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

The Hickson Heist!(Updated)10-21-2011 Daily Astorian Regrets Errors In Publication Of Story!

(Daily Astorian Photo)

Hickson Article Erred
Posted: Friday, October 21, 2011 11:53 am

The Daily Astorian published an article on Oct. 7, 2011, relating to a decision by the Port of Astoria to transfer a contract for ship servicing from Anchorage Launch Services to a vessel called the Hickson, owned by the Nisqually Indian Tribe. The article appeared under a headline that read, “The Hickson heist.”

The word “heist” in that headline was rhetorical hyperbole and was meant in a figurative sense. The Daily Astorian is not aware of any evidence that any person or entity named in the article engaged in any criminal activity in connection with the Port’s decision, and The Daily Astorian did not intend to suggest that there is any such evidence.

The article also stated that Port Commissioner Floyd Holcom “contacted the tribe and suggested its members could benefit from the business.” According to Holcom, he did not initiate any contact with the tribe in connection with this matter. Rather, he says, it was Dennis Lucia, general manager of Nisqually Aquatic Technologies, who contacted Holcom about the matter. The Daily Astorian has no information to the contrary.

Finally, the article quoted an email from Lucia to Port Director Jack Crider, in which Lucia stated that “Floyd advised me that the Hickson might be put to use for line handling.” Holcom denies that he made any such statement to Lucia. According to Holcom, he told Lucia that he did not know anything about line handling and that Lucia should call Crider.

The Daily Astorian regrets publication of the errors.

(Update)Holcom;"There Was No Heist"

Posted: Friday, October 7, 2011 12:04 pm Updated: 10:46 am, Sun Oct 9, 2011.

The Daily Astorian


For two decades, in fair weather or foul, tiny vessels operated by Anchorage Launch Services chugged out from their Astoria waterfront moorings to service the giant ships that sail across the Columbia River bar and seek refuge on the south bank.

A phone call changed everything.

It came from the Port of Astoria. And it had the effect of a pink slip: Anchorage’s line-handling services were no longer required

Read Full Article

From Time.Com: Greening This Old House; Saving Money And The Environment By Upgrading Older Homes

Greening This Old House
By Bryan Walsh - Time Magazine

Photo By - Viktor Koen - For Time
Thursday, Apr. 23, 2009

Would Abraham Lincoln have gone green? Frank Milligan thinks so. Milligan is the director of President Lincoln's Cottage, a Gothic Revival mansion on a breezy hill a few miles from the White House, where Lincoln and his family sought relief from the summer heat during the Civil War.

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Oregon DSL: Revision To Rules Authorizing Structures On And Uses Of State-Owned Submerged/Submersible Lands

GRP Note:The public comment period for these draft rules has been extended. The new deadline is 5 PM, Thursday, December 24, 2009. We hope to take these rules to the Land Board for its consideration at the Board’s February 2010 meeting.


What is This Notice About?
The Department of State Lands (DSL) has for some time had rules governing the management of, and issuing of authorizations to place structures on, and to use state-owned submerged and submersible land. These rules (OAR 141-082-0000 through 141-082-0210) were last amended in 2002. Since then, these rules have served DSL well. However, a number of changes, most of which are relatively minor, needed to be made to them to clarify various provisions; streamline some of the processes used; and to ensure that the definitions of terms used in the rules are the same as those recently used in other rules. These rules also needed to be reorganized to reflect the format now used when creating new rules or amending previously adopted rules. Consequently, DSL has revised these rules accordingly. In amending these rules, DSL has also increased the application fee for a public facility license and the fees to register structures on state-owned submerged and submersible land in order to enable the agency to recover more of the costs it incurs to administer its registration program.

Go To Oregon DSL Site For Details

Oregon D.O.J.:Ex-Port Director, Gearin Found To Have Used Official Misconduct In Calpine Dealings

The Oregon Department of Justice, in a letter from its Chief Counsel, Sean J. Riddell, has concluded, in its investigation into potential "Official Misconduct and other possible criminal violations by staff or directors of The Port of Astoria" that, after interviewing 31 people, issuing 11 Oregon Attorney General Subpoenas, reviewing hundreds of pages of documents and a three hour interview with former Port Director Gearin himself, that they believe that they could prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Peter Gearin, acting as Executive Director of The Port of Astoria committed the predicated acts of Offical Misconduct in the first degree, a class A misdemeanor under ORS 162.415.

