SEASIDE STARTS CHAMPIONSHIP QUEST • A8
WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019
146TH YEAR, NO. 179
ONE DOLLAR
Hammond
man gets
23 years
for rape
Paiz was found
guilty last week
By BRENNA VISSER
The Daily Astorian
Photos by Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
Astoria is concerned about the impact of vacation rentals on housing.
North Coast residents, officials fire
back against vacation rental bill
Any home could be a rental
By BRENNA VISSER
The Daily Astorian
Several North Coast residents and pub-
lic officials have fired back against a state
Senate bill that would prohibit local gov-
ernments from enforcing vacation rental
regulations.
Introduced by state Sen. Fred Girod,
R-Stayton, Senate Bill 621 would allow
any home to become a vacation rental. The
bill would still allow cities and counties to
require people operating vacation rentals to
register with the local government and pay
the lodging tax.
In a public hearing on Tuesday in Salem,
Girod said he believes the bill would help
address a shortage of short-term hous-
ing for people in transitional parts of their
lives, like a college student who needs a
place to stay for a week between semesters
or someone waiting to move into a new
home.
The bill also aims to help more people
use their home as a vacation rental to gen-
erate income, Girod said.
Although Girod has a second home in
Depoe Bay, he said he doesn’t intend to
rent it out.
“Any way that an owner can make a few
dollars to offset the cost is beneficial,” the
senator said.
Seaside City Councilor Tom Horning argues for local control over vacation rentals.
But the bill has met with significant
opposition, with many on the North Coast
writing that they feel the legislation would
largely negate the controls cities have
developed over the years to balance the
vacation rental industry with the needs of
full-time residents.
The bill would likely make local reg-
ulations like Astoria’s homestay lodging
policy unenforceable. The policy requires
owners to be on-site when they have
renters.
A Hammond man con-
victed of rape and other sex
crimes was sentenced Thurs-
day to nearly 23 years in
prison.
Mark Paiz
Jr. faced more
than a dozen
sex
crime
charges
in
connection
with
raping
one woman in
2017 and sex- Mark Paiz Jr.
ually abusing
another woman in 2016, who,
due to her mental condition,
was not able to consent.
A jury last week found
Paiz guilty of one count each
of first-degree rape, first-de-
gree sodomy, first-degree sex
abuse and first-degree unlaw-
ful sexual penetration.
Prosecutors believe Paiz
— who said he was 63 during
the trial — is 65 years old. All
four convictions are Measure
11 crimes that carry manda-
tory minimum sentences. His
sentence likely means he will
spend the rest of his life in
prison.
Chief Deputy District
Attorney Dawn Buzzard, who
prosecuted the case, said the
victims are left with emotional
scars from his actions, but felt
having Paiz go to prison for a
long time would help.
“She has nightmares all the
time about the defendant,”
Buzzard said, referring to
one of the victims. “Her big-
gest fear is for him to find her
again.”
Paiz, who represented him-
self at trial, didn’t comment
on the sentence.
For one victim, the sen-
tence means her fears can
finally be put to rest.
“I’m glad he’s doing time
for what he did to me,” she
said after the hearing.
Paiz will be back in court
later this month for a hear-
ing concerning two counts of
first-degree sex abuse and two
counts of first-degree sodomy
for allegedly having sex with
a 9-year-old between 2013
and 2014.
See Rentals, Page A7
‘REASONABLE RESTRICTIONS ON SHORT-TERM RENTALS ARE ESSENTIAL TO
PREVENT ASTORIA FROM SUFFERING THE FATE OF OTHER COASTAL
COMMUNITIES WHOSE RESIDENTS ARE SLOWLY BUT STEADILY BEING DRIVEN
OUT IN FAVOR OF COMMERCIAL RENTAL PROPERTY OWNERS.’
Mayor Bruce Jones
Fishery managers look at impacts to orcas
Whales depend on
salmon for survival
INSIDE
Scientists discover different
kind of killer whale / A7
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
Amid concerns about the future
of endangered killer whales and in
the face of a possible lawsuit by con-
servation groups claiming coastal
salmon fisheries impact the orcas’
chances at survival, federal fishery
managers plan to further analyze the
true impact of the fisheries.
What they find could lead to new
fishing restrictions on the ocean for
runs of salmon that return to critical
areas like the Columbia River.
The southern resident killer whale
population, which frequents Wash-
ington state’s Puget Sound, relies
Oregon State University
A young resident killer whale chases a Chinook salmon in the Salish Sea near
San Juan Island.
heavily on a diet of Chinook salmon.
Over the past decade, the population
has declined from 87 orcas to a his-
torical low of 74.
Future projections under current
conditions paint a grim picture of
steady decline and the killer whales
are believed to be at high risk for
extinction.
There are several bills in front of
the Washington Legislature dealing
with orca protection. Gov. Jay Ins-
lee has said efforts to save the orcas
are among his top priorities for the
state’s two-year budget.
“Everyone across the land-
scape needs to step up and we need
to make sure, from the fisheries
See Orcas, Page A7