Thursday, February 18, 2016
OFF PAGE ONE
ECONOMY: Tribes employ 1,652 people SPEED: 400 speed limit signs must
creates a chain effect that vocal about a minimum
Continued from 1A
boosts other calculations.
wage increase, saying it
be replaced at cost of $1,700 each
leton and Hermiston.
According to Whelan’s would hurt impoverished
Page 8A
East Oregonian
The average house costs
$138,000 in Pendleton
as opposed to $180,00 in
Hermiston.
Perhaps the biggest
economic boon to the region
is the Confederated Tribes of
the Umatilla Indian Reserva-
tion.
Between the Wildhorse
Casino & Resort, Arrow-
head Travel Plaza, Cayuse
Technologies and the tribal
government,
economic
consultant Robert Whelan
said the tribes employ 1,652
people.
Whelan said the success
and growth of the tribes
calculations, the tribes were
directly or indirectly respon-
sible for 11 percent of the
jobs in Umatilla County.
Whelan also downplayed
the negative economic
effects of gambling addic-
tion, saying only 0.5 percent
of gamblers are considered
problem
gamblers,
59
percent of whom do their
gambling outside casinos.
During the question
and answer session, many
attendees asked the econ-
omists about the effect of
a potential minimum wage
hike.
Whelan was the most
Oregonians by forcing
them to pay more taxes and
reducing their earned income
tax credit.
Whelan scoffed at the
notion that a higher minimum
wage would stimulate local
economies, saying people
spent only 17 percent of their
money locally.
Whelan said a better way
to improve the working
poor’s economic prospects is
to cut income taxes for those
who earn under $30,000.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra at
asierra@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0836.
FIRE: Tax would generate about $900,000 a year
the Oregon law that limits
property tax rates.
,Q WKH ¿UH GLVWULFWV
The tax would generate
merged administrations and about $900,000 a year, most
Stanton became chief of of which would go toward
both.
DGGLWLRQDO VWDI¿QJ DQG WKH
The next step was asking rest toward capital improve-
the voters to approve a new ments. Stanton said the new
district. Stanton said that district would provide 24/7
failure led to getting addi- VWDI¿QJDW+HUPLVWRQ¶VPDLQ
tional input and dropping the station and at station No. 2,
amount of the tax to $1.75 as well as day shifts at station
per $1,000.
1RDQGLQ6WDQ¿HOG
That would be a 31 cent
And the new district
GHFUHDVH LQ 6WDQ¿HOG¶V UDWH would have enough money
but a rate increase of 55 cents to cover equipment costs,
for rural areas around Herm- he said, and not have to ask
iston, which works out to voters to pass future bonds.
paying about an extra $9.17 a
:LWKRXW WKH QHZ ¿UH
month on a $200,000 home. district,
Stanton
told
Property owners inside the commissioners back at
Hermiston city limits may WKH ¿UVW SXEOLF KHDULQJ LQ
not see an actual increase January, Hermiston and
because of compression, 6WDQ¿HOG PD\ KDYH WR SXW
Continued from 1A
off equipment upgrades and
cut staff. He also said at that
time the new district would
tie Redmond as the cheapest
in the state for its size. Most
districts of this size, he said,
have a rate exceeding $2.
Stanton was the only
person to speak for the
proposal, and no one spoke
against it, just like at the
January hearing.
County board chairman
George Murdock of Pend-
leton said Wednesday while
the board does not take
positions on elections, he
supported the district and
would promote it. Commis-
sioners Larry Givens of
Umapine and Bill Elfering of
Hermiston said they would
give their individual support
as well.
LOVE’S: Will hire about 50 employees in Boardman
Continued from 1A
— once in 2010, and again
in 2015. Both times, Devin
Oil raised objections to the
Oregon Land Use Board of
Appeals and the state Court
of Appeals.
A representative for
Devin Oil did not return calls
for comment on Wednesday.
In one appeal, Devin Oil
argued it would be adversely
affected by Love’s due
to “aggressive marketing
and pricing practices.”
