NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Linthicum lit up after blaming tobacco taxes for black man’s death
State senator
stands behind ‘I
Can’t Breathe’
news release
arrested him for selling loose
cigarettes. Garner died.
The death incited national
unrest and was viewed as
an instance of police brutal-
ity against black men. Pro-
testers began carrying “I
can’t breathe” signs in ral-
lies around the country. Sev-
eral NBA players, includ-
ing LeBron James, wore
black T-shirts with “I can’t
breathe” emblazoned across
the front.
No officer was indicted,
but nearly a year later the
city settled with Garner’s
family, paying $5.9 million.
Linthicum used those
famous words last week not
to protest police actions but
to escalate his fight against
a proposed increase in ciga-
rette taxes. Gov. Kate Brown
and the Oregon Health
Authority are proposing
to increase the tax by $2
per pack of cigarettes. Last
week, legislation was moved
from the House Committee
on Health Care to the House
Committee on Revenue with
no recommendation on how
to proceed.
In his Feb. 7 release, Lin-
thicum argued that Garner
died because high tobacco
taxes created a black market
for cigarettes. He reasoned
that if the taxes weren’t as
high, Garner wouldn’t have
been out on the street corner
selling cigarettes.
“The partisan super-
By AUBREY WIEBER
and PARIS ACHEN
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — State Sen.
Dennis Linthicum, R-Klam-
ath Falls, finds himself
alone on a political island
this week after being pub-
licly rebuked by fellow leg-
islators for an inflammatory
statement about a police
killing.
Republicans and Demo-
crats alike condemned him
for a news release he sent
out criticizing a proposed
tobacco tax increase by
referring to the 2014 death
of a black man in police
custody.
Linthicum didn’t respond
to interview requests or
written questions about the
controversial news release.
On Monday as he left a
committee hearing, he told
Salem Reporter he wouldn’t
comment beyond his release.
“I think my statement
was clear,” he said in refer-
ence to his release titled “I
CANT BREATHE.”
Those were the dying
words of Eric Garner as
police wrestled him to the
ground in New York and put
him in a chokehold as they
AP Photo/Andrew Selsky
Oregon state Sen. Dennis Linthicum, R-Klamath Falls, poses
in his office in the Oregon Capitol in Salem on Friday.
majority is ramming their
tobacco tax — and billions
in other tax hikes —through
the Legislature, and I find it
disturbing,” Linthicum said
in the release. “Eric Garner’s
death shows us exactly how
disproportionate and abusive
state power can become.”
His spokesman, Jona-
than Lockwood, clarified
on Monday that Linthicum
also believes police brutal-
ity lead to Garner’s death.
House Democrats, who
received the news release
minutes before a floor ses-
sion Thursday, character-
ized the message as trivial-
izing a man’s death. State
Rep. Jennifer Williamson,
D-Portland, condemned the
language in a floor speech.
TODAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
Snow; storm total
3-6"
A little afternoon
snow
Mostly cloudy and
chilly
A bit of snow and
rain at times
Mostly cloudy and
cold
35° 27°
31° 28°
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
30° 18°
37° 23°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
36° 27°
32° 28°
41° 24°
33° 15°
37° 25°
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
42/30
34/25
36/23
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
36/27
Lewiston
43/31
35/26
Astoria
44/31
Pullman
Yakima 33/19
40/26
40/29
Portland
Hermiston
45/34
The Dalles 36/27
Salem
Corvallis
43/36
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
39/31
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
43/37
40/31
41/36
Ontario
41/35
Caldwell
Burns
47°
21°
47°
29°
68° (2011) -15° (1929)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
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Albany
45/37
0.01"
0.94"
0.42"
2.47"
1.24"
1.70"
WINDS (in mph)
40/35
36/31
0.01"
1.25"
0.52"
3.32"
1.85"
1.90"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 38/26
45/35
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
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Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
35/27
37/31
43°
34°
46°
29°
68° (1977) -10° (1929)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
41/25
Aberdeen
31/16
30/20
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
41/30
Today
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
46/40
Thu.
N 3-6
WNW 4-8
NNE 6-12
NNW 6-12
SALEM (AP) — Law-
makers in the Oregon Senate
approved a bill Tuesday that
aims to protect home rent-
ers amid a statewide hous-
ing crisis, with the measure
restricting landlords from
terminating a tenancy and
from imposing large rent
increases.
The bill passed Tues-
day with 17 in favor and 11
opposed. It now goes to the
House.
Sen. Tim Knopp, a
Republican from Bend,
said before he voted against
the measure that it doesn’t
address the supply issue.
Oregon has a serious short-
age of affordable housing.
But in testimony for a
recent hearing on the bill,
Bend resident Eric Lint said
it is needed because rents
are skyrocketing, causing
multiple impacts.
He said the medical lab
where he works is chron-
ically understaffed, with
39/34
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
7:01 a.m.
5:18 p.m.
11:25 a.m.
1:25 a.m.
Full
Last
New
First
Feb 19
Feb 26
Mar 6
Mar 14
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 88° in Immokalee, Fla. Low -28° in Havre, Mont.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
0s
showers t-storms
ancy if the tenant receives
three lease violation warn-
ings within 12 months and
the landlord gives 90 days’
notice.
Sen.
Jeff
Golden,
D-Rogue Valley, told fel-
low senators before he voted
yes that the alternative to the
bill is to say: “Sorry Oregon
renters, you’re on your own.”
The Oregon Rental
Housing Association, which
describes itself as the only
state association whose
focus is the smaller rental
owner/operator, has a neu-
tral position on the bill.
