A4 The BulleTin • Sunday, March 13, 2022
EDITORIALS & OPINIONS
AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
Heidi Wright
Gerry O’Brien
Richard Coe
Publisher
Editor
Editorial Page Editor
Short session
had signs of
bipartisan efforts
T
he report card from the short 32-day state legislative
session is fairly positive for Central Oregon, according to
two local lawmakers from both sides of the aisle.
It is almost as important to look at
what didn’t get passed as what did,
and what to expect in next year’s
longer session. Suffice to say that
a good amount of money was ap-
propriated to try to resolve pressing
public issues.
Sen. Tim Knopp, Republican,
and Rep. Jason Kropf, Democrat,
brought home some of the goods in
this short session that was remark-
ably absent of the contentiousness
of previous sessions, which were
marred with walkouts by the Repub-
lican senators and protests outside
the state capitol building. Still divi-
sions remain.
“I felt like it was a pretty partisan
session,” said Knopp, of District 27,
which encompasses the Central Or-
egon communities of Bend, Red-
mond, Sunriver and Tumalo.
“Democrats got to move most of
their agenda and killed most of the
Republican bills and agenda,” he
said noting that about 50 Democrat-
ic-sponsored bills pass the Senate,
while only three sponsored by Re-
publicans passed.
But Knopp co-sponsored a bill au-
thored by Kropf of District 54 that
provides for a coordinated response
to homelessness, a nagging issue in
Bend and Redmond.
Kropf said, “I’m pretty happy
about how the bill came together.
There will be several pilot programs
spread across the four corners of the
state, so different communities with
tackle this issue from different per-
spectives. That was a real bipartisan
effort.”
Here’s a few of the issues the pair
worked on across the aisle:
• About $10 million was set aside
for the OSU-Cascades innovation
center;
• La Pine will receive money for
day care infrastructure
• Crook and Deschutes counties
will get renovation dollars for their
courthouses. Deschutes has two
new circuit court judges coming on
board and the money will be used to
remodel courtrooms.
• Redmond received $9.5 million
in matching grant money to build
an emergency response center for
training and as the center to respond
to a predicted Cascadia earthquake
event.
What just missed passage, but
both sides agree to its need, was a
bill to raise to a felony from a mis-
demeanor a charge for anyone as-
saulting a health care worker. Exam-
ples abound during the COVID-19
pandemic of hospital workers being
threatened while trying to care for
patients.
“We’ve been hearing from the
hospital workers that the penalty is
not enough to keep people from as-
saulting them. They wanted a stron-
Sen. Tim Knopp, Republican,
and Rep. Jason Kropf, Democrat,
brought home some of the
goods in this short session that
was remarkably absent of the
contentiousness of previous
sessions, which were marred
with walkouts by the Republican
senators and protests outside
the state capitol building. Still
divisions remain. “I felt like it
was a pretty partisan session,”
said Knopp, of District 27, which
encompasses the Central Oregon
communities of Bend, Redmond,
Sunriver and Tumalo.
ger consequence,” Knopp said. It will
return for next year’s session.
Also, aid for homeless students
in the form of housing, meals,
transportaiton will be back next
year. While heavily supported, it
just didn’t make it to the Senate
floor.
And more money will be consid-
ered for law enforcement to Oregon
State Police officers and sheriff dep-
uties better locate illegal marijuana
grows in the central and southern
Orgon.
“We have to be vigilant on those
because it out of control in southern
Oregon,” Knopp said.
A forest thinning bill to help
Deschutes, Marion, Jackson and
some coastal counties with wildfire
prevention will also be back next
year.
Knopp warned that a lot of one-
time federal money came to Oregon
that the Legislature appropriated,
yet the state will have to find a way
to fund those programs on its own
once the federal dollars end.
Kropf was optimistic for the
region
“I think there is a growing real-
ization at the state about what is
happening out here in Central Or-
egon. And that is reflective in some
of the investments we received this
session.”
Attention now turns to this year’s
primary election in May and gen-
eral election in November. There
will be a lot of turnover in the House
and Knopp, the Senate Republican
leader, hopes his party can pick up
enough seats for a possible majority
in the Senate.
Whatever the outcome, the efforts
to work across the aisle have born
fruit.
editorials reflect the views of The Bulletin’s editorial board, Publisher heidi Wright, editor Gerry
O’Brien and editorial Page editor richard coe. Today’s editorial was written by Gerry O’Brien.
Central Oregon is ready for equitable
and climate-friendly communities
BY BEN GORDON
T
oday’s biggest contributors to
climate change are tied to our
built environment. Where we
live and work and how we travel de-
termine our impact on this planet.
Greenhouse gas emissions from trans-
portation are the biggest contributor
to climate change nationally. That
certainly rings true for Oregon, where
transportation accounts for 40% of
statewide emissions.
Established in
the 1970s, Oregon’s
land use system was
created to channel
growth and devel-
opment within city
limits to prevent
sprawl onto our sur-
Gordon
rounding farm lands
and open space. We
didn’t know then that this land use
system would also be one of our best
tools for tackling climate change.
By thoughtfully guiding growth,
Oregon has been able to develop more
compact neighborhoods that reduce
major carbon emitters, like vehicle
miles traveled.
But we need to do more to meet
this moment. As we continue to ex-
perience ongoing drought and rapid
regional growth, land use planning
is critical to creating a hopeful future
where equity and sustainability go
hand in hand.
Right now, we have a
once-in-a-generation opportunity
to transform our communities and
tackle climate change head-on.
