Chinook Nation Greets Lady Washington And Hawaiian Chieftan In Trade Re-Enactment October 3, 2010

Aberdeen – The brig Lady Washington, the Official Ship of the State of Washington, and the topsail ketch Hawaiian Chieftain will participate in a re-enactment of an 18th century fur trade meeting at Fort Columbia State Park on Sunday, October 3. The vessels will rendezvous with as many as 40 Chinook Nation paddlers in the Columbia River offshore of the park, which is just south of the town of Chinook on US Highway 101. The event is scheduled to take place 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.....Read Details and view photos

Fatal Pipeline Explosion Puts Focus On Web Of Gas Pipelines

By Matthew Cardinale - IPS News

"It's a 36-inch [thick] pipeline with non-odorised gas at a pressure that is seven times the San Bruno pipeline that exploded earlier this month," Olivia Schmidt, a community organiser with the Anti-LNG Coalition, told IPS. "When they [citizens of Oregon] learned about this horrible tragedy in the Bay Area, it heightened concerns already there about public safety," Schmidt said.

ATLANTA, Georgia, Sep 30, 2010 (IPS) - A natural gas explosion in San Bruno, California that almost decimated an entire city earlier this month has fuelled concerns about the outdated, aging, and dangerous gas pipelines that underlie many U.S. cities......Read Full Report

Clatsop County Sets OLNG/Oregon Pipeline Hearing Date!

DATE OF HEARING: Wednesday, October 20, 2010
TIME: 3:30 PM
LOCATION: Judge Guy Boyington Building
857 Commercial Street - Astoria, Oregon 97103
CONTACT PERSON: Jennifer Bunch, Clatsop County Planner

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Clatsop County Transportation & Development Services has received the land use application
described in this notice. Pursuant to Sections 2.020(5) and 2.025 of the Clatsop County Land and Water Development and Use
Ordinance (LWDUO), the Department Director has scheduled a public hearing on this matter before the Board of Commissioners
at 3:30 PM on Wednesday, October 20, 2010, at the Judge Guy Boyington Building, 857 Commercial St, Astoria, OR 97103......Read Full Notice

From Oregon Parks And Recreation: Astoria's John Goodenberger Appointed Chair Of Oregon State Advisory Committee On Historic Preservation

09/29/10

John Goodenberger of Astoria was recently appointed by Governor Kulongoski as the new chair of the State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation (SACHP). Goodenberger succeeds William F. Willingham, whose chairmanship ended in May.

Goodenberger has served as Vice-Chair for the SACHP for the past four years.

Goodenberger is an instructor at Clatsop Community College in the Historic Preservation and Restoration program, which he helped start in 2009. In addition, he is the owner of Historic Research and Design, a preservation firm in Astoria, has served as Senior Designer for Ecola Architects of Cannon Beach, and as a historic building consultant for the City of Astoria.

Goodenberger's newspaper column, Great City Rising, ran in the Daily Astorian from 1998-2005. He also provided critical technical assistance to the advocacy group Friends of Astoria Column during its 1995 restoration of the landmark column.

Goodenberger is chair of the Lower Columbia Preservation Society and is active with a number of other preservation-related organizations such as Columbia Pacific Preservation, Clatsop Community College Historic Preservation Advisory Committee, and the Historic Assessment Review Committee.

The SACHP is a nine-member group that reviews nominations to the National Register of Historic Places and makes recommendations to the State Historic Preservation Officer on the eligibility of nominated properties. The members are professionally recognized in the fields of history, architecture, archaeology, and other related disciplines.

The committee holds public meetings around the state three times a year.

More information about the SACHP and the National Register is online at www.oregonheritage.org

"The G.O.P.: A Pledge to America. You Read It And Judge For Yourself

September 22. 2010 - 5:38PM

CBS News - Brian Montpoli & Jill Jackson

CBS News has obtained a final draft of House Republicans' legislative agenda for the next Congress, a 21-page "Pledge to America" that they will formally unveil Thursday morning at a Virginia hardware store.

"The need for urgent action to repair our economy and reclaim our government for the people cannot be overstated," the introduction says.

Read The GOP Pledge To America

Clatsop County Board Of Commissioners: Oregon Pipeline LLC - Scope Of Review Determination

September 22, 2010 - And The Games Begin!

Clatsop County Sets Schedule For De Novo Hearings On Oregon LNG/Oregon Pipeline LLC Pipeline Application


What is a De Novo Hearing?..A second time; afresh. A trial or hearing that is ordered by an appellate court that has reviewed the record of a hearing in a lower court and sent the matter back to the original court for a new trial, as if it had not been previously heard nor decided. This applies to law.

