A2
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2021
Lawmakers approve carbon-reduction goals
IN BRIEF
Ambitious plan to
reduce emissions
Temperatures peaked
at 100 degrees in Astoria
The North Coast experienced a heat wave over the
weekend.
Temperatures peaked at 100 degrees on Sunday after-
noon in Astoria, according to the National Weather
Service.
An excessive heat warning remained in eff ect until
Monday night for the eastern part of Clatsop County,
where temperatures were expected to remain danger-
ously hot.
One person taken to hospital
after crash on Highway 30
One person was taken to a hospital Sunday after a
two-vehicle crash on U.S. Highway 30 in Astoria.
Police say a vehicle was heading eastbound when the
driver came to a stop near an unmarked dirt road. The
vehicle reportedly did not have a turn signal so the driver
stuck his arm outside of the window to indicate he was
turning left.
Another driver headed eastbound crashed into the
vehicle and was taken to the hospital.
Man arrested after disturbance and
high-speed chase in Warrenton
A man was arrested in Warrenton last week following
a disturbance that led to a high-speed chase.
Charles Seeling, 33, was arrested on June 22 for bur-
glary in the second degree, unlawful use of a weapon,
fl eeing or attempting to elude a police offi cer, attempted
assault on a public safety offi cer, reckless driving and
menacing.
Police were dispatched to a home on E. Harbor Drive
on June 20 following a 911 hang-up call. When offi cers
arrived, a woman wanted Seeling to leave the home.
Police could not fi nd Seeling, but he spoke to offi cers
through security cameras in the house.
Seeling reportedly made threats that offi cers would
have to kill him or he would kill the offi cers. He later
exited the house through a window and climbed onto the
roof where offi cers found him holding a large knife, con-
tinuing to make threats.
Seeling entered a pickup truck and fl ed the scene,
leading offi cers on a high speed chase on U.S. Highway
101. He reportedly exited the highway before reaching
the U.S. Highway 26 junction. Seeling was not located.
Later that day, the woman, who was staying somewhere
else, told police she saw Seeling on the security cameras
back at her home. Police could not confi rm he was there
because the cameras had been covered or disabled.
Offi cers chose to monitor the home instead of enter-
ing and possibly escalating the situation. A Warrenton
police offi cer made contact with Seeling on June 22
and negotiated with him to turn himself in. He was then
taken to the Clatsop County Jail.
— The Astorian
Lawmakers delay Oregon
paid family leave program
SALEM — Oregon’s new program of paid family
leave would be delayed under a bill that is headed to
Gov. Kate Brown.
A fi nal 34-21 vote by the Oregon House on Friday
moved House Bill 3398 to the governor. Democrats sup-
plied all the votes for it. One Democrat, Paul Evans of
Monmouth, joined 20 Republicans in opposition.
The Senate approved the amended version, largely to
resolve confl icts, on a 21-7 vote the previous day.
The starting date for contributions by employers and
employees would be put off by one year, from Jan. 1,
2022, to Jan. 1, 2023. The starting date for benefi t pay-
ments would be Sept. 3, 2023, instead of Jan. 1.
Startup costs will be drawn from the tax-supported
general fund, but will be repaid from contributions by
employers and employees into the program.
— Oregon Capital Bureau
DEATH
June 26, 2021
In BAY, Brief
JoAnne Hendrickson, 90, of Astoria, died in
Astoria. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of Astoria
is in charge of the arrangements.
Death
ON THE RECORD
Burglary
On
the
• Jennifer
Lynn Record
Thornburg, 47, of Cannon Beach,
was arraigned Friday on charges of burglary in the
fi rst degree, criminal mischief in the second degree
and harassment.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
TUESDAY
Gearhart City Council, 6:30 p.m., work session, (electronic
meeting).
