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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 10, 2016)
4 A ❘ SATURDAY EDITION ❘ SEPTEMBER 10, 2016 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 RYAN CRONK , EDITOR ❘ 541-902-3520 ❘ EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM Opinion YESTERDAY’S NEWS MOMENTS IN TIME The History Channel • On Sept. 18, 1793, George Washington lays the cornerstone to the United States Capitol. The building would take nearly a cen- tury to complete, as architects came and went, the British set fire to it, and it was called into use during the Civil War. • On Sept. 16, 1908, Buick Motor Company head William Durant spends $2,000 to incorpo- rate General Motors. Durant made his fortune building horse-drawn carriages, and in fact he hated cars — he thought they were noisy, smelly and dangerous. • On Sept. 14, 1927, dancer Isadora Duncan is strangled in France when the enormous silk scarf she is wearing gets tangled in the rear hubcaps of her open car. The scarf wound around the axle, tightening around Duncan’s neck and dragging her from the car. She died instantly. Voters to decide city tax on marijuana he Florence City Council has approved placing a pro- posed tax on the sale of recreational marijuana and related items on the Nov. 8, 2016, ballot. The measure will give voters the opportunity to approve or disapprove a pro- posed city tax on the sale of recreational mari- juana and related items in the City of Florence. Recreational marijuana was legalized by Measure 91, passed by the voters in November 2014, so this ballot measure is not about legalizing sales of marijuana in the city. Recreational marijuana sales have been allowed in the city since October 2015 but are T only, and no tax will be imposed on medical marijuana. If the measure is adopted by voters, the city would impose a 3 percent city tax on top of the already existing 17 percent state tax, making the total tax 20 percent within Florence city limits. Revenue collected from the tax would be available for the city to use for any purpose, including pub- GUEST VIEWPOINT B Y J OE H ENRY Florence Mayor limited to certain areas of the city. If adopted by the voters, this measure will allow the City Council to set the amount of the city tax not to exceed the amount allowed by state law, which is currently capped at 3 percent of the retail price of the marijuana item. The tax would be on recreational items lic safety. The Florence City Council has reached con- sensus that this is an appropriate measure given the uncertainty of how the marijuana industry will affect the City of Florence. LETTERS Generous Florence We recently hosted our annual Community Coat and Hoodie Giveaway. It was a success, partly due to the generosity of local resi- dents’ donations of new or slightly used items. They were needed and appreci- ated by us, as well as the many folks that stopped by to “shop.” The remaining items were donated to Siuslaw Outreach Services. We’re excited as we begin to stock up for next year’s giveaway. Thanks again to all who blessed us as we, hopefully, blessed others. See you next year! Janet Lewis Florence Foursquare Church A sabotaged economy We have been hearing a lot recently about politicians lying. One lie dwarfs all. “It’s Obama’s economy,” we hear Republican flaks repeat. “He’s botched it. We will create jobs, grow the economy!” They count on our lack of atten- tion to or memory of important political/economic events of the past decade. How many of you actually recall the major 2008 GOP-induced eco- nomic meltdown and, afterward, how the GOP obstructed the President and the Democratic House and Senate’s attempts to stimulate the economy? In the first two years of Obama’s presidency, Mitch McConnell repeatedly used the Senate rule that a minimum of 60 votes were required to defeat the filibuster of any bill brought to the Senate floor for a vote. During most of those two years the Senate consisted of 58 Democrats, 40 Republicans and two independents. Several of those 58 Democratic senators voted con- sistently with the Republicans. To reach the 60 vote threshold, Democrats had to gain the support of the two independents (one of them Democrat turncoat Joe Lieberman) and at least two or three “moderate” Republicans. The Affordable Care Act (“Obama Care”), the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the “stimulus package”) and the Wall Street Reform Act (which included the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) managed to slip through after Democrats made bill- weakening concessions. Virtually everything else passed by the Democratic Party-controlled House was successfully filibus- tered. By the end of 2014, the GOP Senate had used the filibuster rule over 500 times. Here are a few of the bills — all of which would have benefited working class Americans — that McConnell’s minions stopped: infrastructure building; equal pay for women; an increased minimum wage; stoppage of corporate tax breaks for moving jobs and pro- duction facilities out of the coun- try; a rehiring of 400,000 teachers, firefighters, paramedics and police officers; student loan reform; an extension of unemployment bene- fits for the long-term unemployed; legislation to help working people join labor unions; the requirement that millionaires pay a comparable tax rate to middle-class Americans and the repeal of Big Oil tax subsi- dies. When the Republicans won con- trol of the House in 2010, President Obama’s hopes for improving the lot of ordinary Americans were dashed. Everything the GOP-controlled House thereafter passed was designed either to profit large cor- porations and the super wealthy or