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Clackamas County Circuit Court Judge Michael C. Wetzel: State law gives power to the Oregon City's elected commission, not to voters, to shut down the city's urban-renewal program

In voting for Measure 3-514, Oregon City voters thought that they were making the city give up its urban-renewal program, but a judge has ruled that state law overpowers the directive now in the Oregon City Charter to shut down the program.

The judge's ruling essentially reduced Measure 3-514 to an advisory measure. Clackamas County Circuit Court Judge Michael C. Wetzel said that state law gives power to the Oregon City Commission, not to voters, to shut down the city's urban-renewal program.

Calling the measure constitutional (a ruling that went against the objections of the city's attorneys), Wetzel still affirmed the right of citizens to vote on a measure that is now part of the Oregon City Charter as Section 59E.

"I recognize that a majority of the voters of Oregon City adopted Section 59E, and I do not overturn their will lightly," Wetzel wrote. "If the citizens of Oregon City now wish to depart urban renewal, they will need to exit through the same door they entered, by utilizing the provisions of ORS chapter 457."

City Commission used this chapter of state law to adopt the downtown urban-renewal plan in 1990. A majority of city commissioners still supports using tax-increment financing for development projects in the downtown area, so they won't be willingly giving up on urban renewal. City Commission has authorized the spending of more than $180,000 in taxpayer money so far on legal fees to keep their right to use urban-renewal financing.

Wetzel declined to take a political position as to whether city commissioners should now follow the will of voters in shutting down the urban-renewal program.

"Of course, I express no opinion as to the wisdom of urban renewal or tax-increment financing, as those are policy decisions beyond the purview of this court," Wetzel wrote.

There were no big celebrations at City Hall due to the judge's decision, said Mayor Dan Holladay. The subdued attitude of city officials is in part due to an impending appeal from Measure 3-514 proponents, and in part due to the city's limited ability to spend urban-renewal dollars until the legal fight is over.

"The court merely affirmed that the law is what the law is," Holladay said. "Urban renewal is a tool in our toolbox, and you could say that urban renewal, especially the storefront grants, was a major part of the revitalization of downtown."

Co-chief petitioner John Williams said that the decision was actually a partial win for the proponents of Measure 3-514. Williams pointed out that the measure was ruled constitutional, so it will enshrined in the City Charter as a reminder to future city commissioners to encourage them to follow the state-authorized procedure for abandoning tax-increment financing schemes.

"It's important that we got the first part of that trial settled in our favor, and that was a big positive step," Williams said.

Limited victory

After the July 18 decision by Wetzel in circuit court, city attorney Bill Kabeiseman said, "Urban renewal is no longer constrained by the provisions that were added to the charter, so it can continue to operate as it was."

In practice, though, it's still in the charter, and the city will have to keep in mind that it could go either way on appeal.

A small change will be implemented through the city's budgeting process. Normally, half of the budget for Oregon City's Economic Development Manager Eric Underwood and his assistant is paid for out of the urban-renewal budget. After the success of the urban-renewal measure with voters, Oregon City started paying their salaries entirely out of the general fund.

"After this [July 18] decision, that will revert back to being the case," Holladay said.

Although the mayor said that potential developers of the Rossman Landfill were encouraged to hear that state law is pre-empting the Oregon City Charter, Holladay doubted that the city would be able to start any major projects funded using urban-renewal dollars in this timeframe.

"I think we could, but it's unlikely that we would move forward on a major project while this is out on appeal," Holladay said.

City commissioners could be personally on the hook for a financial decision that goes against the appeals court. In Umrein v. Nelson (1984), the Oregon Court of Appeals said that substantial changes to urban-renewal plan without proper authorization could make the public officials who authorize such expenses personally liable.

"Those dollars [now going to the city's Economic Development Department] aren't big enough that they couldn't be paid back out of the general fund if we somehow lose on appeal," Holladay said.

Measure 3-514 proponents are looking forward to the Oregon Court of Appeals potentially giving teeth to the will of voters, both for urban renewal and for annexation of land into city boundaries. While Oregon City declined to join the fight to defend its citizens' rights to vote on proposed annexations, the concept of local control or home rule is hotly contested statewide.

