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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2022
BEACH DAY
IN BRIEF
Temporary closures of
Astoria Bridge planned
to control cormorants
Temporary closures of the Astoria Bridge are
planned over the next several months for experiments
to move the cormorant population.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service will attempt to use
light- and sound-based techniques to compel the birds
to nest elsewhere.
Bridge closures may occur until September, the
Oregon Department of Transportation said.
Bird nests and excrement can impede bridge inspec-
tions and damage the paint, the transportation depart-
ment said.
State discloses virus cases
at local school
The Oregon Health Authority has disclosed two
new coronavirus cases at a school in Clatsop County.
The cases involved students from Lewis and Clark
Elementary School, according to the health authority’s
weekly outbreak report.
The state also revised the virus case count at
Suzanne Elise Assisted Living Community in Seaside
to 13. Last week, the number was 12.
Fishery managers adopt
recreational spring Chinook salmon
and steelhead seasons
Fishery managers from Oregon and Washington
state have adopted the recreational spring Chinook
salmon and steelhead seasons for the Columbia River.
The 2022 spring forecast shows improvement from
last year’s actual return, with 197,000 adult spring
Chinook forecasted to return to the Columbia River
mouth, over 44,000 more than last year. Spring salmon
season is also expected to have a higher return of
122,900, over 31,000 more than last year.
The new regulations apply downstream of Bon-
neville Dam and will be in eff ect for the main stem
Columbia River.
Season dates are March 1 to April 6.
The bag limit is two adult hatchery Chinook or
steelhead per day, but only one may be a Chinook.
Shad may also be retained.
At Youngs Bay, Blind Slough and Knappa Slough,
from March 1 to June 15, on days when the main stem
Columbia River recreational fi shery below Bonneville
Dam is open to retention of Chinook, the bag limit will
be the same as the main stem bag limits.
Seaside convention center
manager to retire
SEASIDE — Russ Vandenberg, the general man-
ager of the Seaside Civic and Convention Center,
announced his retirement this spring.
At Wednesday’s Seaside Chamber of Commerce
breakfast, Vandenberg, 65, said he would be leaving
the role he has held since 2005.
“I felt that time was right for me, my age in life and
ready to enter the next chapter,” he said. “How hon-
ored I am to be part of the city and be part of this com-
munity that has welcomed me with open arms. I’m just
extremely grateful.”
As the general manager, Vandenberg oversees the
day-to-day management of the convention center
that includes administration, marketing, sales, oper-
ations, fi scal responsibility and approval of facility
contracts.
— The Astorian
DEATH
Feb. 25, 2022
Death
ANDREWS, Ninfa Polomata, 75, of Warrenton,
died in Astoria. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the arrangements.
ON THE RECORD
Aggravated harassment
On
the
• Gretchen
Beth Record
Brooks, 44, of Astoria, was arrested
on Monday near Duane and Sixth streets in Astoria for
aggravated harassment and theft in the third degree.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
MONDAY
Warrenton Marinas Advisory Committee, 2 p.m., special
meeting, City Hall, 225 S. Main Ave.
Seaside School District Board, 4 p.m., special meeting,
2600 Spruce Drive, Suite 200.
TUESDAY
Seaside Community Center Commission, 10 a.m., Bob
Chisholm Community Center, 1225 Avenue A.
Clatsop County Fair Board, 5:30 p.m., 92937 Walluski Loop.
Cannon Beach City Council, 6 p.m., (electronic meeting).
Seaside Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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Luna, 18 months, and Andrea stand on the beach while their sister, Lynnette, plays with a kite behind them on the Long Beach Peninsula.
State lawmakers unveil
$400 million housing plan
Money for shelters
and construction
By PETER WONG
Oregon Capital Bureau
Majority Democrats in
the Oregon Legislature have
unveiled their plan to spend
$400 million to ease home-
lessness and promote low-
er-cost housing, on top of
a record $700 million that
lawmakers approved last
year.
The amount is in line
with what Gov. Kate Brown
proposed at the start of the
session. It is split between
$165 million for shelter
operations, referrals and
other emergency housing
programs; $215 million for
repairs and construction of
lower-cost housing, man-
ufactured-home parks and
land acquisition, and $20
million for help for fi rst-
time homebuyers.
Lawmakers told report-
ers on Thursday they are
under no illusions the plan
will drastically reduce the
number of homeless people
or dramatically increase the
supply of lower-cost hous-
ing in the short term.
But they also said those
issues are statewide, not
limited to the Portland
metro area.
State Rep. Jason Kropf,
a Bend Democrat, said he
has been carefully reading a
series in The Bulletin news-
paper recounting the stories
of people who do not have
housing.
