I'm talking about that period that lasted until the county government changed over to "home rule".
We had three salaried commissioners and a County Executive officer. Compared to today county government was a fairly modest affair. The Commission meetings where held in what was really a small side room in the courthouse on the main floor and the audience was pretty small. The issues were pretty much all the same ones we deal with today. They were just cheaper to solve.
I also remember very clearly how unhappy people were with the county government. They grumbled about everything (see? nothing really ever changes) but the one thing that would come up time again was how much money we would save and how much more representative our government would be if we went to home rule and stopped paying people to be full time commissioners. That was when the total budget for county government was a tiny 20 million or so. Now it's 70 million. The county shops, the Courthouse and, the "new" jail were just about it for buildings now we have a multi-story professional office building and a fully renovated meeting hall with the full media enhanced experience, and the Courthouse remodeled, the jail, the county shops..etc...etc..etc..
We saved nothing going to home rule and not paying those commissioners
a professional salary. We just hired a lot of other professionals. One outcome of home rule was the incredible proliferation of consultants and "studies" that have been conducted here over the last 20 years. Government has grown to the point where it is Clatsop County's major employer.
Government is so important to the economy now that Astoria City Manager Paul Benoit noted that it is the government sector, when one considers local, county, state and federal employees, that insulates the north coast from economic ups and downs.
Right now, in coffee shops and morning breakfast get togethers and in Face book discussions people are starting to talk about change. Some are pushing for the overthrow of home rule after the last election resulted in a liberal take-over of the county commission. They argue that going back to a paid commission elected countywide is the only way to defeat the liberal mob that have taken over and are moving quickly to solidify their position of government control on all levels.
I have serious doubts that this kind of change is the answer. I'm not entirely sure we have defined the problem if indeed one exists. The commission has blown up LNG. No surprise there. It's why they were elected. They are taking control of the Planning Commission and the new President of that commission has made it clear he wishes to operate strictly at the pleasure of the County Board as the laws state and in such a way that a separate planning commission is hardly necessary. What's wrong with that? The government is responding to the electorate. How can this be a problem? I can tell you that when someone is elected to office saying one thing but does another they don't stay in office long.
Throwing out home rule is a political solution to a philosophical difference. I can't think of many times that has made things better.
Comments expressed
July 25, 2011
Should Wu Step Down?
The story goes that pressure is mounting on Congressman David Wu to step down from office in the wake of allegations he had made inappropriate sexual advances toward the young daughter of a campaign contributor.
Wu says he will not identify the woman to save her from the media spotlight and to protect her family. Yet another stumble by the Congressman who has made one bad decision after another in this term representing the people of the 3rd district. Aides say Wu won't quit but it's unlikely he'll run again. Is that because the charges are true or because he is just very tired of constantly defending himself? Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is calling for an investigation. Liberals and conservatives alike are calling for him to step down.
Brad Witt says Wu needs to step aside at this point so that the District can move forward and so that Wu can get the help he obviously needs. Witt has announced his candidacy for the seat and it would help his effort financially if Wu were to step down now. Witt might have a shot against the war chest of Brad Avakian if he could avoid taking on an incumbent who has already raised significant dollars for his re election bid. Wu walks away with that cash but his departure would help level the field and allow voters to focus on what comes next.
Politics aside (if that's possible) Wu has always made it a point to include this part of his district in the national discussion. He has visited Clatsop County frequently and been quite accessible to constituents here. While his focus has been in the arena of global technologies and his fondness for Asian issues, I think he has represented Oregon well in the past. It is a shame that his mind isn't allowing him to function as he did. He needs to recognize that fact and work for a transition that will make sense as best he can.
July 12, 2011
Midnight For Tuna
Thought I'd share this little tidbit from the Care2 make a difference website...
Three tuna species are threatened and two others are likely to be, if measures are not taken to protect them. Overfishing is the main reason, due to their high commercial value. Tuna species are one of the most popular fish for human consumption globally. Will they be eaten into non-existence? Three species of bluefin tuna–southern, Atlantic and Pacific–are all in danger of collapse due to human activities. The two species not yet threatened, but close to it, are yellowfin and albacore. All three bluefin tuna species are susceptible to collapse under continued excessive fishing pressure.
