A2
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2019
ROOM WITH A VIEW
IN BRIEF
Astoria man faces
attempted abuse charges
An Astoria man is facing criminal
charges related to attempted child sex
abuse.
Nicholas Allen Tucker, 33, was
Nicholas
arraigned Wednesday and charged with
four counts of attempting to use a child Allen Tucker
in display of sexually explicit conduct,
online sexual corruption of a child in the fi rst degree, lur-
ing a minor, solicitation of incest and solicitation of sex-
ual abuse in the third degree.
Tucker was arrested Friday outside of the Clatsop
County Courthouse.
States approve one-day
sturgeon season above Wauna
Vickie Johnson
Recreational fi shermen will be able to catch and retain
white sturgeon on the Columbia River on Saturday.
The one-day fi shery will take place from the Wauna
power lines upstream to the fi shing deadlines at Bonne-
ville Dam.The bag limit is one legal-sized white stur-
geon for the day and up to two for the year.
A legal-sized sturgeon is defi ned as measuring 44 to
50 inches from the tip of the nose to the fork in the tail
fi n with the fi sh laying on its side on a fl at surface and the
ruler positioned fl at under the fi sh.
— The Astorian
Vickie Johnson, of Bend, shared this view from her room on Tuesday at the Astoria Riverwalk Inn.
Flavored vaping ban
could start this week
The Liberty Theatre is
on its way toward reaching
a capital campaign goal of
$3.3 million, thanks largely
to the $1 million the state
Legislature dedicated this
summer.
The theater has now
raised about $1.3 million,
bringing the campaign to
40% of its overall goal,
according to a report pre-
sented at the theater Tuesday
evening.
“We’re far from fi n-
ished,” Michael Wilson, a
senior associate from the
consulting fi rm Westby
Associates, said, “but we’ve
had a lot of good news.”
The funding will go
toward renovating both the
exterior and interior of the
theater. Adding dressing
rooms, replacing the cur-
tain and optimizing the con-
cession and box offi ce areas
are just a handful of the
improvements the theater’s
board has planned .
“The whole intent of the
program that we’re doing
The two Oregon agencies charged with setting up
rules to ban fl avored vaping products said they’ll be
ready by the end of the week.
Oregon Liquor Control Commission spokesman
Mark Pettinger said his agency hopes to schedule an
emergency meeting for the end of the week so staff can
outline plans to implement Gov. Kate Brown’s executive
order banning the vaping products.
“If the commission approves a ban, because of the
emergency temporary rule, it goes into effect immedi-
ately. So, our compliance staff is preparing to make com-
pliance checks at retailers that weekend,” Pettinger said.
Last week, Brown used executive power to declare
a six-month ban on fl avored products as a response to
mysterious vaping illnesses that have left more than
1,000 sick across the country and two dead in Oregon.
Inspectors will also be trying to ensure retailers don’t
sell fl avored vapes off the books. Pettinger said busi-
nesses that sell to the black market could lose their
licenses and face criminal charges.
The commission regulates vaping products that con-
tain THC, while the Oregon Health Authority is respon-
sible for how the fl avored vape ban affects products con-
taining nicotine.
Jonathan Modie, a health authority spokesman, said
its ban should also be ready by the end of the week.
— Oregon Public Broadcasting
DEATH
Oct. 4, 2019
MATHRE, Steven Ray, 72, of Boring, formerly of
Astoria, died in Gresham. Gresham Memorial Chapel
is in charge of the arrangements.
Liberty Theatre moves closer to fundraising goal
Target is $3.3M
By LUCY KLEINER
The Astorian
Saturday, Oct. 12
CHILSON, Betty Lucille — Celebration of life
at 1 p.m., Clatsop Post 12 American Legion, 1132
Exchange St.
ON THE RECORD
Assault
• Tito Christopher Wil-
liams, 40, was arrested Sat-
urday at the Port of Asto-
ria’s Pier 2 for assault in the
fourth degree. Police said
Williams punched the vic-
tim in the face. The victim
refused medical treatment
and went back to work.
After being released from
jail on Saturday, police
said Williams destroyed
the victim’s vehicle in the
Columbia River Maritime
Museum parking lot and
made threats to the victim.
Williams was arrested for
criminal mischief in the
fi rst degree, menacing and
disorderly conduct in the
second degree.
DUII
• Taylor Ray Whitney,
43, was arrested Tues-
day in Astoria for driv-
ing under the infl uence of
intoxicants.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
THURSDAY
Warrenton City Commis-
sion, 3:30 p.m., special
meeting, City Hall, 225 S.
Main Ave.
Clatsop County, Astoria,
Warrenton, Gearhart,
Seaside, Cannon Beach
joint work session, 5 p.m.,
Judge Guy Boyington
Established July 1, 1873
(USPS 035-000)
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now,” Ted Osborn, the
board’s vice president , said,
“is to convert it into a theater
that can do dance, music,
theatrical
performances,
with the best.”
Currently, the facili-
ties limit the type of perfor-
mances the Liberty is able to
host, Wilson said. The board
is hopeful that enhancing
and expanding those facil-
ities will make it possible
for larger and more intricate
shows .
Jennifer Crockett, the
theater’s executive director,
has already discussed the
renovation plans with tech-
nical directors from Port-
land Opera, Oregon Bal-
let Theatre and BodyVox,
who are excited the Liberty
will be able to support their
full-sized crews after the
renovation .
