Oregon Editorial Round-Up

From The Bulletin, Feb. 12, on how to donate to victims of the Umatilla County floods:

The Umatilla River did not discriminate when it overflowed its banks last week in a near perfect storm of wind, rain and snow in Pendleton, surrounding towns and on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

While that makes for dramatic news coverage and photos, the cleanup is really the hard part for our neighbors to the northeast.

Last week, floodwaters surged through the communities and filled homes and businesses with several feet of water. It washed out yards, destroyed a small bridge and roads and left some access to small towns impassable. One person died in the floodwaters, and some 54 people were evacuated from their homes.

Anyone who has been through a disaster knows the anxiety, stress, fears and sense of being overwhelmed. Believe it or not, some homeowners have experienced burglaries since they had left their home unlocked, fleeing the floodwaters.

In true Oregonian fashion, you can help. But don’t send supplies, or clothes or bales of hay (unless directed to by a farmers’ organization). Many of the items people tend to send wind up in piles unused and unneeded and eventually are warehoused or discarded.

What our friends need is cash, according to our sister paper, the East Oregonian in Pendleton.

Cash donations are being accepted by three local community organizations:

Umatilla County/Pendleton region: Community Action Plan of East Central Oregon (CAPECO). Donate through the website or call 800-752-1139.

Milton-Freewater: Blue Mountain Community Foundation: Donate through the website or call 509-529-4371.

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation: Send a check to: CTUIR (Attn: Accounts Receivable), 46411 Timine Way, Pendleton, OR 97801.

And don’t forget the Red Cross. You should be able to direct your funds specifically to Umatilla County.

And thank you for your kindness. One never knows when they might need a helping hand.

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From The Register Guard, Feb. 9, on bills currently before the Oregon Legislature:

The new and improved – or not – version of climate legislation has draw much of the public attention at the Oregon Capitol. But it is not the only important issue before legislators.

Here are four bills that deserve passage during the legislative session.

We advocate for swift passage of reforms in Oregon’s child welfare system, including SB 1566, sponsored by Sens. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, and James Manning Jr., D-Eugene.

Another bill in the Senate would free the state’s public records advocate from improper political influence by the governor and others.

SB 1506 is a clear-headed response to the surprise resignation last fall of the state’s first such advocate, Ginger McCall. She contended Gov. Kate Brown’s staff compromised her independence, pressuring her to tone down her fight for transparency.

The advocate’s position was created to help resolve disputes over public record requests, as well as to train people on how to follow Oregon’s public records laws. SB 1506 firmly establishes the public records advocate as an independent office, with that person hired by the Public Records Advisory Council, not the governor.

Government transparency is at the heart of democracy, which is why every Oregonian should care about this bill - and the attempts to undermine it. The head of the Oregon Senate committee that will take up the legislation this morning, Democrat Chuck Riley of Hillsboro, has shown no enthusiasm for the bill. And a lobbyist for the League of Oregon Cities, who was the only member of the Public Records Advisory Council opposing the bill, is pushing an amendment that goes the other way and weakens existing law.

A third bill would tackle political influence of a different kind by limiting campaign contributions. Under SB 1524, no longer could someone give $2.5 million to a gubernatorial candidate, as Nike co-founder Phil Knight did for Knute Buehler in 2018. The six-figure contributions that Kate Brown collected from labor unions also would end.

Brown and other top Democrats have proclaimed they want finance reform. Now they say this is not the time. Hogwash! Oregonians will vote in November on a constitutional amendment to authorize caps on political contributions. Voters should know what the limits actually would be.

As for kratom, HB 4013 is a bipartisan proposal to institute Oregon’s first regulations on the popular herbal drug, which has been banned in some states and foreign countries.

The FDA warns against using kratom, which can act as a stimulant, a sedative or a route to a euphoric high. In the absence of actual federal regulations, Oregon legislators should get off the sidelines and act. Even the American Kratom Association supports government oversight.

The bill would quite reasonably block sales of kratom to anyone under 21. It also would mandate state standards for testing and labeling kratom and would require manufacturers and sellers to disclose each product’s ingredients.

The proposed civil penalties for breaking the state rules - $500 for the first time, $1,000 for each additional offense - seem light. But the bill also establishes unlawful distribution or sale of kratom as a Class C misdemeanor with potential fines and jail time.

All four bills correct past legislative misjudgment or inaction. All should become law.

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From the East Oregonian, Feb. 14, on a new forestry agreement between environmentalists and timber interests:

Leaders of Oregon’s timber industry and some of the state’s best known environmental groups took an important first step Monday when they announced they’ve agreed to work out their differences in ways that benefit everyone.

Now the hard work begins.

Both groups have agreed to drop their efforts to place measures on the November ballot if - and it’s a big if - the Legislature does its part by approving tighter restrictions on aerial herbicide spraying. The last time the subject came before lawmakers, in 2015, they let the measure die without final action.

That must not happen again, despite complaints by at least one lawmaker, Sen. Herman Baertschiger, R-Grants Pass, who complained that the deal will make it harder for his party to block cap-and-trade legislation. Oh, well.

Passage of a modified House Bill 4025, which deals with aerial spraying, is the trigger that environmental groups and the timber industry say is necessary to get them to the bargaining table.

Once there, talks will be mediated by a professional and all parties have agreed to a set of 13 ground rules aimed to keep their discussions going. If they’re successful, when the talks have finished the group will have laid the groundwork for what Gov. Kate Brown, who helped bring about the agreement, said should be a “significant rewrite” of the Oregon Forest Practices Act.

The act, which went into effect in 1972, governs forest practices on Oregon’s private timberlands, which make up about a third of forest lands in the state, according to the Oregon Forest Resources Institute.

Oregonians have been fighting about their forests for far too long, and neither the timber industry nor environmental groups can declare themselves winners of the war. A final agreement by this group, if one is reached, promises to be better for all, with loggers getting protection from lawsuits and wildlife, including endangered species, getting protection of habitat and water in ways that environmentalists can support. That, in turn, is a win for all Oregonians who love their forests and the creatures that inhabit them.