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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 17, 2018)
DailyAstorian.com // WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2018 146TH YEAR, NO. 78 ONE DOLLAR ELECTION 2018 In the pitch for a new jail, a disturbing reflection of crime County consistently ranks near the top By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian In a PowerPoint the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office is using to pitch a $20 million bond for a new jail, one slide jumps out. The county ranked first in Oregon in 2016 for behavioral crimes, sixth for crimes against people and fourth for property crimes, a disturbing reflec- tion of life on the North Coast. The latest rankings are even worse. The Oregon Uniform Crime Report for 2017, released in September, ranked the county first in behavioral crimes, first in crimes against people and fifth in property crimes. “It is true and we have always been near the top consistently for years and years and years and years and years,” Sheriff Tom Bergin said in an email. Linh DePledge/For The Daily Astorian Voters in November will decide a $20 million bond for a new jail. MORE ONLINE • See how counties in Oregon compare on crime at bit.ly/oregon-uniform-crime-report See CRIME, Page 7A ‘GRIT AND INK’ American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon Andrea Gonzalez, of Astoria, appears in a new campaign ad opposing Measure 105, which would repeal Oregon’s sanc- tuary law. An Astoria woman is featured in ACLU video Measure 105 would repeal sanctuary law By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian An Astoria woman is featured in a state- wide video released Tuesday that opposes Measure 105, the November ballot ques- tion that would repeal Oregon’s 31-year-old sanctuary law. Andrea Gonzalez, 25, was born and raised in Astoria, and her family is from Mexico. She is one of several people in the ad who come from families that immigrated to the United States. Gonzalez said she is concerned that, if the mea- sure passes, some will be leery of law enforcement because their immigration status might be scrutinized. “I want Oregon to be a welcoming and safe place for everybody in my community,” Gonzalez said. “I don’t think that’s safe for anybody in our community if crimes go unreported.” The ad, paid for by the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, includes a bit about each of the participants’ backgrounds, followed by a statement read in parts by each person. A message at the end reads, “Say ‘no’ to racial profiling. Vote ‘no’ on Measure 105.” Alex Pajunas/The Daily Astorian Portland historian William F. Willingham pores over 1950s company history in the Astorian-Budget Publishing Co.’s minutes book in 2014. New book documents a newspaper family By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian J See GONZALEZ, Page 7A The Daily Astorian MORE ONLINE • Watch the ACLU’s campaign ad at aclu-or.org/many-voices ournalists try to avoid becoming the story, but a new book about The Daily Astorian and East Ore- gonian puts these sister dailies on the front page. “Grit and Ink,” by historian William F. Willingham, is about the Aldrich-Forrest- er-Brown family’s devotion to commu- nity journalism. The book focuses on the East Orego- nian Publishing Co. (now the EO Media Group), taking readers from the rugged early years of Oregon newspapering to the present — from the dusty frontier to the digital frontier, from riverine Astoria to agrarian Pendleton. Willingham will present a lecture on the book Thursday evening at Fort George Brewery’s Lovell Showroom. The book’s subtitle is “An Oregon A new book by historian William F. Will- ingham illustrates the history of the publishing company that would even- tually become the EO Media Group. IF YOU GO THURSDAY NIGHT TALKS When: 7 p.m. Thursday; doors open 6 p.m. Where: Fort George Brewery Lovell Showroom Free and open to the public Family’s Adventures in Newspapering, 1908–2018,” but Willingham opens with the EO’s founding in 1875, a rough, risk- laden period in the state’s history. “Along with schools and churches, a newspaper provided an important mea- sure of civilization and order,” he writes. Having a newspaper “was a way of pro- claiming that a town was real and here to stay.” Willingham explains how small-town papers survived uncertain early years, how they weathered crises — such as the 1922 Astoria Fire and the Great See BOOK, Page 3A COLUMBIA FORUM Veteran journalist talks trust in news A critical role to serve in a country divided By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Veteran reporter Les Zaitz speaks Tuesday night at the Columbia Forum. Les Zaitz’s reporting experience includes coverage of the 2016 armed occupa- tion of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in East- ern Oregon and the 1980s Rajneesh occupation in central Oregon. The veteran reporter is try- ing to spur similar investiga- tive journalism in a chang- ing time for the craft, but one essential ingredient must be restored, he said. “Our job No. 1 is to regain your trust,” Zaitz said. “I could write the most impres- sive investigative report Ore- gon has ever seen. If you don’t trust it, I’ve wasted some- body’s money and I’ve wasted my time.” Trust in news was the focus of Zaitz’s talk at the Colum- bia Forum speaker series Tues- day night at the Baked Alaska Annex. “At no time in recent his- tory in our country has the credibility of media been as strained as it is today, and in a lot of ways, the reputations of journalists is equal to or worse than those guys in Congress,” Zaitz said. Zaitz’s career began in 1973, when he joined the Statesman Journal in Salem as a general assignment reporter. He spent nearly three decades with The Oregonian and was twice a Pulitzer Prize finalist. See FORUM, Page 4A