OFF PAGE ONE
Saturday, December 21, 2019
East Oregonian
A11
Fire destroys shed in Pendleton
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
An example of the store’s new reusable plastic bags sits
on a checkstand at Columbia Harvest Foods in Umatilla
on Thursday morning. Dave Meade, the store manager,
expects that the bags will retail for roughly 50 cents each,
an increase over the cost of a paper bag, but still cheaper
than many reusable bag alternatives.
Bags: Americans use
over 380 billion plastic
bags or wraps per year
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Firefighters responded to a fire in a pair of outbuildings at 71612 S.W. Lake Drive in Pendleton on Friday morning. Jim Critchley,
interim Pendleton fire chief, said that the cause of the fire was “accidental electrical” and destroyed one building and damaged
a second. Neither building was occupied at the time. Property owner Tari Smith said that she heard a pop and looked out the
window to see her shed on fire and called 911. No injuries were reported and fire crews left the scene shortly after 11:45 a.m.
Force: On 4 screens at Hermiston Cinema
Continued from Page A1
Skywalker,” on Thursday.
Locals flocked to theaters
in Pendleton and Hermiston
to get their first look at the
heavily anticipated movie.
Although she wasn’t
allowed to share attendee
numbers, Hermiston Cinema
projectionist Kristina Marin
said four screens were show-
ing “Star Wars” on Friday,
a scale reserved only for the
biggest blockbusters.
Martin said she expected
the theater to stay busy
through the Christmas
holiday.
The Wildhorse Cineplex
also showed “Star Wars” on
Thursday, and Wehrli was
among those who braved the
crowd to see it.
Wehrli has previously
written about his experience
with “Star Wars” in a 2013
blog post, where he talked
about his love for the movies
extensively.
Inspired by a young Jake
Lloyd’s portrayal of Anakin
Skywalker in 1999’s “Star
Wars: The Phantom Men-
ace,” Wehrli sent a letter to
director George Lucas asking
to be cast in the next “Star
Wars.”
Wehrli was ultimately
thwarted when his mother
refused to take him to Port-
land to find a talent agent
who would represent him,
but he got another chance
when Disney revived the
franchise in 2013 and held an
open casting call.
He sent in an audition tape
Lucasfilm Photo
This image released by Disney/Lucasfilm shows, from left,
Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca, Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron,
Daisy Ridley as Rey and John Boyega as Finn in a scene from
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.”
and never heard back, but he
remained a “Star Wars” fan
nevertheless.
Other adult fans who went
to “Star Wars” on opening
night brought their own sense
of nostalgia to the theater.
Peter Walters of Pendle-
ton remembers watching the
original “Star Wars” trilogy
on TV for the first time as a
10-year-old in the 1990s.
“I had never seen anything
like that before,” he said.
As he grew older, Walters
and his friends would dive
deeper into the “Star Wars”
mythos, learning the names
and backstories of characters
that only got the briefest of
screen time in the movies.
For Micheal Ruiz of
Hermiston, it was an inter-
generational affair — he
learned to love “Star Wars”
from his dad and the VHS
tapes he kept of the movies.
And regardless of the ups
and downs of the franchise,
locals keep coming back in
droves for the opening nights
of each new addition.
Werhli said he grew up in
Ione, meaning trying to make
it to Hermiston for the open-
ing nights of the prequel tril-
ogy wasn’t practical.
But when “Star Wars: The
Force Awakens” debuted in
2015, he started going to the
opening nights, figuring it to
be the best approximation of
a big Hollywood premiere.
He bought a Darth Vader
costume on Amazon and
started wearing it to opening
nights. He said the costume
has been a big hit each time
he shows it off.
Ruiz said he loves the
energy of an opening night
and listening to all the fan
theories.
“You don’t even know
who you’re talking to, but
you can have an interesting
conversation,” he said.
This was also the first
time Ruiz could take his
7-year-old son, Khalen, to a
“Star Wars” movie opening
night.
They spent the months
leading up to “The Rise of
Skywalker” watching all the
preceding movies and the
spinoff series. Ruiz enjoyed
watching his son growing
to love the series around the
same age he did.
Walters has been to nearly
every “Star Wars” open-
ing night since 1999, except
for 2005’s “Revenge of the
Sith,” which he was able to
see the night before thanks
to a friend who worked at
the now-defunct Pendleton
Cinema.
Going into “The Rise of
Skywalker,” Walters knew
the reaction to the film would
be polarizing, but he ended
up enjoying it.
He especially liked the
score from composer John
Williams, who has assem-
bled the scores for all nine
movies.
“That guy knows his way
around a leitmotif,” he said.
