NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Sales tax not stopping pot shoppers
By NOELLE CROMBIE
The Oregonian
PORTLAND
—
Oregon’s
recreational
marijuana consumers, at
least those who opt to shop
in dispensaries, seem to be
taking a new state sales tax
in stride, many dispensary
owners say.
On Jan. 1, after a three-
month tax holiday, Oregon
imposed a 25 percent sales
tax on recreational mari-
juana sales. The tax will
eventually be replaced with
a 17 percent state tax once
the Oregon Liquor Control
Commission
assumes
control over recreational
marijuana sales later this
year.
Matt Price, who owns a
chain of dispensaries called
Cannabliss, said some
customers have shrugged
off the tax. “And then,” he
said, “we have people that
say they would rather go
back to their ‘guy,’ so to
speak, and walk out.”
At Glisan Buds and
Foster
Buds,
general
manager Nathan Kryten-
berg took the radical
step of absorbing the tax.
Krytenberg is betting on
his “strategic decision” to
generate enough additional
sales to cover the added
cost.
He also hopes the
gesture builds customer
loyalty in a city where more
than 100 shops compete
not just with each other but
with the well-established
black market. The company
spread its message on social
media and lets customers
know about it when they
come through the doors.
“To be quite honest with
you, if we even take a small
hit, I believe the fact that we
are doing this will put us in
a better market position,”
said Krytenberg, whose
shops sell marijuana for $9
and $15 a gram.
Oregon’s
marijuana
enthusiasts have histori-
cally enjoyed some of the
cheapest prices, particularly
when compared with Colo-
rado and Washington, both
home to taxed and regulated
marijuana markets.
Yet even in Portland,
where
dispensaries
routinely compete for recre-
ational dollars by slashing
SULFHVRQÀRZHUVWKHPRYH
at Glisan Buds and Foster
Buds raised eyebrows
among other in the industry.
“If you can do it and
PDNH DQ\ NLQG RI SUR¿W
God bless you,” said Sam
Heywood, an owner of
Farma, a dispensary on
Southeast
Hawthorne
Boulevard where a sign
at the entrance reminds
customers about the sales
tax. “It’s aggressive. Is it
sustainable? I don’t know.”
2I¿FLDOV ZLWK WKH
Oregon Department of
Revenue,
the
agency
charged with collecting the
new sales tax, said shops
are free to absorb the tax or
spread it among the grower,
shop and consumer. Ulti-
mately, the agency’s chief
interest is ensuring the tax
is paid in full.
“We have no authority
over pricing,” said Julia
Dodson, a spokeswoman
for the agency. “Dispensa-
ries can charge whatever
they decide.”
The agency won’t
begin collecting the tax
until February. On Friday,
RI¿FLDOV VDLG RQO\ DERXW
half of dispensaries selling
recreational marijuana have
registered with the Depart-
ment of Revenue, a state
requirement.
At Cannadaddy’s, a
dispensary in outer South-
east Portland, owner Brad
BRIEFLY
Woman’s body
found in gravel pit
Zusman said he’s asked
the cannabis growers who
supply his store about the
possibility of sharing some
of the tax burden, but the
idea hasn’t gone anywhere.
He’s not keen on
absorbing the tax on his own
since it would represent a
PDMRUFKXQNRISUR¿WVKLV
store on one day alone this
week generated $1,400 in
sales taxes, he said.
While he’s determined
to attract recreational
consumers, Zusman said
he’s redoubled his focus on
medical marijuana patients,
offering bargain-basement
prices on popular concen-
trates.
Recreational shoppers at
his store spend, on average,
$38 to $45 per transaction,
compared with $100 to
$110 among medical mari-
juana patients who don’t
pay any tax, he said.
Medical
marijuana
patients can also purchase
pricier concentrates and
edibles — sought-after
products that remain off
limits to recreational shop-
pers for now.
“It’s really hard for any
dispensary to survive just
on recreational sales,” he
said.
KENNEWICK, Wash.
(AP) — A woman’s body has
been found in a gravel pit in
eastern Washington.
