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Portland training camp opens, B1
World unprepared to support elders, A9
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2013
Serving Oregon’s South Coast Since 1878
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Congress fails
Snag delays Cover Oregon SALEM (AP) — Oregonians will have to wait to enroll for health insurance through President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. Officials said late Monday that Cover Oregon, the state’s insurance marketplace that was supposed to go live Tuesday, is still experiencing glitches. The online system is not correctly determining eligibility for tax credits, the Oregon Health Plan and Healthy Kids. The problem is expected to be resolved later in October. Beginning Tuesday, consumers can find certified insurance agents or community organizations to help them start the process, and they can browse through insurance options and price estimates. But nobody will be able to enroll in coverage until the problems are fixed. Individuals have until Dec. 15 to enroll for coverage that begins Jan. 1. Starting next year, most Americans who don’t have health insurance will face fines.
theworldlink.com
Partial government shutdown after deadline passes with no action BY ANDREW TAYLOR
Online
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Congress plunged the nation into a partial government shutdown Tuesday as a long-running dispute over President Barack Obama’s health care law forced about 800,000 federal workers off the job, suspending all but essential services. The National Zoo’s popular online “panda cam” went dark around 8 a.m. The White House grounds cut back to a skeletal
For extended coverage of the government shutdown and information on the impact to federal agencies with local offices, visit http://theworldlink.com/shutdown
staff. The U.S. Capitol canceled tours not personally led by Congress members. With the Republican-controlled House and Democraticcontrolled Senate at a stalemate, it was unclear how long a temporary bill needed to finance government
activities would be stalled. The No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, Dick Durbin of Illinois, called the failure to pass a budget “conduct unbefitting a responsible Congress” and said he hoped it could be resolved by the end of the day Tuesday. “Most people in the body politic are taking a look at this and saying, ‘A pox on both of your houses. It should never have reached this point,’” Durbin said Tuesday morning on CNN. But in the House, conservative Rep. Marsha Blackburn predicted
the standoff would drag on if Obama and Senate Democrats refused to negotiate over delaying a key part of the health care law. “You may see a partial shutdown for several days,” Blackburn, R-Tenn., told Fox News. “People are going to realize they can live with a lot less government.” The health care law itself was unaffected as enrollment opened Tuesday for millions of people shopping for medical insurance. SEE SHUTDOWN | A10
Seeing sunny skies for the solar industry
Special session stalls BY JONATHAN J. COOPER The Associated Press
SALEM — A special session of the Oregon Legislature got off to a slow start Monday as Gov. John Kitzhaber and legislative leaders tried to hold together a flimsy agreement on pension cuts, tax changes and agricultural regulations. The House and Senate repeatedly delayed their proceedings. A joint committee met mid-afternoon to introduce the measures more than six hours behind schedule. The committee tentatively planned to hear public testimony later Monday evening. Kitzhaber had hoped to smooth out differences ahead of the session and finish in a day; Tuesday now appears to be the earliest possible adjournment. Still, senior lawmakers were optimistic they could keep the deal from falling apart. “It’s no secret that this is going to require hard votes from both urban and rural legislators and for both Republicans and Democrats,” said Rep. Mike McLane of Powell Butte, the House Republican leader. “I think we’re going to get there, though.” Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, said the deal was still intact and nothing had been added or removed “at this point.” The agreement between Kitzhaber and House and Senate leaders from both parties would cut pension benefits for retired government workers, raise taxes on some businesses and individuals, and cut taxes for others. Local governments would be prohibited from regulating genetically modified crops. There were tense moments over the weekend and the agreement appeared to be in tatters, but Kitzhaber and legislative leaders worked to revive it Monday morning. Part of the dispute stemmed from a disagreement over when the agriculture bill should take effect. Republicans wanted it to include a so-called emergency clause that would allow it to take effect immediately,
Photos by Alysha Beck, The World
A group with the Solar Now! University conference tours the Coos Bay Fire Department Saturday to learn about how it uses energy from 84 solar panels installed in 2010.