Ruiz said he and his son
also enjoyed the movie, his
son so excited by the end
that he wanted to go home
and play a “Star Wars” video
game.
Wehrli ran the gamut of
emotions throughout the film,
and was so excited after the
movie that he couldn’t sleep
for the rest of the evening.
“I thought it was extremely
mind-blowing,” he said.
Wehrli has heard about
some spinoffs in the works,
but he doesn’t expect more
mainline “Star Wars” movies
in the near future.
But he also isn’t ruling out
the film franchise’s capacity
to surprise him.
Energy: Proposed ballot measures aimed at
moving Oregon toward carbon-free electricity
Continued from Page A1
executive director of the
group Renew Oregon, which
is backing the rejected clean
energy measures. “The secre-
tary of state is siding with the
oil industry, corporate pollut-
ers and anti-worker special
interests to block the ability
of the voters to decide their
clean air future.”
The two proposals Clarno
rejected Thursday, initiative
petitions 48 and 49, are seen
as a backstop Renew Ore-
gon and its allies can turn to if
Oregon lawmakers fail to reg-
ulate greenhouse gas emis-
sions next year.
If passed by voters, the
measures would require Ore-
gon to source all of its elec-
tricity from carbon-free or
renewable energy sources
by 2045. That’s a standard
Hawaii and at least six other
states have adopted since
2015.
But the petitions also
include a number of provi-
sions that opponents argue
make them too broad. Both
IP 48 and 49 require con-
struction projects related to
the new standards pay a pre-
vailing wage, offer bene-
fits and meet a number of
other benchmarks. IP 49 also
requires electric utilities to
invest in “beneficial electri-
fication programs” that help
the state meet its emissions
reduction goals.
In comments on the pro-
posals, opponents Willis Van
Dusen and Janet Steele said
they “include extensive new
labor practice requirements
likely appealing to mem-
bers of the proponents’ vot-
ing coalition who otherwise
might not support the mea-
sure.” The provisions violate
a constitutional requirement
that initiative petitions deal
with “one subject only,” they
argued.
Clarno evidently agreed,
though Vial would not give
specifics about her decision.
The rulings mark the sec-
ond time Clarno has tossed
initiative petitions based on
her reading of Oregon’s “sin-
gle subject” requirement.
When she rejected the
three forest-related propos-
als in September, the decision
was questioned by both envi-
ronmentalists and Attorney
General Ellen Rosenblum,
who made clear she didn’t
agree with Clarno’s strict
interpretation of the law.
However, when the group
Oregon Wild challenged the
decision, a Marion County
judge ruled that Clarno was
correct. That ruling is being
appealed, and attorneys
for the Oregon Legislative
Assembly say it could have
major implications for Ore-
gon’s legislative process if
upheld.
It’s unclear whether Rosen-
blum’s office agreed with
Clarno’s rationale for tossing
the clean energy proposals.
Vial declined to say Thurs-
day what advice the secre-
tary had received from the
state Department of Justice,
though he said DOJ attorneys
“discussed the matter” with
her prior to the decision.
Renew Oregon and its
allies were unsparing in their
criticism of Clarno’s ruling
Thursday, issuing a lengthy
release in response.
“Until this election cycle,
the single subject rule has
rarely, if ever, been used to
reject a proposed initiative,”
ballot measure attorney Mar-
garet Olney said in the release.
“By ignoring the analysis of
the Attorney General, Leg-
islative Counsel, the Oregon
Supreme Court and insert-
ing an exceptionally parti-
san review into a previously
unbiased process, Secretary
of State Clarno is undermin-
ing our initiative process and
crippling the power of Orego-
nians to take their concerns
directly to the voters.”
Renew Oregon and oth-
ers filed IP 48 and 49 in early
October. They also filed a
third petition, IP 50, that
would force Oregon to elim-
inate greenhouse gas emis-
sions from “fossil fuel and
industrial sources.” IP 50 is
arguably the most potent of
the three petitions, and was
approved by the secretary of
state’s office, Vial said.
The three proposals
amounted to something of a
threat. Renew Oregon and its
allies have made clear they
will put their full energy into
landing the initiatives on the
ballot if lawmakers don’t pass
a bill to regulate emissions
in the legislative session that
begins in February.
A bill that would have
charged large emitters for
their greenhouse gas output
and reduced Oregon’s emis-
sions over time failed to pass
the Legislature earlier this
year. Democrats have been
clear they will bring back
similar legislation in 2020.
“The ballot measures are
one way of changing that
landscape,” Renew Oregon
spokesman Brad Reed said in
October.
Continued from Page A1
evolves,” said Dave Mead,
the owner of Columbia
Harvest Foods in Umatilla.
“It’s something we have
to watch and see what our
customers like best.”