September 22, 2010 - Anti-LNG Rallyers in front of, now-defunct, Bradwood Landing/Northern Star Natural Gas empty office space. Interesting irony.

"The Park-Spark Project" - Converts Dog Waste Into Energy

From: Environmental Protection.com

Anywhere people are walking dogs -- and throwing away dog poop -- can be a source of heat and light by introducing a methane digester into the equation...... Read The Details

FDA Could Approve Genetically Engineered Salmon!

Sep 20, 11:27 AM EDT

By MARY CLARE JALONICK - Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Massachusetts company is asking the Food and Drug Administration to approve the marketing of genetically engineered salmon, which would become the first such animal OK'd for human consumption...............Read Full Article

Uh-Oh! The Cat's Out Of The Bag: Cheniere Energy Gets DOE Approval For Sabine Pass Plant To Export LNG

Reuters - Fri Sep 10, 2010 2:26pm EDT

* Cheniere will be able to export 16 mtpa(Million Tons Per Annum) for 30 years

* Sign of ample US natural gas supply

NEW YORK, Sept 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Energy on Sept. 7 approved Cheniere Energy's (LNG.A) plan to export domestically produced liquefied natural gas from the Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana, the department said on its website.
Read Full Article

Aging U.S. Pipelines Nationally At Risk Of Explosion!

Sep 14, 6:46 AM EDT
Aging gas pipe at risk of explosion nationwide
By GARANCE BURKE and JASON DEAREN Associated Press Writers
AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

SAN BRUNO, Calif. (AP) -- The tragic explosion of a gas pipeline in a San Francisco suburb has shed light on a problem usually kept underground: Communities have expanded over pipes built decades earlier when no one lived there.

Read Full Article

Coal Export Through Northwest Ports? Some Say "No Way"!

Published: Wednesday, September 08, 2010, 9:05 PM
Updated: Thursday, September 09, 2010, 9:24 AM

Scott Learn, The Oregonian

While Oregon works to shut its only coal-fired electricity plant and reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions, global mining companies are increasingly bullish about exporting that very same coal through Northwest ports to China.............

Read Full Scott Learn Report

Humboldt Bay Barge Project Gets Federal "Short Sea Shipping/Tiger Grant" Attention

GRP:Now, why would it not be prudent for our own Port of Astoria to be in touch with this man to see where we can play into this opportunity since we dropped the ball with the opportunity to partner with Santa Maria Shipping?

John Driscoll/The Times-Standard
Posted: 08/17/2010 01:21:11 AM PDT

A local entrepreneur's efforts to establish a marine shipping service along the West Coast and a four-port initiative to build infrastructure to support it have earned recognition -- and the prospect of funding -- from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Read Article

Daily Astorian: LNG Pipeline Issue Moves To County Commission!

LNG pipeline issue moves to county

GRP: Even after Peter Hansen's "Pooh-Poohing" of the conditions of approval as being "Benign", Oregon LNG/Pipeline appeals its own approval?

By KATIE WILSON - The Daily Astorian

09-03-2010 1:57PM

It's in the commissioners' hands now. The deadline to appeal a liquefied natural gas pipeline application was today. With one appeal filed, the process now moves to the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners.....Read Full Daily "A" Report By Katie Wilson

Hood River Juice Owner Pleads Guilty! Alleged Tainted Evidence Dropped From The Case!

KPAM interview with NCO's Carrie Bartoldus by Victoria Taft on what she calls "Fostergate"


The owner of Hood River Juice has pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor pollution counts in a long-running case that also led to the resignation of Attorney General John Kroger's top environmental aide earlier this year.





David B. Ryan pleaded guilty late Wednesday to failing to file a required report and second-degree water pollution, misdemeanors related to management of the company's wastewater system in 2007 and 2009.......Read Full Report

From Boston Herald.Com:Gulf Oil Rig Explodes Off Louisiana Coast!

By Associated Press - Thursday, September 2, 2010

GRAND ISLE, La. —An offshore petroleum platform exploded and was burning today in the Gulf of Mexico about 102 miles south of Vermilion Bay on the central Louisiana coast.
The Coast Guard says no one was killed in the explosion, which was reported by a commercial helicopter flying over the site around 9 a.m. CDT. All 13 people aboard the rig have been accounted for.

Read Report

Bankrupt Northern Star Natural Gas: Need Some High Quality, High Dollar Luxury Antiques? Here's Your Chance To Own A Piece Of History!

Looking for some "High-Dollar"($45,000) Persian Rugs? Priceless Asian Antiques? A Lesson In How To Blow $100,000,000 In Investors Money? A Lesson In How To Leave Creditors High And Dry?


