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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 14, 2018)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian A2 Friday, December 14, 2018 Courtney, Boquist spar over claims of hostility, disrespect lature itself is preparing to comply with a new law that mandates pay equity. The law takes effect Jan. 1. SALEM — Senate Pres- The Republican senator ident Peter Courtney has said he has sought public directed a Republican state records and submitted ques- senator to “cease and desist” tions to Courtney and other intimidating communica- legislators on the issue. tions with other senators and Courtney had enough last legislative employees. month. Courtney made the “Senator, in the recent demand to state Sen. Brian past, you have communi- cated with mem- Boquist, R-Dal- bers and staff in a las, in a Nov. 15 way that creates a letter obtained by hostile and intimi- the Oregon Capi- dating workplace,” tal Bureau that cited Courtney wrote. “hostile, intimidat- ing and harassing” “Your communica- tions have belittled communications. Boquist denied Sen. Brian and harassed staff. the accusation and Boquist You must imme- diately cease and responded to Court- ney this week in an email desist communicating in this asking the Senate leader to manner.” apologize. Courtney’s office didn’t In an email to other Dem- respond to a request for ocratic senators on Dec. 10, details on the conduct Boquist blasted Courtney. that triggered Courtney’s “I am sorry for the harsh- unusual rebuke. ness of this email,” Boquist Boquist has been known said, warning that he might to send long and detailed move the Senate to censure emails to colleagues, some- times copying reporters who Courtney. The Senate is scheduled cover the state legislature. to meet in Salem on Friday. Boquist said that in Sep- In an interview Wednes- tember he received what he day, Boquist said he’s been considered an inadequate trying for weeks to get response to his request for details on how the Legis- legislative documents relat- By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Oregon Capital Bureau ing to the pay equity matter. Under the new law, employ- ers are required in certain circumstances to ensure employees are paid the same for the same work. In October, Boquist said, he fired off 44 ques- tions to Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Port- land. He received a response to the questions from Court- ney’s chief of staff, Betsy Imholt. “I asked a list of ques- tions, I got a list of answers back that were frankly, non-answers and they were done in the name of Peter Courtney,” Boquist said Wednesday. “And he doesn’t like it when I called him out asking for factual answers.” On Nov. 15, according to records obtained by the news bureau, Boquist wrote to Courtney’s staff chief, referring to her as “Presi- dent Imholt” and terming her answers “nothing more than political blather.” That same day, Imholt asked Boquist by email to be more respectful while Courtney issued his cease- and-desist demand. Boquist has represented the mid-Willamette Valley in the Senate since 2009, and served in the House before that. Forecast for Pendleton Area TODAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY Mainly cloudy and windy Intervals of clouds and sunshine A brief shower in the afternoon Mostly cloudy, a shower or two Spotty showers in the afternoon 49° 35° 47° 38° PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 49° 42° 56° 44° 51° 40° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 49° 34° 49° 37° 48° 41° 58° 43° 53° 40° OREGON FORECAST 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 51/39 43/31 45/28 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 50/38 Lewiston 50/39 49/36 Astoria 52/39 Pullman Yakima 44/32 51/36 47/35 Portland Hermiston 50/39 The Dalles 49/34 Salem Corvallis 50/34 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 41/29 PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene Bend 51/35 50/28 45/28 Ontario 40/28 Caldwell Burns 51° 33° 39° 27° 62° (1995) -10° (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 49/34 Trace 0.19" 0.67" 7.15" 8.77" 9.14" WINDS (in mph) 41/30 36/21 Trace 0.34" 0.60" 9.21" 15.34" 12.07" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 42/25 52/36 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 49/35 46/35 57° 37° 39° 26° 63° (1924) -28° (1919) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 54/36 Aberdeen 43/30 37/30 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 53/41 Today 51/34 45/28 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today First 7:28 a.m. 4:11 p.m. 12:13 p.m. 11:23 p.m. Full Last New NATIONAL EXTREMES Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 86° in McAllen, Texas Low -21° in Presque Isle, Maine Dec 15 Dec 22 By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE — With sci- entists warning that the Northwest’s beloved killer whales are on the brink of extinction, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced dra- matic plans Thursday to help the population recover — including $1.1 billion in spending and a partial