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East Oregonian
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Obama’s final year: U.S. spent $36M in records lawsuits
Set record for times
said they couldn’t find
a single page of files
that were requested
By TED BRIDIS
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Obama
administration in its final year in
office spent a record $36.2 million
on legal costs defending its refusal
to turn over federal records under
the Freedom of Information Act,
according to an Associated Press
analysis of new U.S. data that also
showed poor performance in other
categories measuring transparency
in government.
For a second consecutive year,
the Obama administration set a
record for times federal employees
told citizens, journalists and others
that despite searching they couldn’t
find a single page of files that were
requested.
And it set records for outright
denial of access to files, refusing to
quickly consider requests described
as especially newsworthy, and
forcing people to pay for records
who had asked the government to
waive search and copy fees.
The government acknowledged
when challenged that it had been
wrong to initially refuse to turn
over all or parts of records in more
than one-third of such cases, the
AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File
FILE - In this Aug. 10, 2006, file photo, the State Department sign
used as a backdrop at the State Department in Washington.
highest rate in at least six years.
In courtrooms, the number of
lawsuits filed by news organiza-
tions under the Freedom of Infor-
mation Act surged during the past
four years, led by the New York
Times, Center for Public Integ-
rity and The Associated Press,
according to a litigation study by
the Transactional Records Access
Clearinghouse at Syracuse Univer-
sity. The AP on Monday settled
its 2015 lawsuit against the State
Department for files about Hillary
Clinton’s time as secretary of
state, at AP’s request, and received
$150,546 from the department to
cover part of its legal fees.
The AP has pending lawsuits
against the FBI for records about
its decision to impersonate an
AP journalist during a criminal
investigation and about who helped
the FBI hack into a mass shooting
suspect’s iPhone and how much the
government paid to do it.
Of the $36.2 million in legal
costs fighting such lawsuits last
year, the Justice Department
accounted for $12 million, the
Homeland Security Department for
$6.3 million and the Pentagon for
$4.8 million. The three departments
accounted for more than half the
government’s total records requests
last year.
The figures reflect the final
struggles of the Obama adminis-
tration during the 2016 election to
meet President Barack Obama’s
pledge that it was “the most trans-
parent administration in history,”
despite wide recognition of serious
problems coping with requests
under the information law. It
received a record 788,769 requests
for files last year and spent a record
$478 million answering them and
employed 4,263 full-time FOIA
employees across more than 100
federal departments and agencies.
That was higher by 142 such
employees the previous year.
A spokesman for former Pres-
ident Obama did not immediately
respond to an email request for
comment late Monday. The White
House under Obama routinely
defended its efforts under the
information law in recent years and
said federal employees worked dili-
gently on such requests for records.
It remains unclear how President
Donald Trump’s administration
will perform under the Freedom of
Information Act or other measures
of government transparency. Trump
has not spoken extensively about
transparency. In his private busi-
ness and his presidential campaign,
Trump required employees and
advisers to sign non-disclosure
agreements that barred them from
discussing their work. His adminis-
tration has barred some mainstream
news organizations from campaign
rallies and one White House press
briefing. And Trump broke with
tradition by refusing to disclose his
tax returns.
Trump’s secretary of state, Rex
Tillerson, is traveling to Asia this
week on a small plane without
a contingent of journalists or a
designated pool reporter who
would send reports to the broader
diplomatic press corps, departing
from 50 years of practice.
Overall, in the final year of
Obama’s administration, people
who asked for records last year
under the law received censored
files or nothing in 77 percent of
requests, about the same as the
previous year. In the first full
year after Obama’s election, that
figure was only 65 percent of
cases. The government released
the new figures in the days ahead
of Sunshine Week, which ends
Sunday, when news organizations
promote open government and
freedom of information.
Under the records law, citizens
and foreigners can compel the U.S.
government to turn over copies of
federal records for zero or little
cost. Anyone who seeks informa-
tion through the law is generally
supposed to get it unless disclosure
would hurt national security,
violate personal privacy or expose
business secrets or confidential
decision-making in certain areas.
SOLAR: State mandates UEC provide 25 percent LOGMAN: Bill Porter’s
wound required 11 stitches
of its electricity from renewable resources
Ultimately, Judge Hill
Continued from 1A
describes the land as rocky
and unable to grow crops
without irrigation. About 5
acres of the property does
include a non-canceled
water right, though it hasn’t
been used in five years.
Still, the Umatilla County
Planning Commission opted
not to give its recommenda-
tion for the exception. Vice
chairman Gary Rhinhart
said he struggles to see the
county lose farm ground,
and believes the land could
be valuable at some point
in the future. Commissioner
Don Marlatt said he was
concerned whether such an
exception would indicate
to other developers that the
county is willing to build
over more high-value farm-
land.
