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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 2, 2017)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian Page 2A Thursday, March 2, 2017 Legal marijuana is producing jobs, revenue SALEM (AP) — The states that have legalized recreational marijuana — a multi-billion-dollar busi- ness — don’t want to hear the federal government talk about a crackdown. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown says she wants Oregonians left alone to “grow these jobs.” In Oregon alone, that’s roughly 12,500 jobs, said economist Beau Whitney of Portland, adding that he is making a conservative estimate. Oregon’s attorney general said she would be duty-bound to fight to protect the state’s marijuana industry. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has said his depart- ment is reviewing a Justice Department memo that gives states flexibility in passing marijuana laws and noted “it does remain a violation of federal law to distribute mari- juana throughout any place in the United States, whether a state legalizes it or not.” White House spokesman Sean Spicer predicted stepped up enforcement. Underscoring how the marijuana industry is pushing job growth in Oregon, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which regulates and licenses the state’s recre- ational marijuana industry, says it has over 12,640 appli- AP Photo/Andrew Selsky, file “We now have a nascent, somewhat successful industry,” Brown said in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press and a free- lance journalist. “These are good paying jobs. It’s a pretty diverse business community.” In January alone, recre- ational marijuana sales in Oregon were over $20 million, with medical mari- juana generating about $2.8 million more, the OLCC said. In Oregon, Washington state and Colorado, marijuana RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — Efforts to prevent uranium from leaching into the Columbia River along the Hanford Nuclear Reservation are being expanded after a test showed good results. Wells are being drilled to inject a solution into the ground to bind the uranium to the soil and prevent it from migrating into the groundwater and then into the river. The Tri-City Herald says much of the soil contaminated with uranium at the Hanford 300 Area has been dug up down to 15 feet, removing the majority of the contamination. The uranium is left over from decades of work making plutonium for nuclear weapons during World War II and the Cold War. As a byproduct of the process, 60 tons of dissolved uranium was dumped into the ground. Oregon boasts lowest jobless rate in 40 years SALEM — Oregon’s jobless rate dropped to 4.3 percent in January, marking the lowest such figure since the state began tracking employment data in 1976. State officials say it’s also lower than the nationwide rate of 4.8 percent. The last time Oregon’s jobless rate dipped below 5 percent was during the dot-com boom in the mid-1990s. Oregon businesses added 2,600 nonfarm employees to their payrolls in January, which was a quarter-percent drop from the recent monthly averages. The construction industry added the most jobs for the month, while the biggest cuts occurred in Lawmakers back away from farm property tax bill out in full force at a March 1 hearing to argue that creating a “sunset” for these provisions would financially destabilize farming, ranching and forestry. By the end of the hearing, the overwhelmingly negative testimony against HB 2859 seemed to have the desired effect on members of the House Revenue Committee. “I’m pretty convinced putting a sunset on these things that are very long-term assets doesn’t make any sense,” said Rep. Phil Barnhart, D-Eu- gene, the committee’s chair. At the beginning of the hearing, Barnhart said the bill was drafted in response to an audit from Oregon’s Secretary of State’s Office, which called for periodic review of existing property tax exemptions and tax credits. In light of the objections to HB 2859, though, Barnhart said he thought the sunset By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Bureau SALEM — Intense opposition by Oregon’s farmers, ranchers and forest- land owners has apparently convinced lawmakers to back away from altering key prop- erty tax provisions affecting agriculture and forestry. Machinery used for agri- culture and forestry is exempt from property tax assessments while property dedicated to producing crops, livestock and timber is less heavily taxed than other real estate. Under the original language of House Bill 2859, the property tax exemption for equipment and the farm use assessment for land would expire in 2024 unless renewed by lawmakers. The proposal evoked alarm in Oregon’s natural resource community, which turned provisions related to natural resources should be elimi- nated from the