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2013 goes down as the driest on record BY THOMAS MORIARTY The World
Meteorologists say 2013 was the driest year on record for Oregon’s Bay Area. National Weather Service meteorologist Brett Lutz said Monday that annual precipitation totals for Southwestern Oregon Regional Airport in North Bend were at 29.5 inches, compared to the 33.52 inches of 1976 — the current record low. “I think it’s safe to say that it’s a record,” he said. The annual average rainfall in the Bay Area is 64.90 inches. Last
year’s rain total was just under 55 inches. The meteorologist said that NWS weather spotters in the area may have recorded more precipitation at hillside collection points than the airport measuring equipment, but the agency is confident that the airport numbers are accurate. The South Coast isn’t the only location in the region that’s feeling drier than usual. The Rogue Valley has also been hit by some of the driest weather in decades. The Medford Mail Tribune
Dry years Precipitation reported at Southwestern Oregon Regional Airport 2013 - 29.5 inches 1976 - 33.52 inches
reported that the National Weather Service has measured only 8.97 inches of rain at the city’s airport since Jan. 1 — almost an inch-anda-half less than the 1959 record of 10.43 inches. Along with minuscule rainfall totals, the southwest corner of the
state saw a deep freeze that locked up traffic on the state’s southern Interstate 5 corridor for several weeks in early December. One suggested advantage of low rainfall totals is the lack of flooding that often plagues the Coquille River valley. According to Michael Murphy, program manager for Coos County Emergency Management, farmland hasn’t become saturated enough for flooding to become an issue yet. But those dry conditions are likely to create serious problems several months down the road if summer temperatures are as high
Backers hope to put ERA on ballot
I ran, I ran so far away
By Alysha Beck, The World
Birds flock around a fishing boat in the Coos Bay channel Monday morning. Weather for the New Year is expected to be mild with high temperatures in the 50s and rain at end of the week.
Bobbleheads honor the Supremes The Associated Press
Police reports . . . . A3 What’s Up. . . . . . . . A3 South Coast. . . . . . A3 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . A4
The Associated Press
This photo shows bobblehead dolls representing Supreme Court Justices, including Ruth Ginsburg, center, in Washington. . And fans will go to some lengths to get one. school public interest groups that auction them at fundraisers. Some ultimately wobble their way onto eBay, where they reliably sell for hundreds of dollars. The justices themselves seem to have been charmed by their caricatures. Antonin Scalia once said in an interview that he understands his is the most popular. Stephen Breyer had four of the figures of his colleagues on display in his cham-
Comics . . . . . . . . . . A6 Puzzles . . . . . . . . . . A6 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . B1 Classifieds . . . . . . . B4
bers during a 2009 C-SPAN interview. His own is currently in the works. And former Chief Justice William Rehnquist sent a thankyou note for his, which was the first to come out in 2003. “Thank you for the ‘bobblehead’ likeness of me which now sits on the mantle of the fireplace in my chambers,” Rehnquist wrote. “It is probably a better likeness of me as I was 15 years ago than as I am now,
This ultra-HD TV has a 110-inch screen and a sale price of $150,000.
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PORTLAND (AP) — Supporters are gathering signatures to put a state Equal Rights Amendment against gender discrimination on the November ballot in Oregon. The question has divided advocates of protection against gender discrimination. Some say a state-level amendment is needed. Others say that Oregon’s Supreme Court has provided strong protections, and a state-level amendment might lead a judge to conclude that voters intended for guarantees against gender discrimination to be stronger than those against discrimination based on race, religion or sexual orientation. Proposals for a state-level Equal Rights Amendment didn’t make it through the Legislature, leading to the initiative drive, The Oregonian reported Monday. Leanne Littrell DiLorenzo, the president of VoteERA.org, said it isn’t enough to have protection against gender discrimination SEE ERA | A8
Reedsport reviewing 4-day school BY STEVE LINDSLEY The World
Should the Reedsport School District keep the four-day school week it has been operating with for the past two school years? The school board discussed the issue at its Dec. 17 meeting. The principals, Laura Davis and Jim Thomas, conducted a poll among district employees to gauge whether they supported the fourday week. Thomas, who also serves as the district’s superintendent, said, “I handed out a sheet and said, ‘Were you for the four-day week or opposed to it and, if so, why? And if not, why not?’”
SEE BOBBLEHEADS | A8
How big?
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WASHINGTON — They are some of the rarest bobblehead dolls ever produced. They’re released erratically. They’re given away for free, not sold. And if you get a certificate to claim one, you have to redeem it at a Washington law office. The limited edition bobbleheads of Supreme Court justices are the work of law professor Ross Davies, who has been creating them for the past 10 years. When finished, they arrive unannounced on the real justices’ desks, secreted there by unnamed confederates. And fans will go to some lengths to get one. “I think we take seriously trying to do them well,” said Davies, a law professor at Virginia’s George Mason University and the editor of an entertaining quarterly legal journal called The Green Bag. Subscribing to the journal is the most reliable way to get a voucher to claim a bobblehead when they are released, but there’s no guarantee. The certificates warn that the bearer “might be able” to exchange it for a bobblehead, and the journal also hands out some bobbleheads to non-subscribers, including law
but obviously I won’t complain.” Davies said the idea for the bobbleheads came to him in the shower. In the decade since, he has immortalized 16 justices in ceramic, including four of the current court’s nine members. Included in that total are a set of miniature bobbleheads representing the first justices appointed to the court. Certificates for the newest tiny justice, John Blair, recently went out. The dolls, which are produced by Bellevue, Wash.,-based Alexander Global Promotions, are more than straight likenesses of the justices. Each has multiple references to the legal legacy of the person it honors. For example, Justice Louis Brandeis rides a train, a nod to his important opinion in a case involving the Erie Railroad in Pennsylvania. The David Souter bobblehead plays a song by Modest Mouse, a band he mentioned in a copyright case. And Ruth Bader Ginsburg stands on a replica of the parade ground at the Virginia Military Institute. In 1996 she wrote an opinion striking down the school’s all-male admissions policy. Annotated sheets help collectors decode the details, which fans have been known to memorize and
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FORECAST
BY JESSICA GRESKO
as they were this year. Murphy said low precipitation could cause drought issues for both livestock and humans during the summer months. The dry conditions will also likely contribute to increased fire danger. “That’s probably the biggest issue,” he said. “You’re starting the summers with really low fuel moisture.” Reporter Thomas Moriarty can be reached at 541-269-1222, ext. 240, or by email at thomas.moriarty@theworldlink.com. Follow him on Twitter: @ThomasDMoriarty.
SEE REEDSPORT | A8
Mostly cloudy 54/43 Weather | A8
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