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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 14, 2018)
WEATHER East Oregonian Page 2A REGIONAL CITIES Forecast SUNDAY TODAY MONDAY Cloudy most of the time Cloudy with a couple of showers 62° 45° 56° 39° TUESDAY Mainly cloudy, a shower; cooler Cloudy with spotty showers PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 53° 33° 58° 39° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 59° 42° 67° 46° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 51° 61° 92° (1904) 36° 39° 21° (1911) 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 0.05" 0.95" 0.55" 4.66" 6.99" 4.51" HERMISTON through 3 p.m. yesterday LOW 58° 64° 86° (1947) 0.08" 1.18" 0.32" 3.56" 5.27" 3.43" SUN AND MOON Apr 22 Bend 59/38 Burns 59/35 Full 6:12 a.m. 7:40 p.m. 5:58 a.m. 6:18 p.m. Last Apr 29 May 7 Hi 53 61 59 55 59 57 57 62 67 61 62 59 57 65 54 57 64 66 62 58 62 58 54 57 56 63 63 Lo 42 38 38 44 35 39 43 43 46 42 37 41 40 45 43 45 45 47 45 46 37 45 42 39 45 47 43 W r c c r c c sh c pc c pc c c pc r r c pc c sh c sh pc c sh c pc NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Sun. Hi 51 60 50 49 55 54 49 54 59 56 49 57 53 52 49 50 66 58 56 52 51 51 51 52 51 57 56 Lo 40 34 27 39 28 34 37 37 42 34 24 35 33 36 40 40 43 42 39 42 27 39 37 31 40 40 40 Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. W r sh r r sh sh r sh sh sh r sh sh r r r sh sh sh r r r sh sh r sh r WORLD CITIES Today Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Hi 66 85 74 62 79 53 62 78 56 89 66 Lo 40 69 53 47 50 32 48 57 40 64 62 W s pc s pc pc s t pc r pc r Sun. Hi 69 77 74 56 77 61 65 71 58 78 75 Lo 48 66 53 46 49 42 48 54 40 63 55 W s t s sh pc s pc t pc s r WINDS Boardman Pendleton Klamath Falls 62/37 REGIONAL FORECAST Coastal Oregon: Periods of rain today; arriv- ing during the afternoon in the south. Eastern and Central Oregon: Cloudy today. A shower tonight, except dry in the south. Rain tomorrow. Western Washington: Periods of rain today; arriving in the afternoon across the south. www.eastoregonian.com To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to www.eastoregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ Eastern Washington: Intervals of clouds and sun today; a shower in spots in the mountains in the morning. Cascades: Intervals of clouds and sunshine today. Mostly cloudy tonight with a bit of rain. Northern California: Mostly sunny today; an afternoon shower in the interior mountains. Today Sunday WSW 7-14 WSW 6-12 SW 6-12 SW 6-12 UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. 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 1 2 4 4 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. ©2018 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 Study: PERS better funded than most, but still short money aside to pay their PERS bills. In Oregon’s system, state and local public employers that are PERS members contribute funds. That money is invested, and the returns on those investments constitute most of the bene- fits paid out to employees. Although 2017 was a year of strong investment returns, the same volatility that can bring high returns one year can bring harsh losses the next, the study noted. Last year, the PERS board lowered its assump- tions about how much the state’s investments would earn from 7.5 percent to 7.2 percent. The study found that from 2014 to 2016, many states, including Oregon, did not contribute enough money each year to pay down the debts. “There is no one-size- fits-all solution to the pension funding shortfall and the budgetary chal- lenges facing individual states,” the analysis states, “but without new policies that commit states to fully funding retirement systems, the impact on other essential services — and the potential for unpaid pension promises — will increase.” However, Pew’s anal- ysis did not account for Oregon’s use of what’s called a rate collar, a method the state uses to stave off dramatic increases in how much employers are paying toward PERS. The study also looked at an indicator called “oper- ating cash flow ratio,” which measures the difference between money flowing out (essentially, benefit payments) and cash before investments (essentially, employer and employee contributions), divided by the level of assets at the beginning of the year. 0 0-2, Low 3-5, Moderate 6-7, High; 8-10, Very High; 11+, Extreme SUBSCRIPTION RATES Copyright © 2018, EO Media Group 2 8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m. Subscriber services: For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops or delivery concerns call 1-800-522-0255 ext. 1 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. SALEM — A new study from the Pew Charitable Trusts finds Oregon’s public pension system might be better funded than those of most other states, but is not doing enough to pay down its unfunded liabilities. The country’s state pension funds reported a $1.4 trillion deficit in 2016, up $295 billion from 2015, according to a study released Thursday by Pew’s Public Sector Retirement Systems Project. Oregon’s unfunded liability, the amount by which the system’s obliga- tions to retirees exceed what its assets can cover, is $25.3 billion. “Many state retirement systems are on an unsus- tainable course, coming up short on their investment targets and having failed to set aside enough money to fund the pension promises made to public employees,” the study states. “Even as contributions from taxpayers over the past decade doubled as a share of state revenue, the total still fell short of what is needed to improve the funding situation.” In 2016, Oregon PERS was 81 percent funded — compared to a national average of 66 percent — according to the study. An actuarial analysis released in September, though, indicates that the funded status of the state’s system, including side accounts that allow certain employers to offset payroll rates, has since declined to 75 percent. Oregon took an incre- mental step toward paying down some of the system’s unfunded liability this past legislative session. Senate Bill 1566 sets up an incentive system for public employers that set extra 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 (in mph) — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau Caldwell 64/45 Medford 65/45 PRECIPITATION Apr 15 John Day 61/42 Ontario 64/45 36° 