Dave Price, with Blue
Mountain Alliance, also
opposed the development.
Most of the county is
covered by the same AVA
designation, he said, and
if someone wanted to use
the ground for irrigated
agriculture, all it would take
is money.
Robert
Echenrode,
UEC general manager, said
the co-op initially bought
the land from the Port of
Umatilla with the intention
to develop it over a period
of time. The state of Oregon
mandates UEC provide 25
percent of its electricity
from renewable resources,
and the utility has estimated
it will need 1,000 megawatts
of green energy to meet that
demand.
Of that 1,000 megawatts,
UEC is striving toward 100
megawatts of solar power.
If a Goal 3 exception is
allowed, the 80-acre Moyer-
Tolles site would contribute
10 megawatts. Otherwise,
Echenrode said the 12-acre
cap may force them to
build up to 50 smaller solar
farms around the region,
along with transmission
lines, connection lines and
substations.
UEC
has
already
invested $2.5 million in the
Moyer-Tolles Solar Station,
including a $250,000 grant
from the U.S. Department
of Agriculture. The station is
named after Bill Tolles and
LaFawn “Fonnie” Moyer,
two former employees who
died in a car crash in 1971.
The
final
decision
ultimately rests with the
county commissioners. A
Goal 3 exception would not
authorize the solar project
itself — UEC would have to
come back before the plan-
ning commission to request
a separate conditional use
permit for the panels.
The Board of Commis-
sioners meets at 9 a.m. at
the Umatilla County Court-
house, Pendleton.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
FIRE: Fifth house fire agencies fought in two weeks
Continued from 1A
called for help from the
Pendleton Fire Department,
which responded with a
water tender and a fire
engine and crew.
Flames burst from the
home’s windows, and gray
and black smoke covered the
area, a pastoral scene where
locals raise sheep and keep
horses.
Randy Burke, shift
captain with the Umatilla
Tribal Fire Department,
said the fire was already
going strong when the crew
arrived. Firefighters tried an
interior attack, he said, but
the heat and intensity proved
too dangerous and the crew
got out.
Moments later, he said,
black powder for reloading
ammunition exploded in the
home. Burke said that was a
scary moment in an overall
intense fire.
Firefighters could no
longer work inside the
house, he said, and concen-
trated efforts on the outside.
Crews continued their attack
until a little past noon.
Jackie and the children
took shelter at the nearby
bus barns operated by Mid
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Pendleton firefighters on Tuesday put on protective gear while responding to a
house fire at 45542 Mission Road east of Pendleton.
Columbia Bus Co.
“The people at the bus
barns were just amazing,”
Nicholson
said,
and
provided pizza and drinks
for the family. “They’re in
good spirits and they’re all
OK.”
Michael was in La
Grande with his National
Guard unit, she said, and
came back as soon as he
heard.
The Pendleton Baptist
Church, along with Pilot
Rock Baptist Church and
others, are helping the
family, Nicholson said. The
Pendleton church is the
center for donations.
The family may move
into a trailer and live on their
property. They have two
new lambs and a third on the
way, and want to be there to
take care of them.
This is the fifth house fire
local agencies fought in less
than two weeks.
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0833.
FARM: Neither bill requires housing to be provided at affordable rates
Continued from 1A
county conditional use
permit.
The same conditions
apply to a single recreational
vehicle used for “residential
purposes” under HB 2938.
County governments can
decide whether or not to
incorporate these provisions
into their land use plans and
they’re also free to place
additional restrictions on
accessory dwellings and
recreational vehicles sited
in farm zones, according to
supporters.
“The opportunity to be
bold is there. You’re going
to take political arrows either
way,” said Shawn Cleave,
“The opportunity to be bold is there. You’re
going to take political arrows either way.”
— Shawn Cleave, government affairs director for the
Oregon Association of Realtors
government affairs director
for the Oregon Association
of Realtors.
Critics of the proposals
say that affordable housing
is needed more near cities
where residents have access
to jobs, transportation and
other services, rather than in
remote rural areas.
More people living in
the countryside also means
strains will increase on local
road and water systems,
opponents said.
Neither bill requires
housing to be provided at
affordable rates or to resi-
dents with low incomes, said
Mary Kyle McCurdy, deputy
director of the 1,000 Friends
of Oregon, a nonprofit that
supports Oregon’s land use
system.
The proposals don’t
prohibit landowners from
using the dwellings for short-
term vacation rentals, which
often crowd out long-term
rentals, McCurdy said.
Even if the bills contained
such provisions, they’d be
difficult to enforce given the
rural locations of the dwell-
ings, she said.
