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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 10, 2019)
A3 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 2019 Challenge: Critics have suggested Judge rules for Oregon in the shadowy campaigns could be sanctuary state case with Trump backed by industry competitors By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press Continued from Page A1 Striking similarities Responsible Growth Asto- ria’s Facebook page, messag- ing and email address share striking similarities to two other groups that surfaced over the past few months to fi ght development projects. Responsible Growth Palmdale opposes a commer- cial and residential project with a Sprouts Farmers Mar- ket near the Antelope Valley Mall in Southern California. Responsible Growth Lake Stevens is against a Costco in the suburb east of Everett, Washington. One day after The Asto- rian reported on the simi- larities between the three groups last week, Respon- sible Growth Lake Stevens rebranded its Facebook page as Livable Lake Stevens. Anuta also represents Liv- able Lake Stevens. A man named Ken J., who said he manages the Face- book page for Responsible Growth Astoria, denied last week that the three groups are linked. The group did not respond to further request for comment . Responsible Growth Asto- ria has argued that a Grocery Outlet off Marine Drive near the Mill Pond neighborhood and the new Astoria Co+op would have negative impacts on traffi c, commute times, pollution and property values. Main & Main Capital Group, a Texas-based devel- opment fi rm, hopes to build a 16,000-square-foot discount grocery store on a triangular lot between 21st Street and 23rd Street. A hearing on the project has been continued until September. The same developers won approval earlier this year for an 18,000-square-foot Gro- cery Outlet in Seaside. Anuta, on behalf of Pro- tect Pacifi c Northwest, had threatened to contest the project before the Land Use Board of Appeals. He later withdrew his appeal. Seaside Mayor Jay Barber tried to learn more about Pro- tect Pacifi c Northwest during a hearing in front of the City Council in January. Anuta would only say Protect Pacifi c Northwest included “people up and down the coast, both in Ore- gon and Washington that get involved in land use matters and are worried about sprawl or development that is going to create increased traffi c or increased impacts,” accord- ing to minutes of the meeting. Barber asked if some of the people lived in Seaside. Anuta replied that there were some members in the area, but he did not identify anyone. An interest in grocery store projects On its website, Protect Pacifi c Northwest describes itself as an advocate “for the protection and preser- vation of our precious nat- ural resources, waterways, open space, parks, forests and wildlife from urban sprawl and overdevelopment in the PNW .” There is a button people can click to “join the cause” and an e mail address to send messages. While there are references to a research team, no names, no phone num- bers, no board members and no employees are listed. A nonprofi t called Pro- tect Pacifi c Northwest is reg- istered with the state. The group’s authorized represen- tative is Andrew Grundman, a Sacramento, California, attorney who has acted as a business consultant for min- ing operations and as legal counsel for an alternative energy company. He has also served as the executive director of Pro- tect CEQA, which describes itself as “a statewide coali- tion of environmentalists, labor members, and con- cerned residents commit- ted to protecting the Califor- nia Environmental Quality Act, open space preservation, and promoting smart growth development.” Grundman said he was not aware of Protect Pacifi c Northwest, but said it was likely associated with Protect CEQA , which has taken a particular interest in creating obstacles for grocery store projects in California. Anuta said he could not speak to any connec- tion between Protect Pacifi c Northwest and Protect CEQA. There may be other components of the organi- zation beyond what he was involved with when he repre- sented Protect Pacifi c North- west in Seaside, he said. Last year, Protect CEQA fi led an unsuccessful legal challenge to a new Raley’s in Truckee, California. Earlier, Protect CEQA and a group called Sustainable Truckee partnered on research criti- cal of the potential impact of Raley’s, a Grocery Outlet and a third store on other grocers. In 2017, Grundman, rep- resenting a group called Sus- tainable Mammoth Lakes, tried to block a Grocery Outlet in Mammoth Lakes, California. Critics have suggested the shadowy campaigns in Cali- fornia and Oregon could be backed by competitors in the grocery industry. Art Chapman, the chair- man of JMA Ventures, the developer of the Raley’s proj- ect in Truckee, told The Asto- rian he believed Safeway may have been behind Pro- tect CEQA, though he was never able to prove it. Kurt Reinkens, of MWA Architecture and Engineer- ing, was the principal archi- tect for the Grocery Outlet project in Truckee and har- bored similar suspicions. “My perception is that they are a hidden hired gun,” he said. “We don’t know who they work for. I don’t think their interests are actually in protecting CEQA.” Safeway did not respond to a request for comment. Anuta said Safeway is not his client for Responsible Growth Astoria or Livable Lake Stevens . “I am not representing Safeway nor have I had any contact with Safeway,” he said. “They’re not a client of mine.” ‘Did he represent local citizens?’ “What I was looking for was: Did he represent local citizens?” Barber said of Anuta and Protect Pacifi c Northwest’s concerns about the Grocery Outlet in Sea- side. “But what I heard was that maybe, yes, but mostly this is a statewide effort mainly dealing with traffi c issues and that sort of thing.” If an appeal to the state had gone forward, the mayor thinks the city would have probed deeper and asked more questions about who was behind the nonprofi t. “I think it’s important to know who they are represent- ing and I’d rather talk to them than to their legal represen- tation,” Barber said. “They may have some very valid concerns, but then when an attorney comes before you and kind of threatens, ‘We’re going to go to LUBA,’ or, ‘We’re going to appeal that,’ I’d like to know why.” SALEM — A U.S. judge ruled that the Trump admin- istration cannot withhold millions of dollars in law enforcement grants from Oregon to force the nation’s fi rst sanctuary state to coop- erate with U.S. immigration enforcement. U.S. District Judge Michael J. McShane in Eugene said in his rul- ing late Wednesday that the Trump administra- tion lacks the authority to impose conditions on the grants that were provided by Congress. Gov. Kate Brown and Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum had sued Pres- ident Donald Trump in November to get a total of $4 million in grants from fi scal years 2017 and 2018 restored to the state, saying Oregon was “unlawfully deprived” of the money. Rosenblum welcomed the judge’s ruling. “We look forward to having these moneys we have relied upon con- tinue to be available for critical public safety pur- poses,” Rosenblum said in an email. A Veterans Treatment Court in Eugene and 40 other specialty courts, including mental health and civilian drug programs, risked losing all or part of their budgets if the money was withheld. The Trump administra- tion in 2017 threatened to withhold law enforcement grants from 29 cities, coun- ties or states it viewed as having sanctuary policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration agents. Other courts also have ruled against the adminis- tration. By March, all those jurisdictions had received or been cleared to get the money, except Oregon. “The U.S. government’s Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 decision to withhold pub- lic safety dollars on account of our status as a sanctu- ary state was just simply wrongheaded,” Rosenblum said. “I remain commit- ted to supporting our law enforcement offi cers’ abil- ity to protect and serve all residents of Oregon regard- less of where they were born or their immigration status.” McShane indicated the administration’s policy put Oregon into the diffi cult position of either adopting stricter immigration poli- cies, or “forgo critical law enforcement funds” and face federal sanctions. “Plaintiffs would, under any of these circumstances, risk public safety by erod- ing trust with immigrant communities or abandon- ing critical law enforce- ment initiatives funded by the Byrne JAG Program,” the judge wrote. The Byrne grants, named for a New York City police- man killed in 1988, are the leading source of federal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions, support- ing law enforcement, pros- ecution, indigent defense, courts, crime prevention and education. The U.S. Department of Justice declined to com- ment on the case. Oregon’s 1987 sanctu- ary state law, the nation’s fi rst, prevents law enforce- ment from detaining people who are in the U.S. illegally but have not broken any other law. Authorities in the state won’t hold in cus- tody those who committed crimes and have fi nished their sentences to be picked up by federal immigration agents, unless they have a warrant signed by a judge. The federal judge in Ore- gon ruled that the Trump administration’s attempt to put conditions on the grants violated the 10th Amend- ment, which says any power not expressly given to the federal government falls to the states or their people. Portland also received the grants every year until 2017, using the money to buy bulletproof vests and special-threat plates for offi cers, acquire tactical medical kits, install GPS systems in its cars and add two victim advocates to the Police Bureau’s sex crimes unit. The city had expected to receive some $780,000 for the 2017 and 2018 fi s- cal years. McShane ordered the federal government to give the grants for fi scal 2017 and 2018 that it with- held, with no conditions or penalties. Community OPEN HOUSE WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Colin Murphey/The Astorian People gathered at a rally in Astoria in 2018 to protest a measure that would have repealed Oregon’s sanctuary law. Please join Tongue Point Job Corps Center’s Students & Staff on Friday, August 16 between 9 A.M. and 4 P.M. Dining Out North Coast and Peninsula I putter around here all day just to be on time for the Happy Hour! Mon-Fri 4-6pm $1 off Draft Beers or a Well Drink Schedule of events includes: 9am-2pm: Demonstrations in the Career & Technical Training Classrooms and Shops (Trades) 3pm-4pm: National Commencement Day Tours of the A chance to campus, a dorm Celebration (come see win raffle and recreation our recent graduates items walk and receive their center accreditations) Drop in anytime between 9am and 2pm. Park at the large parking lot near the security gate and a shuttle bus will take you onto Center.* seasidegolfcourse@gmail.com for 22 $ For more information contact: *To maintain campus security, all guests and vehicles are subject to search. Ka trin a M o rrell Ga ss er Business and Community Liaison T on gu e Poin t Jo b Co rps C en ter Office 503-338-4924 │ Email: gasser.katrina@jobcorps.org For updated tour dates h t t p s :/ / w w w .j o in j o b co r p s . co m /t o n g u ep o in t / ECIAL! Y PIZ Z A DA Piz 2 zas SP ILIES FAM OME! C WEL 503.755.1818 www.camp18restaurant.com Favorite stop to & from the Coast TU ES Seaside 451 Ave U Golf Seaside Course 503-738-5261 1149 Commercial Street 503.325.9001 • fulios.com Hungry Harbor GrillE 3 8TH & L, ON THE S EAV IEW BEAC H APPROAC H 3 60-642-7880 3 13 Pa c ific Hw y, Do w n to w n Lo n g Be a c h, W A 3 60-642-5555 • w w w.hu n gryha rb o r.c o m THE DEPOT DEC K IS OPEN! –– COM E EN JOY OUR K ITE ROOM – 503.325.7414 bakedak.com #1 12th Street, Astoria, OR Watch for us in the Astoria Regatta parade!
