A2
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021
Survey shows rural-urban divide
in Oregon over remote working
IN BRIEF
County unemployment
was 8.1% in February
After a slight downturn during winter, employment
in Clatsop County has stabilized heading into spring.
The county’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate
was at 8.1% in February, according to the latest state
fi gures, compared to 3.3% a year ago before the coro-
navirus pandemic. The county went from more than
24% unemployment in April down to 6.1% in Novem-
ber, slightly lower than the state’s unemployment rate.
Unemployment crept up to 8.2% in January before lev-
eling off . The statewide unemployment rate in Febru-
ary was 6.1%.
The county added 30 jobs in February, instead of the
220 expected by state economists heading into spring.
Total nonfarm employment was at 17,490, down 1,610
from the year prior.
Leisure and hospitality accounted for more than
1,000 of the job losses, with around 23% of jobs in lodg-
ings, restaurants and bars cut over the past year. Local
government employment also dropped by 230 over the
past year, with parks and other services curtailed by the
virus.
Erik Knoder, a regional economist with the Oregon
Employment Department, said employers are adding
jobs back but struggling to fi nd employees because of
several potential factors related to the virus, including
lack of child care, high housing costs and low wages.
But he expects things to look better in March’s employ-
ment fi gures being released April 20.
“What we’ve been hearing is that employers are
looking for employees,” he said. “They are starting to
hire. So I have expectations that March will certainly
show some growth. I don’t think it will be explosive.”
Park district election forum planned
SEASIDE — The Seaside Signal and the American
Association of University Women Seaside Chapter will
present a forum for candidates for the Sunset Empire
Park and Recreation District’s board.
The forum will be held at 7 p.m. on April 29. Candi-
dates will participate with social distancing from the Bob
Chisholm Community Center.
The event will be broadcast via livestream with links
at sunsetempire.com and seasidesignal.com.
— The Astorian
Ocean Beach School District
explores year-round school
LONG BEACH, Wash. — COVID-19 has disrupted
the past two school years at Ocean Beach School Dis-
trict, but the pandemic’s most signifi cant and longest
lasting impact on local schooling may be yet to come.
At its monthly meeting in late March, school board
members expressed a willingness for the district to
explore a potential shift from the traditional school cal-
endar — when school begins in September and lets out
for summer break in mid-June — to what Superinten-
dent Amy Huntley calls a “balanced” calendar.
Under balanced calendars, Huntley said, school years
are typically broken up into nine-week terms, with a
couple of weeks off in between each term.
The calendar includes a longer break in the sum-
mer, before the start of the next school year in the fall
— although it would be noticeably shorter than the two-
and-a-half months off that students and staff are used to.
“There’s many pros, there’s many cons, so this is just
a chance for us to start chatting about whether, and how
much, we want to explore this, and how soon we want to
think about pitching this and throwing it out to the com-
munity,” Huntley told board members.
— Chinook Observer
Wastewater testing reveals coronavirus
variant in Grants Pass and McMinnville
Researchers in Oregon have detected the B.1.1.7
variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 in Grants
Pass and McMinnville.
The variant, which was fi rst detected in the United
Kingdom, is about 50% more contagious and likely
causes more severe illness than the coronavirus that ini-
tially triggered the pandemic.
When people have COVID-19, they “shed” corona-
virus when they go to the bathroom. This waste ends up
in sewer systems where it can be collected and used to
determine if there’s coronavirus in the community. The
samples can also be analyzed to determine which vari-
ants are present.
For several months now, researchers at Oregon State
University have been sequencing coronavirus collected
in wastewater samples from cities around the state.
— Oregon Public Broadcasting
DEATH
March 29, 2021
Death
TETLOW, William “Bill” Edward, 93, of Astoria,
died in Astoria. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the arrangements.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
THURSDAY
Astoria Design Review Commission, 5:30 p.m., City Hall,
1095 Duane St.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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By SUZANNE ROIG
The Bulletin
BEND — Residents of
rural areas think working
from home is temporary and
as soon as the threat of the
pandemic ends, everyone will
return to the offi ce.