The Tri-City Herald reports
that her body was found
by man walking his dog in
Kennewick Sunday morning.
The Benton County
6KHULII¶VRI¿FHVD\VWKH
woman is between 45 and 60
years old. A cause of death
hasn’t been determined.
The Benton County
coroner has scheduled an
autopsy. Authorities are still
investigating.
Bystanders pull
two from icy pond
BEND (AP) — A 5-year-old
girl and her 18-year-old
caretaker were pulled from the
icy waters of a Bend park by
people passing by.
The Bulletin reports that
the girl had been sledding on a
snow-covered hill at Discovery
Park on Sunday and was not
able to stop her sled.
According to the bend
Police Department, the girl slid
to the middle of the pond where
ice had melted and went under
the water. The caretaker entered
to pond, but began to struggle
and called for help.
A witness called 911 and
52-year-old Diane Allen and
46-year-old Eric Klump pulled
the girl and her caretaker from
the pond.
3ROLFHDQG¿UHRI¿FLDOV
found the pair extremely cold,
but without life threatening
injuries. Allen and Klump did
not need medical attention.
New Washington initiative introduced to raise minimum wage
For several years,
Washington state had the
highest statewide minimum
OLYMPIA,
Wash. wage in the nation, but
— Supporters of raising ¿YHVWDWHVKDGKLJKHUUDWHV
Washington
state’s starting this year: Alaska,
Connecticut,
PLQLPXP ZDJH ¿OHG D California,
ballot measure Monday Massachusetts, and Rhode
that seeks to incrementally Island. Some cities in
increase the state’s rate to Washington state already
$13.50 an hour over four exceed the statewide
years starting in 2017, minimum wage. A draft
as well as provide paid of the ballot measure said
sick leave to employees the minimum wage would
resume being adjusted for
without it.
The initiative was LQÀDWLRQEHJLQQLQJLQ
/RUL
3¿QJVW
WKH
announced at a news
conference by a coalition research and policy director
of workers and union for the Washington State
members.
Washington’s Budget and Policy Center,
current minimum wage is a Seattle-based organi-
$9.47 an hour, but the rate zation that supports the
is adjusted each year for ballot measure, estimated
LQÀDWLRQ DV PHDVXUHG E\ it would take until 2031 for
the Consumer Price Index the rate to rise to $13.50 an
for the past 12 months. KRXUDGMXVWLQJIRULQÀDWLRQ
The yearly recalculation is without the ballot measure
required by Initiative 688, ¿OHG0RQGD\
Seattle’s minimum wage
which was approved by
Washington voters in 1998. is set to incrementally rise
By WALKER ORENSTEIN
Associated Press
to $15 an hour and Tacoma
voters recently voted to
raise the city’s minimum
wage to $12 an hour over
two years starting this year.
The minimum wage for
transportation and hospi-
tality industry workers in
SeaTac is currently $15.24
an hour.
Teresa Mosqueda, the
campaign director for the
Washington State Labor
Council, said at the confer-
HQFHWKDWWKHFRDOLWLRQ¿OHGD
ballot measure because past
efforts in the Legislature to
raise the state’s minimum
wage and provide paid
sick leave failed in recent
years. Lawmakers debated
a bill to raise the state’s
minimum wage to $12 an
hour over four years last
year but it didn’t get a vote
in the Senate Committee on
Commerce and Labor.
Ariana Davis, who
works at a Safeway grocery
VWRUH LQ $XEXUQ RI¿FLDOO\
¿OHGWKHEDOORWPHDVXUH
“Workers
like
me
deserve to be able to earn a
decent wage, I can’t tell you
how frustrating it is to work
countless long demanding
hours at a job and still not
be able to afford basic
necessities in life such as
food gas and rent,” she said
at the press conference.
Sen. Mark Schoesler,
R-Ritsville, said in an
interview that raising the
minimum wage to $13.50
would be a “tremendous”
burden in some parts of
Washington, and to some
small businesses.
“If you’re in counties
that have persistently high
unemployment rates, it’s
not so rosy,” he said.
