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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 2019)
LOCAL, STATE & NATION 6A — BAKER CITY HERALD Vaping concerns affecting sales ers report using them. New Frontier found a 15% Associated Press decline in the market share for PORTLAND — Vaping vape sales nationwide during products, one of the fastest- the fi rst week of September growing segments of the legal and saw no rebound in data marijuana industry, have collected through Sept. 18. At taken a hit from consumers as the state level, New Mexico, public health experts scramble Massachusetts, Nevada and to determine what’s causing a Montana all saw drops of one- mysterious and sometimes fa- third or more, while California tal lung disease among people fell by 6%. who use e-cigarettes. Oregon, which announced The ailment has sickened its death at the beginning of Tribune News Service the month and said it was at least 805 people and killed 12. Some vaped nicotine, from a vape purchased at a but many reported using oil regulated dispensary, saw one containing THC, marijuana’s of the biggest drops in market high-inducing ingredient, and share for vape revenue — said they bought products 62%, said John Kagia, the from pop-up shops and other fi rm’s chief knowledge offi cer. illegal sellers. The only death Yet as vape sales sink, some linked to THC vapes bought retailers report sales of other at legal shops occurred in cannabis products going up. SALEM — A second Oregonian has died from a lung Oregon. Bridge City Collective, for illness after vaping cannabis products, and state health Amid the health scare, the example, saw its usually lack- authorities on Thursday urged people to immediately stop amount of the legal pot indus- luster edible sales increase using all vaping products. try’s revenue that comes from about 40 percent the same “People should stop vaping immediately,” said Dean vape products has dropped by week vaping sales plummeted. Sidelinger, Oregon’s state health offi cer. “If you vape, 15% nationwide, with some Consumers also are showing whether it’s cannabis, nicotine or other products, please states, including Oregon, more interest in the dried quit.” seeing decreases of more than fl ower used in joints. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said the Oregon Health Au- 60%. Analysts are watching to thority informed her of the death and that she is request- Health offi cials in Cali- see if vape sales erode further ing the Oregon Department of Justice to advise what legal fornia, home to the world’s after the U.S. Centers for Dis- options are available to the state, including the temporary largest legal marijuana ease Control and Prevention ban of all vaping products. marketplace, this week issued announced Thursday that the The most recent death was an individual who had an advisory urging people number of suspected vaping- been hospitalized with respiratory symptoms after vaping to stop all forms of vaping related illnesses had grown by cannabis products, the Oregon Health Authority said in a until a cause is determined. 52 percent in the past week. statement. The other Oregon fatality, whose death was an- Massachusetts, which like Doctors have said the ill- nounced on Sept. 3, had used e-cigarettes, or vape pens, California allows so-called nesses resemble an inhala- with THC, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana. recreational use of marijuana tion injury, with the lungs by people 21 and older, went apparently reacting to a — Andrew Selsky, Associated Press further than any other state, caustic substance. So far, issuing a four-month ban on no single vaping product or vape sales. ingredient has been linked Vaping THC is popular Still, many have seen no- and we’re concerned.” to the illnesses. for those desiring quick high table declines in sales in the In the United States’ boom- Health offi cials in New without the smoke that few weeks since the health ing legal cannabis market, York are focusing on vitamin comes from lighting up joints. scare emerged on a national vaping products have explod- E acetate, a viscous solution Marijuana companies are try- scale. ed in popularity. In roughly that’s sometimes added to “It’s having an impact on ing to boost the public’s confi - two years, they have grown marijuana oils. Retailers in dence by promoting that their how consumers are behav- from a small fraction of overall some markets are pulling vaping products are tested by ing,” said David Alport, owner sales to about one-third, with products from their shelves the government, demanding of Bridge City Collective in $9.6 billion in sales between that contain that and other ingredient lists from their Portland, which in two weeks 2017 and 2019, according additives. Other companies vendors and in some cases saw a 31% drop in sales of to New Frontier Data, an have proactively released pulling items from shelves. vape cartridges that hold economic analysis fi rm that public statements saying Some also are scrambling to the oil that vaporizes when tracks the industry. About one- their vape oils contain only get liability insurance. heated. “People are concerned, fi fth of U.S. cannabis consum- pure THC. State regulators track the cannabis sold to consum- ers but don’t monitor what additives are in marijuana oil vapes. That’s led states to begin discussions of how to tighten restrictions on vaping products even as retailers themselves try to determine which of the prod- ucts on their shelves contain so-called cutting agents. “We haven’t evolved our system that far to think about what we would test for in those products. A lot of these additives were conceptual at the time when the (marijuana legalization) law passed and the program came into place,” said Steve Marks, executive director of the Oregon Liquor License Commission, which oversees the state’s cannabis - ON A SET OF 4 SELECT LIGHT TRUCK AND SUV TIRES - industry. “Figuring that out is part of the evolution that we have to do as a consumer protection agency,” he said. By Gillian Flaccus and Jennifer Peltz Second Oregon death prompts offi cials to urge people to stop vaping Lew Brothers FALL TIRE SALE $ SAVE 152 UP TO FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 INVESTIGATE Continued from Page 1A McQuisten said she started preparing