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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2018
State offers whale watching event
By KATIE
FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
An estimated 20,000
gray whales will pass the
Oregon C oast this winter
and volunteers will be on
hand at 24 sites next week
to offer whale watching tips
and facts about the ocean-
going giants.
The Oregon Parks and
Recreation
Department
is celebrating the whales’
migration from Alaska to
calving lagoons off the
coast of Baja, Mexico, with
its annual winter Whale
Watching Week, which
help track the number of
passing whales.
Whale Watching Spo-
ken Here also offers a
whale watching week in the
spring, when gray whales
travel north to Alaska, often
with calves in tow.
“Whales are a special
part of the Oregon C oast,”
said Luke Parson, a state
ranger with the Whale
Watching Center in Depoe
Bay. “We’re very proud to
work with our volunteers
to help visitors connect
with the whales and our
oceans.”
For more information,
visit whalespoken.org
runs from Thursday to Dec.
31.
The week coincides
with the highest frequency
of whales swimming down
the coast; roughly 30
whales pass by per hour.
On the North Coast ,
volunteers with the Whale
Watching Spoken Here
program will be available at
Ecola Point in Ecola State
Park near Cannon Beach
and at a site off U.S. High-
way 101 near Neahkahnie
Mountain outside Man-
zanita. In addition to pro-
viding information about
whales and helping people
spot them, volunteers also
County lodging tax to take effect in January
The Daily Astorian
Clatsop County’s 1 per-
cent lodging tax will take
effect Jan. 1.
County
commission-
ers passed the tax in July in
an effort to fund increased
operations costs at the new
Clatsop County Jail in War-
renton. Approved by voters
in November, the jail will
likely open within the next
two years.
Per state law, 70 per-
cent of revenue from the tax
must go toward tourism pro-
motion. O wners of motels,
hotels and vacation rentals
opposed the tax, which will
be added on to other city and
state taxes.
Businesses must register
with the county a ssessment
and t axation offi ce by March
1. More information is avail-
able o n the county website.
County ambulance committee seeks applicants
The Daily Astorian
Clatsop County is seek-
ing applicants for an open
seat on the Ambulance
Service Area Advisory
Committee.
The successful appli-
cant would serve a two-
year term. The commit-
tee meets four times a year
to monitor ambulance ser-
vices, gather information
from those who have used
services or work in the
fi eld and review service
area boundaries.
Applications are avail-
able on the county website
or at the county manag-
er’s offi ce at 800 Exchange
St., Suite 410. The county
commission will m ake the
fi nal appointment.
FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA
TONIGHT
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
49
45
40
Mostly cloudy with a
shower
51
42
Mostly cloudy; afternoon
rain, breezy
TUESDAY
50
39
Periods of rain
50
40
Cloudy with a bit of rain
Minimum wage to increase
soon in Washington state
Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. —
Washington state’s mini-
mum wage will increase to
$12 an hour in the new year.
The increase — up from
this year’s $11.50 an hour
— is part of 2016’s Ini-
tiative 1433, and will ulti-
mately raise the state’s rate
to $13.50 an hour by 2020.
Paid sick leave under the
law started this past Janu-
ary, allowing employees to
earn at least one hour of paid
sick leave for every 40 hours
worked.
The state’s minimum
wage applies to workers in
both agriculture and non-
agricultural jobs, although
14- and 15-year-olds may
be paid 85% of the mini-
mum wage, according to the
Department of Labor and
Industries.
For employers in cit-
ies that already have higher
minimum wages, including
Seattle, the local minimum
wage rate will apply as long
as it is higher than the state
minimum.
In Oregon, the stan-
dard minimum wage will
increase to $11.25 an hour
in July, up from $10.75. The
wage will move to $12.50
in the Portland metro area,
up from $12, and to $11, up
from $10.50, in some rural
counties. Clatsop County is
covered under the standard
minimum wage.
Study claims youth pot use dropped
after legalization in Washington state
Associated Press
SEATTLE — A new
study says teen marijuana
use appears to have dropped
in Washington after the state
legalized adult use of the
drug in 2012.
The research, by the
RAND Corp. and other
organizations, said cannabis
use fell by a small but sta-
tistically signifi cant amount
for eight- and 10th-graders,
while use rates among high
school seniors remained fl at.
