A2
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2022
IN BRIEF
Astoria to repair failed storm drain
The Astoria City Council on Monday approved a
$162,650 emergency contract with Big River Con-
struction to replace a failed storm drain in Evergreen
Field next to Astoria Middle School.
A 21-inch corrugated metal pipe beneath the fi eld
failed, causing stormwater to back up and an embank-
ment to fail.
Temporary repairs were made, but about 200 feet of
the pipe needs to be replaced immediately.
Wyden to host virtual town hall
for county residents
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden will host a virtual town hall
for Clatsop County residents on Tuesday.
The event, scheduled for 4 p.m., will be hosted
by People’s Town Hall and can be watched live on
Facebook.
The Oregon Democrat has pledged to hold town
halls in all of the state’s 36 counties each year.
Registration for the town hall can be found at peo-
plestownhall.org. Those interested in submitting a live
video question must register by Sunday.
POPPING BY
KMUN station manager to step down
After nearly fi ve years at the helm, Graham Nystrom
is stepping down as station manager for KMUN.
Susan Peterson, the development director for
KMUN, will take his place.
Nystrom, a musician and live sound and recording
engineer, previously worked as technical director for
Live Wire Radio and Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Under his leadership, KMUN regained signifi cant
fi nancial and operational stability. Nystrom also planned
and helped fundraise for major technical improvements.
The work came at a cost, though. Nystrom said he
has increasingly felt the toll of job-related stress and
wants to step back.
“I came into the position planning on giving it fi ve
years,” he said. “I’m at four and half now and I’ve
accomplished the bulk of my goals — and then some.”
— The Astorian
DEATH
April 2, 2022
In JASPER,
Brief
Ronald Leslie, 88, of Astoria, died in
Astoria. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of Astoria
is in charge of the arrangements.
Death
BIRTH
March 2, 2022
Birth
NELSON, Brooklyn and DAVIS, Conner, of War-
renton, a girl, Harley Rae Nelson-Davis, born at
Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria.
ON THE RECORD
Assault
Unauthorized
On
the Todd Record
• Alexander
Fen-
use of a vehicle
ton, 31, of Warrenton,
was arrested on Monday
at N.W. Cedar Court in
Warrenton for fourth-de-
gree assault, felony
domestic violence and
strangulation.
Strangulation
• Michael James
Smith, 37, of Seaside,
was indicted last week for
strangulation, fourth-de-
gree assault, menacing
constituting domestic vio-
lence and harassment.
The crimes are alleged to
have occurred in March.
Criminal mischief
•
James
Edward
Hahn, 45, of Astoria, was
arrested on Sunday on
Exchange Street for sec-
ond-degree criminal mis-
chief and resisting arrest.
• Dallin Martel Che-
valier, 30, of Astoria, was
arrested on March 31 on
S.E. Discovery Lane in
Warrenton for fi rst-de-
gree criminal mischief,
second-degree disorderly
conduct and unlawful
entry into a motor vehicle.
The incident took place
at Taco Bell, where Che-
valier allegedly caused
more than $1,000 worth
of damage to a truck.
•
Russell
Dean
Brooks, 36, of Astoria,
was indicted on March
31 for unauthorized use
of a vehicle, two counts
of attempted unautho-
rized use of a vehicle,
three counts of unlawful
entry into a motor vehicle,
two counts of second-de-
gree criminal mischief,
second-degree
theft,
third-degree theft and
third-degree escape. The
crimes are alleged to have
occurred earlier in March .
DUII
• Marcelino Hernan-
dez-Ramirez, 34, of Taft,
California, was arrested
on Saturday on E. Harbor
Drive in Warrenton for
driving under the infl u-
ence of intoxicants, driv-
ing without privileges
or in violation of license
restrictions, driving unin-
sured and having an open
container.
• Timothy Luke Per-
kins, 37, of Longview,
Washington, was arrested
on Saturday on U.S.
Highway 101 near Gear-
hart for DUII and reck-
less driving. Perkins was
involved in a single-vehi-
cle crash.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
THURSDAY
Seaside Parks Advisory Committee, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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A sea lion surfaced next to Pier 39 in Astoria.
Nike co-founder Knight invests more
in Johnson’s campaign for governor
By DIRK
VANDERHART
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Nike co-founder Phil
Knight is once again picking
favorites in Oregon politics,
this time in the highly com-
petitive 2022 race for gov-
ernor, and putting up major
money to back up his choice.
On Friday, records show
Knight contributed $750,000
to the campaign of former
Democratic state Sen. Betsy
Johnson, who has left the
party to run as an unaffi liated
candidate. Combined with a
previous $250,000 donation,
Knight has now given $1
million to Johnson’s attempt
to become the fi rst governor
not associated with a politi-
cal party in nearly a century.
The checks, coming
seven months before John-
son would actually stand for
election, signal that Knight
is once again hoping to play
a strong role in helping his
chosen candidate reach Ore-
gon voters. That’s particu-
larly a necessity for John-
son, who won’t be able to
appeal to voters purely based
on the political party next to
her name.
While Knight has given
to plenty of candidates and
causes in Oregon over the
years, his fi nancial sup-
port has typically been far
lower than what he’s off ered
Johnson.
