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Volume 17 •
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Chronicling
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March 2022
Issue 3
bia-Pacifi c Region
ss in the Colum
the Joy of Busine
:
Feature story
ol
contr for
r Bar Pilots
Traffi an c disp
Columbia Rive
atcher
Inside:
Page 3
First wom
esses
Family busin
amid the pandemic
Expanding and adapting
Page 4
Boat of the
Month
The Navios Unite
Page 10
LYDIA ELY/THE
Sam Steerman
sits at her desk
in the Columbi
a River Bar Pilots
dispatch offi ce
ASTORIAN
in Astoria.
al
Mold remov
fungus
Business helps with pesky
Page 11
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2022
149TH Y
YEAR, NO. 110
$1.50
State hears
feedback on
paid leave
Lawmakers
pushed back
the deadlines
By PETER WONG
Oregon Capital Bureau
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Clatsop County has among the highest rates of vaccination
against the coronavirus in Oregon, but booster shots lag.
Booster shots
against the virus lag
on the North Coast
County Public Health Department will survey residents to help û nd out why
Residents 20 to 49 have a 67.3% vaccination rate,
compared with 27.5% who have received a booster.
And residents 18 to 19 have a 53.4% vaccina-
he Clatsop County Public Health Depart-
tion rate, compared with 16.2% who have received
ment is planning a community survey to bet-
a booster.
ter understand the reasons behind the less-
Statewide, 75.5% of Oregon residents 18 and older
than-expected rates of booster shots against the
are fully vaccinated, compared with 44.4 % who have
coronavirus.
had a booster . The gap persists despite evidence that
Boosters have been widely available since last
a booster dose signiû cantly decreases the severity of
fall, when the fallout from the
illness and the risk of hospitaliza-
delta variant 4 the worst wave
tion and death from COVID-19.
of the pandemic locally in terms
The survey from the Public
THE GAP
of hospitalizations and deaths 4
Health Department will reû ect the
PERSISTS DESPITE community9s experience during
was still felt in the community. Yet
the number of residents who have
the vaccination campaign, which
EVIDENCE THAT
received the extra jab continues to
began early last year, and help the
A BOOSTER DOSE county address ongoing concerns,
lag behind the county9s vaccina-
tion rates .
such as information that needs to
SIGNIFICANTLY
As of Friday, 86.5% of resi-
be clariû ed or myths that need to
dents 65 and older have completed
be countered .
DECREASES THE
their initial vaccination series 4
The plan to take stock comes
SEVERITY OF
the two-dose Pû zer and Moderna
as Gov. Kate Brown lifted Ore-
vaccines, the one-dose Johnson
gon9s mask mandate, the surge of
ILLNESS AND
& Johnson vaccine 4 compared
the omicron variant recedes and
with 64% who have received a
the virus case and hospitalization
THE RISK OF
booster, according to the county.
counts dwindle . The governor
HOSPITALIZATION intends to lift the state emergency
Residents 50 to 64 have a
77.5% vaccination rate, compared
over the virus in April.
AND DEATH
with 45.9% who have received a
See Boosters, Page A6
booster.
FROM COVID-19.
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
T
100%
RESIDENTS
65 AND
OLDER
RESIDENTS
50 TO 64
RESIDENTS
20 TO 49
RESIDENTS
18 TO 19
86.5%
64%
77.5%
45.9%
THOSE WHO HAVE COMPLETED
INITIAL VACCINATION SERIES
67.3%
27.5%
53.4%
16.2%
THOSE WHO HAVE RECEIVED
A BOOSTER SHOT
An advisory panel is
seeking public comments
as it writes rules for how
Oregon will oû er paid fam-
ily and medical leave .
The
Legislature
approved the program in
2019 and it was set to start
this year. But last year,
lawmakers extended the
deadlines to January 2023
for the program to collect
its û rst payroll taxes and
Sept. 3, 2023 for the û rst
payment of beneû ts.
Workers will pay 60%
and employers will cover
40% of the fund.
Oregon will join eight
states
and
Washing-
ton, D.C., with similar
programs.
Workers who earn at
least $1,000 during the pre-
vious year would qualify
for up to 12 weeks of paid
family leave, with the max-
imum beneû t set at $1,215
per week.
<We remain on track
and on budget,= David
Gerstenfeld, the acting
director of the Oregon
Employment Department,
told reporters in a brieû ng
on Wednesday .
Oregon9s program is
more generous than a pro-
posal last year by President
Joe Biden for a federal pro-
gram, which would oû er
up to $4,000 per month.
The U.S. House has passed
a program that proposes
four weeks of beneû ts,
but it is part of a broader
plan of social supports 4
known as Build Back Bet-
ter 4 that has stalled in the
U.S. Senate. It is highly
uncertain whether a federal
program will emerge.
Nine members will
advise the Oregon Employ-
ment Department on rules
required to carry out the
law. Gerstenfeld said one
rule will focus on how
workers obtain beneû ts.
<Topics include how
much money someone may
receive in a beneû t year,
how people apply for paid-
leave beneû ts, how we will
verify whether someone
is eligible, and if and how
workers must give notice
to their employers to use
paid leave,= he said.
<This is an opportu-
nity to provide feedback
on these rules. There will
be more in the coming
months.=
The advisory committee
has scheduled a second vir-
tual meeting from 9 a.m. to
noon on Thursday . It held
a similar meeting March
10. Advance registration is
required for participation:
bit.ly/3w1Cdq2
The Oregon Capital
Bureau is a collaboration
between EO Media Group
and Pamplin Media Group.
Science teacher
in Knappa a long
way from home
Geografo part of a
cultural exchange
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
J
asmin Geografo was
one of many who û ed
urban areas during the
coronavirus
pandemic
in search of rural places
with less people and more
opportunities for outdoor
activities.
But in Geografo9s case,
the jump was thousands
of miles and across the
Paciû c Ocean.
Through a cultural
exchange
program,
Geografo found her way
from Manila, the capi-
tal of the Philippines, to
the North Coast, where
she was hired as a science
teacher at Knappa High
School in December.
The exchange program
oû ered several diû erent
locations in the United
States , but the coastal set-
ting sparked her curiosity
the most.
<I like the landscape
here,= Geografo said.
<The topography of the
area is best for me because
Manila is highly urban-
ized and overpopulated, so
when I came here, it was
such a refreshing time for
me.=
F or Geografo, the move
was as much about per-
sonal growth and discov-
ery as it was escaping
online education and over-
Jasmin Geografo is on an
exchange program from
the Philippines.
crowded cities .
<I needed to go through
this process of meeting
new people and investing
in a very unfamiliar place,=
she said. < ... I think this is
what I needed to mature
and grow professionally,
as an individual, and as a
member of my community
in the Philippines and as a
new member in the com-
munity that I have here
now.=
See Geografo, Page A6