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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 31, 2018)
DailyAstorian.com // MONDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2018 146TH YEAR, NO. 130 ONE DOLLAR Crab season set to open Fishermen can pull gear on Friday By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian Despite fears that the season opener for Dungeness crab could be further delayed, commercial fi sh- erme n will be able to set their gear Tuesday in parts of Oregon and Washington state, fi shery managers announced . Fishermen will be able to start pulling their gear on Friday . The valuable commercial fi sh- ery traditionally starts on Dec. 1, but was delayed after tests showed crab had not fi lled out enough. In Ore- gon, from Cape Arago south to Gold Beach, crab are still below the state’s meat quality criteria and these areas will remain closed. According to recent testing in Oregon and Washington state, crab in the areas that will open are just over the threshold. Fishermen landed over 23 mil- lion pounds of crab in the 2017-18 season and brought in a record $74.2 million in ex-vessel value. That sea- son also got off to a late start, delayed fi rst by low meat yield, then by price negotiations, then by weather. Com- mercial boats didn’t hit the water until the end of January. This season, fi shery managers initially delayed the start of the sea- son until mid-December due to low meat yield. The date was pushed back again pending further tests, which were then delayed because of bad weather. YEAR IN REVIEW A look back at the top stories on the North Coast in 2018 The Daily Astorian D evelopment pressure, housing, homelessness and leadership change dominated the conversation on the North Coast in 2018. Voters approved bonds for a new county jail and improvements to schools in Astoria and Warrenton. Walmart fi nally opened in Warrenton. A fatal police shooting in Seaside was ruled justifi ed. And bunnies — yes, bunnies — turned neighbors against each other in Cannon Beach. On the last day of the year, we look back at some of the top stories. New mayor Astoria City Councilor Bruce Jones, a retired Coast Guard com- mander, was elected in November as the city’s next mayor. He replaces Arline LaMear, who decided not to seek a second term. Jones was not the only city coun- cilor interested in a new role. Cindy Price also announced she would run for mayor, but later withdrew from the race, citing family reasons. Price did not seek re-election to the City Council, and radio program- mer and Planning Commissioner Joan Herman was elected to take her down- town Ward 3 seat. Roger Rocka, a for- mer director of the Astoria-Warren- ton Area Chamber of Commerce, was elected to replace Zetty Nemlowill in the west side’s Ward 1 after Nemlow- ill opted not to run again. Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian State regulators have set the new Dungeness crab season. Coast Guard to see paychecks Pay was at risk because of the government shutdown The Daily Astorian Coast Guard military personnel will get paid today despite a partial shutdown of the federal government. The decision was described by the Coast Guard as a “one-time action” that covers December and does not guarantee paychecks will be issued for the next pay period on Jan. 15 if the shutdown continues. “I recognize that this changes course from previously provided guidance on military pay,” Coast Guard Vice Com- mandant Adm. Charles Ray wrote in a message Friday, according to the Mili- tary Times. “However, this is outstanding news for our military workforce.” The Coast Guard, part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, was the only branch of the military that faced working without pay during the shut- down. Other branches are part of the U.S. Department of Defense, which has already been funded by the government. See Shutdown, Page A7 Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian See 2018, Page A8 Bruce Jones, right, reacts as election results are announced in November. Development along the riverfront in Astoria was a contentious issue in 2018. Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Country living expands in Clatsop County By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian The number of people living in the countryside of Clatsop County is grow- ing far faster than in any city . As of July 1, the c ounty’s population was 39,200, up 1 percent from the previ- ous year and 4.5 percent from fi ve years ago, according to estimates from Portland State University’s Population Research Center. Over 36 percent — 14,320 — of the county’s residents lived outside cities . That was a more than 10 percent increase from 12,980 fi ve years ago. See County, Page A7 After years of world travel, magic in Cannon Beach Taylor has lived from England to Iran By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian ANNON BEACH — When Leslie Taylor says she believes Cannon Beach is the most beautiful place in the world, she can speak with some authority. As the child in a mili- tary family, Taylor has had the chance to see many cor- ners of the globe . Some of her fondest memories are spending Christmas and C New Year’s Day in a remote cottage on the English coun- tryside, sledding on moonlit nights through the forest and camping with her family in Scotland and Wales. But even those experi- ences pale in comparison to the feeling Taylor felt when she visited the Oregon C oast. One day, after hik- ing to the top of Neahkahnie Mountain and staring out over the coastline, she made it her goal to retire in Can- non Beach. “This place is magic,” she said. “Tears came to my eyes, because there are some things you can’t speak ... there are no words. I thought to myself, ‘I f I could ever live here, that would be amazing.’” This year, Taylor retired and fi nally made her dream a reality. But the path that led her to Cannon Beach started in earnest about 40 years ago in the Middle East. After high school, the spontaneous 18-year-old decided to take an adven- ture to Iran — a journey that eventually led to her meet- ing her husband, having her son and making a life there. Taylor moved to Iran a few months before the Iran- Iraq W ar in 1980 , and much of her experience was col- ored by the confl ict. Liv- ing in the county’s capital of Tehran, she didn’t always feel the effects of the war. “But there was a period of time they were bomb- ing us, and that was pretty scary,” she said. After six years, Taylor divorced her husband and moved to Washington state with her son to be closer to her father and start anew. Brenna Visser/The Daily Astorian See Taylor, Page A7 Leslie Taylor moved to Cannon Beach in August.
