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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2019
1/11/19
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
1/11/19
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, speaks with constituents after a town hall at the Columbia
River Maritime Museum on Sunday.
Wyden: ‘We’re going to get after
this to make sure they get funded’
Continued from Page A1
The packed meeting,
dominated by discussion
related to the shutdown, took
place in the Columbia River
Maritime Museum, with the
retired lightship Columbia
and the Coast Guard cutter
Steadfast as backdrops.
About 42,000 Coast
Guard personnel received
their last paychecks Dec. 31,
but have since been working
without pay until the shut-
down ends. Astoria Mayor
Bruce Jones, a former com-
mander of Sector Columbia
River and the emcee Sun-
day, noted how local crews
had assisted disabled crab
boats in hazardous condi-
tions since the beginning of
the crab season last week .
He asked whether there
would be legislation to make
sure Coast Guardsmen are
paid .
“We’re going to get after
this to make sure they get
funded,” Wyden said .
U.S. Sen. John Thune,
a Republican from South
Dakota, recently introduced
the Pay Our Coast Guard
Act to cover active-duty pay,
retiree benefi ts, death gratu-
ities and other payouts. The
bill has been sponsored by
three Republican and four
Democratic senators and
could be voted on as early as
this coming week, according
to t he Military Times.
Wyden, a Democrat who
serves on the Senate Finance
Committee , said he has
asked the IRS to waive pen-
alties for late fi lings related
to furloughed government
employees unable to process
tax returns. He also raised
concerns over the train-
ing of forestland fi refi ght-
ers being stopped during the
shutdown.
Wyden called on Presi-
dent Donald Trump to listen
to constituents and reopen
the federal government
before discussing funding
for a wall on the border with
Mexico, the issue that led to
the shutdown. The senator
touted his previous support
for increased border security,
but decried Trump’s idea for
a wall, relating it to a stop
sign in front of the Statue
of Liberty. He also told the
story of his parents, who fl ed
Nazi Germany.
“Unless you’re a Native
American, folks, chances
are you’re part of the immi-
gration experience,” Wyden
told the audience .
He recounted a female
immigrant he met at a phar-
macy who was afraid to seek
a prescription for her ill son
because her family could
face deportation. Asylum
laws are not being complied
with, he said, and major
Democratic victories in the
2018 elections were a sign of
momentum for change .
Asked about the poten-
tial impeachment of Trump,
Wyden called for a modest
approach based on the com-
pletion of Special Counsel
Robert Mueller’s investiga-
tion into Russian infl uence in
the 2016 election. He talked
about a legislative effort to
protect Mueller’s investiga-
tion, which has been blocked
multiple times from a vote
by Republican leaders in the
Senate.
Asked about his views on
timber and logging issues,
Wyden brought up the
Clean Energy for America
Act, his effort to eliminate
tax breaks that mostly ben-
efi t fossil fuels and replace
them with incentives to sup-
port clean energy and greater
effi ciency.
He talked about efforts
to investigate and pre-
vent price gouging in the
pharmaceutical
industry;
reform M edicare to better
serve aging baby boomers;
ensure funding for mental
health and education; pro-
tect the nation’s public lands
from being privatized; resist
Education Secretary Betsy
DeVos’ proposed changes to
Title IX funding regarding
gender-based discrimination
and sexual misconduct in
schools; challenge Trump’s
machinations on foreign pol-
icy; and strive for bipartisan-
ship in Congress.
Fellow Oregon U.S. Sen.
Jeff Merkley has mulled a
run for president in 2020.
Asked why he hasn’t run
for president, Wyden said
he already has the best job
in the world representing the
interests of Oregonians in
the Senate.
“I’m going to take some
of these stories back to the
fl oor of the U.S. Senate
next week, and I’m going to
use them in the effort to do
everything I can to get the
government open,” he said.
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Crossing: The Lowenbergs transformed
Gearhart Grocery into a brew pub in 2016
Continued from Page A1
T he Lowenbergs moved
to close the Gearhart Gro-
cery , which they had owned
since 2010, and turn it into
a brew pub in 2016 . Some
r esidents feared losing the
town’s lone grocery , and
felt a brew pub didn’t fi t the
character of the community .
Terry Lowenberg told
city councilors that the
Gearhart Grocery could not
compete with large chains
like Fred Meyer, Safeway
and Costco.
Gearhart Crossing made
headlines again in 2017
when
Lowenberg
was
granted a conditional use
permit to install lottery
machines in the pub and
deli.
The City Council ini-
tially denied the request,
bringing up concerns of
Brenna Visser/The Daily Astorian
People enjoy the last dinner service at Gearhart Crossing, a
local pub and grocery that closed Sunday.
maintaining neighborhood
character and question-
ing the need for the gam-
bling machines. Lowenberg
argued the lottery machines
were needed to make Gear-
hart Crossing profi table.
City c ouncilors even-
tually approved the move,
fearing the denial could lead
to a confl ict with state law
and ultimately an appeal.
Weaver: Parking behaviors have improved
Continued from Page A1
Two-hour parking cov-
ers most of Duane and Com-
mercial streets, along with
Marine Drive, between
Eighth and 15th streets from
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Downtown
merchants and employees
are also not supposed to park
in front of their storefronts.
All around downtown are
three-hour or all-day park-
ing areas.
Until Harris started a year
ago, enforcement had been
nonexistent since the 2013
retirement of former parking
offi cer John Hord .
Downtown
merchants
had a love-hate relationship
with Harris, who could be
seen downtown marking
tires and helping to direct
visitors to local attractions.
Between January and Sep-
tember of last year, Harris
issued more than 1,000 park-
ing tickets, including nearly
900 to drivers from Ore-
gon and more than 120 to
Washingtonians.
Harris amicably ended her
stint last year and returned
to being a full-time artist. A
studio she shows at in St.
Thomas was reconstructed
following a hurricane.
Sarah Lu Heath, execu-
tive director of the down-
town association, said down-
town parking behaviors have
improved since her pres-
ence, with more spaces for
customers.
Miracle-Ear Center Youngs Bay Plaza
173 S. Hwy 101
Warrenton, OR 97146
(503) 836-7921
Miracle- Ear Center
2505 Main Ave N, Suite C
Tillamook, OR 97141
(503) 836-7926
USE CODE: 19JANSINK