Anti-LNG Group Looks To State Of Oregon To Undo Oregon LNG Lease At Skipanon Peninsula!

Posted: Thursday, December 22, 2011 11:39 am

By TYLER GRAF - The Daily AstorianDaily Astorian

Hansen Interview by patrick mcgee

GRP: To help formulate your thinking, above is the Audio Interview between Oregon D.O.J. and Calpine/Oregon LNG's Peter Hansen and is a very good chronology of events

Critics of a proposed LNG terminal in Warrenton are calling on state agencies to more closely scrutinize the company's lease agreement for a proposed LNG facility, which would rest on publicly owned land along the Skipanon River.With domestic natural gas prices reaching record lows, because of new techniques in obtaining the gas by hyrdraulically fracturing shale deposits underground, LNG facilities that originally planned to import natural gas are now proposing to export LNG to overseas markets.

Read Full Daily Astorian Report

Astoria DUII Prosecution Controversy Escalates

Astoria DUII Prosecution Controversy Escalates

....Clatsop County District Attorney Josh Marquis
on Wednesday, September 7, 2011, sent notification to Astoria City
Attorney Blair Henningsgaard that the Oregon Attorney
General’s office will file suit against the city
of Astoria if the city does not begin to send driving
under the influence of intoxicants (DUII)
cases to Clatsop County Circuit Court by Wednesday,
Sept. 14.
On July 1, 2011, D.A. Marquis gave the city two months
to comply with his directive that all DUII cases
be submitted to the Circuit Court. The city has not
responded to that letter......

So, can we look forward to certain members of Astoria City Council and its Counsel to continue to attempt to bite off their noses to spite their faces on the issue of DUII prosecution when the Oregon statute 8.660 clearly states that it "IS" the "OBLIGATION" of Clatsop County D.A. Marquis to prosecute or, at least, to oversee all prosectuions of Astoria Municipal Court involving a Defense Attorney.

Other than being just plain old stubborn, as we now see with the staggering bill for the CSO updates forestalled by our own Mayor for some twenty years until threatened by a higher power, why is it City Attorney Henningsgaard would want to subject The City of Astoria to more costly expense in litigation when he knows what he should do in spite of his misguided ego in advising the members of The Astoria City Counsel and City Management?

I ask the citizens of Astoria to stand up and tell these people we have elected to serve in our trust and the doing of our public business to knock it off, honor the law and let's get on with the other issues.

City Attorney Henningsgaard wants to be a hero? How about him using his assumed lawyerly skills to wrest those depressed, debt-ridden Flavel properties downtown into somebody's hands that can make them useful again and complimentary to our status as a National Historic Register Downtown. While he's at it rescue the other Flavel House before it rots to the ground and it's too late to save it.

Clatsop District Attorney Josh Marquis Serves Notice To City Of Astoria That All DUII's Go To Circuit Court

Well, of course I can editorialize the event but, here are the facts in the most recent correspondence on the issue as submitted, in response to a "Public Information Request" by GRP to Clatsop County District Attorney's Office.

Here's "The Law" - ORS 8.660
Attending court and prosecuting offenses
(1) The district attorney shall attend the terms of all courts having jurisdiction of public offenses within the district attorney’s county, and, except as otherwise provided in this section, conduct, on behalf of the state, all prosecutions for such offenses therein.
(2) A district attorney shall not conduct prosecutions under this section when:
(a) A city attorney is prosecuting a violation under ORS chapter 153; or
(b) The district attorney is prohibited from appearing in a violation proceeding under the provisions of ORS 153.076 (Conduct of trial). [Amended by 1975 c.451 §170; 1981 c.626 §1; 1981 c.692 §6a; 1999 c.1051 §116]