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
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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.
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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.”
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