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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 7, 2020)
A2 THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2020 IN BRIEF Seaside fi re division chief to receive medal of honor Seaside Fire Division Chief David Rankin has been selected to receive a medal of honor from the Oregon Fire Chiefs Association at a special ceremony later this year. Rankin has been a full-time fi refi ghter and the divi- sion chief of operations for Seaside Fire & Rescue since 2012. He will be honored for an ocean rescue in December. The heavy surf made it diffi cult to locate the vic- tim, but Rankin was able to spot the individual near a sandbar. Instead of waiting for the U.S. Coast Guard to arrive, Rankin swam about 300 yards to the victim. Since the victim was already showing signs of hypothermia, Rankin swam the victim back to shore. — The Astorian Portland terminal operator rejects smaller reward in lawsuit PORTLAND — The former operator of the Port of Portland’s container terminal has rejected a judge’s reduced $19 million award of damages against the long- shore workers’ union after a federal jury in November found the union sabotaged shipping traffi c and caused productivity to plummet. ICTSI Oregon has decided instead to go back to trial solely to determine an appropriate amount, The Oregonian reported. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union has asked U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon to put the matter on hold, as it challenges the jury fi nding that it was liable for damages and should pay any damage amount to the former terminal operator. The Philippine-owned ICTSI Oregon, which signed a 25-year lease in 2010 to operate Terminal 6, left the port in March 2017, idled by the labor strife it says the national longshore union and the local chapter encouraged. The company argued at trial that the union engaged in unlawful labor practices over nearly fi ve years and caused tens of millions of dollars in losses to its business. The jury awarded $93.6 million in damages to ICTSI Oregon. Last month, however, Simon reduced the jury award to $19 million, fi nding the evidence at trial didn’t support the jury’s larger award that the union argued was excessive and would lead to its bankruptcy. The judge then gave ICTSI Oregon two weeks to either accept the lower amount or he said a new trial would be held solely on the damages amount. — Associated Press DEATHS April 3, 2020 In BAMBERT, Brief Shir- ley Wells, 107, of War- renton, died in Warren- Deaths ton. Ocean View Funeral & Cremation Service of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. CROTHAMEL, Fred- erick, 84, of Seaside, died in Seaside. Hughes-Ran- som Mortuary and Cre- matorium is in charge of the arrangements. April 3, 2020 SCHROEDER, Audrey, 84, of Sea- side, died in Seaside. Hughes-Ransom Mor- tuary and Cremato- rium is in charge of the arrangements. ON THE RECORD Fleeing conduct On the Clifford Record • Christopher degree. Dahl, 61, of Milwaukie, was indicted Friday for fl eeing or attempting to elude a police offi - cer, attempting to com- mit a felony, two counts of recklessly endanger- ing another person, reck- less driving and criminal driving while suspended or revoked. Menacing • Joshua Kenneth Marion, 41, was arrested Sunday on 27th Street and Marine Drive in Astoria for resisting arrest, interfering with a police offi cer, two counts of menacing, crimi- nal mischief in the third degree and disorderly in the second DUII • Todd Shaw, 55, of Vader, Washington, was arrested Monday on Marlin Avenue and U.S. Highway 101 in Warren- ton for driving under the infl uence of intoxicants. His blood alcohol con- tent was 0.12%. • Drayko Valentino Garcia, 20, of Salem, was arrested Sunday on U.S. Highway 101 and Rippet Lane in Seaside for reck- less driving, DUII and driving while suspended. • Olivia Taylor Went- worth, 21, of Salem, was arrested Sunday at the Clatsop County Jail for DUII. PUBLIC MEETINGS TUESDAY Port of Astoria Commission, 4 p.m., (teleconference). Clatsop Care Health District Board, 5 p.m., (via Zoom). Seaside Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. WEDNESDAY Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, 5 p.m., work session on coronavirus, 6 p.m., regular meeting, (telecon- ference). PUBLIC MEETINGS 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 Video Horizons struggles in to-go world of coronavirus Rentals slow at Astor Street store By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian Despite seeing sales evap- orate, Neal Cummings felt it was the right decision to close Video Horizons except by appointment during the coronavirus pandemic . He set up a curbside to-go service outside his Astor Street store that he felt would better protect his employees and the public while still offering video and game rentals. But after seeing sales dis- appear with people unable to browse, Cummings is call- ing out for support to help one of the North Coast’s last remaining video stores sur- vive the coronavirus . He started a GoFundMe page that has so far raised more than $2,700 out of a $5,000 goal. Government restrictions to curb the spread of the virus allowed video rental shop’s like Cummings’ to keep operating, provided they designate an employee to promote social distancing. “Most of our customers are browsers,” Cummings said. “I think a lot of them prefer coming in and taking a look at the fi lms. And I just haven’t felt comfortable let- ting people in because of the governor’s lockdown.” Cummings said he has avoided laying people off, instead cutting hours as he Coast River Business Journal Neal Cummings, owner of Video Horizons, said he needs more support to stay open. switches to curbside service. But Video Horizons lacks the technology to list avail- able titles online, and sales have gone down exponen- tially with the doors closed. His landlord has asked him to apply for the federal Paycheck Protection Pro- gram covering payroll costs, Cummings said. The pro- gram launched Friday but has been beset by technical glitches that have kept many of the nation’s top lenders from being able to process applications. “He has allowed me to be late on my rent, but he hasn’t offered a reduction,” Cum- mings said . Around 86% of the 15,300 video rental stores open in 2007 had closed by 2017, according to USA Today, as movie-watching and buy- ing have mostly gone