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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2010)
The INDEPENDENT, October 21, 2010 Page 5 Columbia County forms new Public dissatisfaction shows urgent need for reform From Page 1 the media. The conclusion was lic records requests; fees; ex- Oregon’s Public Records Law. Oregon’s law is clogged emptions; and public meetings. economic development team Accordingly, he launched a sys- clear: with hundreds of confusing ex- The purpose of this report is Bright spots can be hard to find in today’s economy. Fortu- nately, the Columbia County Economic Team is now actively working to fix that through a new local partnership for eco- nomic development. The organization officially launched on October 1 when its board of directors met for the first time. It was the begin- ning of what is likely to be a long-term initiative geared to- wards making Columbia Coun- ty more productive and com- petitive for community-sustain- ing businesses. In turn, the organization hopes its efforts will yield more employment opportunities, a larger tax base, better infra- structure, and more vital com- munities, overall. David Stocker, executive di- rector for the Columbia County Economic Team, explained, “this organization wants to im- prove the economic well-being and quality of life for all com- munities in Columbia County.” He added, “We know that none of us can do it alone, which is why elected officials and many business leaders throughout the county have embraced a team approach.” In fact, each of Columbia County’s communities is repre- sented on the organization’s board of directors, plus repre- sentatives from the Columbia County Board of Commission- ers, the Port of St. Helens, pub- lic utility districts, and Portland Community College. Representatives from a dozen businesses operating in the county also sit on the board, bringing essential pri- vate sector insight on how best to strengthen Columbia Coun- ty’s business climate. Tony Hyde, Columbia Coun- ty Commissioner and a mem- ber of the Columbia County Economic Team’s Board of Di- rectors remarked, “I'm excited to see all of Columbia County working together as a team with a common goal of creating jobs and improving our local economy.” If the organization’s big pic- ture goals are ambitious, its day-to-day work is expected to create tangible results for indi- vidual businesses and, by ex- tension, their employees. The organization is now planning what services it will of- fer to businesses already locat- ed in the county – to keep them local and support their growth – while also launching a campaign to encourage new businesses to consider the ad- vantages of operating in Co- lumbia County. With the Columbia County Economic Team now launched, community and business lead- ers are confident that county residents will begin seeing eco- nomic bright spots everywhere. Find marine trade schools online For anyone who has thought about a career in the marine trades — as a boatbuilder, de- signer or marine technician — there’s a world of top-notch one- and two-year technical programs available. To help ex- amine the possibilities of a ca- reer working in and around recreational boats, BoatUS has added a new list of marine trade schools, community col- leges and accredited certifica- tion programs to the Guide to Marine Education Programs at www.BoatUS.com/colleges. The addition of one- and two-year technical programs to BoatUS’ previously-released Guide to Marine Education of- fering (four-year) college and university marine programs, makes learning about educa- tional opportunities easier by having all of the information in one place. Whether you’re just out of high school or looking to start a new boating-related career, you can search the Guide by state or specific focus area, such as marine science, boat design, engine repair, fisheries, oceanography, marine engi- neering or biology. Only US-ac- credited post-secondary schools are included. Scholar- ship information is also offered. An additional resource is “The Boat Lovers’ Guide to Ma- rine Trade Schools,” which pre- mieres in the October/Novem- ber issue of BoatUS Magazine and can be found online at www.BoatUSMagazine.com/bo atus/20101011#pg50 tematic review to identify weak points and suggest improve- ments. Those improvements will be part of an ambitious gov- ernment transparency package that will be introduced in the 2011 legislative session. In addition to conducting a thorough review of state and federal sunshine laws, the At- torney General sponsored six public meetings across Oregon to gather suggestions for im- proving transparency from the public, government officials and emptions, and requests for records are often met with high fee requirements and long de- lays. The meetings were co-spon- sored by the Oregon Depart- ment of Justice and the Oregon Newspaper Publishers' Associ- ation. During this process, the At- torney General received hun- dreds of suggestions and com- ments. Most of the comments relate to four areas of concern: timelines for responding to pub- to catalogue the most pressing problems with Oregon’s public records and public meetings laws and highlight some poten- tial solutions. By noting the vast public dissatisfaction with the law, the report points to an ur- gency for reform. The report also demonstrates that neither the public seeking access to open government nor the agen- cies responsible for delivering it are happy with the status quo. Funds arrive to help Oregonians avoid foreclosure Senator Jeff Merkley an- nounced that the U.S. Depart- ment of Treasury has awarded an additional $82 million to the Oregon Housing Finance Agency for the Hardest Hit Fund program. This brings a to- tal of $220 million in federal as- sistance to Oregon for foreclo- sure-prevention assistance. “The only way we are going to get our economy back on track is to address the foreclo- sure crisis that is crippling fam- ilies across Oregon,” said Merkley. “This will help keep families in their homes.” The fund is provided to states hit hard by the economic and housing market downturn, so they can implement pro- grams to meet the local chal- lenges homeowners are facing. Oregon’s state housing agency has flexibility in how to use the additional funds, but expects a program to be avail- able in January 2011. Under the Hardest Hit Fund, states are already working to imple- ment a variety of targeted pro- grams to help struggling home- owners, including assistance to help unemployed homeowners pay their monthly mortgage; re- instatement assistance to bring delinquent homeowners cur- rent on their mortgage; princi- pal reduction for homeowners who are underwater; assis- tance with second liens; facili- tation of short sales; and relo- cation assistance for families that cannot stay in their home. Builders, suppliers meeting, 4-6 p.m. Today, October 21, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. repre- sentatives from P&C Construc- tion will be available to meet with local firms and individuals interested in opportunities to provide construction services and supplies on the St. Helens Transit Facility project. The meeting will be held at Columbia County Courthouse, 230 Strand Street, St. Helens.