“The series underscores
that those who are unhoused
and unsheltered are as
diverse as our community
itself,” Kropf said.
“It saddens me to know
there are people in my com-
munity going through this.
But I know it is a top prior-
ity for me and this commu-
nity to tackle this crisis.”
Record state tax collec-
tions, plus federal support
from the American Res-
cue Plan Act, have boosted
the amount of money that
lawmakers have on hand to
spend.
Most of the money will
come through an end-of-ses-
sion budget bill — and most
will go to existing programs
run by local governments
and community groups.
House Majority Leader
Julie Fahey, of Eugene, who
leads the House panel, said
lawmakers have to fund
both emergency and long-
term programs.
“Our N orth S tar has to
be making investments in
housing programs that actu-
ally work to get people on
the path out of homeless-
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
A workforce housing project is planned for Heritage Square in Astoria.
ness, not just move them
from one place to another or
warehouse them somewhere
out of sight,” she said.
“These are local safety-net
services that catch people
before they become home-
less and that reach out to
help get people off the street
and into shelter or housing.
“I want to make clear
these investments will not
solve every problem over-
night. But Oregonians have
immediate needs right now.”
Stable Homes for Oregon
Families, a coalition that has
advocated help for low-in-
come renters and home-
owners, urged lawmakers to
approve the plan.
“We urge swift pas-
sage of this immediate state
response,” the coalition said
in a statement. “All children
deserve a roof over their
head and a safe place to live.
Like air to breathe and food
to eat, safe shelter is a basic
human need and this pack-
age will help Oregon ensure
that safe shelter for more
people in our community.”
Immediate needs
Among proposed home-
lessness spending is $25
million for Oregon’s larg-
est cities and counties —
among them the three Port-
land metro counties, plus
Hillsboro, Beaverton and
Bend — and $50 million
more for Project Turnkey.
Under that program, which
is run by the Oregon Com-
munity Foundation, 19 for-
mer motels have been con-
verted into 867 units with
total spending of about
$75 million in the past 18
months or so. Some were
created in areas hit hard,
such as s outhern Oregon,
by the 2020 Labor Day
wildfi res.
“We can go back and
say that program was a suc-
cess,” Fahey said. “We have
prioritized investing these
funds into proven programs
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that have shown results in
getting people on that path
out of homelessness.”
Another $8 million will
go to task forces, one for
each of eight regions largely
outside the Portland metro
area, that will bring together
local governments and com-
munity agencies to help
people without permanent
shelter. It is loosely based
on the Joint Offi ce of Home-
less Services run by Mult-
nomah County and the city
of Portland.
Kropf is the chief sponsor
of House Bill 4123, which
would set up the framework
for the task forces .
Bend City Councilor
Anthony Broadman, who
also took part in the pre-
sentation, praised the Leg-
islature’s emphasis on local
coalition-building.
The bulk of the money —
$80 million — is for shelter
operations, referrals, hous-
ing stability and other emer-
gency measures.
Increasing supply
Fahey said during a
recent interview that law-
makers will have more work
to do in the 2023 session
to help fi gure out ways to
boost the supply of housing,
which Josh Lehner, a state
economist, has estimated is
111,000 units short of what
Oregon needs and has not
kept pace with population
growth. Of that total, Leh-
ner told lawmakers earlier
this month that about half
is needed by families who
earn half or less of the area’s
median income, roughly
$40,000.
But Fahey said much of
the $215 million proposed
in the plan will go toward
such housing. Among the
items: $65 million to repair
and preserve existing low-
er-cost housing so that it
stays on the market; $55 mil-
lion for new construction,
both rentals and owner-oc-
cupied housing; $35 mil-
lion for manufactured home
parks; $10 million for land
acquisition, and $50 million
to complete unfi nished proj-
ects facing diffi culties.
“Oregon needs to build
more housing,” Rep. Mark
Meek, of Oregon City, said.
“As a Realtor, I know too
many families struggle to
make ends meet with rising
rents and home prices. It’s
time to stop making excuses.
Oregon needs to build path-
ways toward home owner-
ship. Expanding home own-
ership means helping people
of all backgrounds generate
inter generational wealth.”
Based on a housing
analysis yet to come from
two state agencies, Fahey
said, lawmakers in 2023
will confront how Oregon
can increase its amount of
housing.
The fi nal $20 million in
the plan is intended to boost
agencies that help fi rst-time
homebuyers.
The Oregon Capital
Bureau is a collaboration
between EO Media Group
and Pamplin Media Group.
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