“The southern bluefin has already essentially crashed, with little hope of recovery,” said marine conservationist Dr. Kent Carpenter. (Source: IUCN.org) Just this year a single bluefin tuna sold for nearly $400,000 in Japan. Bluefin tuna were denied status as an endangered species by the National Marine Fisheries Service in June. An online pledge to boycott bluefin tuna has been published by the Center for Biological Diversity. If all the tuna are eaten, what fish will be next up on the overconsumption menu?
Three tuna species are threatened and two others are likely to be, if measures are not taken to protect them. Overfishing is the main reason, due to their high commercial value. Tuna species are one of the most popular fish for human consumption globally. Will they be eaten into non-existence? Three species of bluefin tuna–southern, Atlantic and Pacific–are all in danger of collapse due to human activities. The two species not yet threatened, but close to it, are yellowfin and albacore. All three bluefin tuna species are susceptible to collapse under continued excessive fishing pressure.
“The southern bluefin has already essentially crashed, with little hope of recovery,” said marine conservationist Dr. Kent Carpenter. (Source: IUCN.org) Just this year a single bluefin tuna sold for nearly $400,000 in Japan. Bluefin tuna were denied status as an endangered species by the National Marine Fisheries Service in June. An online pledge to boycott bluefin tuna has been published by the Center for Biological Diversity. If all the tuna are eaten, what fish will be next up on the overconsumption menu?
My answer? The next one that is almost as delicious as the bluefin tuna.
The problem here is that the writer compares consumption of bluefin with albacore attempting to cobble together some arguement for halting tuna fishing. I would hazard a guess that albacore (which is abundant) is the #1, without any question about it, eaten fish in America. The problem seems to be with the Japanese and their insane hunger for Bluefin.
The lower classes of Japanese consumers are busily gobbling up the yellowfin at an alarming rate. The Japanese are still whaling too, for crying out loud. Who whales anymore? Our people end up paying guilt money to Greenpeace over it.
The point to all this is that while we would like to control and conserve the little beasties of the sea we can't. We are powerless to (legally) stop the foreign fleets that cover the best fishing grounds including some on the east coast that used to be guarded over by American fishermen.
If we continually cry for less fishing what we will get is less American fishermen and more japanese gobbling up the chicken of the sea.
Who wins in a battle like that?
July 08, 2011
The Rundown July 8, 2011
It's been a while since we got caught up on all the stories behind the news so let's do that, shall we? Okay. Settle back with your favorite breakfast sandwich and that perfectly brewed cup of coffee and let's get started.
On the energy front the county is starting to pay some attention to a proposal brought to the Port of Astoria by perennial candidate and frequent commentator on local government John Dunzer. Mr. Dunzer, in his typical straight to the point, no nonsense approach tells the Port Commission a few weeks ago that he has a new idea for the Bradwood landing site. He would like to see an energy farm developed there that is really rather ingenious. He would like to see someone contract with small LNG vessels working out of Alaska to bring their loads to Bradwood. He says that one of the opportunities that Northern Star Natural Gas completely missed comes with the energy that is produced in the process of warming up the super cooled liquefied gas. The gas is shipped as a liquid and then must be brought back up to a gaseous state. Under the Northern Star plan evaporator towers would have been built that would warm up the LNG. Dunzer would use the super cold to create a wide array of industrial gases such as argon and the like to be sold to manufacturers who use those gases to create numerous products.
Here's another one. When rubber is exposed to those super cold temperatures it turns to powder. That powder can be reused to do things like mix with aspalt for example. We bury a lot of tires in this country and sometimes they catch fire and seem to burn forever. This is a rather elegant solution. Dunzer has a detailed plan that he says contains even more ideas to make use of LNG in ways that would produce jobs and create a new industry for Clatsop County if not the entire state.