online. Video Horizons, founded in 1984, is one of only two in Clatsop County. Universal Video in Seaside, co-owned by Steve and Jim Haugen, is the other store. Business has been down maybe 20% during the coro- navirus outbreak, Steve Haugen said, but he blames street construction for keep- ing potential customers away more than the virus. “People have been pretty careful, anyway,” he said. “A lot of people coming in are wearing masks. We’re happy to be able to serve our regular customers. And they do really seem to appreci- ate the fact that we’ve stayed open.” Universal Video could endure a slowdown of sev- eral months, since his fam- ily owns the building, Steve Haugen said. For Video Horizons to survive, Cum- mings said, he needs the virus to subside, more dona- tions toward his GoFundMe fundraiser or for locals to call in and reserve more movies and games. “We do that from 1 to 6 (p.m.) every day,” he said. “We have people here who collect the movies and get them safe, sanitize them and have them ready for them at the counter and take them out to your car.” Astoria Downtown Market to close By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian The Astoria Downtown Market will close in the coming weeks because of fi nancial issues related to owner Samuel McDaniel’s legal battle with the federal government to accept food stamps. “It’s disappointing that people won’t have the ser- vices, and we won’t have the local camaraderie that we’ve all had,” he said. McDaniel took over the Commercial Street market in July 2017, a decade after he was convicted in Lane County of felony delivery of marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms. The U.S. Department of Agriculture denied McDan- iel’s application to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program bene- fi ts, known as food stamps, arguing his conviction refl ected a lack of busi- ness integrity, a criteria for denial. The denial severely lim- ited McDaniel’s ability to serve the low-income com- munity. He sued the federal agency, arguing the drug conviction happened long before he took over the mar- ket and related to no crime of dishonesty. U.S. District Court Judge John Acosta sided with McDaniel’s argument and ordered the federal gov- ernment to review McDan- iel’s application again. But McDaniel, who is wait- ing on a settlement with the USDA to recover his legal costs, said he needs to close down and focus on rebuild- ing his credit. The closure of his market will limit grocery options downtown . The Asto- ria Co+op, formerly in the Shark Rock Building on Duane Street, relocated to a larger store at 23rd Street and Marine Drive. McDan- iel had hoped to fi ll the void downtown and expand his grocery operations. Instead, he is selling everything at a discount as he liquidates before closure. West Coast sends ventilators to New York Oregon, California receive damaged equipment By KATHLEEN RONAYNE Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Mon- day the state would loan 500 ventilators to the national stockpile for use by New York and other states experi- encing a crush of coronavi- rus-related hospitalizations. Newsom’s decision fol- lows Oregon and Wash- ington state committing to transfer ventilators to New York. California chose to loan some of its equip- ment because it is not yet in as dire a situation as New York, now the nation’s epi- center for the crisis, said Jesse Melgar, a spokesman for the governor. Newsom said state modeling shows California will hit its peak of cases sometime in May. Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee said Sunday the state will return more than 400 ventilators of the Beth LaBerge/KQED Staff work in a ventilator refurbishing assembly line at Bloom Energy in California. 500 it got from the federal government so they can go to New York and other states. Inslee, a Democrat, said his statewide stay- at-home order and weeks of social distancing led to slower rates of infections and deaths in Washington, which saw the fi rst serious coronavirus outbreak in the country. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Saturday said 140 venti- lators would be sent from her state to New York, say- ing at this point Oregon doesn’t need them. New York has more than 100,000 confi rmed cases of COVID-19, the respira- tory illness caused by the Fre e Est Fast ima tes Call me ti Any Jeff Hale Painting • • • • Residential Commercial Cedar Roof Treatments Exterior Repaint Specialist Over 25 years local experience 503-440-2169 Jeff Hale, Contractor LICENSED BONDED INSURED CCB#179131 coronavirus. New York also received 1,100 ventilators from China as a gift. “It’s going to make a sig- nifi cant difference for us,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday of the incoming equipment. “I know that if the tables were turned and we were experiencing a hospital surge, other states would come to our aid and pro- vide ventilators just as we are today,” Newsom said in a statement. California has been hunt- ing for ventilators to boost its own supply for weeks. Offi cials requested 10,000 ventilators from the national stockpile, though it has received none. Los Ange- les got 170 ventilators from the stockpile, though many were broken. On Friday, Oregon received masks with faulty elastic that could cause the straps to snap, expos- ing medical workers to the disease. “Several of the ship- ments we have received from the strategic national stockpile contained (per- sonal protective equipment) well past expiration dates and, while we are being told much of the expired equipment is capable of being used for COVID-19 response, they would not be suitable for use in surgical settings,” Charles Boyle, a spokesman for Brown, said in an email. As of Friday, California had access to 4,252 venti- lators, Newsom said. Mel- gar said Monday the state is boosting that number by rehabilitating thousands of broken ventilators and pro- curing thousands more from other places. But he declined to provide a rough estimate of how many ventilators the state now possesses. Hydrogen fuel cell man- ufacturer Bloom Energy has dedicated a portion of its production plants in Cal- ifornia and Delaware to repairing old ventilators. As of last week, the San Jose- based company had repaired 515 ventilators, with more on the way. The company says it has the capacity to repair up to 1,000 per week. WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500