Oregon’s Land Conservation and
GUEST COLUMN
Development Commission (LCDC)
is in the midst of a Climate-Friendly
and Equitable Communities rulemak-
ing process. These rules will guide
future development for cities across
our state with a goal “to transform
Oregon’s communities to be safe, eq-
uitable, sociable, and pleasant places
where driving is not required, and the
amount of driving is reduced.”
This could be a seismic shift from
business-as-usual by placing climate
change, affordable housing, and eq-
uitable transportation choices at the
center of how our cities are planned,
built, and funded. For instance,
these rules would designate Cli-
mate-Friendly Areas in our cities and
direct a portion of new housing de-
velopment to those areas — and these
rules would also direct cities to pri-
oritize abundant, high-quality infra-
structure projects for biking, walking,
and public transit in those areas.
The very first goal of Oregon’s land
use system is public involvement,
and this process has already included
thousands of Oregonians.
LandWatch and other local groups
have been deeply engaged in this ef-
fort to help ensure these rules are
strong and effective and that they
happen soon. We don’t have another
decade to wait.
We know local jurisdictions will
need support and resources to accom-
plish the vital work ahead. On March
31, there is a virtual public hearing on
these rules on LCDC’s website (ore-
The very first goal of Oregon’s land
use system is public involvement,
and this process has already
included thousands of Oregonians.
LandWatch and other local groups
have been deeply engaged in this
effort to help ensure these rules
are strong and effective and that
they happen soon. We don’t have
another decade to wait.
gon.gov/lcd/Commission) and com-
ments can be submitted up until then.
Central Oregonians need to show up
to ensure this effort leads to transfor-
mative outcomes that change how our
cities are built and how state transpor-
tation dollars get spent in our local
communities.
At its heart, the Climate Friendly
and Equitable Communities rulemak-
ing process should add up to one
necessary outcome: all people should
have the opportunity to thrive here in
Central Oregon while we protect the
environment around us.
That is why these rules need and
deserve our community’s attention
and support.
If you share LandWatch’s urgency
in tackling climate change at the state
and local level, join us at the virtual
public hearing on March 31. Now is
the time to make your voice heard
about the future you want to see.
e
Ben Gordon is the executive director
of Central Oregon LandWatch
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The state of rural Oregon — and resilience — from the road
BY MARGIE HOFFMANN
L
ast week, I tuned in to Presi-
dent Biden’s State of the Union
speech roughly 90 miles outside
of Bend.
While the president laid out his vi-
sion of an America recovering from
the middle out, not the top down, I
wove through large stands of pon-
derosa where the high desert meets
the mountains. I crossed rivers only
months away from another drought
emergency declaration.
The next day, while carefully step-
ping through a burn scar newly blan-
keted in green and listening to local
leaders extoll the privilege of potable
water, one word stuck with me: resil-
ience.
Rural Oregonians know all about
resilience.
When I first assumed my role as
state director of USDA Rural Devel-
opment in Oregon,
I made it a priority
to get out into the
field and visit the ru-
ral communities we
serve.
Even from a home
office in Bend, it’s
Hoffmann
easy to lose perspec-
tive when talking numbers. RD Or-
egon invested over $635 million last
year in loans, grants and guaranteed
loans. We partnered with rural Ore-
gon’s public bodies, nonprofits, small
businesses, and homeowners on over
2,072 projects.
These are impressive totals, but
they are far more impressive when
measured by their impact.
With a grant from USDA’s Rural
Energy for America Program, a food
co-op in Astoria invested in solar en-
ergy and now passes savings on to
GUEST COLUMN
customers. Children in Southern Ore-
gon will have access to critical medical
care over broadband funded by US-
DA’s ReConnect Program.
Hundreds of families in rural, sub-
urban and tribal communities dis-
placed by wildfires will sleep in their
own beds and wake up to running
water, thanks to the vision of commu-
nity changemakers and our multifam-
ily housing and emergency water as-
sistance programs.
These are the voices from President
Biden’s economy of the middle. They
tell stories of perseverance.
By investing in water infrastructure
and broadband, rural business oppor-
tunities and the American food sup-
ply chain, USDA is helping commu-
nities build a foundation for sustained
economic growth.
Every day, RD Oregon has the priv-
ilege of working with growing local
networks. As community partners,
environmental stewards, and innova-
tors, we work alongside community
members to assist them in realizing
their vision for the community.
Together, through USDA’s Food
Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Pro-
gram and the Meat and Poultry Pro-
cessing Expansion Program, we will
create a food supply chain that’s more
robust, more diverse, and fairer, so
that Oregon’s farms and ranches take
home a greater share of profits and
keep shelves stocked in their own
hometowns.
USDA’s Water and Environmental
Programs will help small towns re-
place crumbling pipes and make sure
all Oregon families have safe water at
home and at school, while easing wa-
ter bills. By ensuring equitable access
to federal resources, we will answer
President Biden’s call to build from
the middle out.
From my travels across our state,
I can tell you one thing without a
doubt: there are few things stronger
than an Oregonian’s resolve. Through
record-breaking heat waves, annual
drought conditions, wildfire season,
and everything in between, however
deep the crisis, whatever the ZIP code,
Oregonians will come together to
overcome and thrive.
Now, faced with a changing land-
scape and a climate in unknown terri-
tory, rural Oregonians have a chance
to chart a new path. To lead the nation
towards a sustainable, brighter future
where all of America prospers.
I’ll see you on the road.
e
Margie Hoffmann is state director
of USDA Rural Development in Oregon.