MERKLEY: DEBT DEAL WILL UNDERMINE SUCCESS OF OUR FAMILIES
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the United States Senate voted on legislation to increase the debt ceiling while imposing deep cuts on programs important to many middle class families. Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley voted against the bill. He issued the following statement:
“I have spent the last several days immersed in the details of this budget deal, trying to understand its real-world impact on Oregon’s middle class and small businesses. I have a single, simple measure to evaluate this proposal: is it going to create greater opportunities for prosperity and success for working Americans? Unfortunately, I have concluded that it will not, and so I cannot support it.
“First, this deal will contribute to the gathering storm threatening to make our current unemployment crisis even worse. Our unsustainable deficits are absolutely a long-term challenge that we must address. But millions of Oregonians and Americans are out of work right now. And with at least 5 million foreclosures looming, with the expiration of extended unemployment benefits forecast to cost half a million jobs next year, with the payroll tax holiday ending and costing another estimated 900,000 jobs in 2012, we should be relentlessly preoccupied with how to create more jobs. Instead, this package will add to the job losses, repeating the mistakes that have caused prolonged economic slumps in this country and elsewhere.
“Second, this deal will do serious damage to the programs that middle class Americans depend on. The bulk of the deficit reduction is piled onto that small part of the budget that funds things like Head Start, college financial aid, research into clean energy and medical cures, and safeguards against contaminated food and polluted air and water. These sorts of programs combined are less than one-fifth of the budget. And we are spending the same amount on them today in a real dollars, per person basis, as we did in 2001. Yet these programs — critical to helping families in tough times, to giving kids the tools they need to succeed, and to keeping our economy competitive so there are good jobs in the future – would endure as much as 15% in cuts. Mortgaging the middle class’s future and increasing their burdens now do not make America stronger.
“Moreover, while all reasonable people can understand the need for belt-tightening to bring down our unsustainable deficits, this plan exempts the wealthy and well-connected. The many subsidies and entitlements that they enjoy are tucked away in the tax code, which has been put off limits. So despite the dramatic increases in income of the best off in our nation since 2000, the sweetheart deals that litter the tax code are protected.
“Finally, this flawed product is the result of irresponsible threats to torpedo the economy by refusing to pay America’s bills. The editorials are full of phrases like ‘extortion,’ ‘hostage-taking,’ and ‘lunacy.’ President Reagan himself said, ‘This brinkmanship threatens the holders of bonds and those who rely on veterans benefits. Markets would skyrocket, instability would occur and the federal deficit would soar. The United States has a special responsibility to itself and to the world to meet its obligations.’ A default would be enormously damaging to every American, and I respect and value the hard work of the President and Leader Reid to avoid that calamity despite the unreasonable ransom demands they were facing. But at some point we must finally stand up for the middle class and insist that their jobs and their futures be our priority, or this ugly drama will repeat itself again and again.
“I am fully committed to work towards real compromise, one that asks for sacrifice from everyone who can afford it to tackle our long-term debt challenges. I’m prepared to make hard choices when those choices are necessary to solve our nation’s challenges and make it stronger. However, I cannot endorse a process that will worsen our economy, burden middle class families, and reduce our children’s opportunities in the future, and doesn’t ask those who have so much already to contribute one thin dime.
“Somewhere in the frenzy of economic anxiety, ideology, and electoral politics, Washington has lost its way. The greatness of America and the strength of our economy cannot be separated from the well-being of the American middle class. If we continue to sacrifice their prosperity to subsidize the well-off and well-connected, we sacrifice America’s future.”
With the nation’s debt limit deadline approaching, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden issued the following statement announcing his support for the legislation to lift the debt ceiling:
“Today, Members of Congress have a choice: allow the United States to default on its financial obligations or vote for the deal on the table. The full faith and credit of the United States is being held for ransom, and because I’m not willing to sacrifice the economic well-being of hundreds of millions of Americans, I will vote for the deal on the table.
