A2 THE BULLETIN • WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2022
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Oregon prisons director picked to run federal prisons
BY MICHAEL BALSAMO AND MICHAEL
R. SISAK
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Justice De-
partment on Tuesday named Colette
Peters, the director of Oregon’s prison
system, to run the federal Bureau of
Prisons, turning to a reform-minded
outsider as it seeks to rebuild the belea-
guered agency.
Peters, who championed steeply re-
ducing the state’s inmate population
in the last decade, will inherit a federal
agency plagued by myriad scandals. Her
hiring comes about seven months af-
ter Bureau of Prisons Director Michael
Carvajal submitted his resignation amid
mounting pressure from Congress after
investigations by The Associated Press
exposed widespread corruption and
misconduct in the agency.
In an interview with the AP, Peters
stressed the importance of working to
“create an environment where people
can feel comfortable coming forward
and talking about misconduct.”
When she officially begins her role
Aug. 2, Peters will become only the
second director in the agency’s history
with no prior experience in the federal
prisons system. Deputy Attorney Gen-
eral Lisa Monaco, who led the search
for the new director, had been looking
for someone who was focused on re-
forming an agency that has had cul-
tural issues for decades.
Monaco, in a recent interview with
the AP, said she sought “somebody
who’s got executive experience manag-
ing a corrections operation, but some-
one who’s got real experience and cred-
ibility, quite frankly, as a reformer.”
“And I think we have achieved that,”
Monaco said. “I know we’ve achieved
that with Colette Peters.”
Peters had faced some scrutiny in
Oregon and was accused in a lawsuit
of placing underqualified friends in
high-ranking positions within the state’s
Department of Corrections and creat-
ing openings for them by firing other
employees or creating a hostile environ-
ment causing other employees to quit.
P She said the allegations in the
lawsuit were without merit and “not
founded.”
“That is not how I operate,” she said.
“I believe very strongly in recruitment
processes and really finding the right
person for the right job.”
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Deschutes County offers funds to reduce fire risks
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Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Opponents say vacation rentals have created problems in neighborhoods such as Cove Beach.
Proposed referendum would
limit short-term rentals
BY ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
A referendum is in the
works to repeal a new Clatsop
County ordinance that made
vacation rentals a recognized
use in zones throughout un-
incorporated areas.
The county received a pro-
spective petition on July 1,
just over a week after county
commissioners unanimously
approved changes to the de-
velopment code and formally
allowed vacation rentals in
commercial and residential
zones.
If the referendum qualifies
for the ballot and is approved
by voters, vacation rentals of
30 or fewer days would be
banned in the county’s unin-
corporated areas excluding
Arch Cape, where vacation
rentals have been permitted
for almost 20 years.
Vacation rentals would
start to be eliminated next
year as owners would be un-
able to renew their permits.
More than 170 vacation rent-
als exist in unincorporated
areas, including some that
have operated for decades.
The county has estimated
that phasing out vacation
rentals would lead to the loss
of more than $500,000 in an-
REDMOND BUREAU
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Starbucks closing 2 Portland
locations, 14 others in U.S.
nual lodging tax revenue.
Although the referendum
would apply only to unincor-
porated areas, all county vot-
ers could vote on the ballot
measure.
The petitioners — Charles
Dice and Jeff Davis, of Cove
Beach, and Clare Hasler-
Lewis, of Surf Pines — have
until Aug. 10 to turn in signa-
tures from 4% — or 742 — of
county voters to get the ref-
erendum on the November
ballot. If they want the refer-
endum on the May ballot, the
petitioners have until Sept. 20
to turn in signatures, accord-
ing to the county.
Deschutes County residents wanting to reduce wildfire risk
in their neighborhoods may be able to tap into county funds to
help them complete reduction projects.
On Tuesday the county announced a program that will grant
up to $100,000 to fund projects to remove brush, small trees and
undergrowth that fuel wildfires. Short-term projects that im-
prove defensible space will be considered for funding. The funds
are derived from video lottery gaming.
Preference for funding will be given to communities or neigh-
borhoods working to be recognized by Firewise USA, a nation-
wide initiative under the National Fire Protection Association
designed to make communities more resistant to wildfire, or
those already recognized.
Applicants must be working at the neighborhood or commu-
nity level to reduce wildfire risk. Individual property owners are
not eligible.
A wide range of activities may be eligible for funding, includ-
ing, equipment rental, supplies needed for community work
parties, brush clearing projects, improving defensible space and
debris disposal fees. Applications are due by 5 p.m. Sept. 16.
Deschutes County discourages requests for regular mainte-
nance, such as pine-needle raking and removal and ongoing
operational funding that cannot be sustained beyond the grant
period.
Interested applicants can learn more and ask questions about
the grant opportunity by attending one of two meetings.
An in-person meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. Aug. 10 at the
Deschutes County Road Department main conference room,
61150 SE 27th St. in Bend. A virtual meeting is set for 9 a.m.
Aug. 2.
To register for the meeting, contact Deschutes County For-
ester Ed Keith (ed.keith@deschutes.org).
COVID-19 community levels for Central Oregon
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monitors
community levels of COVID-19 to help communities decide
what prevention steps to take based on the latest data. Levels can
be low, medium or high and are determined by looking at hospi-
tal beds being used, hospital admissions and the total number of
new COVID-19 cases in an area.
As of Thursday, 14 Oregon counties had reached high levels of
community spread, 15 were at medium and seven were low.
The CDC listed the following levels for Central Oregon:
Deschutes County: Medium
Crook County: Medium
Jefferson County: Medium
Precautions the CDC recommends for communities with me-
dium levels:
• If you are at high risk for severe illness, talk to your health
care provider about whether you need to wear a mask and take
other precautions.
• Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines
• Get tested if you have symptoms
— Bulletin staff reports
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BY DEE-ANN DURBIN
Associated Press
Starbucks is closing 16
stores around the country be-
cause of repeated safety issues,
including drug use and other
disruptive behaviors that
threaten staff.
The coffee giant is closing
six stores in its hometown of
Seattle, six in Los Angeles, two
in Portland and one each in
Philadelphia and Washing-
ton. Starbucks said employees
at those stores will be given
the opportunity to transfer to
other stores.
Starbucks said Tuesday the
closures are part of a larger
effort to respond to staff con-
cerns and make sure stores are
safe and welcoming. In a letter
to employees, Debbie Stroud
and Denise Nelson, Starbucks’
senior vice presidents of op-
erations, said the company’s
stores aren’t immune from
problems like rising drug use
and a growing mental health
crisis.
The closures took on
heightened significance be-
cause of an ongoing unioniza-
tion effort at Starbucks’ U.S.
stores. More than 189 U.S.
Starbucks stores have voted to
unionize since late last year,
according to the National
Labor Relations Board. Star-
Gene J. Puskar/AP file
This photo shows a Starbucks
sign in a coffee shop in Pitts-
burgh, Pennsylvania. The coffee
company said Tuesday it’s clos-
ing 16 stores including two in
Portland.
bucks opposes the unioniza-
tion effort.
Two of the Seattle stores
that are closing have voted
to unionize, while one of the
Portland stores has petitioned
to hold a union vote. Last
month, Starbucks also closed
a unionized store in Ithaca,
New York, because of opera-
tional problems, including an
overflowing grease trap.
Starbucks Workers United,
the labor group organizing
the effort, said it intends to file
unfair labor practice charges
against Starbucks on behalf of
the two unionized stores that
are closing in Seattle.
But Starbucks insisted the
closures weren’t related to the
unionization drive. .
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