Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 2021)
»INSIDE urnal.com inessJo CoastRiverBus Volume 16 • FREE Published 2nd Wednesday of the month April 2021 Inside: Shipping Local businesses reach Page 3 Chronicling Issue 4 bia-Pacific Region ss in the Colum the Joy of Busine light: Industry Spot eak itality, retail and food service businesses Spring on br for local hosp Page 6 A busy seas wider market g Crowdfundin funding Food projects crowdsource Page 8 HAILEY HOFFMAN/ Self care A man blows massive bubbles to entertain the kids and THE ASTORIAN tourists in Seaside. sell natural, Columbia-Pacific businesses beauty products locally-made bath and Page 9 148TH YEAR, NO. 123 DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2021 $1.50 CORONAVIRUS Leaders weigh fate of urban renewal revenue AT ISSUE/CRISIS RESPONSE Money was initially planned for a conference center By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian There were 470 police calls to the park at Ninth and Astor streets in 2020. Police feel weight of crisis response Astoria leaders are looking at whether to direct more than $800,000 in taxes toward urban renewal projects or back to the local jurisdictions that contribute the revenue. The City Council, in its role as the Astoria Development Commission, cre- ated the Astor West Urban Renewal Dis- trict in 2002 to fund improvement proj- ects from the Astoria Bridge to Smith Point, namely a conference center. The conference center idea was even- tually scrapped. But the urban renewal district has funded such projects as mov- ing a fl agpole near the Maritime Memo- rial Park, extending the Astoria River- walk through the Port of Astoria to Pier 3 and renovating the Red Building near the Astoria Bridge into a commercial complex and meeting space. It also funds grants for business owners wanting to improve their facades. See Taxes, Page A2 A small number of people account for hundreds of police calls Vaccine outreach planned for the homeless By NICOLE BALES The Astorian S ixteen people accounted for nearly 600 calls to the Astoria Police Department last year. Many involved drinking in pub- lic, emotional outbursts, fi ghting, wel- fare checks, abandoned junk and tres- passing. They often shared the common threads of homelessness, mental illness and drug and alcohol abuse. While most of the calls did not lead to arrests, court appearances or jail time, they placed a signifi cant burden on police. As Clatsop County and cities con- sider ways to provide housing and improve access to mental health and substance abuse treatment, police offi - cers are asked to respond to recurring calls involving the same people in crisis. “Our traditional options are very lim- ited. So we end up doing the same thing over and over again and getting the same result, which is no result,” Astoria Police Chief Geoff Spalding said. “It’s not necessarily the fault of the system, it’s just the system isn’t funded to the extent it should be,” he said. “It’s a huge challenge for us. If you were to take those (16) individuals and be able to address their behavior through what- ever system you needed to use, and we could do that eff ectively and eliminate Event will focus on wellness Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Astorian AT ISSUE/CRISIS RESPONSE Police offi cers are repeatedly asked to respond to the same people in crisis, placing a burden on time and resources. The Astorian asked the Astoria Police Department and others about the impact. Let us know what you think in a letter to the editor: bit.ly/2kuT0PZ ‘OUR TRADITIONAL OPTIONS ARE VERY LIMITED. SO WE END UP DOING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND GETTING THE SAME RESULT, WHICH IS NO RESULT.’ Astoria Police Chief Geoff Spalding In an eff ort to get coronavirus vaccina- tions to the homeless, Clatsop Commu- nity Action will hold a wellness event in Astoria this month. The homeless became eligible to receive the vaccine in March, part of a group that included seafood MORE and agricultural work- INSIDE ers, as well as people County displaced by wildfi res . reports But they are one of the new virus more challenging pop- cases • A6 ulations to reach. The wellness event is set for April 29 at the Astoria Armory. Clatsop Commu- nity Action hopes to attract about 50 peo- ple and will be off ering the single-dose See At Issue, Page A6 See Vaccine, Page A6 An avid gardener helps others grow Wentzel leads master gardeners By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Astorian ne of Julia Wentzel’s earliest memories of a garden is her grandfather’s potato patch. It still seems like witchcraft, or a magician’s box of mysteries, O the soil below and the leafy plant above and in the middle, sud- denly, a tumbling pile of actual potatoes. “Honestly, to this day I try to use root vegetables as the gate- way drug into gardening,” Went- zel said. For people who may not have been as in touch with where their food comes from, there are few things as educational or delight- ful as pulling up familiar food like a bright orange carrot or a ruby red beet in a place that might feel very unfamiliar: the dirt of a gar- den bed. Wentzel is the new master gar- dener and small-farms program coordinator on the coast for the Oregon State University Exten- sion Service. Based in Tillamook, she splits her time between Tilla- mook County and Clatsop County. Broken Banjo Photography See Wentzel, Page A6 Julia Wentzel is the new coordinator for Oregon State University Extension’s Master Gardener program.