The Port has supplied a letter of support for Dunzer and the man who owns the Bradwood site who says as a contractor he is perfectly capable of building such a facility. Dunzer planned to take that letter to Business Oregon to gain further support. The plan would not require nearly as much LNG and would not require nearly as much river dredging. It seems to be more environmentally friendly. In his weekly update to the County Commissioners Manager Duane Cole writes that the proposed alternative energy farm would require multiple county permits and a public process.
County Board Vice Chair Peter Huhtala attended a July 1st town hall meeting with NOAA to hear the latest thinking on Federal ocean policy planning. In a Face book post Mr. Huhtala says it will be interesting to see how things play out in terms of Oregon's Territorial Sea area. He speculates that Clatsop County should have some control in this arena because he contends that the County
boundaries extend out to sea three miles. It's only right that the county has input but some are concerned about the nature of that input in view of some of the actions the county board has taken to date. Will the commissioners support the fishing industry? I guess we'll see.
The newly appointed County Planning Commission meets next Tuesday for the first time and will select new officers and determine which commissioner will serve in each available term. The terms vary in length and the County Board decided to let he Planning Commissioners work that out for themselves. The new commission has a number of important items on their public hearings docket for the meeting including some critical rezoning for the Westport area.
County staff has been working with the Westport community and Georgia Pacific to make some big improvements including a new park and boat launch and improvements to the roadways and the ferry dock. Planner Jennifer Bunch will be updating the planning Commission on issue surrounding Oregon Pipeline. Ed Wegner will talk with the commissioners about the Camp Rilea Joint Land Use Study. The JLUS is an attempt by the military to maintain the base as training facility while at the same time dealing with the issues of ever encroaching development in the Clatsop Plains area.
Contract planner Mark Barnes will update the commissioners on ocean planning issues.
There will also be some discussion in preparation for a work session with the County Board the next day. That should be an interesting discussion on a number of levels.
The City Of Astoria never seems to lack for large projects. In the next few weeks we should see the city staff moving out of city hall in preparation for the remodeling of the old facility into something more efficient for staff and more useful for the public.
At the same time the city is wrapping up the Tapiola ball field project. If you recall, Tapani Underground completed the installation of a huge holding tank for sewer run off under the new ball field. Unfortunately the new field was not ready when it was promised and Mayor Van Dusan was rather irritated with the situation when it was revealed that it would be another season before the turf would be established as a playable surface.
At the last city council meeting there was another update from the rather sheepish contractor and the city engineer with the council asking some pointed questions about every aspect of the project from the depth and quality of the fill dirt to the efficiency of the drainage system. The new Tapiola Field will be a big improvement over the old with amenities like dugouts and an electronic scoreboard. Councilor Peter Roscoe compared it to the Volcano Stadium in Salem. Well, it's not quite that grand..but it will be very nice for those who play or serve as loyal spectators. I can see it being a great place to spend a summer afternoon watching a ballgame
The 17th street dock has served the U.S. Coast Guard, passenger cruise ships, tall ships..etc and serves as the home for the Maritime Museum Lightship Columbia and a huge Columbia River Bar buoy. The dock is showing it's age and needed emergency repairs to keep it going just a bit longer as the city looked for a way to replace it. The opportunity came with the state transportation program grant Connect Oregon. The dock will be replaced this year with a modern concrete and steel structure. Not a small project. Staging is set for October.
Back to the county.
Over the last few years (honestly, I've lost track) there have been some issues with county corrections. The state was running community corrections and built a fine facility in Warrenton as a headquarters for parole/probation and transition, the Sheriff was running the jail which is always threatened with over-population. I won't go into the history here. Just suffice it to say there was always an uneasy relationship involving the Sheriff and the Community Corrections Director. The Judges and the D.A. were not very happy either as they would gain a conviction or set a sentence only to have the bad guy get out of jail due to overcrowding, or skip court dates without serious sanction. The previous incarnation of the County Board decided that the problem was centered around who exactly has the authority to decide the disposition of a prisoner. They decided to create a new authority made up of a County Commissioner, the Sheriff and, the Community Corrections Director.
I'm sure that approach did not really solve anything but at least the situation quieted down. With the new County Board comes a new approach. The Sheriff runs it all. He also inherits animal control. The transition center closed but offices for the parole/probation staff stays in that building for the time being.
