A7
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2019
WORLD IN BRIEF
Associated Press
Supreme Court blocks
Louisiana abortion clinic law
WASHINGTON — A divided Supreme
Court stopped Louisiana from enforcing
new regulations on abortion clinics in a
test of the conservative court’s views on
abortion rights.
The justices said by a 5-4 vote late
Thursday that they will not allow the state
to put into effect a law that requires abor-
tion providers to have admitting privileges
at nearby hospitals.
Chief Justice John Roberts joined the
court’s four liberals in putting a hold on
the law, pending a full review of the case.
President Donald Trump’s two Supreme
Court appointees, Justices Neil Gorsuch
and Brett Kavanaugh, were among the
four conservative members of the court
who would have allowed the law to take
effect.
Whitaker: I have ‘not
interfered’ with Mueller
investigation
WASHINGTON — Acting Attorney
General Matthew Whitaker said today he
has “not interfered in any way” in the spe-
cial counsel’s Russia investigation as he
faced a contentious and partisan congres-
sional hearing in his waning days on the
job.
The hearing before the House Judiciary
Committee was the fi rst, and likely only,
chance for newly empowered Democrats
in the majority to grill an attorney general
they perceive as a Donald Trump loyalist
and whose appointment they suspect was
aimed at suppressing investigations of the
Republican president. Republicans made
clear they viewed the hearing as pointless
political grandstanding, especially since
Whitaker may have less than a week left
as the country’s chief law enforcement
offi cer.
Whitaker, even while expressing exas-
peration at the questioning of Democrats,
nonetheless sought to assuage their con-
cerns by saying he had never discussed
with Trump or other White House offi cials
special counsel Robert Mueller’s investi-
gation into potential coordination between
Russia and the Trump campaign.
He told lawmakers that there had been
no change since his arrival in the job
in the “overall management” of Muel-
ler’s investigation and that he has been
faithful to the Constitution and to the
law.
“We have followed the special coun-
sel’s regulations to a T,” Whitaker said.
“There has been no event, no decision,
that has required me to take any action,
and I have not interfered in any way with
the special counsel’s investigation.”
Kit: Narcan also helps protect offi cers when handling drugs
Continued from Page A1
dad, somebody’s brother,” he said.
“And then the training just kicked
in.”
Police Chief Mathew Workman
wasn’t sure what to expect when
the program started, b ut emergency
calls like the one outside Mini Mart
are exactly why offi cers have the
kits .
“We fought for over a year to
get a naloxone program started,” he
said. ”A year and a month before we
use our fi rst dose, and it’s all worth
it.”
The Warrenton Police Department
is one in a growing number choosing
to carry naloxone — known by the
brand name, Narcan — in the wake
of a national opioid epidemic.
Workman’s mission to get offi -
cers trained on how to use Narcan
began a couple of years ago after
a young man was found dead after
taking a synthetic opioid .
The idea is to enable offi cers to
act quickly in overdose situations
where they are fi rst on the scene.
Carrying Narcan also helps pro-
tect offi cers when they are han-
dling drugs like fentanyl — a syn-
thetic opioid that, even in trace
amounts, can make someone sick
if they are exposed to it, Workman
said.
Across the country, some police
departments have been concerned
about taking on a job they perceive
is better suited to medics.
But offi cers like Wirt prefer to
have the tool available .
“It’s like pepper spray, or my gun,
or my radio ... it’s just another tool
that we have,” he said.
Workman is somewhat surprised
that the department has only admin-
istered the medication one time .
“I expected to use it two or three
times by now, but I guess that is
also the benefi t of living in an area
with relatively fast Medix and fi re
response,” he said. “Sadly, I think
we’ve had a few (overdose) situa-
tions where they weren’t called and
we found them after.”
O ther local police departments
are also showing interest. Astoria is
hoping to start a program similar to
Warrenton’s by the end of the year,
Deputy Police Chief Eric Halverson
said.
Astoria police have felt over-
doses have been handled effectively
by the fi re department, Halverson
said.
But based on trends showing
the benefi ts of early intervention
and a discussion about naloxone at
last month’s Oregon Association
Chiefs of Police conference, the
idea has been brought back to the
forefront.
“Offi cers are often there before
medical help,” Halverson said. “The
more opportunities there are for
intervention means there are more
opportunities for someone to change
their path.”
As Astoria looks to build a pro-
gram, Warrenton faces the chal-
lenge of how to sustain it. The police
department’s Narcan supply is set to
expire in July , leaving the depart-
ment to seek grant funding for new
doses . Donations from a medical
supplier could also help the depart-
ment carry on another two years.
