NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Governor celebrates transportation
package with statewide tour
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
PORTLAND — Gov.
Kate Brown’s tour of the
state Monday and Tuesday
to celebrate signing into law
a $5.3 billion transportation
funding package possessed
the energy of a campaign
blitz.
Oregon’s 38th governor
stopped in Ontario, Bend
and Medford Monday
and Eugene and Portland
Tuesday to reenact signing
the bill and to highlight
projects that will benefit
those areas.
Her last stop was at Port-
land Community College’s
Southeast campus at 82nd
Avenue and Division Street
Tuesday.
“The
transportation
package is truly a roadmap
to Oregon’s future,” Brown
told a crowd of about 200 at
the campus. “Not only will
it improve the safety and
condition of our roads and
bridges, it will support thou-
sands of family-wage jobs
and help local businesses
get their goods to market
more efficiently.”
Brown actually signed
the legislation into law Aug.
18, the deadline to enact
bills from the 2017 Legisla-
ture, which adjourned early
last month.
The
transportation
package was a chief victory
for both Democratic and
Republican
lawmakers
during
the
legislative
session.
As the bill appeared
ready to combust over
discontent among interest
groups, Brown intervened
to help negotiate a deal that
would save the package
she’d been promising to
constituents for the past two
years.
“Passing the transporta-
tion package was no easy
feat,” Brown said Tuesday.
“We faced some significant
challenges this last legisla-
tive session but we worked
across the aisle and toward
a shared vision for a better
Oregon.”
Brown, just two years
into her position, already
faces a challenge to her
incumbency in 2018.
Moderate
Republican
Tom Story/Inciweb via AP
This Aug. 28 photo provided by Inciweb shows the Milli Fire near Sisters. The two
dozen blazes around the state Wednesday are affecting air quality and have forced
the evacuations of more than 4,500 people.
4,500 people evacuated
due to Oregon wildfires
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press
PORTLAND — Wildfires
in Oregon are burning an area
roughly equivalent to half the
state of Rhode Island, affecting
air quality throughout the state
and forcing the evacuations of
more than 4,500 people, fire
authorities said Wednesday.
Two dozen fires in
southern, eastern and central
parts of the state had scorched
a total of 571 square miles.
And although fire crews
appreciated cooler weather
and some fog on some fire
lines, they are bracing for
triple-digit
temperatures
and the return of windy
conditions and extremely low
humidity later this week and
into the weekend, said Terry
Krasko, a U.S. Forest Service
spokesman.
The largest fire is near the
coastal town of Brookings
near the California border.
That
196-square-mile
blaze is 5 percent contained
and 4,568 people have fled
their homes. Firefighters
have managed to carve out
a containment line along the
southwestern edge of the fire
to protect the 6,500-person
town that will be bolstered
by the arrival Wednesday of
six Oregon National Guard
teams.
Fedor Zarkhin/The Oregonian via AP
In this Aug. 27 photo, a plume of smoke rises from a
wildfire west of Sisters.
The fire started July 12
from a lightning strike in
the Rogue River-Siskiyou
National Forest but grew
rapidly last week.
“That 5 percent doesn’t
sound like a lot but it’s very
critical to this town and we
feel very good about that.
There have been people
asking, ‘What about the other
side of the fire, what about the
east?’” Krasko said. “But we
have to put our efforts first
where the homes and busi-
nesses are — where people
live. These are our family and
friends.”
Also in the Rogue
River-Siskiyou
National
Forest, but further east, a
complex of fires forced the
evacuation of six homes
Tuesday in a rural community
called Joe Bar near the Apple-
gate River Valley. Several
of the fires have merged and
firefighters have divided the
largest ones into three areas of
attack, fire authorities said.
About two dozen blazes
all began on Aug. 12 after a
lightning storm in the area but
most were put out quickly by
crews.
In central Oregon, a
34-square-mile fire west of
Sisters is now 44 percent
contained. No mandatory
evacuations are in effect.
Fires statewide continue
to generate thick smoke
that’s affecting air quality in
southern and central Oregon.
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East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801.
Rep.