Oregon City used to be one of many cities in state that required voter approval of proposed annexations, but Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed legislation in March 2016 to limit voter-approved annexations. Joined by the League of Oregon Cities in a lawsuit to keep its voters' rights, the city of Corvallis lost in circuit court earlier this year. Corvallis appealed the state's pre-emption of annexation laws to the Oregon Court of Appeals.

"Somebody needs to make a definitive judgement as to what home rule really means," Williams said. "The general principal here is that home rule and the state's urban renewal chapter 451 are not compatible."

Oregon City's mayor said he was confident that higher courts would also affirm the right of city commissioners to make the decisions regarding urban renewal.

"The only way for John to change urban renewal is to go to Legislature," Holladay said. "I think he's going to lose on appeal as well."

Attorney fees

In January 2016, Oregon City had tried to revoke the right to circulate a legal petition for Measure 3-514. The city had itself approved the petition for circulation in May 2015.

Saying that the city had illegally attempted to infringe on the petitioners' constitutional rights, Wetzel cited a similar case in awarding attorney fees to the chief petitioners of the anti-urban-renewal measure.

"Similar to the plaintiff's in Umrein v. Heimbigner (1984), [the Oregon City] plaintiffs' statutory argument was pursued to vindicate plaintiffs' substantive initiative rights under the Oregon Constitution," Wetzel wrote.

Asked to quantify the judge's decision to award attorney fees, Williams said Oregon City was successfully sued for $15,000 to $18,000, depending how much the judge allows the measure proponents to be charged per hour for an attorney.

Holladay said that asking the court to rule on the constitutionality of the measure was the only financially responsible thing for the city to do. He defended City Commission's decision to spend $166,029.14 in taxpayer money on legal bills since the measure was filed. He pointed out that the $15,000 to $18,000 in additional attorney's bills that the city will now have to pay its opponents' attorney is minimal compared to the overall legal bills.

Oregon City spent more than $50,000 between the time that the petition was originally filed in April 2015 and March 2016, just prior to a hearing determining that the city should not have reversed its decision to allow the petition ("Urban-renewal petitioners successfully sue Oregon City for attempting to block ballot measure," May 2, 2016). Public records show that the city has spent $115,373.64 since March 2016 (through April 2017, when the last hearings were held on the measure's constitutionality). To review the ballot measure for legality, write a ballot title/caption and draft an official summary of what the measure would do, less than $3,000 would be total legal bill that would have had to have been spent for a normal petition filed in a city in Oregon.

Williams questioned whether it's a financially smart decision for the City Commission to continue fighting the will of voters on legal grounds. He encouraged elected officials to close the urban-renewal district as voters intended when they voted for the measure.

"The real financial responsibility is obey the City Charter as amended and stop spending taxpayer money on more coffee shops, wine bars and downtown storefronts," Williams said. "Leave taxpayer money where it is intended to go: to schools, police, parks and public services."

See more here:
Judge: Oregon City Commission keeps control of urban renewal - Portland Tribune

On the day this month when President Trump held a brief news conference in Warsaw, I visited the Washington headquarters of Voice of America, the government-funded media outlet that broadcastsnews about U.S. affairs to foreign audiences in 47 languages.

The timing was perfect. In Poland, Trump launched into one of his regular tirades against fake news, gave the first question to a reporter he had considered hiring as aspokesman and suggested that NBC owed him favorable coverage because he made them a fortune with 'The Apprentice.'

We want to see fair press, he said while making clear that what he really wants to see is good press.

How, I wondered, might a president who craves adoration usehis power to ensure that he gets it from Voice of America, the news source he could most easily control, if so inclined?

Honestly, there has been no change since Trump's inauguration, Voice of America Director Amanda Bennett told me. I find even my friends have a hard time dealing with this.

Skeptical journalists do, too, largely because it is hard to believe Trump could resist the temptation to create a self-affirming propaganda machine. The president has the authority to appoint a new chief executive to lead the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the body that oversees Voice of America, along withRadio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcast Networks.

