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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 2017)
Saturday, September 2, 2017 NORTHWEST INITIATIVES: Not uncommon to see Headaches and raspy voices as wildfire smoke chokes U.S. West state legislators’ names on initiatives East Oregonian Page 2A initiatives they could not wrangle legislative votes for or referen- dums against laws they opposed during the last session. There are two initiatives and two referen- dums that are currently approved to gather signatures, and three of those measures have legislators as chief sponsors. Rep. Mike Nearman, R-In- dependence, is a sponsor on an initiative that would cause all voter registrations to expire in 2020 and require anyone regis- tering to vote after that date to register in person after showing proof of citizenship such as an original, certified birth certificate. Nearman has also joined Rep. Bill Post, R-Keizer in sponsoring a referendum against Senate Bill 719, which allows for a judge to issue an “extreme risk protection order” giving a person 24 hours to surrender all deadly weapons if they are deemed a threat to themselves or others. Rep. Julie Parrish, R-West Linn, Rep. Sal Esquivel, R-Med- ford, and Rep. Cedric Hayden, R-Roseburg, are gathering signa- tures for a referendum against the tax on health care premiums passed by the legislature to help fund Medicaid for the 2017-2019 biennium. Rep. Greg Barreto, R-Cove, has joined with Nearman and Esquival on an initiative called Stop Oregon Sanctuaries, which would overturn the law that requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to obtain a federal criminal arrest Continued from 1A should be lowered. “It does take a lot of effort, for sure, but you don’t want the ballot filled with a lot of marginal issues,” she said. Some issues that initiative sponsors try to get on the ballot do find more support in the state than others. Portland residents Chris- tian Trejbal and Jennifer Rollins, chief sponsors of the Oregon Secession Act, have already with- drawn their petition after reporting to The Oregonian that they received waves of hate mail and death threats over trying to start an initiative to get secession from the United States on the ballot. Another petition idea, currently waiting for approval to start gathering signatures, is called Repeal Sex Offender Registration Laws. Sponsored by Thomas Madison, a registered sex offender, it would abolish the sex offender registry. Activists from Oregonians for Medical Freedom are working to get seven different vaccine-re- lated initiatives approved for signature-gathering, including one forbidding schools from excluding unvaccinated children and another requiring doctors to provide information about vaccine-related deaths and inju- ries. Although the referendum and initiative process was originally designed to give everyday citi- zens a voice, it’s not uncommon to see state legislators’ names on forced the closure of Interstate 210, an essential link to routes in and out of town just as Labor Day weekend travel was starting. Firefighters had reduced the raging flames, but the freeway was expected to be shut down all night. The poor air quality has caused the cancellation of some perfor- mances at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland and the Cycle Oregon Classic Ride, a 400-mile bicycle event this month. Smoke from wildfires in British Columbia pushed down into western Washington in August, choking the region and prompting health officials to warn the Seattle area that children, the elderly and people with respira- tory problems should stay inside. Smoke has affected the Montana town of Seeley Lake to such a degree that health officials urged people to escape the pollution weeks before an order Tuesday to evacuate part of town because of the encroaching fire. The town’s air quality had hourly pollution readings classified as hazardous in 26 days in August, topping out the ability of the monitor to measure the pollution in many cases. It was considered hazardous Friday, too. “There aren’t even the correct health categories to describe what they’re seeing,” air quality specialist Saran Coefield said. Most of the smoke entering Washington state this year is coming from neighboring states and British Columbia, said Joye Redfield-Wilder of the state Department of Ecology. “I’m smelling smoke in my office right now,” she said. By KEITH RIDLER Associated Press warrant for undocumented immigrants for state or local law enforcement agencies to be required to turn them over to ICE. “If we have laws, but cannot or do not enforce them, then what purpose do they serve?” Barreto said in an email. “... We have ICE for a purpose. The states should work with them, not against them and we should not interfere in their work.” That initiative is currently in the process of gathering the 1,000 sponsor signatures needed to start the approval process through the Secretary of State’s office. Once a 16-step process is complete, the sponsors will be approved to start gathering the 88,184 signatures that type of initiative will require to get on the ballot. Barreto said referendums and initiatives can be “either a blessing or a curse.” He held up Measure 88, in which voters overturned a law allowing undoc- umented immigrants to receive driver’s cards, as an example of the process working successfully. “The vote of the people spoke loudly that they did not agree with the legislation that was passed,” he said. “Sometimes, though, the risk to ballot measures is the voter may not have contemplated all the essential facts and arguments needed to make an informed deci- sion. But this is not to underscore the will of the people.” ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4536. The smoke from massive wildfires hangs like fog over large parts of the U.S. West, an irritating haze causing health concerns, forcing sports teams to change schedules and disrupting life from Seattle to tiny Seeley Lake, Montana. Air quality has been rated unhealthy across the region because of blazes that show no signs of abating. Officials said Friday that one of the worst U.S. wildfire seasons in terms of land burned is likely to keep scorching Western states and blanketing them with smoke until later this fall. People in small towns to the populous San Francisco Bay Area have had enough. “Last night, I went to sleep with the windows open and woke up with a stomachache and a headache,” said Tresa Snow, who owns a hair salon in Brookings, Oregon, near a large wildfire. “I knew before I could even smell it that the fire was back. And you can hear my voice, kind of raspy. We’re all kind of like that.” She said business has been down in the town near the California border. “Businesses are closing because they don’t have their help,” Snow said. “People have been evacuating.” In the run-up to the long Labor Day weekend, several high school football teams changed their season- opening games to avoid the smoke, and other athletic events have been postponed. In Southern California, an erratic wildfire just north of Los Angeles BRIEFLY Two charged in armed tavern robberies Police make arrest in 1998 killing of teen PORTLAND (AP) — Police have arrested two men in connection with a spree of armed robberies at Portland taverns. Sgt. Chris Burley said 32-year-old Deron Crain was arraigned Friday on more than a dozen counts of first-degree robbery. The other man, 33-year-old Johntae Hammond, was already in a Vancouver, Washington, jail after being arrested on a parole violation. He is awaiting extradition to Oregon. The men are accused of 13 holdups over a frightening 5 ½-week stretch in June and July. After a break of more than a month, a North Portland tavern was hit Aug. 18. SALEM (AP) — Police have made an arrest in the killing of a teenager outside a convenience store almost 20 years ago. Salem police Lt. Dave Okada said Friday that 16-year-old Alfredo Lopez-Nabor was fatally shot after a gang-related fight on May 9, 1998. Investigators developed probable cause to arrest Fernando Cortez, but the suspect who was 19 at the time fled to Mexico. A Salem police detective reopened the investigation a decade later as a cold case. He found that Cortez had returned to the U.S., and was possibly living under a false name in California. The detective, Jamie Vasas, Narcotics unit arrests doctor in drug raid CORVALLIS (AP) — An Oregon county narcotics enforcement unit arrested an emergency room doctor and five other people while conducting raids on two houses. The Corvallis Gazette-Times reported Thursday that the doctor is accused of turning marijuana into an oil form, which makes the plant much more potent. Marijuana is legal in Oregon, but it is not legal to turn the plant into oil without a license. Authorities say the Didn’t receive your paper? Call 1-800-522-0255 before noon Tuesday through Friday or before 10 a.m. Saturday for same-day redelivery 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. 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Single copy price: $1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday TODAY SUNDAY Very hot Near-record temperatures 100° 66° 101° 64° MONDAY Very hot TUESDAY Very hot PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 97° 64° 96° 65° 98° 61° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 104° 61° 101° 60° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 93° 83° 102° (1893) 56° 54° 36° (1905) 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" 0.00" 0.02" 11.37" 7.36" 8.40" HERMISTON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE Yesterday Normals Records HIGH LOW 92° 84° 101° (1967) 56° 53° 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" 0.00" 0.01" 6.65" 5.00" 6.13" SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today Full Last Sep 5 Sep 12 98° 64° 101° 61° Seattle 89/63 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 100° 65° New 6:18 a.m. 7:31 p.m. 5:39 p.m. 2:30 a.m. First Sep 19 Sep 27 Spokane Wenatchee 94/62 96/67 Tacoma Moses 89/56 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 98/58 96/57 82/59 91/55 100/59 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 92/61 99/71 Lewiston 100/58 Astoria 102/65 80/57 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 96/64 Pendleton 96/56 The Dalles 101/60 100/66 103/65 La Grande Salem 97/55 98/63 Albany Corvallis 99/59 98/58 John Day 101/62 Ontario Eugene Bend 98/58 96/58 101/61 Caldwell Burns 97/58 97/51 REGIONAL CITIES Today Classified & Legal Advertising 1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678 classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com NEWS • To submit news tips and press releases: • call 541-966-0818 • fax 541-276-8314 • email news@eastoregonian.com • To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News: email community@eastoregonian.com or call Tammy Malgesini at 541-564-4539 or Renee Struthers at 541-966-0818. • To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries: email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit www.eastoregonian. com/community/announcements • To submit a Letter to the Editor: mail to Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com. • To submit sports or