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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 2020)
A2 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 2020 Seaside aims to keep starfi sh lights bright IN BRIEF By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal Voters to decide on tax levy for county fairgrounds The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners voted Wednesday to ask voters to adjust a tax levy for the county fairgrounds. The current rate is 5 cents per $1,000 of assessed value and expires in 2021. Voters approved a renewal of the tax levy in 2016 at a reduction from 7 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. The vote in May would be whether to go back to 7 cents per $1,000 in 2021. The county says the increase will help respond to a rise in operating and building maintenance costs and provide the opportunity for more events and programs. New tobacco retail fee goes into effect in February A new tobacco retail license fee will go into effect Feb. 8. County commissioners approved an ordinance in January which gives the county the authority to license and inspect tobacco retailers to ensure they fol- low Tobacco 21, which outlawed the sale of tobacco products to people under 21 years old. The annual fee of $350 will cover the costs associ- ated with education and enforcement. County backs enterprise zone for Fort George Brewery The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners voted Wednesday to approve an enterprise zone agree- ment with Fort George. Fort George plans to invest about $12.5 million to redevelop the former Astoria Warehousing property and applied for a 15-year tax abatement on invest- ments to the property. The Astoria City Council and Port of Astoria Com- mission approved the brewery’s application earlier this month. County marks anniversary of big Cascadia earthquake The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners declared Sunday Cascadia Earthquake Awareness Day. The declaration is to encourage resilience plan- ning for a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake and tsunami. Sunday is the anniversary of the last massive earth- quake and tsunami along the zone in 1700. — The Astorian DEATHS Jan. 23, 2020 In NOWAK, Brief Delores E., 79, of Astoria, died in Astoria. Sky- line Memorial Gardens Funeral Home in Port- land is in charge of the arrangements. Jan. 21, 2020 FLUES, Donna Jean, 79, of Astoria, died in Astoria. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. Jan. 20, 2020 POWERS, James, 59, of Warrenton, died in Warrenton. Hughes-Ran- som Mortuary is in charge of the arrangements. Jan. 17, 2020 M O D U N - G R O W, Yvonne Darlene, 82, of Warrenton, died in Warrenton. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. RIEKKOLA, Robin Edith, 65, of Astoria, died in Astoria. Ocean View Funeral & Cre- mation service of Asto- ria is in charge of the arrangements. BIRTH Jan. 8, 2020 ALFARO-LURIEL, Rebecca and LURIEL, Jose, of Keizer, a girl, Luna Paige-Maria Luriel, born in Salem. Grandparents are Joni and Greg Alfaro, of Astoria, and Jose and Ana Luriel, of Stayton. PUBLIC MEETINGS MONDAY Jewell School Board, 6 p.m., Jewell School Library, 83874 state Highway 103. Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., 989 Broadway. TUESDAY Seaside Community Center Commission, 10 a.m., Bob Chisholm Community Center, 1225 Avenue A. Clatsop County Human Services Advisory Council, 4 to 5:30 p.m., Room 430, 800 Exchange St., Astoria. Astoria Library Board, 5:30 p.m., Flag Room, 450 10th St. Seaside Airport Advisory Committee, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Warrenton City Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main Ave. Astoria Planning Commission, 6:30 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. SEASIDE — Starfi sh need your help. No, not just the ones in the ocean. We’re talking about the sea star lighting along Broadway downtown . The popular lights, which have proved a dis- tinctive seasonal hallmark of the visitor experience, came to town in the late 1990s. Members of the Sea- side Downtown Develop- ment Association are seek- ing funds to maintain the bulbs and keep them shin- ing bright. Stephanie Stevenson, of the Cotton Club and Rascals, announced the fundraiser at Thursday’s breakfast meeting of the downtown association. On Feb. 5, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., 50% of the proceeds from any of the handcrafted drinks — coffee, tea, shakes — at Cafe Latte in the Sea- side Carousel Mall, owned by Julie Jesse, will go to starfi sh bulb replacement. The lighting is in place along Broadway and Holla- day between the third week Seaside Downtown Development Association Starfi sh lights are an attraction in Seaside. in September to the third week in May. Along with the fl ower basket program, the starfi sh lighting is one of two beau- tifi cation projects sponsored by the downtown develop- ment association. “We’ve always done fundraisers for the fl ower baskets, but never the star- fi sh,” Stevenson said . Keith Chandler, the gen- (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. Tillamook County, St. Helens were targets for disruption By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press Tillamook County was struggling to get its com- puter and telephone systems running again after it was hit by a cyberattack, a week after a nearby city lost data and computer programs in another apparent attack. “All computer systems are offl ine at this time, our website is down and the phones are working inter- mittently,” Tillamook County offi cials announced in a statement on Thursday. At a meeting Wednesday, the day the attack was noticed, county offi cials referred to it as a ransomware attack, according to Laura Swan- son, a local reporter who was present. “The county will be oper- ating ‘old school’ for a few days,” County Commis- sioner Mary Faith Bell told Swanson, a reporter from the Tillamook County Pio- neer online news site. “No credit cards, and we’ll have to come up with work- arounds to take care of county business.” Ransomware is malicious software that encrypts a sys- tem, effectively locking out its users. The attacker prom- ises to decrypt the informa- tion