4 A
❘
WEDNESDAY EDITION
❘ JULY 5, 2017
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
Opinion
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
The First Amendment
C
ongress shall make no law respecting an estab-
lishment of religion or prohibiting the free exer-
cise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of
the press, or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances.
From dune to shining sea, Oregon beaches are yours
I have to admit, people are
always impressed when I tell
them I’m part-owner of
approximately 363 miles of
oceanfront property in Oregon
that stretches from the
Columbia River to the
California border.
Naturally, they question my
claim once they see the 2001
Honda I drive.
And as you might imagine,
they are less impressed once I
explain how I own this proper-
ty with more than 4 million
other Oregonians, all of whom
have unlimited and equal
access to the same beachfront
timeshare — which we all
received as an inheritance
from past Oregon Governor
Tom McCall.
The truth is, even those who
don’t live in Oregon received
the same “inheritance” when it
comes to the Oregon coast,
which remains public domain
“from the first dune to the sea”
along the entire 363-mile or so
expanse thanks to the Oregon
“Beach Bill.”
The bill, officially signed
by McCall as HB 1600 and
1601 in 1967, celebrates it’s
50th anniversary tomorrow.
And while I may not be an
actual oceanfront land baron,
the fact that I or anyone can
walk onto any beach along the
Oregon coast, at any time,
without seeking permission or
being obstructed by no “tres-
passing” signs, is almost as
good.
As I’ve mentioned before
(usually in a quiet whisper), I
spent my early years growing
up in California before mov-
ing here as a teenager in 1980.
As a kid, I was keenly aware
that certain areas of beach
were restricted because they
were privately owned. Fences,
property markers and signs
warning of potential prosecu-
tion for violators served as
reminders that a line of privi-
lege could be drawn in the
sand.
During one sunny afternoon
as an 8-year-old on Manhattan
Beach, my carefree play in the
surf unknowingly carried me
When our family arrived in
Oregon several years later and
discovered there were no pri-
vately owned beaches any-
where along the coast, I knew
it was something special.
Though McCall is credited
with signing the official legis-
From the Editor’s Desk
N ED H ICKSON
over one of those lines and
deposited me on someone’s
private beach. From the deck
of their three-story beach
home I could hear someone
yelling obscenities at me,
ordering me to “get my _ss off
their beach before I got shot.”
Though I shrugged it off
with the help of friends, the
notion that someone would
threaten to shoot me for drift-
ing across an arbitrary line on
a shore fed by the same surf
shared by everyone seemed
wrong even to an 8-year-old.
lation in 1967, the notion of
keeping our beaches free from
privatization began as far back
as 1913, when then-governor
Oswald West and the Oregon
legislature established the
state’s ocean beaches as a pub-
lic highway. The crafty move
kept developers at bay for
more than 50 years as
Oregonians took ownership of
— and no small amount of
pride in — enjoying their
beautiful coastline.
It wasn’t until 1966 that the
highway designation was
challenged by William Hay,
owner of the Surfsand Motel
in Cannon Beach, Ore., who
placed large driftwood logs to
block off a section of the dry
sand in front of his property.
In addition, he set up tables
with umbrellas and marked
the area with private property
signs.
That’s when it was discov-
ered that the highway designa-
tion established by West was-
n’t specific enough and could
be interpreted as only includ-
ing the “wet-sand” portion of
the state’s beaches as a public
highway. At the time, accord-
ing to the Oregon Parks and
Recreation Advisory
Committee, that meant that
112 of the 362 miles of beach
property could be considered
privately owned.
In response, The State
Highway Commission, along
with McCall and the Oregon
legislature, introduced HB
1600 and HB 1601, which
Associated Press reporter Matt
Kramer thrust into the public
commentary with stories
about Oregon’s “Beach Bill.”
Kramer’s articles appeared
in newspapers throughout
Oregon, prompting beachgo-
ers around the state to get
involved, raising awareness
and turning up the political
heat in the legislature —
where
Republican
and
Democratic leaders joined
McCall in negotiating the bill.
As a result, McCall signed
the Beach Bill on June 6, 1967
— assuring that no lines
would ever be drawn again in
the sand along Oregon’s
beaches.
I hope you’ll take time to
enjoy them during the months
and years ahead.
Because thanks to West,
McCall and the Oregonians
who came before us, it’s more
than an opportunity to enjoy
our coast’s natural beauty; it’s
your right.
Write Siuslaw News editor Ned
Hickson at nhickson@thesiuslaw
news.com or P.O. Box 10,
Florence, Ore. 97439.
LETTERS
M AKE YOUR VOICES HEARD
I am writing in response to Martin Cable’s
letter “Toxic Rhetoric Leads to Real
Violence” (June 28.)
While I do not always agree with Mr.
Hickson, I find him fair and balanced. I am
quite conservative and have had no trouble
getting letters published.
Friends offer congratulations, yet never
write.
Rather than attack Mr. Hickson for the let-
ters published, write to counter erroneous let-
ters and convince your conservative friends
to make their voices heard.
Get involved.
Learn the facts.
Take the editor to task on specifics.
For example, in the article “Carjacking
Shatters Quiet Afternoon on North Fork (June
28), the description “a weapon similar to an
M-16 assault rifle” was used.
Similar how?
The writer is very likely unable to pick an
M-16 from an AR-15, FN-15, MR556A1,
AP4, HBAR, AR-10, 15L — any of dozens of
other semi-autos and probably not even a sin-
gle shot .22 with a pistol grip.
