A2
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2022
PINBALL WIZARD
IN BRIEF
Astoria to get federal money
to prevent landslides
Astoria will receive $676,875 in federal aid to
help prevent landslides.
The amount for a predisaster landslide storm
drainage project is part of $10.7 million — built
into a federal omnibus spending package — for 10
projects in Northwest Oregon.
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, an Oregon Dem-
ocrat, submitted a proposal to fund the project,
along with other requests to fund communities in
her district.
Warrenton to receive
funding for waterline project
WARRENTON — The city expects to receive $1
million in federal money for a waterline project in
Hammond.
The project is a part of the city’s capital improve-
ment program.
U.S. Sen. Jeû Merkley and U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
— Oregon Democrats — announced the distribu-
tion of funding to many cities, programs and orga-
nizations across the state, citing an eû ort to support
rural communities, protect public lands and build
environmental resiliency.
The money comes from an omnibus spending
package approved by Congress that would fund the
government through September.
Coast Guard cutter Steadfast back
from patrol oû California
The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Steadfast returned
to Astoria this month after 48 days of patrolling the
California coast, including near the Mexico border.
The work involved searches and rescues, inter-
cepting migrants and drugs and protecting the
marine environment, the Coast Guard said.
The Steadfast crew helped intercept boats that
agencies suspected were trying to bring migrants to
the U.S. illegally, the agency said.
The crew also took part in a search operation
involving multiple assets and boarded 23 U.S. ves-
sels, the agency said.
— The Astorian
DEATHS
March 10, 2022
In ARIENT,
Brief
Joseph Eulin
Albert, 46, of Longview,
Washington, died in
Deaths
Seaside.
Caldwell’s
Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
March 9, 2022
Cryderman,
Rich-
ard Ray, 83, of Warren-
ton, died in Warrenton.
Caldwell’s
Luce-Lay-
ton Mortuary of Asto-
ria is in charge of the
arrangements.
MEMORIAL
Saturday, March 19
Memorial
TAYLOR, Mary Kay 4 Celebration of life at
3 p.m., Hughes-Ransom Mortuary, 220 N. Holladay
Drive in Seaside.
ON THE RECORD
Identity theft
Walmart in Warrenton
On
the
• Robert
Bruce Record
Brown for second-degree theft
III, 46, of Astoria, was
arraigned on Friday
for identity theft, sec-
ond-degree theft and
two counts of fraudulent
use of a credit card. The
crimes are alleged to have
occurred in January 2020.
Theft
• Jason Brian Pace,
38, of Warrenton, was
arrested on Sunday at
and û rst-degree criminal
trespass.
DUII
" Brandon J. Mathews,
30, of Longview, Wash-
ington, was arrested on
March 8 at Main Avenue
and Second Street for driv-
ing under the inû uence of
intoxicants and reckless
driving. He was involved
in a two-vehicle crash.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
TUESDAY
Port of Astoria Commission, 4 p.m., (electronic meeting)
Seaside School District Board, 6 p.m., 2600 Spruce Drive,
Suite 200, Secondary School Library.
WEDNESDAY
Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, 10 a.m., work
session, (electronic meeting).
Port of Astoria Finance Committee, noon, 10 Pier 1, Suite 209.
Astoria City Council, 1 p.m., work session, City Hall, 1095
Duane St.
Seaside Tourism Advisory Committee, 3 p.m., City Hall,
989 Broadway.
Seaside Tree Board, 4 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway.
THURSDAY
Seaside Transportation Advisory Commission, 6 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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Jeff Lee was the champion of the inaugural Salty Mermaid Cup pinball tournament over the weekend at Merry Time Bar and
Grill in Astoria.
Washington Legislature passes
$17 billion transportation plan
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. 4
Washington’s Legislature has
passed a $17 billion transpor-
tation funding bill supported
by fee increases and cap
and trade, climate legisla-
tion expected to push up fuel
prices while netting the state
billions of dollars.
The 16-year Move Ahead
Washington package advo-
cates requiring new passen-
ger cars and light-duty pick-
ups be electric by 2030 and
raids an account that makes
low-interest loans to local
governments for public
works projects.
The state House passed
the plan on a 54-44 vote
Thursday afternoon, and the
Senate followed a few hours
later, approving the plan by a
29-20 vote on the û nal day of
the 2022 legislative session.
Both chambers also passed a
spending plan to go with the
revenue plan.
At a post-adjournment
press conference, Gov. Jay
Inslee called Move Ahead
Washington “the clean-
est, greenest transportation
package in the history of
Washington.”
Senate
Transportation
Committee Chairman Marko
Liias, D-Everett, said the
spending plan prioritizes
climate change and equity
and that the revenue plan
won’t raise taxes on working
families.
