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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 2016)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian Page 2A Friday, December 9, 2016 Snow, freezing rain hit Oregon BRIEFLY Portland schools, other offices closed in anticipation SEATTLE (AP) — Washington says it’s the first U.S. state to sue the agrochemical giant Monsanto over pollution from PCBs. Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced the lawsuit at a news conference Thursday afternoon. The chemicals, polychlorinated biphenyls, were used in many industrial and commercial applications, including in paint, coolants, sealants and hydraulic fluids. PCB contamination impairs rivers, lakes and bays around the country. The lawsuit, which seeks potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in cleanup costs, was filed in King County Superior Court and says Monsanto long knew about the toxic dangers PCBs posed. Monsanto was the sole producer of PCBs between 1935 and 1979, when Congress banned them. The cities of Seattle and Spokane, as well as Portland, Oregon, and some California cities have also sued Monsanto over PCB pollution. In response to those lawsuits, Monsanto said PCBs were lawful when they were produced and “served an important fire protection and safety purpose.” By STEVEN DUBOIS and GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press PORTLAND — A wintry mix of snow, ice and rain showered fear and excite- ment Thursday in Portland — a city that typically lives under a cloud of mist and drizzle — and other parts of Oregon. Heavy, swirling snow fell downtown, making for slick driving. Strong winds toppled trees, and Portland General Electric reported about 7,000 customers in neighboring Clackamas County lost power before it was mostly restored. Forecasters expected a couple inches of snow to stick before freezing rain arrives, heightening concerns about a treacherous evening commute in the region that does not use salt on slippery roads. Portland transit service TriMet said on Twitter Thursday evening that one of the light rail lines had been disrupted because of ice on overhead power wires. At least one line of bus service Mark Graves/The Oregonian via AP The Columbia River Gorge’s Horseshoe Falls is surrounded by snow and ice the morning of Thursday in Portland. had been canceled, and other bus lines were traveling, many with chains, on snow routes. Freezing rain was also hitting Vancouver, Washington, and over three inches of snow had fallen in Olympia by Thursday evening. Many school districts canceled classes before the first flurries fell. City government also closed, as did federal court, the zoo and state offices in Campaign finance vouchers ready to go Forest. Few drivers traveled on Highway 26 over the pass between Prineville and Mitchell. In Bend, snow fell steadily and ducks swam among ice floes in the Deschutes River. Visibility was near zero on US 97 between Redmond and Bend, with at least one crash occurring Thursday along that icy stretch. The National Weather Service forecast new snow accumulation of up to 8 inches in Central Oregon. several counties. Higher snowfall totals were expected in the Coast Range and Columbia River Gorge. National Weather Service meteorologist Matthew Cullen said as much as 10 inches of snow could fall in the Gorge, particularly from Cascade Locks east toward Hood River. Wintry weather also swept through Central Oregon, causing blizzard-like condi- tions in Ochoco National Companies with high-paid CEOs to be taxed PORTLAND (AP) — The Portland City Council has approved a first-of-its- kind tax on public compa- nies that pay their chief executives vastly more than they pay an average worker. On Wednesday the council approved the plan, which targets publicly traded companies whose chief executives report salaries at least 100 times higher than the salary of a median worker, The Orego- nian/OregonLive reported. Under the ordinance, a company with a CEO-to-worker ratio of at least 100-to-1 will pay a surcharge equal to 10 percent of the amount it pays for Portland’s business tax. A company with a SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle is preparing to mail democ- racy vouchers to registered voters as part of a new campaign finance initiative. KING-TV reports that voters and eligible participants will receive four $25 vouchers that can go toward funding political candidates who opt into the public campaign finance program. The Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission will mail out 2 million of the vouchers to registered voters. The SEEC has been working on implementing the program since Seattle voters passed it in 2015. The initiative is funded through a small property tax increase. SEEC estimates it at $11.50 per year for the average homeowner. 