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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 25, 2019)
A8 OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian Tuesday, June 25, 2019 Climate: GOP Senate strike in Oregon enters 5th day Continued from Page A1 The legislation would dramatically reduce green- house gases in Oregon by 2050 by capping carbon emissions, and then requir- ing businesses to buy or trade for an ever-dwin- dling pool of pollution “allowances.” Democrats say the pro- gram, which would be the be the second of its kind after California, is critical to make Oregon a leader in the fight against climate change and will ultimately cre- ate jobs and transform the state’s economy. Opponents, including the struggling log- ging industry, say it will kill jobs, raise the cost of fuel and gut small businesses in rural parts of the state. The walkout attracted national attention after a tumultuous weekend that began with Senate President Peter Courtney ordering the Capitol closed because of a “possible militia threat” from far-right groups, who threatened to join a peace- ful protest organized by local Republicans. One of those groups, the Oregon Three Percenters, joined an armed takeover of the Mal- heur National Wildlife Ref- uge in 2016. The threat, however, never materialized and fewer than 100 people showed up. Democrats have an 18 to 11 majority, but need 20 members to conduct busi- ness under state law. Negotiations remain between Senate Republican leaders and the Senate pres- ident, the governor’s office confirmed. Sen. Herman Baertschiger, the minority leader, said in a statement that he has remained in con- tact with Senate leadership, but that “no deal with the Democrats has been made.” The discussion has quickly morphed into some- thing far beyond a discus- sion on climate change. Sen. Michael Dembrow, the lawmaker behind the climate bill, said Republi- cans have used language that’s “irresponsible and dangerous.” He referenced comments from Sen. Brian Boquist, who threatened state police to “send bach- elors and come heavily armed” when troopers come to bring him back to the Oregon Capitol. Boquist’s comments caught the atten- tion of the Oregon Three Percenters, who offered safe passage to senators on the run over social media. “I’m really worried that this particular bill is being used to stir up the worst sen- timents, the most dangerous sentiments we can imagine,” said Dembrow, adding that he hopes Republicans “can find a way to reject this path that Sen. Boquist has taken them on and come back to do the people’s business.” Boquist’s comments came under heavy media scrutiny and drew a rare rebuke from both the Senate president and Speaker of the House, who are both Dem- ocrats. No Republican sen- ator has publicly spoken out against Boquist’s comments or the threat of violence over the weekend. The Oregon GOP, responding to the state- house closure, sarcastically tweeted a picture of peace- ful protesters and joked that the rally-goers were a “heavily armed militia” lay- ing siege upon the Capitol while “Senate Democrats cower in fear.” The tweet was widely spread and misinterpreted, even garnering a response from national politicians including U.S. Rep Alexan- dria Ocasio-Cortez, a Dem- ocrat from New York, who offered to help Republicans “find a therapist.” Wildhorse: Arcade, food court, 24-lane bowling alley are coming Continued from Page A1 the Pendleton area and one of the biggest in Umatilla County. But the expansion’s orig- inal vision was even more ambitious. When Wildhorse announced its $85 mil- lion expansion in 2017, it included a four-screen addi- tion to the cineplex, a park- ing garage, an outdoor arena, and a 32-lane bowling alley. But project setbacks forced Willdhorse to either shrink the scope of some features or nix them entirely. Wildhorse announced in December that it was scal- ing down the project to keep it within the budget as the price of steel surged. Additionally, Lydig reported that a widespread shortage of contractors made them more expensive due to their high demand. But even as Wildhorse has dealt with some obsta- cles, its expansion continues in other ways. Already in the midst of renovating its own golf course, the CTUIR announced in May that it had purchased the Pendle- ton Country Club course. Located south of Pendleton, the course will be operated by Wildhorse staff. With construction com- mencing in the area around the cineplex, George said the bowling alley, movie theater improvements, arcade, and entertainment center have an estimated completion date of August or Septem- ber 2020. With work starting rel- atively late in construction season, George is hopeful that they will have the con- tractors they need to get the project done. The expected comple- tion of the hotel addition has been pushed out to 2021. Suspensions: Federal judge dismisses lawsuit from locals Continued from Page A1 state has suspended the licenses for as many as 10 percent of Oregonians, or more than 300,000 people.” About 13 percent of the state’s population — more than 536,000 people — live below the poverty line, the law center asserted, and the suspensions land the hardest on those without the ability to pay, yet the DMV does not take that into account when yanking driving priv- ileges. That amounts to vio- lating constitutional rights due to prices and equal pro- tection, according to the complaint. “The DMV should refrain from suspending the driver’s licenses of low-in- come individuals who can- not afford to pay their traffic debt,” the pleading asserted, and “implement an abil- ity-to-pay determination process that comports with due process and equal pro- tection prior to suspending driver licenses for failure to pay traffic debt, and provide subsequent opportunities to lift suspensions because of indigence.” The lawsuit named key transportation officials as defendants: Matthew Gar- rett, director of the Oregon Department of Transporta- tion; Tammy Baney, chair of the Oregon Transportation Commission; Sean O’Hol- laren, Bob Van Brock- lin and Martin Callery, all members of the transporta- tion commission; and Tom McClellan, administrator of Driver and Motor Vehicles Division, which is under ODOT’s roof. Ganuelas in a declaration to the court stated her driv- ing trouble started in 2012 when she was not able to pay the Pendleton Municipal Court $150 for failure to dis- play plates. The