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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 10, 2015)
Page 2A NORTHWEST East Oregonian Friday, April 10, 2015 7D[UHOLHISURSRVHGIRUXUEDQIDUPV BRIEFLY $XGLWFRQ¿UPV EXGJHWVKRUWIDOO at ODFW Legislation would reduce property taxes SALEM (AP) — A state DXGLWFRQ¿UPVWKDWKXQWLQJ DQG¿VKLQJOLFHQVHIHHVDUH not keeping up with the rising revenue demands at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Secretary of State’s 2I¿FHUHOHDVHGWKHDXGLW Thursday. It notes that hunting and ¿VKLQJOLFHQVHVDFFRXQWIRU most of the department’s revenues, and the numbers of people buying them have been declining since the 1970s. Meanwhile, the department’s workload has been growing to deal with the impacts of a JURZLQJSRSXODWLRQRQ¿VK and wildlife habitat. And WKHVWDWH¶V¿VKKDWFKHULHV are at risk from deferred maintenance. Department director Curt Melcher welcomed FRQ¿UPDWLRQRIWKH department’s revenue problems, and noted that there are three bills in the Legislature to deal with the issue, including one raising fees for licenses and tags. By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press SALEM — Farmers who raise crops or livestock in urban areas could obtain property tax relief under an Oregon bill that would create urban agriculture in- centive zones. Supporters of House Bill 2723 say that urban farmers improve food securi- ty and teach city dwellers about agricul- ture but face a high property tax burden. The legislation would allow cities and counties to designate zones where undeveloped land is subject to lower property tax rates so long as it’s used for DJULFXOWXUHIRUDPLQLPXPRI¿YH\HDUV Farmland in urban areas already TXDOL¿HVIRUGHIHUUHGSURSHUW\WD[HVEXW HB 2723 creates a new system in which JURZHUVFRXOGEHQH¿WIURPORZHUUDWHV right away, rather than in the third year of farming as currently required, said Ivan Maluski, policy director of the Friends of Family Farmers group. Also, growers would not have to pay back taxes under the new program if they decide to stop producing crops or OLYHVWRFNDIWHU¿YH\HDUVKHVDLG Maluski said the bill encountered some concerns about enforceability and land use implications, which are ad- dressed in a proposed amendment. 7KH UHYLVHG ODQJXDJH FODUL¿HV WKDW HB 2723 only relates to property tax- es and doesn’t affect the inventory of land available for development within urban growth boundaries, he said. The amendment also lays out “checks and balances” that specify how local governments will assess properties that take advantage of the urban agriculture incentive zones, Ma- Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press Developer Eric Olsen examines crops growing on a parcel of land des- ignated as a “village farm” for the neighborhood he built in Monmouth, Ore. The Oregon Legislature is considering a bill that would provide tax relief to urban farms. luski said. If only a portion of a property is used for farming, the special assess- ment would only apply to that area un- der the bill. The Oregon Farm Bureau’s main concern with the bill is that it not un- dermine the existing property tax de- ferral system for farmland, said Mary Anne Nash, public policy counsel for the group, during an April 7 hearing on the bill. Because the urban agriculture in- centive zone idea is novel, the program should be subject to a sunset in roughly ¿YHWRVL[\HDUVVRWKDWODZPDNHUVFDQ evaluate how it’s performing, she said. Jon Chandler, CEO of the Oregon Home Builders Association, said he would like for cities to consider such urban farms when calculating how much land to include in their urban growth boundaries. Cities should be able to take into account how much time urban farms have taken advantage of the tax incen- tives — for example, a property that’s been in the program for 15 years may be unlikely to be converted to another use, he said. Nash of ORB said that she found that concept “troubling” because such urban farms should not create addi- tional pressure to expand urban growth boundaries. In that situation, an urban farm may simply displace a rural farm, she said. Rep. Brian Clem, D-Salem, said the bill contains a “natural check” on how much the