250-to-1 ratio or greater would pay a 25 percent surcharge. If a company ordinarily owes $1 million in taxes to Portland, it would have to pay an additional $100,000 or $250,000. Officials expect the tax to raise $2.5 million year once it starts in January 2017. About 500 publicly traded companies in Port- land will likely be subject to the tax, which will rely on compensation data the federal Securities and Exchange Commission will report beginning next year. Commissioner Steve Novick said he hopes the tax will discourage companies from paying disproportionate salaries to their CEOs. “This is as close as I’ve ever (come) to a tax on inequality itself,” said Novick. Commissioner Dan Saltzman cast the lone vote against the proposal. He said he didn’t think it was the appropriate moment to enact such a tax. “I don’t believe this is the right time, the right place or the right reason to address this,” Saltzman said. Marion Haynes, of the Portland Business Alliance, a group that has opposed the measure since Novick first pitched it last summer, said the plan will not address income inequality. “This is not something that can be dealt with at a local level,” Haynes said. Didn’t receive your paper? Call 1-800-522-0255 before noon Tuesday through Friday or before 10 a.m. Saturday for same-day redelivery — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays SUBSCRIPTION RATES Local home delivery Savings off cover price EZPay $14.50 41 percent 52 weeks $173.67 41 percent 26 weeks $91.86 38 percent 13 weeks $47.77 36 percent *EZ Pay = one-year rate with a monthly credit or debit card/check charge www.eastoregonian.com To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to www.eastoregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday and Dec. 25, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Single copy price: $1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday Copyright © 2016, EO Media Group TODAY SUNDAY SATURDAY A bit of snow, sleet and ice Periods of sun with snow showers 27° 24° 37° 33° MONDAY Mostly cloudy, a fl urry; chilly Mainly cloudy with a bit of snow TUESDAY Mostly cloudy and very cold PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 39° 27° 31° 13° 21° 1° 24° 4° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 38° 31° 28° 23° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 18° 5° 40° 27° 67° (1915) -11° (1972) 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 0.02" 0.23" 0.37" 11.53" 9.01" 11.88" HERMISTON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH Yesterday Normals Records LOW 25° 12° 41° 28° 72° (2015) -10° (1972) 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 0.07" 0.43" 7.97" 6.05" 8.93" SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today Full Last Dec 13 Dec 20 New Dec 28 33° 14° Seattle 41/37 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 42° 27° 7:24 a.m. 4:11 p.m. 1:42 p.m. 1:46 a.m. First Jan 5 Today Spokane Wenatchee 24/22 24/17 Tacoma Moses 43/35 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 26/19 32/24 46/40 41/36 29/17 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 42/39 30/26 Lewiston 27/21 Astoria 33/26 49/43 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 42/38 Pendleton 36/26 The Dalles 28/23 27/24 32/22 La Grande Salem 37/29 48/41 Albany Corvallis 49/42 49/42 John Day 41/31 Ontario Eugene Bend 33/28 50/41 40/30 Caldwell Burns 36/32 38/25 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 49 32 40 53 38 36 50 31 28 41 44 37 34 49 50 53 33 29 27 42 39 48 24 38 42 30 29 Lo 43 20 30 45 25 26 41 27 23 31 33 29 29 41 44 45 28 19 24 38 27 41 22 30 39 26 17 W r sn c r sf sn r sn sn sn pc sn sn r r r i sn sn r r r sn sn r sn sn Lo 42 20 30 42 22 27 40 32 31 32 26 31 31 38 42 43 24 27 33 41 28 42 29 29 41 34 20 W r sn sn r sn sn r sf sf sn r sn sf c r r sn sn sf r sn r sn sf r sn pc WORLD CITIES Today Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Hi 41 74 55 59 67 28 51 60 39 77 61 (in mph) Klamath Falls 44/33 Boardman Pendleton Lo 18 67 39 49 48 24 36 40 20 65 46 W pc s s pc pc sf pc s s s s Sat. Hi 42 76 55 57 69 29 50 60 37 74 53 Lo 20 66 45 40 48 14 40 44 22 65 40 W s s s c pc c pc s s s s REGIONAL FORECAST Eastern Washington: A little snow at times with little or no accumulation today. A little snow tonight. Cascades: Snow at times today, accumulat- ing 3-6 inches; not as cold across the north. Northern California: Rain today; a bit of morning snow, then snow showers in the interior mountains. Today Saturday NE 4-8 NNE 6-12 SW 6-12 SSW 8-16 UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. 