WEEKEND EDITION // SATURDAY, JULY 10, 2021
149TH YEAR, NO. 5
$1.50
Cannon
Beach
pursues
food tax
Money would help fund
emergency response
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
CANNON BEACH — The city is mov-
ing forward with a tax on prepared food
in an eff ort to get tourists to help pay for
emergency response and infrastructure.
The City Council voted 3-2 this week
in favor of proceeding with an ordinance
that would levy a 5% tax on prepared food.
City Councilor Nancy McCarthy made
the motion, supported by Councilor Mike
Benefi eld and Councilor Brandon Ogilvie.
Mayor Sam Steidel and Councilor Robin
Risley voted in opposition.
McCarthy, acknowledging a concern
expressed by restaurant owners, also asked
that the ordinance include a promise of
fi nancial assistance to businesses to help
them cover the cost of implementing the
tax.
Steidel believes the question of a local
tax should go to voters in November —
something some residents have urged
See Food tax, Page A6
Nonprofi t
plans drop-in
center for
homeless
Space planned at former
downtown pub
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
The Hotel Elliott has seen record visitation every month since March.
Pent-up demand for travel
helps area hotels rebound
Labor shortage
is a challenge
‘WE ARE GOING TO BREAK A RECORD
FOR JULY. AND WE’VE BROKEN
RECORDS THE LAST FIVE MONTHS.’
By MALLORY GRUBEN
For The Astorian
mid widespread staffi ng short-
ages and national reports indi-
cating the hotel industry is still
struggling through the coronavirus
pandemic, several hotel managers in
Astoria say the tourism season started
early in 2021 and looks to be on track
for a record year driven by pent-up
demand to travel.
Hotel Elliott is one example. The
32-room historic hotel has seen record
visitation every month since March,
said John C. Nelson, the general man-
ager. He expects the trend to continue
into the summer .
“Demand is very strong right now ...
and it’s never been this strong before,”
A
A day time drop-in center to serve the
homeless will open in downtown Astoria
next month.
Filling Empty Bellies, a nonprofi t that
provides meals and other services to peo-
ple in need, has signed a one-year lease on
a building on Commercial Street, the for-
mer location of Capricorn Pub and Fine
Foods. Both Filling Empty Bellies and
Beacon Clubhouse — a nonprofi t, mem-
bership-based center that provides mental
health support and other services — will
move into the building.
Osarch Orak, the executive director of
Filling Empty Bellies, plans to start small.
He hopes to serve lunch from the build-
ing maybe six days a week. The nonprofi t
has served lunch at city parks — at People s
Park off Marine Drive and now at a small
park at the base of Ninth Street. Eventu-
ally, he wants to off er shower and laundry
John C. Nelson | general manager of Hotel Elliott
Nelson said . “I don’t think the hotel
is unique with this business. I think
everyone who can be open and staff
… I think they’ve been having records,
too.”
Like most other sectors of the hos-
pitality industry, hotels and motels suf-
fered a major economic hit due to the
pandemic. A report released by the
American Hotel and Lodging Associa-
tion showed that more than 900 hotels
in Oregon were forced to foreclose or
close in the fi rst six months of the pan-
demic, while more than 11,500 jobs in
the industry were lost in that same time
period.
“A lot of people don’t realize, but
the hotel industry and the lodging
industry was one of the earliest hit by
the pandemic because of the shutdown
of travel, and the restriction on gather-
ing sizes,” said Greg Astley, director
of government aff airs for the Oregon
Restaurant and Lodging Association.
“Although (hotels) weren’t shut down
specifi cally, like the restaurant indus-
try, they still suff ered greatly because
of those restrictions and limitations.”
Even as COVID-19 restrictions lift,
the national hotel industry continues to
See Hotels, Page A6
The Cannery Pier Hotel & Spa has consistently fi nished above its
2019 numbers throughout the spring and summer months.
Edward Stratton/The Astorian
See Nonprofi t, Page A6
Astoria Riverfront Trolley to return
Rides to restart on July 23
By GRIFFIN REILLY
The Astorian
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
The Astoria Riverfront Trolley takes riders along the waterfront.
Bob Miller laughed as onlookers
cheered and captured photos of the
Astoria Riverfront Trolley during a
training run on Thursday morning.
“It’s clear the public are ready
for us, our picture is all over Face-
book,” said Miller, a conductor who
serves on the trolley’s o perations
and s afety c ommittee.
The committee decided Thursday
night that the trolley would reopen
service on July 23 after a 16-month
hiatus. The trolley will run from
12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays, Satur-
days and Sundays until enough new
volunteers can be certifi ed for a full
seven-day-a-week schedule .
When the pandemic hit and ser-
vice was suspended in 2020, the
trolley lost many of its volunteers.
Those who were left continued to
do regular maintenance on the track
and other tasks , but at a slower pace
than they had hoped.
Much of the maintenance
includes repairing weary joints in
the track and digging portions of the
rail out of the mud.
“All of us volunteers are, how
you might say, of a certain age
where we are more susceptible to
conditions than others,” said Frank
Kemp, the trolley maintenance
coordinator and trainer since 2011.
“We replaced ties and did track
maintenance for the fi rst year, and
then everyone just got burned out,
as did a lot of businesses.”
See Trolley, Page A6