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A4 THE ASTORIAN " TuESdAy, MARcH 15, 2022 OPINION editor@dailyastorian.com KARI BORGEN Publisher DERRICK DePLEDGE Editor Founded in 1873 SHANNON ARLINT circulation Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN Production Manager CARL EARL Systems Manager GUEST COLUMN Legislature had a diferent tone this session H Agricultural overtime oght was a repeat of redistricting ere are three takeaways from the 32-day session of the Legis- lature that adjourned March 4. Key protagonists were the same 3 Rep. Andrea Salinas, of Lake Oswego, for the Democrats and Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis, of Albany, for the Republicans. Public hearings on HB 4002 were more compressed than for last year9s special session on redistricting, but the testimony seemed equally rehearsed on all sides, and the eventual outcome largely predetermined. When the session began Feb. 1, House Democrats probably had the votes in hand to pass the bill, whose coa- lition of traditional Democratic interests included unions, conservation groups and Latino organizations. Yet some Democratic legislators who voted for the bill said they were torn between fairness for farmworkers and the economic hard- ship for family farmers. It was surprising to hear Courtney later say that he had not realized how much the Republicans disliked HB 4002. Tone was diferent There was more behind-the-scenes collaboration between the state Sen- ate and the House, as well as between key Democrats and Republicans, despite their public partisan diferences. Few people might have noticed that new state House Speaker Dan Rayoeld frequently was on the House noor, talking with individual legislators from either party about issues while DICK someone else presided HUGHES at the rostrum. His <I9ll come to you= approach was a marked diference from his prede- cessor, Tina Kotek. From the beginning of the session, Democrats and Republicans commented on the new atmosphere with Rayoeld, D-Corvallis, as speaker and Rep. Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, as the new House majority leader. They clearly were try- ing for a less contentious relationship, though not always successfully. Both Republican leaders also were relatively new 3 Sen. Tim Knopp, of Bend, and Rep. Vikki Breese-Iverson, of Prineville. Senate Majority Leader Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, has been in that job less than two years. Longtime Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, praised the caucus leaders. He was onto something in his end-of-session media availability when he said those personalities drove the Legislature9s success: You must have the right people in the room 3 people who know how to oght for their side but who also can come back together and work cooperatively. To slow the supermajority Demo- crats9 agenda, Republicans had insisted that bills be read aloud word-for-word before being voted on. When that hap- pened this year, Democrats abandoned Governor leaves on a high note Faith Cathcart Farmworker overtime was the session’s most controversial issue. their past tactic of publicly accusing Republicans of obstructionism. Instead they acquiesced to the bill reading as a legitimate form of political protest, although Courtney made sure senators knew how much time was being wasted. No one paid attention as the ster- ile computerized voice read a bill. At one point, House members interrupted a reading to let colleagues know that treats honoring Dairy Day were available out- side the chamber. The Democratic leadership in both chambers adjusted schedules so their priority legislation could be completed while still reading bills. That proved unnecessary once Republicans were unable to block the session9s most con- troversial bill, House Bill 4002 mandat- ing overtime pay for farmworkers. At that point, Republicans agreed to end the bill readings so the session could end soon. This was Gov. Kate Brown9s last reg- ular legislative session before leaving oïce, and she pretty much got what she wanted. She entered with a careful agenda that had bipartisan support. The challenge is for her administra- tion to handle the money that the Leg- islature allocated for diferent programs 3 job training, housing, homelessness, child care and more. Lawmakers long have wanted greater oversight of agency spending and per- formance. The well-documented prob- lems with pandemic-related unemploy- ment beneots and rental assistance are among the latest examples. At their media availability last week, Democratic leaders Wagner and Fahey said they are committed to ensuring tax- payer dollars are spent appropriately. Stay tuned. dick Hughes has been covering the Oregon political scene since 1976. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Fueling around he day President Joe Biden took over for President Donald Trump, he inher- ited a stable geopolitical world, a nation with a recovering economy from the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines that helped keep the virus from going further into the American population and gas priced at less than $2.50 a gallon. In just over a year these things have changed mostly due to unforced errors on the part of the Biden administration. One of the orst things Biden did as president was to open the door for Russian oil sales to America when he hobbled the nation9s domestic energy supply. And, it was only after bipartisan agree- ment in Congress that Biden was forced to halt energy sales from Russia. How much thought did it take to ogure if Amer- ica was sending billions of dollars to Rus- sia through oil sales that some of that money was going for Russia9s invasion into Ukraine? President Trump in 2018 told NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a meeting that the Western alliance, par- ticularly Germany, is <totally controlled= by Russia through oil and gas deals. He added, <So we9re supposed to protect you against Russia, but they9re paying billions of dollars to Russia? I think that9s very inappropriate.