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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 2018)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian A2 Thursday, December 13, 2018 Congress OKs bill to allow killing sea lions to help salmon PORTLAND (AP) — Congress has agreed to make it easier to kill sea lions threatening fragile runs of salmon in the Northwest. Oregon Public Broad- casting reports that a bill approved by the House Tuesday changes the Marine Mammal Protection Act to lift some of the restrictions on killing sea lions to pro- tect salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River and its tributaries. The measure had previously passed the Senate. Wildlife managers say sea lion populations have grown so large that they no longer need all the protec- tions that were put in place for them in 1972. The measure would usher in a more stream- lined process for Washing- ton, Idaho, Oregon and sev- Associated Press/Don Ryan In this April 24, 2008, file photo, a sea lion eats a salmon in the Columbia River near Bonneville Dam in North Bonneville, Wash. OPB reports that a bill approved by the House on Tuesday changes the Marine Mammal Protection Act to lift some of the restrictions on killing sea lions to protect salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River and its tributaries. The measure had previously passed the Senate. eral Pacific Northwest tribes to capture and euthanize sea lions. Sea lions deemed to be a problem are captured and euthanized. Supporters, includ- ing the governors of Ore- gon, Washington and Idaho, fishing groups and tribes, have said the bill will give wildlife managers greater flexibility in controlling California sea lions that dra- matically increased from about 30,000 in the 1960s to about 300,000 follow- ing enactment of the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act. Jaime Pinkham, execu- tive director of the Colum- bia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, said in a state- ment that he was “grateful Congress worked in a bipar- tisan manner to give us the local flexibility to protect the tribal treaty resources we share with others in the Columbia and Willamette rivers.” Critics called the move by Congress ill-conceived and say it will not solve the problem of declining salmon, which also face other problems such as hab- itat loss and dams. While there are sev- eral thousand California sea lions in the Columbia River estuary, only about 200 to 300 swim more than 100 miles upriver from the Pacific Ocean and would be eligible for removal, state wildlife officials say. An orca task force con- vened by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, also backed the legislation to boost the fish for the strug- gling population of southern resident killer whales. Bentz asks WA lawmakers to ‘convince us if you’re for real’ up the approximate $3 bil- lion Columbia River Cross- ing project. Oregon Sen. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, reminded his Washington counterparts on the panel that he put a lot of political capital in shepherding the first proj- ect through the Oregon Legislature. “I can assure you I’m By LAUREN DRAKE Oregon Public Broadcasting In the first meeting between Oregon and Wash- ington lawmakers to dis- cuss a revived replacement plan for the Interstate 5 bridge on Tuesday, Oregon legislators made it clear they aren’t over Washing- ton’s 2013 move to blow not enthusiastic about going through that process again,” Bentz said, adding he was at the meeting to listen and see if Washing- ton lawmakers “can con- vince us if you’re for real” this time. Talk of replacing the 100-year-old Interstate 5 bridge has long been one of the most divisive topics in Forecast for Pendleton Area TODAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy Intervals of clouds and sunshine An afternoon and evening shower Mostly cloudy with a little rain 53° 36° 50° 35° PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 46° 36° 52° 37° 49° 42° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 53° 33° 50° 35° 49° 36° 53° 37° 47° 39° OREGON FORECAST ALMANAC Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. Olympia 53/45 41/32 49/30 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 51/38 Lewiston 51/42 54/34 Astoria 53/46 Pullman Yakima 47/32 50/38 48/32 Portland Hermiston 52/40 Salem The Dalles 53/33 48/33 53/34 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 40/30 PRECIPITATION John Day Bend 53/35 50/32 44/32 Ontario 40/25 Caldwell Burns 50° 42° 40° 27° 62° (1933) -5° (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 Albany Eugene 0.17" 0.19" 0.62" 7.15" 8.77" 9.09" WINDS (in mph) 40/28 34/14 0.19" 0.34" 0.55" 9.21" 15.33" 12.02" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. 