Knute
Buehler,
a surgeon from Bend,
announced his candidacy
earlier this month and is
expected hit $1 million
in campaign funds by the
week’s end. Brown has
about $1.5 million cash on
hand for her campaign.
Political insiders say
the transportation package
gives the governor a
bipartisan triumph to tout
in her presumed reelection
bid. (She has yet to official
announce her intentions.)
Her tour of the state
shows she can turn political
rhetoric into results, said one
statewide political operative
unassociated with Brown’s
campaign.
“I was very committed
to delivering on a transpor-
tation package because I
saw the critical importance
for keeping Oregon moving
and keeping our economy
humming,” Brown said. “I
was pleased we were able
to get bipartisan support:
Republicans, Democrats,
urban and rural working
together to deliver on this
package to make Oregon a
better place for all of us.”
Jim Moore, director of
the Tom McCall Center for
Policy Innovation at Pacific
University, said transporta-
tion is unlikely to be a Top
10 issue in the gubernatorial
campaign. That’s because
most voters aren’t in tune
with legislative develop-
ments or even whether the
state or local government
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REGIONAL CITIES
Forecast
TODAY
FRIDAY
Pleasant with
plenty of sunshine
Very warm with
plenty of sun
87° 58°
94° 60°
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
Very hot
Mostly sunny
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
99° 68°
101° 66°
97° 60°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
96° 56°
89° 53°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
93°
84°
103° (1967)
63°
54°
37° (1924)
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"
0.41"
11.37"
7.34"
8.36"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
Yesterday
Normals
Records
HIGH
LOW
92°
84°
102° (2007)
58°
54°
39° (1965)
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
Sep 5
Sep 12
6:15 a.m.
7:35 p.m.
4:10 p.m.
12:51 a.m.
New
First
Sep 19
104° 65°
101° 60°
Seattle
77/56
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
102° 66°
Sep 27
Today
MONDAY
Very hot
Spokane
Wenatchee
83/57
86/59
Tacoma
Moses
78/49
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 87/54
81/51
69/52
79/48
90/53
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
79/54
88/62 Lewiston
90/54
Astoria
89/58
69/51
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
82/58
Pendleton 83/48
The Dalles 89/53
87/58
89/59
La Grande
Salem
83/47
85/57
Albany
Corvallis 85/54
85/53
John Day
86/53
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
93/57
83/52
85/52
Caldwell
Burns
91/57
87/44
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
69
87
85
74
87
83
83
85
89
86
86
83
80
91
65
68
93
90
87
82
87
85
83
81
81
88
90
Lo
51
46
52
59
44
48
52
57
53
53
51
47
44
58
48
52
57
52
58
58
46
57
57
45
56
62
53
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
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Fri.
Hi
78
93
95
76
92
89
92
93
96
95
94
91
89
103
70
73
94
93
94
91
96
94
88
91
91
93
94
Lo
56
47
57
59
48
54
54
61
56
61
53
53
51
63
52
54
55
54
60
61
51
59
59
51
58
65
57
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
s
s
pc
pc
s
s
s
s
s
s
pc
s
s
pc
s
s
s
s
s
s
pc
s
s
s
s
s
s
WORLD CITIES
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Hi
83
93
82
65
69
65
69
85
80
60
74
Lo
66
81
63
49
56
45
51
70
60
47
65
W
pc
t
s
pc
c
s
pc
s
s
pc
r
Fri.
Hi
84
91
82
67
70
69
67
82
82
63
74
Lo
65
81
65
51
59
50
52
66
62
45
67
W
pc
t
s
pc
pc
s
t
t
s
s
r
WINDS
Medford
91/58
(in mph)
Klamath Falls
86/51
Boardman
Pendleton
REGIONAL FORECAST
Coastal Oregon: Mostly sunny today; how-
ever, some clouds across the north; smoky
in the south.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Plenty of
sunshine today, but hazy sun near the
Cascades.
Western Washington: Areas of low clouds
early today; otherwise, mostly sunny. Mainly
clear tonight.