weaken the support system for des- titute Americans. Additionally, GOP House and Senate leaders sought to acquire what they wanted by shutting down once and later threatening to shut down the opera- tions of the government. For seven and a half years the Republican Party has sabotaged the national economy all the while pre- suming that it could win national elections by pinning the blame for stunted recovery on Congressional Democrats and our President. Liars. Harold Titus Florence Councilor vows city transparency On Saturday, Sept. 3, Florence City Councilor Joshua Greene con- ducted an informational session at the Florentine Center. He elaborat- ed on future plans being considered by the city and the arts council to improve and develop the Old Town portion of the city of Florence. To have the citizens aware and involved is a goal that all politi- cians should have. Thank you, Mr. Greene. Rod Stowe Florence • On Sept. 17, 1965, four adventurous Englishmen arrive at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany after crossing the English Channel by Amphicar, an amphibious passenger car powered by a 43-horsepower Triumph Herald engine. Despite choppy waters and a flooded engine, the two vehicles made the crossing in about seven hours. • On Sept. 15, 1978, boxer Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay) defeats Leon Spinks to regain the world heavyweight boxing title. Ali had first won the title in 1964 at age 22, defeating Sonny Liston. • On Sept. 12, 1993, the rebuilt Lacey V. Murrow Bridge over Lake Washington opens in Seattle. The old bridge was almost 2 miles long and floated on more than 20 hollow concrete pontoons. During repairs in 1990, the bridge broke apart and sank. • On Sept. 13, 2004, TV talk-show host Oprah Winfrey gives a brand-new Pontiac G-6 sedan, worth $28,500, to all 276 members of her studio audience. However, the winners were left with a large bill: up to $6,000 in fed- eral and state income taxes. (c) 2016 King Features Synd., Inc. L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR P OLICY The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the editor concerning issues affecting the Florence area and Lane County. Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed letters must be signed. All letters should be limited to about 300 words and must include the writer’s full name, address and phone number for verification. Letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaranteed and depends on space available and the volume of letters received. Libelous and anonymous letters as well as poetry will not be published. All submissions become the property of Siuslaw News and will not be returned. Write to: Editor@TheSiuslawNews.com USPS# 497-660 Copyright 2016 © Siuslaw News John Bartlett Jenna Bartlett Ryan Cronk Susan Gutierrez Cathy Dietz Ron Annis Jeremy Gentry Publisher, ext. 327 General Manager, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 313 Advertising Director, ext. 326 Office Supervisor, ext. 312 Production Supervisor Press Manager DEADLINES: Wednesday Issue—General news, Monday noon; Budgets, four days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Monday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Monday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Friday 5 p.m. Saturday Issue—General news, Thursday noon; Budgets, two days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Thursday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Thursday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Wednesday 5 p.m. Soundings, Tuesday 5 p.m. NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In Lane County — 1-year subscription, $71; 10-weeks subscription, $18; Out of Lane County — 1-year subscription, $94; 10-weeks subscription, $24; Out of State — 1-year subscription, $120; Out of United States — 1-year subscription, $200; E-Edition Online Only (Anywhere) — 1-year subscription, $65. Mail subscription includes E-Edition. Website and E-Edition: www.TheSiuslawNews.com WHERE TO WRITE Published every Wednesday and Saturday at 148 Maple St. in Florence, Lane County, Oregon. A member of the National Newspaper Association and Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. Periodicals postage paid at Florence, Ore. Postmaster, send address changes to: Siuslaw News, P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439; phone 541-997-3441; fax 541-997-7979. All press releases may be sent to PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com. Pres. Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 FAX: 202-456-2461 TTY/TDD Comments: 202-456-6213 www.whitehouse.gov Gov. Kate Brown 160 State Capitol 900 Court St. Salem, OR 97301-4047 Governor’s Citizens’ Rep. Message Line 503-378-4582 www.oregon.gov/gov U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden 221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-5244 541-431-0229 www.wyden.senate.gov FAX: 503-986-1080 Email: Sen.ArnieRoblan@state.or.us U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley 313 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753/FAX: 202-228-3997 541-465-6750 State Rep. Caddy McKeown (Dist. 9) 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1409 Email: rep.caddymckeown@state.or.us U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.) 2134 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6416/ 800-944-9603 541-269-2609/ 541-465-6732 www.defazio.house.gov State Sen. Arnie Roblan (Dist. 5) 900 Court St. NE - S-417 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1705 West Lane County Commissioner Jay Bozievich 125 E. Eighth St. Eugene, OR 97401 541-682-4203 FAX: 541-682-4616 Email: Jay.Bozievich@co.lane.or.us