program would actu- ally be used, since cities and counties are unlikely to forgo tax revenue and landowners seldom want to give up the opportunity to develop their property. Urban farming is growing in prom- inence, said Vic Gilliam, R-Silverton, who sponsored the HB 2723 along with Clem. Marijuana possession, sale and cultivation continue to be offenses under federal law. Congress prohibited anyone selling controlled substances from getting tax breaks in 1982, after a drug dealer claimed his yacht and weapon purchases as legiti- mate business expenses. But Wyden and Blu- menauer said times have changed, and federal law hasn’t caught up. Last fall, Oregon joined Colorado, Washington state and Alaska and made pot legal for anyone over 21 to grow, buy and possess. Ore- gon is also one of more than 20 states to allow the use of medical marijuana, which in many cases is sold through dispensaries. “This is about having eq- uitable treatment for legiti- mate businesses and putting them on an equal footing,” Blumenauer said. The bill likely faces an uphill battle. The Republi- can-led Congress has largely opposed marijuana legisla- tion, and President Obama, at a town hall in Jamaica, said: “I do not foresee any- time soon Congress chang- ing the law at a national ba- sis.” There are over 200 med- ical marijuana dispensaries in Oregon. Recreational possession and growing will start in July, while re- tail sales are not expected to start until next year. Wyden and Blumenauer said the IRS rules are unfair and burdensome to mari- juana business owners, who face tax rates of 70 to 90 percent. Many illegally take the deductions, or go out of business, they said. “It drives so many people away from legal business and into the underground,” said Shane McKee, co-founder of Shango Premium Canna- bis dispensary in Portland. “It makes many businesses unable to operate.” Didn’t receive your paper?&DOO EHIRUHSP7XHVGD\WKURXJK)ULGD\ RUEHIRUHDP6DWXUGD\ for same-day redelivery — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 2I¿FHKRXUV0RQGD\WKURXJK)ULGD\DPWRSP &ORVHGPDMRUKROLGD\V SUBSCRIPTION RATES /RFDOKRPHGHOLYHU\ 6DYLQJVRIIFRYHUSULFH (=3D\ SHUPRQWK SHUFHQW 2QH\HDU SHUFHQW PRQWKV SHUFHQW PRQWKV SHUFHQW ZHHNV SHUFHQW (=3D\ RQH\HDUUDWHZLWKDPRQWKO\FUHGLWRUGHELWFDUGFKHFNFKDUJH www.eastoregonian.com To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to www.eastoregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ (DVW2UHJRQLDQ(USPS 164-980)LVSXEOLVKHGGDLO\H[FHSW6XQGD\0RQGD\ DQG'HFE\WKH(20HGLD*URXS6(%\HUV$YH3HQGOHWRQ25 3HULRGLFDOVSRVWDJHSDLGDW3HQGOHWRQ25Postmaster:VHQGDGGUHVVFKDQJHVWR (DVW2UHJRQLDQ6(%\HUV$YH3HQGOHWRQ25 Single copy price: 7XHVGD\WKURXJK)ULGD\6DWXUGD\ Copyright © 2015, EO Media Group TODAY SATURDAY SUNDAY Sunshine mixing with some clouds Cooler with a couple of showers Some sun 67° 47° 55° 35° MONDAY TUESDAY Mostly cloudy Windy and cooler with a shower PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 60° 39° 64° 39° 55° 34° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 70° 45° 59° 35° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 61° 60° 89° (1925) 36° 38° 27° (2010) PRECIPITATION 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date 0.01" 0.23" 0.40" 2.97" 4.82" 4.36" HERMISTON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH Yesterday Normals Records LOW 63° 63° 81° (1960) 33° 39° 24° (1959) PRECIPITATION 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date 0.00" 0.26" 0.21" 1.78" 2.81" 3.32" SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today Last New Apr 11 Apr 18 6:19 a.m. 7:35 p.m. 12:51 a.m. 10:33 a.m. First Full Apr 25 67° 40° 60° 34° Seattle 60/43 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 63° 36° May 3 Spokane Wenatchee 62/42 64/46 Tacoma Moses 61/41 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 66/45 63/43 54/43 59/40 68/41 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 61/42 69/49 Lewiston 71/49 Astoria 69/48 55/42 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 63/45 Pendleton 61/38 The Dalles 70/45 67/47 68/48 La Grande Salem 66/42 61/45 Albany Corvallis 61/44 61/45 John Day 65/40 Ontario Eugene Bend 70/44 61/45 62/35 Caldwell Burns 