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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 4, 2021)
A2 THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, MAY 4, 2021 FAT BIKE IN BRIEF Salmon seasons set for Columbia River FESTIVAL With improved run forecasts for certain salmon species, but below average runs predicted for others, summer and fall salmon fi sheries on the Columbia River will be a mixed bag this year. Retention of adult hatchery Chinook from the Asto- ria Bridge to Bonneville Dam opens on the river on June 16 and will continue through July 5 downstream of the dam and upstream of the dam to the Oregon and Washington state border through July 31. Because of forecasts of below average runs for sockeye salmon, retention of sockeye and hatchery steelhead in both areas will be allowed but with a reduced bag limit. With predictions for a higher number of upriver bright Chinook, the fall Chinook retention season starts Aug. 1 and will last longer than in recent years. Regulations vary by river section, however. Hatchery coho retention will be open throughout the fall season due to a much-improved run forecast. But protective regulations will once again be in eff ect for 2021 fi sheries because of the low forecast for upriver summer steelhead. Anglers will be limited to one hatch- ery steelhead for their daily bag limit and there will be area specifi c closures, among other restrictions. Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian Halibut fi shing opens off Oregon Halibut sport fi shing opens off the Oregon Coast this month. Off the North Coast, fi shermen will be able to begin fi shing on Thursday through May 27 — on Thursdays and Sundays — for the all-depth season in the Colum- bia River subareas that run from Cape Falcon to Lead- better Point in Washington state. The nearshore season inside the 40-fathom line in this same area begins May 10 and runs until the 500- pound quota is met or through Sept. 30. South of Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain, the near- shore sport halibut fi shery has opened, while the spring all-depth season has set openings, with the fi rst occur- ring on May 13 through May 15. The summer all-depth season off the state’s central coast opens in August. From Humbug Mountain to the Oregon-California border, sport fi shing for halibut is now open daily. Como to serve as interim Gearhart fi re chief GEARHART — Josh Como has been named interim fi re chief after the retirement of Gearhart Fire Chief Bill Eddy. “I have been involved with the fi re department since I was 6 years old,” Como said. “That’s how old I was when my dad joined. I was a cadet when I was 14.” — The Astorian DEATHS May 1, 2021 In KIRBY, Brief Carley Eliza- beth, 82, of Astoria, died in Warrenton. Ocean View Death Funeral & Cremation Ser- vice of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. PELTO, Henry, 72, of Astoria, died in Asto- ria. Caldwell’s Luce-Lay- ton Mortuary of Asto- ria is in charge of the arrangements. April 29, 2021 HATCH, William Radburn, 87, of Can- non Beach, died in Can- non Beach. Caldwell’s Funeral & Cremation Arrangement Center of Seaside is in charge of the arrangements. ON THE RECORD Theft DUII On the Record: May • Kenneth Weaver Pru- • Michael Rhodes ett, 38, was arrested Fri- Wallace, 33, of Port- day on 2021 charges of theft in land, was arrested Thurs- 3, the second degree, unlaw- day in Astoria for driv- ful entry into a motor vehicle and possession of methamphetamine. ing under the infl uence of intoxicants. PUBLIC MEETINGS TUESDAY Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, noon, work session, (electronic meeting). Port of Astoria Commission, 4 p.m., (electronic meeting). Clatsop Care Health District Board, 5 p.m., (electronic meeting). Astoria Planning Commission, 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. Cannon Beach City Council, 6 p.m., (electronic meeting). Clatsop Community College Budget Committee, 6:30 p.m., (electronic meeting). WEDNESDAY Seaside Urban Renewal and Improvement Commission, 5:30 p.m., budget meeting,(electronic meeting). Seaside Improvement Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, (electronic meeting). THURSDAY Astoria Design Review Commission, 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. Seaside Parks Advisory Committee, 6 p.m., 989 Broad- way St. PUBLIC MEETINGS Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503-325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103-0210 DailyAstorian.com Circulation phone number: 800-781-3214 Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR ADVERTISING OWNERSHIP All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by The Astorian become the property of The Astorian and may not be reproduced for any use without explicit prior approval. COPYRIGHT © Entire contents © Copyright, 2021 by The Astorian. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. Printed on recycled paper Cyclists raced at the Cannon Beach Fat Bike Festival on Saturday night. The winner of the slow race was the last person to cross the fi nish line without putting a foot on the ground. Labor: ‘It’s really diffi cult to manage’ Continued from Page A1 because they’re off ering me more, unless you match it.’ If you match it, then what’s going to happen? You have 100 other employees, and you have to match. So it’s really diffi cult to manage.” Khan blamed the govern- ment for what he described as a ham-fi sted application of unemployment benefi ts in places, like the coast, where jobs are readily available. David Posalski, a Seaside city councilor who owns several local eateries, said the labor shortage has been exacerbated by virus-re- lated travel bans that have stopped between 50 to 60 foreign exchange students from Asia and Europe who come each year to work in hotels and restaurants . He said he usually hires seven to eight students, mostly from Lithuania . “Between my businesses, I could use another 10 peo- ple,” Posalski said. “If I get my Lithuanians come sum- mertime, I could probably get away with three or four.” Kim Dewar, an offi ce manager for Total Employ- ment and Management, oversees several hundred temporary workers for mostly blue-collar positions between Astoria and New- port. She’s been fi elding a fl ood of calls from busi- nesses struggling to fi nd workers through traditional advertising and perks like signing bonuses. “Everybody’s wanting to keep it at last year’s wages, and that just isn’t going to work,” she said. “Peo- ple have had a year to be home, get stimulus money, and they don’t want to come back and work for what they worked for last year. Because guess what? If they stay home, they can still get the money.” Regional workforce ana- lyst Shawna Sykes said most of the shortages appear to be in lower-paying hos- pitality jobs , where front- line workers often have to enforce health and safety guidelines to protect against the virus. “One of the things we’ve been hearing from employ- ers is the frustration with enforcing the COVID restrictions with guests that don’t want to comply,” Sykes said. “That confron- tational aspect that is really diffi cult for some people to handle as wait staff or host- esses ... even retail.” People who want to come back to work face pressures from child care to the lack of aff ordable housing. The county, like all of Oregon, is considered a child care des- ert. Even small diff erences between pay and unemploy- ment benefi ts can have an impact when r ents routinely Edward Stratton/The Astorian David Posalski, the owner of Tsunami Sandwich Co. in Seaside, said coronavirus travel restrictions have prevented international students from coming to work at local hotels and restaurants. Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian Esteban Becerra smoothes a bed at the SaltLine Hotel in Seaside. The hotel needs housekeepers and other staff . surpass $1,000 a month for one-bedroom apartments. Dewar’s offi ce provides a shower and laundry to help workers who struggle to fi nd adequate housing. She called the local rental mar- ket “exploitative.” “I have four employees who share one room, and they pay $500 a month for the bunk,” Dewar said. Sykes said the county has a unique set of housing chal- lenges, with a higher pro- portion of retirees, remote workers moving to the coast and around 22% of homes being second or vacation properties, compared to 4% statewide. “There’s just a lot less homes available for resi- dents, overall,” she said. Warrenton Mayor Henry Balensifer, who works at JBT Lektro, said the county also faces shortages for higher-wage jobs in indus- tries such as manufactur- ing, where global supply chains have been disrupted by the pandemic and created uncertainties for businesses. He also recognized the logic of staying home, earn- ing unemployment and sav- ing on child care costs. “Child care can cost the equivalent of a mortgage anymore these days,” Balen- sifer said. “So at that point, if the unemployment ben- Subscription rates Eff ective January 12, 2021 MAIL EZpay (per month) ...............................................................................................................$10.75 13 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$37.00 26 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$71.00 52 weeks in advance ........................................................................................................ $135.00 DIGITAL EZpay (per month) .................................................................................................................$8.25 WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 efi t is going to cover what you need ... it’s cheaper to stay home than pay for child care.” ‘There was no child care’ Some service-sector workers, like Josie Lilly, have turned the pandemic into an opportunity for pro- fessional development. Lilly was laid off along with most of the staff at the Astoria Coff eehouse & Bistro just after her daughter’s sixth birthday in March 2020. Then schools closed. “I was kind of trapped at home with my daugh- ter,” Lilly said. “There was no child care. Trying to be my daughter’s playmate 24/7 was a little draining and exhausting. I was kind of anxious to get back doing something.” Lilly had periodically attended college, but she usually went back to the rel- Edward Stratton/The Astorian Josie Lilly used a layoff during the coronavirus pandemic to go back to school to become an electrician. atively good pay — after tips — from restaurants. But after more than 20 years of waitressing, she decided during the pandemic to get more serious about a long- held dream of becoming an electrician. She now spends her days attending class, car- ing for her daughter and picking up shifts at Colum- bia Housewarmers on the rare occasion she can fi nd a babysitter. “I’d defi nitely been con- sidering it and kind of dip- ping my toes in the water before,” Lilly said, “but this was the real shove over the cliff . ”