Last year’s effort to raise
the minimum wage to $12
an hour, House Bill 1355,
was reintroduced to the
Legislature this year. The
primary sponsor is Rep.
Jessyn Farrell, D-Seattle.
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Mostly cloudy and
chilly
Mostly cloudy with
a little rain
38° 32°
45° 35°
Mostly cloudy
FRIDAY
Mainly cloudy with
a shower
A little snow in the
morning
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
45° 33°
42° 27°
39° 32°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
39° 36°
45° 36°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
33°
20°
41°
27°
63° (1953) -11° (1963)
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
Trace
0.06"
0.62"
0.06"
0.23"
0.62"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
36°
22°
41°
28°
61° (2014) -10° (1937)
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
Trace
0.05"
0.45"
0.05"
0.14"
0.45"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
First
Full
Jan 16
Jan 23
46° 32°
44° 33°
39° 32°
Seattle
51/42
ALMANAC
Last
7:34 a.m.
4:33 p.m.
9:04 a.m.
8:04 p.m.
New
Jan 31
Feb 8
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COMMERCIAL PRINTING
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REGIONAL CITIES
Today
SATURDAY
Spokane
Wenatchee
36/33
35/32
Tacoma
Moses
49/40
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 37/34
38/34
48/44
48/42
38/29
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
48/44
38/37 Lewiston
37/34
Astoria
44/36
50/46
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
46/42
Pendleton 35/30
The Dalles 39/36
38/32
38/36
La Grande
Salem
36/34
49/45
Albany
Corvallis 50/46
49/46
John Day
40/36
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
35/29
51/46
42/38
Caldwell
Burns
35/30
28/24
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
Hi
50
34
42
55
28
35
51
38
39
40
40
36
35
52
52
57
35
37
38
46
43
49
36
37
46
38
38
Lo
46
31
38
48
24
30
46
35
36
36
36
34
33
42
45
48
29
33
32
42
38
45
33
34
43
37
29
W
r
c
r
r
sn
c
r
r
r
c
r
c
c
r
r
r
c
c
c
r
r
r
c
r
r
c
r
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Wed.
Hi
50
35
44
50
37
38
48
44
45
44
40
41
39
50
49
51
38
45
45
50
48
48
40
42
48
46
41
Lo
41
24
28
42
20
28
39
31
36
27
22
30
31
36
40
43
27
33
35
39
28
40
31
27
39
36
25
W
r
sn
r
r
sn
sn
r
r
r
sn
c
sn
r
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sf
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sn
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c
WORLD CITIES
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Hi
29
64
58
45
67
25
46
60
31
92
43
Lo
12
56
42
35
48
20
37
45
16
70
38
W
s
c
s
pc
pc
sn
sh
pc
pc
pc
r
Wed.
Hi
34
67
60
44
64
31
45
58
33
84
48
Lo
14
57
42
36
48
11
36
40
17
74
38
W
s
pc
s
c
c
i
pc
s
sf
pc
c
WINDS
Medford
52/42
Klamath Falls
40/36
(in mph)
Today
Wednesday
Boardman
Pendleton
NE 3-6
SE 4-8
NNW 4-8
SSE 8-16
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
REGIONAL FORECAST
Coastal Oregon: Rain, some heavy today
and tonight. A touch of rain tomorrow.
Thursday: rain.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Mostly cloudy
today. A little rain near the Cascades; a fl urry
in central parts.
Western Washington: Occasional rain today
into tomorrow. Thursday: a little rain.
Eastern Washington: Mostly cloudy today;
a little rain toward the Cascades in the
afternoon.
Cascades: Periods of rain today; any time
across the north, during the afternoon
elsewhere.
Northern California: Mostly cloudy today;
periods of rain; however, dry in the interior
mountains.
0
1
1
BREMERTON, Wash.
(AP) — A Bremerton-based
manufacturer is working on a
line of aluminum boats they
call “virtually unsinkable.”
The Kitsap Sun reports
that Life Proof Boats is
launching a line of vessels
resembling Coast Guard
SDWUROERDWVIRU¿VKHUPDQLQ
the Northwest.
