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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 2018)
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018 146TH YEAR, NO. 82 ONE DOLLAR Landlord, insurer sue tenants over pot explosion Latest legal case over Uniontown blast By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Daric Moore, co-founder of Pier Pressure Productions, discusses details about the theater renovation project. New theater in the works in Astoria A space on Commercial Street By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian hey thought maybe three or four people would show up. But the morning performance at Astoria’s new black box theater on Oct. 15 — a salute to the theater’s address, 1015 Commercial St. in the Odd Fellows Building — was packed. People who couldn’t find seats on an array of metal folding chairs or sagging camp chairs leaned against the wall with the perform- ers in what is still more a large unfinished room than a theater. They cheered loudly as the founders of Pier Pressure Produc- tions introduced themselves and ushered dramatic, musical and comedic acts to the front. For Susi Brown and others in the the- ater community, it proved Astoria is hun- gry for live theater. Astoria offers a rich variety of many different kinds of art, but sometimes lacks a regular place where people can experience live theater, said Brown, who founded the first Pier Pressure Produc- tions in 2010. She has been involved in the local theater community as a director, actor and educator since the late 1970s. There is of course “Shanghaied in Astoria,” the classic community theater production put on by the Astor Street Opry T Renovation work continues in the Pier Pressure Productions theater in down- town Astoria. Company and now in its 35th season. The company opens its doors for other ven- tures outside its usual roster of shows, but only several times a year. There are occa- sional readers’ theater events. The Per- forming Arts Center offers the occasional play. KALA, a downtown space more often used as a music venue or a gallery space, sometimes includes a drama. The Liberty Theatre hopes to host large pro- ductions in the future, but is limited by its stage setup. Clatsop Community College nixed its theater department years ago. Small the- aters that once offered a wide variety of plays have also shut down. The Coaster Theater in Cannon Beach remains a hub for actors and directors in the community, but for people who live in Astoria, it can be a trek. The owner and insurer of a Uniontown building gutted by a butane hash oil explo- sion two years ago is suing the former ten- ants and their investors for negligence. Richard Delphia owns the building at the corner of Portway and Industry streets where Higher Level Concentrates, owned by Wil- liam “Chris” West and Jason Oei, ran a mari- juana grow site and a production space mak- ing butane hash oil, a concentrated form of the plant’s psychoactive component, THC. Sweet Relief, a local marijuana store chain, subleased a space upstairs for retail sales. Delphia’s building was insured by Hud- son Specialty Insurance Co., the primary plaintiff in the lawsuit. An explosion and flash fire rocked Del- phia’s building in 2016, sending contractor Jacob Magley to the hospital with serious burns. He sued Oei and West, claiming the two had been vaporizing hash with an open heat source while making oil in an open- ended system in violation of state guidelines. Magley also sued Delphia, Sweet Relief and John Harper, a regional smoke shop owner and financier of Higher Level. The lawsuit was later settled for an undisclosed amount. Hudson and Delphia’s lawsuit, filed on the two-year anniversary of the explosion and fire, seeks $351,000 for damages to the building, claiming the unlawful use of a haz- ardous substance such as butane gas in an open-ended system was a violation of Oei and West’s lease. Sweet Relief and Harper’s compa- nies were named as co-defendants for their knowledge of the operation. The lawsuit claims the defendants neg- ligently failed to install the closed-loop extraction system and comply with state regulations. “As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of each of the defendants, the open loop THC oil extraction process failed, causing (liquefied petroleum) gas to accu- mulate and ignite,” the lawsuit said. “The explosion and fire caused extensive damage to the building.” Oei and West were convicted last year of felony assault and misdemeanor reckless endangerment and sentenced to three years probation. Both filed for bankruptcy protec- tion from creditors. None of the defendants provided com- ment on the lawsuit. Delphia’s building is still a burned-out husk surrounded by chain- link fencing and plywood boards. See THEATER, Page 7A ‘WHAT IT SEEMS TO ME IS HAPPENING IN THIS TOWN RIGHT NOW IS ANOTHER GENERATION OF PEOPLE IS SHOWING INTEREST IN TAKING OVER SOME OF THE ENDEAVORS.’ Edward James | Astoria native who went on to work professionally in theater Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian Richard Delphia’s building at Portway and Industry streets was gutted two years ago by an explosion and flash fire fueled by butane gas. Mount Hood fault lines could trigger quake A 7.2 temblor is possible Associated Press PORTLAND — Residents in the Pacific Northwest who dread a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake and tsunami now have another possible quake to worry about. Researchers say active fault lines on Mount Hood could potentially trigger a 7.2 mag- nitude quake that could reach Portland. KGW-TV reported the recently discovered fault lines to the north, south and south- west of Mount Hood extend to the Columbia River. Ian Madin of the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries and Ashley Streig of Portland State Uni- versity found the fault lines during an analysis with new imaging technology. The fault lines were verified through field research. Streig says the quake would be a short crustal earthquake, and it “would be strong enough to knock you off your feet.” Streig says the Portland area would likely see “strong ground motions and could suf- fer liquefaction damage along waterfront areas.” AP Photo/Don Ryan Researchers have identified active fault lines on Mount Hood that could trigger a major quake.