Eastern Washington: Mostly sunny
today. Mainly clear tonight. Plenty of sun
tomorrow.
Cascades: Mostly sunny today. Smoky in
the south; pleasant across the north. Clear
tonight.
Northern California: Mostly sunny today;
hot in central parts. Clear tonight. Very hot
tomorrow.
Today
Friday
WSW 4-8
W 6-12
NE 3-6
N 4-8
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
1
fixes the roads they traverse,
he said.
“Transportation is kind
of a political nerd sport,”
Moore said. “Because of
that it may or may not make
a good issue at the center of
that campaign.”
However, the statewide
tour still gives some
momentum to her campaign.
“Her face is being seen
out there; she is talking to
people,” Moore said. “It
gives you a reason t... to go
around the state. Transporta-
tion is good because it is not
a natural disaster. It is: “Hi,
here I am, your emissary
from Salem. I have brought
you something. It is classic
incumbent behavior.”
Brown’s campaign funds
were not used to pay for the
statewide tour, said Bryan
Hockaday, a press secretary
in Brown’s office. He said
last week he did not yet
know the cost of the tour
to taxpayers and was not
immediately available for
comment Tuesday.
The eight-year trans-
portation plan includes
staggered hikes in the gas
tax, increases to registration
and title fees, and new taxes
on payroll, new vehicle
purchases and bicycles
priced more than $200.
The package also calls
for congestion-priced tolling
at some of Portland’s bottle-
necks, which could include
certain lanes on Interstate 5
and Interstate 205, to pay for
congestion-busting projects.
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.
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— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
Jaime Valdez/Pamplin Media
Gov. Kate Brown holds up copies of the signed trans-
portation funding bill during a signing ceremony at
Portland Community College Southeast Tuesday.
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: Harvey will bring a risk of isolated flash flooding to the lower
Mississippi Valley today. Severe storms will dot the Southeast as showers extend from
Maine to Illinois. Much of the West will be sunny.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 115° in Needles, Calif.
Low 34° in Leadville, Colo.
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
88
82
82
84
90
84
91
81
88
82
72
73
89
88
71
90
66
78
87
90
81
93
82
102
77
98
Lo
64
72
59
59
60
69
59
54
76
63
56
53
69
59
51
66
43
60
74
70
59
76
61
82
66
76
W
s
t
pc
pc
pc
t
s
pc
t
c
pc
pc
pc
t
pc
s
pc
s
pc
pc
c
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pc
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s
Fri.
Hi
89
82
69
65
89
81
93
69
91
70
71
68
91
85
66
91
60
77
85
91
67
91
78
104
84
100
Lo
62
63
58
55
60
62
63
52
75
59
52
54
71
59
52
66
41
56
73
71
52
73
58
82
65
76
Today
W
pc
t
pc
sh
s
t
s
s
t
r
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
sh
t
pc
pc
c
t
s
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pc
s
Hi
Louisville
82
Memphis
77
Miami
93
Milwaukee
69
Minneapolis
74
Nashville
80
New Orleans
86
New York City
83
Oklahoma City
85
Omaha
84
Philadelphia
84
Phoenix
109
Portland, ME
77
Providence
83
Raleigh
79
Rapid City
88
Reno
94
Sacramento
102
St. Louis
82
Salt Lake City
88
San Diego
86
San Francisco
80
Seattle
77
Tucson
102
Washington, DC 84
Wichita
86
Lo
62
67
80
56
52
68
73
56
61
62
57
85
47
52
69
60
62
68
62
65
71
62
56
72
62
62
W
c
r
pc
pc
pc
r
t
pc
s
s
pc
pc
c
pc
t
t
s
s
pc
t
s
s
pc
s
pc
s
Fri.
Hi
62
80
90
67
72
69
87
69
87
81
69
109
68
70
79
91
96
109
77
91
83
90
80
102
66
86
Lo
55
62
79
53
61
55
73
58
64
64
57
84
44
49
67
57
64
70
53
66
72
66
60
73
57
65
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
r
c
t
s
pc
r
t
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s
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pc
pc
s
t
s
s
s
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s
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s
pc
sh
pc