»INSIDE
147TH YEAR, NO. 143
WEEKEND EDITION // SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2020
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»INSIDE
CORONAVIRUS
Fireworks
canceled
in Astoria
Annual event a virus casualty
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
The Astoria-Warrenton Area Cham-
ber of Commerce has canceled its
Fourth of July fi reworks show over
coronavirus concerns .
The decision follows the cancel-
lations of much larger fi reworks dis-
plays in Seaside and Long Beach,
Washington.
“Our team had hoped that we would
be able produce the Independence Day
fi reworks show as planned, but we are
still facing many unknowns and uncer-
tainties as we look ahead to July,” David
Reid, the chamber’s executive director ,
said in a statement . “Under the current
health circumstances, it would be irre-
sponsible for us to proceed.
“By making this decision, we are
standing with other communities in the
area that have canceled their events out
of an abundance of caution.”
See Fireworks, Page A6
MORE INSIDE
Record unemployment in April • A3
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Fort George Brewery will partially reopen on Monday.
Fort George to partially
reopen amid coronavirus
County reports new virus case • A6
Upstairs pub with
limited seating
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
Warrenton
considers
public safety
fee options
City may base fee
on water meter size
F
R.J. Marx/The Astorian
Chef-owner John Sowa announced the closure of Sweet Basil’s Cafe this week.
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
Sweet Basil’s Cafe to close
WARRENTON — Leaders are con-
sidering a new fee based on the size of
a property’s water meter to help cover
increasing police and fi re costs in the rap-
idly growing city.
Warrenton was already facing a bud-
get gap from commercial sprawl not cov-
ering the costs of delivering utilities, staff
reviews and policing businesses. The City
Commission recently voted to increase
the penalties for traffi c violations and
other crimes, along with other adminis-
trative fees related to the city’s Municipal
Court.
Commissioners placed a moratorium
on utility increases because of the corona-
virus pandemic, but have appeared recep-
tive to the idea of charging a public safety
fee given the calls for service to police
and fi re.
Cannon Beach eatery known for Creole-Cajun fl avor
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
CANNON BEACH — Sweet
Basil’s Cafe, the beloved restau-
rant and community gathering
place known for its Creole-Cajon
fl avor, is closing due to the coro-
navirus pandemic .
With the release of the state’s
reopening guidelines for restau-
rants, John Sowa, the chef and
owner, realized the eatery could
not survive. Social distancing
measures would have limited
seating to three tables inside —
four at the most.
“I don’t care how small you
are, three tables doesn’t cut it,” he
said.
Sowa is among a handful of
chefs distinguished with long ser-
vice in Clatsop County, a slew of
Iron Chef Goes Coastal trophies
and a loyal international audience.
A Brooklyn, New York, native,
Sowa studied cooking in New
Orleans at K-Paul’s with Paul Prud-
homme, America’s foremost pro-
ponent of Creole and Cajun cuisine.
See Cafe, Page A8
ort George Brewery will
reopen the upstairs pub on
Duane Street on Monday
to limited, reservation-only seat-
ing, following Astoria’s smaller
breweries .
Fort George has been closed to
all but to-go orders since Gov. Kate
Brown restricted seated dining to
prevent the spread of the corona-
virus. Co-owner Chris Nemlowill
said the brewery is taking a cau-
tious approach and trying to avoid
attracting many visitors .
The brewery will take res-
ervations
through its website
for eight tables spaced through-
out the upstairs, with a maximum
group size of four, and two tables
on its upstairs deck, with a maxi-
mum capacity of eight. The partial
reopening will bring Fort George
up to a skeleton crew of around
30 employees out of more than
120 who worked there before the
pandemic.
“Everybody who works at Fort
George, it’s like a big family,”
Nemlowill said. “So, it’s been
very diffi cult. What’s been sad is
you’re letting people go that didn’t
do anything wrong. They didn’t
deserve to lose their jobs.”
Fort George was able to access
money from the federal govern-
ment’s Paycheck Protection Pro-
gram, which Nemlowill said is part
See Fort George, Page A8
See Warrenton, Page A6
Video Horizons moving downtown
A merger with
a record store
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
Edward Stratton/The Astorian
Neal Cummings is moving Video Horizons from Astor Street to Duane Street,
where his video collection will be joined by Richard Moore’s vinyl records.
Video Horizons owner Neal
Cummings is partnering with
vinyl collector Richard Moore
to create a new rental and record
store on Duane Street.
Cummings
closed Video
Horizons, one of the few video
rental stores left in the region,
to walk-ins during the coro-
navirus outbreak. He recently
raised more than $4,500 through
a GoFundMe campaign to help
with a slowdown, but said his
rent at the Astor Street location is
unsustainable .
On Tuesday, h e began mov-
ing his video collection to 1156
Duane St. The storefront is next
to the Deals Only thrift store and
on the opposite side of the build-
ing from the Five Zero Trees mar-
ijuana store.
“I’m really looking forward
to presenting kind of a physical
media paradise,” Cummings said.
Moore, a former Elvis imper-
sonator, has amassed more than
300,000 vinyl records spread
between several storage units
across Oregon and southwest
Washington state. He runs Play
it Again, a record store inside
a hangar in Gearhart selling a
menagerie of media, including
LPs, eight tracks, 33s, 45s, 78s
and VHS tapes.
After moving his record store
21 times over the past 29 years,
the 70-year-old Moore said, he’s
ready for some stability.
See Moving, Page A6