Well,Here You Go, Check The Auction List And Submit Your Bid! See If You Know Any Of These Creditors.

Coos Bay LNG Pipeline Developer Sues Oregon Department Of State Lands

Portland Business Journal - by Erik Siemers Business Journal staff writer

The developer of a proposed 234-mile natural gas pipeline has filed a federal lawsuit against two Oregon land officials the developer claims are improperly using state law to delay the project......Read The Details

Prineville Gets Facebook, We Get Shipbreaking?

David Nogueras - OPB News
August 2, 2010 Bend, OR

The social networking website Facebook says it will double the size of a new data center currently under construction in Prineville. The company says the expansion was planned since the beginning of the project.

Read Full OPB Report

Astoria City Council Races: Who's It Going To Be for You?

Henningsgaard Announces he will not continue to seek re-election but will pursue open Astoria City Attorney Job Instead

Well, here's the list of candidates for 2010 elections for open seats on Astoria City Council.

This is an open call for all candidates to post their Press Releases or views as to why they feel they can serve the citizens of Astoria best and what they can bring to the game to lead us forward to a prosperous future and improved life quality.

Mayor

Willis L. Van Dusen
(Incumbent Mayor Van Dusen's Campaign Statement)
"I am running for re-election as Mayor of the City of Astoria. The next four years will be important to all of us. I ask for your support on November 2nd.
As the Mayor of Astoria over the past four years, I have worked as part of a team on many successful projects. Some of those projects include:
1) Supporting the officers in the Astoria Police Department.
2) Supporting the Firefighters in the Astoria Fire Department. The City Council and I congratulate the department for securing a $ 238,000 grant that enabled the city to purchase of a fire truck.
3) Re-organizing the Parks and Recreation Department. The consolidation of facilities and personnel has made us more efficient.
4) Our community has done an excellent job in improving the financial situation of the Astoria Aquatic Center.
5) Supported our Public Works Department to improve our drinking water and manage the combined sewer overflow project
6) Drafted plans to renovate our City Hall
7) Expanded our world class river walk
8) Serving as President of the Astoria Riverfront Trolley Association.
9) We worked closely with governmental agencies, such as the Astoria Schools, neighboring cities, the Military, Oregon State Agencies etc.
10) Established a street paving/repair program
The next four years have many challenges:
1) Astoria’s Bi-Centennial
2) Completing our Chinese educational park, "The Garden of Surging Waves"
3) City Hall Renovation
4) Rebuilding the athletic fields at Tapiola Park
5) Community Center in the former Armory at 17th and Duane St.
6) Rebuilding the 17th Street Dock with transportation grant funds
7) Work with businesses creating and saving jobs
8) Provide a new library through renovation or construction
9) Communicate clearly with all Astorians
10) Support our local schools
If we continue to work as a community team, Astoria will always be a great place to live and raise our families.
Thank you
Willis L. Van Dusen

Bonnie Anne Wingard (Challenger)

Ward 1

Arline LaMear
(Incumbent LaMear's Campaign Statement)
Arline LaMear – Councilor, City of Astoria Ward 1
288 Franklin Ave.
Astoria, OR 97103
alamear@astoria.or.us

Occupation
Librarian, Columbia River Maritime Museum, 1997-Present

Occupational background
School Librarian, Virginia Public Schools, 21 years
Teacher – California, North Carolina and Thailand, 4 years

Educational background
Occidental College, BA, Education
James Madison University, M.Ed, Education

Prior Government Experience
Astoria City Council, 2008-Present; Astoria Parks and Recreation Board, 2010; Astoria Planning Commission, 2003-2008; Clatsop County Commission on Children and Families, 2004-2007; Astoria Library Board, 2002; Chair of the Bicentennial Legacy Committee, 2009-Present

Candidate Statement

A job with the Columbia River Maritime Museum brought me to Astoria in 1997. Thirteen years later, my commitment to Astoria, her river, history and community has deepened. It has been a real honor to serve as City Councilor from Ward 1 the past two years. I have met with many of you on issues and concerns and pledge that I will continue to listen and act in your behalf.

Astoria will celebrate her Bicentennial in 2011. Working with our wonderful city staff and workforce, I will support continuing efforts to replace our bridges that are in poor condition, pave our streets, relocate the temporary water and sewer lines at Hume and Bond Streets, renovate our City Hall, and spruce up our downtown so Astoria looks her best for her 200th birthday.

I plan to:
Actively advocate for you and Astoria’s Ward One.
Work for the opening of a Recreation Center in Astoria for children and adults.
Advocate for an ordinance regarding derelict buildings that includes a firm, fair enforcement component.
Evaluate energy cost saving measures and implement viable alternatives.
Ensure that Astoria has a state of the art, modern library.