The profitability of short-
term rentals has caused them
to proliferate in Hood River
County, where farming is
already challenging due to
the small size of farm parcels,
said Mike McCarthy, an
orchardist in the county.
Farm practices are often
incompatible with residen-
tial uses and growers must
comply with federal restric-
tions that prohibit spraying
pesticides near dwellings,
McCarthy said.
“You’re adding people
into that zone,” he said.
Continued from 1A
disorder, had set off in the
family van for Indian Lake
with her sons. She had no
food, water or camping gear
and the Ford Windstar’s gas
tank was almost empty. The
family slept in the van and,
according to Dan, Vanessa
progressed to “a full-on
delusional state,” as Vanessa
believed she was being
chased.
The next morning, she
and the boys walked toward
Pilot Rock in 90-degree heat,
eventually waving down
Bill Porter and his ex-wife,
Brenda Porter. At the offer of
a ride, Vanessa and her sons
climbed into the back seat
of Porter’s Dodge pickup.
According to police reports,
she pulled a knife from her
purse, grabbed Bill Porter’s
shoulder and sliced into his
throat. The Hermiston man
braked and he and Brenda
Porter pulled Vanessa from
the truck, wresting the knife
from her hand.
Logman was booked into
the Umatilla County Jail on
charges of attempted murder,
assault in the second degree
and two counts of unlawful
use of a weapon. Bill Porter’s
wound required 11 stitches.
Brenda Porter suffered minor
injuries.
———
A psychological exam
concluded that she was
mentally impaired during
the attack, according to Dan,
though the results are not
yet available to the public.
At a pre-trial hearing last
November, chief deputy
district attorney Jaclyn
Jenkins asked Umatilla
County Circuit Court Judge
Daniel J. Hill to authorize
another psychological exam
and was granted the request.
Logman submitted to another
examination in January at the
Oregon State Hospital.
Two experts agreeing
that Logman was mentally
impaired during her criminal
act opens the door for use of
a guilty but insane defense at
trial. Though neither attorney
would talk about the conclu-
sions of either examination,
their actions in court indicate
they are proceeding as if
the defendant is someone
deemed to be guilty except
for insanity.
On
Monday,
the
31-year-old defendant sat
next to her attorney, Michael
Breiling, as her husband
watched from the gallery.
Judge Hill listened as
Breiling requested time to
determine whether mental
health professionals from the
Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation
could legally supervise
Logman’s mental health care
for the Psychiatric Security
Review Board, which over-
sees individuals who are
ruled to be guilty except for
insanity. Breiling and Jenkins
checked their schedules and
agreed on May 8 at 2:30 p.m.
for the next pre-trial hearing.
must decide whether Logman
must go to the Oregon State
Hospital for treatment or
continue treatment in her
community. Breiling is
pushing for the community
scenario. Jenkins wants
otherwise.
“I believe this defendant
should go to the State
Hospital,” Jenkins said.
“That has been my position.”
Both parties have agreed
that Judge Hill should decide
Logman’s fate rather than a
jury.
“The judge will make
a determination whether
Vanessa is dangerous to
others,” Breiling said. “He
will decide about whether
she is conditionally released
or committed to the State
Hospital.”
———
After the hearing, Vanessa
and Dan sat down to decom-
press. It’s been a long haul,
Dan said.
“It’s been nine months,
10 days,” he said, pausing
to look at his watch, “and 37
minutes since I was informed
about what happened.”
He believes his wife
should stay in the community
with her family.
“Both doctors have argued
in essence she was suffering
from a mental disease at the
time,” Dan said. “It would
seem an easy thing to say that
someone who has never been
in trouble before is owed a
second chance.”
After being released on
bail shortly after the attack,
Vanessa said, the couple
devised a plan to help her
stay psychologically healthy.
She sees a counselor weekly.
Dan keeps a medication log,
noting the time and drug
— even asking her to stick
out her tongue to show the
pill. They exercise together
several times each week and
eat nutritious meals.
“We have more safety
nets in place,” Vanessa said.
The couple continues to
wonder whether the whole
incident could have been
averted if Vanessa had been
able to get a counseling
appointment as she attempted
to do the day before at the
Yellowhawk Tribal Health
Center.
They said the past months
have strengthened their rela-
tionship.
“This kind of thing tears
you apart or brings you
together,” Dan said. “In the
nine years we have been
together, we have never been
closer.”
They feel grateful to the
Porter’s “act of kindness,”
stopping that day. They fear
what might have happened
to the boys without the kind-
ness of strangers.
The Porters are with-
holding comment, for now,
until the case makes its way
through court.
———
Contact Kathy Aney at
kaney@eastoregonian.com
or call 541-966-0810.