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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 10, 2019)
146TH YEAR, NO. 18 WEEKEND EDITION // SATuRdAY, AuguST 10, 2019 $1.50 Shadowy interests challenge grocery projects Similar tactics in Oregon, California By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Astorian Hailey Hoffman/The Astorian Mara Dowaliby was crowned queen of the 2019 Astoria Regatta on Wednesday night. Dowaliby crowned Astoria Regatta queen Festival is a family tradition By LUCY KLEINER The Astorian M ara Dowaliby has wanted to be an Astoria Regatta queen since she was 8 years old. This year, her dream came true. “It’s in the blood,” she said. When Grocery Outlet wanted to build a new store in Seaside, develop- ers faced resistance from Protect Pacific Northwest. The nonprofit claimed to represent people in the area and across the region, but city leaders never discovered who was behind the organization. The only person they interacted with directly was Karl Anuta, a Portland environmental attorney. Now another group, Responsible Growth Astoria, has emerged to chal- lenge a Grocery Outlet near Mill Pond. Organizers claim they are local res- idents and merchants, but they have declined to provide any identifying infor- mation other than their attorney, Anuta. “The membership of the group is something that they don’t want revealed for probably good reasons,” Anuta explained. Citing attorney-client privi- lege, he described the group only as “a coalition of a number of different folks.” “The problem is that if you get into who is part of a group, people focus on the who not what is the group’s position,” he said. “What is the substance of their message? What are they saying and is that a good thing or a bad thing?” See Challenge, Page A3 See Regatta, Page A6 MORE PHOTOS See a photo gallery of families celebrating Regatta in Warrenton. Page A5 Regatta princesses Caitlin Hillman, Serena Moha and Kayla Helligso take a photo with Mara Dowaliby after her coronation. Coastal hotelier buys Atomic Motel in Astoria Motel sold by Jacob’s estate Judge Brownhill to retire this year A quarter century on the court By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian By NICOLE BALES The Astorian The estate of the late Rob- ert “Jake” Jacob has sold the Atomic Motel in Astoria to Mark Frank for $2.5 million. Frank and his stepmother, Barbara, formerly in the bowl- ing alley business, formed Frank Hospitality in 2014 and pur- chased the Coastal Inn in Long Beach, Washington, where he and his family live. The company now has 11 properties, including motels in Seaside, Lincoln City and West- port, Washington. The com- pany targets smaller, indepen- dent lodgings like the 29-room Atomic Motel, Frank said. “Astoria has always been a target for us,” he said. “We’re only a half hour away, and we know the market really well. And Astoria is just a strong, strong market for hotels.” Jacob, the developer of the Cannery Pier Hotel, died last year. He owned the Atomic, for- merly the Lamplighter Motel, for more than 20 years. After trying to sell the motel in 2016, he reached out to a friend who recommended rebranding the property into its current retro Las Vegas feel. Frank plans to keep that same feel while making improve- ments to the rooms, he said. After 25 years on the bench, Clat- sop County Circuit Court Judge Paula Brownhill will retire in November. Brownhill, 68, is the presiding judge of the court. She was appointed by Gov. Barbara Roberts to fill Judge Thomas Edison’s position in 1994 and elected four times. Brownhill did not plan on finishing another six-year term and didn’t think it was fair to run and win reelection only to leave, she said. She hopes Gov. Kate Brown will appoint a new judge before she retires. The primary election is next May. “I decided it was best Judge Paula Brownhill to do it before the elec- tion and if I do it now then someone has an opportunity to be appointed to the position before the elec- tion to see if it’s something they really want to do,” Brownhill said. Lee Merrill, the trial court administra- tor, is also retiring this fall. “Lee and I work really well together,” Brownhill said. “It seemed like a good date.” Photos by Edward Stratton/The Astorian Mark Frank, of Frank Hotels, recently purchased the Atomic Motel in Astoria. The estate of Robert ‘Jake’ Jacob sold the Atomic Motel to Mark Frank for $2.5 million. “They’ve done a really great job turning this business around,” he said. “There’s not a lot I have to do to make it a lot better. I think we’re going to keep updating the concept with the retro, by bringing in some more artwork and things like that.” The sale comes as Jacob’s estate prepares to sell the Can- nery Pier to Vancouver, Wash- ington-based Vesta Hospital- ity. The Holiday Inn Express & Suites a few blocks west recently sold from local owners David and Linda Weber to Ida- ho-based Braintree Hospitality for more than $17 million. Several other hotels have been proposed in Astoria, including two Marriott-branded properties by developer Mark Hollander and a boutique lodg- ing next to Buoy Beer Co. by the developers behind Adrift Hotel in Long Beach. See Brownhill, Page A6