Specifically Oregon D.O.J. believes that the evidence shows that Mr. Gearin used his position as Port of Astoria Executive Director to secure employment with Calpine Energy Group for his then girlfriend and current wife, Susan Trabucco.

Calpine Energy Group paid Ms. Trabucco $41,030.28 during her employment from October 2004 to February 2005(The Port/Calpine Lease was announced to the public on or about November 4, 2004)

Because of The Statute of Limitations on Official Misconduct, which is two years, Oregon D.O.J. is barred from prosecuting Mr. Gearin and D.O.J. has also found no additional evidence to justify any additional criminal investigation

Click Here To Go To Oregon DOJ Web Site And Investigation File Download Access

The Port: Introducing The I-5 Short Sea Shipping Marine Highway

This is a Slide Show on the prospective new relationship between Port of Astoria and Santa Maria Shipping LLC in Short Sea Shipping and quite possibly a bright future for many here should the deal not be "Queered" in some way or another.

Introducing The I-5 Marine Highway

Port Of Bellingham Contests NOAA Move To Newport

07:54 AM PDT

Monday, August 31, 2009

By KGW Staff

WASHINGTON -- Another group is challenging the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's decision to move a fleet of research ships from Seattle to Newport, Ore. More: NOAA move

Read Release

The Port: An Exciting Prospect In "Short Sea Shipping"

"Short Sea Shipping"

Small, shallow draft coastal container ships and barges to blend with rail and road systems to move freight to waterborne transfer points way upriver?

That's a huge piece of the maritime commerce pie for us down here.

"Short Sea Shipping", that's what it's called and The Port of Astoria has just been presentented with another opportunity to pull its ass up out of "The Doldrums" it has put itself in and make a sound contribution to this community and its future in The Lower Columbia River's maritime commerce and I think we are perfectly suited to handle this well and we must not forget that these shippers, with ships getting massively bigger and with time of the essence, I believe, will threaten future upriver commerce because of time and will be more prone to patronize port systems that offer easy in and out and bypass us altogether without a solution.

A Lower Columbia Super Port? Well, it's a definite talking point and whether you know it or not, to my understanding, that think is already on paper and at one time slated for legislation.

My two questions...

* What's the deal with the lease-back and residual revenue of the vessels?

*How many Jobs?

The article below explains the overall scope and potential this opportunity offers us and hopefully we will seek the resources to ensure this deal isn't bungled

Read This Article From Professional Mariner On "Short Sea Shipping"

Who Knew What And When About Calpine? A Look Back

Who knew about Calpine, and when?
By Kate Ramsayer - The Daily Astorian
"But it has emerged that all three of the region’s elected state officials, three county commissioners, all five Warrenton city commissioners, two senior county staff, and representatives of the North Coast’s entire congressional delegation all knew about Calpine’s proposal prior to the lease being signed."

Port files reveal few written records about decision-making or research

The Port of Astoria’s executive director maintains that the port did its homework and followed appropriate due diligence procedures before signing a lease that allows Calpine Corp. to go forward with its proposed liquefied natural gas receiving terminal in Warrenton.

A Look Back - Who Knew What And When About Calpine?

From Daily Astorian: Sanders Quits Astoria Port Commission!!

Sanders Quits Port!!!
5/28/2009 11:35:00 AM

By CASSANDRA PROFITA - The Daily Astorian

Kathy Sanders resigned from her seat on the Port of Astoria Commission Thursday morning.

Read Full Story!!!

Bradwood Landing: The USCG Water Suitablility Report

The USCG Suitability Report Is Not Quite As Glowing An Endorsement As Texas LNG Speculator, Northern Star Natural Gas/Bradwood Landing's P.R. Hype.

Read For Yourself And Then Decide.


Click Here And Read The USCG Water Suitability Report If You Wish To Read The Impact Of Bradwood Landing On Our Community From The Columbia Bar To The Bradwood Site.