A2
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2020
VALEDICTORIAN
IN BRIEF
County unemployment claims top 4,000
Another 200 people in Clatsop County fi led for
unemployment last week, bringing the county’s ini-
tial claims above 4,000 since coronavirus restrictions
began in mid-March.
More than 38.6 million Americans have fi led for
unemployment, including more than 300,000 Orego-
nians, since mid-March. More than 2.4 million new
Americans and 17,000 Oregonians fi led for unem-
ployment nationally last week, even as states began to
reopen portions of the economy.
The rate of weekly new unemployment claims in the
county peaked at 825 in early April and have trended
downward since then, mirroring national trends. The
Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated unemployment
had reached 14.7% nationwide with 20.5 million job
losses in April, the worst rate of job losses since the
Great Depression.
State unemployment rates for April will be released
next week.
Statewide, education has overtaken accommoda-
tion and food services as the industry with the high-
est rate of new unemployment claims. In the county,
accommodation and food services comprised more
than a quarter of last week’s claims and more than 45%
of claims since restrictions on such businesses began.
More than 13% of claims since mid-March have been
by workers in retail and more than 10% in health care
and social assistance.
A recent survey by the Census Bureau showed
that nearly half of all adults nationwide have either
lost a job or have a family member who has lost a job
since March 13. Nearly 40% said they would likely
lose employment in the coming month. The survey
found increasing rates of mental health issues related
to the layoffs, along with decreased food and housing
security.
Memorial Day goes virtual at
Maritime Memorial Park
The annual Memorial Day service at Maritime
Memorial Park in Uniontown has been canceled this
year, but the community can still enjoy the longtime
tradition.
Members of the Uniontown Association and other
residents have prerecorded the service and the read-
ing of the names engraved on the wall, thanks to the
work of Jeff Daly, which can be accessed online at bit.
ly/2ZlVDpr
Astoria Library to reopen
book rentals in June
The Astoria Library will reopen Wednesdays and
Fridays for book pickups beginning June 3.
The library, located at 450 10th St., will start
accepting holds on books June 1. It will open from 2 to
6 p.m. Wednesdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays for
pickups. Patrons can place holds on books at astoriali-
brary.org or by calling 503-325-7323.
“We will be moving toward allowing browsing and
at some point in the future will allow people to remain
in the library during open hours,” library staff wrote in
a news release. “We look forward to seeing you and
working together we will prevail.”
Canadian man sentenced to prison
after drug bust off Oregon Coast
A Canadian man was sentenced to more than three
years in prison for possession with intent to distrib-
ute methamphetamine under the federal maritime drug
law.
John Philip Stirling, 66, was apprehended during a
drug seizure by the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Alert off
the coast of Newport in April 2019.
Offi cials found 28 jugs on the vessel containing
more than 7 gallons of liquid methamphetamine each
and a duffel bag containing several plastic wrapped
bricks of pentobarbital. Investigators later learned the
drugs had been loaded onto the vessel from another
vessel in the Sea of Cortez for delivery to Canada.
— The Astorian
ON THE RECORD
Assault
DUII
On
the
Record
• Mitchell
John
Bye,
• David Dean Fisher,
28, of Astoria, was
indicted Thursday for
assault in the second
degree, assault in the
fourth degree, strangu-
lation, unlawful use of a
weapon and menacing.
43, was arrested Tuesday
on N.W. Warrenton Drive
in Warrenton for driv-
ing under the infl uence of
intoxicants and reckless
driving.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
TUESDAY
Astoria Planning Commission, 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 1095
Duane St.
Warrenton City Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main
Ave.
Seaside Budget Committee, 6 p.m., (electronic meeting).
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Graham Nystrom of KMUN fi lms Astoria High School senior and valedictorian Christina Campbell as she gives her speech to
the camera and an empty Liberty Theatre on Thursday afternoon. Due to the coronavirus, the school’s valedictorians and class
president recorded speeches to share with the community and their families after their drive-in graduation ceremony on June 6.
Electric trucks could power rural Oregon
Several models
headed to market
By ELLEN MORRIS
BISHOP
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — It’s
unlikely that Main Street
Motors or Milligan Motors
will be selling electric vehi-
cles anytime soon. But elec-
tric cars, from the sleek
Porsche Taycan Turbo to the
more practical Chevy Bolt,
have been frequent sum-
mer visitors
to Wallowa
County.
M o r e
importantly
for rural Ore-
gon,
elec-
tric trucks
that
can
tow 14,000 pounds worth of
horses or hay, travel 500 miles
on a single charge, and accel-
erate from 0 to 60 mph in a
head-snapping 2.9 seconds
are on the horizon. Similar
vehicles are already planned
for production.
Why
electric
vehi-
cles? Because carbon emis-
sions from gasoline and
diesel-powered vehicles con-
tribute signifi cantly to carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere
and hence to climate change.
Each gallon of gasoline pro-
duces about 19.6 pounds of
carbon dioxide. Each gallon
of diesel fuel produces 22.4
pounds of CO2, according to
fueleconomy.gov.
Especially in Oregon and
the Pacifi c Northwest , where
more than 60% of electric
power comes from a combi-
nation of hydro, wind, bio-
mass, geothermal and solar,
swapping petroleum-based
vehicles for electric ones can
reap signifi cant greenhouse
gas emissions benefi ts, reduc-
ing the average annual emis-
sions per vehicle from more
than 12,000 pounds to about
1,000 pounds, an 80% drop
in CO2.
Last year, fewer than 25
electric cars visited Wallowa
County, according to esti-
mates by lodging establish-
ments that provide charging
stations . However, rural Ore-
gon is actually more prepared
to fuel, if not service, elec-
tric vehicles than it might
seem, with charging stations
in communities from Mea-
cham to Sumpter to Dayville,
and in larger communities in
between as well.
