THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2021
BAKER CITY HERALD — A5
LOCAL & STATE
Oregon commission mandates production of cleaner trucks
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — Oregon’s Environ-
mental Quality Commission, a
governor-appointed panel, has
approved the Clean Trucks Rule, a
mandate aimed at cutting emis-
sions by requiring production of
cleaner trucks.
Advocates say the rule will
benefi t the environment and public
health; critics say it will hurt truck
manufacturers and raise prices on
trucks, which farmers and ranchers
rely on for shipping.
The rule has two parts. First,
it mandates manufacturers boost
production of electric trucks. Sec-
ond, it requires new medium- and
heavy-duty diesel trucks sold in
Oregon to meet stricter emissions
standards.
The fi rst rule requires up to half
of the new medium- and heavy-
duty trucks, buses and vans sold in
Oregon by 2030 have no emissions,
and up to 75% be electric by 2035.
The second requires all new heavy-
duty diesel vehicles sold in Oregon
to emit 75% less nitrogen dioxide
than current levels starting in 2025
and 90% less by 2027.
The rule only applies to manu-
facturers and does not require
anyone to buy the trucks.
After California, Oregon is the
second state to adopt the rule,
which will go into effect in 2024
and apply to 2025 or later models.
Advocates say the rule will
decrease tailpipe pollution contrib-
uting to smog and ozone formation,
promote cleaner air for disadvan-
taged communities and reduce
diesel exhaust that may cause can-
cer, lung disease and other health
problems.
“The transportation sector alone
is the largest source of greenhouse
gas emissions in Oregon, so this
moves us toward cleaner air,” said
Rachel Sakata, senior air quality
planner for the Oregon Depart-
ment of Environmental Quality.
“We’re on a path to zero emissions.”
Critics say the rule will raise
the price of new trucks, will rapidly
push a fl eet of electric vehicles on
a state that doesn’t have suffi cient
infrastructure set up yet and will
unfairly penalize truck manufac-
turers.
“It is never the right decision to
increase the cost of goods, which
these rules will do,” said Shelly
Boshart Davis, a state representa-
tive whose family runs a trucking
business.
Trucking industry leaders esti-
mate the price of a new heavy-duty
electric truck will be $58,000 more
than a comparable diesel unit.
Sakata, of DEQ, confi rmed that
the $58,000 estimate is reasonable
Brown sets special
session on rental aid,
protection for tenants
By PETER WONG
Oregon Capital Bureau
Gov. Kate Brown has
called a special session of the
Oregon Legislature to extend
temporary protections against
eviction for tenants awaiting
rental assistance.
She also said she wants
lawmakers at the Dec. 13
session to approve up to $190
million to replenish rental
assistance, until more federal
money comes in, and to help
tenants make the transition
once that rental assistance
ends next year.
More than 10,000 house-
holds have passed the 60-day
grace period that lawmakers
set during the 2021 session to
prevent evictions if they have
applied for rental assistance.
(The “safe harbor” was set at
90 days by action of boards in
Multnomah and Washington
counties, and the Beaverton
City Council.)
The Oregon Department
of Housing and Community
Services stopped accepting
new applications for rental
assistance as of 11:59 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 1. The agency
announced weeks ago that
pending applications — an es-
timated 20,000 await review —
would exhaust Oregon’s $289
million allocation from the U.S.
Treasury for assistance. It has
paid applications for about
22,000 households with the
help of extra staff, an outside
vendor and community action
agencies in Oregon counties.
Lawmakers set aside a
total of $200 million in state
funds for rental assistance
during a special session nearly
one year ago. But all of that
money was spent by June.
“I am continuing to work
with federal offi cials at U.S.
Treasury and the White
House to secure additional
federal emergency rental as-
sistance funding for Oregon,
but it is clear that a state solu-
tion is needed to address the
urgent and immediate needs
of Oregon renters,” Brown
said Tuesday, Nov. 30 in her
announcement of the special
session.
“And, we must begin laying
the groundwork now for the
transition to local eviction
prevention services after
federal pandemic emergency
programs draw to an end.”
Senate President Peter
Courtney, the Legislature’s
senior member, has gone
through 26 of the 46 special
sessions in Oregon history —
counting the Dec. 13 meeting
— and has presided over 11 of
them. He has seen runaway
special sessions with no ap-
parent ending, though he was
not in charge of them.
“Special sessions are the
most diffi cult of all sessions,”
the veteran Salem Democrat
said. “Everything must be
carefully planned. We have
a lot of work to do. I hope we
will be ready.”
