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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 2, 2019)
A6 THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, July 2, 2019 Business: Redevelopment leads to new business tilled spirit. A downtown cluster analysis by the association two years ago found poten- tial growth in gift and craft stores, clothing and specialty food and drink. “If you’re looking at trends nationwide, it’s not uncommon to see more food and beverage and dining,” Heath said of the new mix of businesses. Continued from Page A1 projects, such as the for- mer J.C. Penney Co. store being turned into a taproom and food court, the Wal- dorf Hotel building that will become workforce housing and the Norblad Building, where owner Paul Caruana has been steadily filling up with new businesses. New development Danny Miller/The Astorian The Liberty Theatre will receive state money for stage renovations. Money: $1 million in lottery money coming to the Liberty Theatre Continued from Page A1 and four large warehouses totaling 120,000 square feet. Brett Estes, the city manager, said the city has had a number of discus- sions with Business Ore- gon over the past couple of months about cleanup of potential pollution and redevelopment of the prop- erty. The city would act as a pass-through for the state money. “It’s a large piece of property that could have quite a bit of impact on the neighborhood,” Estes said. Astoria Warehousing Inc. closed the complex last year when its parent companies moved oper- ations to the Seattle area. Several hotels operate just west of the warehouse, with another proposed to the east. Fort George Brewery, which purchased land at the North Coast Business Park in Warrenton for a new dis- tribution campus and pub, has shown interest in the Astoria Warehousing prop- erty. The company’s own- ership has declined to com- ment further. County jail The $2 million in state general funds for the Clat- sop County Jail project will go toward deferred maintenance at the former Oregon Youth Authority facility. Monica Steele, the interim county manager, said the county has been working with Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, to get funding for deferred maintenance. Johnson, the co-chair- woman of the Joint Com- mittee on Ways and Means, has an important role in state spending. “For years, Oregon Youth Authority had pos- session of that facility and the state didn’t pro- vide adequate funding for their asset to make sure the building is taken care of and there is a significant amount of deferred main- tenance out there. And so we’ve been working with her this past year to get funding and she was able to do so,” Steele said. “We are very excited. “This was a long, hard fight that we truly appre- ciate her fighting on our behalf.” The Legislature did not approve Senate Bill 678, which would have pro- vided $1.9 million to fund the restoration of the Sal- vage Chief vessel for emer- gency response. Floyd Holcom, who bought the Salvage Chief in 2015, believes the decom- missioned vessel could be useful after a disaster. Tiffany Brown, the county emergency man- ager, and others are skep- tical about the project. Brown had alerted county commissioners to the bill last week. “To get kicked in the stomach by your home- town team is purely unfor- tunate,” Holcom wrote on Facebook. “They have no plan.” Liberty Theatre The Liberty Theatre landed $1 million in lottery money. The money will go to the development of a fully operational stage and puts the organization in the run- ning for larger grants to fund a $3.3 million capi- tal campaign to modernize the theater and diversify the types of performances it can offer. With money that has been raised through other efforts, the theater now has 40% of the capital cam- paign funded, according to Jennifer Crockett, the the- ater’s executive director. She heard late Sunday night that HB 5050 had passed with the theater’s grant funding in place and was still processing the news Monday morning. “This was just a crazy idea a year and a half ago and now we’re well on our way,” she said. Work will begin imme- diately to improve the front of the theater and to reno- vate a concessions stand. “Those bring in money for operations right away,” Crockett said. The the- ater has already hired an architecture firm and contractors. The state money will go toward the expansion of the theater’s stage, rig- ging, lighting and curtains, as well as the creation of dressing rooms and a load- ing area.Crockett said the theater worked with John- son on a strategy. “We met with her first and she told us what we should ask for based on how big our project was and what she thought she could get into the budget. “She said $1 million so we asked for a million.” Liberty representatives ended up meeting with almost everyone on Ways and Means and traveled to Salem several times to present the project. The organization had already researched how the ren- ovations would improve the value of the theater’s offerings and provide eco- nomic benefit to the rest of Astoria. Crockett and others involved with the Lib- erty started out confident their request for $1 million would be