KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Editor/Senior Reporter
THuRSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2021
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Why the
delay in
paid leave?
We have written before about how unfor-
tunate it was that late in the 2021 legislative
session a bill popped up to delay Oregon’s
paid family medical leave program.
It was created by the Legislature in 2019.
Families would be able to get paid time off
— not only for births and deaths — but to
care for others when they need it. Some
employers already offer that. The bill was
a way of guaranteeing it to more people by
January 2023. Gov. Kate Brown thanked
state Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, for his
leadership in helping to get the bill passed.
But why was implementation delayed?
The state’s Employment Department
said it couldn’t get it ready by the beginning
of 2023. It was pushed back to September.
That means, as The Oregonian pointed out,
“tens of thousands of Oregonians stand to
go without approximately $453 million
in paid leave benefits they could have
accessed in the first eight months of 2023.”
“This is an aggressive timeline in the
best of times and as you know, the past
year hasn’t been the best of times,” Gerhard
Taeubel, the program’s acting director, told
lawmakers in February.
Brown declined an interview with The
Oregonian to explain her staff’s oversight
of launching the program. Despite indi-
cators the launch was off track, her office
didn’t ensure the launch stayed on track
and neither did legislators. One legislator
did try.
Former state Rep. Cheri Helt, R-Bend,
did attempt in 2020 to shift the program’s
oversight to the Oregon Bureau of Labor
and Industries, in the hope it had the capac-
ity to keep it on track. She also proposed
setting up a legislative committee to moni-
tor the program. Those good ideas went
nowhere.
An exodus of employees from the paid
leave program, allegations of discrimina-
tion in its ranks and an ensuing investiga-
tion could further complicate the rollout
at a time when the pandemic has laid bare
the massive need for parental and medi-
cal paid leave. Last April, an unidenti-
fied member of an advisory group to the
paid leave program warned that delays in
launching the program could adversely
affect communities of color and lower
income workers most in need of the bene-
fits, according to meeting notes.
If the state’s plans succeed, it will
have taken Oregon 50 months from when
lawmakers passed the paid family and
medical leave legislation to begin paying
benefits to Oregonians.
Maybe with the pandemic and the
disruptions it caused there was little hope
the program would launch on time. But
legislators and Gov. Brown don’t appear to
have done enough to try. The Oregonian’s
article on this topic is worth reading if you
have access: tinyurl.com/noORleave.
EDITORIALS
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East
Oregonian editorial board. Other columns,
letters and cartoons on this page express the
opinions of the authors and not necessarily
that of the East Oregonian.
LETTERS
The East Oregonian welcomes original letters
of 400 words or less on public issues and public
policies for publication in the newspaper and on
our website. The newspaper reserves the right
to withhold letters that address concerns about
individual services and products or letters that
infringe on the rights of private citizens. Letters
must be signed by the author and include the
city of residence and a daytime phone number.
The phone number will not be published.
Unsigned letters will not be published.
SEND LETTERS TO:
editor@eastoregonian.com,
or via mail to Andrew Cutler,
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton, OR 97801
Inversions during the winter season
MARY
WISTER
EYE TO THE SKY
C
all me a weather nerd or a
weather geek and I won’t take it
personally. Like all meteorolo-
gists, I am fascinated with atmospheric
science. After all, the atmosphere acts
like a fluid.
Air is in constant motion and moves
both vertically and horizontally. Clouds
can take a variety of formations based
on the amount of moisture and verti-
cal lift. Winds blow from areas of high
pressure to low pressure as nature
attempts to balance atmospheric pres-
sure.
Weather never gets boring. You may
disagree during the winter when fog
and low clouds in the Lower Columbia
Basin last for days or even weeks, and a
prolonged period of light winds results
in air stagnation and poor air quality.
Yes, those days are dismal, and I also
find myself begging for the sun to make
its appearance and the winds to mix out
the stagnant air mass.
However, when I think about the
inversions that develop during these
stagnant patterns, the thermodynamics
behind inversions are almost as fasci-
nating as thunderstorms or the forma-
tion of snowflakes.
So, what exactly is an inversion?
Think of the term “inverted” mean-
ing reverse arrangement or upside
down. Typically, the temperature in the
atmosphere decreases with increasing
altitude. When an inversion develops,
the temperature increases with height
rather than decreasing. Weather geeks
like myself love to observe the tempera-
ture differences at various elevations.
Many times during the winter, the
temperature in Pendleton can be 10-15
degrees colder than Tollgate under a
strong inversion. Have you ever driven
along Interstate 84 or Highway 204
over the Blue Mountains to get above
an inversion and simply observe the
warmer temperatures in the mountains
and watch the beautiful fog along the
foothills? If not, I highly recommend it.
Just be careful for the low visibility
and slick roads as you drive through the
stratus clouds, and make sure you’re
prepared for winter driving conditions.
Observing the weather during inver-
sions is no different than a scientist
in a lab swishing fluids in a beaker
and logging the results. What you are
observing is cold dense air sinking,
and the warmer air overriding the cold
air. This causes a lid, or inversion, to
form that traps the cold air in the lowest
elevations.
If an inversion lasts for days or
weeks, it can cause air stagnation
and potentially poor air quality. This
is weather nobody likes. Those with
respiratory issues become susceptible
to air pollution and particulate matter
entering the lungs. What does it take
for nature to break down an inversion
and end the air stagnation? This will
require a weather system strong enough
to provide significant mixing — for
example, a cold front accompanied by
strong winds. In these situations, mete-
orologists are challenged to forecast
temperatures, winds and precipitation.
Will the front be strong enough to mix
out the cold air, or will the winds just
override the inversion with little impact
on mixing out the cold air in the lower
elevations? This can greatly affect the
type of precipitation expected be it
snow, rain, sleet and/or freezing rain.
Despite nearly 30 years of experi-
ence in the National Weather Service,
I find this scenario is often the hardest
to predict. It’s amazing to watch and
exceptionally difficult to forecast.
Did you know that students at
Sunridge Middle School in Pendle-
ton study inversions and air quality?
Thanks to teachers Jodie Harnden and
Nancy Vert, students work with the
Pendleton Air Quality Commission to
understand the role of inversions on
air quality. The air quality commis-
sion is dedicated to educate students
on the dangers of poor air quality, and
it’s always a pleasure speaking with the
enthusiastic students in their class.
It’s also wonderful to see the next
generation of scientists wanting to learn
how weather impacts society and how
they can make a difference by under-
standing it better.
———
Mary Wister is a meteorologist and
fire weather program manager at the
National Weather Service in Pendleton.
Wister serves as an incident meteorolo-
gist when large wildfires or other natural
hazards necessitate an incident manage-
ment team’s quick response to protect life
and property.
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. PRESIDENT
Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
GOVERNOR
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
U.S. SENATORS
Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
La Grande office: 541-962-7691
Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753
Pendleton office: 541-278-1129
REPRESENTATIVES
Bobby Levy, District 58
900 Court St. NE, H-376
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.BobbyLevy@state.or.us
Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
Cliff Bentz
2185 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6730
Medford office: 541-776-4646
SENATOR
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-415
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us