In 2010, Knight favored
former Portland Trail Blazer
Chris Dudley, a Republi-
can, who lost the guberna-
torial race by a razor-thin
margin to Democrat John
Kitzhaber. Knight gave Dud-
ley $400,000 in that contest
and, four years later, backed
Kitzhaber’s re election bid
with a check for $250,000.
Knight dialed his political
giving way up in 2018, when
he contributed $2.5 million
to the campaign of then-Re-
John Gress
Nike co-founder Phil Knight has donated $1 million to Oregon gubernatorial candidate Betsy
Johnson.
NIKE CO-FOUNDER PHIL KNIGHT’S
CONTRIBUTIONS AMOUNT TO 17%
OF HER TOTAL RAISED SO FAR.
publican state Rep. Knute
Buehler, who was challeng-
ing Gov. Kate Brown. The
heavy donations spurred
accusations that Knight was
attempting to buy a Repub-
lican the governor’s man-
sion, but were not ultimately
enough to help Buehler
beat the vulnerable Brown.
Knight’s donations com-
prised 13% of Buehler’s
fundraising in the race.
“It’s not surprising that
( Knight) would connect with
Knute,” Dudley told Oregon
Public Broadcasting in 2018.
“Similar to myself, Knute is
moderate, and he lines up
with where Phil is on a lot of
stuff : He’s pro-choice, he’s
pro-free trade, he’s pro-busi-
ness, he’s in favor of pension
State expands eligibility for unemployment benefi ts
By KATE DAVIDSON
Oregon Public Broadcasting
People who have received
unemployment benefi ts in
Oregon are probably famil-
iar with the triple A’s — a
bedrock of the benefi ts sys-
tem. Job seekers must attest
they are able, available and
actively seeking work to get
unemployment on a week-
to-week basis.
The Oregon Employ-
ment Department temporar-
ily relaxed those rules when
the coronavirus pandemic
forced mass layoff s.
Now the agency says
it has learned a lesson
from the pandemic. It
recently updated its avail-
ability requirements so
that more people can get
unemployment.
“The world of work
has changed,” said Lindsi
Leahy, director of the unem-
ployment insurance divi-
sion. “The child care crisis
defi nitely put an exclama-
tion point on it.”
To get benefi ts under the
old rule, a job seeker would
have to be available to work
any schedule, on any days,
that an employer in their fi eld
would normally require. In
other words, they had to be
completely available.
The amended rule lets
the agency consider barri-
ers such as lack of transpor-
tation, lack of child care or
Subscription rates
Eff ective January 12, 2021
MAIL
EZpay (per month) ...............................................................................................................$10.75
13 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$37.00
26 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$71.00
52 weeks in advance ........................................................................................................ $135.00
DIGITAL
EZpay (per month) .................................................................................................................$8.25
reform to fi x the funding of
schools.”
In Johnson, Knight may
have found a candidate
with politics that are sim-
ilar to Buehler’s. Both are
pro-choice politicians, but
also say they represent a
commitment to strict fi scal
discipline and a chance to
snatch the state back from
the control of progressive
Democrats.
Knight could not imme-
diately be reached for com-
ment . In a statement Mon-
day, Johnson touted Knight’s
support.
“Without the money and
machinery from the two-
party system, I need all the
help I can get to rescue Ore-
gon,” the statement said.
“Phil Knight deeply loves
Oregon and is willing to put
his money where his heart is
like so many others helping
our campaign. I am proud to
have him in my corner.”
Since she’s running as an
unaffi liated candidate, John-
son does not need to seek a
major party nomination in
the May primary. Instead,
she’s taking a less com-
mon route to the Novem-
ber ballot: working to collect
roughly 23,750 valid signa-
tures from Oregon voters, an
amount equal to 1% of the
statewide vote in the 2020
general election.
That will require major
money, which Johnson has.
So far, the former senator
has raised far more than any
other gubernatorial candi-
date. As of Monday, she’d
reported having more than
$5.1 million on hand.
Knight’s contributions
amount to 17% of her total
raised so far.
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other caregiving responsibil-
ities before denying benefi ts
to someone with more lim-
ited availability.
For example, say a parent
looking for a manufacturing
job can’t work during the
day because their kid’s child
care provider closed.
“You don’t have child
care for day shift,” Leahy
posited. “Are you available
for swing shift and grave-
yard? Yes.”
Under the revised rule, as
long as a worker is available
40 hours per week during
times when an employer in
their area would typically
off er work, they may now be
eligible for benefi ts. A per-
son doesn’t need to be avail-
able around the clock.
The same could be true
for job seekers caring for an
elderly parent or attending
classes during certain hours.
Or for people whose avail-
ability depends on public
transportation.
About
19,000
peo-
ple are currently receiving
unemployment benefi ts in
Oregon.
Leahy said the agency
doesn’t know how many
more people will be eligible
for benefi ts because of the
rule change. She said some
employers raised concerns
their tax liabilities could
rise if more claimants were
paid benefi ts from the state’s
unemployment
insurance
trust fund.
Any impact should be
softened, however, by leg-
islation Oregon lawmakers
passed last summer cutting
employer taxes by roughly
$2.4 billion through 2029.
Leahy said the Employ-
ment Department would
evaluate the rule change
after a year, to see how often
it gets used and measure
its eff ect on the unemploy-
ment trust fund. She said
additional changes could be
made in the future.