The Democratic leaders
of the housing committees in
both chambers say they have
been working for months
to craft a plan that can win
legislative approval. The state-
ment by Rep. Julie Fahey of
Eugene and Sen. Kayse Jama
of Portland said this:
“After months of work, we
have developed a proposal to
extend the state’s bipartisan
safe harbor protections and
provide additional funds for
direct rent assistance that
will benefi t both tenants and
housing providers. As we head
into the holiday season and
the coldest winter months,
this special session package
will prevent heartbreak-
ing evictions and support
small housing providers who
have made major sacrifi ces
throughout the pandemic.”
Representatives of Stable
Homes for Oregon Families
have taken part in the talks,
as well as previous legislative
efforts. Their statement:
“We also appreciate all the
state lawmakers who have
been working together on a so-
lution. Tenants are counting on
the legislature to ensure no one
loses their home while their
applications are pending and
also to provide additional fund-
ing to help keep people safe
and stable during this time of
ongoing economic upheaval.”
The Democratic majority
leaders in both chambers,
Sen. Rob Wagner of Lake
Oswego and Rep. Barbara
Smith Warner of Portland, are
responsible for rounding up
votes. Their statement:
“From the start of the pan-
demic, Oregon has committed
to protecting individuals and
families at risk of eviction. We
can take action in a special
session to ensure this doesn’t
happen and that we keep our
promise to Oregonians. No
one should lose their housing
because of administrative
delays.”
No statements were issued
so far by Republican leaders
in either chamber.
but she said that cost would be
defrayed by long-term savings on
fuel and maintenance.
Mary Anne Cooper, vice presi-
dent of government affairs at the
Oregon Farm Bureau, said because
many businesses can’t afford the
higher price tag, she expects the
rule will have the opposite of its
intended effect, prompting busi-
nesses to buy trucks out-of-state or
keep older trucks.
“You’re gonna have folks holding
onto vehicles for a lot longer than
they would have,” said Cooper.
“Farm and ranch families and local
Oregon businesses will actually be
disincentivized from purchasing
new trucks.”
Jana Jarvis, president of
Oregon Trucking Associations, a
trade organization, said the Clean
Trucks Rule most directly hurts
truck manufacturers, who will be
required to mass-produce electric
trucks with no guarantee people
will buy them.
In California, where an identical
rule was approved last June, the
state is pushing policies requiring
agencies to buy electric trucks and
offering businesses fi nancial incen-
tives. Oregon has no such policies.
The most obvious fl aw with the
new rule, critics say, is that Oregon
lacks infrastructure. The state
currently has only one large public
Don Jenkins/Capital Press, File
Oregon’s Environmental Quality Commission, a state regulatory
body, has approved the Clean Trucks Rule.
charging station for semi-trucks, in
Portland.
“We have a real issue in our
state with moving policies forward
with the mentality of, ‘Oh, we’ll
get to building the infrastructure
eventually,’ ” said Cooper, of the
Farm Bureau.
Longtime Oregon Rep. Peter
DeFazio won’t seek reelection
PORTLAND (AP) —
Rep. Peter DeFazio, the
longest serving U.S. House
member in Oregon’s history
and a staunch advocate for
environmental issues, said
Wednesday, Dec. 1 that he
is retiring and will not seek
reelection next year.
The 74-year-old Demo-
crat is the powerful chair-
man of the House Transpor-
tation Committee.
“With humility and
gratitude I am announc-
ing that I will not seek
re-election next year. It has
been the greatest honor of
my life to serve as Congress-
man for the Fourth District
of Oregon,” DeFazio said in
a statement.
While his announce-
ment comes as his party
faces a number of chal-
lenges ahead of the 2022
midterms, DeFazio’s seat is
probably safe for Democrats.
Oregon’s 4th District covers
the southwestern portion of
the state, including coastal
communities and the liberal
university towns of Eugene
and Corvallis.
DeFazio was fi rst elected
in 1986. The last time a
Republican was elected to
the seat was 1972.
In 2020 DeFazio faced
a spirited challenge from
Alek Skarlatos, a hero
soldier-turned-Republican
congressional candidate. In
2015, Skarlotos, a member
of the Oregon National
Guard, helped disrupt an
attack on a train bound for
Paris by a heavily armed
man who was a follower of
the Islamic State group.
DeFazio beat Skarlatos
by 5 percentage points, his
closest margin of victory in
many years.
And while the GOP will
see an opportunity in the
4th District next year, there
will likely be many strong
Democratic candidates as
well. Democrats control the
Legislature, all statewide
elected offi ces, the two U.S.
Senate seats and four of
the fi ve current U.S. House
seats in Oregon.
“It’s time for me to pass
the baton to the next gen-
eration so I can focus on
my health and well-being,”
DeFazio said, adding he
will work for the rest of his
term to help pass Presi-
dent Joe Biden’s Build
Back Better Act to address
economic inequities and
the climate crisis.
Originally from subur-
ban Boston, DeFazio got an
advanced degree in geron-
tology from the University
of Oregon and later worked
as an aide to former Oregon
Rep. Jim Weaver, who he
succeeded, and as a county
commissioner.
