146TH YEAR, NO. 30
WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, AUGUST 10, 2018
ONE DOLLAR
Oregon
ranks
first for
homeless
youth
BUOY 10
New report examined
two dozen indicators
of child welfare
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Oregon ranks first in the
nation for the rate of homeless children and
youth and 10th in the percentage of foster
care placements, according to a new report
by WalletHub.
Overall, Oregon ranked 12th in the ratio
of disadvantaged, or “underprivileged” chil-
dren, compared with Washington state,
which ranked 26th, and California, which
was 22nd.
The report compared the 50 states and the
District of Columbia across 24 child welfare
metrics using statistics from the U.S. Census
Bureau and other sources.
Metrics included the percentage of chil-
dren living in poverty, the rate of child food
insecurity, the state’s share of children who
have been reported abused and other factors.
In Oregon, the rate of homeless chil-
dren and foster care placements have some
correlation.
The state’s number of homeless students
was at a record high in 2016-17 at 22,541,
according to the most recent state count.
That was a 5.6 percent jump from 2015-16.
Meanwhile, inadequate housing is the
See YOUTH, Page 6A
Art Garden
takes seed
Artists step into
downtown space
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
A fishing boat heads out from the Hammond Marina to catch salmon during the Buoy 10 season.
See a photo gallery on Page 5A
Michael Bruhn’s Art Garden at 11th and
Duane streets has taken seed with the relo-
cation of Astoria Visual Arts and two other
independent artists.
Oscar de’Masi started his gallery shortly
after Bruhn bought the building, and after a
long sabbatical from art. A native of Naples,
Italy, de’Masi immigrated to New York City
at the age of 15.
“I stopped painting when I came to the
U.S.,” he said. “To go to another country, it’s
traumatic.”
At 17, de’Masi joined the Navy. He later
worked in the casino and restaurant industry
of Las Vegas before relocating with his wife,
Patricia, last year to the North Coast. He has
a son stationed at the Coast Guard’s Aids
to Navigation Team at Tongue Point and a
daughter who works for Lum’s Auto Cen-
ter. He started painting again four years ago
and eventually ran out of space for his art at
home before renting from Bruhn.
In front of his studio at 395 11th St. is a
gallery filled with his paintings, from sto-
See ART, Page 6A
Burgers and tacos served up at bAKos
New food cart opens
in downtown Astoria
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Alec Evans and Kelsi Beek prepare to open bAKos, the newest
food truck in Astoria.
Alec Evans and Kelsi Beek have been
close friends since attending culinary school
in Iowa. The two relocated five years ago to
the North Coast, where they both work as
cooks at the Astoria Coffeehouse & Bistro.
On Saturday, they will debut bAKos, their
from-scratch, Midwestern-inspired burger
and taco food cart at the corner of 11th and
Duane streets.
“When we lived in Iowa, my mom and
dad were the owners of a biker bar, and we
would set up and sell stuff out of there,”
Beek said.
The pair hatched their plans for a restau-
rant in Iowa and kept waiting for the right
opportunity. Their chance came when
Michael Bruhn, the helicopter mechanic who
purchased the downtown property in a fore-
closure auction, announced he was searching
for food carts.
Evans and Beek acquired and converted
the former DJ’s Vinyl Vegan cart. They
passed their health inspection Thursday and
began to prep for the weekend crowds for
Astoria Regatta and Second Saturday Art
Walk.
Their cart will serve burgers and tacos on
fry bread-like shells or vegan corn tortillas.
Tacos will come filled with Korean pork,
chicken fajita, Cajun prawn, ground beef and
vegan textured vegetable protein. The burg-
See CART, Page 6A