approved. But with the turmoil in Salem this session, and walkouts by Republican senators, Crockett worried about lengthy delays. If the funding had not passed muster at the Leg- islature, all plans at the Liberty would have likely been on hold for another year. With the state money guaranteed and the capital campaign moving briskly forward, Crockett and the Liberty Theatre’s board of directors are looking at how to begin increasing staff capacity. The orga- nization plans to start an internship program and then staff for specialized positions, such as stage crew. Nicole Bales and Katie Frankowicz of The Asto- rian contributed to this report. Nowhere is the develop- ment more noticeable than on the western edges of down- town, historically less devel- oped than the Commercial and Duane street corridors to the east. The redevelopment of two former Flavel fam- ily buildings at the intersec- tion of 10th and Commercial streets has led to several new businesses. Hillary Smith runs Hills Wild Flours doing custom online cookie orders for weddings, parties and other events. Smith kept tabs on the restoration by Marcus and Michelle Liotta of the M&N Building before approach- ing them about moving into a small storefront on Ninth Street next to South Bay Wild Fish House. The Liottas have also added Wild Roots Movement & Massage, Terra Stones and their own Reclamation Marketplace to the build- ing. Smith opens her shop on weekends offering cookies, scones and other pastries. “It’s nice having a shop so I can meet somewhere other than my house,” she said. “Other than that, I’m just upstairs working.” Across Commercial Street, Julia and Matthew Myers opened Myers Ther- apy offering soft-tissue treat- ment in the corner suite of the Flavel Building, next to Clothing store Edward Stratton/The Astorian Graphic designer Emily Engdahl, right, recently opened Blue Collar Collective with her partner and photographer Justin Grafton. The shop, on 10th Street across from the Astoria Transit Center, features the work of upward of 30 different artisans and smaller-scale makers. Drina Daisy Bosnian Cuisine. The building’s new owners, James and Lisa Long, fixed up the corner suite first and have been restoring a former clothing store next door. The area around the Asto- ria Transit Center has added new Thai restaurant Curry & CoCo on Ninth Street and Blue Collar Collective, a partnership of graphic art- ist Emily Engdahl and pho- tographer Justin Grafton. The couple provide creative ser- vices for small businesses and showcase the works of upward of 30 artists and smaller-scale makers in their storefront on 10th Street. “The merchandising we have here is 100% Pacific Northwest and Oregon-con- nected or -focused, with a specific focus on small-batch producers and nontraditional artists,” Engdahl said. Next to Bloomin’ Crazy Floral on Commercial Street, Jody Patterson Morrill opened Jody Rae photogra- phy, a studio specializing in portraiture. Like Smith, Mor- rill gathers most of her busi- ness online, photographing visitors to the Oregon Coast. “I’d say 90% of my cli- ents are not from here,” Mor- rill said. On the east end of down- town, Jeff Schwietert recently opened his new- est location of Schwietert’s Cones & Candy, a chain of sweet shops stretching down the North Coast. Ron Neva, co-owner of Astoria Wild Products, recently opened his new fish house, seafood shop and mar- itime-themed bar Hurricane Ron’s in the former Charlie’s Chowder House and Tiki Bar. William Hicks, who pur- chased the Abeco Office Sys- tems building on Commer- cial Street, took down the metal siding, uncovered the second-story windows and restored the facade with a more colorful flair. Amid a growing collec- tion of alcohol-related busi- nesses on Duane Street, Seth Howard and Michael Angiletta opened Blaylock’s Whiskey Bar in the Wie- veseik Building, formerly Columbia Travel, with more than 100 varieties of the dis- The downtown associa- tion is still trying to recruit a general clothing store to replace J.C. Penney, she said. The taproom and food court effort, led by local apartment owner Sean Fitz- patrick and Baked Alaska chef Chris Holen, recently received $148,880 from the Oregon Main Street Revi- talization program, coupled with a $103,640 local match, to restore the Duane Street facade of the former depart- ment store but has yet to begin construction. One of Heath’s signature accomplishments was help- ing attract Innovative Hous- ing, Inc. to redevelop the former Waldorf Hotel next to City Hall into workforce housing. The group recently secured $2.8 million from the state Housing and Com- munity Services Depart- ment to cover nearly half of the development costs. The group will soon start inviting potential tenants to get their opinion on what amenities they need, Heath said. On Wednesday, the down- town association cuts the rib- bon on a new mural by art- ist Andie Sterling covering the 13th Street Alley, another beautification project meant to better connect businesses on Commercial and Duane streets. Vaping: ‘We openly talk about it in the classroom’ Continued from Page A1 The devices are unlaw- ful for people younger than 21 to purchase. Health offi- cials