This makes perfect sense and puts things back where they belong. A county commissioner has no business being involved in who goes to jail and who doesn't and the Sheriff is the elected official who should have control over all areas of county law enforcement. New jail anybody?
On the energy front the county is starting to pay some attention to a proposal brought to the Port of Astoria by perennial candidate and frequent commentator on local government John Dunzer. Mr. Dunzer, in his typical straight to the point, no nonsense approach tells the Port Commission a few weeks ago that he has a new idea for the Bradwood landing site. He would like to see an energy farm developed there that is really rather ingenious. He would like to see someone contract with small LNG vessels working out of Alaska to bring their loads to Bradwood. He says that one of the opportunities that Northern Star Natural Gas completely missed comes with the energy that is produced in the process of warming up the super cooled liquefied gas. The gas is shipped as a liquid and then must be brought back up to a gaseous state. Under the Northern Star plan evaporator towers would have been built that would warm up the LNG. Dunzer would use the super cold to create a wide array of industrial gases such as argon and the like to be sold to manufacturers who use those gases to create numerous products.
Here's another one. When rubber is exposed to those super cold temperatures it turns to powder. That powder can be reused to do things like mix with aspalt for example. We bury a lot of tires in this country and sometimes they catch fire and seem to burn forever. This is a rather elegant solution. Dunzer has a detailed plan that he says contains even more ideas to make use of LNG in ways that would produce jobs and create a new industry for Clatsop County if not the entire state.
The Port has supplied a letter of support for Dunzer and the man who owns the Bradwood site who says as a contractor he is perfectly capable of building such a facility. Dunzer planned to take that letter to Business Oregon to gain further support. The plan would not require nearly as much LNG and would not require nearly as much river dredging. It seems to be more environmentally friendly. In his weekly update to the County Commissioners Manager Duane Cole writes that the proposed alternative energy farm would require multiple county permits and a public process.
County Board Vice Chair Peter Huhtala attended a July 1st town hall meeting with NOAA to hear the latest thinking on Federal ocean policy planning. In a Face book post Mr. Huhtala says it will be interesting to see how things play out in terms of Oregon's Territorial Sea area. He speculates that Clatsop County should have some control in this arena because he contends that the County
boundaries extend out to sea three miles. It's only right that the county has input but some are concerned about the nature of that input in view of some of the actions the county board has taken to date. Will the commissioners support the fishing industry? I guess we'll see.
The newly appointed County Planning Commission meets next Tuesday for the first time and will select new officers and determine which commissioner will serve in each available term. The terms vary in length and the County Board decided to let he Planning Commissioners work that out for themselves. The new commission has a number of important items on their public hearings docket for the meeting including some critical rezoning for the Westport area.
County staff has been working with the Westport community and Georgia Pacific to make some big improvements including a new park and boat launch and improvements to the roadways and the ferry dock. Planner Jennifer Bunch will be updating the planning Commission on issue surrounding Oregon Pipeline. Ed Wegner will talk with the commissioners about the Camp Rilea Joint Land Use Study. The JLUS is an attempt by the military to maintain the base as training facility while at the same time dealing with the issues of ever encroaching development in the Clatsop Plains area.
Contract planner Mark Barnes will update the commissioners on ocean planning issues.
There will also be some discussion in preparation for a work session with the County Board the next day. That should be an interesting discussion on a number of levels.
The City Of Astoria never seems to lack for large projects. In the next few weeks we should see the city staff moving out of city hall in preparation for the remodeling of the old facility into something more efficient for staff and more useful for the public.
At the same time the city is wrapping up the Tapiola ball field project. If you recall, Tapani Underground completed the installation of a huge holding tank for sewer run off under the new ball field. Unfortunately the new field was not ready when it was promised and Mayor Van Dusan was rather irritated with the situation when it was revealed that it would be another season before the turf would be established as a playable surface.