“After reviewing this bill,
I believe most landlords will
be able to adapt and operate
within the parameters,” said
Jim Straub, the rental asso-
ciation’s legislative director.
He said in written testimony
the proposed law protects
good tenants while not
encouraging landlords to
leave the business and invest
their money elsewhere.
BridgePort is latest craft brewery to close
PORTLAND (AP) —
BridgePort Brewery, one of
Oregon’s oldest craft brew-
eries and a pioneer in the
craft beer industry, will stop
making its beers immedi-
ately and close its brew pub
next month, it said in a Face-
book post Tuesday.
The Portland institu-
tion said a continued drop
in sales and distribution is
forcing BridgePort to close
for good. Its flagship brew
pub will remain open until
March 10.
The
hypercompetitive
craft brewery industry in
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
40s
50s
ice
60s
cold front
E AST O REGONIAN
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70s
80s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
the following year allowed
breweries to sell their beer
over the bar in the same
place they brewed it, spark-
ing a craft beer explosion in
the state and making Ore-
gon famous for its innova-
tive and high-quality craft
beer scene.
BridgePort is the latest
in a string of Portland-area
breweries to shut down in
the past year, the Oregonian/
OregonLive reported. Those
businesses cited changing
demographics, stiff compe-
tition and changing tastes as
reasons for their closures.
high
low
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52 weeks
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Oregon and throughout
the Pacific Northwest is to
blame, the company said.
“We would also like to
thank ... our BridgePort
drinkers, pub customers,
and fans ... for your loyal
support over the past 35
years. We invite you to stop
by the pub for one last pint
before we close next month,”
the statement read. “We
would love to host you and
reminisce one last time.”
BridgePort was one of
four initial craft brewer-
ies incorporated in Oregon
in 1984. State legislation
CORRECTIONS
The Feb. 12 article “Lodge gets new life” misstated The Lodge’s address. It’s 14 S.E.
Third Street.
The Feb. 8 article “PHS to build a greenhouse” attributed the wrong title for Curt
Thompson. Thompson is assistant principal.
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-0s
potential hires citing a
lack of affordable hous-
ing in Bend, a town that
has attracted droves of out-
door enthusiasts, retirees
and entrepreneurs, causing
a population boom.
Lint’s hourly pay has
risen 8 percent over five
years. Meanwhile, his rent
has increased 66 percent.
He plans to move away in
the fall.
The bill prohibits land-
lords
from
terminat-
ing month-to-month ten-
ancy without cause after
12 months of occupancy. It
also limits maximum rent
increases to once per year,
and to 7 percent above the
annual change in the con-
sumer price index.
It also allows landlords to
terminate tenancy with 90
days written notice and pay-
ment of one month’s rent,
with exemptions in some
cases. A landlord can refuse
to renew a fixed term ten-
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
-10s
ters, R-Salem, said in a joint
statement. “Using the death
of a human being to make
a policy statement is offen-
sive and serves no purpose.
We are deeply saddened by
the death of Mr. Garner,
and would like to apolo-
gize for any additional pain
or suffering this may have
caused.”
Senate President Peter
Courtney also denounced
Linthicum’s
statements.
Courtney’s staff did not
immediately respond to
a question about whether
Linthicum’s
committee
appointments could be in
jeopardy.
On Friday evening, Lin-
thicum’s office doubled
down on his message.
“The attempt to shut
down an honest conversa-
tion about the disastrous
impacts of flawed public
policy and abusive power of
the state is doing a disser-
vice to Oregonians, espe-
cially for the people who are
disproportionately harmed
by the nexus between the
two,” Linthicum said in a
statement defending the idea
that taxes caused Garner’s
death. “I am welcoming a
rational conversation about
tax policy, and the tragedies
like Eric Garner’s needless
death because we need to fix
a broken system in our state
that is hurting underprivi-
leged communities.”
Bill aimed at protecting
renters passes state Senate
Forecast for Pendleton Area
40° 24°
“I just want to share my
feelings about how inappro-
priate this is, how upset I am
by this and to register my
disgust,” she said.
“The invocation of Eric
Garner’s tragic death for
a press release on taxes is
completely abhorrent,” Wil-
liamson said in a later state-
ment. “Unequivocally, Eric
Garner did not die because
tobacco taxes are too high in
New York. He died because
law enforcement officials
engaged in an act of brutal-
ity against a black man and
then watched him die on a
sidewalk as a direct result of
their actions.”
She called Linthicum’s
press release a “low point”
and that he “owes everyone
an apology and explanation.”
House
Republicans
reacted as well.
“No purpose is served
in relating a cigarette tax
request to the tragic death of
a man of color,” spokesman
Greg Stiles said in the state-
ment on behalf of Repub-
lican representatives. “At
best, the remarks are unsa-
vory and offensive. Such a
comparison is indefensible
and has no place in Oregon
political discourse.”
The House Republi-
cans called on Linthicum
to answer questions about
the remarks, disagreeing
with the assertion that taxes
caused Garner’s death.
On Friday, 24 House
Democrats wrote Lin-
thicum, condemning his
release and asking for his
apology. The release noted
the Legislature is working to
improve its workplace cul-
ture in wake of allegations
of sexual harassment. Lin-
thicum’s comments show
there is more work to do, the
release said.
Then his own leadership
came for him.
“Senator
Linthicum’s
recent rhetoric has no place
in Oregon politics, and does
not reflect the opinions or
beliefs of the Oregon Sen-
ate Republicans,” Sen-
ate Minority Leader Her-
man Baertschiger, R-Grants
Pass, and Sen. Jackie Win-
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