She also connected with
Broadway booking agents
from shows like “Rent ,”
“Hairspray” and “Fiddler on
the Roof,” who expressed
interest in performing at the
Ballot measures could open new front in greenhouse gas war
By DIRK VANDERHART
Oregon Public Broadcasting
MEMORIAL
Colin Murphey/The Astorian
Dancers perform a ballet for a packed house of young students
at the Liberty Theatre.
Liberty .
“Those are shows that
are touring in 2020 that, if
everything goes well and
we’re renovated, we could
have, ” Crockett said.
Offering the stage to
larger performances will
not only stimulate the local
economy, but will also
enable the theater to support
more community groups.
“Just because we will be
doing bigger shows doesn’t
mean that we want to lose
the community shows,”
Crockett said. “In fact, it
makes us more fl exible with
what we can offer commu-
nity organizations.”
Before the Liberty can
book Broadway shows,
however, more funding must
be secured. The campaign is
now looking to raise money
at the upcoming Liberty
Gala event in November.
After that, they’ll focus on
updating the Murdock Trust
grant proposal for another
$350,000 early next year.
“It’s exciting,” Mayor
Bruce Jones said after hear-
ing the report. “There’s such
a huge potential … it will be
a real jewel in the crown of
Astoria.”
If lawmakers once again
fail to pass a law regulating
Oregon’s greenhouse gas
emissions next year, voters
could be called on to do it for
them.
Three initiative petitions
fi led with the Oregon Sec-
retary of State’s Offi ce on
Monday would require the
state to phase out electric-
ity sources that contribute to
global warming, and transi-
tion to a carbon-free econ-
omy by 2050.
If they proceed to the
November 2020 ballot, the
measures are likely to usher
in a bruising ballot fi ght. But
the clean energy coalition
Renew Oregon, one of the
organizations spearheading
the efforts, doesn’t necessar-
ily want it to come to that.
Instead, Renew Oregon
is hoping the measures add
urgency to the legislative ses-
sion that convenes in Febru-
ary, where Democratic lead-
ers have vowed once again to
take up a bill that would cap
greenhouse emissions in the
state, and charge large pollut-
ers for their emissions.
“Our priority will con-
tinue to be the cap-and-in-
vest bill,” said Brad Reed, a
spokesman for Renew Ore-
gon. “We will put all of our
energy to that. But we cannot
afford for the state and for the
Enter to
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people to not have bold cli-
mate action next year.”
The carbon cap bill has
been in the works for more
than a decade, and was front
and center earlier this year,
when the Legislature tussled
over House Bill 2020. The
proposal wound up fl am-
ing out spectacularly, amid
a walkout by Senate Repub-
licans and disunity in the
Democratic ranks.
Gov. Kate Brown and leg-
islative leaders have vowed
to keep trying to pass a sim-
ilar proposal. If that doesn’t
work, Brown has threatened
to use an executive order
to regulate greenhouse gas
emissions.
The three potential bal-
lot measures open up another
front in the battle, asking vot-
ers to enact strict timetables
for reducing overall emis-
sions and to require power
companies to use only car-
bon-free sources of power.
The petitions were fi led by a
coalition calling itself 100%
Ready For Clean Air, which
includes Renew Oregon, the
Oregon League of Conser-
vation Voters, Climate Solu-
tions, the Oregon Environ-
mental Council and other
groups.
Oregon has had targets
for reducing its greenhouse
gas emissions since 2007, but
has had diffi culty complying.
The state is not expected to
meet its 2020 goal of reduc-
ing emissions to 10% below
1990 levels. While Ore-
gon’s emissions decreased
from 2000 to 2014, they have
since risen, largely driven
by increased use of cars and
trucks.
One ballot measure the
100% Ready For Clean Air
coalition is pushing would
set ambitious goals. Under
the plan, the state would be
required under law to reduce
emissions to 50% below 1990
levels by 2035, and to elimi-
nate emissions entirely by
2050. Those goals would be
tied to emissions from “fossil
fuel and industrial sources,”
wording that captures pollu-
tion from power plants, man-
ufacturers and automobiles.
The proposal includes no
specifi cs as to how the state
would reduce those emis-
sions — a fact that is likely
to be highlighted by oppo-
nents if a ballot fi ght does
emerge. Instead, it tasks the
state’s Environmental Qual-
ity Commission with adopt-
ing rules to “ensure compli-
ance.” Rulemaking authority
would allow the commission
to levy fi nes, set rules for
sources of emissions and cre-
ate market-based regulatory
mechanisms, among other
things. Those rules would
be enforced by the Oregon
Department of Environmen-
tal Quality.
While there’s not cur-
rently any teeth in the state’s
emissions reductions tar-
gets, Reed noted the mea-
sure would require the DEQ
to enforce any new laws. The
state’s failure to do so could
lead to legal action, he said.
The second ballot con-
cept would ensure Oregon
follows a growing move-
ment among states to transi-
tion to 100% carbon-free and
renewable energy sources
by 2045. In 2015, Hawaii
became the fi rst state to set
a goal to transition entirely
to clean energy. At least six
states have since followed
suit, including California and
Washington.
The coalition fi led two
proposals that include the
essential requirement that
Oregon transition to car-
bon-free electricity within
25 years. Both proposals
also require power com-
panies to specifi cally con-
sider geographic areas that
include high concentrations
of low-income households,
high unemployment, high
rent burdens and other fac-
tors when implementing the
policy.
However, one of the pro-
posals goes further, creating
an expectation that power
companies will invest in proj-
ects that reduce emissions in
their communities — electric
vehicle charging stations, for
instance. In exchange, utili-
ties would get to set rates that
refl ect those investments.
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