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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 12, 2019)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian A2 Friday, April 12, 2019 Key deadline means end of the road for hundreds of bills By SARAH ZIMMERMAN Associated Press SALEM — Hundreds of proposed bills in the Ore- gon Legislature died after lawmakers pushed to move other legislative priorities in advance of a key deadline. Some of the more con- troversial measures that met any end this session included proposals on gun safety, environmental regu- lations and marijuana use. Legislators had until Tuesday to move their bills out of committee, either to the floor for a vote or to another committee for fur- ther consideration. Over a thousand bills were intro- duced since the beginning of session, and committees found themselves rushing to vote on hundreds on bills, sometimes with little to no discussion. Proposals that couldn’t get a vote are essentially doomed for this session, although there are some legislative loopholes law- makers can still use if they wanted to revive the bill later. House Speaker Tina Kotek said most of the dead bills still needed more work before they could receive a vote. She added that there were simply “too many bills” introduced this year, AP file photo This Jan. 11, 2018, file photo, shows dark clouds hovering over the Oregon Capitol in Salem. a safe, regulated space for users to consume the drug. He said that tourists often visit Oregon to purchase recreational marijuana, but find they have no place to consume it. Parents and public health officials raised concerns that cannabis cafes would nor- malize marijuana use among teens and weaken the state’s public health laws. The proposal also would have allowed for the sale and consumption of marijuana at festivals and other events, something cannabis retail- which prevented lawmakers from effectively addressing them all. Here are some of the mea- sures that were scrapped: Cannabis cafes A plan that would have paved the way for the cre- ation of cannabis lounges went up in smoke, dealing a blow to the state’s budding marijuana industry. Brandon Goldner, super- visor of Portland’s Canna- bis Program, argued that the legalization of indoor can- nabis lounges would provide SATURDAY Mostly cloudy with a shower Spotty afternoon showers 58° 40° 57° 41° SUNDAY MONDAY Mostly cloudy, a shower; breezy Mostly cloudy with a shower Mainly cloudy, a shower; cool 53° 38° 57° 39° 54° 37° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 60° 43° 58° 40° 63° 42° 59° 39° 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 56/46 52/38 64/37 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 58/45 Lewiston 59/43 64/43 Astoria 56/45 Pullman Yakima 63/39 60/42 57/41 Portland Hermiston 60/46 The Dalles 65/43 Salem Corvallis 59/41 La Grande Yesterday Normals Records 52/33 PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene Bend 60/42 54/31 51/34 Ontario 62/36 Caldwell Burns 61° 49° 64° 39° 84° (1936) 26° (1997) 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 58/41 Trace 0.21" 0.26" 3.80" 3.48" 3.37" WINDS (in mph) 59/35 53/28 0.12" 1.16" 0.48" 7.24" 4.60" 4.44" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 49/30 60/44 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 58/40 63/43 53° 44° 61° 38° 86° (1913) 17° (1927) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 60/43 Aberdeen 55/39 60/40 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 59/47 Lawmakers ditched a potential ban on the creation of new “megadairies,” an idea proposed in response to a troubled operation that TUESDAY PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 65° 43° Megadairy moratorium Today Boardman Pendleton Medford 60/40 Sat. WSW 4-8 W 6-12 WSW 7-14 WSW 7-14 SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls 54/28 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today 6:16 a.m. 7:37 p.m. 11:34 a.m. 2:24 a.m. First Full Last New Apr 12 Apr 19 Apr 26 May 4 NATIONAL EXTREMES Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 92° in Brownsville, Texas Low 0° in Antero Reservoir, Colo. NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY By TOM JAMES Associated Press OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington on April 5 became the ninth state to raise its smoking age, fol- lowing a national trend that has seen at least half a dozen Legislatures approve similar proposals in recent months. Along with restricting traditional cigarettes, the new law raises the legal age for buying e-cigarettes and other vaping products, whether they include nico- tine or not, and sets a pen- alty for selling to underage buyers. The law will take effect in January 2020. Gov. Jay Inslee signed the bill at a ceremony in Seattle, making Washington the lat- est of three states to have seen age-raise bills signed into law so far this year alone, after Virginia and Utah, and joining a growing group of states to have made the change in recent years. In remarks before the signing, the bill’s spon- sor called it an effort to attack a last avenue for cig- arettes into schools — via Portland man pleads guilty in marijuana trafficking SALEM (AP) — Federal prosecutors say they grew marijuana in Oregon, transported it to Texas and Virginia, and received cash payments through the mail and in luggage on commercial flights. