NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Firefighters make slow progress
against Oregon’s big blazes
Lawyer: Richardson
lacks authority to
change petition rules
Associated Press
the voters,” said Rep. Dan
Rayfield, D-Corvallis.
Rayfield, who is a
SALEM — Secretary lawyer, requested the
of State Dennis Richardson opinion from Legislative
may lack the authority Counsel on the proposed
to change rules he has rule change.
Richardson said his
proposed for collecting
initiative petition signa- intention is that petitioners
would have to
tures in Oregon,
show voters the
according
to
full text of their
a
preliminary
initiative in place
review by the
of the official
L e g i s l a t u r e ’s
ballot title.
lawyers.
Deputy Legis-
Richardson,
lative
Counsel
a
Republican,
Dan
Gilbert
wants to allow
issued a prelim-
petitioners
to
inary
opinion
gather signatures
that the proposed
while an official Richardson
change may be
ballot title is still
being drafted or remains outside the secretary of
in dispute. The ballot title state’s jurisdiction, because
is intended to be a neutral it would go against “legis-
summary of what the initia- lative policy choice” on the
signature gathering process.
tive does.
The secretary of state’s
Richardson says his
intention is to stop oppo- rulemaking authority is
nents of an initiative from limited to administering
delaying signature gathering legislatively enacted laws
by filing a legal challenge of and policies and does
not grant the secretary
a ballot title’s wording.
“The reason the secre- “authority to adopt admin-
tary has proposed this rule istrative rules that alter
is to empower grassroots legislative policy determi-
activists and improve the nations,” Gilbert wrote.
Elzinga said he is still
democratic process,” said
Steve Elzinga, govern- reviewing Gilbert’s anal-
mental and legal affairs ysis. However, Elzinga,
director in the Secretary of Richardson and Elections
State’s Office. “It’s unfor- Director Steve Trout, who
tunate that the coalition of are all lawyers, and two
groups currently in power outside lawyers reviewed
are opposing changes that state law and concluded
will empower the people of the secretary of state has
authority to change the rule.
Oregon.”
The two outside lawyers
Critics say such changes
would reverse restrictions were Dan Meek of the
that the Oregon Legislature Oregon Independent Party
and Richardson’s prede- and Eric Winters, who
conservative
cessors put in place in the champions
past several years to combat causes. Both men have been
signature fraud by paid advocates of less restrictive
policies that support grass-
petitioners.
“The idea … was roots democracy efforts.
The secretary of state
you don’t want people to
gather signatures without did not seek an opinion
a neutral title because that from the Attorney General’s
could potentially mislead Office, Elzinga said.
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
BROOKINGS — Firefighters in
southern Oregon on Tuesday gained
a toehold on a fire burning near the
coastal town of Brookings but new
evacuations were ordered after a
flare-up on a different complex of
lightning-caused fires in a remote area
near the California border.
Authorities allowed some residents
back into their homes near Brookings
but several thousand more remain
evacuated.
The 184-square-mile fire is now 5
percent contained with a full contain-
ment date of mid-October.
The blaze began from a lightning
strike on July 12 but grew rapidly last
week, at one point forcing about 4,500
people from their homes. Fire crews are
bracing for more difficult conditions
later this week, with very low humidity
and triple-digit temperatures forecast.
Winds on the fire have also been gusty
and erratic.
“Typically this time of year we’d
be at least 30 or 40 percent humidity
and we may get to single digits later
this week. That is very, very dry,” said
Terry Krasko, a spokesman for the U.S.
Forest Service.
To the west of that blaze — and
also in southern Oregon — another
complex of fires has been burning since
a lightning storm on Aug. 12.
The 17-square mile fire is burning
in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National
Forest near and along the Oregon-Cal-
ifornia border.
Many of the smaller fires have
been put out, but several of the blazes
have merged into three main areas of
fire activity, said Brenda Bowen, a
spokeswoman for the Rocky Mountain
Incident Management Team
Brian Davies/The Register-Guard via AP
A pair of cyclists pedal down dusty Cantrell Road against the backdrop of
a smoky sunset, west of Eugene on Monday. Firefighters are confronting
extremely hot and dry weather on the fire lines of two large blazes burn-
ing in southwest and central Oregon.
