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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 23, 2017)
Thursday, March 23, 2017 NORTHWEST Farmworker housing tax credit progresses Bill would help Eastern Oregon Revenue to move bills without a Bills that reduce state revenues better compete with Idaho recommendation at this stage, since — whether due to expenditures or East Oregonian Page 2A By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI EO Media Group various tax credit proposals must still be prioritized, said Sen. Mark Hass, D-Bea- verton, the committee’s chair. “We don’t want to bias the situation,” he said. The Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue initially voted to move the bill directly to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, but that recommendation was overridden by Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, who referred it to the Joint Committee on Tax Credits. If approved by that committee, the bill would move directly to the House floor for a vote. SALEM — A proposed tax credit to compensate farmers for half the operational costs of providing worker housing has made some headway in the Oregon Legislature. Senate Bill 1, which is supported by a coalition of agriculture and housing groups, has moved out of the Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue. The impacts to Oregon’s revenues and budget from SB 1 have yet to be determined. While the bill will now move to the Joint Committee on Tax Credits, which includes members of both the House and Senate, it was referred out of the committee without recommendation as to its passage. It’s common for the Senate Committee on Finance and tax credits — face a particularly tough road during the 2017 legislative session, as Oregon faces a $1.6 billion budget deficit in the upcoming biennium. Under Senate Bill 1, farmers would be able to obtain tax credits for half the amount of repairs, maintenance, insurance and other costs associated with farmworker housing during the year. Utility expenses are also included in these operational costs unless they’re paid by workers. Oregon already has a tax credit for half the costs of actually building farmworker housing, with an annual cap of $7.25 million. with Idaho challenging,” he said. The board would identify rules that should be changed “to make ONTARIO — Eastern that area function better in light Oregon’s farming industry is of its adjacency with Idaho.” The board would use the $10 supporting a bill that would create a special economic devel- million to invest in grants or opment region with the goal loans to encourage workforce development and of helping the area economic development compete on a more in the region. level playing field with Bentz said a major Idaho. focus of that invest- House Bill 2012, ment would be to create co-sponsored by House more value-added Speaker Tina Kotek, agricultural jobs. D-Portland, and Rep. “The nature of our Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, economy is agriculture would provide $10 so we need some more million to invest in value-added activi- economic and work- Bentz ties,” he said. force development Bentz said the in Eastern Oregon. During a March “Oregon has a board would assist 20 public hearing lot of rules and with an ongoing effort to lure a rail on the legislation, East Oregon farm regulations that transloading facility to the area with industry represen- the goal of making tatives and elected make compet- it cheaper to ship officials testified in ing with Idaho freight, including favor of it via video challenging.” farm commodities conference. Farmers and — Rep. Cliff Bentz, such as onions, which underpin the others in the area region’s economy. have long felt R-Ontario Such a facility separated from and forgotten by the western part of would be a great benefit to the onion industry, said Kay Riley, Oregon. During the hearing, Nyssa marketing order chairman for onion farmer Paul Skeen tossed the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion his scripted testimony and just Committee. Onions produced in the area spoke from the heart. “This is a breath of fresh air,” that are headed to the East Coast he said. “We have gone from must be trucked to a transloading feeling like we were the ugly facility near Pasco, Wash., and stepchild in the Cinderella story then shipped by rail. Having a transloading facility to, well, maybe there actually is a shoe that’s going to fit. This is here would save local