to become an investigator, and to start her business, about a year ago. Oregon requires private investigators to be licensed — fi ve states, including Idaho, don’t require any license — and McQuisten said the process is rather involved. She said she had to document at least 1,500 hours of relevant experience — her journalism work qualifi ed — undergo a criminal background check, pay about $630 in fees, submit reference letters from people in law enforcement and, fi nally, attend a class and pass a test, with a score of at least 86%, at the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training in Salem, the agency that licenses and monitors private investiga- tors. McQuisten, who said she is already working on cases locally and has received calls from potential clients in Western Oregon, said she’s glad she went through the process to become licensed. “If you have a dream and you don’t take action it goes nowhere,” she said. “This is a neat thing to be a part of. I love it.” McQuisten is a member of the Oregon Association of Licensed Investigators. She said the fl exible schedule of an investigator meshes much better with her existing business, Black Lyon Publishing, than running the Baker County Press did. “I’m not scaling back at all with Black Lyon,” Mc- Quisten said. She is one of six licensed private investigators in Baker City, according to the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. More information about Shadow Work Investiga- tions is available at shadowworkinvestigations.com SKEETERS including whether or not they lived within the Vec- Continued from Page 1A tor Control District, and Not that Hutchinson how severe their symp- will be tucking in the toms were. covers or adjusting soft They are the fi rst hu- pillows for the bloodsuck- man cases of the virus ing insects. in Baker County since He’s responsible for 2014, when two women controlling mosquitoes in a who live at New Bridge, 200,000-acre district that about 3 miles north of includes most of Baker, Richland, were infected. Bowen and Keating val- That is outside the Vec- leys. That’s approximately tor Control District. Both 10% of the county’s land women recovered. mass, and includes some Earlier this summer of the prime breeding four pools of mosquitoes grounds for mosquito trapped inside the Vector species that breed in per- Control District tested manent water sources as positive for the virus. All well as those that prefer of those mosquitoes were ground inundated season- trapped in the Keating ally for fl ood irrigation. Valley, about 15 miles Hutchinson said mos- east of Baker City. quito numbers, including The Vector Control the culex varieties that District gets revenue are the most common from a pair of property carriers of West Nile virus, tax levies, one perma- have been declining for nent, which raises about the past few weeks. $282,000 annually, and “We haven’t had any a local option levy that complaint calls for the goes before voters every past couple weeks,” he four years and brings in said. about $87,500 per year. Hutchinson said mos- Both levies are affected quito populations typi- by “compression” — the cally dip substantially effect of a 1990 voter- around early September, approved statewide bal- in response to lower lot measure that limits temperatures and, in property tax increases. the case of fl oodwater The permanent levy los- species, the end of fl ood es about $6,200 annually irrigation in most places. to compression, meaning Health offi cials an- the money isn’t assessed nounced Tuesday that on property owners or two Baker County resi- received by the district. dents had been infected Compression has a much with West Nile virus larger effect on the local from mosquito bites. option levy. Its nominal Offi cials declined to amount is $140,000 yearly, release any information but the district actually about the two victims, collects about $87,500. 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Shirtcliff’s tenure in the Baker County District Attorney’s Offi ce includes six years as a deputy district attorney, beginning in 1994. He was elected district attorney in 2001 and served for fi ve terms. Shirtcliff said he expects the governor to appoint an assistant attorney general from the Department of Justice to help in the District Attorney’s offi ce during the transition. Shirtcliff’s present term was due to expire in 2020. Candidates seeking to fi ll the position will compete in the May 2020 election with the win- ner possibly being appointed to fi ll the remain- der of Shirtcliff’s term through the year, he said. There are two assistant district attorneys on the staff. Michael Spaulding joined the offi ce in January of 2012 and Kevin Imhoff has been on the job for about a year. “I am proud of the work we have accom- plished for the community and the citizens of Baker County,” Shirtcliff said. “It has been a team effort with the great staff in the District Attorney’s Offi ce and the amazing members of the law enforcement community in Baker County. “I will always be grateful for your service and your support,” he stated in the press release. “I also want to thank Circuit Court Judge Greg Baxter for his guidance and mentoring over the years.” Baxter’s term would have run through 2024 had he not announced his plans to retire on Oct. 31. Shirtcliff will stand for election to a six-year term as Baker County Circuit Court judge in 2020. “I’m just excited to get started,” Shirtcliff said of his appointment as judge. “I’ve worked hard to get ready for this.” Shirtcliff, 52, said he expects to follow Baxter’s lead in the way he administers the court. He is especially looking forward to provid- ing support from his position for people who struggle with mental health issues. Although it will take time to implement, Shircliff said he plans to establish a mental health court, modeled after the drug court system. “I enjoy talking directly to people,” he said, adding that his knowledge of programs avail- able in the community should be a benefi t to helping people who need mental health as well as drug and alcohol treatment. “But I’ll still be a strong judge on public safety and sentencing,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of trial and courtroom experience with major cases and that helps me to be ready to serve as judge.”