also worry about a lack of understanding surround- ing the adverse health effects of vaping. The county’s Public Health Department recently surveyed school leaders, counselors and nurses. Edu- cators reported extreme con- cern with the increased use of e-cigarettes and at least moderate familiarity with their prevalence, but less understanding related to how addictive the substances are. “Pretty much what we found in the schools mirrors what’s happening nation- ally,” said Julia Hesse, the county’s tobacco prevention specialist. Jerome Adams, the sur- geon general, issued an advi- sory late last year about a ris- ing epidemic of e-cigarette use by minors. The National Youth Tobacco Survey found a 75% increase in 2017 and 2018 in the use of e-ciga- rettes by high school-age children, and 50% among middle schoolers. Hesse started hearing more from educators about the alarming trend this year, she said, especially from the rural Knappa School District. “I’ve seen it all the way from 12th grade down to seventh grade,” Smalley said of Knappa’s experience. The school district noticed students charging vaping devices in class and outlawed all electron- ics charging in response, she said. The district also partnered with the Clat- sop County Sheriff’s Office to begin issuing citations for the use of e-cigarettes on campus. The district is planning more training for incoming students, parents and staff in the fall. “We openly talk about it in the classroom,” Smalley said. “We’ve tried to be really open and honest and have communication with kids.” Lynn Jackson, principal at Astoria High School, said he saw the trend of vaping and e-cigarettes pick up over the past two to three years. “It’s just like the vapor itself,” he said. “You’re try- ing to find ghosts.” Confiscations aren’t always effective because stu- dents often share the prod- ucts, Jackson said. While fines can be part of the solu- tion, he said, it is education that primarily tamped down on tobacco use in the U.S. “One of the main strate- gies is making sure people know the health effects of vaping, that it’s being taught throughout our student pop- ulation,” he said. The county can offer training for school staff but isn’t funded to do educa- tion in the classroom, Hesse said. She pointed to policy changes as the most effec- tive means of curbing use of e-cigarettes by minors. The county health and juvenile departments created a tobacco retail license so far approved by the county, Gearhart and Cannon Beach, Hesse said. The proceeds of the approximately $275 annual fee would go toward educating retailers and per- forming annual inspections. “The best way public health will be able to help reduce the use of tobacco, vaping products and other inhalants is to reduce the availability of these prod- ucts to our youth,” Mike McNickle, the county’s pub- lic health director, said in a recent news release. “The Tobacco Retail Licens- ing program will move the county in the right direction.” Champion: Cleanup has been a community effort Continued from Page A1 collected butts back to ciga- rette manufacturers and ask them (politely) to start tak- ing responsibility for how to recycle their products — a piece of activism the city couldn’t necessarily tackle. The first 24 containers went up last week. Cham- pion hopes to be able to install 80 in high traffic areas: at local businesses, at beach access points and elsewhere in the city. “We’re not here to say, ‘Shame on you for smok- ing,’” Champion said. “This is about being a responsible smoker.” “The (Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce’s) motto states, ‘Love Cannon Beach like a local and have it love you back,’ and ‘There is magic here,’” Champion wrote in her proposal to the City Council. “Those decla- rations are compromised by all litter, particularly toxic butt litter as visitors explore Cannon Beach.” “As a city that advertises as much as it does as a very special place, it seemed like Katie Frankowicz/The Astorian Lolly Champion designed what she calls ‘a kind of silly’ poster to raise awareness and educate people about cigarette butt litter. a huge inconsistency to us that we had this many ciga- rette butts,” Champion said. The number of discarded cigarette butts predictably surges after holidays and over busy weekends. They accumulate on sidewalks and on the beach, where they are found by Champion and others who routinely roam the community pick- ing up butts. “You begin picking them up and you pick up more and more and it just becomes this kind of compulsive reac- tion,” Champion said. The pickers will compare notes when they encounter each other on their rounds, “How many did you pick?” Despite all the upfront work Champion has put in to get the disposal containers in place, dealing with cigarette butt litter has been a com- munity effort, she said. But like other community pushes to curb the use of sin- gle-use plastic bags on the North Coast, cigarette butt disposal in Cannon Beach is kind of a drop in the bucket when it comes to address- ing the larger issue of plas- tic pollution. “I guess it’s just lit- tle steps. And is it going to change the world? No,” Champion said. “It’s still worth doing.”