A6 The BulleTin • SaTurday, June 26, 2021
Amazon
DEAR ABBY
Write to Dear Abby online at dearabby.com
or by mail at P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069
Dear Abby: Last year, after
a falling out with someone
I have been friends with for
more than 20 years, I was OK
with writing this person off
and going on with my life.
From my understanding, this
person felt the same way.
Last week, their teenage
son died in a terrible acci-
dent. I was heartbroken. I
truly cared about the boy and
had watched him grow up. I
reached out and received no
response (as I expected). I’m
torn about whether I should
go to the funeral. I want to
show support, but I’m con-
cerned I’m not wanted there.
I’m also concerned that if I
don’t go, it will look awful
and disrespectful, since I have
been a part of this boy’s life.
— Cared For Him in Ohio
Dear Cared For Him: You
may not have heard from the
family because they are griev-
ing and not communicat-
ing with everyone. You have
several choices: Send a con-
dolence card, send flowers,
contribute to a charity in the
young man’s name and/or go
unobtrusively to the funeral
and sit in the back. If you de-
cide to do this, do not go with
any expectation it will heal the
breach in your relationship.
YOUR HOROSCOPE
By Georgia Nicols
Stars show the kind of day you’ll have
Continued from A5
Amazon thrived during the
pandemic, delivering food and
just about everything else to
a nation of locked-down con-
sumers. It is the second largest
private company in the world,
with more than a million em-
ployees. Sales in the first quar-
ter of this year alone exceeded
$108 billion.
But the company has also
come under criticism for low
pay and harsh working con-
ditions. Just this week, two
large delivery companies serv-
ing the Portland area notified
drivers they will stop working
with Amazon, their only client.
In an email to drivers, one of
the contractors cited “unsafe”
working conditions and a dete-
riorating relationship with the
retail giant.
Between Intel’s sprawling
computer chip factories, Nike’s
headquarters expansion and
several data centers, Oregon
has hosted plenty of enormous
construction projects of late.
At 3.84 million square feet, the
Brooke Herbert/Oregonian file
This 2019 photo shows the Amazon robotics fulfillment center in Trout-
dale. The company plans to build in Woodburn a 3.84-million-square-
foot center — more than four times the size of the one in Troutdale.
Woodburn fulfillment center
ranks near the top. The build-
ing will be 105-feet tall — dou-
ble the maximum permissible
under the city’s current zoning
rules, an exception approved
by the city — with floor area
equivalent to 66 football fields.
Amazon’s growth has led
to a seemingly inexhaustible
appetite for warehouse space,
where its employees pick from
tens of millions of stored items,
pack them and ship them to
customers. The company says
it operates more than 175 ful-
fillment centers worldwide,
and the Woodburn facility will
be its fourth major logistics
center in the area.
It’s unclear how much the
Woodburn project will cost
to build. Amazon’s facility in
Troutdale cost $180 million.
The Woodburn project is more
than four times the size of the
855,000 square-foot Troutdale
warehouse.
Amazon is proposing sev-
eral traffic changes to accom-
modate the expected increase
in truck and car volume in the
vicinity. Most notably, it wants
to overhaul the southbound I-5
exit ramp.
In its project document filed
with the city, Amazon pledged
to work with the Oregon De-
partment of Transportation “to
identify an acceptable mod-
ification to the southbound
I-5 offramp to maximize the
amount of southbound right-
turn lane storage and lengthen
the overall offramp.”
Though it is the second larg-
est private company in the
world, Amazon may qualify
for Oregon property tax breaks
if it goes ahead with the Wood-
burn project. Some companies
inside the Woodburn-Gervais
Enterprise Zone qualify for
three to five years of property
tax abatements.
Amazon officials did not re-
turn messages.
DYNAMIC | POSITIVE | AVERAGE | SO-SO | DIFFICULT
MOON ALERT: Avoid shopping or making important decisions from
8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. EDT today (5:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. PDT). After that, the
Moon moves from Capricorn into Aquarius.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR SATURDAY, JUNE 26, 2021: You are
hardworking and organized. You are extremely creative, which is often not
immediately apparent because you have a quiet, soft-spoken nature. You
are sensible, practical and even dutiful to others. People respect you. This is
a year of new beginnings and fresh starts. It will be fast-paced with lots of
action. Get ready to open any door!
