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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 2020)
A2 THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2020 MARCH TO WIN IN BRIEF Kelso man dies after getting stuck in the snow near Nicolai Mainline A Kelso, Washington, man died of hypothermia after getting stuck in the snow while riding his side-by-side in the Nicolai Mainline area east of Astoria. Wayne Bittner called the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Offi ce on Friday night to report that he was stuck in the snow, authorities said. Due to poor cellphone coverage, communication was brief and deputies were unable to get his name, location or vehicle description. Deputies searched the area, but were unable to locate Bittner. After continuing to search Saturday morning, dep- uties found Bittner’s side-by-side off an off-road vehi- cle riding trail on Nicolai Mainline. Shortly after, they located Bittner’s body. Deputies said snow in the area was up to 18 inches deep, which made the driving and searching conditions treacherous. “This is a very sad and unfortunate outcome,” the sheriff’s offi ce said in a statement. “The sheriff’s offi ce would like to remind anyone going to play in the snow to make sure they are dressed for the weather and have emergency supplies with them. “Also let a family member or loved one know where you will be going and if possible take someone with you.” Man briefl y escapes from prison work crew in Salem A man who drove his truck into the Columbia River in Astoria in 2018 walked away from a prison work crew in Salem on Friday afternoon but was captured within a few hours. The crew was working near Pringle Park in Salem when staff noticed Timofey Erofeeff was missing around 12:15 p.m. Authorities said he was arrested at about 2:30 p.m. in Salem. Erofeeff, 29, was taken into custody in 2018 on two counts of burglary in the fi rst degree out of Clackamas County, one count of attempted burglary in the fi rst degree and one count of eluding police out of Clatsop County. His earliest release date from the Mill Creek Correc- tional Facility in Salem is January 2, 2021. Peterson sworn in as judge Beau Peterson was sworn in Friday afternoon as a Clatsop County Circuit Court judge. Gov. Kate Brown appointed Peterson, a senior dep- uty district attorney, in December to replace Paula Brownhill, who retired after 25 years on the bench. — The Astorian DEATH Jan. 17, 2020 In HORTON, Brief Lynn Alice, 79, of Astoria, died in Port- land. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. MEMORIAL Saturday, Jan. 25 McCARTHY, William H. “Bill” — Funeral Mass at 1 p.m., Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church, 120 Ocean Way in Seaside. ON THE RECORD DUII • William Strozier, 41, of Seaside, was arrested Saturday on Second Ave- nue and N. Roosevelt Drive in Seaside for driv- ing under the infl uence of intoxicants and driving without a license. • Christopher Peter- son, 34, of St. Helens, was arrested Sunday on S. Roosevelt Drive and Ave- nue A in Seaside for DUII. PUBLIC MEETINGS TUESDAY Union Health District of Clatsop County Board, 8 a.m., Providence Seaside Hospital, Education Center, Room B, 725 S. Wahanna Road, Seaside. Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District Board of Directors, 5:15 p.m., Bob Chisholm Community Center, 1225 Avenue A, Seaside. Astoria City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. Shoreline Sanitary District Board, 7 p.m., Gearhart Hertig Station, 33496 West Lake Lane, Warrenton. Seaside School District Board of Directors, 7 p.m., 1801 S. Franklin. Seaside Planning Commission, 7 p.m., work session, 989 Broadway. WEDNESDAY Astoria Parks Board, 6:45 a.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, 6 p.m., Judge Guy Boyington Building, 857 Commercial, Astoria. THURSDAY Sunset Empire Transportation District Board, 9 a.m., Astoria Transit Center Conference Room, 900 Marine Drive. Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce Council, noon, 818 Commercial Street, Suite 203, Astoria. Astoria City Council, 1 p.m., work session, City Hall, 1095 Duane St. 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. 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 Indivisible North Coast Oregon Indivisible North Coast Oregon organized the March to Win in Astoria on Saturday afternoon. The event was part of women’s marches across the country. Democrats make climate bill a priority Senate Republicans could walk out By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown and the state House speaker, both Democrats, said Friday that passing leg- islation aimed at stemming global warming is their prior- ity when lawmakers return to the Capitol next month. But Rep. Christine Dra- zan, the leader of the minority Republicans in the House, said she opposes the so-called cap-and-trade bill that was unveiled last week. The 35-day session of the 2020 Legislature begins on Feb. 3. “The only thing that cap and trade guarantees is that prices for individual Orego- nians will go up, their daily cost of living is going to go up under this proposal,” Dra- zan said. Their comments at an Associated Press forum in the Capitol on Friday foreshad- owed a fi ght over the same issue that in the 2019 legisla- tive session triggered a walk- out by Republican senators. The new bill largely authored by Senate Dem- ocrats includes changes designed to assuage critics in the manufacturing and util- ity sectors, and create fewer impacts for rural Oregon, but maintains a commitment to reduce greenhouse gases by certain percentages below 1990 levels. The new bill splits the state into three geographic zones that would be phased in separately for rules that would likely increase gas and diesel prices, with Portland being affected fi rst, then other large urban areas, and fi nally rural regions. That approach is designed to address con- cerns that last year’s failed measure would have dispro- portionately affected rural communities where distances between homes and towns are great, with residents hav- ing little option but to drive. But Drazan said it was an insuffi cient fi x. “The people who cannot Andrew Selsky/AP Photo Gov. Kate Brown speaks to journalists on Friday in Salem. ‘THE ONLY THING THAT CAP AND TRADE GUARANTEES IS THAT PRICES FOR INDIVIDUAL OREGONIANS WILL GO UP, THEIR DAILY COST OF LIVING IS GOING TO GO UP UNDER THIS PROPOSAL.’ Rep. Christine Drazan | leader of the minority Republicans in the House afford it in Portland are no different than the people who could not have afforded it in rural Oregon,” she said. Drazan, who will be lead- ing Republicans in the House for the fi rst time this session, said she did not want to see a repeat of the GOP boycott last year that deprived Dem- ocrats of achieving a quorum in the Senate, but added: “I think all options have to be on the table.” Still, Brown said she was “cautiously optimistic” something could pass despite Republicans saying there could be another walkout by the GOP to thwart the effort. “From the impact on our seafood, to our forests, to the snow in our mountains, it’s critically important that we move forward on a climate change bill,” Brown said, adding that the bill must not exacerbate economic imbal- ances in rural and minority communities. Lawmakers should also address fi ghting wildfi res, which have grown more intense with climate change and federal mismanagement, Brown said. “ The way we have been fi ghting fi re no longer suits the fi res we’ve been seeing. ‘’ She said she will ask the Legislature to make $150 million to $200 million in investments now that will reduce impact of devastat- ing wildfi res, for example by forest thinning and controlled burning. “We have an opportunity to get boots on the ground and put Oregonians in rural Oregon to work,” she said. Sen. Ginny Burdick, the Senate majority leader, was the only senate leader to appear before the report- ers, with Senate President Peter Courtney out with a hip injury and Sen. Herman Baertschiger, Jr., the Sen- ate minority leader, saying through a spokeswoman that he canceled so he could drive to his home district amid winter storms. Burdick, who revealed that she is sponsoring a gun control bill, said it would be counterproductive for Republicans to stage a walk- out again this year. “The Republicans say they don’t like one party rule,” she said. “Well, if they don’t show up, you really do have one party, and that’s not healthy.” Burdick said her bill would allow local govern- ments to have completely gun free zones if they choose. “In many school districts that you talk to, people who have experience with par- ents coming to their parent teacher conferences, packing heat, they don’t like that. And they would like their schools to be gun free. The bill would it would simply give local governments the option,” Burdick said. Brown said Friday that her party, which controls the Legislature, had addressed the GOP’s two main con- cerns about last year’s cli- mate legislation: that rural Oregonians would have to pay more for gas and wor- ries about the impact on rural manufacturers. Like its predecessor, the draft 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. Washington Supreme Court OKs lesser version of carbon cap By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington Supreme Court has reinstated a severely limited version of Gov. Jay Inslee’s plan to cap carbon pollution in the state, a deci- sion the Democrat described as a “clarion call” that law- makers must act on climate change. In a 5-4 ruling Thursday, the court said the Clean Air Rule cannot apply to com- panies that sell or distrib- ute petroleum or natural gas because they don’t make their own emissions — other people burn the fuel they provide. The Department of Ecology only has the author- ity to regulate “actual emit- ters,” the court said. While environmen- tal groups said it is a good step to require refi neries, power plants, factories and other big polluters to cut their emissions, cars remain the biggest source of green- house gas pollution. About three-quarters of the emis- sions that would have been covered by the rule came indirectly from petroleum and natural gas importers and sellers. That means the court’s decision left the state with a much-diminished rule. “This ruling will sig- nifi cantly affect our ability to reduce emissions,” Ins- lee told a news conference in Olympia. “This decision has made it even more abun- dantly clear that we need to take action in the Legisla- ture. The reason is it has dis- abled one tool that has been used in our toolbox.” A Thurston County Supe- rior Court judge struck down the rule after it was chal- lenged by industry groups. The four justices in the minority would have rein- stated it entirety. “The issue is not whether man-made climate change is real — it is,” Justice Debra Stephens wrote for the majority. “Nor is the issue whether dramatic steps are needed to curb the worst effects of climate change — they are. Instead, this case asks whether the Washing- ton Clean Air Act grants Ecology the broad author- ity to establish and enforce greenhouse gas emission standards for businesses and utilities that do not directly emit greenhouse gases, but whose products ultimately do.” Ecology has no such authority, Stephens wrote. After the Legisla- ture failed to adopt a cap- and-trade program, Inslee directed Ecology in 2015 to use authority under the 1967 Clean Air Act to limit car- bon emissions from Wash- ington’s largest sources. He called climate change a threat to the state and said the new regulations would help Washington meet its requirements to reduce car- bon emissions. Inslee has long touted environmental issues and made climate change the core issue of his fl eeting presidential campaign last year. He said his offi ce is reviewing the opinion and that it wasn’t clear if he would ask lawmakers to expand Ecology’s authority to allow it to regulate “indi- rect emitters” or what his next step would be.
