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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 14, 2020)
A2 THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2020 IN BRIEF Canadian pleads guilty to drug charge after arrest off the coast A Canadian man pleaded guilty in federal court in Portland on Monday to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. During a routine patrol in April, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Alert detected a vessel, named Mandalay, off the coast of Newport. When they made contact with John Philip Stirling, 65, the vessel’s sole occupant, he said he did not have vessel documentation and refused to show identifi ca- tion. According to court documents, Stirling’s speech began to deteriorate and he showed signs of a possible drug overdose. Coast Guard personnel administered medical aid and evacuated him by helicopter to Astoria. He was later taken by ambulance to a Portland hospital. The Coast Guard searched the Mandalay and found 28 seven-gallon jugs containing liquid methamphetamine. Stirling can face a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $10 million fi ne. Following the plea agreement, the government will recommend Stirling be sentenced to more than seven years in prison. As part of the plea agreement, Stirling agreed to forfeit the Mandalay. — The Astorian DEATHS Dirk VanderHart/Oregon Public Broadcasting Jan. 12, 2020 In NIEMI, Brief Patricia Elise, 82, of Warrenton, died in Seaside. Ocean View Funeral & Cremation Ser- vice of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. Jan. 9, 2020 RIUTTA, Jeanette M. “Sisty,” 82, of Asto- ria, died in Longview, Washington. Colum- bia Funeral Service of Longview is in charge of the arrangements. Dec. 16, 2019 WADDELL, Valerie Ann, 56, of Portland, for- merly of Astoria, died in Portland. Crown Memo- rial Center of Portland is in charge of the arrangements. MEMORIALS Saturday, Jan. 18 GILMORE, Emma Jean “Jeanie” — Memo- rial at 2 p.m., Seaside Kingdom Hall of Jeho- vah’s Witnesses, 2667 U.S. Highway 101 in Seaside. WOLFGRAM, Gor- don L. “Gordy” — Memorial at 1 p.m., First Lutheran Church, 725 33rd St., followed by a military honors ceremony and reception at the Asto- ria Golf & Country Club, 33445 Sunset Beach Road in Warrenton. ON THE RECORD Assault • Joseph Milton Gruhlkey, 32, of Asto- ria, was arrested Friday on 39th Street in Astoria for assault in the fourth degree. DUII • Walter Parra-Gon- zalez, 36, of Astoria, was arrested Sunday at Safeway in Astoria for driving under the infl u- ence of intoxicants. • Kim Christo- pher Jackson, 57, of Yakima, Washing- ton, was arrested Sat- urday at Hume Ave- nue and W. Bond Street in Astoria for DUII, hit and run with vehicle injury and hit and run with vehicle property. Police are looking for a second suspect who was no longer with the vehicle when offi cers arrived. The second sus- pect allegedly grabbed the victim and drug him for several feet, causing injury. Burglary • Norris Jones, 51, was arrested Sunday in Hammond for bur- glary in the fi rst degree, criminal trespass in the fi rst degree, crimi- nal mischief in the sec- ond degree, hit and run, reckless driving, reck- less endangerment and resisting arrest. Criminal trespass • Robert Antone Frier, 52, was arrested Sun- day on Seventh Street in Astoria for criminal trespass in the second degree. PUBLIC MEETINGS TUESDAY Clatsop County Planning Commission, 10 a.m., Judge Guy Boyington Building, 857 Commercial St., Astoria. Astoria Historic Land- marks Commission, 5:15 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. Warrenton City Commis- sion, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main Ave. Lewis & Clark Fire De- partment Board, 6 p.m., main fi re station, 34571 U.S. Highway 101 Business. WEDNESDAY Port of Astoria Finance Advisory Committee, noon, 10 Pier 1 Suite 209. Seaside Tourism Advisory Committee, 3 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Seaside Tree Board, 4 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Warrenton-Hammond School District, 7 p.m., Warrenton High School Library, 1700 S. Main Ave. THURSDAY Astoria City Council, 1 p.m., work session, City Hall, 1095 Duane St. Seaside Transportation Advisory Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broad- way. Hundreds of people protested in favor of cap-and-trade legislation at the Oregon Capitol last February. Revised climate change bill brings about new battle lines First hearing was Monday By DIRK VANDERHART Oregon Public Broadcasting SALEM — A climate change bill that promises to dominate