shippers a significant amount of money in huge.” The bill would create a transportation costs, Riley said. “It would be absolutely seven-member Eastern Oregon Border Economic Development tremendous,” he said. Kotek, who visited the area Board that would be tasked with recommending changes to last July at the request of Bentz, rules and regulations that could said she learned a lot about the help Eastern Oregon businesses plight East Oregon businesses compete better with their Idaho face when competing with Idaho. “This bill is an attempt to counterparts. Besides having a much lower say, ‘What can we do to help the minimum wage, Idahoans enjoy a communities right on that border more favorable business climate be more competitive,’” she said. ——— when it comes to land-use and Sean Ellis is a reporter for other regulations, Bentz told Capiral Press. Contact him Capital Press. “Oregon has a lot of rules and at sellis@capitalpress.com or regulations that make competing 208-914-8264. By SEAN ELLIS EO Media Group Prosecutors say day care provider left children alone Court documents say Neatherlin left children alone at her home on eight different occasions between PORTLAND — An Oregon day March 3 and March 15, the day she care provider has been indicted on was arrested after police received a more than 100 criminal counts after tip and set up surveillance outside being accused of leaving children the home. Officers watched as as young as six months parents dropped off their old alone multiple times children and then saw over eight days to go to Neatherlin drive away a tanning salon and a hours later. Out of fear gym, prosecutors said for the children’s safety, Wednesday. officers entered the home A grand jury indicted and found the unattended January Neatherlin, 31, children. of Bend late Tuesday on The investigation 76 counts of criminal is continuing because mistreatment and 38 Neatherlin authorities believe Neath- counts of reckless endan- erlin left the children germent, said Deschutes County District Attorney John alone on other occasions, possibly going back years, Hummel said. Hummel. “We’re looking at her entire time Neatherlin was arrested last week after police found seven children operating that babysitting service,” ranging in age from 6 months to 4 he said, adding that she would leave for about two hours each time. years alone in her home. “What’s particularly concerning She has a court appearance scheduled Thursday. Her attorney, to me (is) the age of some of the Matthew Baughman, did not return children and the length of time she was gone.” a call from The Associated Press. GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press In addition to facing charges, Neatherlin must stay away from seven children identified only by their initials in court papers, as well as their parents, and she must avoid unsupervised contact with her own minor son. She has also been ordered to stay away from minors in public. State records show that Neather- lin’s business, Little Giggles Daycare, has been investigated twice before by state child welfare advocates. In 2014, she was found to be caring for more children than allowed without a license. She was told to drop her number to three or less children. She was investigated for a similar allegation in 2015 and officials found no evidence that she was caring for more than three children. Neatherlin took out a business license for Little Giggles in 2010, but it lapsed in 2012 and was not renewed, The Bend Bulletin reported. A day care license is only needed if a provider cares for more than three children. Corrections Oregon’s governor was misidentified in the Wednesday, March 22 article “Walden uses clout to tout Obamacare replacement.” The governor is Kate Brown, not Kate Smith. The Wednesday, March 22 article “Joseph Creek Restoration to use logging, burning” stated that substantial increases in logging are needed from the Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman national forests for Boise Cascade to maintain its current mill infrastructure. The comment was meant to reflect all forestry infrastructure in the region. 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. Didn’t receive your paper? 