bill. The suggestion drew no objections from other committee members, so Barnhart said they would only consider the remaining provisions of HB 2859 related to economic development and other issues. “I think you should consider all of what I just said means that you win,” Barnhart told the audience, to enthusiastic applause. Farmers, ranchers and forestland owners at the hearing emphasized that natural resource industries were already highly uncertain due to the weather and volatile markets. Landowners said they shouldn’t also have to contend with the possibility their property taxes may rise dramatically every six years, which is the period of sunset review established under HB 2859. Marsha Carr, a forestland owner near Monroe, Ore., said her annual property taxes would rise from about $1,000 to more than $25,000 under HB 2859. Carr said her family harvests timber in small patches of five to seven acres, which preserves habitat for wildlife and songbirds. “That would have to change to pay the taxes,” she said. “We would have to cut larger areas.” Farmers rely on special- ized equipment but they often operate it for only a month or less per year, unlike other industries where machinery creates revenues year-round, said Roger Beyer, a lobbyist for the Western Equipment Dealers Association and several crop organizations. 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 © 2017, EO Media Group TODAY FRIDAY Mostly cloudy and chilly An afternoon shower 45° 33° 50° 33° SATURDAY SUNDAY Mainly cloudy with a bit of rain Mostly cloudy with a bit of snow MONDAY Cloudy and chilly with a shower PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 45° 32° 45° 29° 47° 36° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 50° 32° 48° 34° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 50° 51° 74° (1925) 32° 32° 1° (1993) 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 0.00" 0.00" 0.03" 3.92" 2.61" 2.54" HERMISTON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH Yesterday Normals Records LOW 56° 53° 69° (1959) 37° 31° 10° (1993) 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 0.00" 0.00" 0.04" 3.46" 1.60" 2.28" SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today First Full Mar 5 Mar 12 6:32 a.m. 5:43 p.m. 8:56 a.m. 10:48 p.m. Last New Mar 20 47° 31° 51° 36° Seattle 49/44 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 47° 35° Mar 27 Today Spokane Wenatchee 41/33 42/30 Tacoma Moses 49/42 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 44/34 42/35 49/44 47/42 48/30 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 47/45 51/39 Lewiston 50/34 Astoria 51/36 50/43 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 50/43 Pendleton 40/25 The Dalles 48/34 45/33 50/35 La Grande Salem 44/31 51/43 Albany Corvallis 51/40 51/42 John Day 41/28 Ontario Eugene Bend 47/26 51/40 49/26 Caldwell Burns 48/30 39/16 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 42 49 50 39 40 51 43 48 41 48 44 41 55 48 52 47 51 45 50 52 51 41 41 50 51 48 Lo 43 26 26 39 16 25 40 29 34 28 25 31 28 33 45 44 26 35 33 43 28 43 33 29 41 39 30 W r c c c c c c c c c pc c c c sh c pc c c sh c sh c c sh c c Today Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Lo 31 60 46 42 48 32 41 45 25 68 44 W s s pc c pc sh pc pc s t r Lo 36 32 33 43 24 31 40 31 32 35 33 35 33 40 40 43 34 36 33 37 31 39 32 32 38 38 28 W r c c sh c c r c c c c c c c r r c c c r c r r c r c c Fri. Hi 58 69 54 51 71 38 61 62 49 78 56 Lo 28 63 44 44 48 31 44 48 31 68 42 W s s pc r pc sn pc s s t s WINDS Medford 55/33 (in mph) Klamath Falls 48/25 Boardman Pendleton REGIONAL FORECAST Coastal Oregon: Cloudy today; occasional rain and drizzle across the north. Eastern Washington: Mostly cloudy today. Eastern and Central Oregon: Mainly cloudy and cold today. Mostly cloudy tonight; a shower in spots across the north. Western Washington: Occasional rain and drizzle today; however, a couple of showers across the south. Cascades: Mostly cloudy today; a bit of morning snow, then a little rain across the north. Northern California: Partly sunny today. Mainly clear tonight. Intervals of clouds and sun tomorrow. Today Friday WSW 4-8 SW 3-6 SSW 3-6 S 6-12 UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. 