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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 13, 2016)
NORTHWEST Things to know: Multiple proposals headed for Oregon’s Nov. ballot Page 8A East Oregonian PORTLAND (AP) — Citizen groups KDYH KDQGHG WKH ¿QDO VLJQDWXUHV IRU EDOORW initiatives to the Oregon Secretary of State, which has until early August to determine which proposals make the cut for the November ballot. So far, only one proposal — the Initiative Petition 28 corporate tax measure — has PDGH WKH EDOORW ZKLOH ¿YH RWKHUV DUH SHQGLQJDVWKHVWDWHYHUL¿HVVLJQDWXUHV Five are statutory initiatives, which amend state law and therefore can be changed any time; one is a constitutional initiative, which amends the state Constitution and therefore requires voter approval for any changes thereafter. Statutory initiatives require 88,184 valid signatures and constitutional initiatives require 117,578. Here’s a summary of the citizen proposals: APPROVED IP 28: A Better Oregon TYPE: Statutory WHAT IT WOULD DO: Raises an esti- mated $3 billion in additional tax revenue each year broadly earmarked for public education, health care and senior services through the largest corporate tax hike in Oregon history. The state’s largest 1,000 businesses registered as C-corporations with at least $25 million in annual sales would pay a minimum $30,000 tax, plus a so-called gross receipts tax of 2.5 percent on any sales above that threshold. ,668(6 $V RQH RI ¿YH VWDWHV ZLWKRXW a sales tax and some of the nation’s lowest corporate taxes, Oregon’s tax base depends heavily on personal income. IP 28’s public union-backers say a tax hike on big business would make things more equitable and help restore some of the recession-era funding cutbacks to key public services. Businesses say it’d deal a blow to the local economy and consumer prices, while conservative lawmakers call it a “blank check” to the government. WHO’S BEHIND IT: Our Oregon, a SROLWLFDODGYRFDF\QRQSUR¿WPRVWO\IXQGHG by public employee unions 2016 FUNDRAISING: $338,100 raised, mostly from Our Oregon, which hasn’t disclosed the sources of its contributions. 2Q7XHVGD\(20HGLD*URXS¶V3DULV$FKHQ reported that Defeat The Tax On Oregon Sales, a coalition of business interests, has raised more than $5.2 million to defeat the ballot measure. The Defeat the Tax on Oregon Sales Political Action Committee reported more than 500 contributions through July 11. SIGNATURES PENDING IP 65: Oregonians For High School Success TYPE: Statutory WHAT IT WOULD DO: Diverts $140 million of annual state funds, or $800 per high school student, to a newly-created fund for high school career and technical educa- tion. Requires schools to submit plans for relevant programs and funding to the state HGXFDWLRQGHSDUWPHQWDQGVSHFL¿HVKRZWR measure performance and hold educators accountable. ISSUE: Oregon has one of the nation’s worst high school graduation rates, and the initiative’s supporters want to turn that around by boosting vocational programs, which often appeal to students who aren’t bound for a four-year university and incentivize them to stay in school. Critics such as the Oregon Education Association, among the biggest backers of IP 28, say it’s D ³RQHVL]H¿WVDOO´ VROXWLRQ WKDW SODFHV D bandage over a broader problem. WHO’S BEHIND IT: Stand for Children, DQDWLRQDOHGXFDWLRQUHIRUPQRQSUR¿WSDUWO\ supported by the Walton family and Bill and 0HOLQGD*DWHV 2016 FUNDRAISING: $4.2 million raised, mostly from Stand for Children, which hasn’t disclosed the sources of its contributions IP 50: Voter Privacy Act TYPE: Statutory WHAT IT WOULD DO: Bans the release of a registered voter’s personal information without their written consent. ISSUE: Currently, Oregon voters’ personal data — such as birth dates, email addresses and phone numbers — and information on whether they’ve received or mailed in their ballots ahead of Election Day are public information. The initiative’s supporters want to limit the information available to political campaigns, while critics such as public union SEIU Local 503 say it’d dampen ongoing efforts to boost voter turnout. WHO’S BEHIND IT: Richard White- head, an Aloha resident and Libertarian party member 2016 FUNDRASING: $167,300 raised, largely from the Taxpayers Association of Oregon IP 49: No More Fake Emergencies Act TYPE: Constitutional WHAT IT WOULD DO: Requires a two-thirds supermajority vote by the Oregon Legislature in order to include emergency clauses on bills. ISSUES: Emergency clauses accelerate a bill’s effective date — usually 90 days after signing into law — and subsequently prevent citizens from challenging it by referendum. IP 49 backers say the clauses are being overused by the Oregon Legisla- ture, where more than half of the bills had emergency provisions last year. WHO’S BEHIND IT: Eric Winters, a Wilsonville attorney, and Jason Williams, executive director of the Taxpayer Associa- tion of Oregon 2016 FUNDRAISING: $562,400 raised, largely from the Taxpayers Association IP 68: Save Endangered Animals TYPE: Statutory :+$7,7:28/''20DNHVLWLOOHJDO to buy or sell parts and products made from 12 wildlife species in Oregon, such as cheetahs, elephants and sea turtles. Includes exceptions for certain antique items and tribal members, among others. ISSUES: It’s already illegal in the U.S. to import endangered animal parts and products, but there’s no law in Oregon banning sales and purchases of items already smuggled into