A provision buried ina defense bill that passed in December reduced the size and sway of the bipartisan board while expanding the power of the chief executive. Politico reported last month that the leading contender for the CEO gig is Michael Pack, president of the conservative Claremont Institute, who served as vice president for television programming at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and worked with White House chief strategist and former Breitbart News chairman Stephen K. Bannon on two documentaries.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors has not announced a leadership change, and a spokeswoman said she cant discuss personnel issues. It is worth noting, however, that the Claremont Institute said last week that its chief operating officer, Ryan Williams, will succeed Pack on Sept. 1, possibly indicating that Pack is readying for a new job. Pack referred a Fix inquiry about his future to a Claremont spokeswomanwho said we do not have that information, as no official announcements regarding a nomination have been made.

In the meantime, two former Trump campaign aides,Matthew Ciepielowski andMatthew Schuck, have worked alongside incumbent chief executive John Lansing, reporting back to the Trump administration on the operations of Voice of America and its sister outlets. Nasserie Carew, the Broadcasting Board of Governors spokeswoman, said she can emphasize that neither Matthew Ciepielowski nor Matthew Schuck have been involved in any editorial processes at VOA or any of our networks.

Bennett vouched for that claim: They have not just had zero influence on my coverage; theyve never suggested anything.

Bennett, a former Wall Street Journal reporter and executive editor of Bloomberg News, said she understands journalists' worries about Voice of America's independence. She shared them when considering the director's position early last year.

My concern coming here, since I came from a 35-plus-year background in media and had no interest in doing anything different, was to check historically how is thefirewallrespected, Bennett said, referring to the divide between administration objectives and journalistic decisions. I talked to every director I could get access to and they all said the same thing: It was taken very seriously.

I mentioned Trump's remarks at the news conference in Warsaw, delivered hours earlier, and asked whether Bennett frets about the prospect of future interference, based on Trump's attitude toward the media.

Im not sure how to talk about hypotheticals, Bennett replied. All I can talk about is what Ive seen so far. If I see things that are said and are accompanied by actions then Im going to worry greatly and this entire organization will worry greatly.

Accompanied by actions is the key phrase there. According to Bennett, the president's rhetoric has not been attendedby even the slightest attempt to alter coverage in his favor. Until she sees otherwise, Voice of America's director is giving Trump the benefit of the doubt.

Excerpt from:
The news outlet Trump could most easily control says he has not interfered at all - Washington Post

A North West-based kettle safety control manufacturer has unveiled plans to float on the London Stock Exchange, raising up to 190m and providing an exit for its current investor group.

Strix has announced its intention to seek admission for 100 per cent of its shares to the AIM growth market. At the anticipated issue price of 100p per share, the group's market capitalisation will be up to 190m.

Strix has operational sites in the Isle of Man, Chester, Hong Kong and mainland China.

It posted revenues of 88.7m and an adjusted EBITDA of 33.3m in the 2016 calendar year.

Gross placing proceeds of up to 190m are expected from the issue of new shares. The entire net proceeds of the placing, in combination with new debt facilities, will provide an exit for its current investor group led by AAC Capital Partners which has held a stake in the business since 2005.

The company expects its shares to be admitted to AIM on 8 August 2017.

Mark Bartlett, chief executive of Strix Group, said: "I am delighted to announce the proposed admission to AIM of Strix, which will position the company for the next stage of its development. In particular, admission to AIM will provide an appropriate structure for the long-term development of the business, raise our international profile and enables us to invest in our new product development capabilities to the benefit of our valued customers.

"Strix has a robust, highly cash-generative business model. We have a growing global market share and in addition to the key OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] in China, we work with a significant number of the best-known brands and retailers worldwide.

"We look forward to becoming a public company and further growth of our business in existing and new markets."

Founded in 1982, Strix grew rapidly under the leadership of ex-Bolton Wanderers owner Eddie Davies. Appointed managing director in 1984, Davies became executive chairman in 1999 before retiring from the role in 2006.

A Manchester team at Zeus Capital, comprising corporate finance directors Nick Cowles and Jamie Peel and corporate finance executive Jordan Warburton, acted as nominated adviser and sole broker to Strix on the transaction.