53/36 53/35 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 Pendleton 39/28 55/37 Corvallis 46° 40° 39° 26° 75° (1921) -23° (1919) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 52/38 Aberdeen 41/30 41/31 Tacoma Today Medford 53/32 Fri. SW 4-8 S 7-14 Boardman Pendleton WSW 6-12 SSW 8-16 SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls 44/28 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today 7:27 a.m. 4:11 p.m. 11:47 a.m. 10:21 p.m. First Full Last New Dec 15 Dec 22 Dec 29 Jan 5 NATIONAL EXTREMES Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 81° in Edinburg, Texas Low -11° in Presque Isle, Maine ing brought it up. Steve Wallace, from Vancouver, told lawmak- ers to remember his com- munity wants “lanes, not trains.” Several lawmakers brought up the idea of pur- suing more than one bridge. Oregon Rep. Richard Vial, R-Scholls, pushed the idea of a new highway west of Interstate 5 through Washington County. “It’s a missed opportu- nity if we don’t include a conversation of the need of a westside solution,” he said before the meeting. Joe Cortright, a Portland economist, told the panel one of the reasons why the first effort failed was because some of the hard decisions — how much it will cost, who will pay for it — were put off until the end. through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 52/44 spent about two decades on the project. “Do I feel like we should? Probably.” The CRC, as it became known, would have replaced the bridge, rebuilt freeway interchanges and extended light rail from Portland to Vancouver, until Washington backed out of the project. Ore- gon tried to pass a version on their own, but the effort failed in 2014. About $200 million was spent in a plan- ning process that started in 2001. One of the sticking points between the two states was mass transit. Ore- gon said the project needed light rail, while the Clark County community pushed back against the idea. Law- makers didn’t speak of pub- lic transit during their meet- ing Tuesday, but several commenters at the gather- PENDLETON TEMP. Seattle Clark County. After a group of Washington lawmak- ers torpedoed the Colum- bia River Crossing project, it’s taken years to convince their Oregon counterparts that they are committed this time. Twelve lawmakers — some from Oregon, like Bentz, and others from Washington, like Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, who was instrumental in killing the CRC — sat at a long table in a nondescript build- ing in North Portland near the Columbia River. Oregon Sen. Lee Beyer, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Committee on Business and Transporta- tion, reluctantly agreed it’s time to start addressing the bridge once again. “Do I want to spend more time on this? No,” Beyer said, noting they’ve Legislature to weigh statewide plastic bag tax, straw ban SALEM (AP) — The Oregon Legislature will consider a statewide tax on plastic bags and a ban on plastic straws. The Statesman Journal reports a Senate committee voted to introduce both legisla- tive concepts, or preliminary bills, during an informational hearing Wednesday. Both bills would help reduce plastic waste that ends up in landfills and the environment. “From our perspective, nothing we use for 10 minutes should pollute the environ- ment for hundreds of years,” said Celeste Meiffren-Swango, state director of Environ- ment Oregon. One would impose a 5 cent per bag tax on single-use plastic bags used by retail stores selling food or alcohol, and require the establishments to provide paper check- out bags. The tax wouldn’t apply to meat and vege- table bags, or other non-checkout bags. And customers who use vouchers and state bene- fit cards would be exempt. Money collected would go to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, for a new Plastic Clean-Up and Recycling Fund. Fourteen Oregon cities have banned sin- gle-use plastic bags. The Legislature previously considered banning plastic bags, in 2010, 2011 and 2012. All three bills died in committee. This is the first time a tax, rather than a ban, has been proposed. Because the bill would raise revenue, it would require a three-fifths majority approval. Another measure would prohibit restau- rants from providing single-use plastic straws to customers unless they request a straw. The proposal specifically exempts straws made from sugar cane, pasta and some other natural ingredients. Violators could be fined up to $25 per day, with a cap of $300 per year. NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Deadline looms for health care signups By KRISTIAN FODEN-VENCIL Oregon Public Broadcasting The window for Oregonians to enroll in new health insurance closes Saturday night. So far more than 73,000 people have signed up. Last year 156,105 Oregonians enrolled through HealthCare.gov. Some experts predict lower enrollment this year as the federal government cut the advertising budget. But Oregon maintained its budget and has been running plenty of ads. Elizabeth Cronin with the Oregon Mar- ketplace says there’ll be an uptick in enroll- ment as the Saturday deadline approaches. “Sometimes people are surprised that they qualify for financial assistance. Or they don’t give it a shot because they assume they make too much to qualify,” she said. A family of four, that doesn’t get cov- erage through a job, can make up to about $100,000 a year and still qualify. A study by the Kaiser Family Founda- tion found that about 20 percent of Ore- gonians are eligible for free bronze level health insurance, after factoring in a tax credit. Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. -10s -0s 0s showers t-storms 10s rain 20s flurries 30s snow 40s 50s ice 60s cold front E AST O REGONIAN — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. 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