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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 28, 2022)
A2 THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2022 IN BRIEF County unemployment rate declined in May BEER HERE Clatsop County’s unemployment rate was 3.9% in May. The seasonally adjusted rate was down from 4% in April and down from 6.3% in May 2021. The state’s unemployment rate was 3.6% in May, the Oregon Employment Department reported, the same as the national unemployment rate of 3.6%. By BRANDON CLINE Chinook Observer County has new virus testing site Clatsop County will soon have a new site for its drive-thru COVID-19 testing clinic. Starting Friday, the county Public Health Depart- ment will administer tests at the household hazardous waste facility at 1780 Williamsport Road in Astoria. The clinic will operate from 9 to 11 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the county said. Tests are by appointment only. Bat in Warrenton tests positive for rabies The second bat to test positive for rabies in Oregon this year was found in Warrenton last week, according to the Clatsop County Public Health Department and the Oregon Health Authority. A bat in Deschutes County recently tested positive, as well. People who encounter a bat should not touch them, the county said in a statement. They should also con- tact the local offi ce of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, the county said. Anyone who has contact with a bat should reach out to the county Public Health Department. Cutter Steadfast returns from patrol After 55 days patrolling the eastern Pacifi c Ocean, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Steadfast has returned to Astoria. The crew did search and rescues and performed counternarcotics operations off Central America. The Steadfast returned on June 18. The Steadfast coordinated with Mexican law enforcement to intercept drug-smuggling vessels, seiz- ing a total amount of cocaine worth more than $100 million, the Coast Guard said. This was Steadfast Cmdr. Craig Allen Jr.’s fi nal patrol. He has served in the role since July 2020 and is slated to transfer command next month, the agency said. — The Astorian DEATHS June 25, 2022 In KNIGGE, Brief David Scott, 56, of Warren- ton, died in Warrenton. Deaths Caldwell’s Luce-Lay- ton Mortuary of Asto- ria is in charge of the arrangements. STAGNER, Rod- ney Donald, 80, of Asto- ria, died in Longview, Washington. Ocean View Funeral & Cre- mation Service of Asto- ria is in charge of the arrangements. MEMORIAL Saturday, July 2 STERLING, Ronald Derek “Ulcer” — Celebration of life starting at 5 p.m., Sunset Beach in Warrenton, just south of the access ramp. There will be a bonfi re and stories. Memorial ON THE RECORD Fleeing DUII On the Record • Dakota Mathew • Jonathon Carras, 28, of Battle Ground, Washington, was arrested on Sun- day on U.S. Highway 30 east of Astoria and charged with fl eeing or attempting to elude police offi cers, reckless driving and two counts of recklessly endanger- ing another person. Rhea Hart, 37, of Astoria, was arrested on Wednesday on U.S. Highway 30 and Bond Street in Astoria for driving under the infl u- ence of intoxicants, reck- less driving, being a felon in possession of a fi rearm, a parole and probation vio- lation and possessing a criminal quantity of drugs. PUBLIC MEETINGS TUESDAY Clatsop County Planning Commission, 10 a.m., (elec- tronic meeting). Astoria Planning Commission, 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. Warrenton City Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main Ave. WEDNESDAY Cannon Beach City Council, Planning Commission and Design Review Board, 6 p.m., work session, City Hall, 163 E. Gower Ave. THURSDAY Clatsop County Recreational Lands Planning Advisory Committee, 1 p.m., Oregon Department of Forestry Asto- ria District, 92219 Oregon Highway 202. PUBLIC MEETINGS Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503-325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103-0210 DailyAstorian.com Circulation phone number: 800-781-3214 Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR ADVERTISING OWNERSHIP All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by The Astorian become the property of The Astorian and may not be reproduced for any use without explicit prior approval. COPYRIGHT © Entire contents © Copyright, 2022 by The Astorian. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. Printed on recycled paper 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 Long Beach puts pause on vacation rental permits Buoy Beer Co./Facebook Buoy Beer Co. has opened a pop-up pub in downtown Astoria. The new location at the Astoria Food Hub off Marine Drive allows Buoy to have a public presence through summer. The airy space, designed with a café in mind, features a commercial kitchen. A Buoy Beer building along the waterfront partially collapsed earlier this month. LONG BEACH, Wash. — City councilors voted unanimously this month to place a moratorium on allowing new vacation rent- als after city staff said they had received a signifi cant increase in permit requests . Ariel Smith, the city’s deputy administrator and community development director who handles vaca- tion rental permits , asked for the pause — which can remain in eff ect for up to six months — to give the city time to revise its code and develop new regulations . Smith specifi cally cited 28th Street and Sea Crest Avenue as seeing a “huge” increase in the number of applications for conditional use permits to operate vaca- tion rentals in areas zoned for residential use. The uptick has been noticed by neigh- bors, who have submitted complaints to the city about the rising number of rentals . “I’ve worked here for six years, and I’ve had more in June ( this year) than I’ve had in two years put together,” Smith told the council. She clarifi ed that enacting a moratorium does not cre- ate any new rules on how the city regulates vacation rent- als, “it just simply puts a stop to what’s currently happen- ing. There’s no new permits being issued during this time period.” She added that the fi ve completed permit appli- cations currently being con- sidered will not be aff ected by the pause. Under state law, a pub- lic hearing on the issue must be held within 60 days of the moratorium going into eff ect, which took place at 12:01 a.m. on June 17. The moratorium, Smith said, will give city staff time to conduct research, allow the council to hold pub- lic workshops, and develop amendments to the city code that must be reviewed by the state Department of Com- merce. The moratorium cannot exceed six months, unless extended for good cause as dictated by state law. Ilwaco RV park owners moving forward with eviction attempt By BRANDON CLINE Chinook Observer ILWACO, Wash. — The dispute between landlord and tenants that has