, a 30-year low. Most inland waters of Wash- ington state, including Puget Sound and the waters around the San Juan Islands, received protection as critical whale hab- itat in 2006. Coastal and off- shore areas in the Pacific Ocean weren’t included at that time. In 2014, the conservation group petitioned the fisheries service to expand habitat pro- tection. It asked the agency to add an area from Cape Flattery, Washington, to Point Reyes, California, extending about 47 miles offshore. Satellite tagging surveys have shown that the whales for- age for food along the coast in the winter, some traveling down to Northern California. The fisheries service said in 2015 that it would move ahead with revising the orcas’ critical habitat and collecting and ana- AP Photo/Elaine Thompson A conservation group says the federal government is fail- ing to protect offshore areas along the West Coast to help the endangered Puget Sound orcas. lyzing more data to develop a rule in 2017. The group said in its letter Wednesday that the agency is violating U.S. law by not tak- ing action in a reasonable time to protect habitat for the popu- lation of southern resident killer whales. “The southern residents des- perately need protected forag- ing areas full of salmon to feed them through the winter,” Cath- erine Kilduff, an attorney and marine scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement. “Without swift fed- eral action, these whales will continue their steep slide to extinction.” Michael Milstein, a spokes- man for NOAA Fisheries, said the agency is moving as quickly as it can and that the work remains a high priority. He said the agency has been gathering data, includ- ing tracking the whales’ winter movements and reviewing the science. “As much as we’d like to do it fast, we have to take the time to do it right,” Milstein added. Meanwhile, a task force con- vened by Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee in March is coming up with recommendations at the regional, state and federal level to save the whales. A final report is due in November. Keyser appointed to ocean council The Dalles 55/68 Portland 54/62 Sunset tonight ........................... 9:05 p.m. Sunrise Saturday ........................ 5:24 a.m. Moonrise today ........................... 2:46 a.m. Moonset today ........................... 3:06 p.m. High 6.4 ft. 8.4 ft. 70 52 Sun and some clouds Tillamook 50/58 SUN AND MOON Time 10:38 a.m. 10:47 p.m. 66 49 Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs. ASTORIA 48/59 Precipitation Thursday .......................................... Trace Month to date ................................... Trace Normal month to date ....................... 0.72" Year to date .................................... 33.14" Normal year to date ........................ 34.08" June 13 TUESDAY REGIONAL WEATHER Astoria through Thursday. Temperatures High/low ....................................... 63°/55° Normal high/low ........................... 63°/49° Record high ............................ 94° in 1903 Record low ............................. 40° in 1933 New MONDAY By PHUONG LE Associated Press Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. W pc s c s pc t s sh pc t pc s pc pc t pc t pc pc t pc s pc t t stack Rock program in Cannon Beach since 2015, heard about the position while serving on another advisory board about preserving the state’s rocky shorelines. “I am happy to do my part in raising awareness about the vast issues that affect our ocean,” Keyser said. “We all have to be doing more. I didn’t apply because I thought I was better or more qualified than anyone else. I wanted to make more of an impact.” Her role will be to represent coastal communities when the state looks at address- ing environmental issues like ocean acidification, environ- mental education and plastic pollution. With her background as an environmental educator, Key- ser hopes to advocate for envi- ronmental programs and solu- tions that can balance the need for conservation with provid- ing recreational opportunities in natural spaces. Trails End Recovery fined over water pollution The Daily Astorian WARRENTON — The state Department of Envi- ronmental Quality has fined Trails End Recovery $23,104 for violating stormwater permit requirements and causing pol- lution to local waterways. Trails End Recovery col- lects and repurposes construc- tion and landscaping debris and other materials along U.S. Highway 101 Business near the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. The company was fined for discharging an oily sheen and vehicle wash water into a trib- utary of the Lewis and Clark River; allowing compost to overflow from containment bins and spill into a roadside ditch that flows to the tribu- tary; exposing large, uncovered stockpiles to stormwater run- off; allowing soil to spill into a wetland area; and failing to conduct required site inspec- tions to reveal potential prob- lems and prevent pollution. A state inspector identified the violations after a complaint about the facility and a site visit in June 2017. Adding soil, compost and other solids to waterways is considered pollution because it alters the properties of the water, can be harmful to aquatic life and reduces the safety of the water for public use. Custom Excavating By Dean Larson Inc. does busi- ness as Trails End Recovery. DEATH June 7, 2018 OWEN, James W., 99, of Astoria, died in Astoria. Ocean View Funeral & Cremation Service of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. PUBLIC MEETINGS Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice. m m u S e r s ’ S e a r le! m i G SAVE $ UP TO 20 MONDAY Youngs River Lewis & Clark Water District Board, 6 p.m., 34583 U.S. Highway 101 Business. Cannon Beach Rural Fire Department Board, 6 p.m., Fire-Rescue Main Station, 188 Sunset Ave. Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. LOTTERIES OREGON Thursday’s Pick 4: 1 p.m.: 5-1-8-0 4 p.m.: 5-2-5-2 7 p.m.: 7-1-2-8 10 p.m.: 5-9-6-1 Thursday’s Lucky Lines: 01-08-10-15-19-24-26-29 Estimated jackpot: $41,000 WASHINGTON Thursday’s Daily Game: 2-9-0 Thursday’s Keno: 08-09-11-18-23-30-34-37-38- 43-45-48-50-55-57-59-64-66-72-77 Thursday’s Match 4: 02-07-12-24 ON FOOTWEAR* *Some styles excluded 20 % OFF ON SOCKS, INSOLES AND BAGS Sale ends June 16, 2018 Astoria: 239 14th St. • 503-325-3972 The Daily Astorian Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published daily, except Saturday and Sunday, by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503- 325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Daily Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103-0210 www.dailyastorian.com MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for republication of all the local news printed in this newspaper. 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