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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 2, 2019)
Miss Portland is crowned Miss Oregon in Seaside PAGE A2 147TH YEAR, NO. 1 DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, JULY 2, 2019 New businesses abound downtown $1.50 Lawmakers direct state money to Astoria Astoria Warehousing, county jail, Liberty get help By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian Photos by Edward Stratton/The Astorian Seth Howard, center, recently opened Blaylock’s Whiskey Bar in Astoria with business partner Michael Angiletta. The bar off ers more than 100 types of whiskey. See Money, Page A6 Investment in the urban core Educators, health offi cials see rise in youth vaping By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian D owntown Astoria has added more than 20 new businesses in the fi rst half of the year, part of a longer-term surge of investment in the urban core. Sarah Lu Heath, the executive director of the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association, has been touring new businesses with the group’s board members, welcoming them with fl owers. When consternation rose last year over more than 20 vacant storefronts downtown, Heath cautioned that turn- over is regular. “Compared to this time last year, last fall, we’re doing great,” Heath said after a tour . The downtown association sub- mits quarterly reports to the state Main Street Revitalization program on busi- ness openings and investments. Since 2013, Astoria added 72 new busi- nesses, compared to 32 closures, growing downtown employment by 175. More than $5.6 million in pri- vate and $1.7 million in public fi nanc- ing has gone into more than 30 build- ing rehabs. D owntown now has about 13 storefront vacancies, Heath said. The vacancies include several ongoing See Business, Page A6 State lawmakers have directed $1 mil- lion in lottery money for the cleanup and redevelopment of Astoria Warehous- ing, a sprawling former canned seafood packing and labeling complex on Marine Drive under contract to be sold. The money was included in state House Bill 5050 — MORE a so-called “Christ- INSIDE mas tree bill” for different projects — Legislature along with $2 mil- adjourns after lion to help turn a marathon former youth prison weekend. in Warrenton into Page A3 the new Clatsop County Jail and $1 million for stage and other improvements at the Liberty Theatre. Peter Tadei, a listing agent for Astoria Warehousing, confi rmed the sales con- tract but declined to name the potential buyer. The Uniontown property, listed at $8.8 million, includes more than 5 acres of land , 7 acres over the Columbia River A call for more education William Hicks, who purchased and redeveloped the former Abeco Offi ce Systems store on Commercial Street into a minimall, recently removed the tin facade and replaced it with a more colorful covering. Rachel Atkinson, left, and Zack McFarlane prepare fudge at Schwietert’s Cones & Candy’s new location in Astoria. By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian Laurel Smalley, the principal of Knappa High School, said the number of vaping devices her staff confi scated from students over the past school year outstripped anything she’s ever seen with cigarettes and alcohol. She and other educators, along with Clatsop County health offi cials, are call- ing for a more robust educational cam- paign and policy changes around tobacco retailers as they see a local spike in youth vaping that mirrors national trends. Vaping refers to the inhalation of vapors through an electronic cigarette or similar battery-powered device that mim- ics some aspects of smoking. E-cigarettes attach to cartridges fi lled with liquid com- monly containing nicotine or THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana, and are often fl avored. See Vaping, Page A6 Kicking butts off the curb A Champion for Cannon Beach By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Astorian CANNON BEACH — A South County woman’s campaign to clean up a very specifi c type of lit- ter comes with a memorable tag- line: “Cannon Beach: Too Beauti- ful for Butts.” Lolly Champion is not propos- ing a war on anatomy. She is trying to get rid of cigarette butts. The discarded butts, with their plastic fi lters and often toxic ingre- dients, affect not just the appear- ance of Cannon Beach, but could also have a big impact on the wild- life and ecosystems residents and visitors prize, she said. In June, Champion received permission from the City Council to attach disposal containers spe- cifi cally for cigarette butts to exist- ing city trash receptacles. Champion found the contain- ers herself, negotiated a mass order price with the company that sells them, designed informational post- ers, raised money in the commu- nity to pay for the containers and is working with a recycling company to recycle what she collects. You know, something to do when there’s nothing good on TV, joked Champion, who was involved in organizing Portland’s fi rst Race for the Cure event for breast cancer awareness in the 1990s. As a private citizen, Cham- pion fi gured she could move more quickly than city government or local boards to address the issue. She also plans to send some of the See Champion, Page A6 Katie Frankowicz/The Astorian Lolly Champion unpacks one of 24 cigarette butt disposal containers that will be attached to city trash receptacles around Cannon Beach in an eff ort to address litter.