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147TH YEAR, NO. 53
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HALLOWEEN
ON THE NORTH COAST
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
The African Raven, the last log ship to come to Astoria, is
loaded with timber at Pier 1 before heading to China.
Astoria Forest
Products plans
to consolidate
amid slowdown
Harmed by
the trade war
with China
By EDWARD
STRATTON
The Astorian
Astoria Forest Prod-
ucts is scaling back at the
Port of Astoria as the log
exporter weathers a trade
war between the U.S. and
China that has dried up
overseas shipments.
The company has no
more ships scheduled after
the African Raven, which
left Astoria last week
loaded with about 6 million
board feet of timber des-
tined for Lanshan, China.
It recently sold a front-
end log loader to Hampton
Lumber and will vacate all
but a small suite of offi ces
in the Pier 1 building.
Photos by Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: ‘This is a good one!’ said Finley McLain, 3, after gently kicking a pumpkin at the Clatsop
County Fairgrounds on Saturday. McLain proceeded to run around kicking other pumpkins before picking the
best one to take home at the After Harvest Party. Corgis ‘Sarge,’ left, and ‘Sandy’ stroll around Seaside dressed
as a robber and Wonder Woman before the pet parade on Saturday. Hilary Stock, dressed as the Queen of Hearts
from ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ paints a pumpkin on 10-year-old Lily Malvaney’s cheek at the After Harvest Party at
the Clatsop County Fairgrounds.
See Slowdown, Page A6
Democrats renew push for cap and trade Scientist still
Lawmakers plan some revisions
sees hope in
climate fi ght
‘Delicate situation’
By SAM STITES
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — The next session of the Ore-
gon Legislature is expected to begin the way
the last one ended, with a dramatic clash
between Democrats and Republicans over
carbon emissions.
State Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland,
is reworking a proposal to create a cap-and-
trade program for consideration by legislators
when they convene in February.
And he’s aiming political pressure at Sen-
ate Republicans who walked out of the Legis-
lature this year in a move that helped kill con-
sideration of House Bill 2020. Dembrow was
one of the chief architects of that legislation,
which would have limited greenhouse gases,
created tax incentives for industry and gen-
erated millions for environmental programs.
In the four months since the session ended,
Dembrow and his colleagues have worked to
strengthen their proposal against Republican
rebuke.
He isn’t ready to share details and worries
that Republicans may repeat in February their
no-show approach to keep the Senate from
acting.
“Until we fi x the quorum requirement, it
may not be possible for us to address climate
action in the Legislature,” Dembrow said.
Legislators may feel pressured to act in
the face of three ballot measures being pro-
posed by environmental advocacy group
Renew Oregon. The group said it intended to
submit several thousand signatures as a step
toward putting before voters the elements of
the legislation. Such a tactic would sideline
opponents from a role in crafting Oregon’s
program.
As proposed earlier this year, the cap-
Claire Withycombe/Oregon Capital Bureau
Cap and trade could be revived in Salem.
and-trade program would restrict the amount
of carbon dioxide that businesses in certain
industries — such as transportation, energy
and fossil fuels — are allowed to emit. It
would require an 80% reduction in emissions
from 1990 levels by 2050.
Under the law, business would buy allow-
ances for every ton of greenhouse gas they
emit more than permitted. The state would
make fewer credits available over time with
the intention of requiring businesses to pol-
lute less.
Opponents argue the program would put
undue pressure on rural economies by caus-
ing higher fuel costs and lost jobs.
Dembrow is working on changes to the bill
that would provide more clarity and certainty
around investments and economic impacts “to
address the wild allegations and misinforma-
tion about cost impacts that were distributed
via social media,” he said.
One such piece of misinformation was the
claim that gas prices would rise to $5 a gal-
lon in the fi rst year of the program, Dembrow
said. Projections from state analysts show gas
rising by around 21 cents in the fi rst year of
the program and approximately $3 by 2050.
The idea behind the revisions — which
Democrats are holding close to the vest for
the time being — is to make more Oregonians
and businesses comfortable with how the pro-
gram would work and its potential benefi ts.
Dembrow said wants to clarify how the
program would actually work. He’s working
with “people on the ground” in rural districts
to help voters understand the harmful effects
of climate change. He’s hoping those open
to climate action policy will then convince
their neighbors and community that long-term
action is needed.
Social media campaigns targeting rural vot-
ers and even a short documentary explaining
how cap-and-trade policy works are expected
to be rolled out in the coming month, accord-
ing to Dembrow.
Dembrow wouldn’t go into more specifi c
detail about what industries and groups he’s
working with to perfect the proposal, calling it
a “delicate situation.”
He’s hopeful that getting information out
to voters of the districts of the 11 Republi-
cans who walked out in June would hold them
accountable to show up to work in February
and stay there.
But it seems unlikely that Dembrow and
his colleagues will fi nd a middle ground to
work with Republicans and keep them in the
Capitol if cap and trade is on the agenda again.
Sen. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, said there was
no change that could be made that could get
See Cap and trade, Page A5
Mote opened the 30th
Columbia Forum series
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Climatologist Phil Mote presented
10 myths about climate change Tuesday
night but ended his presentation with an
11th myth: There is no hope.
“I fi nd several reasons for hope,” the
director of the Oregon Climate Change
Research Institute at Oregon State Uni-
versity told the Columbia Forum.
Mote pointed to an increase in solar
panel installation, more people driv-
ing electric cars, wave energy testing
off the coast of Newport, geothermal
power plants and teenage activist Greta
Thunberg.
“The young people getting passionate
about this and pushing for change gives
me great hope,” he said.
Mote’s presentation at Baked Alaska
in Astoria opened the 30th season of the
Columbia Forum speaker series.
He addressed some of the most com-
mon myths about climate change, includ-
ing that the Northwest will see little effect
from global warming.
“We’re seeing all these fi res and they
are clearly linked empirically to the
warming climate,” Mote said. “It’s not
like fi res have never existed, but they are
bigger.”
He said rising temperatures cause snow
drought, which in the distant future will
affect fl ow levels in the Columbia River
to run counter to irrigation demands.
See Forum, Page A5