The fi ndings were based
on data from the Washing-
ton Healthy Youth Survey,
conducted every two years.
They said marijuana use
rates generally fell among
Washington
adolescents
during 2014 and 2016 as
compared to 2010 and 2012.
For eighth-graders, mari-
juana use fell from 9.8 per-
cent to 7.3 percent. Among
10th graders, use fell from
19.8 percent to 17.8 percent.
Researchers say that
while the results are encour-
aging, more data is needed
to evaluate how legalization
affects teen use rates over
the long term.
Coast Guard evacuates stroke victim
The Daily Astorian
The Coast Guard evac-
uated an ill man off a con-
tainer ship 85 miles off the
coast of Washington state
Thursday.
Watchstanders
with
the Coast Guard received
a request for help around
6 p.m. from the motor ves-
sel OOCL New York to pick
up a 48-year-old crew mem-
ber suffering from symp-
toms of a stroke.
The ship was 100 miles
west of Cape Flattery
and headed toward South
Korea from Seattle. It was
instructed to turn east toward
the shoreline.
An MH-60 Jayhawk
crew hoisted the man around
10:30 p.m. and fl ew him
to Sector Columbia River
in Warrenton. He was then
taken to Columbia Memorial
Hospital in Astoria by ambu-
lance. His condition was not
immediately available .
Rather cloudy
Offi ces will close for Christmas holiday
The Daily Astorian
ALMANAC
REGIONAL WEATHER
Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs.
ASTORIA
40/49
Astoria through Thursday.
Temperatures
High/low ....................................... 59°/43°
Normal high/low ........................... 48°/36°
Record high ............................ 59° in 2018
Record low ............................... 9° in 1990
Tillamook
39/49
Precipitation
Thursday .......................................... 0.21"
Month to date ................................... 6.00"
Normal month to date ....................... 6.45"
Year to date .................................... 59.39"
Normal year to date ........................ 63.82"
Full
Last
Dec 22
Dec 29
Coos Bay
38/51
Jan 5
Brookings
38/50
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
TOMORROW'S TIDES
Astoria / Port Docks
Time
6:29 a.m.
7:31 p.m.
Low
3.0 ft.
-1.1 ft.
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Denver
Des Moines
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Honolulu
Indianapolis
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Memphis
Miami
Nashville
New Orleans
New York
Oklahoma City
Philadelphia
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Francisco
Seattle
Washington, DC
Hi
47
62
36
61
40
43
65
-6
82
40
43
64
70
46
73
45
56
61
56
64
39
45
58
47
64
Klamath Falls
18/39
Lakeview
13/37
Ashland
29/44
REGIONAL CITIES
City
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Eugene
Ilwaco
Klamath Falls
Medford
Newberg
Newport
North Bend
Hi
37
37
51
48
49
39
45
46
50
50
Today
Lo
18
23
38
31
43
18
27
34
40
37
W
pc
c
c
pc
c
pc
pc
pc
c
c
Sat.
Lo
28
36
46
41
46
30
36
42
46
46
Hi
35
42
50
45
50
39
43
44
49
52
W
pc
pc
r
r
r
pc
c
r
r
r
City
Olympia
Pendleton
Portland
Roseburg
Salem
Seaside
Spokane
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Yakima
Hi
46
44
46
47
48
49
37
47
45
44
Today
Lo
35
28
36
32
33
42
24
31
36
25
W
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
c
pc
pc
pc
pc
Hi
46
45
46
46
46
50
36
46
45
38
Sat.
Lo W
40
r
37 pc
42
r
42 sh
43
r
47
r
30
c
43
r
42
r
29
c
Sanitation’s transfer station
is closed Tuesday.
The Sunset Pool in Sea-
side and the Astoria Aquatic
Center are closed Tuesday.
The Clatsop County Her-
itage Museum, Oregon Film
Museum, Flavel House
and Carriage House are
closed Monday and Tues-
day. The Uppertown Fire-
fi ghters’ Museum is closed
for the winter. Lil’ Sprouts
is closed Monday, Tuesday
and Wednesday. Fort Clat-
sop closes at 2 p.m. Monday
and is closed Tuesday. The
Columbia River Maritime
Museum is closed Tues-
day. The Seaside Museum
is closed Monday, Tuesday
and Wednesday.
