A2
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2022
Infections expected to rise as
new version of omicron spreads
IN BRIEF
State reports three new
virus cases in county
The Oregon Health Authority reported three
new coronavirus cases for Clatsop County over the
weekend.
Since the pandemic began, the county had recorded
4,582 virus cases as of Monday.
— The Astorian
People for Portland proposes
ballot measure to eliminate
outdoor camping
Advocacy group People for Portland has proposed
a November ballot measure that would redirect the
bulk of the money from Metro’s 2020 Homeless Ser-
vices Measure toward emergency shelter and force
people living on the streets to move into the shelter
space.
If passed as drafted, the measure would constitute a
sharp departure from the region’s strategy for address-
ing homelessness, prioritizing shelter at the expense of
securing permanent housing for people.
The measure would require at least three-quar-
ters of the tax money from Metro’s supportive hous-
ing service measure to be funneled toward emergency
shelters. That ratio would remain until each county
has enough beds to shelter every person experiencing
homelessness in the region and each municipality is
enforcing its own anti-camping ordinances.
It’s not immediately clear how this measure
would work under Martin v. Boise, a landmark fed-
eral court ruling that found cities could not enforce
their anti-camping rules if they did not have a suffi -
cient amount of shelter beds for everyone experienc-
ing homelessness.
Portland Street Response
to expand citywide
Starting Monday, people across Portland looking to
assist someone in a mental health crisis have a new
option: They can call 911 and ask for the Portland
Street Response.
The unarmed emergency response program will
begin serving people citywide, quadrupling the foot-
print of the program and bringing the police alterna-
tive to all 145 square miles of the city.
— Oregon Public Broadcasting
DEATHS
March 27, 2022
In BRAKE,
Brief
Robert John,
84, of Ocean Park, Wash-
ington, died in Ocean
Deaths
Park. Ocean View Funeral
& Cremation Service of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
March 26, 2022
COPLEY,
Hannah
May, 79, of Warrenton,
died in Warrenton. Ocean
View Funeral & Cre-
mation Service of Asto-
ria is in charge of the
arrangements.
By GARY WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
An upswing in COVID-19
cases in Oregon is expected to
hit soon , driven by infections
of the hyper-contagious BA.2
version of the omicron vari-
ant, according to a new state
report.
The forecast from the Ore-
gon Health & Science Univer-
sity shows a much lower peak
for the new wave of cases,
topping out at under 300 hos-
pitalizations per day in the fi rst
week of May, then resuming a
downward trend until reach-
ing current levels again by late
June.
“The primary forecast
shows a slight increase in
hospitalized patients as the
impacts of BA.2 and reduced
COVID restrictions are expe-
rienced,” said the report writ-
ten by Dr. Peter Graven, the
chief COVID-19 forecaster at
OHSU.
The forecast is part of the
mixed medical and political
signals around the nation as
the omicron surge that began
in late November and peaked
in mid-January has rapidly
dropped to levels not seen
since before the delta variant
spike began at the end of June .
As of Friday, the statis-
tics in Oregon showed a pre-
cipitous drop-off . Positive
test results — a key indica-
tor of future growth of the
virus — were at 2.5%, down
from the high point of 22.6%
in mid-January. The Oregon
Health Authority has said
throughout the pandemic that
a rate of 5% or under was
manageable for health care
providers.
The pandemic in Oregon
Gov. Kate Brown intends to lift the state of emergency on
COVID-19 on Friday.
reached two milestones over
the past week, passing 7,000
deaths and 700,000 cases.
The expected rise in cases
is due to two factors, one
expected, but the other an
unwelcome surprise.
Even before the offi cial
lifting of indoor mask require-
ments, compliance with safe-
guards was waning. OHSU
forecasters said a slowing of
the drop in cases was likely as
more people became exposed.
But the loosened restric-
tions also came as the BA.2
“subvariant” arrived in Ore-
gon. Beginning last week, the
health authority started track-
ing BA.2 cases, which have
been small but rising. Analysis
of wastewater around the state
has shown traces of BA.2.
Last week, nearly all states
were showing a rapid decline
in cases. The BA.2 infections
are seen as the main reason
nine states are now showing a
reversal in the trend.
BA.2 has spread rapidly
in Asia and Europe. Twice
as contagious as its already
superspreading cousin BA.1,
the BA.2 virus has caused
a tsunami of new cases in
China, which is reporting its
highest infection rate of the
29-month pandemic, which
began in Wuhan at the end of
December 2019.
The World Health Organi-
zation reported 18 European
countries are seeing a rise in
new cases.
The organization said Fri-
day that BA.2 was able to
spread because of what it
called premature removal of
mask and other social distanc-
ing rules.