What’s more likely to
occur is increased fl ex time,
where work is split between
the offi ce and home, said
Dan McCarthy, High Lakes
Health Care regional adminis-
trator. Post pandemic, McCa-
rthy said, the company that
employs about 350 people
throughout c entral Oregon
will still have remote workers.
“We found that a hybrid
approach that balances work
from home with offi ce hours
is something that will be here
to stay,” McCarthy said. “I
believe there is something lost
when working virtually 100%
of the time.”
Working from home
misses checking in with each
other, developing a sense of
community and the dynamic
interaction of problem-solv-
ing, he said. Virtual platforms
just don’t cut it.
McCarthy’s views mirror
about 601 people who were
surveyed March 5 to March
10 as part of the Oregon Val-
ues and Voices project, a non-
partisan charitable organi-
zation that partnered with
Pamplin Media Group, EO
Media Group and the Oregon
Values and Beliefs Center.
EO Media Group owns news-
papers in Oregon and Wash-
ington state, including The
Bulletin and The Astorian.
The survey consisted of
49 questions sent to a ran-
dom sample about changes
caused by COVID-19 that
will become permanent in
Oregon. This is the second
such survey orchestrated by
Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune
Near-empty offi ces have been common during the coronavirus pandemic.
the group on the eff ects of
COVID-19.
In one question, 47% of
the people who live in rural
Oregon say they felt work-
ing from home was only tem-
porary, compared to 37% in
the Willamette Valley and t ri-
county area around Portland
who said it’s temporary.
Since workers in urban and
suburban communities are
more likely aff ected by con-
gestion, their commute times
are longer, making working
from home more attractive,
said Adam Davis, the Ore-
gon Values and Beliefs Cen-
ter co-founder.
“As a result of the corona-
virus and how it has aff ected
life at home and employment,
a strong majority of Orego-
nians feel more of us in the
future will work from home,”
Davis said. “This feeling
is shared across all popula-
tion subgroups with many
feeling the change will be
permanent.”
Cheri Rosenberg, the CEO
of the Pendleton Chamber of
Commerce , said the small-
town feel has created a tight
bond between employee and
employer.
“Because we tend to have
a more personal relationship
between our employers and
employees, it’s a conversa-
tion we are able to have,”
Rosenberg said in an email.
“For those who are able and
prefer to work from home,
those steps are being taken.
For those who are ready to
get back into the offi ce, those
steps are being taken there as
well.
“We’re able to have the
best of both worlds due to the
ability to be very open and
candid with one another.”
In the survey, 33% of those
ages 45 to 64 said the ability
to work from home was tem-
porary, compared to 53%
in the same age group that
thought working from home
was permanent. And 64%
of those who earned more
than $100,000 a year said
they believed working from
home would become perma-
nent, compared 28%, earning
the same amount, who said it
would be temporary.
The survey’s margin of
error, for the full sample,
ranges from 2.4 to 4 per-
centage points depending on
how the response category
percentages are split for any
given question, according to
the survey authors.
Katy Brooks, the CEO of
the Bend Chamber of Com-
merce, said she’s seen the
data play out during this past
year. But Bend is a city with
a high percentage of remote
workers given that Bend has a
low inventory and employees
appear to like the fl exibility of
working from home.
“There are plain savings in
offi ce space, utilities if they
function well with a hybrid or
remote format,” Brooks said.
“I’ve spoke to dozens of com-
panies in Bend who are con-
sidering a permanent hybrid
model for these reasons.”
Bend Blockbuster booming after
Netfl ix documentary goes viral
By KYLE SPURR
The Bulletin
BEND — The Block-
buster video rental store in
Bend was already popular
when it became the last loca-
tion on Earth. It drew visi-
tors from across the United
States and as far as Taiwan
and London.
But in the past two
weeks, the store off N.E.