0 0 0 Classified & Legal Advertising 1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678 classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com 0 0 NEWS • To submit news tips and press releases: • call 541-966-0818 • fax 541-276-8314 • email news@eastoregonian.com • To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News: email community@eastoregonian.com or call Tammy Malgesini at 541-564-4539 or Renee Struthers in at 541-966-0818. • To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries: email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit www.eastoregonian. com/community/announcements • To submit a Letter to the Editor: mail to Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com. • To submit sports or outdoors information or tips: 541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Mike Jensen 541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. WINDS Medford 49/41 Coastal Oregon: Periods of rain today; milder across the north. Occasional rain tonight. Eastern and Central Oregon: A little wintry mix today; a bit of morning snow, then a little rain in the south. Western Washington: Occasional rain today and tonight. A little rain tomorrow, but dry at the coast. Corrections 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. NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Sat. Hi 50 34 39 49 37 36 49 40 38 40 41 39 37 48 49 52 36 36 37 47 39 48 32 37 46 38 35 RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Energy is at risk of missing new court-enforced deadlines for emptying some radioactive waste storage tanks on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. The leak-prone tanks contain wastes left over from the production of plutonium for nuclear weapons. The Energy Department notified the state Tuesday that two newly set tank deadlines were in jeopardy. The Tri-City Herald reported that a federal judge extended deadlines in March after it became clear that Energy could not meet previous deadlines. Work has been slowed by safety precautions implemented to protect workers from breathing potentially toxic chemical vapors. The first deadline at risk covers emptying five tanks by the end of 2020, and might be pushed back a year. A second deadline calls for emptying additional tanks by 2024, which could slip by two years. SALEM (AP) — An assessment by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs concluded that more than 12 percent of callers to its Portland call center get tired of waiting for someone to answer and hang up. The Statesman-Journal reports that many callers have waited more than REGIONAL CITIES Forecast Energy Dept. risks missing Hanford deadlines VA hospitals, call center get low ratings Advertising Director: Marissa Williams 541-278-2669 • addirector@eastoregonian.com Advertising Services: Laura Jensen 541-966-0806 • ljensen@eastoregonian.com Multimedia Consultants: • Terri Briggs 541-278-2678 • tbriggs@eastoregonian.com • Elizabeth Freemantle 541-278-2683 • efreemantle@eastoregonian.com • Jeanne Jewett 541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com • Chris McClellan 541-966-0827 • cmcclellan@eastoregonian.com • Stephanie Newsom 541-278-2687 • snewsom@eastoregonian.com • Dayle Stinson 541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com • Audra Workman 541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com Subscriber services: For home delivery, vacation stops or delivery concerns: 1-800-522-0255 three minutes to have someone answer. The VA also gave poor grades to Oregon’s three VA hospitals. The Portland facility rated only two out of five starts when it was assessed last December, while Roseburg’s got two stars in June and White City’s received a single star both last December and in June. Portland’s hospital says its ratings in several areas, including inpatient performance and mortality rates, were better than the national average. Roseburg and White City released statements pointing out improvements at their facilities. Washington state suing Monsanto over pollution 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 -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: Lake-effect snow will continue over the Upper Midwest and interior Northeast today. Rain will soak the coastal Northwest with substantial snow and ice reach- ing from the Cascades to the northern Rockies. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 85° in Miami, Fla. Low -33° in Casper, Wyo. 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 49 43 43 41 10 42 39 37 50 31 24 34 45 45 34 53 -13 2 77 51 29 57 27 58 36 66 Lo 31 25 30 25 5 22 33 23 27 20 14 21 30 23 21 34 -23 -12 68 34 17 33 17 45 22 57 W s s s s sf s i pc s c pc sf s pc sf s s c sh s pc pc s pc s pc Sat. Hi 55 48 41 40 22 48 40 32 51 33 24 31 52 51 31 63 -7 7 79 55 31 60 39 62 43 67 Lo 35 31 29 23 13 30 28 22 33 21 20 23 47 25 23 40 -15 1 68 52 26 44 31 49 35 59 Today W s s pc s sn s sn s s pc sn sf c pc c pc s sn c c pc s pc pc pc c 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 38 74 26 16 35 48 40 39 24 40 70 34 38 44 10 56 61 30 45 67 61 41 72 42 35 Lo 20 23 67 13 3 20 36 27 25 15 28 49 15 23 21 -3 43 54 19 40 57 56 37 45 29 21 W pc s c c c s s pc s pc s pc pc pc s c c sh s sh pc sh r pc s s Sat. Hi 37 45 76 24 17 41 53 39 49 36 38 72 27 35 46 20 57 60 38 45 66 59 46 74 41 46 Lo 27 34 71 20 12 29 46 29 39 20 27 50 13 21 23 7 32 41 31 33 58 47 39 47 28 32 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. W s pc sh sn sn s s pc pc c pc pc pc s s sn r sh pc sh c sh r pc s pc
