Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 2020)
A7 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2020 Facebook cable plan hits resistance on coast Tierra del Mar takes on tech titan By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press TIERRA DEL MAR — A battle playing out in Oregon is pitting residents of a tiny coastal town with no stop- lights or cellphone service against one of the world’s biggest tech companies. Locals in Tierra del Mar are trying to stop Facebook from using property in their quiet community to build a landing spot for an undersea cable connecting America with Asia. Representatives of the social media giant say Tierra del Mar is one of the few places on the West Coast suitable for the ultra- high-speed cable. It will link multiple U.S. locations, including Facebook’s huge data center in Prineville, with Japan and the Philip- pines, and will help meet an increasing demand for inter- net services worldwide, the company says. But locals say vibra- tions from drilling to bring the submarine cable ashore in this village of some 200 houses might damage home foundations and septic sys- tems. They also point out that Tierra del Mar, arrayed along a pristine beach, is zoned residential. If the project is allowed, they say, more commercial ventures will come calling. “This is a huge prece- dent. Once you open the shores to these companies coming anywhere they want to, Oregon’s coast is pretty much wide open season,” resident Patricia Rogers told county offi cials in written remarks. The Tillamook County Board of Commission- ers voted 2-1 in favor of the project after hearing testimony. “Once it is done, it is my hope that the community is not going to even know it is there,” Commissioner David Yamamoto said. He noted the project is similar to other uses, like electri- cal facilities, that have been permitted. Residents plan to appeal to a state board. Tierra del Mar is home to a mix of professionals and retirees who share a love of the unspoiled beach that is fringed with coastal pines and the deer, bald eagles and rare seabirds that inhabit the area. It has two businesses, a rock shop and antiques store, and no cell service, apparently because provid- ers don’t consider it profi t- able enough. In recent years, locals fi ercely opposed a plan by investors to turn a for- mer farm just to the north into a high-end golf course. The site ultimately opened instead as a state nature area. Beachfront property Residents’ attention turned to Facebook in 2018 when a subsidiary bought the empty lot for the cable landing from former NFL Andrew Selsky/AP Photo The oceanfront lot bought by Facebook for the site of its proposed landing spot for a submarine fi ber-optic cable that would connect America with Asia is seen in Tierra del Mar. and University of Ore- gon quarterback Joey Har- rington. County records show Edge Cable Holdings, USA, paid him $495,000 for the beachfront property, about the size of 10 tennis courts. Locals worry the project will pave the way for cell towers, power junctions and additional cable sites. Rogers, who owns a house adjacent to the Face- book lot, stood on the beach in stormy weather Wednes- day as waves charged the shore. A sign apparently toppled by the high tide said “Keep Facebook off our beach.” She pointed to two other empty lots nearby. “If Facebook gets (approval), well, two com- panies will get those, and we’ll have three of these drilling projects within a half a mile of each other,” Rogers said. Others feel the tech titan is trying to steamroller resi- dents’ wishes. “I am extremely angry about and opposed to the cavalier attitude that an amoral multinational, mul- tibillion dollar corporation has taken to this tiny resi- dentially zoned portion of Tillamook County,” resident Carol J. Griffi th said in writ- ten comments. Facebook representatives told county offi cials the hor- izontal directional drilling will last about a month, and all that will remain is a man- hole cover. They said they carefully chose the Tierra del Mar site, avoiding areas where fi shermen trawl and keeping to places that allow SEVENDAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY burial of the cable so nets won’t snag on it. They also had to skirt undersea can- yons and federally protected fi sh habitat. The company declined to provide other details about the project but told The Associated Press in a statement: “With more peo- ple using the internet, exist- ing internet infrastructure is struggling to handle all the traffi c. These new cable projects help people connect more effi ciently.” Internet use by the world’s population has reached 4.1 billion people, or 54% of the global pop- ulation, up from 1.6 billion people in 2008, according to the International Telecom- munication Union, a United Nations agency. Almost all of that mes- saging and internet