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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JANuARY 18, 2019
Lawsuits ramp up pressure on opioid company owners
By GEOFF MULVIHILL
Associated Press
The legal pressure on the
prominent family behind
the company that makes
OxyContin, the prescrip-
tion painkiller that helped
fuel the nation’s opioid epi-
demic, is likely to get more
intense.
The Sackler family came
under heavy scrutiny this
week when a legal filing in
a Massachusetts case gave
detailed allegations that
they and company execu-
tives sought to push pre-
scriptions of the drug and
downplay its risks. Those
revelations are likely to be
a preview of the claims in
a series of expanding legal
challenges.
Members of the fam-
ily that controls Connecti-
cut-based Purdue Pharma
already are defendants in
a lawsuit brought by New
York’s Suffolk County.
Paul Hanly, a lawyer
representing the county,
said he expects to add the
Sacklers to other opioid
suits filed across the coun-
try. He explained last year
that he was targeting the
who studies the role of state
attorneys general.
Having Sackler family
members named as defen-
dants in Massachusetts
“indicates that the govern-
ment attorneys believe they
have the ‘smoking guns’
necessary to broaden the
potential liability of those
at the top of the organiza-
tion,” he said in an email.
The allegations could
tarnish a name that is best
AP Photo/Jessica Hill known for its generos-
Family and friends who have lost loved ones to OxyContin ity to museums worldwide
and opioid overdoses leave pill bottles in protest outside the including New York’s Met-
ropolitan Museum of Art,
headquarters of Purdue Pharma in Stamford, Conn.
which has a Sackler wing,
family, known for its dona- overdose crisis that resulted and London’s Tate Mod-
tions to some of the world’s in a record 72,000 deaths in ern. The Sackler name also
great museums and univer- 2017. The majority of those is on a gallery at the Smith-
sities, in part because they deaths were from legal or sonian, a wing of galleries
at London’s Royal Acad-
took “tens of billions” of illicit opioids.
dollars out of Purdue.
The company docu- emy of Arts and a museum
Looming as potentially ments at the heart of the at Beijing’s Peking Uni-
the biggest legal and finan- Massachusetts claims also versity. The family’s best
cial risk for the family is a could be evidence in the known and most generous
massive consolidated fed- Ohio lawsuits, which are donor, Arthur M. Sackler,
eral case playing out in being overseen by a fed- died nearly a decade before
eral judge. The allegations OxyContin was released.
Ohio.
More than 1,000 gov- ramp up pressure on the
The
Cleveland-based
ernment entities have sued industry — and perhaps the judge, Dan Polster, has been
Purdue, along with other Sacklers — to reach a set- pushing for a settlement
drugmakers and distrib- tlement, said Paul Nolette, since he took over the fed-
utors, claiming they are a political science profes- eral cases a year ago, argu-
partly culpable for a drug sor at Marquette University ing that the parties involved
should find ways to end
this man-made crisis, rather
than hold years of trials. A
court order prohibits partic-
ipants from discussing most
aspects of settlement talks
publicly.
In its lawsuit filed last
year, the Massachusetts
attorney general’s office
went after members of the
Sackler family and Pur-
due, which is structured as a
partnership and is not pub-
licly traded.
The company’s flag-
ship drug, OxyContin, was
the first of a generation of
drugs that used a narcotic
painkiller in a time-release
form. That meant each pill
had a larger amount of drug
in it than other versions and
could get abusers a more
intense high if they defeated
the time-release process.
Many of the attorney
general’s specific allega-
tions — based on com-
pany documents — were
blacked out at the request
of Purdue and the Sackler
family. The state recently
filed a new version of its
complaint that made public
many of their allegations
for the first time.
Transit: Funding for mass transit more than $16B this fiscal year
Continued from Page A1
Hazen is now exploring cut-
backs to less-used routes such as
the Lower Columbia Connector,
along with weekend service, hours
of operation and employee hours.
While employees could see their
hours cut, he doesn’t foresee any
layoffs.
Federal funding for mass transit
was more than $16 billion this fiscal
year, most of it through the Federal
Transit Administration. The grants
from the agency help fund rural to
large urban transit networks.
“Nobody has stopped any ser-
vice,” Paul Skoutelas, president and
CEO of the American Public Trans-
portation Association, told munici-
pal finance publication The Bond
Buyer. “I think that’s a last resort
for these agencies. But everyone
is beginning to feel the difficul-
ties of trying to meet payments to
vendors, normal kinds of operat-
ing expenses. In some cases just
moving projects forward for proj-
ect approvals.”
For John Coy, who doesn’t
have a driver’s license and reg-
ularly takes Route 101 between
Astoria and Seaside, the bus means
getting to work and to see his parole
officer.
