CASES FROM FOUR STATES
BIG IMPRESSION
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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2014
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Commissioners hold back on funding for marine center BY CHELSEA DAVIS The World
COQUILLE — County commissioners decided to only give the Charleston Marine Life Center a fraction of the extra funding it needs to wrap up unforeseen construction costs, saying it would be irresponsible to throw money at a noncounty project when the county’s coffers are already low. Oregon Institute of Marine Biology Director Craig Young came to the Coos County commissioners Tuesday morning asking for another $45,000 for the marine center, which has been in development for seven years. Several code unexpected I wish we could changes mean OIMB is short on funds to do more, I just finish the center by the end of the year. don’t think we Commissioner John Sweet offered should. Young a comproJohn Sweet mise: The county Coos County commissioner will give OIMB a $10,000 “over-thetop” grant from the economic development reserves fund. “That means that you don’t come back again saying, ‘I’m short,’” Sweet said. “You can use that pledge as a magnet to attract funding from other sources.” His proposal received unanimous approval, but Commissioner Bob Main tried afterward to give OIMB another $10,000 out of this year’s economic development fund. His motion didn’t get a “second,” so the idea died. “I wish we could do more, I just don’t think we should,” Sweet said. Sweet’s hesitation parallels the last time Young
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By Alysha Beck, The World
Left to right: Sarah Thom, 10, Abigail Chalmers, 9, Kairon Johnson, 8, Lydia Christensen, 5, and Colton Johnson, 6, race in gunny sacks during the National Night Out event at Ferry Road Park in North Bend on Tuesday evening.
Awareness starts with a night in the park THE WORLD NORTH BEND — Twenty-four hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, men and women in uniform patrol the streets of the South Coast in an attempt to keep crime at bay. Most of the time, the only direct contact law-abiding citizens have with law enforcement is when they themselves fall victim to crime or tragedy. On Tuesday evening, however, Coos County residents and their families got a chance to kick back and relax with local emergency personnel as part of the National Night Out at Ferry Road Park. The drug-, smoke- and alcohol-free event originally started in 1984 by the National Association of Town Watch to promote community awareness of crime. It’s since spread to cities across the country, which celebrate the event on the same day. North Bend has had its Night Out event at Ferry Road Park for years. “We love coming down here,” said Simpson Heights resident Kent Sharman, whose family has lived in the neighborhood for more than a decade. While kids clinging to bags of popcorn ran toward giant
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SEE FUNDING | A8
Community hits all the right notes for OCMF As board members start planning for next year, they say many people came together to make beautiful music in 2014 ■
Youngsters try to toss pingpong balls into cups at the South Coast SEE NIGHT OUT | A8 Interagency Narcotics Team booth.
BY TIM NOVOTNY The World
Russian hackers steal 1.2B passwords THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — Russian hackers have stolen 1.2 billion user names and passwords in a series of Internet heists affecting 420,000 websites, according to a report published Tuesday. The thievery was described in a New York Times story based on the findings of Hold Security, a Milwaukee firm that has a history of uncovering online security breaches. Hold Security didn’t immediately respond to Associated Press inquiries. The identities of the websites that were broken into weren’t identified by the Times, which cited nondisclosure agreements that required Hold Security to keep some information confidential. The reported break-ins are the latest incidents to raise doubts about the security measures both big and small companies use to protect people’s information online.
Security experts believe hackers will continue breaking into computer networks unless companies become more vigilant. “Companies that rely on usernames and passwords have to develop a sense of urgency about changing this,” Avivah Litan, a security analyst at the research firm Gartner told the Times. Retailer Target Corp.is still struggling to win back its shoppers’ trust after hackers believed to be attacking from Eastern Europe stole 40 million credit card numbers and 70 million addresses, phone numbers and other personal information last winter. Alex Holden, the founder and chief information security officer of Hold Security, told the Times that most of the sites hit by the Russian hackers are still vulnerable to further break-ins. Besides filching 1.2 billion online passwords, the
Protect yourself: Create better passwords NEW YORK (AP) — This week’s news that a Russian crime ring has amassed some 1.2 billion username and password combinations makes now a good time to review ways to protect yourself online. The hacking misdeeds were described in a New York Times story based on the findings of Hold Security, a Milwaukee firm that has a history of uncovering online security
COOS BAY — The Oregon Coast Music Festival celebrated its 36th season this year by reaching a larger and, in some cases, younger audience. That is something the Oregon Coast Music Association, which operates the festival, hopes is the start of a trend. As they look back at what went right in 2014, board members say the pieces are already falling into place for another successful fest in 2015. This year’s numbers will be hard to beat. Attendance at all concerts, over the two-week festival, were up over the prior year. Leading the way was the Pops concert, featuring the kid-friendly Lemony Snicket offering called “The Composer is Dead.” Co-Presidents Linnae Beechly and Kathy Metzger, along with board member Ron Metzger, recently went over the numbers, which showed that almost 700 people attended the Pops concert. With a boost in the number of families and small children in attendance, it amounted to an increase of over 250 seats compared with the 2013 Pops concert. The Saturday finale was also up by over 100 seats. “The first week translated into the second week,” Ron Metzger noted. The Pops boost, they believe, may also have helped the finale.
SEE PASSWORDS | A8 SEE STOLEN | A8
SEE OCMF | A8
Obama, African leaders talk security, governance
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acknowledge that security issues and governance challenges continue to constrain the continent’s overall prosperity. There are particular concerns about Boko Haram, a ruthlessly violent Islamist group in Nigeria that was responsible for the kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls earlier this year.
Western wildfires Dale Sweely, Coos Bay William Baker, Coquille Teddy Gay, North Bend
Obituaries | A5
Humidity and scattered showers help slow the advance of some major fires, but the heat, wind are forecast to return. Page A5
FORECAST
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mit, Obama sought to highlight Africa’s potential, particularly as an untapped trading partner for U.S. businesses. During remarks at the State Department Wednesday morning, he said that even though the continent faces significant challenges, “A new Africa is emerging.” Yet White House officials
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WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama and dozens of African leaders opened talks Wednesday on two key issues that threaten to disrupt economic progress on the continent: security and government corruption.
The discussions cap an unprecedented three-day gathering of African leaders in Washington. Much of the conference has centered on boosting U.S. financial ties with Africa, a continent that is home to six of the world’s 10 fastest growing economies and a rapidly expanding middle class. As he has throughout the sum-
DEATHS
BY JULIE PACE The Associated Press
Obama said the security discussions would center on ways to enable African governments to boost their own peacekeeping and counterterrorism capabilities while moving away from the need for costly outside intervention. Leaders are also expected to dis-
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