court noti- fied the DMV, which sus- pended her license. She received several cita- tions for driving while sus- pended and in July 2018 lost her bartending job, where she earned about $400 a week in wages and tips, because of transportation difficulties. The loss of her driving privileges makes it hard to find new work and affects her daughter, who has been unable to partici- pate in youth sports because of unreliable transportation. Ganuelas stated she owes more than $750 to three courts, according to the statement, but she cannot afford to pay the debts, and no one at the DMV asked about her ability to pay fines. Heath in her declaration stated she lost her license in 1995 after missing court for an out-of-state ticket. That led to suspensions for fail- ure to pay fines. That debt has expired, but she told the court she lives on a fixed income and cannot pay the $149 fee to reinstate her license. The East Oregonian was not able to contact Ganu- elas or Heath, and a lawyer for the Oregon Law Center did not return a call before deadline. The Oregon Law Center also asked the federal court for an injunction to com- pel the state to remove the suspensions on the plain- tiffs’ driver’s licenses for nonpayment of traffic debt and waive reinstatement and issuance fees. The cen- ter also asked the court to ensure Oregon does not sus- pend the plaintiffs’ licenses again for failure to pay traffic debt “unless and until plaintiffs have had the opportunity to demon- strate their inability to pay … through a procedure that comports with due process.” United States District Judge Marco A. Hernandez in a December ruling denied the injunction in a 63-page ruling, concluding: “I rec- ognize that Plaintiffs’ eco- nomic situations are mar- ginal and the loss of their driver’s licenses for their inability to pay their traffic debt burdens their lives with little chance that the state will actually collect full payment. Nonetheless, their predicaments, as desperate as they may be, do not raise constitutional claims.” The state in March asked the judge to dismiss the case in a 42-page motion, argu- ing among other points the pleading failed to state a claim. That is, while the allegations are true, they do not establish a cause for legal action. Hernandez on May 16 sided with the state and dis- missed the case once and for all. He cited in part the injunction ruling and stated Oregon provides traffic debtors ways to address the debt. “Given the nature of the right at issue,” the judge concluded, “the low risk of erroneous deprivation, and the strong interest in enforc- ing traffic fines, the Ore- gon statutes comport with procedural due process requirements.” The Oregon Law Cen- ter on June 13 filed a notice of appeal. Staff photo by E.J. Harris Intern Anya Nelson places a metal band on the leg of a juvenile burrowing owl Wednesday outside of Hermiston. Hoot: Expert makes annual trek to Depot Continued from Page A1 back inside. Johnson broke apart a pel- let to see what the owls were eating and saw evidence of darkling beetles and other insects. Usually this time of year, they would be eating grasshoppers, but the snow pushed everything back and those insects are slow in arriving this year. That’s one reason 30 percent of the nests failed this season, he said, in the second worst year since the burrow program started. Over the years, research- ers and volunteers banded more than 1,600 owls and placed geolocators on many. Capturing the adults takes ingenuity. The females are lured into traps by the call of young birds on an MP3 player. The males are drawn into dirt-covered traps inserted at the entrance to their burrows. “To attract males, we play the call of a pesky, under- weight male. We appeal to their male pride,” Nelson said. “They strut around a while and then go in.” Johnson was able to dis- cover where the owls migrate in the winter. The results sur- prised him. The females, as expected, migrated south. The males, however, flew north to Eastern Washing- ton. Johnson theorized that they want to stay close in order to return to the nest- ing area first to reclaim their burrows. One experiment involved the pipe used to create a tun- nel connecting the burrow entrance to the chamber. They outfitted some burrows with 4-inch pipe and others with 6-inch. He found the owls nested more in the four- inch burrows, but lost more babies. “With the 4-inch pipe, predators could pick the chicks off easier,” he said. “With 6-inch, the chicks run into the tunnel two abreast. With the 4-inch tunnels, little Joey on the end gets it.” He is in the midst of researching the birds’ vocalizations. In front of one of the bur- rows, Johnson picked up a spadefoot toad. The owls decorate burrow entrances with the skeletons and other artifacts, such as corn cobs, onion skins, clumps of grass, pieces of concrete, coyote scat, fabric and the occa- sional glove. Johnson will return next year to the depot. In the meantime, he won’t lack for things to do. After finishing up on Thursday in Oregon, he headed to Montana for an interview with National Geographic. He is working on an upcoming Smithso- nian exhibit on owls and he works on Global Owl Project conservation projects all over the world. He is away from his Washington, D.C., home about half the year. At the depot, Johnson hopes to eventually work himself out of the bur- row-making business. One day, he hopes, the badger population will recover and take over the job. Wherever he is, John- son will likely never lose his fascination with owls. As he drove between burrows at the depot on Wednesday, he spouted cool owl factoids with unceasing enthusiasm. “The oldest owl we know of in the fossil record is 67.3 million years old,” he said with a look of awe. “They were here at the time of the dinosaurs. The largest owl, extinct now, came from Cuba and was a little over a meter tall. The smallest is the elf owl in the desert southwest. It’s the size of a sparrow.” Johnson shook his head in wonder. This creature never gets boring, he said. “Everything about them is so fascinating.” ——— Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0810. 501 South Main Street Pendleton (541) 276-7411 Excitement on Dorion Avenue! Raffle prizes, Ambassadors & friends at Stearns Home Loans on June 13th. Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting with Linsey Kellogg + Team on June 14th. W W W . P E N D L E T O N C H A M B E R . C O M Sponsored by,