The daily Astorian., November 28, 2020, Page 2, Image 2

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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2020
IN BRIEF
Pacifi c County surpasses 400 virus cases
SOUTH BEND, Wash. — Another 20 cases of
COVID-19 were reported in Pacifi c County on Wednes-
day as the county’s 14-day case rate exceeded quadru-
ple digits and surpassed 400 cases, milestones most
locals would have considered unthinkable earlier this
month.
With the new reported cases included, coming just a
day after 55 more positive cases had been identifi ed on
Nov. 24, Pacifi c County’s case count sits at 415 since
the beginning of the pandemic.
The county’s case rate per 100,000 people over a
two-week rolling average stands at 1,077. That fi gure
stood at 180 just seven days ago, and was as low as 23
on Nov. 4.
— Chinook Observer
Pearl Harbor Day events
canceled in Seaside
SEASIDE — Pearl Harbor Day events are canceled
this year due to coronavirus restrictions, Seaside Ameri-
can Legion Post 99 adjutant Lou Neubecker announced.
The annual events, marking the anniversary of the
Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese,
bring the community together to refl ect on the strike
that led the U.S. into World War II.
— The Astorian
Portland proposes new fees for air
pollution and greenhouse gas emissions
Portland is taking public comments on a proposal
to charge millions of dollars in fees for greenhouse gas
emissions and hazardous air pollution through its Clean
Air, Healthy Climate program.
The proposal would raise about $11 million a year to
help the city reduce air pollution — including the green-
house gases that contribute to climate change.
It would charge two different fees, a healthy climate
fee and a clean air protection fee, to about 80 of the
city’s biggest polluters, including manufacturers, hos-
pitals and universities. The fees range from $15,000 to
$2.6 million.
Andrea Durbin, the director of the Portland Bureau
of Planning and Sustainability, said the program cre-
ates a new incentive for those entities because the fees
would be based on emission levels, and they would be
adjusted if pollution levels drop.
“If they want to pay less, or not pay at all, the way
that they do that is to reduce that pollution,” she said.
“We hope that there’s an opportunity to reduce that pol-
lution overall and take steps to cut pollution impacts in
our community.”
The city would use the money to encourage energy
effi ciency, electric vehicles and renewables with the
goal of addressing climate change and reducing air pol-
lution — especially for Black and indigenous people
and communities of color.
The proposal comes as the city is gearing up to offer
the fi rst round of grant funding through the Portland
Clean Energy Fund, which has similar climate goals
focused on communities of color and those with low
income. It follows years of unsuccessful efforts by
the Oregon Legislature and Gov. Kate Brown to cre-
ate a cap-and-trade system to charge polluters for their
greenhouse gas emissions.
Andrew Hoan, the president and CEO of the Port-
land Business Alliance, said the business community
supports the goals of the program but was not included
in its development and now has a very short timeline for
providing input.
— Oregon Public Broadcasting
DEATHS
Nov. 26, 2020
In SCOTT,
Brief
Emma L., 81,
of Ocean Park, Washing-
ton, died in Ocean Park.
Deaths
Ocean View Funeral &
Cremation Service of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
SIMMONS, K’Renee,
69, of Seaside, died in Sea-
side. Caldwell’s Funeral &
Cremation Arrangement
Center of Seaside is in
charge of the arrangements.
Nov. 24, 2020
SNABEL, John Roy,
74, of Seaside, died in
Portland.
Caldwell’s
Funeral & Cremation
Arrangement Center of
Seaside is in charge of the
arrangements.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
TUESDAY
Community Center Commission, 10 a.m., Bob Chisholm
Community Center, 1225 Avenue A, Seaside.
Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, noon, work
session, (electronic meeting).
Port of Astoria Commission, 4 p.m., (electronic meeting).
Seaside Library Board, 4:30 p.m., Seaside Public Library,
1131 Broadway.
Astoria Library Board, 5:30 p.m., Astoria Library, Flag
Room, 450 10th St.
Seaside Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
Miles Crossing Sanitary Sewer District Board, 6 p.m.,
34583 U.S. Highway 101 Business.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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HOLIDAY
PREP
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Sarah Woods prepares a pie crust at her bakery, Gathered Bakeshop and Market, for Thanksgiving. Woods planned to bake 16
special pumpkin and bourbon maple pies, with the proceeds going to the Native American Youth and Family Center in Portland.
State Legislature scrambles to
head off end of rent moratorium
By GARY WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
Oregon’s ban on evicting
tenants from their homes
expires at the end of the
year unless the Legislature
can go into special session
amid a deadly pandemic.
A bipartisan bill extend-
ing the moratorium through
June has been written. It
also creates a $100 million
fund to reimburse landlords
for some of their tenants’
back rent.
The
l andlord-b ased
a ssistance p rogram is a
compromise hammered out
between Rep. Julie Fahey,
D-Eugene, the chairwoman
of the House Interim Hous-
ing Committee, and Rep.
Jack Zika, R-Redmond,
with input from landlord
and tenant advocates.
It’s ready to be fast-
tracked in a Decem-
ber special session of the
Legislature.
The main problem: No
special session has been
scheduled. The regular ses-
sion of the Legislature does
not start until Jan. 19.
Waiting would allow the
eviction moratorium and
other key unemployment
and health care programs
to expire . When the dead-
lines were set, many law-
makers thought COVID-19
would be under control if
not cured. Instead, the virus
is spreading at a faster rate
than any time this year.