The package will not hike
the gas tax, but depends on
higher fees to raise $2.6 bil-
lion over 16 years.
A vehicle license plate
will cost $50 instead of $10.
Replacing a plate will cost
$30 instead of $10. Fees
In Washington state, the Legislature has adjourned a 60-day session.
will be higher for motorcy-
cle licenses and an enhanced
driver’s license. The aviation
fuel tax will increase to 18
cents from 11 cents a gallon.
House and Senate Repub-
licans opposed the plan. Sen.
Curtis King, R-Yakima, said
the higher fees will punish
drivers.
“Working families own
cars, at least they do on my
side of the state. That’s how
they get to work,” he said.
Democrats scrapped plans
to tax fuel reû ned in Wash-
ington and shipped to Ore-
gon, Idaho and Alaska. The
tax would have raised gas
prices by 6 cents a gallon in
those states.
Abandoning the export
tax left a hole in the plan.
Democrats û lled it by tak-
ing $1.7 billion over 16 years
from an account that makes
low-interest loans for roads;
bridges; solid waste facili-
ties; and sewer, water and
stormwater systems.
The money comes from
Lawsuit claims hospital shared
conû dential information
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
A former patient at
Columbia Memorial Hos-
pital is suing for alleged
negligence and breach of
conû dence.
Lauren Born had a
medical procedure done at
the hospital in August.
In a complaint û led
earlier this month in Cir-
cuit Court, Born alleges
that the hospital shared
conû dential information,
including an account of
her behavior at the hos-
pital, to Born’s employer
without her permission.
Her employer told
Born her behavior “mis-
represented the company”
and û red her, according to
the complaint.
Born alleges the hos-
pital’s disclosure violated
the Health Insurance Por-
tability and Account-
ability Act , which is
intended to protect medi-
cal privacy.
She is seeking $140,310
covering economic and
non economic damages .
Samuel Stanke, Born’s
Milwaukie-based attor-
ney, could not be reached
for comment.
A spokeswoman for
Columbia Memorial Hos-
pital declined to comment.
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taxes on public utilities,
solid waste and real estate
sales. Small cities, counties
and special-purpose districts
are especially reliant on the
loans, Public Works Board
Chairwoman Kathryn Gard-
low said.
“For them to go to the
bond market is a big deal,”
she said. “We’re an easy
place to access money for
these small projects. For the
smallest jurisdictions, it’s
deû nitely a needed source of
funding.”
The board loaned $123
million for projects last sum-
mer after receiving applica-
tions totaling $255 million.
Gardlow said the board must
review its current loan com-
mitments before knowing
whether it can make loans
this summer.
“This is something the
Legislature can do,” she said.
“It’s disappointing. We’ll
work with it.”
Move Ahead Washing-
ton’s largest source of money
will be cap-and-trade legisla-
tion passed in 2021. Manu-
facturers, including oil reû n-
eries, will bid for the right
to emit greenhouse gases.
Move Ahead Washington
depends on getting $5.4 bil-
lion from the auctions.
“That is nothing but
a very complicated gas
tax,” said Sen. John Braun,
R-Centralia.
Other pillars of the reve-
nue plan include $3.65 bil-
lion in federal funds and $2
billion from the general fund.
The revenue will fund
public transit, ferries, cul-
vert removal, highway
projects and electric vehi-
cles. Liias called the spend-
ing plan monumental and
transformational.
A state council will write a
plan for making all new cars
and pickups sold and regis-
tered in Washington electric
by 2030.
“That’s a little heavy-
handed, if you ask me,= King
said.
More trees cut along the
Astoria Riverwalk
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
More trees have been
found illegally cut along the
Astoria Riverwalk, but no
suspects have been identiû ed.
At the north end of the
Alderbrook Lagoon, a small
alder was “barber chair ed,”
which happens when a cut
tree splits vertically and falls
over but is still attached on
one side.
Near the Mill Pond neigh-
borhood, a group of larger
alders were also discovered
with deep gashes in them.
“Those were either cut all
the way through, or cut to a
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point of being so damaged
that we had to remove them,”
Jonah Dart-McLean, the
director of the Astoria Parks
and Recreation Department,
said.
Last month, a few alders
and a hemlock beyond 39th
Street, as well as cottonwoods
near the Columbia River
Maritime Museum, were dis-
covered cut.
Dart-McLean said the
parks department is “trying to
do our best to address those
issues as they come up.”
Astoria Police Chief Geoû
Spalding said, “I don’t know
anyone that has an idea who’s
doing this and why.”
Dart-McLean
suspects
the trees are being cut by the
same person.
“It seems like it’d be
unlikely that there would
be multiple people out there
using a motorized saw,” he
said.