The company also argued
whether a travel center
should be allowed at the I-84
and Tower Road interchange
based on the county’s own
zoning rules.
Each time, the courts
ruled in favor of the county.
LUBA issued its most recent
decision in April, which
ZDV DI¿UPHG E\ WKH &RXUW
of Appeals in December.
The Oregon Supreme Court
declined to hear the case in
2012.
Morrow County Planning
Director Carla McLane
said the deadline for further
appeals passed earlier this
month, and she is happy to
VHHWKHSURFHVV¿QLVKHG
“It’s nice to be done,”
McLane said. “Its been a real
large time-consumer.”
Dorian said it generally
costs about $10 million to
build a new travel center.
They will hire about 50
employees in Boardman, and
start accepting applications
next month.
“Most of those will be
from the area,” Dorian said.
As part of its grand
opening, Dorian said Love’s
will donate $2,000 to a local
VFKRRORUQRQSUR¿WRUJDQL]D-
tion. The business sets aside
$450 every year to invest in
the community.
“We really try to do a
good job of coming in and
being good stewards to the
community,” Dorian said.
For more information
about Love’s donations,
contact Dorian at 405-302-
6730 or kealey.dorian@
loves.com.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
ENERGY: Brown still considering whether to support the bill
Continued from 1A
The governor did not
respond on Wednesday
morning to questions about
whether the cost of the bill
mattered, and if she would
sign the bill without cost
vetting by state regulators.
³7KH *RYHUQRU¶V 2I¿FH
has encouraged the (Public
Utility Commission) to
evaluate the bill and actively
engage in the public process,
which the (Public Utility
Commission) pursued by
providing testimony, crafting
amendments, and holding
its own public hearing,”
Brown’s press secretary
Chris Pair wrote in an email
Wednesday morning. “We
generally do not comment
publicly on the Governor’s
position on a bill in advance
of its passing both houses or
her legal counsel’s review
IRU OHJDO VXI¿FLHQF\ DQG
constitutionality that every
bill receives. That said, the
Governor is committed to
policies that increase the
availability of renewable
energy and address issues
around Oregonians’ invest-
ment in electricity produced
by coal and believes HB
4036 may be one way to
make a meaningful impact.”
Michael
Dougherty,
FKLHIRSHUDWLQJRI¿FHURIWKH
Public Utility Commission
of Oregon, said earlier this
week the Public Utility
Commission
had
not
received enough information
IURP 3DFL¿&RUS DQG 3RUW-
land General Electric, the
two investor owned utilities
that helped craft the bill, to
vet the utilities’ cost projec-
tions. Dougherty wrote in an
email that Portland General
Electric had provided only
“piecemeal” information and
3DFL¿&RUSKDGQRWSURYLGHG
any of the information the
Public Utility Commission
requested.
“Unfortunately,
we
have not received (what we
consider) adequate data from
the utilities to substantiate
or refute the projections
(annual 1 percent to 1.5
percent increase in rates)
provided to the committee
by the utilities,” Dougherty
wrote in an email Tuesday
morning. By Wednesday
morning, Dougherty said the
commission had received
more information from Port-
land General Electric but he
had not yet ascertained what
it was or how useful it might
be.
Ry Schwark, a spokesman
IRU3DFL¿&RUSGLVDJUHHGDQG
said much of the information
the Public Utility Commis-
sion requested was available
in public reports. “My under-
standing is we’ve given them
everything they’ve asked
for,” Schwark said.
Steve
Corson,
a
spokesman for Portland
General Electric, said the
XWLOLW\¶V ¿UVW SULRULW\ ZDV
to prepare for a presenta-
tion to the Public Utility
Commission on the bill in
late January. “And then
turned to the data request,”
Corson said. “The other
thing I would observe just in
general is data requests are
not simple things.” Public
utility commissioners raised
concerns privately and at the
meeting in late January, in
particular that the bill would
be expensive for consumers
but do little to reduce carbon
emissions.