if paid. County offi cials said in a statement there is no indica- tion that the personal infor- Andrew Selsky/AP Photo The Tillamook County Board of Commissioners heard fi nal testimony in January on the application by tech giant Facebook to use an oceanfront lot as a landing spot for a submarine fi ber-optic cable. mation of employees or res- idents has been accessed or misused. But experts said it may be too soon to tell. St. Helens, in Columbia County, experienced a dis- ruption in computers, emails and telephones starting on Jan. 14. The disruption is still ongoing, though some of it has been overcome, city spokeswoman Crystal King said Thursday. The city government said in a statement Wednes- day that its phones and some emails and computers were still offl ine, affecting all departments, including City Hall, the library, pub- lic works and police. Emer- gency 911 phone number and nonemergency dispatch lines were unaffected. King said in an email Thursday that St. Hel- ens engaged cybersecurity experts to help investigate “the suspicious activity and to help restore access to pro- By LIAM MORIARTY Jefferson Public Radio The Jordan Cove Energy Project has abruptly with- drawn its application for a key permit from the state . In a letter dated Thurs- day , project developers told the Oregon Department of State Lands that the com- pany was withdrawing the application effective Friday. No reason was given, but earlier this week, the department had denied Jor- dan Cove’s request for a fi fth deadline extension for off 20 Select the application. It’s not immediately clear what the withdrawal means for the Jordan Cove project. Pembina — the Cana- dian company behind the project — wants to build a 229 mile-long pipeline to a new liquefi ed natural gas export terminal in Coos Bay . The company needs the removal-fi ll permit for dredging in Coos Bay, as well as for the pipeline’s hundreds of waterway and wetland crossings. But the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, is expected to make a fi nal determination on the project next month. If FERC gives Jordan Cove a green light, the com- pany may argue that fed- eral laws override Oregon’s laws. In that case, the out- come may ultimately lie with the courts. Please ADOPT A PET! Signature Series Call now for your FREE In-Home Consultation! MINNIE Young Pit/Rat Terrier Blend Minnie’s resume lists adorable, playful, energetic. She knows cute and cuddly as well. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Printed on recycled paper Subscription rates Eff ective May 1, 2019 See more on 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 Petfinder.com Out of County Rates available at 800-781-3214 DIGITAL EZpay (per month) .................................................................................................................$8.00 grams and data within our network.” Columbia County has reported no intrusions. In 2019, 113 state and municipal governments and agencies, 764 health care providers, and 89 universi- ties, colleges and school dis- tricts in the United States were hit by ransomware attacks, said Brett Callow, threat analyst at Emsisoft, a company that produces soft- ware to protect computers against attacks. The num- bers came from a compi- lation of press reports and help requests the company received, Callow said. Among victims of recent cyberattacks were city gov- ernments in Las Vegas, New Orleans and Pensacola, Florida. Tillamook County began experiencing diffi culties with several computer sys- tems on Wednesday. The information technology department determined it was a malware attack. “Tillamook takes the security of the informa- tion entrusted to us very seriously. We are taking steps to prevent a similar event from occurring in the future, including strengthen- ing security measures,” the statement said. County offi cials said they would work with law enforcement and hire an independent computer forensics provider and legal experts to help in the inves- tigation. The FBI offi ce in Portland, which has a cyber- crime task force, has offered to help, spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele said. The attack has disrupted county business, including delaying mailing out notifi - cations of the county com- mission’s Jan. 9 decision to grant Facebook permission to build a landing spot for an undersea fi ber-optic cable connecting America with Asia on a community’s res- idential lot. Residents of the tiny beachside community of Tierra del Mar vociferously opposed the plan, which they said will subject the village to drilling that could damage home foundations and septic systems and open the door for other similar projects. Residents intend to appeal the decision to the state Land Use Board of Appeals. The 21-day clock for appeals will not start until the notifi - cations are mailed out, said Lynnae Ruttledge, a Tierra del Mar homeowner. Jordan Cove withdraws application for key Oregon permit COPYRIGHT © Entire contents © Copyright, 2020 by The Astorian. MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. A banner across the inter- section of Broadway and Holladay displays the fi sh, the starfi sh and the bubbles. As for real starfi sh, they are indeed at risk, Chandler said. “There are not a lot,” he said. “You can fi nd them in the Cove at low tide. Right now, there’s a starfi sh wasting disease, so there’s less starfi sh and sea stars than there used to be.” Cyberattacks hit local county, city governments % Established July 1, 1873 eral manager of the Seaside Aquarium and the chair- man of the downtown asso- ciation, said the starfi sh idea fi rst came to the city in 1998. The lights now need replacing. “They just burn out,” he said. “When one loses more than one arm, I restring the whole thing.” Each string, which loops through the entire starfi sh, is 30-feet long. ©2018 Budget Blinds, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Budget Blinds is a trademark of Budget Blinds, LLC and a Home Franchise Concepts Brand. Each franchise independently owned and operated. CLATSOP COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER • 861-PETS 1315 SE 19th St. • Warrenton | Tues-Sat 12-4pm www.dogsncats.org THIS SPACE SPONSORED BY CLATSOP ANIMAL ASSISTANCE