DeFazio touted among
his accomplishments
banning the export of
logs from federal lands to
protect old growth forests,
protecting 390,000 acres
(157,827 hectares) of
wilderness in Oregon and
increasing federal invest-
ment in infrastructure.
In a statement, House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
praised DeFazio for his
many years of service.
“Chairman Peter De-
Fazio is an absolute force
for progress, whose 36
years of effective leader-
ship in the House will
leave a legacy that will
benefi t the Congress and
Country for decades to
come,” Pelosi said.
COVID
Vaccination
In Baker County, 54.1%
of residents 18 and older
are fully vaccinated, accord-
ing to OHA.
That’s the fi fth-lowest
rate among Oregon’s 36
counties.
Counties with lower vac-
cination rates include two
that border Baker County
— Grant (49.3%) and Mal-
heur (48%). The two others
will lower rates are Gilliam
(49.9%) and Lake (44.3%).
Vaccination rates for
other adjoining counties are
58.3% in Union (12th low-
est) and Wallowa (68.7%,
16th highest rate).
In Baker County, the
highest vaccination rate
is among resident 65 and
older, at 64.7%. The state-
wide rate for the age group
is 82.2%.
Vaccination rates for
other age ranges in Baker
County:
• 50 to 64 — 49.3%
(statewide, 73.2%)
• 20 to 49 — 38.7%
(statewide, 69.3%)
•18 to 19 — 44.9%
(statewide, 57.5%
• 12 to 17 — 22.8%
(statewide, 58.9%)
• 5 to 11 — 5.6% have
received a fi rst dose (state-
wide, 20.5%)
Health Department on
Wednesday, Dec. 1 released
the age breakdown of CO-
VID-19 cases during the
second half of November.
The biggest change,
compared with the fi rst
half of the month, is the
prevalence of cases among
county residents 50 and
older.
From Nov. 1-15, that
age range accounted for
45.2% of the county’s
cases.
During the second half
of the month — when the
number of cases rose by
64.8% — 52.7% were in
residents 50 or older.
The category with the
biggest change was resi-
dents ages 50 to 59. For
the fi rst half of November,
residents in their 50s ac-
counted for 9.4% of cases.
For the second half, that
fi gure more than doubled,
to 19.1%, almost one in
every fi ve cases. That was
the largest percentage
in any age group for that
period.
There was an opposite
trend for the county’s
youngest residents.
In the fi rst half of
November, residents 9
and younger accounted for
17% of the county’s cases.
For the second half of the
month, that age range ac-
counted for 9% of cases.
The full breakdown:
• Ages 0-4
Nov. 1-15 — 1.9%
Nov. 16-30 — 3.4%
• Ages 5-9
Nov. 1-15 — 15.1%
Nov. 16-30 — 5.6%
• Ages 10-19
Nov. 1-15 — 9.4%
Nov. 16-30 — 7.9%
• Ages 20-29
Nov. 1-15 — 7.6%
Nov. 16-30 — 10.1%
• Ages 30-39
Nov. 1-15 — 9.4%
Nov. 16-30 — 11.2%
• Ages 40-49
Nov. 1-15 — 11.3%
Nov. 16-30 — 9%
• Ages 50-59
Nov. 1-15 — 9.4%
Nov. 16-30 — 19.1%
• Ages 60-69
Nov. 1-15 — 11.3%
Nov. 16-30 — 15.7%
• Ages 70-79
Nov. 1-15 — 13.2%
Nov. 16-30 — 6.7%
• Ages 80 and older
Nov. 1-15 — 11.3%
Nov. 16-30 — 11.2%
Continued from A1
the holidays,” said Nancy
Staten, director of the
Baker County Health De-
partment. “My heart goes
out to all of the family and
friends of these two women,
I’m so sorry for what they
are going through.”
Three county residents
died during November
after testing positive.
There were fi ve deaths
in the county during Octo-
ber, and a record six during
September.
September was also the
peak of the surge in infec-
tions driven by the more
contagious delta variant.
Baker County reported 465
cases during the month,
breaking the previous re-
cord of 300 cases in August
2021.
Case numbers have
dropped signifi cantly dur-
ing the fall, to 168 during
October and to 143 in
November, the fewest since
July 2021 (91 cases).
Infections have been
rising during the past two
weeks, however.
During the fi rst 15 days
of November, the county
had 54 cases.
There were 89 cases
during the second half of
the month.
Age breakdown
The Baker County
“You’ll love the work we do. I guarantee it.” - JR
225 H Street • East of I-84 • 541-523-3200 • grumpysrepair.com
Jay & Kristin Wilson, Owners
2036 Main Street, Baker City
541-523-6284 • ccb#219615