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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 8, 2017)
6A • September 8, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com Wyden criticizes Trump at town hall in Seaside Democrat says Charlottesville response ‘horrifying’ By Edward Stratton EO Media Group When immigration or white supremacy comes up at his town halls, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden sometimes recounts the story of how his parents fled Nazi Germany and how his father joined the U.S. Army to produce propaganda for the war effort. In his 844th town hall, and the first since the deadly vi- olence at a white nationalist rally this month in Charlottes- ville, Virginia, Wyden on Fri- day, Aug. 25, called President Donald Trump’s response horrifying. “All the people I know believe that when you see a swastika, this is not something where there are two sides of the debate,” the Oregon Dem- ocrat said to applause from a full crowd in the Seaside City Council chambers. “It’s wrong.” Wyden took questions on a variety of national issues and promised to continue fighting for the values of his constitu- ents. Taxes and spending Wyden, the ranking mem- ber on the Senate Finance Committee, blasted the Trump administration’s one-page tax EDWARD STRATTON/EO MEDIA GROUP U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, was in Seaside for his 844th town hall since joining the U.S. Senate in 1996. reform proposal, which would lower top-tier rates on indi- viduals and businesses and reorder much of the federal tax code. In the guise of helping small businesses, he said, there is a disturbing proposal to reclassify ordinary income as capital gains, taxed at a lower rate. “On my watch, I’m going to fight that every single step of the way,” he said, promising to advocate for bipartisan tax reform that benefits the middle class and helps produce more jobs. Asked about Trump’s recent threat at an Arizona rally to shut down the gov- ernment this fall unless sig- nificant money for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border is in- cluded in the federal budget, Wyden said Trump will find bipartisan resistance. “Republicans do not want to have anything to do with paying for this wall,” Wyden said, adding the U.S. instead needs infrastructure invest- ment. Health care Amid widespread oppo- sition, Republicans narrowly failed to repeal and replace the federal Affordable Care Act. Wyden said the efforts made a mockery of Trump’s campaign promises to expand insurance coverage and lower costs, with federal analyses concluding the two iterations of Trumpcare would have increased premiums and cut coverage for millions of peo- ple. The senator said Con- gress needs to pass bipartisan legislation to stabilize the pri- vate insurance market, clamp down on prescription drug prices and give states more flexibility to set up public and single-payer health care op- tions. Wyden highlighted bipar- tisan efforts with U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, to pass legislation on chronic care, which would use telemed- icine, coordinated care and value-based payment to de- crease costs and expand ac- cess. The bill, forecasted by the Congressional Budget Of- fice to reduce direct spending on Medicare and Medicaid by more than $215 million over the next four fiscal years, was recently approved by the Sen- ate Finance Committee. Environment Astoria recently joined a number of cities formally opposing a proposed oil ter- minal in Vancouver, Washing- ton. Wyden was asked what he will do to protect the Co- lumbia River from becoming a fossil fuel highway to Asia. Wyden said the federal government can’t play Rus- sian roulette with people’s safety and needs to support initiatives that create incen- tives to improve tracks, re- place aging trains and support first responders. So far, he said, U.S. Environmental Pro- tection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt hasn’t said much regarding oil trains. “Under normal circum- stances, I’d say, ‘Well, maybe that isn’t all bad,’” Wyden said. “But … when I hear about all the stuff his staff is working on behind the scenes, I think we got to get him on the record on his plans. That is what I intend to do in September.” Russia Speaking of federal in- vestigations into interference by Russia in U.S. elections, Wyden, who serves on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said both Con- gress and special counsel Rob- ert Mueller are both trying to follow the money. “What I said on the (intel- ligence) committee is that our job is to tell all of you, the American people, what hap- pened, how our democracy was hacked and do it in a way that doesn’t compromise clas- sified information,” the senator said. Wyden talked about his leg- islation, the Presidential Tax Transparency Act, to require all presidential candidates to release their tax returns, while lauding the new sanctions against Russia overwhelming- ly passed by the Senate. Pushing back Faced with a woman who said Trump was causing people mental health issues, Wyden reminded the audience that despite all the dramatic rhetoric, President Trump has not been able to pass major legislation and faces