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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 2017)
WEATHER East Oregonian Page 2A REGIONAL CITIES Forecast SATURDAY TODAY A little rain, maybe mix, p.m. Partly sunny 36° 31° 40° 31° SUNDAY MONDAY Times of clouds and sun A thick cloud cover PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 51° 39° 51° 32° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 43° 32° 37° 33° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 29° 26° 39° 26° 64° (2002) -22° (1919) 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" 0.08" 0.64" 15.34" 12.47" 12.11" HERMISTON through 3 p.m. yesterday LOW 33° 39° 68° (2002) 0.00" 0.01" 0.71" 8.77" 8.77" 9.18" SUN AND MOON Dec 26 Bend 43/22 Burns 32/18 Full 7:29 a.m. 4:12 p.m. 4:47 a.m. 3:03 p.m. Last Jan 1 Jan 8 Caldwell 34/26 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 49 38 43 55 32 42 40 38 37 45 45 39 37 45 50 51 32 36 36 40 40 43 31 41 41 35 37 Lo 41 26 22 41 18 27 30 31 33 29 22 27 25 32 39 37 25 25 31 36 23 34 24 26 37 31 28 W r c c pc sn c r r r r pc sh c r r r c r r r c r sn c r r c NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Sat. Hi 48 37 36 54 32 34 42 39 43 36 39 35 32 43 49 51 39 39 40 43 38 45 28 34 43 39 44 Lo 43 20 24 42 16 20 33 31 32 28 22 20 19 30 43 39 23 30 31 39 22 38 23 23 40 31 31 Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. W r pc pc c pc pc c pc pc pc pc pc pc c r c pc pc pc r pc r pc pc r pc c WORLD CITIES Today Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Hi 37 71 58 42 74 35 42 59 36 79 50 Lo 20 58 46 32 48 31 35 42 17 71 42 W pc c pc pc pc c sh r c c pc Sat. Hi 34 65 61 41 70 41 41 54 28 85 59 Lo 17 53 46 35 47 37 33 37 12 71 41 W s pc s pc pc r pc sh pc pc pc WINDS Medford 45/32 PRECIPITATION Dec 17 John Day 45/29 Ontario 32/25 30° 27° -7° (1972) 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today New First Albany 41/33 Eugene 40/30 TEMPERATURE Yesterday Normals Records 50° 35° Spokane Wenatchee 31/24 35/28 Tacoma Moses 44/34 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 33/26 31/24 47/40 47/35 37/28 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 44/38 35/31 Lewiston 35/29 Astoria 36/29 49/41 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 40/36 Pendleton 42/27 The Dalles 37/33 36/31 42/39 La Grande Salem 39/27 43/34 Corvallis 42/31 HIGH 53° 40° Seattle 45/36 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 45° 41° Today TUESDAY Cloudy 46° 41° Friday, December 15, 2017 (in mph) Boardman Pendleton Klamath Falls 45/22 REGIONAL FORECAST — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays www.eastoregonian.com To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to www.eastoregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday and postal holidays, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Eastern Washington: Cloudy today. A bit of snow near the Idaho border and in the mountains; a shower south. Cascades: Rain, then snow today with precipitation waiting until afternoon across the south. Northern California: Increasing clouds today. Partly cloudy tonight. Partly sunny tomorrow. Saturday WSW 4-8 WSW 6-12 UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. Coastal Oregon: Periods of rain today; any time across the north, in the afternoon in central and southern parts. Eastern and Central Oregon: Mostly cloudy today; a little rain and snow spreading in from the northwest this afternoon. Western Washington: Periods of rain in the morning, but any time across the south today. Today SW 6-12 SW 6-12 0 1 1 0 0 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 Subscriber services: For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops or delivery concerns call 1-800-522-0255 ext. 1 SUBSCRIPTION RATES Local home delivery Savings off cover price EZPay $14.50 41 percent 52 weeks $173.67 41 percent 26 weeks $91.86 38 percent 13 weeks $47.77 36 percent *EZ Pay = one-year rate with a monthly credit or debit card/check charge Single copy price: $1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday Copyright © 2017, EO Media Group -10s SALEM — Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson has revised a proposal to ease restrictions on qualifying measures for the Oregon ballot. The updated proposal allows petitioners to gather signatures for an initiative before the measure’s ballot title is finalized. The change could enable more measures to make the ballot. Existing rules suspend the signature-gathering process until legal battles have been settled and a title is finalized for the ballot. “Legal challenges often create delays of two to three months, or