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Special Guest Article

New West Columbia Gorge will be posting a special, two-part guest article this week, "An Oregon Tale," by Hood River's John E. Smith. Smith writes about his sons, Noah and Ike; about Noah's spinal cord injury; and the life he, and they, have made since. Smith, who now advocates for the spinally injured, is writing a book, and blogs here. NW Columbia Gorge readers, you will not want to miss Smith's article.

Tuesday: Part 1.

Oregon Property Rights

We haven’t heard much about Measure 37 recently, but that’s not because much isn’t going on — it is, and the biggest pieces of this fractured story are the least obvious.

First, to the obvious: Measure 37 is about the money. The money that landowners claim they’ve lost or will lose by the state or counties barring them from developing. The money that lures forestry companies to turn from logging to condos.

And the money that farmers, house-holders and others with what they see as presently useless or excess land are costing the rest of us with their claims. Claims may be totally legit (though numerous ones in Hood River County, at least, have asked to make developments that were never allowed under their original zoning), but they take public time to assess. That’s cost Wasco County, for one, several thousand dollars; and the real impact will come with the May rush, of some 30 claims to assess, according to The Dalles Chronicle.

Wasco County doesn’t charge landowner claimants for its planners’ time. Hood River County, with many more claims, does; but nowhere near enough to pay for their efforts. Measure 37 presently accounts for an estimated 70 percent of the planning staff’s time — and the fees the county charges cover less than 10 percent of the planning budget... [more]

Gorge Environment

Can we agree that smoggy air is really counter to the whole idea of living in the Northwest? That haze doesn’t belong in the Columbia Gorge? Turns out, a growing cause of the haze that’s increasingly obvious here, is the slew of poison spewed into the air by China.

Let me for the record say — that’s a bad thing. Clean air, good; polluted air, bad. I don’t how you vote or what whack-job political commentators you listen to — I don’t care — but my 3-year-old daughter shouldn’t have to breathe China’s dirty air in her Columbia Gorge backyard.

Or any dirty air, for that matter... [more]

Outdoors In the Gorge

A mountain biker zips down a trail in the hills above Catherine Creek this week. The view is from the Washington side of the Columbia River, looking east, as seen by Hood River photographer Darryl Lloyd. (See more of Lloyd's work at Long Shadow Photography.)

Who's Dumber? Snowmobilers or Mountaineers?

You’ve heard about Velvet, right? The super amazing wonderdog who saved, blah, blah, three climbers on Mt. Hood, blah, blah?

No, those aren’t typos, just a sort of a writing yawn. Oh, the plight of three (more) Portland-area climbers! Oh, they suffered a hard night on ol’ Hood! (Or, as some are calling it, Mount Doom.)

It’s great that they all made it down alive, and that there’s a dog in the story to give everyone warm feelings. But the event is hardly worth the national press coverage that it’s attracted. (Along with the usual chorus of “What are those fool people doing on a mountain when it’s snowing?” and “We should charge ‘em for the cost of the rescue.”)

Here’s a bit of perspective: While these folks were being safely extracted from a rather routine mountaineering accident (but there’s a dog! A cute dog!), six Westerners died in avalanches... [more]

Property Rights Debate

I’ve often said (to the poor souls too slow or too polite to escape my opinionating) that how we use our land is the great Western issue of this time.

What does that mean, precisely? Well, that depends on how you ask the questions. If you ask, “What will we have left if we allow everyone to build anything anywhere?” you’ll get a different take than if you ask, “What right does the government have to tell me I can’t use my land?”

Hood River’s own Columbia Gorge Earth Center has taken a stab at this most-pressing debate: “How much control should the public have over the use of privately held land?”

That’s the topic for a CGEC-organized debate between Steven B. Andersen and Jeff Hunter coming up on Monday, Feb. 26.

The talk is free, open to the public and will be held at Dog River Coffee (411 Oak Street, Hood River). Starts at 7:30 p.m., and promises to be considerably more substantial than most coffee-house chatter... [more]

A meditation on violence and environmentalism

What does it take to become a political prisoner? A harsh sentence handed down for a politically motivated property crime?

