A business/labor coalition put its push for the development of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and related transmission pipeline into a full-page advertisement in the Portland Oregonian Sunday, urging Gov. Ted Kulongoski and the state legislature to back the major new natural gas infrastructure projects as a job-creating economic stimulus for the state.

Placed by Energy Action Northwest, the advertisement in the state’s major newspaper was billed as an “open letter to our elected officials from the working men and women of Oregon.” It cites the state’s current unemployment at 1.2 million, allegedly the highest in state history.

Using a “help wanted” ad theme, elected officials are urged to get Oregonians back to work, inject common sense into the energy debate, and build the bridge to a green energy future.

“To get Oregon moving again, look no further than the two natural gas projects currently in development — and endorsed by the Oregonian newspaper,” the ad said. “”Together, Bradwood Landing’s LNG terminal [along the Columbia River] and the Palomar pipeline represent $1.5 billion in private investment.”

The ad touts what its backers see as 1,000 jobs, more energy reliability and greater support for intermittent renewable energy supplies. It called Oregon’s economy “in crisis,” creating the corresponding “opportunity for true leadership.”

The newspaper ad was the culmination of a four-day push by Energy Action Northwest to direct its lobbying campaign squarely at Kulongoski and the legislature in the state capital of Salem, and it comes at a time when Bradwood Landing won a victory last Friday when the Oregon state appeals court rejected an attempt by opponents of the project to overturn an earlier land-use ruling supporting the development of a LNG terminal (see Daily GPI, March 9; March 6).

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