THURSDAY
Astoria Design Review Commission, 5:30 p.m., City Hall,
1095 Duane St.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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By DIRK
VANDERHART
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Oregon’s power grid will
largely eliminate carbon
emissions by 2040 under a
bill that got fi nal approval
by state lawmakers on Sat-
urday, setting one of the
nation’s most ambitious
goals for reducing green-
house gas emissions from
the electricity sector.
House Bill 2021 passed
the Senate on a 16-12 vote
after passing the House the
day before and heads to
Gov. Kate Brown.
The vote granted pas-
sage to one of several major
bills lawmakers had yet to
take up on the Legislature’s
fi nal day of action. It came
as Oregonians braced for a
record-breaking heat wave
that had offi cials scrambling
to open cooling centers and
issue urgent warnings about
wildfi re danger.
“Look at the tempera-
tures expected this week-
end, and ongoing and pro-
longed drought,” state Rep.
Pam Marsh, D-Ashland,
one of the bill’s chief pro-
ponents, said on the House
fl oor on Friday. “What I
know when I look at that
is if we fail to address the
underlying conditions, we
are just going to be back in
this Capitol, year after year,
trying to help communities
out of disastrous situations.”
HB 2021 sets a time-
table by which Oregon’s
two major power compa-
nies, Portland General Elec-
tric and Pacifi c Power, must
eliminate emissions asso-
ciated with the electricity
they provide. Five electric-
ity service suppliers in the
state also would face regula-
tion, though their emissions
are tiny compared to the big
Amelia Templeton/Oregon Public Broadcasting
Under House Bill 2021, the state’s two largest power providers will need to transition from
fossil fuels to more renewable energy sources.
utilities.
While at least 17 other
states have similar goals,
Oregon’s timeline of get-
ting power suppliers to zero
emissions by 2040 is more
ambitious than nearly all.
In addition to that end date,
regulated entities would be
required to submit plans to
reduce emissions by 80%
from a baseline amount by
2030 and 90% by 2035.
The bill also:
• bans expansion or new
construction of power plants
that burn natural gas or other
fossil fuels,
• sets labor standards for
any large-scale renewable
energy projects built in the
state,
• includes $50 million
in grants for community
renewable energy projects
in cities other than Portland,
which has its own fund for
such projects,
• allows cities in Oregon
to create so-called “green
tariff s,” where they agree to
pay utilities more money for
power from a cleaner mix
of sources in order to meet
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According to the Ore-
gon Department of Environ-
mental Quality, emissions
from electricity accounted
for 30% of the state’s green-
house gas emissions in
2019. The entities regulated
under HB 2021 are respon-
sible for the vast majority of
that, but some providers are
left untouched.
State Sen. Betsy John-
son, D-Scappoose, and Rep.
Suzanne Weber, R-Tilla-
mook, voted against the bill.
Republican lawmakers
voted almost universally
against HB 2021, arguing
that it did not do enough to
ensure renewable energy
products are built in Ore-
gon and suggesting that
eliminating carbon emis-
sions could leave the state’s
power grid vulnerable.
“It sounds good on the 5
o’clock news, but it will not
help on the ground,” said
Sen. Lynn Findley, R-Vale,
who argued that land use
regulations would block
renewable energy proj-
ects in his E astern Oregon
district.
Professor drowns while surfi ng on Oregon Coast
By GARY ALLEN
Portland Tribune
The George Fox Univer-
sity community is mourning
the loss of one of its own after
Javier Garcia’s sudden death
on the Oregon C oast.
Garcia died June 19 in a
surfi ng accident at Short Sand
Beach, a popular spot for surf-
ers adjacent to Oswald West
State Park north of Manzanita.
A wake and vigil were
held June 22 in Bauman
Auditorium. A memorial ser-
vice followed Wednesday in
the auditorium.
The 34-year-old native
of Cincinnati joined the fac-
ulty in 2016 after earning his
doctorate in theology from
the University of Cambridge
in England. At George Fox,
he was named director of the
school’s honor program and
became an associate profes-
sor of religious studies earlier
this year.