If so, then Jeff “Free” Luers fits the definition. A radical Eugene activist, Luers received a nearly 23-year prison sentence for torching three pickups and trying to ignite a gas tanker in 2000. No one was hurt and Luers’ co-defendant (Craig “Critter” Marshall) pleaded out to a 5 1/2-year sentence, leaving environmental activists to decry the surprisingly harsh sentence for Luers.

But if a sentence’s harshness makes one a martyr, Luers will have the chance to become just a plain ol’ criminal. Last week, the Oregon Court of Appeals gave Luers a partial victory on his appeals. The courtordered a lower court judge to resentence Luers, and he may receive as little as a third his original 266-month imprisonment.

What’s not apparent in the few news stories about the case is that Luers was just one of several Eugene-area environmental activists who turned to sabotage and arson. A band of activists turned radical in the 1990s, toppling and torching in opposition to consumerism, corporate power and forest development. Only last year were the radicals apprehended... [more]

Property Rights in Oregon

The history was complex, but a recent ruling made it plain: Oregon’s Measure 37 does not apply in the Columbia Gorge’s National Scenic Area.

That was the word from the Oregon Court of Appeals last week. The ruling (read it here) came a relatively swift two months after the court heard arguments in the case. The court action was a test case specifically designed to answer the question: which has precedence, the scenic area or Oregon’s land-use development law?

Defendants Paul D. Mansur and Stephen Struck — both Hood River property owners wishing to develop modest parcels in the Gorge — were represented by Oregonians In Action, the point organization for Measure 37. OIA argued in court that since Oregon had to participate in the creation of the Columbia Gorge Commission, the Commission is a state agency. Actually, the court ruled, it’s a hybrid creature, a regional bi-state commission established under a Congressional act. Wrote the judges, “we agree with plaintiff that the interstate compact between Oregon and Washington that created the Commission has the force of federal law,” making the Scenic Area exempt from Measure 37

While lawyers were hashing out the Gorge-vs-Measure 37 case, legislators were beginning to tackle the law head-on. Democrats, now solidly in control of the Oregon Legislature and the governor’s seat, say they’re considering a revision of Measure 37. They say they may address the greatest issue at hand: that Measure 37, considered a matter of fairness by a large (if dwindling) number of Oregonians, opens loopholes for potentially massive developments... [more]

Democracy In Action

I was beginning to wonder if Oregon wasn’t the new California: The western state most noted for silly public goings-on.*

But then there’s Washington.

Right now, a Seattle Democrat state legislator is hoping to pass a law that would allow dogs in bars. Yep — can’t smoke in them, but you could bring your Labradoodle for some slobbery good times. State Sen. Ken Jacobsen is proposing a state law (SB 5484) allowing pooches in bars and establishments with liquor licenses, as long as the dogs are leashed and well-behaved.

The definition of well-behaved remains undefined — so apparently the same meat-heads who carry dogs in their purses like fashion accessories and drive with them on their laps will get to decide if it’s okay that their dog is humping someone’s leg. (No word on whether bartenders would have to card dogs before serving them drinks. The legal dog age would be 3.)

A supporter of the proposed law “said she ... would like the law to pass so she could bring her 112-pound Rottweiler, Ida, with her when meeting friends at bars.”... [more]

Broughton Landing

"...take a slow, measured approach to approving development of the Gorge."

We’ve reported here about the proposed new Columba Gorge resort at Broughton, site of the historic, decrepit lumber mill west of Bingen. (Across from the world-famous windsurfing site, the Hatchery.) Now the “Broughton Landing” proposal has gotten serious: It’s up before the Gorge Commission, which met to discuss the matter earlier this week.

The Stevenson family — which owns Bingen-based SDS Lumber — and Broughton family are asking the Gorge Commission to rezone the former lumber mill property to allow for an ambitious resort development project.

The question is: Should the commission allow the families to re-develop their 260-acre parcel into a sprawling resort in the heart of the Gorge? ... [more]