outdoors information or tips: 541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com 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 80 100 101 77 97 96 96 98 101 101 97 97 96 106 73 77 98 98 100 96 103 98 94 98 95 99 100 Lo 57 51 61 60 51 56 58 64 60 62 55 55 52 67 54 56 58 56 66 64 56 63 62 54 62 71 59 W s s pc pc s s pc s s s pc s s pc pc pc s s s s pc pc s s s s pc NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Sun. Hi 78 101 98 80 99 98 97 99 104 102 95 99 97 103 71 73 100 101 101 96 101 99 96 98 96 100 102 Lo 56 53 59 62 55 57 58 63 61 63 56 55 53 65 54 54 64 58 64 64 56 63 62 53 62 69 62 Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. W s s pc pc s s pc s pc s pc s s pc s pc s pc pc s pc s s s s s pc WORLD CITIES Today Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Hi 82 91 85 69 70 71 70 80 82 70 75 Lo 62 80 68 52 56 55 49 60 64 53 66 W t t s pc t pc t t s s r Sun. Hi 82 92 89 66 69 69 71 78 81 81 80 Lo 65 82 71 58 57 48 56 57 64 51 70 W pc r s c t pc pc pc pc s pc WINDS Medford 106/67 Klamath Falls 97/55 (in mph) Today Sunday Boardman Pendleton NE 3-6 N 4-8 WSW 4-8 NW 6-12 UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. REGIONAL FORECAST Coastal Oregon: Hazy sun and smoky today, but sunnier across the north. Partly cloudy tonight. Eastern and Central Oregon: Very hot today with scorching sunshine; smoky near the Cascades with hazy sun. Western Washington: Plenty of sun today. Clear tonight. Plenty of sun tomorrow. Eastern Washington: Plenty of sunshine to- day; however, hazy sun toward the Cascades and in central sections. Cascades: Hazy sunshine and very hot today; smoky in the south. Clear and mild tonight. Northern California: Mostly sunny today. Very hot in central parts; pleasant elsewhere. 1 The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sin- cerely regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the pa- per, please call 541-966-0818. COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Mike Jensen 541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com WEDNESDAY Partly sunny and very hot Corrections SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Community Police Commission is questioning the $100,000 payout given to a former Seattle police officer who was fired over her arrest of an elderly African- Copyright © 2017, EO Media Group Forecast American man. The Seattle Times reported Thursday that the commission is seeking a meeting with Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole and City Attorney Pete Holmes and has requested documents related to the payout settlement. Former Officer Cynthia Whitlatch, an 18-year police veteran, received the settlement after she appealed her firing for biased and overly aggressive policing. Seattle police question fired officer’s payout ADVERTISING Advertising Director: Marissa Williams 541-278-2669 • addirector@eastoregonian.com Advertising Services: Laura Jensen 541-966-0806 • ljensen@eastoregonian.com Multimedia Consultants: • Kimberly Macias 541-278-2683 • kmacias@eastoregonian.com • Jeanne Jewett 541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com • Dayle Stinson 541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com • Angela Treadwell 541-966-0827 • atreadwell@eastoregonian.com • Audra Workman 541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com Subscriber services: For home delivery, vacation stops or delivery concerns: 1-800-522-0255 — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — suspects also had more marijuana than state law allows. Mark Craig Rose faces two counts of manufacturing marijuana items, two counts of delivery of marijuana and two counts of possession of more than 4 ounces of marijuana. Officers seized ecstasy, user amounts of methamphetamine and a total of 200 pounds of marijuana from the two houses. arrested Cortez on a murder charge this week in Oxnard, California. He’s in the Ventura County Jail, awaiting extradition back to Oregon. 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: Rain and localized flooding from Harvey will reach the mid-Atlantic today. Heavy storms will hug the southern Atlantic coast. Storms will dot the Upper Midwest and Southwest. Heat will build in the West. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 113° in Chino, Calif. Low 27° in Doe Lake, Mich. 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 89 83 68 66 95 83 98 70 86 65 76 67 93 90 68 92 59 81 87 91 75 87 82 104 85 98 Lo 63 64 65 61 62 64 66 56 72 58 59 57 73 61 56 67 38 56 74 72 59 71 63 81 66 79 W pc pc r r s pc s pc t r s r pc s pc s pc pc pc pc pc t s s pc pc Sun. Hi 90 85 78 79 97 85 100 70 89 78 82 77 93 96 78 94 63 90 86 91 83 88 89 103 89 92 Lo 64 64 64 59 57 64 65 61 71 60 67 60 75 61 60 68 46 56 72 72 63 72 70 82 70 74 Today W s s pc pc s pc s r pc pc s pc pc s s s s s pc pc s t s pc pc pc Hi Louisville 71 Memphis 83 Miami 90 Milwaukee 71 Minneapolis 79 Nashville 77 New Orleans 88 New York City 68 Oklahoma City 85 Omaha 86 Philadelphia 65 Phoenix 105 Portland, ME 71 Providence 71 Raleigh 87 Rapid City 90 Reno 100 Sacramento 110 St. Louis 79 Salt Lake City 94 San Diego 84 San Francisco 94 Seattle 89 Tucson 98 Washington, DC 68 Wichita 88 Lo 58 66 78 58 59 57 73 62 67 63 62 84 52 57 64 58 66 72 65 69 73 66 63 74 65 66 W r s pc s t pc t r s s r pc pc pc t s s s s s pc s s pc r s Sun. Hi 82 86 91 82 85 85 89 76 90 92 78 104 64 73 85 97 98 105 87 96 83 84 87 100 81 94 Lo 65 70 80 67 64 64 73 63 69 71 63 83 55 60 63 57 66 68 68 69 73 64 62 74 66 69 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. W pc s sh pc s s pc r pc s pc s r r pc s s s s s t s s pc pc pc