Two things drive the
demand for electric vehi-
cles: avoiding the high co st
of petroleum-based fuels, and
the desire for lower green-
house gas emissions.
Tesla
Tesla’s otherworldly Cybertruck.
At the present, with low
prices for crude and conse-
quent low prices for gasoline
and diesel, fuel prices are not
so important for most vehicle
owners. Furthermore, in Ore-
gon, EV owners pay higher
registration fees — $110 more
per year to support highway
maintenance — work funded
through taxes of gasoline and
diesel fuel.
It’s important that electric
vehicles pay their fair share
of the costs, according to the
Oregon C onstitution, “in a
manner that is fair and propor-
tionate to the costs incurred
for the highway system,” said
David House, a spokesman
for the Oregon Department of
Transportation .
Silent performance
The features that seem to
sell drivers on electric vehi-
cles now are their lower
atmospheric carbon produc-
tion and also their snappy, but
silent, performance.
The Porsche Taycan Turbo
S accelerates from 0 to 60 in
2.6 seconds and tops out at
155 mph. Its price, a stun-
ning $250,000, makes it
an unlikely everyday ride,
however.
Chevrolet’s Bolt, priced
beginning at $37,500, clocks
0 to 60 in a more pedestrian,
though still respectable, 6.3
seconds. Tesla’s $42,000 all-
wheel drive long range Model
3 sedan can achieve 0 to 60 in
4.4 seconds, with a 322-mile
range.
But of course, in rural
communities with robust win-
ters, gravel roads and lots of
real work to do, pickups rule
the roads. Not to worry. There
are plenty of EV pickups out
there on the drawing boards
and approaching production.
Because pickups are the
largest selling type of vehicle,
with SUV’s in second place,
electric vehicle manufactur-
ers, including Ford and GM,
have pickups on the draw-
ing boards and soon to be in
production.
The most work-worthy
electric trucks announced
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as of January bear unfamil-
iar names. These are not just
glorifi ed golf carts. They are
being produced by startup
companies devoted only to
producing respectable trucks
— some with more passenger
friendly SUV’s on the same
frame. Bollinger. Nikola. Riv-
ian. Fiskar. Atlis. Workhorse.
Tesla. And yes, Ford and GM.
In terms of serious pick-
ups, Ferndale, Michigan,
electric vehicle manufacturer
Bollinger already has a boxy
looking four -door pickup —
the B2 — with a 5’9” bed
ready for production.
The B2’s all-wheel drive,
all aluminum body boasts 15
inches of ground clearance
that can be raised or low-
ered by 5 inches using the
hydraulic system in the vehi-
cle. Dual electric motors, one
on each axle, drive the wheels
with 614 horsepower . The
body style resembles the old
International Scout crossed
with the original Land Rover
Defender.
The B2 has a 200-mile
range 120 kilowatt-hour bat-
tery pack. The pickup can
carry up to 5,000 pounds, and
tow 7,500 pounds. Charging
will take 8 to 10 hours with
a level 2 charger. But a level
3 charger will fully power up
the batteries in just 75 min-
utes. The B2 is expected to
be available in 2021 to pre-
ordered and commercial cus-
tomers. Price: $125,000.
Rivian, another Michigan
company, offers the RT1, a
fi ve passenger, more conven-
tional looking pickup. Its top
of the line version offers a
400-mile range. The vehicle
runs on four electric motors
which allow the driver to
control the amount of torque
delivered to each wheel. Tow-
ing capacity: 11,000 pounds,
carrying capacity 1,760
pounds . And a claimed 0 to
60 in 3 seconds fl at. The com-
pany is backed with $1.2 bil-
lion dollars worth of invest-
ments from Amazon and
Ford. Sticker price: $63,000.
Not to be outdone, Ford
is planning to introduce
an all-electric version of
the F150, built on the Riv-
ian platform in Ford’s Dear-
born, Michigan, plant. Range:
about 300 miles. Price and
specs probably similar to the
Rivian.
Other pickups include
Workhorse Endurance with a
four -wheel drive, which will
have a separate electric motor
mounted inside each wheel,
and the rebirth of the GMC
Hummer as an electric SUV
and also a light truck version.
GMC has plans for a beefi er,
¾ to 1-ton electric pickup as
well.
Cybertruck
Tesla, the upstart startup
that started it all, has a futur-
istic-looking pickup in the
works. The most muscular
and work-capable model EV
on the drawing board is Tes-
la’s futuristic tri motor, all-
wheel drive, stainless steel
uni body Cybertruck. You
can reserve yours now for a
refundable fee of $100.
Tesla touts the vehicle as
capable of towing 14,000
pounds, having a range of
500 miles, and whizzing
from 0 to 60 in 2.9 seconds.
Obviously, drivers won’t be
doing all these at once. But
with a planned sticker price
of $63,000, the fi ve -passen-
ger Tesla Trimotor, with a 6.5-
foot open bed, seems compet-
itive with existing ¾ and 1 ton
gas and diesel trucks. It might
even make a good ranch vehi-
cle providing that its space-
age “the aliens just landed”
appearance doesn’t scare the
livestock into the next fi eld.
The c oronavirus pandemic
has reshaped the release time-
table for electric trucks.
Tesla’s Cybertruck was
slated for production start-
ing in early 2021. However,
the Fremont, California, plant
was shuttered by the corona-
virus until opening in May.
Similarly, Rivian, Bollinger
and GM’s Hummer EV
pickup have all put their pro-
duction plans on hold.
But sooner or later, electric
trucks will be part of the land-
scape, and part of the equation
to reduce CO2 emissions and
slow climate change.
Get ready. They’re coming.
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