even longer, which is unnecessarily burdensome for grassroots petitioners that do not have the resources to hire a signature gathering service,” said Alyssa Orlando, Richardson’s spokeswoman, suggesting the revisions “to in a statement Wednesday. ensure voters have a clear idea Under the proposal, of what they are signing.” petitioners may circulate the He has reopened the ballot title issued public comment by the state attorney period until Dec. general’s office 21 to accept even if the title has feedback on the been challenged in revisions. court. The Republican The ballot title is secretary of state’s a short description proposal has trig- for ballot measures gered opposition intended to be from some Demo- informative and crats and from the unbiased. Both Richardson former executive petitioners and director of labor- opponents can appeal the backed advocacy group Our description to the Oregon Oregon. Rep. Dan Rayfield, Supreme Court. The changes proposed D-Corvallis, an attorney, Wednesday, Dec. 13, were said Richardson may lack based on public comments the legal authority to make Richardson has received the changes, which could since he made the original spark a legal challenge. Opponents argue that proposal in late August. Richardson credited gathering signatures before members of the League of finalizing ballot title would Women Voters of Oregon for allow petitioners to circulate BOISE, Idaho — Idaho officials have reached a tenta- tive agreement approving a utility company’s $216.5 million in relicensing expenses for a three-dam hydroelectric project on the Snake River on the Idaho-Or- egon border. The Idaho Public Utilities Commission on Wednesday said it’s taking public comments through Jan. 5 on the proposed agreement with Boise-based Idaho Power involving the Hells Canyon Complex. “It represents a compro- mise for both sides,” said commission spokesman Matt Evans. “It’s less than Idaho Power initially requested.” The proposed agreement, which Evans said could be approved in February at the earliest, doesn’t call for a rate increase. That would take a separate request from Idaho Power also requiring the state commission’s approval. The company in December 2016 requested about $220 million to cover costs from 2003 to the end of 2015 as it seeks a new license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The company’s 50-year license expired in 2005, and it has been operating the dams under annual licenses renewed each August. A significant hurdle to getting a longer license is that Oregon officials are refusing to agree to the relicensing until salmon and steelhead can access four Oregon tributaries that feed into the Hells Canyon Complex, as required by Oregon law for the relicensing. But Idaho lawmakers have prohibited moving federally protected salmon and steelhead upstream of the dams, which could force restoration work on Idaho’s environmentally degraded Corrections middle section of the Snake River. “The states of Idaho and Oregon are working to resolve those issues,” said Idaho Power spokesman Brad Bowlin. “It’s one of the last remaining obstacles.” Another problem is that elevated mercury levels blamed in part on agricul- tural runoff extend 60 miles downstream of the Hells Canyon Complex to the Salmon River confluence. The company has been working with farmers to try to reduce agricultural runoff, including switching from flood irrigation to more efficient sprinkler systems. That work is included in the $216.5 million. In January, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commis- sion rejected the company’s request to exempt the Hells Canyon Complex from the Oregon statute. The company had argued the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Consti- In a Dec. 13 story about the economic impact of Oregon’s state parks, The Associated Press reported erroneously that park employees earn a combined salary of $550 million. The parks generate $550 million in salaries for those in the parks’ host communities. 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. 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: Spotty snow is forecast from the northern Plains to the central Appalachians today. Rain will extend from northern Florida to South Texas. Rain and moun- tain snow will fall on Washington and Oregon. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 86° in Camarillo, Calif. Low -15° in Silver Bay, 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 47 49 37 34 52 47 32 30 65 39 33 29 59 61 29 54 23 33 78 57 37 73 49 63 56 79 Lo 25 30 30 23 32 28 25 23 36 26 27 23 37 35 23 28 19 26 66 40 26 44 34 42 31 52 W s pc sn c c s c pc c c c sf s pc sf s pc sn sh c c c s pc s s Sat. Hi 48 55 43 45 35 55 33 35 59 50 46 38 65 51 34 57 26 35 78 59 49 64 60 62 62 72 Lo 26 36 34 28 18 38 22 21 37 31 28 27 44 25 25 40 11 23 69 47 34 46 39 41 41 48 Today W pc s pc pc sn pc pc pc s s pc sf s c sn s s c pc c s pc pc s s s 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 42 51 78 30 30 46 55 31 54 48 33 72 26 31 48 59 55 62 46 43 77 60 45 69 37 54 Lo 30 33 60 24 25 30 42 26 33 31 26 46 14 22 27 33 28 43 34 29 53 49 36 40 29 31 W pc s s c c pc r sn s s sf s pc sf pc pc pc pc s c s pc r s c s Sat. Hi 55 58 79 40 34 56 61 38 62 53 41 69 32 37 52 40 42 63 60 36 66 63 45 68 46 61 Lo 37 42 68 31 22 36 56 27 41 26 29 47 11 21 30 22 20 44 40 24 49 49 41 47 34 40 W s s s c c s pc pc s pc pc pc sf pc s sn pc s s sf s s r pc pc s Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. 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 • Grace Bubar 541-276-2214 • gbubar@eastoregonian.com inaccurate or misleading information about the proposed measure to the public. Rayfield said he could see a scenario in which peti- tioners gather signatures for various iterations of a ballot title, which could threaten the integrity of the initiative petition process. “You need to make sure everybody has the same accurate non-bipartisan information when they’re signing an initiative petition, and I don’t think this gets to that ideal,” Rayfield said of the revisions. He said he would prefer any changes to the restric- tions on qualifying measures for the ballot to come from the Legislature. Comments on the revised proposal can be emailed to the secretary of state’s office at elections.sos@oregon. gov until 5 p.m. Dec. 21. Tentative $216 million deal to relicense Snake dams By KEITH RIDLER Associated Press 0s showers t-storms Richardson reopens comment on initiative By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau -0s tution that has to do with federal authority over states pre-empted the Oregon law. Idaho Power has 534,000 customers in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon. The company generates 39 percent of its electricity from 17 hydropower facilities. The main producer is the Hells Canyon Complex. 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 COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Mike Jensen 541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com Oil tankers may need tug escorts on Columbia River ASTORIA (AP) — Tethered tug escorts could provide added protection for oil tankers on the Columbia River if tanker traffic increases due to new marine terminals, a study commis- sioned by the Washington Legislature found. The study released last month by the Department of Ecology said five proposed bulk terminals could create up to 1,379 additional one-way trips, mostly by tankers, The Daily Astorian reported Thursday. The likelihood of a major oil spill on the Columbia River is low, but the consequences would be high for both Washington and Oregon. Based on 2006 figures, a large spill could cost Washington state $10.8 billion and more than 165,000 jobs. Each year, about 180 tank vessels transit the Columbia River to deliver more than a billion gallons of gasoline, jet fuel and other refined petroleum products. There are currently no shipments of crude oil on the Columbia River by tank vessels. The study said the ecology department will work with a harbor safety committee to develop stan- dards for loaded oil tankers that could be put in place when a new facility is built and increases tanker traffic. “We wouldn’t wait until those tankers actually showed up on the river,” Brian Kirk, of the ecology department, told the newspaper. “We think that starting work on that guide- line sooner rather than later will help people understand how to best escort tankers on the Columbia River.” Existing collaborative marine safety programs represent the best oppor- tunity to prevent cargo oil spills on the Columbia River and Bar, the report found. “The big things coming out of the study that there was a lot more safety collaboration than Ecology and legislators were aware of,” said Dan Jordan, a Columbia River Bar pilot who helps guide ships and assisted the study. Most of the five proposed terminal projects are in Washington state, including a massive oil-by-rail terminal at the port of Vancouver that could receive up to 360,000 barrels of oil and send out one ship per day to West Coast refineries. A state panel last month recommended that Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, reject the permit. The governor will have 60 days after the panel sends him their final report this month.