149TH YEAR, NO. 113
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2022
$1.50
Merkley
appears at
town hall
Salmon, Russia part
of the discussion
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Business owners and residents have complained about the homeless downtown.
City set to host discussion on
issues related to homelessness
Community forum comes amid growing public frustration
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
C
ity and business leaders will host
a community forum Wednesday
night on homelessness and liva-
bility to share information and hear from
the public.
The panel discussion at the Liberty
Theatre will include representatives
from the city, the Astoria-Warrenton
Area Chamber of Commerce, Clatsop
Community Action, Clatsop Behavioral
Healthcare and LiFEBoat Services. Rep-
resentatives from Clatsop Economic
Development Resources, the Astoria
Downtown Historic District Associa-
tion and the Astoria Warming Center
will assist in organizing questions from
the public.
There has been growing public frus-
tration over bad behavior and quality of
life concerns that stem from an increas-
ingly visible homeless population. In the
coming weeks, city councilors will con-
sider adopting ordinances to give police
more tools to respond to some of the
issues.
“What we found in working through
this, is that there’s some folks that maybe
don’t know what the city is working on,
what the City Council is focusing on to
address this,” City Manager Brett Estes
said. “And then some of the challenges
that we’ve got, in terms of working
through some of the issues with case law
and state law.
“The city is looking at this as a way
to be able to have first of all, a forum for
folks to be able to speak to the City Coun-
cil directly about some of the issues, but
also for us to be able to get some infor-
mation out to the community.”
COMMUNITY FORUM
A community forum on homeless-
ness and livability issues will be held
at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the
Liberty Theatre.
THERE HAS BEEN
GROWING PUBLIC
FRUSTRATION OVER
BAD BEHAVIOR
AND QUALITY OF
LIFE CONCERNS
THAT STEM FROM
AN INCREASINGLY
VISIBLE HOMELESS
POPULATION. IN THE
COMING WEEKS, CITY
COUNCILORS WILL
CONSIDER ADOPTING
ORDINANCES TO GIVE
POLICE MORE TOOLS
TO RESPOND TO SOME
OF THE ISSUES.
Mayor Bruce Jones and representa-
tives from the various organizations will
share some initial thoughts and infor-
mation. Police Chief Geoff Spalding
will give a presentation about what the
city has been working on to address bad
behavior and quality of life concerns.
People will be able to write their
questions and comments on cards, which
will be collected, vetted and read to the
panel. Alison Hart, a consultant and for-
mer executive director of the Oregon
State Chamber of Commerce, will guide
the discussion.
All the comments will be docu-
mented and shared with the City Council
and posted on the city’s website.
Jessamyn Grace West, the execu-
tive director of the downtown associa-
tion and a former city councilor, said she
hopes the meeting “will bring clarity to
dispel a lot of the misinformation around
this complex topic, as well as reaffirm
our commitment to working on solutions
with all entities involved.”
Kevin Leahy, the executive direc-
tor of Clatsop Economic Development
Resources, expects the meeting will be
the first of many that focus on concerns
from the business community. He hopes
future forums will allow business lead-
ers and owners to address other issues,
such as housing and city codes, and col-
lectively share feedback with city and
county leaders throughout the North
Coast.
“We feel that the business voice is not
heard consistently, like let’s say, at City
Council meetings or county commis-
sioner meetings,” Leahy said. “We see
the next steps after this from the business
community ... is really looking at other
opportunities for them to be collectively
collaborating and getting the feedback
back to council.”
David
Reid,
the
executive
Depleted salmon stocks, Russia’s inva-
sion of Ukraine, the health of the environ-
ment and of American democracy were top
of mind for Clatsop County residents who
attended U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley’s virtual
town hall on Saturday afternoon.
The event came as the Oregon Demo-
crat’s party faces uncertain prospects in the
midterm elections in November.
Democrats could lose majorities in
Congress, as inflation continues and polls
indicate most voters disapprove of Presi-
dent Joe Biden’s performance.
Merkley highlighted the local impact of
Democratic leadership, including the $7.8
million the county received from the Amer-
ican Rescue Plan Act. The money will
fund grants for small businesses, afford-
able housing, mental health services, rural
health care, internet access
and emergency prepared-
ness, among other items.
Cities within the county
received several million
dollars, as well.
Merkley also touted an
omnibus spending pack-
age that includes $1 mil- U.S. Sen. Jeff
lion for a waterline proj- Merkley wants
ect in Hammond. The to reform the
filibuster.
upgrade is designed to
prevent low water pres-
sure when industrial demand is high.
Salmon
Concerns about decreasing salmon lev-
els arose repeatedly in the one-hour town
hall — Merkley’s 20th of the year and
488th as U.S. senator. The senator holds
the events annually in each of the state’s 36
counties.
Several speakers pushed for Merkley
to get involved in the multistate effort to
remove dams from the Snake River — the
tributary that runs from Wyoming through
Idaho and meets the Columbia River in
southeast Washington state — to help
restore the salmon population.
Bob Rees, a fishing guide from Ham-
mond, said, “We’re hopeful that we can
find a way for the Senate offices to kind of
integrate into this conversation and find a
solution that works for rural communities.”
Judith Huck, of Astoria, echoed Rees’
comments on the importance of salmon to
the community and the need to remove the
dams. “There’s just a fraction of the num-
ber of salmon in the Columbia River than
there used to be,” she said, “and we do
need you to be working towards improving
that situation.”
Merkley said the process is “no small
deal because of all the roles those dams
play.”
For the past decade, he has worked to
remove four dams from the Klamath River,
and even with strong arguments in favor —
“very little electricity generation, no flood
control role, no irrigation role” — it will
be about two years more before anything
is taken out, even with the dams’ owner
wanting them gone, he said.
See Forum, Page A6
See Merkley, Page A6
Former execs live restaurant dream in Gearhart
Couple take on
Pacific Way Cafe
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
EARHART — Alan Arora was
a CEO for a software company
before becoming a consultant spe-
cializing in business development.
Jennifer Arora, a senior vice pres-
ident for Sony Pictures in media
and marketing, was on the studio lot
every day.
When Sony restructured, the cou-
ple saw an opportunity to re-imagine
their future.
G
“I was portable,” Alan Arora said.
“It was pretty easy for me to leave LA,
so we made the move to Oregon.”
They both worked from their
home in Lake Oswego. When the
pandemic hit, they began to evaluate
what life would be like coming out
of COVID-19.
They are the proud new own-
ers of the Pacific Way Cafe and
Marketplace.
“We both fancied ourselves food-
ies,” he said. “I used to joke in the
middle of my corporate career — I
guess it was a joke — wouldn’t it be
nice if I could just have a chalkboard
bistro out on the highway some-
where, that I wrote on a chalkboard
what I had that day? And if you liked
it, you came on in. If you want a bot-
tle of wine, there’s a rack, pick it
out. That was sort of my dream, but
I couldn’t really see how to connect
the dots.”
They began their search for the
right fit on the Oregon Coast. When
the Sweet Shop became available,
they zeroed in on Gearhart. When
that sold, Arora reached out to Lisa
and John Allen at Pacific Way.
“We thought, it’s got a really nice
character,” Arora said. “I called John
up one day and said, ‘Hey, I’d love
to come by and introduce myself.
I’m not a Realtor, but really like the
vibe of your place.’”
R.J. Marx/The Astorian
See Restaurant, Page A6
Alan Arora stands in front of the Pacific Way Cafe.