Sunset Empire Transpor-
tation (“The Bus”) is not
running Tuesday.
The Daily Astorian
offi ces are closed, and there
is no newspaper, on Tuesday.
TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Lo
35
52
24
26
26
30
45
-13
71
25
30
44
51
31
53
29
40
48
33
45
27
30
46
39
44
Burns
13/33
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018
Tonight's Sky: The December solstice, which marks
the start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, oc-
curs at 2:39 p.m. PST.
High
8.1 ft.
10.3 ft.
Ontario
24/39
Bend
23/42
Medford
27/43
Jan 13
Baker
18/35
John Day
22/40
Roseburg
32/46
First
UNDER THE SKY
Time
1:09 a.m.
12:18 p.m.
Prineville
22/44
Lebanon
32/47
Eugene
31/45
New
La Grande
23/37
Salem
33/46
Newport
40/49
SUN AND MOON
Sunset tonight ........................... 4:32 p.m.
Sunrise Saturday ........................ 7:55 a.m.
Moonrise today .......................... 4:03 p.m.
Moonset today ............................ 6:31 a.m.
Pendleton
28/45
The Dalles
29/40
Portland
36/46
In observance of Christ-
mas Day, all federal and state
offi ces are closed Tuesday.
Clatsop County offi ces
are closed Monday and
Tuesday. City halls, offi ces
and services closures are:
The city of Astoria closes at
noon Monday, and is closed
Tuesday; the cities of Can-
non Beach, Gearhart and
Warrenton are closed Mon-
day and Tuesday; and the
city of Seaside is closed
Tuesday. All U.S. post
offi ces are closed Tuesday,
and there is no mail delivery.
Astoria, Jewell, Knappa,
Warrenton/Hammond, Sea-
side (including Cannon
Beach and Gearhart schools)
and Ocean Beach School
District schools in Washing-
ton state and Clatsop Com-
munity College are closed
for winter break.
The Astoria Library
closes at 2 p.m. Monday,
and is closed Tuesday. The
Seaside Library, Warren-
ton Library and all Timber-
land libraries in Washington
state are closed Monday and
Tuesday.
The Port of Astoria
offi ces and services are
closed Monday and Tuesday.
There is no garbage col-
lection through Recology
Western Oregon (cover-
ing Astoria, Seaside, Gear-
hart and Cannon Beach) on
Tuesday, and collection runs
a day late; the Astoria Trans-
fer Station closes at 2 p.m.
Monday and is closed Tues-
day. City of Warrenton and
Peninsula Sanitation (cover-
ing the Long Beach, Wash-
ington, Peninsula) garbage
customers whose normal
pickup day is Tuesday will
have their garbage picked
up on Wednesday. Peninsula
W
r
r
c
s
pc
r
pc
pc
s
sn
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
r
s
r
s
r
pc
pc
c
pc
r
Hi
52
53
39
41
43
38
70
-2
83
41
45
63
71
57
70
51
64
49
54
49
51
36
58
48
52
Sat.
Lo
38
31
29
19
26
28
41
-8
72
30
27
45
51
46
52
39
55
36
32
34
33
24
49
42
34
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
s
sh
pc
sn
pc
c
s
s
s
pc
s
pc
pc
s
pc
s
s
pc
s
pc
s
c
pc
r
pc
PUBLIC MEETINGS
THURSDAY
Clatsop County Recreational Lands Planning and Advisory Committee, 1 to 3 p.m., fourth fl oor,
800 Exchange St.
Cannon Beach Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
LOTTERIES
Thursday’s Lucky Lines: 01-
07-09-13-FREE-20-24-25-29
Estimated jackpot: $21,000
OREGON
Thursday’s Pick 4:
1 p.m.: 9-6-2-8
4 p.m.: 2-2-1-8
7 p.m.: 3-4-6-8
10 p.m.: 1-5-2-3
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy,
sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries,
sn-snow, i-ice.
WASHINGTON
Thursday’s Daily Game:
3-3-6
Thursday’s Keno: 02-04-07-
19-29-35-47-48-53-54-58-62-
64-65-66-67-70-73-78-79
Thursday’s Match 4: 05-09-
13-18
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