A2
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JULY 29, 2021
IN BRIEF
County unemployment rate
at 6.8% in June
TUMBLE
Clatsop County’s unemployment rate was 6.8% in
June.
The seasonally adjusted rate was down from a
revised 7.2% in May and from 13.4% in June 2020.
The statewide rate was 5.6% in June, according to
the Oregon Employment Department, compared to
5.9% nationwide.
— The Astorian
Former Rep. Nearman pleads guilty to
offi cial misconduct in Capitol incursion
Former state Rep. Mike Nearman illegally allowed
armed demonstrators into the locked Oregon Capitol
last year. Now he’s banned from the building himself.
On Tuesday morning, Nearman pleaded guilty to a
charge of fi rst-degree offi cial misconduct in connec-
tion with the Dec. 21 incident. In exchange for prose-
cutors dropping a second charge of criminal trespass-
ing, Nearman accepted a sentence that includes an
18-month ban from Capitol grounds, 80 hours of com-
munity service and $2,900 in fi nes and restitution for
damage to the Capitol.
Appearing before Marion County Circuit Judge
Cheryl Pellegrini, Nearman acknowledged that he per-
formed an illegal act “which constituted an unautho-
rized exercise of his offi cial duties with intent to obtain
a benefi t or to harm another.”
But his path to that admission was somewhat rocky,
as Nearman maintained some of the defi ance he’s
shown since his role in the incursion was revealed in
January.
Asked by Pellegrini to explain his actions, Near-
man replied that he “opened a door in the Capitol. I
went out. And that allowed people, citizens, to enter
the Capitol.”
But when Pellegrini pressed on the specifi cs of the
crime he was confessing to, which includes intent to
harm others or benefi t himself, Nearman balked. “I
had no intention of harming anyone,” he said. “I sup-
pose that the benefi t would have been that I think the
citizens were allowed to be in the Capitol, so I was let-
ting them in.”
An Astoria man is facing numerous felony charges,
including assaulting a public safety offi cer, in connec-
tion with the Capitol breach.
— Oregon Public Broadcasting
DEATHS
July 27, 2021
In POWELL,
Brief
Carol
Elaine, 75, of Warrenton,
died in Astoria. Caldwell’s
Deaths
Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
July 26, 2021
BAILEY, John Elmer,
86, of Seaside, died
in Seaside. Caldwell’s
Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
July 24, 2021
STAFFORD,
Mar-
gie Nell, 88, of Clats-
kanie, died in Clatskanie.
Caldwell’s
Luce-Lay-
ton Mortuary of Asto-
ria is in charge of the
arrangements.
MEMORIAL
Saturday, July 31
Memorial
SHELLABARGER, Steve and Joyce — Cele-
bration of life and potluck from 12:30 to 4 p.m., Big
Creek Lodge, 92878 Waterhouse Road in Knappa.
ON THE RECORD
Harassment
Ninth and Commercial
On
the Christine
Record
• Allianna
streets in Astoria for driv-
Bruton, 24, was indicted
July 20 for two counts of
aggravated harassment,
resisting arrest, attempted
assault of a public safety
offi cer and disorderly con-
duct in the second degree.
Criminal trespass
•
Miles
Joseph
Hunsinger, 56, of Astoria,
was arrested at Safeway
early Tuesday for crimi-
nal trespass in the second
degree.
DUII
• Zachary Entz, 32,
of Astoria, was arrested
Tuesday morning at
ing under the infl uence of
intoxicants.
• Angela Tangen, 55,
of Astoria, was arrested
Monday afternoon at
Fourth Avenue and King
Salmon Street in Ham-
mond for DUII and fail-
ing to install an interlock
device.
• Stephen Craig John-
son, 73, of Aloha, was
arrested July 22 on U.S.
Highway 101 for DUII.
• Kilie Donovan, 23, of
Seaside, was arrested July
22 for DUII and reckless
driving.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
MONDAY
Astoria City Council, 5:30 p.m., work session, City Hall,
1095 Duane St.
Astoria City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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Jack Nelson rolls down the sand dunes at Fort Stevens State Park.
Brown signs ambitious
clean energy legislation
By SARA CLINE
Associated Press
PORTLAND — Ore-
gon’s clean energy bill,
which sets one of the most
ambitious timelines in the
country for moving to 100%
clean electricity sources,
was signed by Gov. Kate
Brown on Tuesday.