F or Workman, it’s an investment
worth making.
“(Addiction) is a beast that’s not
easily conquered. Overdoses are
often the catalyst to make changes.
Other times it’s not,” the police chief
said. “But human life is precious,
and we need to try to do what we can
to preserve it. How else do you make
those decisions when someone’s
barely breathing?”
Warrenton Police Department
Warrenton police offi cer Robert Wirt poses for a photo with his
canine partner, Gabe.
Wyden: Bill would extend tax breaks
set to expire at the end of the year
Continued from Page A1
Steve Phillips, left, resigned from the Seaside school board.
Phillips: Board
unanimously
accepted resignation
Continued from Page A1
“I wish everyone well
in the future and know that
I will always be a true sup-
porter of the Seaside School
District, ” he wrote Super-
intendent Sheila Roley and
the school board.
The board unanimously
accepted the resignation.
Mark Truax, the board’s
vice chairman , praised Phil-
lips’ 24 years as a school
board member.
“Steve has given every-
thing,” he said. “It’s about
kids, from D ay O ne. His tal-
ents will be greatly missed.”
Roley thanked Phil-
lips for “his support, guid-
ance and mentorship in this
position. We’ll really miss
him.”
Phillips
represented
Zone 5, Position 1 in Sea-
side. His resignation leaves
a second unfi lled board
seat. Patrick Nofi eld, who
vacated one of two posi-
tions representing Cannon
Beach, stepped down in
January.
The school district will
appoint replacements for
both positions, Roley said.
The seats will be up for
election in May .
the bill would reduce excise
taxes on barrels to $3.50 per
barrel on the fi rst 60,000
barrels, effectively includ-
ing all makers in Clatsop
County. They currently pay
$7 per barrel. A similar pro-
vision was enacted in 2017
and is set to expire at the end
of this year.
Many brewers and vint-
ners age beer in barrels
as part of a fi nishing pro-
cess. Wyden’s bill, intro-
duced with Blunt, a Mis-
souri Republican, would
permanently exclude aging
for beer, wine and distilled
spirits from the produc-
tion period interest expense
capitalization.
The bill would also sim-
plify rules around ingredient
approval, brewery collabo-
rations and inventory track-
ing for breweries.
For distillers, the bill
would reduce excise taxes
per gallon from $13.50 to
$2.70 for the fi rst 100,000
gallons of distilled spirits
produced or imported each
year, effectively captur-
ing both Pilot House Dis-
tilling and Cannon Beach
Distillery.
The bill would also
remove a prohibition against
the transfer of spirits in bot-
Market: Offerings will include
antiques, memorabilia, artists’ booths
Continued from Page A1
letters spell out Reclama-
tion. The main showroom
fl oor is divided into wooden
slatted stalls reminiscent of
animal stalls.
“We got a lot of jokes
about Noah’s Ark when we
were putting it together,”
Liotta said.
The market’s offer-
ings will include a mix of
antiques, mid century vin-
tage memorabilia and art-
ists’ booths.
Chuck Fritz, a former
loader with Gustafson Log-
ging, took one of the stalls
for his hobby- turned- sec-
ond career of transforming
pieces of fi rewood, burls,
root wads and other dis-
carded parts of trees into
bowls, urns and other pieces.
Fritz liked the low commis-
sion and rent charged by
Liotta compared to galler-
ies, along with how his art fi t
with the space.
“It’s all reclamation,”
he said, noting the shav-
ings from his pieces are also
reused as mulch and ani-
mal bedding. “I’m salvaging
stuff that would have been
burned up otherwise, thrown
in the slash pile.”
Ronni Harris, who pro-
duces oil paintings, deco-
rative tiles and other mer-
chandise, said she liked
having more control over
her space and the freedom
to stock it and let employees
of the marketplace handle
sales.
With the marketplace, the
Liottas have now fi lled up
four of the fi ve suites in the
M&N Building. On Ninth
Street is the South Bay Wild
Fish House. Along Commer-
cial Street are Terra Stones
and Wild Roots Movement
and Massage.
The market will open
from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mon-
day through Saturday, and
from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
The Daily Astorian
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden speaking at Fort George Brewery.
tles smaller than 1 gallon
between distilleries, allow-
ing such transfers without
tax, similar to wine and beer.
“Small and independent
craft brewers are grateful
for the ongoing bipartisan
support for the Craft Bever-
age Modernization and Tax
Reform Act,” Bob Pease,
president and CEO of the
Brewers Association, said
in a news release . “The leg-
islation is not just economi-
cally smart but enables Main
Street brewers to do what
they do best: create and
innovate.”
Tax reform
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