69/43 64/36 Medford 68/45 Astoria Baker City Bend Brookings Burns Enterprise Eugene Heppner Hermiston John Day Klamath Falls La Grande Meacham Medford Newport North Bend Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Redmond Salem Spokane Ukiah Vancouver Walla Walla Yakima REGIONAL FORECAST Eastern Washington: Sunshine and some clouds today. Periods of rain tonight. A couple of showers tomorrow. Cascades: Sun and some clouds today. Cloudy tonight; periods of rain, but dry in the south. Northern California: Low clouds followed by sunshine at the coast today; mostly sunny elsewhere. Lo 42 38 35 45 36 38 45 43 45 40 34 42 37 45 44 48 44 49 47 45 35 45 42 39 46 49 41 Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Lo 47 65 43 49 53 37 49 44 38 59 50 To submit sports or outdoors information or tips: VSRUWV#HDVWRUHJRQLDQFRP Real Estate Advertising: Jodi Snook MVQRRN#HDVWRUHJRQLDQFRP COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Director Jake Duquette MGXTXHWWH#HDVWRUHJRQLDQFRP W r s pc pc s s pc pc pc s s s s pc pc pc pc pc s pc pc pc pc s pc s pc Hi 53 52 49 54 54 46 57 52 59 49 52 50 45 57 52 54 63 61 55 55 52 56 52 46 55 57 59 NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Sat. Lo 40 23 23 42 21 25 35 30 35 27 24 30 26 36 38 40 31 38 35 40 22 37 32 26 40 39 31 W sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh r sh pc sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh pc W pc c pc pc pc pc pc s s sh r Hi 70 72 52 56 75 56 60 62 66 72 58 Sat. Lo 44 65 44 41 53 31 45 46 41 60 50 W pc r r sh pc s pc pc s pc r WINDS Boardman Pendleton Today Saturday WSW 6-12 W 6-12 WSW 15-25 W 20-30 UV INDEX TODAY 1 3 5 To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries: HPDLOUVWUXWKHUV#HDVWRUHJRQLDQFRPRUYLVLWZZZHDVWRUHJRQLDQ FRPFRPPXQLW\DQQRXQFHPHQWV Legal Advertising:$PDQGD-DFREV DMDFREV#HDVWRUHJRQLDQFRP Today Hi 70 74 56 68 78 50 69 62 64 70 54 To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News: HPDLOFRPPXQLW\#HDVWRUHJRQLDQFRPRUFDOO7DPP\0DOJHVLQL LQ+HUPLVWRQDWRU5HQHH6WUXWKHUVLQ3HQGOHWRQDW To submit a Letter to the Editor:PDLOWR0DQDJLQJ(GLWRU'DQLHO :DWWHQEXUJHU6(%\HUV$YH3HQGOHWRQ25RUHPDLO HGLWRU#HDVWRUHJRQLDQFRP WORLD CITIES Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. Coastal Oregon: A little rain across the north this afternoon; partly sunny elsewhere. Eastern and Central Oregon: Sunshine mixing with some clouds today; pleasant in the south. Western Washington: A little rain; some sun this afternoon, then turning cloudy across the south. Hi 55 66 62 55 64 61 61 67 70 65 60 66 61 68 54 57 70 71 67 63 64 61 62 64 62 69 68 NEWS To submit news tips and press releases:FDOO ID[HPDLOQHZV#HDVWRUHJRQLDQFRP &ODVVLÀHG$GYHUWLVLQJ FODVVL¿HGV#HDVWRUHJRQLDQFRP Today (in mph) Klamath Falls 60/34 Corrections The Wed. April 8 East Oregonian front page story “Stat- ue decorations banned” was missing an important word in the second paragraph. Decorations are banned in the city, but statues are not. The EO regrets the error. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818. REGIONAL CITIES Forecast SALEM (AP) — The Oregon House has unanimously approved a bill to designate a section of Oregon Highway 7 near Baker City as Mabry Anders Memorial Highway. Republican Rep. Cliff Bentz of Ontario introduced House Bill 2981 to honor the 21-year-old Baker City soldier who was killed in Afghanistan in 2012. The Baker City Herald reports hat the section of highway is between Baker City and Phillips Reservoir. The bill now moves to the state Senate, where it is expected to pass unanimously. PORTLAND (AP) — Google is expanding its presence in Oregon. This week, the compa- ny will open a new data center in The Dalles. The 164,000-square-foot build- ing nearly doubles the size of the company’s current data center in that town, the Oregonian reports. The cost of the new facil- ity: $600 million. *RRJOH¶V¿UVWVHUYHU farm in The Dalles opened in 2006. The company was drawn to Oregon by cheap power and favorable tax breaks. The state has no ADVERTISING Advertising Director: Jennine Perkinson MSHUNLQVRQ#HDVWRUHJRQLDQFRP v Multimedia consultants • Jeanne Jewett MMHZHWW#HDVWRUHJRQLDQFRP • Dayle Stinson 541-966-0806 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com • Terri Briggs WEULJJV#HDVWRUHJRQLDQFRP Subscriber services: For home delivery, vacation stops or delivery concerns: 1-800-522-0255 +RXVHSDVVHV 0HPRULDO +LJKZD\ELOO *RRJOHWRVSHQG 0WRH[SDQG 'DOHVGDWDFHQWHU Oregon lawmakers seek federal tax code change for legal pot PORTLAND (AP) — Two members of Oregon’s congressional delegation plan to introduce bills that would allow marijuana busi- nesses operating in compli- ance with state law to take federal deductions on taxes like other small businesses. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and Congressman Earl Blu- menauer say the legislation would alter a section of the federal tax code that prohib- its anyone selling controlled substances from getting tax breaks. At a press confer- ence on Thursday, the two legislators said they would introduce the bills next week. sales tax, and special enter- prise zones exempt the data center’s computers from local property taxes. Still, Google paid $1.2 million to the city, Wasco County and the local school district when it won the tax deal in 2013 for the new data center. About 175 people work in Google’s data center in The Dalles, according to the city, including 90 contrac- tors. The company also announced this week it has OHDVHGDQHZRI¿FHLQGRZQ- town Portland to replace its previous one. Google did not say how many people would work in the 15,000-square-foot space. The company has about 20 employees in Portland, but said it has no immediate plans to expand there. 7KHFRPSDQ\¿UVW RSHQHGDQRI¿FHLQ3RUWODQG in 2010, when it bought a small Tualatin company called Instantiations. Google says the Portland lease is unrelated to ongoing considerations to bring Goo- gle Fiber’s Internet service to Portland. 5 3 1 8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m. 0-2, Low 3-5, Moderate 6-7, High; 8-10, Very High; 11+, Extreme The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num- ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection. Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2015 Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. -10s -0s showers t-storms 0s 10s rain 20s flurries 30s 40s snow ice 50s 60s cold front 70s 80s 90s 100s warm front stationary front 110s high low National Summary: Showers and locally severe thunderstorms will affect the Deep South and Atlantic Seaboard today. Spotty snow is in store for the upper Great Lakes. Clouds and showers will approach the coastal Northwest. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 93° in Carrizo Springs, Texas Low 11° in Sunset Crater, Ariz. NATIONAL CITIES Today Albuquerque Atlanta Atlantic City Baltimore Billings Birmingham Boise Boston Charleston, SC Charleston, WV Chicago Cleveland Dallas Denver Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Fargo Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Jacksonville Kansas City Las Vegas Little Rock Los Angeles Hi 73 77 64 76 63 73 68 56 85 67 61 59 73 64 59 83 45 56 82 76 64 88 68 78 72 70 Lo 44 55 48 46 41 52 45 46 63 43 36 36 58 36 33 55 27 32 68 67 38 63 43 53 48 55 W s t t t pc t s c pc t pc pc pc pc c s c s s t s pc s pc s pc Hi 76 78 58 65 67 78 62 57 77 62 63 52 74 72 59 84 40 71 81 77 62 81 70 81 75 73 Sat. Lo 46 56 42 36 37 55 34 39 54 38 43 38 64 40 36 54 25 50 69 68 41 63 52 56 57 56 W s pc s s pc pc sh pc t s s s t pc s s c pc sh t s t pc s pc pc Today Louisville Memphis Miami Milwaukee Minneapolis Nashville New Orleans New York City Oklahoma City Omaha Philadelphia Phoenix Portland, ME Providence Raleigh Rapid City Reno Sacramento St. Louis Salt Lake City San Diego San Francisco Seattle Tucson Washington, DC Wichita Hi 67 70 86 54 54 69 84 63 70 65 72 86 50 59 82 62 68 74 68 65 68 64 60 84 78 70 Lo 42 49 75 33 34 45 69 50 50 37 48 61 41 46 55 36 34 42 42 42 57 48 43 52 52 45 W pc pc pc pc pc t t t s s t s c sh t pc s s s s pc pc r s t s Hi 67 75 87 58 67 72 79 60 72 70 62 87 55 60 74 74 67 76 67 69 69 66 53 85 68 72 Sat. Lo 45 55 74 39 50 45 69 43 59 50 40 65 36 37 47 39 37 47 50 41 59 51 42 55 44 55 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. W s pc t s s s t pc t pc s s pc pc s s s s s s pc pc sh s s pc