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
Oh joy! For the next two weeks, you have more opportunities for
fun, entertainment and having a good time! Welcome a chance for creative
self-expression as well as a romance! Fun activities with children are also on
the agenda. Tonight: No need to prove something.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
You’ll be keen to redecorate at home in the next two weeks and
make where you live look more beautiful. Many of you will entertain at home
as well. This window of time is solid for real estate negotiations and major
purchases for home. Tonight: Temper your ambition.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
In the next two weeks, you will appreciate your daily surroundings
more than usual. You will see for yourself just how much love and affection
there is in your daily world. This will be a gratifying experience. Tonight: Steer
clear of controversial subjects.
CANCER (June 21-July 22)
Good news! You can attract money to you in the next two weeks.
This is also a favorable time for financial negotiations or borrowing money.
If shopping, you will want to buy beautiful things for yourself and for loved
ones. Ka-ching! Tonight: Avoid money disputes
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)
Fair Venus will be in your sign for the next two weeks, which makes
this the perfect time to buy wardrobe goodies! It’s also a wonderful time to
enjoy socializing with friends, to take a vacation or to do whatever it is that
you enjoy. Pleasure will rank above work. Tonight: Cooperate with others
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Solitude in beautiful surroundings will totally appeal to you in the next
two weeks. Admittedly, you are involved with others, especially groups and
organizations. However, this is probably why you will relish any moment to
have the luxury of some privacy. Tonight: Get organized.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
You will be more active with others in the next two weeks, particu-
larly creative, artistic people. You also will more readily tell someone, perhaps
a friend or an acquaintance in an organization, how much you appreciate
them and how much you care about them. Tonight: Fun times!
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
The next two weeks will be a favorable time for business and your
professional life because you will attract important people who will help you.
Expect to be asked for your advice about something to do with design, lay-
out or artistic matters or office redecorating. Tonight: Family discussions.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
You are the traveler of the zodiac, and in the next two weeks, you
long to take a pleasure trip — anywhere! Not only will you enjoy new places
and meeting people from different backgrounds, a romance with someone
who is different might begin. Tonight: Listen to others.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Your intimate, personal relationships will be important to you in the
next few weeks. Your desire will be heightened, and you will feel greater
affection for someone. Tonight: Defend what you own.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Relations with partners and close friends will beautifully improve in
the next two weeks because fair Venus is opposite your sign. In fact, things
will be so warm and cushy that, even if you are in conflict with someone, you
will make peace. Tonight: You have strong opinions.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
A work-related romance might begin for some of you in the next
two weeks. In addition, your health will feel robust; although you might be
tempted by sweet foods and desserts. (Caution against overindulgence.) A
balanced diet is not a muffin in each hand. Tonight: Enjoy solitude.
Oregon Business & Industry names
Angela Wilhelms as lobbyist’s CEO
Demars
Naplachowski
The Bulletin
Continued from A5
After just under a year away
from Central Oregon, Zack De-
mars is returning to The Bulle-
tin as a special projects reporter.
Demars comes to Bend from
Oregon’s South Coast, where he
reported for the Coos Bay World
and its affiliated newspapers.
Before that, the Washington
native spent the summer after
graduation from the University of
Oregon as an intern The Bulletin,
covering a summer of fires, pro-
tests and COVID-19. In college,
Demars reported and co-authored
a book about Southern Oregon
Cold War pen pals, and his work
for the Catalyst Journalism Project
and Howard Center for Investiga-
tive Reporting has been published
nationwide.
Demars lives in Bend and
spends his time outside the office
testing local brews and finding
mountains and lakes to explore.
Dylan Jefferies, a 2021 graduate
of Portland State University, is a
reporting intern for the summer
through the University of Oregon’s
Charles Snowden Program for Ex-
cellence in Journalism.
Jefferies grew up in Portland.
During his time at PSU, he served
as news editor and editor-in-chief
at PSU’s student-run newspaper,
Vanguard, where he was the re-
cipient of multiple Oregon News-
paper Publishers Association
awards and the Wilma Morrison
Scholarship for Excellence in
Journalism.