whale-watching ban. “We are undertaking a herculean effort to save these iconic creatures,” Ins- lee said in a prepared state- ment. “It will take action at every level of the environ- ment across our entire state.” Starved by a dearth of salmon, poisoned by con- taminants, and buffeted by vessel noise that hin- ders their hunting and com- munication, the orcas that live in the waters between Washington state and Can- ada’s Vancouver Island have failed to reproduce success- fully in the past three years. One grieving whale carried her dead calf on her head for 17 days last summer in an apparent effort to revive it. There are 74 left in the population, the lowest num- ber since the 1970s, when hundreds of orcas were cap- tured in the region and more than 50 were kept for aquar- ium display. Inslee, who is mulling a Democratic presidential run in 2020, detailed the plans as part of his announce- ment of his priorities for the 2019-2021 state budget. The money would go toward protecting and restoring habitat for salmon, espe- AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File In this Jan. 18, 2014, file photo, an endangered female orca leaps from the water while breaching in Puget Sound. cially chinook, the orcas’ favored prey; boosting pro- duction from salmon hatch- eries; storm-water cleanup; and quieting vessel traffic. Nearly $300 million would go toward comply- ing with a court order that requires the state to replace culverts that block the path of migrating salmon. Money would also sup- port developing plans to move or kill seals and sea lions that feast on Colum- bia River salmon where they get blocked by dams or other structures, and chang- ing state water quality stan- dards to allow more water to be spilled over dams, help- ing young salmon reach the ocean. Inslee called for a new capital gains tax and an increase in business taxes to help cover the tab. The governor also said he intends to ban commercial whale-watching of the local endangered orcas — known as the southern residents — for three years. He stressed that whale-watching will be allowed for other whales in Washington waters, includ- ing nonresident orcas that pass through, and that the state would undertake efforts to promote the industry to offset any lost business. Inslee said he intended to permanently double the size of the “no-go zone” for vessels around orcas to 400 yards (365 meters) and cre- ate a “go slow zone” with reduced speed limits within a half-mile (926 meters). The Department of Fish and Wildlife would get $1.1 mil- lion for public education and enforcement. His plans call for con- verting two state ferries to quieter electric hybrids and building two others as hybrids. The Arizona-based Cen- ter for Biological Diversity has sued the federal govern- ment for not doing more to protect the full range of the orcas along the West Coast. Catherine Kilduff, the group’s attorney, called Ins- lee’s plans to reduce vessel noise a good first step. But, as other environ- mentalists have done, Kilduff stressed that remov- ing four major dams along the Snake River is essential for the recovery of salmon — and thus for the whales. A federal court has already ordered the govern- ment to consider breaching the dams. ENE 3-6 SE 4-8 SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls Washington governor proposes major steps for orca recovery Sat. Boardman WSW 10-20 Pendleton SSE 12-25 Medford AP Photo/Ted S. Warren/ Washington Gov. Jay Inslee walks past a photo of an orca whale after he talked to reporters about his 2019-21 budget proposal on Thursday at the Capitol. Dec 29 Jan 5 NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Secretary of State Richardson gives update on brain cancer SALEM (AP) — Ore- gon Secretary of State Den- nis Richardson has released a video statement updating people on his treatment for a brain tumor. Richardson had announced in June the pres- ence of a “small, cancerous brain tumor.” Since then, he said Thursday that the “three most recent” MRIs show the tumor has not grown. The Statesman Journal reports Richardson said the “most challenging” effect of his treatment is its impact on his speech patterns. Richardson has been absent from public events. The Secretary of State’s office hasn’t released the specific type of cancer or his prognosis. Richardson, an attorney from southern Oregon, was elected in 2016 as Oregon’s first Republican secretary of state since 1985. Hospital: St. Anthony ends hospice care Continued from Page A1 Geller didn’t know how long St. Anthony had been offering hospice care, but he agreed that it had been a long- time service for the hospital. The hospice used to be housed in a separate facility on Southeast Court Avenue, but the service was even- tually consolidated into the main hospital building when St. Anthony built the new hospital in 2013. Cason’s Place, a non- profit grief support center, now occupies the old hospice building. The closest facilities for end-of-life care are now Good Shepherd Hospice in Hermiston and Walla Walla Community Hospice. 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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