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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 2018)
Page 4A East Oregonian Saturday, January 20, 2018 KATHRYN B. BROWN Publisher DANIEL WATTENBURGER Managing Editor TIM TRAINOR Opinion Page Editor Founded October 16, 1875 OUR VIEW A short, civil session For much of Oregon’s history, a biennial legislative session was enough to attend to the matters of the state. Every odd year, elected representatives, lobbyists and citizens would meet at the Capitol to debate and enact law while developing and approving a budget. In 2010, voters approved a Senate resolution to create a 35-day special session in even years with the explicit purpose of making necessary adjustments to the budget or addressing unforeseen consequences of previously passed legislation. So here we are, two weeks away from the fourth such “short session” in state history — and a politically fraught one at that. While the U.S. Congress can’t figure out whether shutting down the federal government is an acceptable way to settle a dispute or not, citizens are feeling an ever stronger push toward one partisan camp or another. Meanwhile it’s an election year in Oregon, with Gov. Kate Brown campaigning for her first full term and Rep. Knute Buehler leading the field of Republicans looking to challenge her. While much of our political energy is spent watching D.C., Oregon state politics is at a crossroads of a kind in 2018. Next month’s short session will mark the first few steps down that road. So what should we expect of our elected leaders in Salem this February? Here are a few pointers. • Bipartisan or bust While debating new rules and laws during a full session requires a fair amount of posturing, party line toeing and negotiation, we feel that should be set aside in the short session. A legislative committee convened in 2017 to examine how the sessions have been functioning since 2012 and made the suggestion that any bill should be required to be sponsored by a representative of both parties to be considered. The concept wasn’t enacted, but we think it’s a good one and should be followed. It makes us nervous to see a list of goals including a Clean Energy Jobs Bill and gun regulations coming before a body with just over a month to debate and enact law. We’ve previously written that the pursuit of meaningful PERS reform this session is doubtful, but while politically difficult it would at least meet the principal of why these short sessions exist in the first place: Taking action early so that future budget problems don’t spiral out of control. • Deal with Measure 101 fallout Oregon voters will decide Tuesday how they feel about the Medicaid funding tax on Measure 101, which will have a major effect on how legislators will spend their in-session time. If the temporary health care taxes are approved by voters, it’s a tip to legislators that voters remain supportive of their work, and that health insurance for all Oregonians is something we’re willing to pay a little extra for. However, if the measure fails, legislators will be sent scrambling back to the Capitol with some difficult decisions to make. Money will have to be found, or cuts will have to be made. More than likely, it’ll require some of each. • No politics Gov. Kate Brown is Oregon’s top government official, so she should be able to guide legislative action during the 30 days. She told the EO’s Capital Bureau reporter this month that she hoped to tackle gun control, affordable housing, PERS paydown, opioid epidemic and state procurement practices. We’re not sure how many, if any, of those are possible, and the likelihood goes down if Measure 101 goes down, too. But we’re sure that Brown and Democratic lawmakers will try to hang some tough votes on likely Republican challenger Knute Buehler. The same rules stand for Buehler and the Republicans, too — who will likely look to the session as a chance to gather ammunition to use against Brown. All is fair in love and war, but we hope the politicking is kept to a minimum and that for these 30 days legislators keep their eye on what’s best for Oregon. Once it’s over, then we can let the campaigning begin. OTHER VIEWS The mad king flies his flag T YOUR VIEWS Measure 101 best way to keep Oregonians insured There was a great health care success story in Oregon in 2014, when 360,000 Oregonians received health care for the first time under the Medicare expansion of the Affordable Care Act. That incredible surge brought the percentage of Oregonians with health insurance up to nearly 95 percent — an incredible number. Why should people who get insurance through their employment care? Why should hospitals? Why should insurance companies themselves? Easy. It is a lot more cost effective and efficient to provide health care to people who are insured. The uninsured will still receive healthcare, only it will be in the very expensive emergency room and will have to be written off as charity by the hospitals. So who pays? Everyone who has insurance will ultimately bear the cost through increased premiums. While Measure 101 is not perfect, there is no better solution waiting in the wings, and under 101 Oregon will continue to have one of the highest levels of insured individuals in the nation. That is definitely worth a yes vote. John Scanlan Pendleton The road not taken The good city folks of Pendleton dodge and decry when they have no choice but to drive its pock-marked streets. My good country neighbors and I look when two roads diverge and are left to take the road less graveled. (Apologies to Robert Frost.) Don Reese Echo Pendleton needs men’s clothing stores and car lots In Wednesday’s paper there was a big writeup on what the city had accomplished in 2017 and it got me to thinking. What Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian. does Pendleton need to bring it back to life besides more housing? Well here’s my list, and I think it’s a good one: Growing up in Pendleton we had two menswear stores besides Hamley’s and The New York Store, now we have none. Businessmen have to go out of town for a suit or even a dress shirt. We also had many womenswear stores including JC Penny, The Bon Marche (now Macy’s) Mode O’Day (now Fashion Bug, I think), The Frances Shop, Dawn’s, Lucille’s and Sidney’s Pink Poodle, and now we have nothing but Maurices and Walmart, neither of which sell business attire for women. We also had six car dealerships, not including Ray Fane who sold imports like Toyota, Vauxhalls and others foreign cars, and now we have none. We have a perfectly good building