“That would suck,” he said of
potential cutbacks. “It would be a
lot of walking, a lot of walking.”
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Steve Weinert waits for passengers to arrive at the Astoria Transit Center.
Salmon: Both sides argue about the effectiveness of gillnets
Continued from Page A1
former Oregon Gov. John
Kitzhaber — to phase gill-
nets off the main stem.
Under the plan, gill-
netters were directed to
off-channel fishing areas,
including Youngs Bay.
These areas cannot support
the fleet, commercial fish-
ermen argue. But conserva-
tionists say the change was
necessary to protect wild
salmon runs.
Both sides argue about
the effectiveness of gillnets
— nets that hang vertically
in the water and catch fish
by the gills — to catch tar-
geted fish and avoid threat-
ened or endangered fish.
A majority on Oregon’s
commission has been open
to allowing gillnetters some
time back on the main stem.
Recent assessments by fish
and wildlife staff on both
sides of the river concluded
neither recreational nor
commercial fishermen have
seen the expected economic
benefits under the plan, nor
have other gear options
done a better job at protect-
ing salmon. Washington has
continued to explore gear
alternatives and has not
been as interested in putting
gillnets back on the river.
Immediate issues
The joint committee that
met Thursday discussed
immediate issues with this
year’s river policies. They
plan to begin developing
recommendations ahead of
the regular season-setting
process in March.
Right now, there are
catch allocation differences
for the fall Chinook run and
— a big sticking point —
differences in gear Oregon
allows during the spring
Chinook season.
Oregon allows the use
of commercial tangle nets
if run sizes hold and not too
many wild fish have been
handled in the early part of
the spring season.
Washington does not
allow any main stem com-
mercial fishing of spring
Chinook, and Washing-
ton Commissioner David
Graybill argued against any
change to that policy. He
also questioned Oregon’s
policy.
Oregon Commissioners
Holly Akenson and Bruce
Buckmaster hoped discus-
sions of this year’s fisher-
ies could act as a way to
address overall changes to
the Kitzhaber Plan.
They argued the states
need to hit pause on the
plan, reassess and figure
out new ways to meet the
plan’s goals of conserva-
tion, orderly fisheries and
enhanced economic oppor-
from legislators that they’re
really tired of hearing this
issue hacked out again and
again and again.”
Tourism:
‘Lots of
people
don’t see
tourism as
a part of
our local
economy’
Continued from Page A1
beaches from misuse and
overpopulation.
One team is set to create
and share more photos of
less-visited places to reduce
pressure on popular desti-
nations like Ecola and Fort
Stevens state parks.
Another will invest more
in communication about
good stewardship, starting
with an inventory of what
is happening already.
“If we’re going to
encourage people to recy-
cle, we have to make sure
there’s enough recycling
containers,” said Claudine
Rehn, of the Tillamook
Estuary Partnership.
One team, led by Teri
Wing, of Oregon State
Parks, plans to create a
Beach Trail Ambassador
program that will help edu-
cate visitors about proper
trail etiquette and safety.
“If someone is going
up Falcon Cove and they
have flip-flops on, they’ll
turn them around and say,
‘It’s not good to wear flip-
flops on this trail,’” Wing
said. “The idea is to get
them good info to make
them safe as well as give
them information about the
area.”
Transportation was also
a focus, with some aim-
ing to educate hotel staff
on public and alternative
transportation options so
more visitors are aware of
how to get around without
a car. The group, headed
by Ken Shonkwiler, of
the Oregon Department of
Transportation, also plans
to develop better wayfind-
ing signs so people know
where to park and get
around once they get here.
The right message
New bill
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Oregon and Washington state are discussing how to deal
with gillnets on the Columbia River.
tunities. The original plan,
as executed, appears to
have failed, Buckmaster
maintained.
Washington
Commis-
sioners Bob Kehoe and Don
McIsaac were not opposed
to this approach, especially
where the economics of the
fisheries are concerned, but
McIsaac emphasized the
need to address the 2019
season.
“We are in crisis with
these runs,” Graybill pro-
tested. “We need to take
care of these fish first of
all.”
“We cannot go back-
wards,” he said.
Early forecasts predict
low returns of spring Chi-
nook. Last year and this
winter, adult salmon and
steelhead returns to the
river came in below predic-
tions, leading to fishing clo-
sures throughout the region.
Liz Hamilton, director of
the Northwest Sportfishing
Industry Association and a
longtime proponent of the
Kitzhaber Plan, agreed with
Graybill. She listened to the
committee meeting from a
seat in the audience.