University blends economy and ecology BY TIM NOVOTNY The World
NORTH BEND — It is a school of thought more than it is an actually physical land of learning with ivy-covered walls. Solar Now! University began in 2007 as a way to build awareness and make it easier for Oregonians to go solar. Organizers say it has exceeded all expectations to this point. The fourth annual conference took place in North Bend and Coos Bay this past weekend, leaving attendees with marching orders, information and a new understanding of the economic possibilities of solar energy. Kevin Keene, an account manager with SolarWorld, one of the conference sponsors, said a new day has dawned where the ecology can also be about the economy. “We employ 700, high-paying, good quality jobs that are here to stay,” said
Keene. “SolarWorld alone has brought in well above $800 million into the Oregon economy, and we continue to invest upwards of $100 million in the local economy buying goods and services.” He says that kind of investment has been happening around the country, with positive repercussions for cash-strapped regions that have seen long-standing industries struggle with change. “In Southern Oregon in particular we have big issues with the timber industry going away,” Keene added. “In Appalachia we have issues with the coal industry having issues. So, we are finding both former timber contractors as well as former coal miners getting into the solar industry; both are a lot more safe and a lot more profitable as a business to the individuals.” The individual level is also really where the organizers of Solar Now! hope to make the biggest difference. Ron McDowell is the president of Solar
Oregon, one of the four founding agencies that included the city of Portland, Energy Trust of Oregon and the Oregon Department of Energy, that founded Solar Now! He says their hope is to “seed communities.” He said they came to the Bay Area for this year’s conference because there was a partnership already growing in the local community that want to learn how to grow their solar footprint. “What Solar Oregon is good at doing is bringing those people together,” McDowell said. “We are like the conduit, or the connector — the networker, of all these individual organizations or individuals that have this expertise and we bring them together for a couple of days. So, you can come here and learn how to do it and take it to your own community.” The key then, he says, is to make some SEE SOLAR | A10
SEE SESSION | A10
SOLVE’s fall beach cleanup to be rescheduled
Police reports . . . . A2 What’s Up. . . . . . . . A3 South Coast. . . . . . A3 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . A4
Comics . . . . . . . . . . A8 Puzzles . . . . . . . . . . A8 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . B1 Classifieds . . . . . . . C4
SOLVE estimated 1,282 volunteers showed up at Saturday’s riverside cleanup. There were more than 50 projects at inland sites ranging from Hood River to Medford. SOLVE estimated 421 trees were planted in parks, on school grounds and in natural areas. It’s estimated volunteers removed 25,068 pounds of mixed waste and recyclable materials from neighborhoods and natural areas and removed 82,292 square feet of invasive non-native vegetation.
James Brown Jr., Charleston Janee Reynolds, Coos Bay LeAnn Hayes, Charleston Robin Porter, Coos Bay Jacqueline Holland, Medford
Obituaries | A5
That’s without touching the ocean beaches. The beaches, however, still need a cleanup. Back in March, 4,080 volunteers removed 52,477 pounds of debris from Oregon’s beaches. It was expected at least that many would come out for the fall cleanup. Fisher said there are some options. “We will be reaching out; and are currently reaching out; to all 47 of those other sites,” she said, “and we
Parole? Man convicted of killing John Day police officer has a second parole hearing after serving 19 years of his sentence.
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REEDSPORT — Heavy winds prevented volunteers from hitting Oregon’s beaches during the Fall Beach Cleanup, but volunteers did help clean more than 50 inland sites. SOLVE Executive Director Maureen Fisher said they were advised by the National Weather Service there could be 65- to 70-mph winds Saturday. There were also
flood warnings on parts of U.S. Highway 101. “We just decided that the safety of the volunteers is the most important thing,” she said. “We contacted all of our beach captains and all of our zone captains and said, ‘We’re going to end up rescheduling the 47 events that we had planned for the Oregon coast.’” They also contacted as many of the volunteers who signed up for beach cleanup as they could and invited them to inland areas to work.
STATE
The World
DEATHS
BY STEVE LINDSLEY
will reschedule those dates. There’s a portion of the volunteers who pre-registered for specific sites along the coast, so we will get those re-scheduled and get back to all the volunteers, letting them know the date and the time.” The information will also be posted at the group’s website, www.solveoregon.org. “The bad news is,” said Fisher, “a lot of people have been looking
Rain 62/46 Weather | A10
SEE SOLVE | A10