This is not the deal that I would have constructed nor should it be held up as a shining example of bipartisanship. Democrats and Republicans could have worked together on real reforms. They could have put the country first and come up with constructive solutions to reduce the deficit, grow the economy and put Americans back to work. They could have laid the groundwork for tax reform and made it possible for both parties to achieve long-sought victories.
Instead we are left to celebrate what this legislation doesn’t do. This bill doesn’t allow the United States to default on its financial obligations. It doesn’t hold seniors hostage or put important safety net programs like food stamps, Medicaid and veterans benefits at risk. Instead this deal protects seniors and ensures that our nation’s most vulnerable will stay protected as Congress continues to find ways to get our deficits and debt under control. But we can’t afford to rest on those assurances. We need to stay vigilant for the most vulnerable and we must find better ways to save money than cutting education, job training, infrastructure and research efforts that are essential to this country’s economic future. Arbitrary cuts to these programs will harm our nation’s ability to compete at the individual, corporate and national level, for years to come. That’s not good for the economy or the deficit.
The creation of a bipartisan Congressional Committee to tackle the deficit creates an opportunity to fix what this deal did and achieve what it didn’t. It creates an opportunity for Congress to find savings elsewhere and restore those needed investments in our economy. Reducing the deficit doesn’t have to be defined by slashing spending to achieve arbitrary goals. This Committee can look for ways to save money by thinking more strategically and finding ways for current programs to operate more efficiently. This committee can look for ways to grow the economy and put people back to work. This Committee can tackle tax reform and give Americans something to show for the debate.
I will vote for this deal because I don’t believe that allowing the country to go into default is an option. Putting an already struggling economy at even greater risk is not an acceptable choice. But I believe that Congress can and should do better. The only way we do better is to keep working for real solutions and real reforms, like tax reform. And while such reforms may be hard to achieve, they are impossible to achieve if no one fights for them. This is why I will keep putting ideas on the table and fighting for solutions that address the very real challenges facing Americans.”
Spiderman on Waldport Bridge
Photos by Vivian Mills
3:30pm Update: DW from Waldport reports that ODOT has removed Spiderman. People around Waldport report seeing him on other signs, in a fishing boat, and at the Drift Creek R/V Park. Unfortunately, ODOT has taken possession of him so his roving days may be over.
While the nation sat gripped in financial near-panic over the debt ceiling (or was it Oprah’s “Summer wardrobe survival guide”), someone with a bit of healthy levity decided to make his or her thoughtful comment on it all by putting a Spiderman figure on an upper rung of the Waldport Bridge during the night. One might assume that the message might be “Fear not the unknown, for Spiderman is here to protect us.”
One wonders what kind of safety gear the perpetrator of commuter entertainment might have used to secure the comic book character which is high enough off the pavement to pose a serious threat to one’s life at the hint of a slip. It’s not known if ODOT has been alerted to the unauthorized adornment of the bridge. Certainly qualifying as a serious driving distraction, the continued presence of the figure on the bridge is surely in doubt.
9:55 am Update
ODOT’s Rick Little tells NewsLincolnCounty.com that the Spiderman figure is a highway safety distraction and that they will be soon taking it down. However, in order to remove the figure they will need to bring in a high enough cherry-picker truck to allow one of their electricians to remove it. Nothing local will go that high, so Little says they’ve dispatched a beefy cherry-picker with a platform from Salem to do the removal. So by day’s end, Spiderman will likely be removed and returned to Gotham where he would be expected to do a better job of protecting the country from the derivatives market and credit-default swaps among Wall Street brokerage houses, since the effectiveness of the newly launched Consumer Protection Agency has been called into question.
The Coast Guard has released a video of their rescue of two men who got themselves stranded on the side of Archer Mountain in the Columbia Gorge over the weekend. A Coast Guard helicopter from Astoria was summoned due to the technical nature of the rescue, and per usual, the Coast Guard did a superb job of plucking the hikers off the mountain side. Here’s the Coast Guard video which gives a birds-eye view of the lift of one of those rescued.