The legislation lays out
a timetable for the state’s
two major power compa-
nies — Portland General
Electric and Pacifi c Power
— to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions associated
with electricity sold to
Oregon consumers. Addi-
tionally, it bans the expan-
sion or new construction
of power plants that burn
fossil fuels and allocates
$50 million in grants for
community-based energy
projects, among other
measures.
“With these policies,
we will create jobs in a
21st Century, clean energy
economy,” Brown said.
“We will reduce carbon
emissions. And, we will
make sure the economic,
environmental and health
benefi ts of our clean energy
economy reach all Orego-
nians, especially those who
have been disproportion-
ately impacted by climate
change and pollution.”
The bill requires Port-
land General Electric and
Pacifi c Power to submit
plans to reduce emissions
by 80% from a baseline
amount by 2030, 90% by
2035 and 100% by 2040.
Dave Robertson, vice
president of Public Aff airs
at Portland General Elec-
tric, says the timeline is an
“important step toward the
clean energy future”.
“It provides a clear
path for this critical tran-
sition while protecting the
aff ordability and reliabil-
ity of electricity, and it
establishes greenhouse gas
reduction targets that are in
line with the climate goals
we set for ourselves late
last year,” Robertson said.
At least 17 other states
and the District of Colum-
bia have already adopted
similar goals, according to
the Clean Energy States
Alliance.
But offi cials say Ore-
gon’s timeline is the
“strongest electricity emis-
sions reduction timeline in
the country.” The deadline
is nearer than nearly every
Dave Killen/The Oregonian
Gov. Kate Brown signed a clean energy bill that puts Oregon on an ambitious timeline to move
to 100% clean electricity sources.
other state that has adopted
a clean power plan, includ-
ing Washington state and
California.
Oregon would measure
its progress in an atypical
way, too.
Most states have opted
to ratchet down green-
house gas emissions by
requiring utilities to grad-
ually increase the amount
of power they get from
renewable energy sources
like wind and solar. Ore-
gon, which has already had
such a “renewable portfo-
lio standard” since 2007, is
taking a more straightfor-
ward approach: requiring
Portland General Electric
and Pacifi c Power to reduce
their overall carbon emis-
sions, which are tracked by
the state’s Department of
Environmental Quality.
“Already, we are seeing
the devastating impacts of
climate change, from more
frequent drought to more
severe wildfi re seasons that
put our homes and our fam-
ilies in jeopardy,” said Rep.
Jason Kropf, a sponsor of
the bill and a Bend Demo-
crat. “This bill will put Ore-
gon on a pathway for a more
environmentally
sound
future and create economic
opportunity and jobs for our
working families.”
Environmental activists
have called the bill’s passage
a huge victory, especially as
the state and country con-
tinue to see the worsening
eff ects of climate change.
But the bill, which passed in
Oregon’s Senate 16-12 and
in the House 35-20, has also
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been criticized.
“Hiking
Oregonians’
energy costs during an eco-
nomic recovery is one of
the dumbest ideas I have
ever heard of,” said Sen-
ate Republican Leader Fred
Girod. “This bill just adds
insult to injury to the count-
less Oregonians who have
endured massive hardship
over the last year and a
half.”
Opponents of the bill
say the policy will increase
electric prices for Orego-
nians, cause business energy
costs to skyrocket and put
strain on the power grid —
possibly leading to rolling
blackouts.
“This bill accomplishes
nothing for our environ-
ment,” Girod said. “It is
simply a bill to virtue signal
to extreme environmentalist
groups that will cause Ore-
gonians to pay more for less
reliable energy.”
Whether or not the time-
line is attainable is also
uncertain.
“If you go out to 2030,
we think we can hit that,”
Pacifi Corp Senior Vice Pres-
ident Scott Bolton told The
Oregonian last month. “We
were pretty clear though,
beyond that we don’t have a
plan that shows we can get
there.”
Likewise, Brett Sims, a
vice president at Portland
General Electric, told The
Oregonian the company
can meet the 2030 target
by eliminating coal, oper-
ating its natural gas fi red
plants to serve peaks rather
than base load demand, and
adding substantial wind,
solar, storage and demand
reduction strategies to its
resource mix. However, the
2040 target, he said, remains
aspirational.