0 2 2 2 0 SALEM (AP) — The city of Salem has set a record for rainfall in February, with 13.29 inches of precipitation. The Statesman Journal reports Wednesday that that number blew past the record of 13.01 inches of rain set in 1996. It’s way above the normal total of 4.56 inches. It was the second month this season that Salem set a record. October’s 11.25 inches was also the most rain during that month in recorded history. Recorded totals go back to 1892. Salem residents hoping for some dry weather are out of luck. The forecast calls for wet weather for the next eight to 14 days. Classified & Legal Advertising 1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678 classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com 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. WORLD CITIES Hi 58 73 56 50 76 39 54 60 43 78 50 Salem sets rainfall record for Feb. NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Fri. Hi 50 43 49 50 44 39 53 45 50 43 48 44 45 54 50 53 49 56 50 51 52 51 45 44 51 52 53 MEDFORD (AP) — State wildlife officials say a gray wolf has spent the last several months in Jackson County, where it attacked and killed a 3-day-old calf on a private ranch. The Mail Tribune reports the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife says the GPS collar on OR-25 showed it was at the ranch in Prospect on Saturday around the time a person working on the property found the dead calif. Wildlife biologists say the 3-year-old male wolf known to frequent Klamath County has remained almost exclusively in Jackson County for the past two months. They suspect OR-25 is trying to lure away a female wolf from the Rogue Pack. Records show Saturday’s attack was the second time OR-25 has been involved in livestock predation. Corrections REGIONAL CITIES Forecast Gray wolf blamed for death of calf 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. 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 • Danni Halladay 541-278-2683 • dhalladay@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 sectors such as government and health care. Statewide employment growth over the last 12 months totaled 43,200 new jobs. Efforts expand to stop uranium from entering Columbia River tax revenues totaled at least $335 million in either the last calendar year or the last fiscal year. Whitney, who has been involved in several marijuana businesses and has advised state government, estimates that workers in the marijuana industry in Oregon earn a total of $315 million per year. That’s based on workers earning an average of $12 per hour. He noted that the wage scales vary widely, with harvesters earning less than processors and chemists. Their wages are pumped back into the local economies. If the Trump administra- tion moves against legalized recreational marijuana, it would be going against its own objectives, Oregon’s governor said. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum indicated she would go to court to protect those jobs. Currently, the Cole Memorandum, which provides guidance for federal marijuana enforce- ment, restricts it to a few areas, including preventing distribu- tion to minors and preventing marijuana from being trans- ported from pot-legal states to other states. Under the Cole Memorandum, states where marijuana is legal have been largely been left alone. In this Sept. 2016 file photo, different strains of marijuana are displayed in West Salem Cannabis, a marijuana shop in Salem. In Oregon, at least 12,500 jobs are attributed to legal recreational marijuana and in Oregon, Washington state and Colorado, marijuana tax revenues totaled $335 million in 2016. cations for marijuana worker permits. It has also received 2,174 marijuana license applications, with over half coming from would-be producers and the rest mostly from those seeking to set up as retailers, processors, wholesalers and laboratories. It had activated 943 licenses by Tuesday. Marijuana shops are prevalent in many Oregon cities. In the countryside, marijuana greenhouses are not uncommon. BRIEFLY 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. ©2017 -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: Showers and thunderstorms will linger in the southeastern corner of the nation today. Some snow will fall on parts of the Midwest and interior Northeast. Western Washington can expect a wet day. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 89° in Zapata, Texas Low -13° in Farson, 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 57 59 50 51 41 60 48 48 63 48 37 38 66 50 38 68 -1 19 80 68 44 68 52 67 62 80 Lo 31 40 31 29 29 36 31 26 40 28 20 24 42 25 22 41 -21 7 69 45 24 41 25 46 35 52 W s s pc pc pc s pc pc t pc sn c s s c s pc pc sh s pc t s s s s Fri. Hi 61 58 43 44 50 59 50 38 67 39 36 31 70 62 33 65 0 32 82 71 39 70 56 70 60 80 Lo 37 33 22 21 35 32 39 15 36 21 26 20 48 32 19 45 -11 25 70 51 26 41 42 48 38 52 Today W s s sh sn c s c pc s sf pc sf s s pc s pc sn pc s pc s pc s s s 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 52 61 83 35 30 56 64 48 64 44 50 77 45 49 60 39 52 65 55 48 76 62 49 77 53 60 Lo 32 37 69 18 14 31 50 31 34 21 30 54 17 25 34 18 26 38 28 29 50 45 44 52 35 29 W pc s pc sf c s s pc s s pc s pc pc s pc pc s s pc s s r s pc s Fri. Hi 44 57 80 32 33 50 68 40 68 52 42 82 34 39 59 53 55 64 50 52 77 59 49 80 45 67 Lo 29 37 66 25 26 31 50 21 44 30 24 56 6 16 26 26 34 46 39 38 52 50 38 49 26 43 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. W s s sh pc pc s s sf s pc sh s s sf s s pc pc pc pc s pc r s sh s