the country. IP 68’s backers say Oregon would follow states such as California, Hawaii and Washington state that have passed similar bans on animal parts. WHO’S BEHIND IT: U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Portland; former GOP state 6HQ %UXFH 6WDUU 0HWUR &RXQFLO 3UHVLGHQW Tom Hughes 2016 FUNDRAISING: $520,500 raised, largely from the Humane Society IP 67: Outdoor School for All TYPE: Statutory :+$7 ,7:28/' '2 *LYHV ¿IWKRU sixth-graders in Oregon one week of outdoor education by setting aside 4 percent of lottery funds not to exceed $22 million annually. ISSUES: Outdoor School has been a Portland-area tradition since the 1960s that’s funded by nearby school districts, although KDV VWUXJJOHG ZLWK ¿QDQFLDO VWDELOLW\ LQ recent years. Lawmakers expanded outdoor education statewide last year, but without funding. IP 67’s backers are therefore eyeing lottery revenue, which critics say is already limited. WHO’S BEHIND IT: Save Outdoor School For All, a grassroots coalition of outdoor advocates, parents and educators 2016 FUNDRAISING: $61,500 raised, mostly from the coalition Wednesday, July 13, 2016 AP Photo/Reid Blackburn, file In this Feb. 13, 1980, file photo, FBI agents scour the sand of a beach of the Columbia River, searching for additional money or clues in 9-year-old D.B. Cooper skyjacking case in Vancouver, Wash. FBI ends D.B. Cooper case SEATTLE (AP) — The FBI said Tuesday it is no longer investigating the enduring mystery of the skyjacker known as D.B. Cooper, nearly 45 years after he vanished out the back of a Boeing 727 into a freezing Northwest rain wearing a business suit, a parachute and a pack with $200,000 in cash. Calling the investigation one of the longest and most exhaustive in the agency’s history, WKH)%,6HDWWOH¿HOGRI¿FHVDLGLQDQHPDLOLW was time to focus on other cases. The agency said it will preserve evidence from the case at its Washington, D.C., headquarters, but it GRHVQ¶W ZDQW IXUWKHU WLSV XQOHVV SHRSOH ¿QG parachutes or Cooper’s money. “The mystery surrounding the hijacking RI D 1RUWKZHVW 2ULHQW $LUOLQHV ÀLJKW LQ November 1971 by a still-unknown individual UHVXOWHG LQ VLJQL¿FDQW LQWHUQDWLRQDO DWWHQWLRQ and a decades-long manhunt,” the FBI said. “Although the FBI appreciated the immense number of tips provided by members of the SXEOLFQRQHWRGDWHKDYHUHVXOWHGLQDGH¿QL- WLYHLGHQWL¿FDWLRQRIWKHKLMDFNHU´ On Nov. 24, 1971, the night before Thanksgiving, a man described as being in his mid-40s with dark sunglasses and an olive FRPSOH[LRQ ERDUGHG D ÀLJKW IURP 3RUWODQG Oregon, to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. He bought his $20 ticket under the name “Dan Cooper,” but an early wire-service UHSRUW PLVLGHQWL¿HG KLP DV ³'% &RRSHU´ and the name stuck. Sitting in the rear of the plane, he handed a QRWHWRDÀLJKWDWWHQGDQWDIWHUWDNHRII³0LVV I have a bomb and would like you to sit by me,” it said. The man demanded $200,000 in cash plus four parachutes. He received them at Sea-Tac, where he released the 36 passengers and two RI WKH ÀLJKW DWWHQGDQWV 7KH SODQH WRRN RII again at his direction, heading slowly to Reno, Nevada, at the low height of 10,000 feet. Somewhere, apparently over southwestern Washington, Cooper lowered the aircraft’s rear stairs and jumped. He was never found, but a boy digging on a Columbia River beach in 1980 discovered three bundles of weathered $20 bills — nearly $6,000 in all. It was Cooper’s cash, according to the serial numbers. Over the years, the FBI and amateur sleuths AP-Photo, file This undated artist’ sketch shows the skyjacker known as D.B. Cooper from recollections of the passengers and crew of a Northwest Airlines jet he hi- jacked between Portland and Seattle. have examined innumerable theories about Cooper’s identity and fate, from accounts of unexplained wealth to purported discoveries of his parachute to potential matches of the agency’s composite sketch. The 40th anniversary of the case in 2011 brought a wave of attention. An Oklahoma woman told the FBI about a late uncle who showed up to Thanksgiving dinner in Oregon that year with serious injuries. A team that included a paleontologist from Seattle’s %XUNH 0XVHXP DQQRXQFHG WKDW SDUWLFOHV RI pure titanium found in the hijacker’s clip-on tie suggest he worked in the chemical industry or at a company that manufactured titanium. A book that year, “Skyjack: The Hunt for D.B. Cooper,” by Geoffrey Gray, posited several theories, including that Cooper might have been a transgender mechanic from Washington state. The most promising leads in recent years have come from amateurs, Gray said — LQFOXGLQJ D QRWLRQ SXW IRUWK E\ D VFLHQWL¿F illustrator at the University of Chicago that Cooper might have taken his persona from a French comic called “Dan Cooper,” a series about a test pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force. In one issue from 1963, the character boards an airliner wearing a dark suit and a mask over his eyes and sits in the back of the plane. He demands to be given a briefcase that’s in the cockpit, and then, wearing a military parachute, he jumps out — over a wooded area, at night, in the rain. National French Fr y Day July 13th Stop by today & celebrate National French Fry Day! Delish Bistro 1725 N 1st St. Space E, Hermiston, OR 97838 Phone. (541)303-9006 Email. info@delishbistro.com Walk in as Customers and leave as Friends. 308 S Main Street • Pendleton, OR 97801 Mon - Sat: 10:00am - 8:00pm Sunday: 10:00am - 4:00pm