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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 Copyright © 2017, EO Media Group REGIONAL CITIES Forecast TODAY FRIDAY Mostly sunny Mostly cloudy, showers around 56° 45° 50° 40° Variable clouds, a shower or two MONDAY SUNDAY SATURDAY Showers late in the afternoon Mostly cloudy with a few showers PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 58° 42° 53° 35° 54° 40° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 60° 46° 55° 40° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 49° 36° 56° 36° 83° (1911) 13° (1898) 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 0.31" 1.49" 0.97" 5.41" 3.84" 3.48" HERMISTON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH Yesterday Normals Records LOW 51° 37° 59° 36° 78° (1940) 19° (2014) 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 0.11" 0.86" 0.66" 4.32" 2.70" 2.90" SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today New First Mar 27 Apr 3 Full Apr 10 59° 40° Seattle 56/45 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 60° 43° 59° 34° 6:52 a.m. 7:12 p.m. 4:29 a.m. 2:30 p.m. Last Apr 19 Today Spokane Wenatchee 48/36 51/36 Tacoma Moses 57/42 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 55/41 49/38 52/44 54/42 58/41 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 55/46 57/45 Lewiston 61/44 Astoria 55/39 53/44 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 58/46 Pendleton 49/35 The Dalles 60/46 56/45 60/43 La Grande Salem 55/41 57/46 Albany Corvallis 56/46 57/46 John Day 56/43 Ontario Eugene Bend 58/37 57/46 54/40 Caldwell Burns 58/40 49/34 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 53 53 54 52 49 49 57 56 60 56 54 55 52 60 53 57 58 60 56 58 58 57 48 51 57 57 58 Lo 44 36 40 47 34 35 46 42 46 43 39 41 39 45 46 48 37 43 45 46 39 46 36 37 46 45 41 W r s pc r s s r s pc s pc s s pc r r s pc s r pc r pc s r s pc NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Fri. Hi 53 48 50 53 46 47 54 50 55 51 48 50 47 55 52 56 53 55 50 54 53 54 44 47 54 52 57 Lo 41 32 35 45 26 33 43 37 40 35 31 36 35 43 42 45 37 41 40 42 32 42 36 34 42 42 36 Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. W r r sh r r r r sh sh r r r r r r r r sh sh r sh r r sh r sh c WORLD CITIES Today Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Hi 53 77 60 53 80 48 55 63 57 74 55 Lo 36 67 47 44 50 31 40 48 33 67 41 W c pc c pc s s t pc pc sh c Fri. Hi 46 76 58 56 82 45 58 67 56 73 53 Lo 32 68 44 41 52 25 44 50 35 66 41 W r pc pc pc pc c c pc pc pc pc WINDS Medford 60/45 Klamath Falls 54/39 (in mph) Today Friday Boardman Pendleton SW 4-8 SW 6-12 WSW 6-12 SSW 7-14 UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. REGIONAL FORECAST Coastal Oregon: Periods of rain today; breezy in the south during the afternoon. Rain tonight. Eastern and Central Oregon: Sunny to partly cloudy today. A passing shower tonight. Western Washington: Rather cloudy today with a little rain during the afternoon. Periods of rain tonight. Eastern Washington: Some sun today. A bit of ice in the mountains tonight; a brief shower or two elsewhere. Cascades: Some sun, then clouds, a shower this afternoon; milder in central parts. Northern California: Partly sunny today; a shower in central parts during the afternoon. 0 2 4 4 2 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 110s warm front stationary front high low National Summary: Cold air will grip the East today. Severe storms will erupt over the cen- tral and southern High Plains. Rain will soak areas from the upper Mississippi Valley to the northern Rockies and interior Southwest. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 97° in Presidio, Texas Low -6° in Grand Marais, Minn. 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 63 62 43 48 53 73 55 37 61 61 49 49 84 73 43 76 15 49 85 85 55 68 75 73 79 69 Lo 40 47 33 32 34 56 39 26 46 41 48 41 66 31 37 50 -10 30 72 67 50 53 55 53 61 51 W c pc s s r pc s s pc s c s pc c pc pc s r c pc c pc sh pc pc s Fri. Hi 66 71 52 60 60 75 54 45 74 68 71 68 80 48 66 75 17 45 85 80 68 75 71 77 76 69 Lo 38 56 46 49 45 59 40 40 54 50 48 57 54 26 49 46 -8 27 71 64 56 55 47 60 56 54 Today W s pc sh pc s pc sh sh pc pc c c t sf c s s pc pc t c pc t pc c pc 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 64 76 80 44 44 70 81 43 81 70 46 71 33 39 55 55 59 64 61 52 65 62 56 68 49 78 Lo 54 62 68 40 36 54 67 33 58 56 32 53 16 25 33 35 38 48 58 37 53 53 45 44 35 57 W pc pc t sh r pc pc s pc t s pc s s s r pc s pc r pc s r pc s sh Fri. Hi 71 74 78 61 47 73 79 51 76 66 54 78 40 45 67 57 59 57 77 62 67 62 53 76 63 76 Lo 59 62 69 40 33 59 68 46 48 42 50 56 33 41 50 29 41 48 59 46 58 51 43 48 52 45 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. W pc c sh c r pc pc c pc r pc s c sh pc pc r r c pc s r r s pc t