on the corner of 10th and Dorion for a car dealer to move into that has a shop space and showroom space already built. We also have another building sitting empty on Southeast Court that was built as a car dealership that is available to buy, and it even has a detail shop and a body and fender shop. What about approaching Legacy out of La Grande about putting in a Ford dealership selling new and used Fords, or find a GMC dealership who has this area to put in GMC, Chevrolet and Buick in so that people who live in Pendleton can spend their car buying money in Pendleton instead of going to Walla Walla or the Tri-Cities? I don’t think that it is out of line to propose that a citizens committee be formed to explore the possibilities of getting some of these businesses back in Pendleton and make Pendleton the place to shop rather than it being the place where there is nothing to buy. I am willing to work on that committee and I am willing to bet that there are others out there that are, too. We need to bring Pendleton back to the vibrant business community it was in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and now is prime time to get the ball rolling. Barbara Ann Wright Pendleton he emperor of the outdoors took a helicopter to ride horses rode into town on a horse with Mike Pence? The Cabinet named Tonto, and soon member who wants to charge $70 demanded that his own special to get into our most iconic national flag fly outside his headquarters parks? The man whose nomination whenever he was in Washington. was championed by Donald Trump He believes fracking is proof that Jr., elephant killer and dictionary “God loves us” and, despite being definition of elite hunter and from Montana, doesn’t know how Timothy fisherman? to properly set up his fly line when Defenders of public land have Egan fishing in front of the cameras. pushed back. This week, a majority Comment “He had rigged his reel of the nonpartisan National Park backward,” Elliott D. Woods Service advisory panel resigned in wrote of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke in frustration. The board, federally chartered a wonderful profile in Outside Magazine. to help guide the service, said Zinke had “Seems like an inconsequential thing, but in refused to convene a single meeting with Montana, it’s everything.” them last year. Silly bird-lovers. Don’t they As it turned out, it was quite know you need to charter a plane for Zinke consequential. When the magazine next tried if you want to get his attention? to dial into an Interior conference call, it was A much less-connected group, the denied access. Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, You may think that Stormy Daniels is in responded with an essay from a board charge of the natural world member who lives in a under Donald Trump. And 500-square-foot abode in yes, the boorish behavior the Rocky Mountains. “We of the president and the hunt, gather, garden, can, porn star makes for better smoke, dry, jelly and pickle reading than an account of as much of our own food the quack running Interior. as we can,” wrote Tom But if someone were Healy. “According to Mr. trashing your house, you’d Secretary, I am an elitist.” want to pay attention. The writer is from And Trump, using the Whitefish, Zinke’s very strange Zinke, is hometown in Montana. going after the sacred Where have you heard foundations of America’s that before? Ah, yes, a much-loved public lands, tiny energy company brick by brick. from Whitefish with two Zinke has been called the Gulfstream employees — three if you count Zinke’s Cowboy for his love of using charter planes kid when he was an intern on a side to fly off to the nesting grounds of wealthy project — finagled a $300 million, no-audit, donors. But he’s more like a mad king. And no-bid contract to help rebuild Puerto Rico’s this monarch has control over the crown electric grid. Zinke said he had absolutely, jewels of America’s public land. They are positively nothing to do with it. not in safe hands. Look, it could have been worse: Sarah Last month, the secretary attacked Palin was an early favorite for interior Patagonia, the outdoor retailer, after it secretary. Zinke is an ex-Navy SEAL, and protested the largest rollback of public land looks the part. Enough nutty things come out protection in our history with a website of his mouth to make him a perfect Trump home page of a black screen and stark guy. “The government stops at the mailbox,” message: “The President Stole Your Land.” he said at a rally last year, “and if you come It is your land, all 400 million acres of it, any further, you’re going to meet my gun.” though you wouldn’t know by the way the Note to Mr. Secretary: Don’t shoot the sheriff, or the census taker. Trump administration has ceded control to It took a bribery scandal to bring down the private predators from the oil, gas, coal an Interior secretary in the Teapot Dome and uranium industries. affair of the 1920s. Today, the corruption It is also your water, the near entirety is all upfront. Energy Secretary Rick Perry of the outer continental shelf that Trump gives bear hugs to coal barons, while doing is opening to extractive drilling. Almost a all he can to have the government prop up dozen states have protested. The waters off their industry. The Environmental Protection the coast of Mar-a-Lago, in Florida, were Agency is now a wholly owned subsidiary given an exemption after Zinke met with of the polluters it is supposed to regulate. the governor who said drilling was bad for Over at Interior, they haven’t yet figured tourism. Your public servant at work. Zinke is upending a century of bipartisan a way to charge Americans for the air we breathe. But the next time Zinke’s flag is up, values as part of a Trumpian culture war. something may be in the works. When asked why the president shrank ■ national monuments in the Southwest by Timothy Egan worked for 18 years as a 2 million acres, Zinke said it was a way to writer for The New York Times, first as the strike back against “an elitist sort of hunter Pacific Northwest correspondent, then as a and fisherman.” Huh? national enterprise reporter. Could this be the same regular guy who Zinke is going after the sacred foundations of America’s much-loved public lands, brick by brick. The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual services and products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Letters must be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. Send letters to managing editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.