NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Thursday, October 11, 2018
Brown, Buehler spar in final debate before Election Day
PORTLAND
(AP)
— Distinctions emerged
between Oregon’s leading
gubernatorial candidates in
their final debate as the two
clashed on public pensions,
immigration, the state’s
housing crisis and several
other hot-button issues.
The
Oregonian/Ore-
gonLive reports that Rep.
Knute Buehler on Tuesday
sought to make the case a
Republican can lead a dis-
tinctly Democratic state,
declaring flatly he would
approve no new restrictions
on reproductive rights as
governor. He accused Dem-
ocratic Gov. Kate Brown of
being ineffectual during her
long stint in state govern-
ment, noting that Oregon
school districts are cutting
teaching positions despite
record revenue.
“The most import-
ant question facing all of
us right now is our under-
performing K-12 educa-
tion system,” Buehler said,
arguing that Oregon’s pub-
lic pension obligations are
siphoning money away
from school spending.
“Those dollars aren’t get-
ting into the classroom,”
Buehler said.
For her part, Brown
sought to undercut Bue-
hler’s credibility — attack-
ing his positions on the
environment, school spend-
ing and for courting the
vote of abortion oppo-
nents before he became the
Republican gubernatorial
nominee.
“Rep. Buehler tells some
voters one thing and other
voters another,” Brown
said. “Unfortunately, that
game won’t work tonight
because the whole state is
watching.”
Beyond the rhetoric, the
candidates took substan-
tive, divergent positions on
key topics. The candidates
returned repeatedly to the
Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian via AP
Rep. Knute Buehler, left, shakes hands with Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday at their
final debate at KGW-TV studios in southwest Portland.
state’s public pension cri-
sis, the state’s biggest fis-
cal issue. Buehler said he
wants to transition state
employees to a private-sec-
tor style, 401(k) retirement
plan and accused the gover-
nor of “pandering” to pub-
lic employee unions by
raising pay before institut-
ing broad pension reform.
While Brown said public
employees “need to have
some skin in the game,”
and pay some of their own
pension costs, she didn’t
answer a direct question of
how much they should pay.
The governor resisted the
notion of wholesale cuts,
attacking Buehler directly:
“I think it’s easy for a mil-
lionaire to say he’s going
to cut the retirements of
hard-working Oregonians.
I’m not willing to do that.”
The candidates were in
broad agreement that politi-
cal discourse must improve,
and both faulted Presi-
dent Donald Trump for his
words and actions. They
also endorsed the scientific
consensus around climate
change, though Brown
endorsed stricter rules gov-
erning carbon emissions,
while Buehler said he wants
more flexibility.
Audit: Problems cleaned up in Oregon Department of Energy
officials implemented
recommendations
made earlier by state
and private auditors
and state lawmakers.
Auditors found the Energy
Department had changed
Department of Energy has
cleaned up its process,
state auditors say.
The state Audits
Division report,
released Wednesday,
assessed whether energy
By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE
Capital Bureau
SALEM — In the wake
of a scandal over the state’s
handling of energy tax
incentives, the Oregon
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
Plenty of sunshine
Plenty of sunshine
Plenty of sunshine
Plenty of sunshine
Sunshine and
patchy clouds
61° 37°
67° 37°
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
60° 31°
61° 33°
65° 36°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
64° 35°
70° 35°
65° 32°
63° 32°
OREGON FORECAST
67° 35°
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
65/45
57/35
65/35
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
62/42
Lewiston
64/36
68/43
Astoria
65/46
Pullman
Yakima 63/36
64/39
62/38
Portland
Hermiston
70/44
The Dalles 64/35
Salem
Corvallis
70/39
La Grande
Yesterday
Normals
Records
57/30
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
71/36
58/31
58/33
Ontario
63/33
Caldwell
Burns
62°
49°
68°
40°
87° (1934) 26° (1931)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
71/39
Trace
1.14"
0.17"
6.29"
7.04"
6.73"
WINDS (in mph)
61/33
57/23
0.01"
1.39"
0.31"
7.91"
12.36"
9.25"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 55/29
71/42
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
61/37
67/38
57°
46°
66°
41°
88° (1934) 24° (1916)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
63/40
Aberdeen
57/37
63/42
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
64/46
Today
74/39
Fri.
SW 3-6
NW 4-8
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
W 4-8
W 6-12
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
62/27
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
7:06 a.m.