The
Oregon
House
already voted 39-20 on
Monday to pass House Bill
4036, and it is currently
scheduled for a public hearing
Wednesday afternoon at
the Senate Committee on
Business and Transporta-
tion. The committee could
vote as soon as Monday on
whether to send the bill to
WKH IXOO 6HQDWH IRU D ÀRRU
vote. Gov. Kate Brown has
said publicly that she is
still considering whether to
support the bill, but emails
released by the state showed
her administration worked
behind the scenes to help the
bill pass in the Legislature,
The Oregonian reported on
Wednesday.
House Bill 4036 would
UHTXLUH 3DFL¿&RUS DQG
Portland General Electric to
use renewable power sources
such as wind and solar to
serve at least 50 percent
of their customers’ energy
demand in Oregon by 2040.
The current state mandate
is for 25 percent renewable
energy by 2025.
The bill would also
require the investor-owned
utilities to stop using coal
to serve Oregon customers,
but there are questions about
how much the bill would
actually do to impact the
phase-out of coal power in
Oregon.
State Sen. Lee Beyer,
'6SULQJ¿HOG
RULJLQDOO\
requested the Public Utility
Commission review House
Bill 4036. Beyer did not
respond to a question this
week about whether he
expects the commission to
¿QLVK YHWWLQJ WKH OHJLVODWLRQ
before it receives a vote in
the Senate. It also remains to
be seen whether the Senate
will ask the Public Utility
Commission to provide
its perspective on the bill,
something lawmakers in the
House did not do.
“At the House Energy and
Environment Committee, we
were not requested to provide
testimony,” Dougherty wrote
in an email. A representative
was on hand, however, to
answer questions
———
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group. Hillary
Borrud can be reached at
503-364-4431 or hborrud@
eomediagroup.com.
“We’re not sure why it’s
as high as it is,” he said.
Safety Council indicated that
7KHUHDUHVRPHFRQÀLFWLQJ
2UHJRQ¶V WUDI¿F IDWDOLWLHV studies on whether increased
increased dramatically in speed limits lead to more
2015, with 27 percent more crashes and more fatalities,
fatal crashes than the year but a majority have found
before. Nationally, fatalities a link. One of the most
increased by 8 percent.
expansive studies, published
According to the report, in 2001, showed that roughly
2UHJRQKDGWUDI¿FIDWDO- half the time speed limits
ities in 2015, compared to were increased on highways
350 in 2014 and 314 in 2013. between 1986 and 1998, it
The 27 percent increase from ZDV IROORZHG E\ D VLJQL¿-
2014 to 2015 was the biggest cant increase in fatalities the
percentage change of any following year.
state in the nation.
One tool for combating
Strandberg said one WUDI¿FGHDWKV6WUDQGEHUJVDLG
possible explanation for ODOT is working to build
the nationwide increase is a partnership with phone
a combination of lower gas companies, schools and other
prices and lower unemploy- entities to design and launch
ment means more people are a statewide campaign against
driving more miles every distracted driving.
day. He said ODOT has not
He said the department is
had time to dig into the data, preparing to replace 400 new
however, so he couldn’t say speed limit signs on March
GH¿QLWLYHO\ ZK\ 2UHJRQ¶V 1. The signs on I-84 should
crashes increased more than be up that day, he said, with
other states.
work on the highway signs
Continued from 1A
completed another day or
two after that.
Each sign costs about
$1,700 to replace.
New poles for some of
the signs have already been
installed. Strandberg said
some of the current poles are
not strong enough to support
the bigger, heavier new
speed limit signs while other
poles needed to be moved in
order to meet current safety
standards about where signs
should be in relation to the
road. The department is also
making some adjustments to
other signs, including curve
warnings.
The department has
also been repainting stripes
on the affected highways,
creating shorter passing
]RQHVWRUHÀHFWWKDWFDUVPD\
be approaching from the
opposite direction.
——
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
Study finds testosterone
is no fountain of youth
CHICAGO (AP) — A
landmark study suggests that
testosterone treatment is no
IRXQWDLQ RI \RXWK ¿QGLQJ
mostly modest improvement
in the sex lives, walking
strength and mood of a select
group of older men.
