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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 2017)
State Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, December 20, 2017 A9 Oregon plans to Carols at the Capitol: ‘It restores my faith in the future’ challenge repeal of net neutrality By Paris Achen Capital Bureau First-graders from Salem’s Crosshill Christian School curl their arms into wing shapes, flap around the rotunda of the Oregon Capitol and belt out: “Three French hens, two turtle doves and a par- tridge in a pear tree.” The class of nearly 20 first-graders is among more than 500 students who are performing Christmas carols at the Capi- tol this holiday season. The decades-long tradition has gained such popularity that the Capitol’s Visitors Services employees no longer have to reach out to schools to book the perfor- mances. School choir directors call each year to claim their spot on the schedule. “I remember singing here when I was a child so it was fun to see my daughter sing here,” said Danielle Johnston, moth- er of Crosshill first-grader Parker John- ston. Surrounded by a magical scene of Christmas trees and holiday adornment in the rotunda, the choirs sing from about 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday until Dec. 22. Parents, pass- ersby and state employees fill audience seats. Some state employees bring their lunches to the rotunda so that they can watch the performances during their break. “Our world is a chaotic place right now,” said Robin Maxey, communica- tions director for Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem. “We see and hear a lot more about the bad than the good in it. To be able to see the joy of the sea- son on the faces of these children and teenagers every day gives me a lift. It restores my faith in the future.” Maxey keeps closed-circuit footage of the performances switched on in his office upstairs for most of the day. The performances also are streamed live online. “Having it in office doesn’t compare to being in the rotunda and actually hearing them, but it’s a busy time of year for us prepping for session so we can’t always get out there,” Maxey said. (The Oregon Legislature convenes its policymaking session shortly after By Paris Achen Capital Bureau Capital Bureau/Paris Achen First-graders with their teacher, Colleen Andersson, from Salem’s Crosshill Christian School sing “The Twelve Days of Christmas” in the rotunda of the Oregon Capitol in Salem Dec. 12. Capital Bureau/Paris Achen The school choir performance schedule at the Oregon Capitol in Salem Dec. 12. the holidays Feb. 5-March 9.) Sherry Chandler of Visitors Services, who schedules the choirs, sits at an in- formation desk near the rotunda for the most of the day. She said she never tires of hearing the carols. “The little ones have sweet, little voices, and in the middle school and high school choirs, there is very good talent. Sometimes, you hear the same carols over and over. This year, they were mixing it up a little.” The carolers bring a starkly differ- ent scene to the Capitol, where during other times of the year lawmakers may bicker over bills and lobbyists pace the halls. “The kids aren’t wearing thou- sand-dollar suits and lobbying for bad causes,” quipped Arthur Towers, a lob- byist for Portland-based Oregon Trial Lawyers Association. “It’s heartwarm- ing as opposed to heartbreaking.” Scott Jorgensen, chief of staff for Sen. Alan DeBoer, R-Ashland, said he got sick of hearing Christmas music in his past life as an employee at Fred Meyer, where the music cycled constantly from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. “It’s different when the school kids sing,” Jorgensen said. “I absolutely love it. I think it’s easy to lose sight of how special it is when you’re there every day. “Through the eyes of schoolchildren, especially schoolchildren from the rural parts of the state, it’s a really big deal to be able to come to the Capitol. You can see it on their faces how thrilled they are. It really warms your heart to see the groups of kids singing.” Oregon Attorney Gen- eral Ellen Rosenblum said she plans to join a lawsuit to challenge the Federal Communi- cations Commission’s decision to repeal a rule barring internet provid- ers from blocking or charging more for access to one website over an- other. The FCC voted 3-to-2 along party lines to scrap the rule approved by the FCC in 2015. The commis- sion’s two Democrats voted against it. “The decision today by the FCC to reverse course on net neutrality will have lasting negative impacts for our economy and almost every aspect of our lives,” Rosenblum said. “We all rely on a free and open in- ternet, and we will no longer have an even playing field if we start to incentivize Big Cable over other compa- nies.” The vote came despite calls from state attorneys general, consumer advo- cates, tech executives and even some Republican law- makers to postpone or can- cel the decision. Rosenblum spearheaded a letter from 18 state attor- neys general Tuesday to the FCC urging them to delay a vote until investigators could determine whether fraud was committed in the FCC comment process. New York Attorney Gen- eral Eric Schneiderman’s Office has been investi- gating whether commenters to the FCC on the proposed rule change Ellen illegally used Rosenblum the identities of Americans from around the country to give feedback on net neu- trality. Schneiderman released new information Wednes- day that his office had iden- tified a total of 2 million fake comments on net neu- trality to the FCC using sto- len identities. His office has a search engine where residents can look to see if their identi- ty was used fraudulently in comments. Oregon is one of more than a dozen states expected to join New York in launch- ing a legal challenge of Thursday’s FCC decision. “I’m proud to stand up with other attorneys general and join New York to peti- tion for review,” Rosenblum said. Supporters of the rule change argue that it will benefit