Yaquina Bay Bridge, 1936, Courtesy LC Historical Society, Bridge today, East Steps, West Steps, Intersection re-alignment, plan photo
ODOT, perhaps getting into the 75th birthday mood with those who love the Yaquina Bay Bridge, is awarding Newport a $150,000 grant to install what many contend are long overdue sidewalks leading outward from the bridge’s north end steps. The grant will also pay for a wide sidewalk under the bridge to connect pedestrians from the top of Naterlin Drive, to the eastern steps, then under the bridge to the western steps and then to a re-aligned intersection on the west side. Public Works project manager Tim Gross says the work should be done in time for the bridge’s 75th birthday party which is being held October 2nd, sponsored by the City Center Association Deco District and the Lincoln County Historical Society. Watch for details coming up on this website and around town.
Lincoln County’s newest food pantry for the needy, or just temporarily so, received either a $1,600 gift from the Newport City Council Monday night, or as much as $1,900. It depends on how things work out after all the building, water and sewer fees are tallied.
Newport Food Pantry Board member Lurlyn Patrick told the council that her non-profit had budgeted only around $800 for city fees when they moved a former portable school building from Yaquina View School to its new location, and new function as a food pantry on the grounds of the First Presbyterian Church on NW 12th. The two operations are completely separate.
The council pondered whether to allocate money from their newly created $10,000 fund to be divided up among local non-profits or make an immediate grant award to the pantry so they can have their scheduled opening on time. The council decided to allocate between $1,600 and $1,900 dollars depending on how the fees were levied by the city community development department. Those fees cannot be waived, they said, because the bulk of them are for system development fees which cannot be waived according to city code. System development fees are levied on new construction as they incrementally consume their fractional capacity of the town’s water and sewer systems.
The Newport Food Pantry is the county’s newest pantry which works in tandem with Food Share of Lincoln County. Food Share imports and collects donated food for distribution from its warehouse on NE 1st Street in Newport. From there it goes to the far flung reaches of Lincoln County at various pantry locations. Newport was the last remaining major population center without a pantry apart from Food Share. Food Share said the Newport Pantry will allow Food Share to concentrate on collection and distribution of food in a more efficient way and food recipients in Newport will have a more convenient “pantry” shopping experience when they come for food.
The Newport Pantry will be fully wheel-chair accessible and offer a wide variety of food as one would experience in a regular grocery store. It’s expected to be open in the very near future as their new facility gets its finishing touches on the installation. Local construction and building suppliers have donated time and materials to the project. Food Pantry officials say they will be thanked and praised loudly and often so the whole community will learn of their good work and donations.
City Manager Jim Voetberg (L) welcomes new Fire Chief Phil Paige (R)
The top pick of fire chief applicants by Newport volunteer firefighters was welcomed as the new fire chief at the city council meeting Monday night. He’s Phil Paige, a longtime fire service veteran who has spent many years in California, most recently with the fire department in Redding, California. He appeared before the Newport City Council with his wife and was given the fire chief’s badge by City Manager Jim Voetberg who welcomed him to his new job.
Paige said he was happy to be in Newport and that he enjoyed the coast sunshine, which drew laughter from the crowd. He was later told it’s beautiful on the coast, even when it rains. He said his first day on the job was fun and that he looks forward to getting to know the troops and the area. Volunteer firefighters said they preferred Paige over the other three candidates mainly because of Paige’s obvious professionalism, friendly, transparent demeanor, and that he’s a “people person.”
The department has suffered what’s been described as unpleasant tension between paid staff and the volunteer force. The department has now had four chief’s in the past six months, largely due to turn-over from retirements and Assistant Chief Rob Murphy having to fill in until Chief Paige’s arrival.