“I think this is going in
the wrong direction and I
think it’s very misguided,”
she said afterward. “In light
of the condition of the runs,
the condition of orcas, the
optics of growing gillnets
in the Columbia River is
not going to play well in the
public. It’s not going to play
well in the Legislature.
“We’re already hearing
A bill introduced Monday
in the Oregon Legislature
would take a more definitive
step against the use of gill-
nets and tangle nets in the
state’s commercial fisheries.
Senate Bill 547, sponsored
by state Sen. Chuck Riley,
D-Hillsboro, calls for an out-
right ban of the gear except
in tribal fisheries.
The bill has been referred
to the Senate Environment
and Natural Resources
Committee and has yet to
gain any other sponsors.
Jim Wells, president of
the gillnet advocacy group
Salmon For All, sat several
rows in front of Hamilton at
the meeting Thursday. He
saw the committee’s dis-
cussion as a positive step,
especially with a number
of commissioners clearly
advocating for another look
at the Kitzhaber Plan. He
says gillnetters have only
seen their economic oppor-
tunities decline since the
plan began to phase them
off the river.
The committee will meet
again in early February to
keep talking about options
for this year’s fisheries and
the long term.
Participants also decided
it was important to educate
and impress upon local
residents how important
tourism is to the region’s
economy.
Pamela Wev, a Clatsop
County commissioner and
leader of the group charged
with championing the value
of tourism, said it’s import-
ant to address the distaste
some residents have about
the industry.
“Lots of people don’t
see tourism as a part of our
local economy,” she said.
With tourism spend-
ing at almost $2 billion on
the Oregon Coast alone,
Wev said it will take every-
one embracing the indus-
try to make sure it grows
and is managed in the right
way.
“That’s money spent
by people from outside,”
she said. “As an eco-
nomic development per-
son, I can tell you there’s
nothing better for a com-
munity than people spend-
ing money that was earned
somewhere else, because it
really enhances your eco-
nomic base. We need to help
our citizens understand this
reality.”
Moon: Astronomers are interested in color, intensity of the light
Continued from Page A1
Here’s what to look for:
The Great Solar Eclipse
of 2017 added the words
penumbra and umbra to our
vocabulary. As a refresher,
the penumbra is the por-
tion of shadow cast before
the partial phase begins. It
is nearly imperceptible, but
by 7:10 p.m. some dimming
may be seen. The moon
begins to enter the umbra
at 7:34 as the partial phase
begins. A little more than an
hour later the earth’s umbral
shadow will completely
immerse the moon. Totality
will last another hour before
the process is reversed, and
the moon begins to return
to its normal brilliance.
The entire show ends at
11:50 p.m. when the moon
leaves the penumbra.
That blood moon
Amateur and profes-
sional astronomers are not
looking for blood on the
moon, but are neverthe-
less interested in the color
and intensity of the light
that makes its way around
the Earth to illuminate the
lunar disc, and it can be of
more than a passing interest
to the casual observer. The
appearance of a full lunar
eclipse gives us a glimpse
into the condition of the
atmosphere
surrounding
our planet. The only reason
we can see the moon at all
during an eclipse is because
sunlight is refracted and
scattered by the Earth’s
atmosphere. An astronaut
on the moon would see
Earth surrounded by a thin,
red ring of sunlight, shining
through the atmosphere. He
would be observing every
sunrise and sunset on Earth
happening simultaneously.
When the atmosphere is
full of clouds and volcanic
dust, little light falls on the
moon and it will appear very
dark, or disappear nearly
completely, as in 1963, 1982
and ‘91. Multiple volca-
nic eruptions during those
years dimmed the eclipse.
Atmospheric
pollutants,
while not blocking sunlight,
can make for a brilliant, red
appearance.
Stars and more stars
Keep an eye on the sur-
rounding night sky before
and during the eclipse.
Full moonlight in January
is pervasive and obscures
the night sky better than all
of our man-made light pol-
lution. But we just might
make out Castor and Pol-
lux, the Gemini Twins, just
above the moon. Bright
Proycon lies below and
to the right, but nearly
drowned out by moonlight.
The constellation Orion
and it’s retinue of brilliant
stars lies to the west, barely
visible. Totality changes all
that.
It’s time to grab the bin-
oculars because when the
moon slips away, the stars
come out to play. The Jan-
uary night sky is glorious
on a moonless night. Orion
dominates above the south-
ern horizon. Train the binoc-
ulars on the three belt stars
and scan below them to the
Orion nebula. Scan below
the dimmed moon to find
the Beehive, a delightful
cluster of tiny star points.
No need to hurry; the sky
will remain dark for a little
more than an hour. And then
the moon will slowly return
to its full glory.
The next total lunar
eclipse visible in its
entirety from the Pacific
Northwest will occur on
May 26, 2021.