Life Proof’s Micah
Bowers says they are working
to build a boat for recreation
that’s more robust than what
is currently in the market.
Their boats feature aluminum
KXOOVZLWKÀRWDWLRQFROODUVIRU
added buoyance and stability.
The boats can reach speeds
of 60 mph, powered by two
300-horsepower outboards.
Prices start at about
$50,000 and Life Proof has
worked with Kitsap Bank to
FUHDWH¿QDQFLQJSDFNDJHV
Corrections
Real Estate Advertising: Jodi Snook
MVQRRN#HDVWRUHJRQLDQFRP
THURSDAY
Bremerton
manufacturer
builds ‘virtually
unsinkable’ boat
The city of Pilot Rock pays the Pendleton Police Department
$4,000 a month for administrative oversight and also pays for
WKHZDJHVDQGEHQH¿WVWRKDYHD3HQGOHWRQRI¿FHUSDWUROVWUHHWV
answer calls for service and other police duties in Pilot Rock, The
East Oregonian in a Dec. 12, 2015, story on the problems small
towns face with having police department did not report the addi-
tional cost. Pilot Rock in December paid $6,339 for 120 hours of
police work plus the $4,000 for oversight.
The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely
regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please
call 541-966-0818.
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Forecast
WEDNESDAY
6($77/($3²2I¿-
cials say a woman working
ClassiÀed Advertising:
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Copyright © 2016, EO Media Group
TODAY
Woman injured in
bikini barista stand
explosion dies
in a bikini coffee stand who
was injured when the stand
exploded has died.
Harborview Medical
Center spokeswoman Susan
Gregg says Courtney Camp-
bell died Monday afternoon.
Campbell was injured
Thursday afternoon when a
¿UHEURNHRXWDW6LQQHUVDQG
Saints Coffee in Everett. The
¿UHUHSRUWHGO\VSUHDGWRD
nearby car before the blaze
was extinguished.
Assistant Everett Fire
Marshal Eric Hicks said
Thursday the barista, later
LGHQWL¿HGDV&DPSEHOOZDV
inside the stand at the time
and that she was burned while
HVFDSLQJWKHÀDPHV
Hicks told The Daily
Herald on Friday that
investigators believe a
propane tank inside the coffee
VWDQGFRQWULEXWHGWRWKH¿UH
0
0
0
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. ©2016
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: A storm will spread a fresh dose of arctic air, flurries and ground- cov-
ering snow squalls across the Midwest and Northeast today. Rain will graze the Gulf Coast
and will return to the Pacific coast.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 73° in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Low -36° in Cotton, Minn.
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
41
51
47
44
40
51
37
39
56
35
12
28
60
44
25
49
5
2
82
62
21
58
27
54
52
66
Lo
20
27
26
20
27
27
32
25
34
12
0
12
36
23
11
26
-2
-8
66
39
5
34
18
34
27
43
W
s
s
pc
pc
pc
s
c
sf
s
sn
pc
sn
s
s
sf
s
c
pc
s
s
sf
s
pc
s
s
s
Wed.
Hi
44
47
32
31
44
49
41
33
53
30
21
17
63
50
17
53
10
19
82
63
24
58
46
54
54
62
Lo
23
31
24
20
33
34
29
19
31
21
18
14
45
23
14
30
3
11
67
50
23
35
32
38
37
43
W
s
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pc
s
c
pc
s
pc
sf
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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
34
47
68
12
3
44
58
41
48
19
45
62
34
41
50
37
46
61
29
31
64
60
51
62
45
41
Lo
15
25
54
-1
-6
18
41
25
25
11
24
40
24
24
25
22
34
50
16
16
47
54
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35
23
24
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Wed.
Hi
32
51
72
18
16
42
63
31
54
37
32
64
30
32
42
46
48
58
42
36
63
57
48
65
33
49
Lo
27
39
61
17
15
31
49
22
31
27
24
41
12
17
27
29
29
42
32
27
52
46
40
36
24
29
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
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