this year’s Ore- gon legislative session got its fi rst public hearing Mon- day — with little sign that the political and cultural dis- agreements that scuttled a similar proposal last year have meaningfully changed in the last six months. The bill to implement a so-called cap-and-trade pro- gram took center stage in a three-hour meeting of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources C ommit- tee. Lawmakers are meeting for part of this week in regu- larly scheduled interim com- mittee hearings. K nown as Legislative Concept 19, the new cap- and-trade proposal includes many provisions that appeared in last year’s House Bill 2020. Its authors say it’s a fi rst draft that will be tweaked during the 35-day session that begins Feb. 3. Like HB 2020, the bill would force big greenhouse gas emitters to obtain credits for each ton of gas they emit, and create an overall cap for emissions allowed in the state. That cap would lower over time, in theory ensur- ing Oregon meets stringent conservation targets in 2035 and 2050. Entities required to obtain permits could trade them with one another. But the bill largely authored by Senate Demo- crats includes a number of changes designed to assuage critics in the manufacturing and utility sectors, and cre- ate fewer impacts for rural Oregon. Those tweaks are largely centered on how automotive fuel suppliers and big industrial players are treated. Rather than uniform state- wide regulation of automo- tive fuels, the new proposal splits the state into three geo- graphic zones that would be phased in separately. That approach, which Demo- crats have been telegraph- ing for months, is designed to address concerns that cap and trade would hike gas prices statewide, dispro- portionately affecting rural communities that have little option but to drive. The Portland metro area would see its fuels regulated fi rst, beginning in 2022. The rest of the state’s metropoli- tan planning organizations — areas like Eugene, Bend and Salem — would follow in 2025, along with cities that receive at least 10 mil- lion gallons of fuel a year. Backers of the proposal suggest these combined areas account for nearly 90% of Oregon’s auto fuel emis- sions. The remainder of the state would not see fuel sup- plies regulated until at least 19 counties decided to vol- untarily participate in the program. In theory, that means rural Oregon would not be forced to pay more for gas because of cap and trade — a central issue Republi- cans raised in opposing HB 2020. But there’s a trade-off for areas that wouldn’t see their fuel supply regu- lated: Money the state col- lects from selling credits for fuel emissions would largely fl ow back to the areas paying for emissions. Just 20% of that money would be eligible for transportation projects statewide. The rest would be put in the hands of local governments. Major tweak The other major tweak in LC 19 involves how the state calculates manufactur- ing emissions. Unlike last year’s bill, the new proposal doesn’t factor in a facili- ty’s natural gas use when determining its emissions. Instead, those emissions are credited — free of cost — to the supplier of natural gas. This move cuts the list of Celebration of Life Frances Marie Godwin Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503-325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103-0210 DailyAstorian.com Circulation phone number: 503-325-3211 Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR ADVERTISING OWNERSHIP All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by The Astorian become the property of The Astorian and may not be reproduced for any use without explicit prior approval. COPYRIGHT © Entire contents © Copyright, 2020 by The Astorian. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. Sept 10, 1932 - October 18, 2019 Please come and join Chuck Godwin and the Langa family and celebrate the life of our beloved Franny, who really was a friend to all. Printed on recycled paper Subscription rates Eff ective May 1, 2019 MAIL (IN COUNTY) EZpay (per month) ...............................................................................................................$11.25 13 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$37.00 26 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$71.00 52 weeks in advance ........................................................................................................ $135.00 Out of County Rates available at 800-781-3214 DIGITAL EZpay (per month) .................................................................................................................