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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2018
2018: YEAR IN REVIEW
Seaside shooting
neur behind the Cannery Pier Hotel, died of
natural causes in September.
Jacob, 69, was a colorful character and
a force behind the renovation of the Liberty
Theatre and the Astoria Armory and ideas
like the Astoria Riverfront Trolley and the
Astoria Riverwalk.
“A man with a passion for Astoria like
never seen before,” Jeff Daly, a longtime
friend, said after Jacob’s death. “You can go
anywhere in Astoria and feel the energy of his
vision and see what he saved for all of us.”
Cashus Dean Case, 44, was shot and killed
by Seaside Police Cpl. David Davidson at the
Seasider RV Park in July after a report that he
was waving black powder pistols and threat-
ening to kill dogs that had mauled a man.
Video footage showed Davidson fi red
three rounds from an AR-15 rifl e into Case’s
chest within seconds after ordering Case to
drop his weapons.
While noting that the shooting was “fast,”
the Clatsop County District Attorney’s Offi ce
determined that it was justifi ed.
Davidson was also involved in a fatal
police shooting in 2016 that was ruled justi-
fi ed. The offi cer killed a felon who had shot
and killed Sgt. Jason Goodding.
Walmart in Warrenton
Customers lined up in June for the grand
opening of a new Walmart in Warrenton.
The retail giant, which fi rst announced
plans for a store on the North Coast in 2009,
is the latest addition to a collection of big-box
stores in Warrenton.
Astoria Riverwalk Inn
After nearly three years of litigation,
the Port of Astoria Commission in October
approved the transfer of the Astoria River-
walk Inn to Param Hotel Corp. The company,
led by Ganesh Sonpatki, had been trying to
take over the hotel since 2015 from heavily
indebted former operator Brad Smithart.
Param sued the Port after the takeover fell
apart and the agency chose Astoria Hospital-
ity Ventures, owned by a brother-in-law of a
former Port commissioner, to run the lodging.
A Circuit Court judge eventually slapped
the Port with a multimillion-dollar judgment
and gave Param the choice between taking
the money or a promised seven-year lease on
the hotel. The Port appealed the judge’s rul-
ing, but eventually settled with Param, which
replaced Hospitality Ventures as the operator
on Halloween.
Param also opened an escrow account of
$580,000 to pay off Smithart’s debts to the
Port, city and county. Smithart, who has since
moved to the East Coast, was set to receive
more than $180,000 in the negotiated settle-
ment. But the city bought his stake of the set-
tlement at a public auction as collateral for
his debts, leaving Smithart with nothing.
Seaside Civic and Convention Center
The Seaside Civic and Convention
Center kicked off its $15 million reno-
vation and expansion project with a June
groundbreaking.
Meeting space will increase by 21 percent,
with the largest increases being an expanded
ballroom and improved breakout rooms. The
facility will grow from 46,000 square feet
to close to 55,000, an increase of nearly 19
percent.
Russ Vandenberg, the general manager,
has told the City Council that the project
could be completed by August.
Cannon Beach City Hall
Conversations about replacing Cannon
Beach City Hall resurfaced this year after
concerns about the building’s ability to with-
Gearhart centennial
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Robert ‘Jake’ Jacob helped with the restoration of the Tourist No. 2 ferry.
stand a tsunami or earthquake.
The new building would be a central loca-
tion for emergency response and communi-
cations. City councilors are debating whether
to build at the existing location on Gower
Street or at a 55-acre site east of U.S. High-
way 101 known as South Wind.
Both sites come with signifi cant foun-
dational challenges and high costs, with the
estimated bond price varying between $14.5
million to more than $27 million, depend-
ing on the location. Voters could be asked to
approve a bond for the project in November.
Election winners
Warrenton Mayor Henry Balensifer was
elected in November to a four-year term at
the post he was appointed to after Kujala
resigned in 2017.
Balensifer defeated John Washington, a
Hammond retiree.
Behind the message of “Let Seaside Keep
Its Mayor,” Mayor Jay Barber held off a chal-
lenge from radio station owner John Chap-
man. The City Council appointed Barber in
2016 after former Mayor Don Larson stepped
down. Larson died shortly after.
In Cannon Beach, Mayor Sam Steidel was
unopposed in his bid for a second term.
Real estate agent Robin Risley and City
Councilor Mike Benefi eld prevailed over
hotelier Greg Swedenborg for two seats on
the City Council.
