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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 7, 2019)
DailyAstorian.com // MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2019 146TH YEAR, NO. 135 Gearhart Crossing closes over weekend ONE DOLLAR Crab fleet brings in catch Owner declines to comment on the closure By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian GEARHART – Gearhart Crossing, a local pub, deli and grocery, closed on Sunday. While a “store for sale” sign has been up in the window for months, the deci- sion to close was first publicly announced on Facebook on Saturday. “It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I announce the closing of Gear- hart Crossing Pub and Deli. Throughout the eight years of ownership, we have done our best to serve the people of the Gearhart community,” the owners, Terry and Molly Lowenberg, wrote in a state- ment on the Gearhart Crossing Facebook page. “We appreciate your support during our time here ... We are forever grateful for your support and encouragement.” Molly Lowenberg declined to com- ment on the closure, but confirmed that the business is still up for sale. The brew pub, which sits at the city’s main intersection, was at times the center of controversy. See Crossing, Page A7 Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Victor Marcus and Justin Rogers offload Dungeness crab at the Ilwaco Fish Co. First crabs of the season Sen. Wyden promises to fight to help Coast Guard By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian T Calls for end to shutdown By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said he would go to the mat to ensure members of the Coast Guard are paid amid a government shutdown entering its third week. Wyden was in Astoria on Sunday for his 918th town hall since join- ing the U.S. Senate in 1996, part of a promise to visit each of Oregon’s Ron Wyden 36 counties at least once a year while in office. He recently won the Town Hall Project’s Sen- ate MVP award for public accessibility. He started by honoring the impact of Josh Marquis, who is retiring after 25 years as Clatsop County’s top prosecutor. See Wyden, Page A7 MORE INSIDE Jonathan Kingsland and Cole Wasson prepare the fishing vessel Chandalar for the crab season at the Warrenton Marina. Kelton Haggren helps get a crab boat ready to travel to California from Warrenton. Still no breakthrough on government shutdown negotiations. hough rough seas kept some boats at the dock, many com- mercial Dungeness crab fisher- men began pulling gear and delivering crab to processors over the weekend. Oregon and Washington state fish- ermen set gear over the New Year’s holiday under blue skies, but then faced stormy weather leading up to the official opening of the fishery on Friday. The fishery was closed in Oregon south of Cape Arago due to elevated levels of the marine toxin domoic acid, but could open this week pending the result of additional tests. Despite an ongoing federal gov- ernment shutdown, the Coast Guard continues to monitor the fleet. Rescue crews responded to two commercial boats in distress before fishermen even began pulling gear. One boat they res- cued had lost its rudder 17 miles off the Columbia River entrance. Industry leaders settled on a price of $2.75 per pound to get the fleet on the water, said Rex Leach, a fisherman based out of Charleston and Coos Bay, who has been involved in price negoti- ations for many years. It’s a dime less than the opening price last year, but up from a starting offer of around $2.30. “And then we’ll let market forces take over,” Leach said. See Catch, Page A8 Page A5 New downtown parking officer starts patrol A background in hospitality and restaurants By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian J effery Weaver sees his biggest challenge as being diplomatic with park- ing scofflaws downtown. Weaver, who starts today as Astoria’s community out- reach officer, plans to keep his patrols sporadic to pre- vent people from catching on and skirting the rules. “It won’t hurt my feel- ings, I know that,” he said of difficult interactions. “I’m pretty thick-skinned. I just hope people see me as less of a ticket-writer, and more of a tool for the city they can use.” A Warrenton native, Weaver has spent most of his adult life on the North Coast working in hospital- ity and restaurants. A cider fan, he recently got a job at Reveille Ciderworks. He saw an ad on Facebook and applied to replace Ronni Harris as the Astoria Down- town Historic District Asso- ciation’s community out- reach officer. “I just see it more as pro- viding a valuable service to the community, rather than being a guy nobody likes,” Weaver said. “There’s a big need for parking downtown. That’s why there’s a two- hour limit. I just see it as a good opportunity to get to know people downtown, be an ambassador.” Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian See Weaver, Page A7 Jeffery Weaver is the new community outreach officer for the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association.