The Newport City Council has appointed seven residents to examine whether and how the Newport Pool and Recreation Center might be managed for less cost, while keeping current service levels the same. The committee will be trying to figure out if a private company or a non-profit might be able to pull off such an arrangement. What hasn’t been made clear is whether whoever or whatever takes them over would be responsible for the cost of maintaining both facilities and whether they’d have to do it with the money the city is willing to give them or would the city remain on the hook for the maintenance and upkeep.
Appointed to the task force was Fred Springstein, Vincennes University, Ed Simon, Parks and Recreation Committee, Pat Cowan, School Admininstrator, Jeff Schrantz, insurance, Phil Jackson, Coast guard, Thomas Hurst, NOAA Biologist and Josie Bissell, Safeway Manager.
The committee has until sometime in November to study the two facilities’ operations and to review various operating models that would help the city council determine whether the city could save money by privatizing their operations, again, with an eye to keeping service levels at their current base, for less money. The council said it wants the information in time to determine whether the two facilities should be privatized in time to make corresponding changes in the city’s budget planning period which begins shortly after the first of the year.
Privatization of such facilities have had mixed results over the years, largely depending on the monitoring and enforcement of prescribed service levels and how operating and maintenance expenses are covered in contract agreements.
The council also appointed another task force to assess Newport’s tourism related organizations and determine which of them should be granted a part of the city’s million dollar “tourism facilities” fund. The Oregon Coast Aquarium, the Marine Heritage Museum and others have already expressed a strong interest on using some of those funds to bolster their programming and facilities. The city and the county, at one point, were talking about teaming up to produce a large convention center or special events “expo” at the county fairgrounds in Newport, but that vision has apparently faded.
Appointed to the Tourism Facilities Task Force was Caroline Bauman, economic development coordinator, John Lavrakas, businessman, Julie Hanrahan, manager of West Coast Bank, Dan Rowe, Tracy Wiley, Embarcadero Resort manager, Ann Aronson, and one vacancy.
The council says it wants guidance on how to allocate some or all of the fund to create facilities, or add onto already existing facilities, to create the maximum tourist draw to the area. The fund was created mostly by room tax funds collected from local hotel and motel properties.
The suspect sought in connection with Saturday morning’s stabbing at a remote camping site in Clatsop County was arrested by Oregon State Police (OSP) Monday evening. The suspect, SCOTT ROBERT BRANDON, age 26, from southwest Portland, contacted OSP following media reports regarding the investigation and made arrangements to turn himself in.
According to OSP Detective Aaron Jackson, BRANDON was arrested August 1st at the OSP Portland Area Command office and lodged in the Clackamas County Jail for Assault in the Second Degree. Arrangements will be made to transfer BRANDON to Clatsop County pending an appearance in Clatsop County Circuit Court.
Previously released information indicated on July 30th at approximately 8:00 a.m. the suspect, BRANDON, and the 30-year old male victim, Jeremy Daniel Peat from Gresham, were part of a large group of about 50 people camping off Wolf Creek Road about five miles north of Highway 26 in Clatsop County. The suspect and victim became involved in a verbal argument during which the suspect allegedly sprayed the victim’s face with a chemical agent similar to mace. As the victim tried to defend himself, the suspect stabbed the victim once in the abdomen with a knife described as a bayonet.
Others present at the scene overpowered the suspect and disarmed him. The suspect then fled on foot into the woods. A search that evening by troopers and deputies failed to find him.
The victim was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital in Beaverton by two people at the camp site. OSP was notified by hospital staff and started an investigation led by Detective Jackson. Peat is still being treated at the hospital but his injury is believed non-life threatening.