$8.00 Sat., Jan 18, 2020 12pm-4pm Seaside Am. Legion 1315 Broadway Ave. Seaside, Oregon In lieu of flowers we will be accepting donations for the Shriners Children’s Hospital manufacturing facilities that would be regulated under the law by more than half, theo- retically resulting in a corre- sponding reduction in oppo- sition to the proposal. Other changes designed to win over critics include: • Money from sales of emissions credits would be specifi cally targeted toward wildfi re prevention and sup- pression, a key concern of lawmakers from rural areas. • The cap-and- trade pro- gram would fall under the authority of the Department of Environmental Qual- ity, rather than a new entity. Lawmakers, including Dem- ocrats, expressed concern last year with the potential bureaucracy associated with cap and trade. LC 19 would still create a new offi ce and oversight board within DEQ, however. • An exemption in the bill is specifi cally aimed at Boeing, whose objections over an expected increase to electricity prices for its Gresham facility helped tor- pedo HB 2020. State Sen. Laurie Monnes Ander- son, D-Gresham, concluded she could not support the bill because of Boeing’s objections. There’s been an overall rebrand of the proposal. Last year’s proposal was known as the Clean Energy Jobs bill, and promised the creation of a Carbon Policy Offi ce to oversee the program. The latest iteration is called the “Oregon Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and would create an Offi ce of Greenhouse Gas Regulation. Backers of LC 19 have been adamant that these changes should create a path forward for their legisla- tion, arguing that the bill will still allow Oregon to meet its climate goals despite its concessions. “The goal was to get a bill that can pass this session,” said Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, who has played a leading role in pushing the climate bill. “That’s the priority.” Last week, Dembrow held interviews alongside Sen. Arnie Roblan, D-Coos Bay, who had also been a holdout during last year’s fi ght over HB 2020. Roblan said that new approach to automotive fuels and natural gas are key to his conclusion that the policy won’t hurt his coastal district.The support of Roblan and Monnes-An- derson would be meaningful. After all, a lack of support in the Democratic caucus was a chief reason Senate Presi- dent Peter Courtney gave for killing HB 2020. Monday’s hearing also suggested some players who’d voiced reservations about HB 2020 appreciated the more lenient treatment for manufacturers. ‘Off the hook’ But new allies could come at a cost. The same provi- sions that have Roblan sign- ing onto the bill have soured some of the biggest propo- nents of HB 2020. “What we saw in the LC that came out is a major overcorrection to accom- modate industry pushback,” said Meredith Connolly, the Oregon director for the group Climate Solutions. “What we’re hoping to see is a little more righting of the ship.” Connolly and Tera Hurst, executive director of the Renew Oregon coalition, said they will push to change both the geographic phase-in for fuel regulations and the new approach to manufac- turers’ natural gas emissions. Those provisions let key industries “off the hook,” they said, and may make Oregon’s system ineligi- ble to link up with cap-and- trade markets in California — a long-held goal for state lawmakers. “I think it’s just not fi n- ished,” Hurst said. “It’s not a fi nal product.” Doug Moore, the execu- tive director of the Oregon League of Conservation Vot- ers, is also looking askance at the latest iteration of the bill. “I don’t think the lat- est plan is something we can support,” he wrote in an email. “My hope is it gets better after the hearing.” Environmental groups were largely laudatory of the plan Monday, despite their insistence that lawmakers make changes. Meanwhile, some foes of HB 2020 showed up Mon- day to express concerns with the revamped option. Mark Gram, the chief operating offi cer of the Jubitz Corp. , testifi ed that the state would have diffi culty regu- lating fuel sales by zip code. That’s because the state law would regulate fuel import- ers, who might not closely track where all of their prod- uct winds up. “We think that there needs to be a substantial amount of time sitting down with the various parties,” Gram said. Dembrow, who chaired the hearing, replied: “We all are going to have to feel confi dent that this fuel can be tracked … in order to effectively implement this program.” WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500
