70/46
ROCKETS
DEFEAT
GASTON
BUCKS
SHUT OUT
CRATER
KNIGHTS
CLOBBER
LOST RIVER
SOFTBALL/1B
SOFTBALL/1B
BASEBALL/1B
THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2016
140th Year, No. 159
WINNER OF THE 2015 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
One dollar
Panel blames Kitzhaber
for Cover Oregon failure
As spending
on lobbying
increases,
transparency
remains murky
Democrats point finger at Oracle
SALEM (AP) — Republi-
cans on a U.S. House committee
have found former Gov. John
Kitzhaber and a federal agency
mishandled the creation of
Oregon’s health insurance
enrollment website, with the
Democratic governor’s political
advisers making decisions based
on his re-election campaign.
In a staff report released
Wednesday, the Republicans
on the committee said they are
asking the Justice Department
and state attorney general to
conduct criminal investigations
into the actions involving Cover
Oregon.
“More than $305 million
in federal taxpayer dollars
were sent to Oregon state for
purposes of implementing a state
exchange to benefi t the people,”
the committee said in a letter to
U.S. Attorney General Loretta
Lynch. “The state exchange
never came to fruition, and the
money is gone.”
The Republican-controlled
Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform said its
investigation showed state offi -
See KITZHABER/8A
Simmons Insurance renovating historic Hermiston building
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Joshua Simmons, left, and Alden Jemmett, with Jerry Simmons Construction, remove wooden paneling from the walls of
the RoeMark’s building on Wednesday in Hermiston.
Old RoeMark’s in new hands
Hopes to attract dining establishment
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
After sitting empty for nearly
four years, the former RoeMark’s
Men’s and Western Wear
building in downtown Hermiston
has a new owner.
Simmons Insurance Group
purchased the building Tuesday
and has already started reno-
vations. The company plans to
maintain offi ces on the eastern
half of the building while leasing
out three different retail spaces
on the side facing Second Street.
Since RoeMark’s closed in
2012, the historic brick building
down the street from city hall
has become a symbol of Main
Street’s struggles. Revitalizing
downtown was one of the top
priorities that Hermiston resi-
dents named in a recent survey
about livability, and it is rare to
hear a conversation about revi-
talization that doesn’t invoke the
RoeMark’s building.
It’s something that Simmons
Insurance managing partners and
“We care about this community. We were both raised here
and RoeMark’s was part of where we went and shopped.”
— Justin Simmons, Simmons Insurance managing partner
brothers-in-law Justin Simmons
and Jacob Neighbors are aware
of.
“We care about this commu-
nity,” Simmons said. “We were
both raised here and RoeMark’s
was part of where we went and
shopped.”
The large space was a good
fi t for the growing company’s
needs, but Neighbors said that
the partners also recognized the
opportunity to help revitalize
downtown. Once renovations are
fi nished they hope to welcome
a winery, restaurant, bistro or
other promising business to the
See ROEMARKS/8A
By HILLARY BORRUD
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Businesses, special interest
groups and governments have increasingly
invested in lobbying Oregon lawmakers and
other state offi cials over the last nine years.
And based on spending data from the state,
those groups appear to have concluded
lobbying is a good investment: reported
annual spending on lobbying increased 15
percent from 2007 to 2015, when adjusted
for infl ation .
Yet despite the millions of dollars
involved, it’s nearly impossible for
Oregonians to get details on how lobbyists
spend that money to achieve payoffs for
their clients, because Oregon law allows
lobbyists and their clients to disclose little
information about how they infl uence state
laws and spending.
The EO Media Group/Pamplin Media
Group Capital Bureau categorized lobbying
spending in Oregon by industry and sector
using data from the Center for Responsive
Politics, which tracks spending on lobbying
by industry at the federal level. In total,
groups spent more than $251 million on
lobbying over the last nine years, according
to state data.
The health care sector — whose ranks
include nurses, pharmaceutical companies,
hospitals, and doctors — reported spending
the most on lobbying from 2007 through
2015, a total of $36.5 million. Next was the
business sector, which spent $30.8 million,
followed by fi nance, insurance and real
estate interests that reported spending a total
of $27.3 million on lobbying during the
same period.
Unlike several other states including
Idaho, Oregon does not require lobbyists
to disclose the specifi c bills or executive
branch actions they seek to infl uence.
Oregon lobbyists are only required to
disclose food, drinks and entertainment
purchased for a specifi c lawmaker or other
state offi cial if the cost exceeds $50 on a
single occasion, and lobbyists do not have
to report individual expenses reimbursed by
their clients .
Until this year, the only way to know
how much lobbyists and their clients were
spending to entertain Oregon state offi cials
was to request a copy of the paper reports
fi led with the Oregon Government Ethics
Commission.
The agency launched a new electronic
fi ling system for lobbyists late last year,
but that system is not displaying certain
spending details due to technical glitches.
Even if the system were working correctly,
however, it would likely provide only a
small sample of lobbyists’ activities. Of the
$35.9 million in reported spending last year,
only $93,189 was explained in detailed
reports.
These minimal reporting requirements
contributed to Oregon receiving one of the
lowest rankings in the nation for transpar-
ency in lobbying activity.
See LOBBYING/2A
BOARDMAN
More than just industry
Port of Morrow donates land for community projects
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
The Port of Morrow is already
Eastern Oregon’s industrial engine. It
is home to power plants, food proces-
sors and an increasing number of data
centers along the Columbia River.
But Gary Neal, the port’s general
manager, says they are focused on
more than just big business. Their
mission is to improve the quality of
life in Boardman and Morrow County,
which is why they recently donated
land for both the new Boardman
Recreation Center and Blue Moun-
tain Community College Workforce
Training Center.
BMCC broke ground on its facility
— one of three projects approved by
last year’s $23 million bond measure
— on Wednesday, while construction
on the recreation center began on
May 12. The buildings will be located
next to each other as part of their own
campus on Olson Road, just north
of the SAGE Center. The port even
moved Les Schwab’s tire storage and
maintenance shop to the neighboring
East Beach Industrial Park to make
room for the school and gym.
“We do a lot of things like this for
the benefi t of our regional partners,”
Neal said. “If we can help raise
support for all their services, it benefi ts
See LAND/8A
Staff photo by George Plaven
Offi cials broke ground on BMCC’s new Workforce Training Cen-
ter Wednesday in Boardman. From left: Tony Turner, BMCC Board;
Rob Dreier, bond project manager; Ed Taber, BMCC Board; Ty-
son Furstenberg, McCormack Construction; Chris Brown, BMCC
Board; Louis Carlson, bond campaign volunteer; Susan Plass,
BMCC Board; Kim Puzey, BMCC Board; Cam Preus, BMCC presi-
dent; Jerry Healy, Port of Morrow commissioner; and Gary Neal,
Port of Morrow executive director.