39° 21° (1968) 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 58/45 Eugene 57/43 TEMPERATURE Yesterday Normals Records 63° 41° Spokane Wenatchee 54/42 60/43 Tacoma Moses 54/39 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 63/45 56/43 51/42 53/38 63/43 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 54/43 63/47 Lewiston 67/47 Astoria 63/47 53/42 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 58/46 Pendleton 57/39 The Dalles 67/46 62/45 64/47 La Grande Salem 59/41 58/45 Corvallis 57/43 HIGH 59° 36° Seattle 54/42 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 57° 42° Today WEDNESDAY Clouds and sun, a shower; breezy 51° 38° Saturday, April 14, 2018 Single copy price: $1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday -10s -0s 0s showers t-storms 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: A storm will continue to bring everything from blizzard conditions to snow, ice and rain on its northern tier and severe weather in its warm southern sector today. Spotty rain will affect the Northwest. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 105° in Laredo, Texas Low 8° in Tuolumne Meadows, Calif. 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 62 83 67 82 56 79 62 52 81 83 39 58 64 54 43 70 37 37 82 68 70 84 49 78 63 83 Lo 39 62 45 60 34 48 46 31 65 63 34 37 38 30 32 46 14 22 74 43 53 66 27 59 36 57 W s pc s s pc t c c pc pc r r s pc r s s pc sh s t pc c s pc s Sun. Hi 71 63 48 63 61 62 68 36 81 71 40 64 66 62 50 81 40 39 83 68 54 82 36 84 54 75 Lo 46 42 47 51 36 38 42 32 50 44 29 41 45 36 37 54 18 22 73 46 32 50 25 63 33 54 Today W s t sh t s c c r t t sh t s s r s s s sh s sh t c pc pc pc 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 72 68 87 38 29 73 76 80 48 38 83 82 45 60 81 30 71 76 69 61 79 66 54 79 82 38 Lo 57 42 77 31 23 48 49 42 29 22 48 59 25 34 64 13 46 50 41 45 59 52 42 49 64 24 W t t sh r sn t t pc pc sn s s r pc pc s s s sh s s s r s s c Sun. Hi 58 52 87 38 32 57 63 45 60 34 49 91 33 41 81 34 66 67 45 72 72 62 54 90 68 50 Lo 38 35 68 29 22 38 46 41 32 22 44 64 30 36 53 20 36 44 31 54 58 48 42 57 53 24 W c c pc c sn c s r s sn sh pc sn r t s r r sh c pc r r s t 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 Services: Grace Bubar 541-276-2214 • gbubar@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 Circulation Manager: Marcy Rosenberg • 541-966-0828 • mrosenberg@eastoregonian.com 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 or 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 sports or outdoors information or tips: 541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com Business Office Manager: Janna Heimgartner 541-966-0822 • jheimgartner@eastoregonian.com COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Mike Jensen 541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com Brown wants assurances for Oregon’s marijuana industry By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown wants President Donald J. Trump to assure her that Oregon’s legal cannabis industry is safe from federal prosecution. President Donald J. Trump reportedly made a deal this week with a Colorado senator to protect the legal cannabis industry there, but it’s not clear whether it extends to Oregon. The president told Republican Sen. Cory Gardner that he would support “a federalism-based legislative solution to fix this state’s rights issue once and for all,” according to Gardner’s office. In return, Gardner promised to stop blocking the White House’s DOJ nominees. There’s long been disso- nance between federal drug laws and those of states that have legalized marijuana, but the January withdrawal of previous Justice Depart- ment guidance on the issue — known as the Cole memo — has prompted more uncertainty around the issue in recent months. That guidance from the Obama administration set out guidelines for federal prosecutors in states that had legalized marijuana to focus their resources on larger-scale concerns such as trafficking as long as states met certain conditions regarding their regulation of the industry. Attorney General Jeff Session rescinded the Cole memo in February, giving federal prosecutors discretion in pursuing drug cases. According to Garner, the president said that the rescission of the Cole memo “will not impact Colorado’s legal marijuana industry.” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during a press conference Friday that Gardner’s statement was “accurate” and that Trump was a “firm believer” in states’ rights. The White House press office did not respond to a request for clarification on the matter late Friday. Brown, a Democrat who has been vocal in her oppo- sition to many of the Trump administration’s policies, said in a written statement Friday that she would “appreciate” assurances from the president. “We have not had similar negotiations, but would appreciate President Trump extending his assurances to all states that he respects their rights to decide how to approach this issue, not just to Colorado,” Brown said. “I remain committed to keeping cannabis in the state of Oregon, but out of the hands of children, while protecting the will of Oregonian voters, who overwhelmingly support the legal cannabis industry and the jobs it creates.” Members of Oregon’s congressional delegation took to Twitter on Friday to call for addressing the issue in Congress, including Democratic U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden. “The federal government must respect the decision Oregonians made at the polls,” Wyden wrote on Twitter. “I’m going to keep fighting to protect Oregon’s legal marijuana program and pushing for national reform.” Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press President Donald J. Trump reportedly made a deal this week with a Colorado senator to protect the legal cannabis industry there, but it’s not clear whether it extends to Oregon. Great things are happening! EOU Men’s track & meld 4x400 relay team took mrst at a conference meet with a 3:27.18 mnish CONNECTED IS Our student Chemistry Club received national recognition from the American Chemical Society for outstanding community engagement EOU’s Fire Service Administration degree is ranked as one of the top programs in the country! For more information visit eou.edu/connected Corrections 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.