FINDING LOVE FOR TENNIS California oil spill spans nine miles 79/54 SPORTS/1B NATION/7A THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015 139th Year, No. 155 WINNER OF THE 2013 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD One dollar STANFIELD Keeping a promise Three years of Eastern Promise changing regional education By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian A cleaner Columbia Staff photo by E.J. Harris A Tidewater barge moves down the Columbia River on Wednesday near the Wallula Gap east of Umatilla. Oregon congressional delegates and Northwest tribal leaders are seeking to create a $50 million grant program to improve water quality in the Columbia Basin. Grant program would fund water quality projects and Peter DeFazio, have rein- troduced legislation that would VHW DVLGH PLOOLRQ RYHU ¿YH The Columbia River is a years for projects to clean up the major source of renewable basin and more closely monitor energy, food and jobs throughout contamination. Dubbed the Columbia River WKH3DFL¿F1RUWKZHVW $ JURXS RI ¿YH 2UHJRQ Basin Restoration Act of 2015, Democrats is now working the bill would provide funding to establish a voluntary grant for projects through the Envi- program to keep the Columbia’s ronmental Protection Agency to cut back on pollution and elim- waters clean of toxins. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff inate pathways for toxins into Merkley, along with Reps. Earl the river — such as stormwater Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici runoff. By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian The legislation is not a mandate, nor does it add new EPA regulations, but rather provides a competitive source of funding for organizations inter- ested in cleaning up contami- nated sites and monitoring water quality in the basin. “The Columbia River is an Oregon icon that is central to both our environment and our economy,” Merkley said in a statement Wednesday. “A clean Columbia River is essential for the health of our communities “Anytime the tribes see federal agencies willing to put water quality fi rst, we are optimistic. This is a conversation we need to have.” — Sara Thompson, pubic information offi cer, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission DQGIRUWKHVWUHQJWKRIRXU¿VKLQJ and recreation industries.” Rep. Blumenauer described the Columbia as the “lifeblood RI WKH 3DFL¿F 1RUWKZHVW´ but said the river has become dangerously polluted. The (3$ KDV LGHQWL¿HG D QXPEHU of emerging toxic threats to the ULYHU UDQJLQJ IURP ÀDPH UHWDU dants to pharmaceuticals. Those are in addition to what are known as legacy contami- nants, including polychlorinated biphenyl, or PCBs, that are now banned by the EPA but still found in products like inks and dyes. High levels of PCBs in the river build up in the fatty WLVVXH RI ¿VK DQG ODPSUH\ DQG In the past 18 months, pros- ecutors have brought criminal cases against banks accused unit Citicorp, Barclays and the of tax evasion and sanctions Royal Bank of Scotland were violations, and have reached accused of working together multibillion-dollar settlements to manipulate rates on the with several others for their roles foreign exchange market, where LQWKH¿QDQFLDOPHOWGRZQ hundreds of billions of dollars Still, the punishment and euros change hands back announced Wednesday may and forth. have limited practical conse- The penalties are a victory quences. IRU WKH JRYHUQPHQW DQG UHÀHFW The four banks will be able a broader effort by the Justice to continue to do business in the Department, long criticized as currency markets. No executives reluctant to prosecute big banks, were charged, though that part WRWDFNOH¿QDQFLDOPLVFRQGXFW of the investigation continues. Associated Press WASHINGTON — Four of the world’s biggest banks agreed Wednesday to pay more than $5 billion in penalties and plead guilty to rigging the currency markets — a rare instance in which federal prosecutors have wrung an admission of criminal ZURQJGRLQJIURPDPDMRU¿QDQ cial institution. Traders at JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup’s banking See PROMISE/8A PILOT ROCK City raises utility rates Staff, officials still receive discount on sewer, water fees See COLUMBIA/8A )RXUELJEDQNV¿QHGPRUHWKDQ% Will plead guilty to market rigging High school graduation usually marks the beginning of a new journey, but for most 6WDQ¿HOG VWXGHQWV JUDGXDWLQJ 6XQGD\ WKH transition from high school to college won’t seem like much of a transition at all. Thirty of the 39 seniors will graduate with at least one college class under their belt. Thanks to Eastern Promise, the regional college credit program in its third year, many students are graduating with two or three semesters’ worth of college credit and experience living in college dorms during Eastern Oregon Univer- sity’s summer institute. Kris Mulvihill, Eastern Promise’s K-12 director, said she has seen the program trans- IRUP6WDQ¿HOG6HFRQGDU\6FKRRO ³7KH\DUHLQHIIHFW6WDQ¿HOG&RPPXQLW\ College,” she said. For students who in the past would have run through their school’s entire slate of advanced courses by the end of junior year, Mulvihill said Eastern Promise allows them to continue their academic progress while still enjoying the social life and extracurricular activities of a normal high school student. “They’re going to college in their own school,” she said. At the same time, students are encouraged By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian $QGWKH¿QHVZKLOHODUJHDUHD fraction of what the institutions have made through currency trading over the past decade. Prosecutors said traders shared customer orders through chat rooms and used that LQIRUPDWLRQ WR SUR¿W DW WKHLU clients’ expenses. The traders called themselves “The Cartel,” and in one of those chat rooms, a Barclays employee wrote: “if you aint cheating, you aint trying,” investigators said. The banks will pay a Pilot Rock City Council approved on a split vote Tuesday the city’s 2015-16 budget that included raising sewer and water rates $10 per month. But that raise and several more in the near future won’t affect city staff, councilors or the mayor who don’t pay the fee. Councilors Bob Deno, Raymond Doherty and Deacon Perkins voted for the $2.1 million budget with a $654,000 general fund, while Kacie Moss and James Hinkle opposed it. Councilman Ray Corwin was absent. The minority members said their bone of conten- tion was a fund the council created earlier in the meeting at the request of resident John Taylor to help the city pay for improvements to the sewer lagoon. The city is looking at a $2.5 million-$3.7 million project to upgrade aging sewer lagoons. Paying for that will require grants See BANKS/6A See UTILITY/8A Farmers volunteer quarter of water rights By FENIT NIRAPPIL and SCOTT SMITH Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A group of California farmers, in a surprising turnaround, is volunteering to give up a fourth of its available water this year, sharing a resource all but guaranteed to them for more than a century. $ VHQLRU VWDWH RI¿FLDO WROG 7KH Associated Press Wednesday that he would decide whether to accept the offer by Friday. The concession by farmers in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river delta could be one of the most important yet forced by California’s record four-year drought. In exchange for taking 25 percent less river water for irrigation or leaving See FARMERS/8A AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli Irrigation pipes sit along a dried irrigation canal Monday on a fi eld farmed by Gino Celli near Stockton, Calif. Government providing $50M for Western water-saving projects LOS ANGELES (AP) — The U.S. government will invest nearly $50 million in water conservation and reuse projects in 12 drought- stricken Western states, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced Wednesday. “It is absolutely critical that states and the federal government leverage our funding resources so that we can make each drop count,” Jewell said DWDZDVWHZDWHUSXUL¿FDWLRQSODQWLQ Los Angeles. The money will partially fund more than 60 projects in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. See WATER/8A