mount- ing opposition from both Democrats and Republicans. “I do think the last few days have seen a lot of push- ing back,” Wyden said about Trump’s arguments with even conservative Republicans. “I don’t know how he expects to get his legislation passed. And that’s probably a good thing, because most of it is so flawed.” BUSINESS DIRECTORY P AINTING Randy Anderson Licensed • Bonded • Insured CCB# 89453 36 Years Experience Anderson Painting (503) 738-9989 • Cell (503) 440-2411 • Fax (503) 738-9337 PO Box 140 Seaside, Oregon 97138 www.andersonpainting.biz “Custom Finishing” L ANDSCAPING Environmentalists object to proposed Arcadia Beach park site Laurelwood Compost • Mulch • Planting MacMix Soil Amendments YARD DEBRIS DROP-OFF (no Scotch Broom) 503-717-1454 RV park from Page 1A 34154 HIGHWAY 26 SEASIDE, OR “Just because the parks system didn’t have plan for this plot didn’t mean it was valueless to the public,” La Follette said. “Put in a trail loop, install other interpretive uses. There are lots of things you can do there. But an RV park in this area is something we don’t feel comfortable with.” Smejkal said he intends the project to be executed like another RV park he developed in Wallowa County, which he described as “upscale.” B oB M c E wan c onstruction , inc . Cease-and-desist order 34154 Hwy 26, Seaside, OR P.O. Box 2845, Gearhart, OR Four parcels of Smejkal’s land are zoned for recreation management and one parcel for agriculture-forestry. It is legal for Smejkal to log the parcel zoned for for- estry, but the county issued a cease-and-desist order in July after the Department of For- estry reported he was plan- ning a logging operation on the other four parcels without county approval. Caplinger said. For now, Smejkal is only permitted to clear brush in the right of way granted by ODOT for a temporary ser- vice road. Smejkal said he is brushing his property under the state Forest Practices Act to provide a firebreak, a gap in vegetation that acts as a bar- rier to slow the progress of a brushfire or wildfire. “We’re brushing it accord- ing to firebreak standards so engineers and geologists can wade through it for surveys,” he said. Caplinger said this does not apply the same way on land zoned for recreation management — the majority of Smejkal’s property. He said he is working with Smejkal to find a way to temporarily allow legal brushing on the land to accommodate the geo- hazard surveys the county re- quires to move forward in the process. ORCA president and Ecola Watershed Council member Mike Manzulli said these kind of violations not only disre- gard the planning process, but the survival of the marbled murrelet, which only lives in increasingly rare, old-growth, coastal forests. While surveys have yet to be conducted to show whether Smejkal’s property is directly home to these birds, the De- partment of Forestry identi- Laurelwood Farm C ONSTRUCTION E xcavation • u ndErground u tiitiEs r oad w ork • F ill M atErial s itE P rEParation • r ock owned and operated by M ike and C eline M C e wan 503-738-3569 S erving the p aCifiC n orthweSt S inCe 1956 • CC48302 F LOORING CCB# 205283 y ou ou r r w ep alk ut o at n io n Flooring Installation 3470 Hwy 101 Suite 102 • Gearhart, Oregon 503.739.7577 • carpetcornergearhart.com M INI -S TORAGE SUBMITTED PHOTO Blue lines on this county aerial indicate approximately 17.5-acre parcel owned by James Smejkal across from Arcadia Beach. CANNON BEACH MINI-STORAGE ‘It is in the best interest of the threatened marbled murrelet and people that care about the birds’ dwindling critical habitat to try and purchase this land now.’ ORCA president and Ecola Watershed Council member Mike Manzulli fied the property as immedi- ately adjacent to a marbled murrelet management area in 2009. “Given the time frame, and Mr. Smejkal’s disregard of our local ordinances, it is in the best interest of the threatened marbled murrelet and people that care about the birds’ dwindling critical hab- itat to try and purchase this land now,” Manzulli said. Smejkal said no one has SPACE AVAILABLE Units Available 5’ x 10’ • 10’ x 10’ Contact Jill at 503-436-2235 C ONSTRUCTION SUBMITTED PHOTO The marbled murrelet, an endangered species that halted plans for development on the 17.5-acre parcel in 2009. come forward with any kind of an offer, but said “anything is for sale.” Next steps Caplinger said many of the aspects of the plan, like water and sewer infrastructure, will be guided by ecological and geological surveys. Because the property is in a resource zone, anyone 300 feet from Smejkal’s property line will receive a notice from the county after his plan is submitted for the opportunity to participate in a public com- ment period and hearing. Both the county and ORCA said they are keeping a close eye on development to make sure local ordinances are fol- lowed. But until more surveys are completed, a timeline for when this could be completed is not clear. “It’s going to be awhile,” Caplinger said. “Helping shape the character of Cannon Beach since 1973” Residential • Commercial • Remodeling New Construction • Storm Damage Repair Full Service Custom Cabinet Shop 503.436.2235 www.coasterconstruction.com • CCB# 150126 BUSINESS DIRECTORY
