Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 2020)
147TH YEAR, NO. 102 WEEKEND EDITION // SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2020 F O S R E T S ‘MA ’ E C N A R U D EN $1.50 Child care trouble Shooting Stars scales back By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Astorian Shooting Stars Child Devel- opment Center will close in Uniontown and downsize ser- vices at the end of the month. The center, which accounts for 11% of all licensed child care slots in Clatsop County, will operate under a different type of license and be able to care for only 15 children a day, down from 50 . Another day care in Gearhart is also closing its doors. The pro- vider at Gearhart Kids Academy confi rmed the closure but could not provide details. Gearhart Kids Academy, which opened nearly fi ve years ago, serves from 10 to 14 children at a time. Denise Giliga, the director of Shooting Stars, said trouble fi nd- ing qualifi ed staff led to the deci- sion to close at the current loca- tion and downsize. Training to fi ll the jobs would have taken up to a year. See Child care center, Page A3 University of Oregon Archives A photo of Oregon distance runners in the late 1950s. From left: Mark Robbins, Wilcey Winchell, Ed Baldwin, Phil Knight and Dick Miller. MILLER WAS STANDOUT RUNNER AT OREGON By GARY HENLEY The Astorian Pacifi Corp requests electric rate increase Customers could pay an extra $4.03 a month Y ou don’t have to be a longtime resident of the North Coast to know who the Oregon “Tall Firs” were. Or that four mem- bers of that legendary Oregon men’s basketball team — the fi rst NCAA champions — were from Astoria. But the Seaside area had its own famous Ducks. A couple of “low profi le” Ore- gon running legends. And if you just happen to have a copy of the Feb. 22, 1960 issue of Sports Illus- trated lying around, there’s still time to get a couple of autographs. It was 60 years ago this week that the magazine ran a story, “Masters of Endurance.” The feature by Tex Maule featured Univer- sity of Oregon running coach Bill Bowerman and his group of distance runners, who also happened to be some of the best in the nation at that time. Among others, the Oregon runners in the late ’50 s included Dick Miller, a C lass of 1954 graduate of Seaside High School, and Jim Grelle. By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian Seaside High School ABOVE: Dick Miller, upper right, with the 1954 Seaside High track team, coached by Lou Robinson. LEFT: Dick Miller’s senior photo at Seaside High. See ‘Masters of Endurance’, Page A6 Pacifi Corp wants to increase residential electric rates by 1.6% starting next year to sup- port a transition toward more renewable energy, along with other investments in wildfi re protection , cybersecurity and customer service. Pacifi Corp, owned by invest- ment fi rm Berkshire Hathaway, provides power to 1.9 million people in six W estern states, including 615,000 retail cus- tomers in Oregon as Pacifi c Power. The price the utility can charge for electricity is over- seen by the state Public Utility Commission. The utility requested an additional $78 million in reve- nue — equal to a 6% increase in energy rates — from the c om- mission last week. It is Pacifi - Corp’s fi rst request since 2013, when it asked for 4.6% and the c ommission granted 1.9%. The utility is also proposing See Pacifi Corp, Page A3 Study fi nds parking available downtown Findings challenge public perception By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian Few issues are thornier than the availability of parking downtown. Some swear off shopping or din- ing because of it, while others con- sider Astoria spoiled compared to cities where people pay to park sev- eral blocks from their destination. But a parking study and survey by the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association has concluded that, aside from some small pockets and specifi c times, fi nding parking is fairly easy. Sarah Lu Heath, the executive director of the downtown associa- tion, presented the fi ndings to the City Council on Tuesday. “To stand up and say this isn’t a problem gives me pause,” she said. “However, for the last 3 1/2 years, I’ve been downtown six days a week, 50 weeks a year, and once in 2017, at the starting time of the high boat parade during the Regatta, I could not fi nd a parking spot.” The study found small pock- ets of constrained parking between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. — peak restaurant hours — in a few blocks throughout the down- town core and around the Garden of Surging Waves, a former parking lot turned into a park honoring the region’s Chinese heritage. Colin Murphey/The Astorian See Parking, Page A3 A study examined parking downtown.