“We had no idea the
pandemic would continue
into 2021,” said Rep. Paul
Holvey, D-Eugene.
With hoped-for federal
aid never arriving, the only
way to head off the chaos of
a sudden end to programs is
for the state to step in with
a stop gap fi x.
Gov. Kate Brown could
call a special session, the
third of 2020. Lawmak-
ers have twice come to
the Capitol despite risks
of infection. But with case
rates skyrocketing across
Oregon, testing their luck
a third time would be dif-
fi cult and dangerous, not
only for lawmakers, but for
even a pared down version
of the usual army of staffers
and workers required when
the Legislature meets.
Brown could take the
unprecedented move of
declaring COVID-19 a
“catastrophic
disaster,”
which could allow lawmak-
ers to hold a remote ses-
sion without coming to the
Capitol.
Primary goal
House Speaker Tina
Kotek, D-Portland, has said
rent stabilization is a pri-
mary goal of any special
session.
The state projects more
than 82% of tenants have
paid rent during the cri-
sis. Nationally, the amount
owed by the average renter
is $2,700.
Conservative estimates
put the amount of back
rent owed landlords in Ore-
gon at more than $250 mil-
lion. As it now stands, rent
would again be due Jan. 1,
evictions would again be
allowed, and tenants would
have to pay all back rent by
March 31.
With
the
economy
expected to be hobbled at
least until spring, when
a hoped-for vaccine will
become available to a grow-
ing number of Oregonians,
not have to give any more
information to landlords
beyond the declaration.
The landlord would
submit an application for
benefits on behalf of their
tenants to Oregon Depart-
ment of Housing and Com-
munity Services. The land-
lord would be paid 80% of
the rent due, while forgiv-
ing the tenant 20% . Tax
credits for that portion
might be possible, law-
makers said. The program
is voluntary, but landlords
choosing not to take part
would still be under the
eviction moratorium until
the end of June.
WAITING WOULD ALLOW
THE EVICTION MORATORIUM
AND OTHER KEY UNEMPLOYMENT
AND HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS
TO EXPIRE . WHEN THE DEADLINES
WERE SET, MANY LAWMAKERS
THOUGHT COVID-19 WOULD
BE UNDER CONTROL IF NOT
CURED. INSTEAD, THE VIRUS IS
SPREADING AT A FASTER RATE
THAN ANY TIME THIS YEAR.
most Democrats and Repub-
licans agreed on the need
to push out the deadline
until the end of June. Back
rent would be due July 1. It
would also extend the time-
line on notice of eviction
from 72 hours to 15 days.
Zika said lawmakers
know $100 million will
be gobbled up quickly. By
June, back rent due could
hit $500 million or more.
“It’s a drop in the
bucket,” Zika said.
But the proposed bill
creates a system for repay-
ment fair to renters and
property owners, Zika said.
The Legislature could add
additional funds to the plan
or come up with alternative
rental assistance aid when
it convenes in January.
The proposed June 30
rent moratorium deadline
would coincide with the
scheduled end of the Leg-
islature’s 2021 session,
allowing for any changes in
programs to be made prior
to fi nal adjournment.
Under the plan, ten-
ants would give their land-
lord a signed declaration
that they could not pay
their rent each month due
to fi nancial hardships such
as unemployment, medi-
cal bills, lack of child care
and limited other reasons.
Under the current morato-
rium, no such declaration
is required. If the new plan
is approved, tenants would
Advocates for landlords
said income from rental
properties was all the cash
fl ow that owners of a small
number of units have to
meet their families’ needs.
Without hope of getting
rents soon, they will either
sell their buildings or con-
vert to other uses, which
could take thousands of
units off the already tight
Oregon rental market.
While recognizing the
strain on many landlords,
advocates for tenants said
that at least they had alter-
natives, such as selling the
property. For those liv-
ing in rental units, remov-
ing the moratorium would
mean moving in with oth-
ers, risking a higher chance
of COVID-19 infection, or
even homelessness.
Priorities
The $100 million fund
would be prioritized to
go to landlords of smaller
properties, with a higher
percentage of total rent in
arrears. The funds cannot
be used to cover rent paid
by the landlord’s immedi-
ate family.
The lawmakers said
the plan has safeguards
against false declarations
and duplicate applications
by tenants. It will also have
penalties for intentional
mismanagement of the
application by landlords or
putting in for payments for
unoccupied units.
“We anticipate that there
are bad actors on both sides
— not a lot, but some,”
said John VanLandingham,
of the Oregon Law Center,
which helped shape the leg-
islation. “Our goal here was
not to be perfect, because
we didn’t think we could
achieve perfection.”
The funds would also be
doled out so that one region
did not drain the fund all by
itself.
Lawmakers said a sepa-
rate plan to stop some resi-
dential foreclosures will be
ready for review next week.
“We really want to keep
people housed during this
pandemic,” Holvey said.
“Sometimes this isn’t just
about renters, it’s about
homeowners.”
Gov. Kate Brown and
both of Oregon’s U.S. s en-
ators, Ron Wyden and Jeff
Merkley, issued a joint
statement Monday calling
for a “lame duck” session
of Congress before the end
of the year to replace the
$2.2 trillion CARES Act
funds, which expire Dec.
31.
“Just as we enter what is
proving to be the most try-
ing period of the pandemic
so far, federal dollars quite
literally dry up,” the state-
ment said.
The Oregon Capital
Bureau is a collaboration
between EO Media Group
and Pamplin Media Group.
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