6:17 p.m.
9:48 a.m.
8:09 p.m.
First
Full
Last
New
Oct 16
Oct 24
Oct 31
Nov 7
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 95° in McAllen, Texas Low 8° in Bodie State Park, Calif.
its operations to enact the
recommendations.
The steps ranged
from seemingly trivial
— agency officials no
longer use whiteout,
as a precaution against
document manipulation—
to more significant. For
example, the agency hired
an internal auditor to keep
tabs on agency activities.
Other state agencies can
learn something from the
Energy Department’s trials,
auditors said.
“Without reflection
on how Oregon’s various
tax credit programs may
be failing to operate as
intended, the state runs the
risk of continuing to pour
millions of dollars into
flawed projects or falling
prey to fraud and bribery
schemes,” the state Audits
Division said in its report.
Auditors cited an
example of a state tax
credit gone awry: Business
Oregon approved $12
million in state tax credits
for a wind project in Cave
Junction, despite red flags.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
The project shut down after
20 months.
The report lists what
other agencies could do
to safeguard tax incentive
programs. These include
setting up a compliance
program, monitoring
the work of accountants
attesting to projects
receiving incentive funds
and performing annual
internal audits.
At the Energy
Department, the program
offering tax incentives
to businesses to use
renewable energy started
in 1979, expanded
significantly in 2006, and
then was shut down by the
Legislature in 2014.
Two years later, auditors
detected suspicious
activity in several projects
associated with the
business energy tax credit.
Seattle energy
consultant Martin Shain
and former energy
department employee Joe
Colello subsequently were
convicted for a scheme
to profit from buying and
-10s
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
40s
ice
50s
cold front
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211
333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211
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Copyright © 2018, EO Media Group
60s
70s
80s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
high
110s
low
Wildfire costs hit record
high of $514.6 million 2018
SALEM (AP) — New data shows the
cost of fighting wildfires in Oregon reached
an all-time high $514.6 million in 2018.
According to data from Northwest
Interagency Coordination Center, Ore-
gon’s costs skyrocketed past last year’s
record-setting total of $447 million.
The Statesman Journal reports that all
totaled, Oregon had 1,880 fires that burned
846,411 acres or 1,322 square miles — an
area larger than Rhode Island.
The number of acres burned isn’t a
record, but it’s well above historic averages
and continues a trend of more extreme fire
seasons.
The most expensive wildfires were in
southwest Oregon, where a mid-July light-
ning storm ignited 160 wildfires during a
historically hot and dry summer.
The biggest conflagration was the com-
bination Klondike and Taylor Creek fires,
which burned together west of Grants Pass.
Combined, they torched 220,000 acres and
cost $128 million.
PORTLAND (AP) — A Portland woman
who says debt collectors keep showing up
at her door looking for someone she swears
she doesn’t know has filed a $400,000 law-
suit to make them stop.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports
Caitlin Kelly is suing a Portland furniture
store called Aaron’s, saying a demand let-
ter and slips of paper left at her home indi-
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BRIEFLY
Woman sues to stop debt
collectors from coming to
her door
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
selling the tax credits.
———
Reporter Claire
Withycombe:
cwithycombe@
eomediagroup.com or 503-
385-4903. Withycombe
is a reporter for the East
Oregonian working for the
Oregon Capital Bureau, a
collaboration of EO Media
Group, Pamplin Media
Group, and Salem Reporter.
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cate the store is trying to collect on a debt
owed by Steven.
The lawsuit says men from the store
have banged on her door nearly a dozen
times this year, sometimes in the early
morning hours waking her young children.
Kelly says she has called store manage-
ment to resolve the issue, but she says they
don’t believe that he doesn’t live there.
Kelly is suing only the local franchise,
NW Freedom Corp and not the national
chain to which it has ties. A representative
for the franchise declined to comment.
Police: Officers shoot
armed suspect at motel
PORTLAND (AP) — Authorities say an
armed suspect was fatally shot by police at
a motel in southeast Portland.
No one else was hurt.
Portland Police responded to the motel
Wednesday morning. The Oregonian/Ore-
gonLive reports that officers had reports of
two people fighting near the motel.
Police spokesman Sgt. Chris Burley said
arriving officers learned one of the subjects
was armed with a knife and had attempted
to stab another person. Officers learned a
man matching the suspect’s description had
entered a room and was holding a woman
hostage.
The suspect was not identified.
Corrections
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