It is shoddy journalism to slant an article
with biased terms.
Editor, please endeavor to emulate the late
Abe Rosenthal of the NYT. His epitaph is:
“He kept the paper straight” and he was
uncompromising in defense of high standards
and called for fairness, objectivity and good
taste free of editorial comment, causes, polit-
ical agendas, innuendo and unattributed pejo-
rative quotations.
— Ian Eales
Florence
L ETTERS TO THE
E DITOR P OLICY
The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to
the editor as part of a community discus-
sion of issues on the local, state and
national level.
Emailed
letters
are
preferred.
Handwritten or typed letters must be
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name, address and phone number; only
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should be limited to about 300 words.
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, argumentative and anony-
mous letters or poetry, or letters from out-
side our readership area will not be pub-
lished.
Send letters to:
nhickson@thesiuslawnews.com
USPS# 497-660
L ATEST REPEAL OF ACA BREAKS
PRESIDENT ’ S PROMISE
Prior to Affordible Care Act, the Medicare
Trust Fund was expected to run short of
money by 2016. However, due to the ACA’s
0.9 percent tax on individuals earning more
than $200,000 (or more than $250,000 for
those filing jointly), and its reduced payments
to hospitals and private insurers under
Medicare Advantage, solvency of the Trust
Fund, which is used to reimburse hospitals
for treatment provided to seniors, was pro-
jected to remain solvent until 2028.
Repealing ACA opens the door to a $117
billion loss in revenue over the next 10 years
and accelerates by at least four years, to 2024,
when the Trust Fund would not be able to pay
out full benefits.
The latest proposed replacement of the
ACA, the American Health Care Act, has no
replacement funding provision.
This threat to medicare solvency and the
benefits to the 55 million Medicare enrollees
has been lost in the more immediate concern
Oregon Group Publisher (541) 265 8571
Publisher, ext. 318
Editor, ext. 313
Consulting Editor (831) 761-7353
Email: echalhoub@register-pajaronian.com
Marketing Director, ext. 326
Office Supervisor, ext. 312
Production Supervisor
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WHERE TO WRITE
Susan Gutierrez
Cathy Dietz
Ron Annis
Jeremy Gentry
—Arnold Buchman
Florence
H EALTHCARE BILL IS A TAX CUT
FOR WEALTHY
The United States Senate has taken a recess
for a week. When it returns, members will
again take up the Senate version of health
care, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, or
BCRA.
I am one of the 22 million (roughly the
population of Florida) who will lose
Medicaid if the bill passes in its current form.
This bill has only between 12 to 27 percent
approval rating from voters.
Make no mistake, this is not a “healthcare”
bill; it is a “tax cut” bill.
The Tax Policy Center estimates that those
who benefit the most from this tax cut are the
wealthiest Americans (44.6 percent tax break
to the top 1 percent). Low and middle income
Americans will see a much smaller tax cut
(7.2 to 8.8 percent).
With the loss of Medicaid, there will be an
estimated 26,500 excess deaths over the next
10 years associated with BCRA. Many peo-
ple will lose their doctors’ visits and prescrip-
tion drug coverage, and will be unable to
afford nursing homes and assisted living
facilities without Medicaid.
Medicare only covers 100 days in a nursing
home. Rural hospitals, like Peace Harbor,
will lose funding, which could have a devis-
tating impact on services.
In short, people will die due to this bill.
Though I did not vote for President Trump,
he is the president and represents all
Americans — not just those who voted for
him.
The BCRA hurts many on Medicaid,
Medicare and Social Security regardless of
who we voted for.
President Trump promised he would not
touch Medicaid, Medicare or Social Security.
He promised “something better” than the
Affordable Care Act.
BCRA is not better; it is far, far worse.
The President needs to stand up for the
“forgotten” Americans he promised to repre-
sent. He told us what a great negotiator he
would be, but refuses to reach out to
Democrats or unify rather than divide.
It’s time for the president to govern and
fulfill the promises he made.
— Marybeth Marenco
Florence
Copyright 2017 © Siuslaw News
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.
James Rand
Jenna Bartlett
Ned Hickson
Erik Chalhoub
about adverse affects of spending cuts to
Medicaid. But, as pointed out by Sen. Wyden,
the latest repeal “breaks a clear Trump prom-
ise not to harm Medicare…” In addition to
AHCA’s many other harmful provisions, it
gives a tax break to the wealthy and steals
directly from Medicare’s coffers.”
Coupled with the demographic reality of
millions of Americans age 55-64 approaching
Medicare eligibility, a weakened Medicare
Trust arguably will be financially unsustain-
able. It’s an argument that smooths the way
for Medicare privatization either through
expansion of private-insurer-run Medicare
Advantage or a voucher-type program —
alternative that have long been the goal of
small-government “entitlement hawks.”
One possible alternative is increasing the
efficiency of health care delivery.
Unfortunately, repeal of ACA cuts off its
funding for research and development of
cost-saving best practices and administrative
procedures, an important ACA focus.
Repair and retain ACA? Raise taxes?
Reduce the role of Medicare in providing
health care for the elderly and the poor?
As Andrew Slavitt, the former administra-
tor of CMS warns, “This is a big issue for
Medicare beneficiaries and particularly any-
one who is not a Medicare beneficiary today
but plans to be one sometime in the future.”
Pres. Donald Trump
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
www.merkley.senate.gov
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 ( 4 th Dist.)
2134 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6416
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