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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 3, 2018)
BULLDOGS CAN’T STOP RIVERHAWKS A SERIES OF SNIPS REGION/3A SPORTS/1B WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2018 142nd Year, No. 238 One dollar WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD PENDLETON Airport hotel stays in holding pattern Council passes on vote to approve deal with Makad By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian When Makad Corp. orig- inally went into business with the city in 2015 to build a data center, the Vancouver, Washington company had a much easier time getting the project through the Pendle- ton City Council. After tabling the issue in August, Mayor John Turner declared at a Tuesday meet- ing that the council was postponing a decision again on a 75-room hotel proposal at the Pendleton airport after members met behind closed doors to discuss the pro- posed lease. In an interview after the meeting ended, Turner said the council had questions they wanted clarified about the incentive package and other terms of the lease. Instead of a traditional land lease, the city would collect a percentage of the hotel’s gross revenue start- ing in 2021, ranging from 0.25 percent during the first year to 2 percent starting in 2028. The city would collect revenue through this method for the first 30 years of the 50-year lease before switch- ing to a rent plan based on “fair market rental value.” In a financial analysis prepared by Makad Corp., the company anticipates the city’s revenue from the deal would grow from $5,916 in 2021 to $41,021 in 2028. City Manager Robb Corbett has estimated that a stan- dard land lease would gener- ate only $2,100 per year for the city. With the hotel set to be located in the airport’s long- range parking lot, the com- pany has also agreed to building a new parking lot. Under the terms of the agreement, Makad Corp. See HOTEL/8A 2018 GOVERNOR’S DEBATE Givens Shafer Supporters introduce write-in campaign Commissioner Givens lost primary to Shafer By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Jaime Valdez/Pamplin Media Group Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend, answers a question during Tuesday night’s debate in Portland as Gov. Kate Brown looks on. Candidates answer to teens By AUBREY WIEBER Capital Bureau PORTLAND — The most chal- lenging force facing gubernatorial candidate Knute Buehler in his first debate wasn’t incumbent Gov. Kate Brown. It was Rose Lawrence, a 15-year-old from Portland. Lawrence took the stage at her Roosevelt High School Tuesday night after several other youth ques- tioners. They each had appeared sat- isfied with the answers they received from Buehler, Brown and indepen- dent candidate Patrick Starnes. Lawrence wasn’t. She asked what the candi- dates would do to curb bullying of LGBTQ youths in schools. The can- didates answered. She asked again. Brown described being treated poorly as a bisexual woman. She talked about her “safe and secure” schools initiative, now being used as a national model. Buehler, in a divergence from how he conducted himself through the rest of the debate, used his time to largely credit the work of his Democratic opponent, saying he would continue on her progress when in office. Lawrence, part of the LGBTQ See DEBATE/8A Jaime Valdez/Pamplin Media Group Dazon Sigo of Pendleton asks a question of the gu- bernatorial candidates on Tuesday in Portland. Umatilla County Commissioner Larry Givens is not giving up on serving a fourth term. “I got some folks that are supporting a write-in campaign,” Givens said. “They approached me. This is supporter driven.” Athena Mayor John Shafer won 52.3 percent of the vote to defeat Givens in the race for position 2 on the Umatilla County Board of Commissioners. Nearly 12,000 voters cast ballots in that race, while the entire turnout for the primary was 13,310, or 31 percent. Givens, commissioner for 12 years, said Mel Keely, vice chair of the county fair board, came to him a couple of weeks ago with the idea of running a write-in campaign for the Nov. 6 election. A few more people made the same pitch soon after; Givens said he gave his blessing and the campaign is catching on in Hermiston, Pendleton and Milton-Freewater. “It comes from some folks who just are not happy with Mr. Shafer,” Givens said, but he did not specify what they might be unhappy about. The commissioner said he is not direct- ing the campaign but told the supporters where to find relevant documents from the See GIVENS/8A MEASURE 103 Grocery tax ban would amend state constitution ‘Yes’ vote prevents any future tax on food, beverages By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN East Oregonian Oregon has long been known as the no sales tax state. In November, vot- ers will decide if they want to keep it that way. Measure 103 proposes a ban on tax- ing all grocery items within the state of Oregon. The measure, introduced by grocers and marketing executives from the industry, defines groceries as “any raw or processed food or bever- age intended for human consumption.” It does not apply to alcohol, marijuana or tobacco, or non-food items like toi- letries, medicine or paper products. A “yes” vote on Measure 103 sup- ports the prohibition of any tax on groceries by state or local govern- ments, and would prevent those taxes from ever being imposed. A “no” vote opposes that prohibition, and would allow state or local governments to impose taxes on grocery items. The measure, which would amend the state constitution, would apply to any tax on food or beverages (except alcohol) that has been enacted between October of 2017 and the election. Many local grocers and market managers did not want to comment on the measure. But on the “Yes on 103” official website, several local businesses have officially endorsed the measure. Listed businesses from See MEASURE/7A EO file photo Produce manager Brandon Bradley stocks mushrooms on Thurs- day, Feb. 26, 2015, at the Walmart store in Pendleton.