been play- ing out over the past several months at the Beacon Char- ters and RV Park is headed to court. On June 16, the new own- ers of the RV p ark at the Port of Ilwaco fi led residential unlawful detainer lawsuits against 13 remaining tenants in Pacifi c County Superior Court. The lawsuits allege that unsafe conditions at the RV park pose a threat to remain- ing tenants, that their presence impedes park staff ’s ability to complete the necessary repairs and that the new owners’ lease with the p ort invalidates any rental agreements that the ten- ants had under the previous ownership. The lawsuits had long been expected since the new own- ers, Michael and Denise Wer- ner, took it over from Mayor Mike Cassinelli earlier this year . The Werners’ intent is to turn the park into an RV resort, after it largely served as long-term housing for local residents during Cassinelli’s ownership. Filed by Vancouver-based attorney Mark Passannante on the new owners’ behalf, the lawsuits make three claims that they argue should allow the Werners to terminate the tenancy of the RV park’s remaining occupants, or con- stitutes an unlawful detainer Chinook Observer New owners have started a legal eff ort to evict the remaining tenants from the Beacon Charters and RV Park on Port of Ilwaco property. and allows for the eviction of the tenants. The fi rst claim alleges that the defective condition of the park is so substantial that it is unfeasible for the landlord to remedy within the allowed time under a provision of the state’s manufactured and mobile home landlord-tenant act. The lawsuit cites a separate provision of the act that says if a court or arbitrator deter- mines a defective condition is so substantial and that the tenant should not remain on the mobile home space in its defective condition, then the court or arbitrator may autho- rize the termination of the ten- ancy and set a reasonable time for the tenant to vacate the premises. The lawsuit cites a notice in late February that was delivered to tenants that allegedly advised them of the issues and off ered the tenants rental space in a diff erent park owned by the Werners. That letter, which has been reviewed by the Chinook Observer, claimed to residents that they were being provided with a 30-day notice to vacate the property due to the park being sold, “and the new own- ership will need to start imme- diately on improvements to the park” — with a target completion date of September. That letter, signed “Man- agement,” has been the cen- ter of much controversy, after Cassinelli, while he was still the RV park’s owner, wrote to tenants in March that it had not come from him and to dis- regard it. The second claim essen- tially makes the same alle- gations as the fi rst claim, but instead cites similar language in the state’s residential land- lord-tenant act that gives a court or arbitrator the author- ity to terminate the tenancy and set a reasonable time for the tenant to vacate the premises. The third claim alleges that Cassinelli terminated the lease he had with the P ort of Ilwaco for the premises of the RV park’s location, and that Cassinelli had sent a notice to the residents of the park in February advising them that the term of the lease expired. That February letter to ten- ants, as reviewed by the Chi- nook Observer, makes no mention of Cassinelli’s lease with the port having expired, only mentioning that the prop- erty has been sold. And Cassi- nelli, in a letter to tenants sev- eral weeks later, said that notice had not come from him and was not authorized by him, and told tenants to ignore it. Matt Gagliasso, the CEO of Deer Point Meadows Invest- ments, which is owned by the Werners, told the Observer in May that he had received explicit approval from Cassi- nelli to deliver the February notice to tenants, and that he was shocked to see Cassinelli disavow it. Oregon seeks community voices for climate equity committee By MONICA SAMAYOA Oregon Public Broadcasting The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is looking for members for its new climate equity advisory committee. The department is look- ing for about a dozen mem- bers from around the state to provide feedback and hold the agency accountable for its goals under the newly implemented Climate Protec- tion Program. The program is designed to reduce green- house gas emissions from fos- sil fuels used in transportation, residential, commercial and industrial settings by 50% by 2035 and 90% by 2050. The Climate Protection Program was developed by the Department of Environ- mental Quality under orders from Gov. Kate Brown. It includes new administra- tive rules that cap and reduce greenhouse emissions over time. Companies can comply by volunteering in the Com- munity Climate Investments program. Nicole Singh, the depart- ment’s senior policy climate advise r, said companies pay a certain amount of money to get credits that fund projects to reduce emissions across the state. She said that’s where the new committee comes in. “What we’re doing dif- ferently in Oregon is we’re saying, it’s not the compa- nies that are going to make the decisions about how these monies are invested,” she said. “We tried to cre- ate a program where Orego- nians, communities, decide where the money should be invested, and we have priori- tized that those monies should be invested in environmental justice communities.” Singh said the program is not just about reducing bur- dens in environmental justice communities, but ensuring that the benefi ts fl ow across the state, including to com- munities of color, low-income communities, communities with less access to infrastruc- ture for renewable energy and communities that have been historically marginalized. One of the fi rst orders of business for the committee will be reviewing applica- tions from nonprofi ts seek- ing funds. Singh said that can range from installing solar panels to electric water heat- ers that make homes more energy effi cient. But this can also present some challenges, she said. Since this is a new program, working with companies might make it diffi cult for the committee to decide where the funds should be invested. “Some challenges are going to be just learning to work with each other,” she said. “They have to basi- cally make decisions about how they’re going to make decisions. That’s going to be something I think that’s new.” The Department of Envi- ronmental Quality is look- ing for people who have lived experience or interests in environmental justice, climate change and health impacts. “Since the program does prioritize investments in envi- ronmental justice communi- ties, of course, we do want to hear most from people from environmental justice com- munities or people who have served environmental justice communities,” she said. Those interested should provide a statement before the July 8 deadline.