consumers by spur- ring more competition be- tween broadband providers and cutting internet provid- ers’ expenses. FCC Commissioner Jes- sica Rosenworcel, one of the two FCC commissioners who voted against the rule change, told NPR’s “The Takeaway” that half of U.S. households have only one choice for a broadband pro- vider. Measure 101 supporters, opponents clash in debate By Claire Withycombe Capital Bureau Supporters and opponents of Ballot Measure 101, which could repeal part of Oregon’s Medicaid funding plan, faced off Wednesday in a debate at the Multnomah Athletic Club. Medicaid is a health care coverage program joint- ly funded by the state and federal government serving about 1 million Oregonians through the Oregon Health Plan. A special election Jan. 23 concerns parts of a 2017 funding law. Particularly at issue are provisions in the law to increase federal Medicaid matching funding by col- lecting assessments from the state’s hospitals, insurers and coordinated care organiza- tions — the regional networks of providers serving Medicaid patients. A trio of Republican state representatives successfully petitioned to refer portions of the law, including those provi- sions, to the ballot. Measure 101 will ask vot- ers to either vote “yes,” to keep all the provisions of the bill; or “no,” to cut some of them out. Republican State Reps. Ju- lie Parrish, of Tualatin/West Linn, and Cedric Hayden, of Roseburg, who referred the issue to the ballot, spoke in favor of repealing parts of the law Wednesday. Speaking on the oppo- site side was Felisa Hagins, political director of the Ser- vice Employees International Union Local 49, and Jessica Adamson, director of govern- ment affairs for Providence Health and Services, who are advocating to keep all of the assessments. Some takeaways from Wednesday’s forum: • Neither side wants to cut people from Medicaid: Both sides of the issue said they didn’t want people on Medicaid to lose health care. Parrish and Hagins say they grew up covered by Medicaid, and Hayden, a dentist, serves patients on the Oregon Health Plan. Hayden and Parrish largely disagree with the Measure 101 supporters, though, on how it ought to be paid for — and ar- gue the state could find other sources of funding. Supporters of the measure say that it took the last legisla- tive session to get insurers and Medicaid providers to agree on a funding plan. They argue the legislation’s mechanisms are approved ways to collect federal matching funds, which pay the vast majority of Med- icaid costs. • Where could the money from the taxes go? The two sides disagree on whether the funds generated by portions of the legislation at issue can be reverted to the state’s general fund to pay for other things. Parrish claims a legislative counsel opinion from June indicates that a 0.7 percent assessment on net hospital rev- enues could get swept to the state’s general fund and used for purposes other than health care. The “yes” side disagrees, saying that the money collect- ed from the assessment would only go to health care, and that a “sweep” to the general fund requires separate legislation — which is not an unprecedented move. • The insurance market: The cost of insurance for those not on Medicaid, which could also be affected by the bal- lot measure, came up during Wednesday’s debate as well. The law’s 1.5 percent tax on gross premiums, or pre- mium equivalents for public employee health care plans, on insurers is intended to fund a reinsurance program that in- sulates insurers from high-risk claims that can drive up premi- ums. Proponents say it’s already working, reducing 2018 pre- miums by an average of 6 per- cent. However, petitioners want to stop the tax on insurers, because the law allows premi- ums to increase by up to 1.5 percent to absorb the cost of the tax. They also argue that the state could have preempted the need for a reinsurance market by enrolling the state’s public employees in coordinated care organiza- tions or having the state buy employees’ insurance on the exchange — either of those moves, they argue, would dramatically increase the risk pool and bring down premiums. Hagins, the SEIU pan- elist, said that the Public Employee Benefits Board — which oversees health care benefits for public em- ployees — did a pilot proj- ect that enrolled employees in a coordinated care orga- nization. But, Hagins said, the CCO was unable to contain rates to the agreed level. Committees are formal public bodies required to comply with Oregon Public Meetings Law ORS 192.610. 30337 Eleven members serve three year terms and meet semi-annually to provide guidance and assistance to local OSU Extension staff in planning, developing, and evaluating balanced educational programs directed to high priority needs of county residents. Membership is limited to one re-appointment. Vincent Raschio • 3rd/4th Grade, Humbolt Merry Christmas From ORS 215.020. Nine members serve four year terms and two alternates serve two year terms, meeting as needed to review land use and zoning applications and discuss city and county growth issues and the siting of new facilities. Members must be residents of various geographic areas within the county and no more than two voting members shall be engaged in the same kind of business, occupation, trade or profession with agriculture designations of livestock / forage crop production and horticulture / specialty crop production. Commissioners serving in this capacity must file an Annual Verified Statement of Economic Interest with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission. Members must re-apply to the County Court before their term ends if they wish to be re-appointed. Created by Resolution 1993-29. Nine members serve three year terms and meet as needed to discuss issues regarding big game management and make recommendations to Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife, including tag allocation and hunting season structure as they relate to population and damage of property. 29696