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
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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