The long-awaited results
from a rigorous, govern-
ment-funded study are
WKH ¿UVW VROLG HYLGHQFH RI
whether these hugely popular
supplements can help treat
low sex drive, lack of energy
and other symptoms some-
times blamed on aging.
The researchers empha-
VL]HGWKDWWKH¿QGLQJVSHUWDLQ
only to use of testosterone
gel by men 65 and older
with low hormone levels and
related symptoms; whether
VLPLODUEHQH¿WVZRXOGRFFXU
in younger men or with
testosterone pills, patches or
shots is unknown.
Also, the research was not
extensive enough to deter-
mine whether long-term use
raises the risk of heart attacks
and prostate cancer, as some
studies have suggested.
Lead author Dr. Peter
Snyder, a University of
Pennsylvania
hormone
specialist, said it would be
premature to recommend the
treatment even for men like
those studied.
The study involved
almost 800 men 65 and older
at 12 centers nationwide.
All had low blood levels of
testosterone, the main male
sex hormone. They were
randomly assigned to use
testosterone gel or fake gel
without hormones, rubbed
daily on the skin for a year.
7KH\KDGWR¿OORXWTXHVWLRQ-
naires and take a six-minute
walking test.
The
study
design
is considered the most
rigorous, gold-standard type
of research.
Improvement in sex
lives was modest among the
testosterone group, and the
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
Dave Bostick and wife Carol share a laugh in the
kitchen of their home in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
Bostick, 71, a retired vocational rehab counselor, said
his low mood and energy level improved “a little bit”
during a testosterone treatment study but suddenly
worsened afterward.
EHQH¿WV LQ HUHFWLOH IXQFWLRQ
were less that what has been
seen with Viagra and similar
drugs. The men on testos-
terone had slightly greater
improvement in mood and
walking strength than the
other men, but there was no
difference in energy boost
between the two groups.
The research is among
seven testosterone studies the
National Institute on Aging
launched in 2009 to examine
WKH ULVNV DQG EHQH¿WV RI
testosterone
supplements
widely marketed on televi-
sion to men with “low T.”
Testosterone
levels
typically decline with age.
Supplements are approved
only for treating testosterone
GH¿FLHQF\FDXVHGE\FHUWDLQ
medical conditions, such as
problems with the testes, but
they have become a multibil-
lion-dollar industry, feeding
on aging men’s desire to
remain youthful. The men in
the study did not have any of
WKRVHVSHFL¿HGFRQGLWLRQV
The
new
research
combines results from three
of the government-funded
studies. Results are expected
later from the four other
studies, which tested the
hormone’s effects on mental
function, bone density, heart
function and anemia.
7KH¿QGLQJV³EULQJVRPH
real rigor” to questions
surrounding testosterone use
and suggest that the treatment
is “not a panacea” for age-re-
lated ills, said Dr. Eric Orwoll,
a physician-researcher at
Oregon Health and Science
University in Portland.
On
average,
the
testosterone
increased
men’s hormone levels to
what would be normal for
someone 19 to 40 years old.
About 20 percent of testos-
terone men reported much
improved sexual desire, and
30 percent reported a slight
improvement, but almost
half reported no change. Less
than one-third of the fake-gel
men reported any improve-
ment in sexual desire.
On the walking test,
testosterone and placebo men
showed similar improve-
ments when the comparison
was only among men who
started out with low scores.
When the comparison was
expanded to include other
study men, about 21 percent
of testosterone men achieved
the walking goal versus
about 13 percent of those on
a placebo.
LENT
February 19 from 5 to 7:00 p.m.
@ the St. Anthony Hospital Blue Mountain Cafe
Cedar Plank Salmon - $7.50/Adults
- $7.00/Children & Seniors
with Rice Pilaf & Buttered Green Beans
Baked Potato Bar - $4.00/with
toppings All you can eat.
Salmon/Potato Bar Combo - $11.50
Clam Chowder Bread Bowl - $4.25
Single Cup $1.25
2801 St. Anthony Way, Pendleton, OR 97801