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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 2018)
A3 THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2018 Homeless count is up, but Tiny Micro-Chip Now declines seen in key cities In The Ear: Available! Strategies could be working By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press A federal report released Monday provides a possible glimmer of hope for the home- less crisis that has gripped many cities up and down the West Coast. The number of people liv- ing on the streets in Los Ange- les and San Diego, two epi- centers of the homelessness crisis, fell this year, suggesting those cities’ efforts to combat the problem could be starting to pay off. In Los Angeles, the count fell by 3 percent after a sharp increase the year before. Peter Lynn, executive director of the Los Angeles Homeless Ser- vices Authority, said that can be credited to results of six months of stepped-up home- less services after Los Ange- les County voters raised taxes to help in 2017. Later that year, Los Ange- les city voters approved a bond issue to provide more affordable housing — a fac- tor Lynn said will start show- ing up in future counts. “We’re also dealing with the countervailing pressure of housing markets that are pretty unforgiving,” he said. Cities in California, Ore- gon and Washington state have driven an overall spike in the number of homeless peo- ple nationwide in recent years. This year’s count continued that trend, showing 552,800 people without homes across the country, up by about 2,000 from 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Hous- ing and Urban Development’s point-in-time tally. It was the second consecutive increase after seven straight years of declines. The number of home- less referred to as unshel- tered — those living in the streets, encampments or other open places — was more than 194,000 nationwide. That also was up from last year. More than 37,000 of the unsheltered were in the Los Angeles area this year, down 2 percent from 2017. San Diego, California’s second most populous city, also saw a decline in both total homelessness and those on the streets. After a hepatitis A out- break spread among the home- less population and killed 20 people in 2017, the city turned to industrial-sized tents to house hundreds of people. As the tents went up, offi cials also cited people camping on downtown streets. Encamp- ments downtown cleared out quickly, but the number along the San Diego River doubled. The city is consider- ing a ballot measure to raise money for affordable housing in 2020. Nationwide, the overall increase this year was driven by a 2 percent rise in the unsheltered homeless popu- lation — those living in vehi- cles, tents and on the streets — along with 4,000 people in emergency shelters after hur- ricanes, wildfi res and other disasters, according to HUD. The numbers of homeless vet- erans and families continued their long-term declines. At a time when rents are rising faster than wages — especially for lower-income people — an essentially stag- nant count is a not a bad sign, said Steve Berg, vice presi- dent for programs and policy at the National Alliance to End Homelessness. “Given what’s going on with rental housing, it’s not exactly good news. But it means communities are push- ing back against the head- winds,” said Berg, who like other advocates urges caution about reading too much into one-year trends in the home- less count. The homelessness data pic- ture is incomplete because several West Coast areas with large populations, including San Francisco, Portland and California’s Orange County, did not conduct new counts of unsheltered homeless popula- tions this year. Those places will do fresh surveys in early 2019. Now You See It... Now You Don’t! 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Experts from the Oregon Coast Aquarium believe the animal may have been washed out to sea and sustained further injuries. When Mullins found the ailing creature, it had cracks in its shell and was lethar- gic. By the time the turtle was brought to the aquarium the next day for treatment, its body temperature was roughly 30 degrees colder than normal. The female turtle was named “Donatello,” after a character in the “Teen- age Mutant Ninja Turtles” comics, when social media users saw it dressed in purple bandages. On Saturday, a couple walking along the beach in Waldport spotted the second turtle, also a female olive rid- ley, and called the aquarium. Oregon State Police A sea turtle was stranded on the Oregon Coast. The couple enlisted the help of state parks ranger Doug Sestrich to carry the animal to safety before it, too, could be brought to the aquarium for rehabilitation. Winter months can often prove perilous for sea turtles off the coast of the Pacifi c Northwest. Sometimes blown off course by strong storms, the creatures can end up in water much too cold for them and strandings are not uncom- mon along Oregon beaches. Initially, experts at the facility were hopeful but guarded about both sea tur- tles’ conditions. Donatello was responsive to her han- dlers and blood work showed no signs of infection. Subse- quent analysis showed that her kidneys were severely compromised. The sec- ond turtle was suffering from cold-stun, said Evonne Mochon-Collura, Oregon Coast Aquarium c urator of fi sh and i nvertebrates. “While she appeared physically intact, cold-stun- ning itself takes its toll on the turtle’s internal organs,” Mochon-Collura said in a statement. “As always with animals with sustained inju- ries, they have a lot of chal- lenges through recovery. We submitted X-rays and blood samples for further analy- sis to determine her internal condition.” Both animals died Sunday, the aquarium reported. The odds of rehabilitat- ing stranded sea turtles are low, but the aquarium has had success in the past, spe- cifi cally with two turtles named “Lightning” and “Sol- stice,” both found on Ore- gon beaches and tended to at the aquarium. After being released in 2017, their move- ments were tracked in known breeding grounds off the coast of Mexico this spring. Mention this ad for FREE ADMISSION to the Heritage Museum with your purchase. They Lived by the Whistle Histories of Westport, Wauna and Bradwood Oregon Historical Company Towns of Clatsop County will make a perfect gift for the history buff on your list this holiday season. This beautiful, 185 page hard cover, color book with over 200 historical photographs is available at the Heritage Museum, 1618 Exchange Street in Astoria. While here, visit our newest permanent gallery entitled, “The Bounty of Clatsop County” and learn more about our region’s natural resources. 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