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Portland said Paul Eugene Thomas, 38, of Portland, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of conspiring to manufacture, possess with intent to distrib- ute, and distribute marijuana and maintain- ing drug involved premises, and one count of money laundering. Federal authorities seized 11,000 mari- juana plants, 546 pounds of processed mari- juana, more than $2.8 million in cash, 26 vehi- cles, trailers, a yacht, and three houses used as marijuana grow sites since August 2017. Thomas faces a maximum of 40 years in prison when he is sentenced on Aug. 6. SALEM (AP) — Plastic straws could be off the menu under a measure making its way through the Oregon Legislature. The Oregon Senate voted 23-6 on Thursday to prohibit restaurants from providing single-use plastic straws unless a customer asks. Drive-thrus could still be Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. -0s 0s showers t-storms 10s rain 20s flurries 30s snow 40s 50s ice Two radically different approaches to gun safety were scrapped as lawmakers decided to forge ahead with another approach to tackle the topic. One plan would have enabled school districts to offer firearm safety courses to first graders. The course wouldn’t use any real fire- arms or live ammunition but would instead teach children what to do when encounter- ing an unsecured firearm, among other things. A sweeping gun con- trol package proposed by a youth-led gun reform orga- nization was also rejected. Students for Change, a local youth-led group, formed after the deadly shoot- ing a Parkland, Florida. The measure, introduced by the Oregon-based Stu- dents for Change, would limit the amount of ammo a person could buy, outlaw high-capacity magazines and require state residents to obtain gun permits before purchasing firearms. Lawmakers are consid- ering another gun reform package that includes some elements of the stu- dent-driven proposal, such as firearm storage require- ments and lengthened back- ground checks. 60s cold front E AST O REGONIAN — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays EastOregonian.com To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to EastOregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday and postal holidays, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Copyright © 2019, EO Media Group 70s 80s 90s 100s warm front stationary front 110s high low SUBSCRIPTION RATES Local home delivery Savings (cover price) $13/month 60 percent $173.67 41 percent $91.86 38 percent $47.77 36 percent *EZ Pay = one-year rate with a monthly credit or debit card/check charge Single copy price: $1.50 Tuesday through Saturday Circulation Manager: Bonny Tuller, 541-966-0828 able to offer straws. Sen. Michael Dembrow, a Democrat from Portland, said that single-use plastics may be convenient, but they carry long-term environ- mental costs. Oregon would become the second in the nation after California to enact such a mea- sure. Cities — including Seattle, New York City, and Portland — have also moved to ban plastic straws. The proposal now goes to the House for consideration. Lane County selects new sheriff EUGENE (AP) — The Lane County Board of Commissioners has voted to appoint Cliff Harrold as the next Lane County Sheriff. The Register-Guard reports the board on Wednesday chose the county’s new sher- iff in a little over a week after Byron Trapp announced April 2 that he was leaving in the middle of his term. The position of sheriff will be held by Harrold through 2020, at which time voters will have an opportunity to vote for their next sheriff. Harrold will officially become the sheriff at noon Tuesday, Trapp’s last day. Harrold will oversee the sheriff’s office’s approximately 300 employees, including 214 sworn deputies and more than 350 volunteers, and its budget of $63.7 million this fiscal year. The salary for the Lane County Sheriff is set at $148,029.64. Harrold was hired as a deputy in 1995. CORRECTIONS: The April 5 article “Water, sewer rate increases to pay for capital projects” gave the wrong date for a groundbreaking for the city’s new water tower. It will be April 17 at noon at the corner of Punkin Center Road and Northeast 10th Street. The April 11 article “Cities worry about bill’s impact on development” gave the wrong bill number. It is House Bill 2408. The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818. Subscriber services: For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops or delivery concerns call 1-800-522-0255 ext. 1 EZPay 52 weeks 26 weeks 13 weeks 18-year-old students — and thus shrink the exposure of younger students. “I think it’ll make a significant difference for youth,” said Vancou- ver Republican Rep. Paul Harris. “We have a lot of 18-year-olds that are still in in high schools.” But while the bill had bipartisan support in the state Legislature — it drew Republican votes along with Harris’ as well as broad sup- port from Democrats — critics called it an attack on personal freedoms. BRIEFLY Oregon Senate OKs law banning straws from restaurants -10s Gun safety Washington state raises smoking age to 21 Forecast for Pendleton Area TODAY ers claimed would generate more tax revenue and tour- ism for the state. A representative for Sen. Lew Frederick, who spon- sored the measure, said the bill died “seemingly because of opposition to the use of Cannabis itself among members.” racked up hundreds of envi- ronmental violations. The measure would have prevented building per- mits for new or expanded large dairies, defined as those with more than 2,500 cows. These dairies would have also been classified as industrial operations instead of farms, which would block the operations from receiv- ing regulatory exemptions for farmers. Farmers and megadair- ies, including Tillamook, came out in full force to oppose the bill, saying it would be a blow to business at a time when dairy prices are already plummeting. The proposal was floated as a response to the shuttered Lost Valley Farm in Board- man, which was permitted to have 30,000 cows over the objections from about 4,000 residents who raised concerns over environmen- tal impacts on air and water. In less than two years, the operation was slapped with $200,000 in fines for more than 200 environmental violations. “After the Lost Valley disaster, with millions of gal- lons of animal waste still sit- ting at the site, we expected more of our elected officials in Salem,” said Amy van Saun, senior attorney for the Center for Food Safety. 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