He has volunteered at Portland-
SocietyPage.com, a public news
source for nonprofits, and Street
Roots, Portland’s award-winning
weekly investigative street news-
paper. He is pursuing a career in
investigative journalism, and is
passionate about covering topics
such as homelessness, poverty, the
criminal justice system and edu-
cation.
Oregon Business & Industry, the state’s
leading business lobbying organization,
named a new CEO on Friday, hiring Univer-
sity of Oregon executive Angela Wilhelms.
Currently secretary to the university’s
board of trustees, Wilhelms previously
served as a chief of staff to a state representa-
tive and press secretary to former U.S. Rep.
Greg Walden, R-Hood River.
Oregon Business & Industry’s current
chief, Sandra McDonough, retires in Octo-
Eviction
Continued from A5
With the state and fed-
eral eviction moratoriums
set to expire at the end
of June, on Tuesday Ore-
gon lawmakers passed an
amendment to Senate Bill
278 to pause evictions.
Under the amendment,
tenants who are unable to
pay their July or August
rent would not be evicted
for 60 days if they provide
proof to their landlords
that they have applied for
rental assistance through
Oregon Housing and
Community Services.
Gov. Kate Brown
signed the bill Friday, ac-
cording to the Legisla-
ture’s website.
In addition, earlier this
year Oregon lawmakers
voted to extend the grace
period for past-due rent
during the moratorium,
allowing tenants to have
until Feb. 28, 2022, to pay
back rent.
How are the courts
handling evictions?
As the state braces for
evictions, courts are also
hastily preparing for an
influx of evictions.
“We are closely moni-
toring the situation, but
there continue to be a lot
of unknowns and vari-
ables that will affect court
workload and processes,”
said Todd Sprague, a
ber. Wilhelms starts her new job Sept. 1.
The organization formed in 2017 by the
merger of two rival groups — the Oregon
Business Association and the Associated Or-
egon Industries.
When she starts at OBI in September,
Wilhelms said her top priorities at Oregon
Business & Industry will be helping lead the
economy’s recovery from the pandemic re-
cession, assisting businesses with regulatory
challenges and workforce needs, and imple-
menting new technologies to aid their orga-
nizations.
— The Oregonian
spokesperson for the Oregon
Judicial Department.
The Chief Justice Order
directs courts to schedule
eviction proceedings “as
soon as practicable,” but al-
lows them to schedule first
appearances within 14 days
and any trial within 30 days,
both of which are double the
normal time.
In addition retired judges
are being assigned to courts
that need short-term assis-
tance. Some circuit courts
are exploring mediation as
well.
What is the affordability in
rental markets?
The Oregonian reported
that, from March to April
this year, Portland apartment
rents increased by 1.8%,
with median rents sitting at
$1,153 for a one-bedroom
apartment and $1,344 for a
two-bedroom apartment.
However, at the time the cost
of renting an apartment in
Portland was still down 4%
as compared with last April
2020.
Website rentcafe.com re-
ported an average monthly
rent for an 878-square-foot
apartment in Bend at $1,475,
a 12% increase year over
year.
Are evictions expected to
increase homelessness?
Oregon had a housing cri-
sis before the pandemic and
since then it has only been
exacerbated. It’s hard to say
exactly how much homeless-
ness will increase in Oregon.
However, one indication of
the scope of the problem is
census data in May showing
53% of Oregon renters who
responded to a survey — or
more than 27,000 renters —
said that it was “very likely”
or “somewhat likely” that they
would be evicted from their
homes.
Annette Sternfeld
of Bend, OR
February 23, 1935 - June
19, 2021
Arrangements:
Baird Funeral Home of
Bend is honored to serve
the Sternfeld family. Please
visit our website,
www.bairdfh.com, to share
condolences and sign our
online guest book.
Services:
There will be a Celebration
of Life announced at a later
date. No service will be
held at this time.
Contributions may be
made to:
American Cancer Society;
Relay for Life
250 Williams Street NW
Atlanta, GA 30303
800.227.2345
www.cancer.org/involved/
fundraise/relay-for-life.html
OBITUARY DEADLINE
Call to ask about our deadlines
541-385-5809
Monday-Friday 10am-3pm
Email: obits@bendbulletin.com
Coming this
HEALTH BEAT OF
CENTRAL OREGON
SUNDAY
The new
Pulse of Oregon
in The Bulletin
Sunday,
June 27.