At the last city council meeting there was another update from the rather sheepish contractor and the city engineer with the council asking some pointed questions about every aspect of the project from the depth and quality of the fill dirt to the efficiency of the drainage system. The new Tapiola Field will be a big improvement over the old with amenities like dugouts and an electronic scoreboard. Councilor Peter Roscoe compared it to the Volcano Stadium in Salem. Well, it's not quite that grand..but it will be very nice for those who play or serve as loyal spectators. I can see it being a great place to spend a summer afternoon watching a ballgame
The 17th street dock has served the U.S. Coast Guard, passenger cruise ships, tall ships..etc and serves as the home for the Maritime Museum Lightship Columbia and a huge Columbia River Bar buoy. The dock is showing it's age and needed emergency repairs to keep it going just a bit longer as the city looked for a way to replace it. The opportunity came with the state transportation program grant Connect Oregon. The dock will be replaced this year with a modern concrete and steel structure. Not a small project. Staging is set for October.
Back to the county.
Over the last few years (honestly, I've lost track) there have been some issues with county corrections. The state was running community corrections and built a fine facility in Warrenton as a headquarters for parole/probation and transition, the Sheriff was running the jail which is always threatened with over-population. I won't go into the history here. Just suffice it to say there was always an uneasy relationship involving the Sheriff and the Community Corrections Director. The Judges and the D.A. were not very happy either as they would gain a conviction or set a sentence only to have the bad guy get out of jail due to overcrowding, or skip court dates without serious sanction. The previous incarnation of the County Board decided that the problem was centered around who exactly has the authority to decide the disposition of a prisoner. They decided to create a new authority made up of a County Commissioner, the Sheriff and, the Community Corrections Director.
I'm sure that approach did not really solve anything but at least the situation quieted down. With the new County Board comes a new approach. The Sheriff runs it all. He also inherits animal control. The transition center closed but offices for the parole/probation staff stays in that building for the time being.
This makes perfect sense and puts things back where they belong. A county commissioner has no business being involved in who goes to jail and who doesn't and the Sheriff is the elected official who should have control over all areas of county law enforcement. New jail anybody?
July 06, 2011
An American Icon
Over the 4th Of July we visited the new Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. It was a worthwhile experience.
This museum is about the Disney back story. The details of his life and that of his Irish immigrant family. It should come as no surprise that it is largely a success story but not in a way that glosses over the challenges Walt faced in his life.
A few things I didn't know:
He lied about his age to go to work for the Red Cross during the first world war as a battlefield ambulance driver. He was 17 and had to be 18 to qualify. His mother signed a permission slip and he says he changed his birth date to 1900 to qualify.
The first year of profits from Mickey Mouse all went to a film distributor because Walt wasn't very good at reading the fine print in contracts.
In the early 40's his artists went on strike. Walt got into a battle with the head of the new union and workers picketed the studios for some time. He was frequently accused of stealing artwork but it never came to anything.
The strike left him bitter about unions and he testified before the house unamerican activities committee in the 50's saying he was convinced that the unions were run by communists.
The museum exhibits rare Mickey Mouse toys of all kinds. Walt was one of the first to hire a marketing specialist to merchandise a cartoon character which lead to a major industry all by itself.
Disneyland started with a passion for trains, for miniatures which he collected in the thousands. He visualised a place where Disney employees could take their children near the studio for picnics. That developed into ideas for rides and shows. When he told his wife he was interested in building an amusement park she said "Oh no Walt! Amusement parks are so dirty!" He replied "Not mine!"
The Museum is housed in a historic Presidio building that has been expanded in such a way that you can't telll from the exterior. The back of the building features a glass wall overlooking the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. Walking past that wall you are led into a gallery that tells the Disneyland story. A curved ramp runs past the display of the miniature train Walt built in the back yard of his Holmby Hills home. It was just big enough to ride on. At the bottom of the ramp is a scale model of Disneyland with video monitors that show how the park was built with lighting timed to highlight different sections.
The last gallery is about Walt's last year on earth. He was named "Showman of The World" by the motion picture theater operators association and you can hear the speech he gave. There is a description of his last 24 hours. Then you walk into a completely white gallery with pictures and video on the walls summing up Walt's life. For a fan it is an emotional moment.
I admit I'm one of those.
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