Since it was started in August of 2008 by Kit O’Carra, as the Cape Foulweather Drum Circle (Kit was then living in Depoe Bay), the Newport Community Drum Circle has become a recognized and vital part of the social and cultural life of Newport and even – thanks to the talented people who have gathered around it – an increasingly significant part of the Lincoln County arts and entertainment community. The drum circle flourished during its first few months, but suspended operations briefly during that first winter due to the difficulty of finding a winter indoor venue that would not necessitate charging a fee to cover rental costs. Kit eventually asked to be relieved of the responsibility for coordinating. When I took over as coordinator in April 2009, there were two people (Jan Weathers and I) at the drum circle. With the help of a handful of diehards (including Jan, Barbara Wilson, and Richard Sherlock, among those still involved), the drum circle recovered and began attracting new participants during the spring.
Toledo Realism Artist Ivan Kelly’s oil of Newport’s Beach juried into National Art Museum exhibit tour of 8 public art museums in 6 States.
15th National American Society of Marine Artists has juried “Sculptured by Pacific Storms”, an 8″ x 16″ oil painting by Toledo artist, Ivan Kelly to be included in its 15th National Art Museum Exhibit Tour which includes eight art museums throughout six States.
“From over 450 works, the jury of twenty A.S.M.A. Fellows picked 86 paintings and seven three-dimensional pieces, representing the very best work of our membership,” stated Russ Kramer, A.S.M.A. President based on the East Coast, “Thank you for your terrific contribution to what you will soon see is a very impressive collection of art, one we can all be very proud of as it travels to eight prestigious museums across the country.” They include public art museums through Florida, Alabama, Texas, California, Oregon and Minnesota. The tour starts this October and ends in July, 2013. Along with the juried exhibit will be a 100-plus page full-color catalog of the show.
Ivan’s marine oil paintings have been privileged to be juried into the previous 13th and 14th National Exhibit and also shown in the ASMA Exhibition catalog. He was awarded “Signature Member” status in 2000.
The American Society of Marine Artists was founded in 1978 by a small group of the country’s leading maritime artists. They were looking for mutual support and companionship, to enhance public awareness of the genre, to explore and record the history of American marine art. The membership has always been nationwide, and the current membership of over 500 is distributed across 40 states. National exhibitions are held at roughly three-year intervals (the 2012-13 show will be our 15th) and they take place in public museums. ASMA also holds periodic Regional exhibitions.
“Sculptured by Pacific Storms” will be available for viewing during First Weekend Art, August 6th & 7th, thru Toledo Labor Day Weekend Art Walk 18, Sept. 3rd – 5th at Ivan Kelly Gallery, located at 207 East Graham Street, Toledo, OR – One block above Main Street and 10 minutes from Newport’s Beaches. More information can be found at website: www.ivankelly.com or call Ivan Kelly Gallery-Studio, 207 East Graham Street, Toledo .
Lincoln County District Attorney Rob Bovett, a seemingly tireless conveyor of intriguing information about the American justice system and Lincoln County’s place in it, has gone a step further by communicating to anyone who’ll listen the causes behind a lot of contemporary criminal behavior. And, for those who know Mr. Bovett, it’s straight-forward. Control the illegal proliferation of prescription drugs, and the war on drugs, and other crimes, may appear more winnable. Everyone in this county, and probably the country, needs to see Mr. Bovett’s presentation.
Not mentioned in Mr. Bovett’s presentation is his often attributed cause behind car, business and home burglaries is theft of items that the thieves parlay into cash, either on the black market or at pawn or other retail outlets to feed their drug habit. It also moves the same drug addicts through the criminal justice system over and over and over. Bovett has been instrumental in establishing “alternative” courts where the underlying cause of criminal behavior can be addressed, namely through drug cessation and rehabilitation.
Lincoln County 4-H had four youth members qualify to compete at the 4-H Oregon State Horse Fair from August 19th-22nd in Salem. Pictured left to right: McKenna Swinford qualified in Showmanship, Western Equitation, English Equitation, Jumping and Key Race (gaming); Ivy Jones qualified in Showmanship, Pole Bending and Key Race (both gaming events); Gabriella Cook qualified in Showmanship, English Equitation and Western Equitation; and Brooke Thomas qualified in Showmanship, Western Equitation and Trail.
Sen. Jeff Merkley
