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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 12, 2019)
PIER PRESSURE PRODUCTIONS CELEBRATES GRAND OPENING Y T WEEKL AINMEN ENTERT ARTS & »INSIDE AY THURSD SEPT. 12 2019 ROBOT DRAMA URE PIER PRESS TIONS PRODUC RS IN USHE A FOR NEW ER EATER TH ASTORIA PAGE 10 G CLIMBIN IN MOUNTA SADDLE PAGE 18 NINSULA S AT PE L S, TUNE GROOVE BLUES FESTIVA PAGE 8 $ 250 CA$H DRAW INGS & 29 8, 15, 22 September m 1pm - 3pm Sundays, fro minutes Eve ry 30 D! IN TO KE LAN .COM SWBCASINO Y, SEPTEMB THURSDA ER 12, 2019 // 1 147TH YEAR, NO. 32 DailyAstorian.com // THuRsdAY, sEpTEmbER 12, 2019 $1.50 Verizon seeks more bandwidth in Astoria A move toward 5G capability By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian DEVELOPER, NEIGHBORS DIFFER ON VISION FOR MILL POND LOTS CITY puT THE pROpERTY up FOR sALE photos by Hailey Hoffman/The Astorian Art DeMuro, the original developer of Mill Pond, planned to add two piers on the south bank. By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian A t the south end of Mill Pond, developer Art DeMuro envisioned two piers, each with six small homes over the water and a common walkway running down the middle. DeMuro, who died in 2012, donated the pier lots to the city, which up until recently hadn’t received any bites. Now the Astoria City Coun- cil faces competing offers from a developer who says he wants to fin- ish DeMuro’s vision, and a group of neighbors who want to keep the piers undeveloped. The city has paid more than $64,000 in fees to the Mill Pond homeowners association, with $13,000 more budgeted for this fis- cal year. In 2018, the City Council voted to market the two pier lots for $45,000 each. After not getting any offers, the City Council in July gave City Man- ager Brett Estes the go-ahead to work with a group of about 10 neighbors who have offered $11,500 for the city to deplat and turn the lots into park- land. City staff estimated $15,000 to decommission utilities and remove water meters, among other changes. John Dulcich, an Astoria native and Seattle-based developer, said See Mill Pond, Page A6 Verizon wants to expand its data band- width in Astoria to meet growing demand and prepare for the rollout of fifth-gener- ation mobile communications. The cellular giant approached the City Council on Tuesday about forming a franchise agreement to install small-cell transmitters along utility poles and lines in areas of high cellphone data usage. The company has been expanding its use of small-cell transmitters, about 2 feet tall, on existing infrastructure. The new cellular network has come to some large metro areas but has not been announced in Oregon. Steven Coon, a small cell strategist for Verizon, said the company would want transmitters with 5G capabilities about every 500 feet in high data-traffic areas such as downtown, with fewer or 4G-only transmitters on the outskirts. “Data’s doubling every two years, and we’re just trying to keep ahead of it, so people have a robust cellular network,” he said. Data consumption is projected to grow fivefold by 2021, according to Verizon. More than half of American households are wireless-only, and the average house- hold has 13 connected devices. See Verizon, Page A6 Cannon Beach nears deal to buy school City looks at $400K purchase By R.J. MARX The Astorian Geese paddle around Mill Pond, where two piers with six homes each could be developed. CANNON BEACH — After years of expressing interest, committee meetings and council discussions, the city is close to a $400,000 deal to purchase the old Cannon Beach Elementary School from the Seaside School District. “We have a sales agreement drawn up by our legal counsel, and now it’s in the hands of the Cannon Beach city man- ager,” Sheila Roley, the school superin- tendent, said. City Manager Bruce St. Denis con- firmed the City Council and school board have authorized staff to enter negotia- tions to develop a contract for the pur- chase. “Right now the intent is to acquire the property,” he said. The Beaver Street property became vacant in 2013 after the school district closed the school because of tsunami fears. See Purchase, Page A6 White pelicans freed off of Tansy Point Wildlife center cared for birds By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Astorian The young, starving white pelicans all started to show up in the same week and vol- unteers with the Wildlife Center of the North Coast thought, “Oh, no.” They were worried they were about to see a repeat of what happened in 2014. That summer, the wildlife center received a crash course in juvenile white pelican care after campers flushed an estimated 100 chicks from nesting grounds on Miller Sands Spit, an island complex in the upper Colum- bia River estuary east of Astoria between Svensen and Knappa. They captured 30 chicks and later released 21. This year, the wildlife center has only ended up harboring 10 white pelicans, young birds that were likely startled off their nests and took to the river before they were old enough to fly or feed themselves. On Wednesday morning, volunteers released five on Chinook Indian Nation land at Tansy Point in Warrenton near Youngs Bay. Caring for white pelicans may be a rela- tively recent experience for the wildlife cen- ter, but the birds have become more and more common on the estuary over the past decade. Katie Frankowicz/The Astorian See Pelicans, Page A6 Volunteers with the Wildlife Center of the North Coast release five young white pelicans at Tansy Point in Warrenton on Wednesday morning.