In the one contested election in Gearhart,
City Councilor Kerry Smith won a second
term after overcoming challenger Jack Zim-
MORE THAN JUST
A PRETTY PLACE
IT’S MY COMMUNITY
I had cgffee recently with a friend whg asked “After a year in Astgria,
whatvs still gn ygur list gf things tg dg here?”
merman, a former oil and gas executive.
Voters rejected a $20 million bond for
the expansion of the Sunset Empire Park
and Recreation District’s aquatic facility in
Seaside.
Water quality
After high bacteria readings this year at
Cannon Beach storm outfalls at Gower Street
and Chisana Creek, the city revived a water
testing program and could be on a path to a
solution.
The cause of the bacteria spikes has
stumped the city for more than a decade, with
staff being unable to identify a pattern.
DNA testing showed bacteria is not from
human waste, which the city says indicates
the bacteria is from animal waste and fungi
building up inside underground pipes.
The city hired an engineering fi rm to
explore ways to redesign and install ultravio-
let light fi lters at the outfalls, which would kill
the bacteria before it goes out to the beach.
Oil spill
An oil spill from a 4,200-gallon, 20-foot
tank created a sheen that extended 5 miles
along the Columbia River in January.
The old tank, located under a pier near the
Cannery Pier Hotel in Uniontown, was likely
placed roughly 70 years ago. Knowledge of
the tank was lost amid several changes in
ownership of the pier.
Jacob dies
Robert “Jake” Jacob, the Astoria entrepre-
For Gearhart’s 100th anniversary, resi-
dents came together with a celebration to
remember. The centennial — honoring the
former town of Clatsop’s incorporation as the
city of Gearhart in 1918 — brought festive
gatherings, parties, memorabilia and a down-
town street dance in July.
Butterfl ies
Threatened Oregon silverspot butterfl ies
made their fi rst appearance in decades at Sad-
dle Mountain this summer after public and
private partners placed hundreds of caterpil-
lars on the mountain’s slopes.
Habitat loss is the leading reason for
the decline of silverspot butterfl y popula-
tions and the work is part of a larger effort
to reintroduce the butterfl ies across their tra-
ditional coastal range. The insects also rely
on a threatened plant, the early blue violet.
Local groups have been working to re-es-
tablish native plants in coastal prairie habi-
tats throughout the North Coast and in south-
western Washington state.
Bunnies gone wild
A burgeoning rabbit population in Can-
non Beach made headlines this year after res-
idents in Tolovana complained to the city.
Some neighbors say the bunnies have ruined
lawns, burrowed holes and created health
concerns, while others cherish their furry
feral friends. A few bunnies even turned up
dead.
While the city has chosen not to get
involved at this time, the story grabbed the
attention of people across the country, inspir-
ing a “Save the Cannon Beach bunnies” peti-
tion on Change.org. For now, the bunnies are
still nibbling on the grass near Tolovana Inn.
Katie Frankowicz, Jack Heffernan,
Edward Stratton, Brenna Visser and R.J.
Marx of The Daily Astorian contributed to
this report.
Happy
New Year
There are lgcal places I have yet tg visit that I rattled gff. Many mgre
that I have visited and enjgyed sg much that I will revisit. There is,
after all, much tg lgve abgut living gn the Ngrth Cgast.
The cgnversatign started me thinking abgut place and cgmmunity,
and well, what makes a place a cgmmunity instead gf just a cgllectign
gf attractigns.
Of cgurse itvs the pegple whg live here. We share a wgrk ethic, pride in histgry and
respgnsibility in making living here better.
At The Daily Astgrian, we think every day abgut gur respgnsibility tg capture
that shared histgry in gur pages – print and gnline. We share family milestgnes
like births, marriages and gbituaries. Every day we chrgnicle lgcal news frgm
weather tg electigns and state champignships. We help pegple find new jgbs,
hgmes and places tg shgp. We alert readers tg prgblems that need tg be sglved in
gur cgmmunities, and pegple whg have ideas tg sglve them.
Our emplgyees are Ngrth Cgast native-bgrn and newcgmers. We are 40 pegple
whg live here, gwn hgmes here, buy grgceries, raise kids and vglunteer.
Thank ygu fgr investing in gur wgrk. Every subscriber, reader and advertiser
makes it pgssible fgr us tg cgntinue tg deliver truly lgcal news every day – in
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ygur subscriptign and advertising dgllars. Ygu make it pgssible fgr us tg tg live
and wgrk in a wgnderful place. Thank ygu.
PUBLISHER, THE DAILY ASTORIAN
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