brows- ing goes through fi ber-optic cables, not satellites in the heavens, said Kristian Niel- sen, vice president of Sub- marine Telecoms Forum, a Virginia-based trade magazine. When data, including phone calls, goes intercon- tinental, say between North America, Europe and Asia, undersea fi ber-optic cables are used 99% of the time, Nielsen said in a telephone interview. “The reality is that the cloud is actually under the ocean,” said Nicole Starosi- elski, associate professor of media, culture and commu- nication at New York Uni- versity. “Files in the cloud are typically housed in a data center. But it doesn’t become a cloud unless there are cables.” TUESDAY WEDNESDAY Landing points Undersea cables have around 800 landing points around the world, accord- ing to Submarine Telecoms Forum. Nielsen said opposi- tion to them is rare. The one Facebook wants to put in Tierra del Mar splits off in the Pacifi c Ocean from the Jupiter cable that Facebook, Ama- zon and telecommuni- cations companies from Japan, the Philippines and Hong Kong are invested in. The main trunk would land in Hermosa Beach, Califor- nia, with the Oregon branch solely owned by Facebook. Under the ground, the fi ber-optic cable would con- nect with another one run- ning down the coast 4 miles to a cable landing site in a bigger coastal town, Pacifi c SMILE Better • LOOK Better • SLEEP Better Functional Orthodontics that allows foundational changes for enhanced facial esthetics, straight teeth, airway and stable TMJ Daytime-Nighttime appliance or DNA dramatically improves your ability to breath The Appliance Changes Lives Before After Adolescent DNA KLEMP FAMILY DENTISTRY Dr. Dennis Klemp, DMD, FAGD 1006 West Marine Dr., Astoria • (503) 468-0116 klempfamilydentistry.com THURSDAY FRIDAY REGIONAL FORECAST Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. Seattle 48 42 A couple of showers 47 36 41 29 30 27 30 27 29 29 Very cold with Very cold with Rain and snow Snow showers Windy with rain snow snow showers 38 37 A chance for snow Aberdeen Olympia 46/41 46/39 Wenatchee Tacoma Moses Lake UNDER THE SKY TODAY'S TIDES Astoria through Thursday Tonight’s Sky: January full moon (11:21 a.m.) is known as the Wolf Moon or Old Moon. Astoria / Port Docks Temperatures High/low ................................ 45/31 Normal high/low .................. 49/38 Record high .................. 60 in 1941 Record low .................... 15 in 1974 Precipitation Thursday ................................. 0.18” Month to date ........................ 5.48” Normal month to date ......... 3.14” Year to date ............................ 5.48” Normal year to date ............. 3.14” Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020 Time High (ft.) Time Low (ft.) 2:03 a.m. 1:00 p.m. 7.7 7:25 a.m. 3.4 9.7 8:19 p.m. -1.1 Cape Disappointment 1:36 a.m. 7.7 6:27 a.m. 3.7 12:38 p.m. 9.7 7:21 p.m. -1.4 Source: Jim Todd, OMSI Hammond SUN AND MOON Sunrise today .................. 7:56 a.m. Sunset tonight ............... 4:51 p.m. Moonrise today ............. 6:05 p.m. Moonset today ............... 8:52 a.m. Full Last New First 1:49 a.m. 7.8 6:50 a.m. 3.4 12:48 p.m. 9.9 7:41 p.m. -1.5 Warrenton 1:58 a.m. 8.1 7:09 a.m. 3.5 12:55 p.m. 10.0 8:03 p.m. -1.0 Knappa 2:40 a.m. 1:37 p.m. Depoe Bay Jan 10 Jan 17 Jan 24 Feb 1 7.9 8:26 a.m. 3.0 9.9 9:20 p.m. -1.0 12:51 a.m. 7.7 5:56 a.m. 3.7 11:49 a.m. 9.9 6:52 p.m. -1.7 City Atlanta Boston Chicago Dallas Denver Honolulu Houston Los Angeles Miami New York City Phoenix San Francisco Wash., DC Sun. Hi/Lo/W 71/49/t 63/55/c 34/18/i 45/33/pc 44/23/pc 80/72/r 59/37/pc 64/44/s 83/75/pc 64/58/c 62/38/s 57/44/pc 68/61/c 67/55/pc 65/41/r 28/19/pc 61/40/pc 43/22/pc 82/73/c 64/47/pc 65/44/s 83/74/pc 68/44/r 63/41/s 55/47/pc 71/47/r Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice. 37/30 Kennewick Walla Walla 45/36 Lewiston 47/39 44/33 Hermiston The Dalles 49/40 Enterprise Pendleton 37/26 45/37 48/38 La Grande 39/30 48/42 NATIONAL CITIES Today Hi/Lo/W Pullman 45/28 45/41 Salem 37/28 Yakima 42/34 Longview 48/42 Portland 48/42 Spokane 39/26 45/38 45/38 Astoria ALMANAC City, where four cables are already in place. Facebook says that site cannot fi t a fi fth cable and cited a risk of crossing cables. But residents are dubious. “I don’t know why they chose this place when the could have taken the cable down to Pacifi c City,” said Lee King, owner of the Pier Avenue Rock Shop. Corvallis 48/40 Albany 46/41 John Day Eugene Bend 48/41 40/30 39/30 Ontario 47/31 Caldwell Burns 39/27 46/33 Medford 44/35 Klamath Falls 38/26 City Baker City Brookings Ilwaco Newberg Newport Today Hi/Lo/W 38/26/sn 48/40/r 48/43/sh 46/41/sh 48/42/sh Sun. Hi/Lo/W 39/24/sn 49/41/sh 46/37/r 47/36/r 48/38/r City North Bend Roseburg Seaside Springfi eld Vancouver Today Hi/Lo/W 50/43/sh 46/41/sh 48/43/sh 47/41/sh 46/41/sh Sun. Hi/Lo/W 50/41/r 48/39/r 46/36/r 47/37/r 47/35/r