But the mixed messaging
from medical and political
sources continues. Gov. Kate
Brown has announced the
state of emergency that’s been
in place since March 2020
will end on Friday .
New York ended its vac-
cine mandate for athletes
and performers. Los Angeles
schools have ended masking.
The U.S. Capitol has reopened
for public tours. Hawaii was
the last state to end indoor
Federal spending bill sends millions
to Oregon Coast conservation eff orts
By KALE WILLIAMS
The Oregonian
BIRTH
Birth
March 23, 2022
ENGBLOM, Danica and Troy, of Brownsmead, a
girl, Taya Walker Engblom, born in Portland. Older
siblings are Teegan and Tatym Engblom. Grandpar-
ents are Leah and Darrion Klauser, of Svensen, Patri-
cia and Clint Larsen, of Prineville, and Gene and Julie
Engblom, of Culver. Great-grandparents are Lewis and
Cheryl Kinder, of Svensen, Sharon Klauser, of Astoria,
and the late Robert and Harriet Engblom, of Knappa.
ON THE RECORD
DUII
• Kathlyn Leigh Rook,
On
• John the
Wesley Record
Trent, 33, of Astoria, was arrested
48, of Astoria, was
arrested on Sunday at
Marlin Avenue and U.S.
Highway 101 in Warren-
ton for driving under the
infl uence of intoxicants.
on Friday at E. Harbor
Drive and U.S. Highway
101 in Warrenton for DUII
and following too closely.
She was involved in a
two-vehicle crash.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
TUESDAY
Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District Board,
5:15 p.m., Bob Chisholm Community Center, 1225 Ave. A,
Seaside.
Astoria Planning Commission, 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 1095
Duane St.
Gearhart City Council, 6 p.m., special meeting, City Hall,
698 Pacifi c Way.
WEDNESDAY
Astoria City Council, 7 p.m., work session on Heritage
Square, City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
THURSDAY
Clatsop County Recreational Lands Planning Advisory
Committee, 1 p.m., (electronic meeting).
FRIDAY
Astoria City Council, 10 a.m., work session on Heritage
Square, City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
The $1.5 trillion federal
spending package signed ear-
lier this month by President
Joe Biden designated fund-
ing for a host of programs
throughout Oregon, with mil-
lions fl owing into agricultural
and scientifi c endeavors as
well as improvements to pub-
lic safety.
The package funded irri-
gation infrastructure improve-
ments in central and Eastern
Oregon, research on wild-
fi re smoke exposure to wine
grapes and eff orts to increase
energy effi ciency at rural util-
ities, among dozens of other
projects.
A sizable chunk of the
money fl owing to the state
will be used to bolster envi-
ronmental
conservation
eff orts on Oregon’s coast,
which will help aid the “blue
economy,” according to U.S.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon,
who sits on the committee that
decides how to dole out gov-
ernment funds.
“I joined the Appropria-
tions Committee to turn input
I get from Oregonians into
solutions that meet our needs
and support our communi-
ties,” Merkley said. “This bill
contains critical investments
that will provide substantial
funding for Oregon’s Blue
Economy, including salmon
recovery, kelp forest resto-
ration and stewardship, ocean
education and literacy, work-
force development, and so
much more.”
Help for kelp
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masking mandates earlier this
month. The rate of people get-
ting a fi rst shot of vaccine has
dropped off since early in the
year.
While President Joe Biden
continues to ask Congress for
an increase in COVID-19 aid,
the White House Easter Egg
Roll is on for the fi rst time
since 2019.
All omicron variants so
far have proven to be signifi -
cantly more contagious than
previous COVID-19 spikes,
with the latest Oregon Health
Authority statistics showing
61.9% of new infections were
in unvaccinated people, while
37.7% were vaccine “break-
through cases.” Of those,
52.7% were fully vaccinated
and boosted.
Most federal, state and
local political leaders across
the country have said they
won’t impose new restric-
tions unless a more viru-
lent variant appears. In the
United States, the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration
and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention are
considering a request from
vaccine-makers Pfi zer and
Moderna to approve a sec-
ond booster shot for either the
elderly or all adults. The shots
have already been approved
for
immuno compromised
people and some foreign
nations, including Israel, are
off ering a fourth shot to the
general public.
A federal advisory panel
is meeting April 6 to discuss
vaccination policy, but action
could come earlier.
The Oregon Capital
Bureau is a collaboration
between EO Media Group
and Pamplin Media Group.
Bull kelp, the trees of the
Pacifi c coast’s oceanic forests,
has been in trouble for years
now.