= What is sad is that even as Americans quit buying Russian oil, other nations like China will be happy to buy all the oil and natural gas they can. They need cheap energy to make cheap products for Ameri- cans to purchase. And so it goes & MATT JANES Jefers Garden T Transparency have been going to Gearhart City Coun- cil and Planning Commission meet- ings since about 2002 because I wanted to know what is going on in my city. Transparency? Not once have I ever felt the city government was keeping something from me, or any of the pub- lic. I have always been able to ask ques- tions, or get any information. I can meet with the mayor and the city manager at any given time. All I have to do is make an appointment. Since I have been going to these meet- ings, there have always been notices regarding the upcoming meeting, includ- ing when and what was on the agenda. Each was posted on the bulletin board at I City Hall, the post oïce and the grocery store for everyone to see. And now, anyone can go to the city9s website and get just about anything needed. Or they can join the city blog and get notices for all city meetings, along with all the information the councilors and commis- sioners get. Plus, if you can9t ond it, ask! I was just at City Hall a few days ago, and asked for Planning Commission meet- ings for 2005 and earlier, and they helped me out. I also went over to the ore station for a walk through to see some of the things that are out of code. Fire Chief Josh Como and one of the oreoghters took me around. Any questions I had were answered. Transparency! They listened to any- thing I had to say, with interest. THOMAS THIES Gearhart Doesn9t make much sense s a 27-year resident of Gearhart, I understand and appreciate the respon- sibilities the paid and volunteer oreoghters are willing to assume. I think the need for a ore station with more space, that is better constructed, is obvious. The police chief and oïcers must think so, as well. I have two diïculties with the ambi- tious plan proposed. First, in most com- munities an efort is made to place equip- ment and staf in a central location for quick response time. Annexing land to the north and locating oreoghters, police oï- cers and their equipment there seems like a bad idea to me. Rebuilding the current ore station, per- haps expanding it, and relocating City Hall, seems to be more sensible. In addi- tion, the resilience part of the relocation proposes that the building provide for emergency response when needed, with the focus being on the tsunami that might come tomorrow, or might come in 800 years. Camp Rilea is a short distance north, and a regional center for emergency response. I have no doubt that with their training, the Gearhart Volunteer Fire Department will respond as well as it can in a disaster. It can9t replace Camp Rilea; their orst responsibility will be saving their families, and helping their neighbors. They might not be able to get to the station, in any case. It will be some distance from most of Gearhart. Whatever the cost, which is con- siderable, it doesn9t make much sense to me. JIM CASTERLINE Gearhart A LETTERS WELCOME Letters should be exclusive to The Astorian. Letters should be fewer than 250 words and must include the writer9s name, address and phone number. You will be contacted to conorm authorship. All letters are subject to editing for space, gram- mar and factual accuracy. Only two letters per writer are allowed each month. Letters written in response Saving lives s a bone marrow transplant recipi- ent and advocacy ambassador for the National Marrow Donor Program/Be The Match, I understand that working with Congress on policy is critical to ensuring that all blood cancer and disease patients have access to a transplant if needed. In 2012, I was the recipient of an anon- ymous donor bone marrow transplant. My donor wished me <more= of whatever I might need more of 4 as a result I want to ensure that every patient who needs <more= has the opportunity. I recently participated in a virtual ny-in and met with U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and U.S. Sen. Jef Merkley to advocate for increased funding for the C. W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program. Every three minutes, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with blood cancer, and 70% of patients don9t have a fully matched donor in their A to other letter writers should address the issue at hand and should refer to the headline and date the letter was published. Discourse should be civil. Send via email to editor@dailyasto- rian.com, online at bit.ly/astorianlet- ters, in person at 949 Exchange St. in Astoria or mail to Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR., 97103. family. The nation9s registry is how those patients ond donors who can save their lives. Fully funding for oscal year 2022, and increasing funding by $5 million for oscal year 2023, will help expand the Human Leukocyte Antigens Today pro- gram, which ofers HLA typing at the time of diagnosis. This can shorten the time to trans- plant for patients whose most valuable resource is time. In pilot phases, HLA Today has especially helped ethnically diverse patients, who are historically rec- ommended to transplant at lower rates than white patients. I want to thank Senators Wyden and Merkley for their support. This funding plays a major role in helping to continue matching donors with patients and saving lives. CYNTHIA SPECKMAN Manzanita