Mead said his store
will offer two non-paper
options for customers who
need to purchase a bag,
one that’s a reusable Har-
vest Foods bag and another
reusable plastic option that
is provided by the state.
The bill’s intention is
to reduce the availability
and one-time use of plas-
tic bags, which often aren’t
recycled and have contrib-
uted to the plastic prob-
lem plaguing the planet.
According to a report
from the Environmen-
tal Protection Agency in
2016, Americans use over
380 billion plastic bags
or wraps per year, which
requires 12 million barrels
of oil to manufacture.
“I think the new law is
great,” said Jamie Canale,
owner and operator of
Grocery Outlet in Pend-
leton. “In the long run, I
think people will see more
of the positives.”
Canale said Grocery
Outlet will have a few
options, including a 15
cent and 99 cent reusable
plastic bag along with a
canvas tote bag for $2.99.
Canale said it will likely
take some time for cus-
tomers to develop a habit
of bringing their own
bags, though she noted
that about 15% of her cus-
tomers already bring their
own reusable bags and that
number has risen recently.
For those still unaware
of it, though, Canale said
they’ll be putting out signs
soon and making posts on
social media to remind
customers.
James Davis, a manager
at the Walmart in Pendle-
ton, said they’ve instructed
cashiers to remind cus-
tomers about the even-
tual change and have put
out signs, though he’s also
noticed more reusable bags
being used and said there’s
already a “general aware-
ness” about the change.
Walmart has already
been offering other options
for several years, and as a
corporation that’s already
dealt with regulations
across the country and the
state, the transition hasn’t
been as cumbersome.
The law — House Bill
2509 — was passed this
past summer and expands
on the 17 local ordinances
previously regulating sin-
gle-use plastic bags around
the state, which already
impacted roughly 40% of
Oregonians. The bill joins
Oregon with California,
Hawaii and New York as
the only states in the coun-
try to enact statewide bans.
For some retailers in the
region, however, the tran-
sition hasn’t been greeted
so welcomely.
Brandt Koo, owner of
the 11th Street Market in
Hermiston, was concerned
initially when the ban
passed because many of
his customers walk to and
from the store. While it’s
easy to carry multiple sin-
gle-use plastic bags when
walking, Koo hasn’t been
able to find a cheap and
reliable option with han-
dles to replace them.
“They’re less than
worthless,” Koo said of
paper bag alternatives.
“Let’s say you’re carry-
ing beer or other bottled
drinks, and the bag tears
and they fall to the ground
and break. Not only did
you pay five cents for it,
but now you’ve lost the
cost of the drinks too.”
Tammy Russell, assis-
tant manager for the Pilot
Rock Market, has had the
same problem at her store
and said customers have
begun to bring laundry
baskets to carry groceries
because the handles make
them more convenient.
Russell added she’s
concerned about custom-
ers being unable to afford
the 25 cents they need to
charge on the reusable
plastic bags they offer, and
said she was told by a state
distributor that there may
be a paper bag shortage
around the state as retailers
prepare for the new law.
Imelda Figueora of Mil-
ton-Freewater’s Super Mil-
ton Market is a supporter of
the ban and said they’ll be
offering a 25-cent reusable
plastic option and what she
called a traditional Mexi-
can bag that’s colorful and
resembles a woven basket.
“I’m excited for it
because it will save us
money,” she said. “I love
the idea.”
Canale noted she thinks
they were already los-
ing money off paper bags
when people asked for
their items to be double-
or even triple-bagged, but
said it’s hard to say how
it may impact the store’s
costs.
“We’re not trying to
make money off the bags,”
Canale said. “But it’s kind
of a guessing game. Only
time and spreadsheets will
tell.”
Aside from how the ban
may impact retailers and
consumers is the poten-
tial impact on the environ-
ment that ultimately moti-
vated its passage in Salem,
which some detractors
argue is nothing more than
an act of virtue signaling.
“It may make people
feel better, it may make
the people who passed
it feel better,” Koo said.
“But Oregon doesn’t have
a plastic bag problem. It’s
just signaling to the rest
of the world that we think
they should use less.”
Mead highlighted that
while the store will no lon-
ger be offering free bags in
the checkout aisle, custom-
ers will still be able to find
other plastic bags for sale
around the store and plenty
of other plastic products.
Russell pointed out that
the new alternative plastic
bag options may contra-
dict the purpose of the ban
altogether.
“The small ones are
going to rot in a day and
now these thicker ones are
going to last forever,” she
said.
So if you’re still hop-
ing to reduce your impact
on the environment in
2020, you may need to
find a different New Year’s
resolution.
“This will not have any
effect on the environment
at all,” Koo said.