Committees/Membership/Volunteerism
Court-Appointed Advocate (CASA) – 2001-Present
American Association of University Women (AAUW) – President 2005-2006
Organizer and moderator for candidate and issue forums, AAUW and Women’s Political Caucus
Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce – 2003-Present
Lower Columbia Preservation Society
Friends of the Columbia River Maritime Museum
Clatsop County Historical Society

Endorsed by:

John Goodenberger
Karen Kenyon
Virginia (Gin) Laughery
Roy Little, M.D.
Laura Snyder
Helen Westbrook

Robert E. Howard (Challenger)

Ward 3

Blair Henningsgaard (Incumbent)

Henningsgaard Will Not Seek Re-Election But Will Seek Open Astoria City Attorney Job

I am running for re-election to the Astoria City Council Ward 3 and ask for your vote in November.

I can describe my past service to the City in three categories.
Emergency Events.
Hurricane, December of 2007. I am proud of the teamwork and courage of our community’s response.
Landslide at 1st and Commercial Street, April 2007. Our team ensured access, re-routed utilities, responded to citizens’ needs and obtained State and Federal assistance.
Routine (but critical) City Services
We lined and covered our reservoirs. These two changes help protect our drinking water supply with one result that the City uses fewer chemicals to treat our water.
Expensive sewer improvements are helping keep our river and bay clean. I helped spur negotiations that are expected to save over $10 million on this project.
A street paving/repair program was adopted for the first time in our history; funded with help from tourist tax dollars and state funds.
Successes.
Developing highly visible city council goals.
Representing the City Council on our award winning Riverfront vision.
Plans to make Astoria City Hall the most “customer friendly” in the county.
Saving the City over $300,000 per year at the Astoria Aquatic Center.
Acquiring the old Safeway block.
Replacing the Astoria Column steps.

I commit to economically provide needed services but also look forward to developing a new library, recycling the Astoria Armory, opening our Chinese Park and turning the old American Legion block into a public plaza.

I hope the Citizens of Astoria know how much my hometown means to me. We live in a special place; together we will keep it that way.

Karen Mellin (Challenger)

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, September 1, 2010

For More Information:Karen Mellin
(503) 325-5382

Karen Mellin for Astoria Ward 3 Astoria, Oregon

“I am running because Astorians need achoice,” says candidate Mellin. "I've never been afraid to speak my mind and I think Astoria is a real treasure that deserves outspoken protection."

Mellin served most recently on the Clatsop Community College Board of Directors and before that was instrumental in developing the organization now known as the Women's Resource Center.

She said she felt the values of the particularly historic district of Ward 3 needed a new voice.

"When citizens spend months of time on a public project like the River Visioning process, they deserve to have those concerns taken seriously," Mellin said."Too many people have told me they felt the City Council listened and then imposed its own voice on that process."

Mellin also expressed concern over the what she called "the continuous mishandling of DUII cases in the Astoria Municipal Court." She said that"Municipal Courts play a valuable role in dispensing community justice, but Astoria should join the other four cities in the counties in sending their DUII cases to the Circuit Court where both the judges and prosecutors are full-time professionals.""Something's not right when someone can get two or three DUIIs dismissed just because the case is in Municipal Court. Like the River Visioning process, it is a matter of fairness."

"While we appreciate the work done over the years by the incumbent," Mellin said, "I think people are ready for a change.

"Mellin just celebrated the 50th reunion of her graduating class at AstoriaHigh School.

She spent many years traveling overseas and moved back toAstoria 30 years ago and taught in the local schools until last year.

Karen Mellin's Astoria-based volunteerism began in 1986 as a programmer atKMUN.

She has been a member of the North Coast Women’s Political Caucussince 1987. That year she began volunteering at the Clatsop County Women’s Crisis Service, where she set up group counseling sessions for victims of domestic violence and soon became Executive Director.

In 2001, she waselected to the Clatsop Community College Board, where she advocated renovation of the historic property.

Ward 3 is roughly bound by 5th and 28th Streets, the Columbia River on thenorth and Niagara Avenue on the south, and is equivalent to county precincts5 and 6.

The Committee to Elect Karen Mellin, Astoria Ward 3

Grassroots People Straw Poll Results!

Question: Astoria Municipal Court:Should DUII's Be Tried By That Court Or Circuit Court?

Astoria Municipal
18 (33%)

Circuit Court
33 (62%)

No Opinion
2 (3%)

Cannot Decide
0 (0%)

Votes so far: 53 Poll closed