DailyAstorian.com // WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2018
146TH YEAR, NO. 38
ONE DOLLAR
Port Commission is open to
East Mooring Basin project
Underused marina
would be redeveloped
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Port of Astoria commissioners on
Tuesday tentatively approved exploring
a partnership with a private company to
develop housing and a cruise ship dock at
the East Mooring Basin, while express-
ing plenty of questions about how it will
work.
Nik Sernande, a San Francisco-based
architect and member of Fishermens
Wharf - Astoria LLC, presented his
vision for the marina to commissioners.
In the audience was Floyd Holcom, a for-
mer Port commissioner, leading member
of Fishermens Wharf and owner of Pier
39 directly to the east of the marina.
Sernande, who has worked with Hol-
com to develop Pier 39 from a former
cannery to a commercial complex, lik-
ened the possibilities at the marina to
the development occurring on San Fran-
cisco’s Treasure Island, a former Navy
base where his company is based
and he has assisted with mixed-use
developments.
See PORT, Page 7A
A COLUMN
CLOSE-UP
Photo crew snaps pictures for
Toyota at Astoria landmark
Mavrik Studio
Fishermens Wharf — Astoria wants to build floating
homes, expand boat moorage and bring in cruise ships at
the Port of Astoria’s East Mooring Basin.
Health
advisory
issued for
Cullaby Lake
Harmful toxins
found in water
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
A
nother Clatsop County tour-
ist attraction served as the
scene for a Hollywood-style
production.
A Culver City, California-based
photography crew spent Tuesday after-
noon taking photos of Toyotas as they
drove up Coxcomb Drive toward the
Astoria Column, according to a permit
application filed with the city.
The company — James Lipman
Photography — declined to provide
specifics about the shoot because it
involved a new line of sport utility vehicles that has yet to be announced.
The company hired BSD Enterprises, a local flagging service, to halt
traffic at the top and bottom of Coxcomb Drive in three-to-five minute
spurts as the photography took place. In the Column parking lot, the crew
See COLUMN, Page 7A
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
ABOVE: Crew members with a photography company set up a shot
near the Astoria Column. BELOW: A member of a production crew
waits for the camera to start shooting under the Astoria Column.
A health advisory was issued on Tuesday
for Cullaby Lake due to a bloom of harmful
algae.
State public health officials confirmed the
presence of cyanobacteria and the toxins they
produce at the popular recreational site off
U.S. Highway 101 near Warrenton. A similar
bloom occurred at Coffenbury Lake in Fort
Stevens State Park last summer.
Officials say people should avoid swim-
ming and high-speed water activities in areas
where blooms are identified.
Drinking the tainted water is especially
dangerous. The toxins cannot be removed by
boiling, filtering or treating the water.
The bloom is the second recorded at Cul-
laby Lake within the past five or six years, said
Steve Meshke, natural resources manager for
Clatsop County. Other times, toxin levels have
neared the threshold.
He began keeping an eye on potential
blooms and taking water samples as awareness
has grown about the danger the toxins present.
The lake and surrounding parkland are
popular with boaters and large groups. The
park may host as many as 400 or 500 people
on a busy weekend day. On Tuesday, Meshke
saw between 30 and 40 people at the park.
Boating is still safe on the lake so long as
speeds don’t create excessive water spray,
which could lead to inhalation risk.
If people choose to eat fish they catch from
the lake, they should first remove all fat, skin
and organs before cooking since toxins are
more likely to collect in these tissues. Fillets
should be rinsed with clean water.
The toxins cannot be absorbed through the
skin, but people who have skin sensitivities
may experience a puffy, red rash.
Pets and children are at increased risk for
exposure because of their smaller size and
activity levels.
Exposure to the toxins can produce a num-
ber of symptoms, including numbness, tin-
gling and dizziness that can lead to difficulty
breathing or heart problems. People may also
experience skin irritation, weakness, diarrhea,
nausea, cramps and fainting and should seek
medical attention if these conditions persist or
worsen, public health officials say.
Public health officials say cyanobacteria is
not always obvious and toxins can still exist
in clear water. Sometimes affected water will
also look foamy or scummy.
Port hopes to pivot to fiber-optic business
‘YOU’RE
LOOKING
AT OUR New data center
CAPACITY ON could be catalyst
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
THE COAST TO
HAVE ONE OF
Mark Cox, the tech entrepreneur
behind the proposed data center at the
THE FASTEST North Coast Business Park, has said that
70 percent of the West Coast’s fiber-optic
INTERNET internet connections are within 100 miles
of Clatsop County.
CONNECTIONS
Jim Knight, the executive direc-
tor of the Port of Astoria, sees a poten-
ON THE WEST tial business opportunity for the agency
managing the distribution of those
COAST.’ in connections.
Jim Knight | executive director
of the Port of Astoria
During a Port Commission meet-
ing Tuesday, Knight presented a letter
of intent from Cox to partner with the
Port to manage fiber-optic cables his
new facility will need. The letter also
indicates Cox’s interest in working with
the Port to create an alternative energy
source for the data center.
Representatives from Agile Design,
the company created by Cox to develop
a data center, will flesh out the ideas over
the coming weeks at Port Commission
meetings, Cox wrote.
“You’re looking at our capacity on the
coast to have one of the fastest internet
connections on the West Coast, which is
a link to the rest of the world,” Knight
said.
Port commissioners unanimously
voiced support for Knight’s pursuit of
the fiber-optic business, seeing it as an
emerging industry with a low environ-
mental impact.
Commissioner Bill Hunsinger said
he remembers longshoremen at the Port
loading cable ships. The Port periodically
plays host to cable-laying and surveying
ships.
Commissioner Robert Stevens said
there is a commodity — data — being
landed close to Astoria that the Port
needs to hustle to get in on.
“I envision lots of competition for that
same role from larger, more established
entities to the east of here,” Stevens said,
referring to upriver ports in Portland and
Vancouver, Washington.
The community is likely to support
such a business, said Port Commissioner
Dirk Rohne, repeating his caution that
Cox’s goal to break ground next year on
the data center is not realistic.
“I think it will take two years before
they can even put a shovel in the ground
… but I support the concept,” he said.