Nearly a decade ago,
sea stars began dying off in
coastal waters up and down
the West Coast. The mysteri-
ous sea star wasting disease
decimated populations of the
echinoderms. As one of the
primary predators of purple
sea urchins, the absence of sea
stars was a boon for the spiny
urchins, whose food of choice
just happens to be kelp.
The explosion in the urchin
population was bad news for
kelp, which is considered a
Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
The sun sets over Face Rock State Scenic Viewpoint in Bandon
on the southern Oregon coast.
foundation species because it
provides important habitat for
dozens of fi sh, invertebrates
and marine mammals. Areas
that used to be so thick with
the bulky seaweed that they
were sometimes unnavigable
to boats were left barren.
Included in the federal
spending package was nearly
$1 million headed to the
Ocean Alliance for an aerial
and underwater survey of Ore-
gon’s oceanic forests to mea-
sure the extent of the problem.
“These important habitats
have undergone signifi cant
changes in recent years due to
warming oceans, loss of pred-
ators, and population booms
of purple sea urchins, which
eat kelp,” Sara Hamilton,
an ocean science expert and
adviser to the Oregon Kelp
Alliance, said in a statement.
“(The Ocean Alliance) appre-
ciates senators Jeff Merkley
and Ron Wyden’s long-stand-
ing and strong advocacy for
healthy kelp forests, and their
contribution to the commer-
cial fi sheries and biodiver-
sity of Oregon’s nearshore
oceans.”
Paving a salmon
superhighway
Another big chunk of
money, $65 million, was
slated to help with salmon
recovery on the West Coast
and in Alaska. That fund-
ing, which will be doled out
in grants, will help alleviate
what Chrysten Rivard, Ore-
gon director of the nonprofi t
Trout Unlimited, called “lim-
iting factors.”
“Limiting factors tend to be
things like fi sh passage, dams
or culverts that the fi sh can’t
get through, and addressing
estuary restoration for habi-
tat,” Rivard said.
Some of that money will
likely go toward a project
called the “Salmon Super-
highway,” which aims to
remove barriers that block
oceangoing fi sh, like salmon
and steelhead, from the vari-
ous types of habitats they need
at diff erent stages of their lives
on Oregon’s northern coast.
Lots of those barriers come
in the form of road culverts,
which can also pose prob-
lems for humans, Rivard said.
Removal of the culverts will
not only benefi t endangered
fi sh species but also help
alleviate fl ooding in coastal
communities.
“At the same time as
you’re improving fi sh pas-
sage, you are also improving
human safety,” Rivard said.
Though the money will
have to go through the grant
process, with interested par-
ties submitting applications in
a competitive process, Rivard
said some of the projects
could be implemented as soon
as this summer.
Many of the problems
plaguing the coast — such as
ocean acidifi cation and threats
to salmon and kelp — are only
known because of the people
who research them. Much of
that research, directly or indi-
rectly, is funded through the
Sea Grant program, which
saw a slight bump in funding
in the latest spending package.
The program’s $76 mil-
lion allotment will be distrib-
uted to 34 satellite Sea Grant
organizations throughout the
country. The Oregon chapter,
run out of Oregon State Uni-
versity, will see about $2.5
million, which is matched
by state funding, said interim
director Dave Hansen.
Though many Orego-
nians might not be familiar
with Sea Grant, the program
has funded some of the most
important research that aff ects
people on the coast. About
40% of the money the pro-
gram receives goes to grants,
which have funded ground-
breaking research on ocean
acidifi cation and renewable
energy harvested from ocean
waves.
Hansen stressed that
although the program is run
out of Oregon State, research-
ers from any Oregon higher
education institution can
apply for grant funding. He
pointed to recent research
out of Portland State Univer-
sity, funded by Sea Grant, that
found microplastics in the
majority of razor clams and
oysters collected on the Ore-
gon Coast.
The rest of the money goes
toward education and out-
reach, Hansen said. Sea Grant
hosts ocean safety courses
to help oceangoers prepare
for emergencies, works with
communities to prepare for
coastal hazards like tsunamis
and was instrumental in con-
vening a working group on
whale entanglement issues —
bringing together representa-
tives from the fi shing industry,
whale advocates and scien-
tists to stop the cetaceans from
becoming tangled in crab fi sh-
ing gear.
Former President Donald
Trump previously proposed
eliminating the Sea Grant
program’s funding, though
the funding was ultimately
restored in Congress. Han-
sen credited Oregon’s federal
delegation for making sure
the program didn’t see dras-
tic cuts.
“Sea Grant is the only
extension program focused
on marine issues on the coast.
Whether you’re looking at
fi sheries, aquaculture or tsu-
namis, this is stuff that no one
else does,” he said. “It is great
for us that our federal delega-
tion is so supportive. That’s
not true in every state.”