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.