Authorities on Tuesday afternoon
ordered mandatory evacuations in the
rural community of Joe Bar, right along
the Oregon-California border, as one
of those active areas crept to within a
half-mile of the outpost.
About six homes are affected,
Bowen said.
In central Oregon, a 33-square-mile
wildfire west of Sisters remains about
one-third contained.
Fire crews have been effective at
creating dirt lines and using naturally
occurring areas of lava rock to keep it
in check, said Stacy Lacey, a spokes-
woman for the U.S. Forest Service. No
mandatory evacuations are in effect,
she said.
“The warmer weather the last few
days has definitely increased the fire
“The warmer weather
the last few days has
definitely increased the
fire activity on the lines.”
— Terry Krasko,
Spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service
activity on the lines, but we were
prepared for it,” she said.
Hot and extremely dry weather will
pose challenges across the state later
this week.
Nearly two dozen fires are burning
in Oregon and air quality in much of the
western part of the state — including in
Portland — has been poor because of
wildfire smoke.
Task force brainstorms ways to lessen pension deficit
EUGENE (AP) — Oregon
Gov. Kate Brown’s special
task force is looking at ways
to ensure the state has enough
money to pay pensions for
eligible state employees amid
a multi-billion-dollar pension
fund deficit.
The state is considering
commercializing its state-run
liquor system, pulling money
from public reserves or
imposing new surcharges
of up to 10 percent on all
state-issued permits, licenses
and registrations, The Regis-
ter-Guard reported Tuesday.
The advisory task force,
made up of seven private-
and public-sector executives,
is charged with drafting a
plan to take $5 billion off the
Oregon Public Employees
Retirement System’s $24.5
billion unfunded liability
without touching government
workers’ retirement benefits.
The task force stressed
that Oregon school districts,
local governments and
universities should take a
greater stake in paying down
individual pension unfunded
liability.
“I know some of these
things are very sensitive,”
said Don Blair, a former Nike
chief financial officer. “I
think that’s unavoidable.”
The task force is floating
a new state tax of between
1 percent and 10 percent on
liquor sales with the proceeds
— between $10 million and
$50 million — being dedi-
cated to the pension fund.
The task force also is
looking at state government’s
two big reserve funds — the
Rainy Day and Education
Stability funds — that
currently contain more
than a combined $1 billion.
Between $100 million and
$500 million of that could
be used for a pension down
payment.
Traditionally, however,
those funds have been left
untouched in good times,
so the state can tap them to
temper budget cuts during
downturns.
“None of our choices are
free from downsides,” task
force member and former
state agency director Cory
Streisinger said.
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REGIONAL CITIES
Forecast
TODAY
FRIDAY
THURSDAY
Sunny and very
warm
Pleasant with
plenty of sunshine
93° 59°
87° 58°
SATURDAY
Very warm with
plenty of sun
Very hot
SUNDAY
Mostly sunny and
very hot
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
93° 63°
100° 66°
100° 61°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
90° 56°
96° 61°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
97°
84°
106° (1915)
63°
55°
36° (1927)
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"
0.07"
0.40"
11.37"
7.34"
8.35"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
Yesterday
Normals
Records
HIGH
LOW
97°
85°
102° (1972)
59°
54°
36° (1937)
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"
0.06"
0.19"
6.65"
4.99"
6.11"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Full
Last
102° 62°
6:14 a.m.
7:37 p.m.
3:19 p.m.
12:10 a.m.
New
First
Spokane
Wenatchee
92/58
92/63
Tacoma
Moses
74/57
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 96/58
89/53
67/58
75/55
96/58
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
74/59
94/64 Lewiston
98/60
Astoria
95/61
68/55
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
79/62
Pendleton 90/50
The Dalles 96/61
93/59
86/62
La Grande
Salem
90/52
80/59
Albany
Corvallis 80/56
79/54
John Day
94/54
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
96/60
79/52
88/47
Caldwell
Burns
94/61
92/48
Sep 12
Sep 19
Sep 27
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
68
95
88
66
92
90
79
90
96
94
86
90
88
88
64
68
96
96
93
79
90
80
92
90
78
94
96
Lo
55
49
47
55
48
50
52
59
61
54
45
52
47
55
52
54
60
56
59
62
42
59
58
46
60
64
58
W
pc
s
pc
pc
s
s
pc
s
s
s
pc
s
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
s
pc
pc
pc
s
s
pc
s
s
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Thu.