“As director, I really appre-
ciate building relationships
Javier Garcia died last week while surfi ng on the Oregon Coast.
with prospective and current
students in the program,” he
said prior to his death. “I am
humbled by the opportunity
to teach such bright students
who are eager to learn and
grow in their faith.”
Garcia graduated magna
cum laude from George-
town University, major-
ing in French and philoso-
phy. He penned his fi rst book,
“Recovering the Ecumenical
Bonhoeff er: Thinking After
the Tradition,” in 2019.
Praise, prayers and condo-
lences poured into the univer-
sity at the news of his death.
“Javier Garcia had a face
that radiated light,” Brian
Doak, the associate provost,
said in a release. “His smile
could turn your day around.
His laughter, listening ear and
friendship changed my life
— and those of us who loved
him will be spending the rest
of our lives wondering why
this happened.
“Javier was an adven-
turer. He lived in at least six
or seven countries, spoke
four languages and traveled
broadly across North Amer-
ica, South America, Europe,
Asia and Africa in his 34
years on Earth.”
Doak recounted how ear-
lier this month Garcia had
traveled to Costa Rica to prac-
tice a sport in which he had
become profi cient.
“Earlier this June he spent
a week at a surfi ng camp in
Costa Rica, where he honed
his skills in the ocean doing
what he loved,” Doak said.
“He was a strong swimmer
and an experienced surfer.
Whether on land or sea or
mountain, Javier was up for
almost anything.”
Garcia is survived by his
parents, a brother and two
sisters.
All about the story for new librarian in Seaside
Griffi th returns to
her hometown
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
SEASIDE — After 27
years, Leah Griffi th retired
from her role as Newberg
library director in 2019 and
returned to Seaside, her
hometown. She hopes to
breathe new life into the Sea-
side Museum & Historical
Society’s library collection.
Griffi th has begun with
revisions to the collection,
getting rid of out-of-area
materials readily available
on the internet or through
library loan. She and Steve
Wright, the museum’s board
president and a city coun-
cilor, plan on meeting with
members of the Clatsop
County Historical Society to
discuss digital preservation
of much of the museum’s
archives, including years of
city directories.
Once the paper versions
are gone, she said, they can-
not be replaced.
Griffi th’s roots in Seaside
go back more than a century.
“My family’s been here
since about 1910,” Griffi th
said during a recent museum
tour. “My grandfather was
the police chief in 1933 to
1953, and dad was on City
Council. He was a fi refi ghter.
I have two chairs from the
lounge area of the fi re depart-
ment on Broadway. They’re
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their own climate goals,
• requires power compa-
nies to consider input from
low-income
ratepayers,
environmental justice com-
munities, federally recog-
nized tribes and others as
they develop strategies for
reducing emissions.
While heralded by envi-
ronmental groups, advo-
cacy organizations and
organized labor, HB 2021 is
less sweeping than propos-
als for reducing greenhouse
gas emissions that Demo-
crats had pushed in recent
sessions.
Bills to create a cap-
and-trade system in Ore-
gon would have mandated
reductions in not just the
power sector, but also in
manufacturing and transpor-
tation. But those bills, intro-
duced in the 2019 and 2020
sessions, led Republicans to
walk away from the Capitol,
eff ectively killing the pro-
posal. Brown subsequently
signed an executive order
aiming to reduce emissions
in many areas, but with little
impact on electricity.
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Leah Griffi th is the new librarian for the Seaside Museum &
Historical Society.
now in my living room.”
Griffi th is a Rotarian and
chairwoman of the board
of directors for the Seaside
Public Library Foundation.
“We’ve got a good base,”
Griffi th said of the muse-
um’s library collection. “It’s
had a lot of support over the
years and we’re now ready
to work on some new exhib-
its. We’ve developed a com-
mittee that’s going to plan
out our exhibits into the
future so that we know the
story that we want to tell.
That’s what it’s all about —
the story.”