Third Street has been
fl ooded with even more vis-
itors and online orders after
Netfl ix boosted its visibil-
ity. It was featured in “The
Last Blockbuster,” a docu-
mentary about the store that
started trending in the top
10 most watched movies on
Netfl ix.
People have sent fl ow-
ers and called the store just
to say “thank you” for stay-
ing open. Those visiting the
store wear masks and keep
their distance due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, but
are not deterred from fi nd-
ing a movie to rent.
In the backroom, staff
members have been busy
packaging thousands of
online orders for Block-
buster T-shirts, hats and face
masks, which are all made
by Bend businesses.
“It’s a little bit crazy, but
it’s a very good thing,” said
Sandi Harding, the store’s
manager. “We’ll take a little
crazy if it means keeping the
store open.”
Harding is the star of
the movie, which peaked
as high as the No. 4 movie
in the United States since
it appeared on Netfl ix on
March 15.
People have stopped
Harding in the grocery store
to take pictures with her and
one boy visited the Bend
Blockbuster and was in awe
of seeing Harding, she said.
“It’s good for the store.
It’s good for the commu-
nity,” Harding said. “And
I can learn to live with my
newfound fame as long as it
doesn’t mess with what we
are doing every day.”
Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin
Milt McConnell, of Bend, takes a picture of Mark Style, of Philadelphia, and Illene Style, of
Bend, in front of Bend Blockbuster on Monday.
‘IT’S A LITTLE BIT CRAZY, BUT
IT’S A VERY GOOD THING. WE’LL
TAKE A LITTLE CRAZY IF IT MEANS
KEEPING THE STORE OPEN.’
Sandi Harding | the store’s manager
The two Bend fi lmmak-
ers behind the documentary,
Taylor Morden and Zeke
Kamm, had no idea if the
store would stay open when
they started fi lming in 2017.
The movie focuses on Hard-
ing’s day-to-day eff ort to run
the store, which became the
last in the world when the
Blockbuster in Perth, Aus-
tralia, closed in March 2019.
Morden said he’s heard
from people who call Hard-
ing a national treasure and
say the store must remain
open at all costs. He’s
pleased to know the fi lm’s
attention on Netfl ix may be
what keeps the store open.
“For us to have some
small part in helping the
store stay open is amaz-
ing,” Morden said. “Not a
lot of documentaries actu-
ally accomplish the goal of
their story.”
The Bend Blockbuster
has no plans to close. It has
a steady lease agreement
with the building’s property
owner. The owners of the
local Blockbuster, Ken and
Debbie Tisher, have leased
the property since 1992,
when it was a Pacifi c Video
store. The store was fran-
chised in 2000 and became
a Blockbuster.
In its heyday, Block-
buster had 9,000 stores. The
documentary reminds peo-
ple about those years when
Blockbuster was the leader
in home entertainment.
Morden said many view-
ers enjoy the irony of watch-
ing the documentary on Net-
fl ix, the streaming service
credited with changing the
way people watch movies
at home and leading to the
demise of Blockbuster.
The fi lm has also brought
viewers to tears, especially
those who have fond mem-
ories of working at a Block-
buster in their childhood,
Morden said.
“The best part is the peo-
ple who message us and say
they worked at Blockbuster
and were crying watching
the movie,” Morden said. “It
brought back so many great
memories.”
Morden and Kamm are
still amazed their movie
has gone viral on Netfl ix .
Kamm said he’s heard from
old high school classmates
and a childhood crush, who
all enjoyed the fi lm.
“It’s aff ected people
emotionally,” Kamm said.
“I think it reminded peo-
ple that we had this thing
that was such an important
part of our lives. Hopefully,
it reminds people to appre-
ciate the things they have
now.”
Both fi lmmakers feel
connected with the Bend
Blockbuster, even though
they are done fi lming their
movie. They contact Hard-
ing regularly to fi nd out if
she needs more DVDs of
their movies or movie post-
ers to sell at the store.
“I’m sure I’ll be involved
with the folks at the last
Blockbuster until they ever
close,” Morden said. “There
is no way we are not going
to be connected.”