Hi
69
87
86
74
87
82
84
85
90
86
87
83
81
92
65
68
93
89
87
81
88
85
83
82
81
87
90
Lo
51
44
52
59
45
51
52
57
56
53
50
48
46
58
48
52
57
54
58
58
47
56
57
47
56
63
55
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
pc
s
pc
pc
s
s
s
s
s
s
pc
s
s
pc
s
s
s
s
s
pc
pc
s
s
s
pc
s
s
WORLD CITIES
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Hi
83
92
83
60
69
63
77
86
74
65
85
Lo
63
81
64
50
57
47
54
66
60
47
72
W
s
s
s
r
t
pc
t
s
pc
s
r
Thu.
Hi
82
91
82
66
70
68
69
85
78
62
77
Lo
66
80
64
51
59
49
53
66
60
46
69
W
pc
t
s
pc
c
s
pc
s
s
s
r
WINDS
Medford
88/55
(in mph)
Klamath Falls
86/45
Boardman
Pendleton
REGIONAL FORECAST
Coastal Oregon: Clouds giving way to some
sun today; hazy sun and smoky in the south.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Mostly sunny
and hot today, but some clouds in the south.
Eastern Washington: Sunshine today;
however, some clouds in the north. Mainly
clear tonight.
Cascades: Mostly sunny today. Not as
warm; smoky in the south. Pleasant across
the north.
Northern California: Mostly sunny today.
Hot in central parts; pleasant at the coast.
Today
Thursday
WSW 7-14
W 7-14
WSW 6-12
W 7-14
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
Western Washington: Areas of low clouds,
then some sun today.
Sep 5
104° 61°
Seattle
73/60
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
96° 60°
Today
1
3
5
5
3
1
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: Catastrophic flooding from Harvey will continue in Texas even as
the heaviest rain shifts into the Mississippi Valley today. Showers will sink into the Upper
Midwest. Much of the West will be sunny and hot.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 115° in Palm Springs, Calif.
Low 32° in West Yellowstone, Mont.
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
87
74
74
77
94
76
94
69
82
82
80
79
86
93
81
91
64
81
87
79
81
87
81
107
78
97
Lo
62
69
66
63
66
72
64
60
71
63
64
62
71
62
62
65
45
58
73
72
64
74
59
84
69
74
W
t
sh
pc
pc
s
r
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
s
s
r
pc
t
s
pc
r
s
Thur.
Hi
89
82
82
84
91
82
91
81
89
80
73
74
89
89
72
91
66
78
86
90
80
93
83
101
76
97
Lo
64
71
59
58
61
70
59
54
76
61
56
54
69
60
50
65
43
60
74
71
59
75
61
82
67
74
W
s
t
pc
pc
pc
t
s
c
pc
c
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
s
pc
pc
c
t
pc
c
r
s
Today
Hi
Louisville
86
Memphis
79
Miami
93
Milwaukee
80
Minneapolis
81
Nashville
78
New Orleans
85
New York City
75
Oklahoma City
83
Omaha
83
Philadelphia
77
Phoenix
109
Portland, ME
73
Providence
73
Raleigh
84
Rapid City
89
Reno
95
Sacramento
96
St. Louis
83
Salt Lake City
92
San Diego
86
San Francisco
71
Seattle
73
Tucson
102
Washington, DC 79
Wichita
84
Lo
69
70
81
61
57
69
75
66
61
60
65
85
52
58
68
60
61
59
65
70
72
56
60
73
68
61
W
pc
sh
t
pc
pc
r
r
pc
s
s
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
t
s
s
pc
t
pc
s
Thur.
Hi
82
78
92
69
73
80
87
83
85
86
84
109
77
83
78
87
95
103
83
90
86
80
78
102
85
86
Lo
63
67
80
57
53
66
72
56
61
62
58
83
48
53
68
60
62
68
65
67
71
63
56
73
64
62
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
c
r
pc
pc
pc
r
t
pc
s
s
pc
c
sh
pc
t
pc
s
s
pc
pc
s
s
pc
s
pc
s