Read more:
Kettle safety control maker to float - Insider Media

After being in the news for all the wrong reasons in the wake of the party's back-to-back electoral setbacks besides the raging intra-party power struggle, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is in damage control mode and has decided to avoid the media glare for some time to improve its public image.

Sources told The Statesman that the continuous negative media coverage of AAP has created an adverse impact on the minds of public who had voted in huge numbers in favour of the party in the 2015 assembly election.

Since the day AAP formed the government, some media houses, especially the electronic media under a well-planned strategy have been consistently working to defame the party. And the way these media houses blow things out of proportion after the partys recent electoral losses, the party has decided to disengage itself from such media outlets, sources said.

Sources said AAP has shifted its focus to re-energise the party cadre and work at the grassroots level to reconnect with the people that voted the party to power in 2015.

After AAPs dismal performance in the Goa and Punjab assembly polls as well as the Delhi municipal elections followed by the partys internal rift, Kejriwal is toiling hard to iron out the differences over the functioning of the party and focus on administration work in the national capital.

AAP also went in for a major internal restructuring with top leaders resigning from important party positions.

AAP Delhi convener Dilip Pandey was replaced by Labour minister Gopal Rai. Vice chairman of Delhi Dialogue Commission Ashish Khetan was appointed as a new advisor to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after Ashish Talwar's resignation. Punjab in-charge Sanjay Singh also resigned from his post.

Sources said AAP is now focusing on social media to highlight the developmental work carried by its government in the capital.

The strategy is bearing fruit. All AAP leaders have a huge following on Facebook and twitter and people are recognising their work in the government, sources said.

Talking to The Statesman, AAP's chief Delhi spokesperson, Saurabh Bharadwaj said most media houses in the country have lost their credibility when it comes to the ethics of journalism.

Most of the media houses are being run by private investors that have made them biased. There is no neutrality in media these days, he said.

Bharadwaj said even though the party is not avoiding the mainstream media, it prefers to communicate through social media because of its impartiality.

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The Statesman: AAP in damage control mode, shuns media - The Statesman

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures during a news conference to present the outcome of the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 8, 2017.(photo byREUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay)

Author:Semih Idiz Posted July 25, 2017

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan briefly visited Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar onJuly 23-24 on a tour billed by the Turkish media as a mediation effort aimed at resolving the Qatar crisis. The tour, which came on the heels of ongoing efforts at mediation by Kuwait and the United States, revealed Ankaras limited capacity to make a difference in this crisis.

Turkeys initial desire to act as mediator was dashed when Ankara provided strong backing for Qatar, including sending military forces to that country. Despite insisting that it is neutral, this move ensured that it was not in a position, at least in the eyes of the Saudi-led coalition, to act as mediator.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a key member of this coalition, at one stage even called on the boycott against Qatar to be extended to Turkey, according to reports by The New Arab.

Meanwhile, Kuwaits efforts, with substantial US pressure on the sidelines, have already produced enough results for US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to call for the blockade of Qatar to be lifted.

Remarks by Erdogan, prior to departing for the Gulf, also reflected an awareness that there is limited scope for a Turkish contribution to resolving this crisis. We support the mediation efforts by Kuwaits Emir Sheikh [Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-] Sabah, Erdogan said. Starting with those by the United States, we find the activities of the international community to be useful, he added, expressing hope that these efforts will bear fruit.

Erdogan indicated that the main reason for his visit to the Gulf was the Qatar crisis, but there were undoubtedly other reasons behind Erdogans high-level talks, especially in Riyadh. One principle reason voiced in diplomatic circles is Erdogans need to engage in damage control with regard to Turkeys ties with Saudi Arabia.

Turkey has been receiving very bad press in that country since the Qatar crisis broke out. Given thatthe Saudi government strictly controls the media, the views expressed in the media are believed to also reflect official thinking.

Yasin Aktay, a deputy from Erdogans ruling Justice and Development Party, who also advises the government on foreign policy issues, has pointed to what he says is the unfair campaign in the Saudi press against Turkey.

No one can claim that this campaign reflects a reaction by Arabs that came about on its own, Aktay wrote in his column for the pro-government newspaper Yeni Safak.

He claimed that the offensive articles in the Saudi press were manufactured systematically from a center that aims to sow discord and produce hatred of Turkey among Arabs, but he did not clarify his remark.

Erdogan, who relishes blasting the Western media over unfavorable articles, has remained silent in the face of the media attacks on Turkey, not just in Saudi Arabia, but also in other Gulf states.

Prior to departing on his Gulf tour, Erdogan lavished praise on Riyadh and King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud. He told reporters his first stop would be Saudi Arabia, which he referred to as the regions big and wise country.

As the big brother in the Gulf region, Saudi Arabia has the duty to solve the crisis in the Gulf. As I have said on several of occasions, King Salman heads the list of those who can solve this crisis, Erdogan said.

While Turkey relies on its vast and growing economic ties with Qatar, it cannot afford to undermine its equally important economic and political ties with other Gulf states, especially at a time when its relations with the West continue to deteriorate.

Ankara is also noting with dissatisfaction how Egypt is making diplomatic headway in the region for example, in Syria where it is cooperating now with Russia. Egypt is also deepening its dialogue with the European Union with a view to stabilizing the Middle East.

During Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukrys visit to Brussels this week, the EUs foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini expressed the EUs desire to be in close coordination with Egypt on efforts to resolve the crises in Libya, Syria and the Gulf.

Tillersons recent interventions in the region, which have produced tangible results and defused the crisis to an extent, have also made it easier for Ankara to try to smooth the ground with Riyadh.

For instance, Qatar has agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding with the United States on monitoring the flow of terrorist financing, prompting Washington to call on Riyadh, its key partner in the Gulf, to lift the blockade on Qatar. Ankara wants the blockade lifted also.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition, clearly under US pressure, has reduced its list of 13 demands for Qatar to six demands. The new list does not include the condition that Turkey close down its military base in Qatar.

This issue was reportedly not discussed in Erdogans talks with Salman or Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh.

The increasing US involvement in the Gulf could also provide a niche for Turkey to play the role of facilitator in the region, if not mediator, according to a Turkish Foreign Ministry source speaking to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.

Despite its backing of Qatar, and the strains that followed this, Turkey continues to have ties with all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It had initiated a strategic dialogue with GCC members prior to the Qatar crisis.

Professor Mensur Akgun from Istanbul Kultur University argued that it was wrong to say little had come out of Erdogans Gulf tour that was significant. To start with, Turkey reduced some of the pressure on it that had resulted from being caught between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Akgun told Al-Monitor.

It also showed that Turkish forces will remain in Qatar since the demand by Saudi Arabia and its allies regarding this appears to have been dropped, he added. Erdogans visit also showed that Turkeys ties with Saudi Arabia were not easy to sever, Akgun said.

Retired Ambassador Murat Bilhan agreed. Turkey cant risk its ties with Saudi Arabia, which is the most important state in the Gulf region, Bilhan told Al-Monitor. It is impossible to produce a coherent Gulf policy without having good ties with Saudi Arabia, he said.

Bilhan added,however, that Erdogans visit did not clarify why Turkey had sent forces to Qatar at a sensitive time like this, and what their mission there was.

Like other regions in the Middle East, the Gulf states are bracing for the defeat of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria, after which the Saudi-Iranian rivalry is expected to peak.

Former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer predicted in an article for Project Syndicate on July 21 that the phase after IS will not be marked by peace because of Irans increasing influence in the Middle East.

Ankara clearly needs better ties with its natural Sunni allies in the region, starting with Saudi Arabia, in order to promote its interests during that phase. Erdogans Gulf tour can therefore also be seen as an effort to advance ties with Riyadh.

Points of divergence, most notably Turkeys continuing support for the Muslim Brotherhood, still remain an obstacle. It will probably take more than this visit by Erdogan for the key Gulf states to overcome their suspicions of Turkish motives.

Nevertheless, Erdogans visit and his talks with Gulf leaders showed that they cannot ignore Turkey either.

Read More: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/07/turkey-saudi-arabia-erdogan-gulf-tour-advance-ties.html

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Erdogan hopes to woo Saudi Arabia with Gulf damage control tour - Al-Monitor