Oregon’s novel approach to drug and mental health treatment hits milestone with funding of county-based service networks

September 22, 2022

Oregon has one of the highest rates of people suffering from an addiction to heroin and other opioids, methamphetamine and alcohol. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) By LYNNE TERRY/Oregon Capital Chronicle A year behind schedule, Oregon’s novel approach to drug addiction has reached primetime. In November 2020, voters overwhelmingly approved Measure 110, making Oregon the first state nationwide to decriminalize the

Director of Oregon Department of Environmental Quality abruptly resigns three months before scheduled retirement

September 22, 2022

By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle The head of Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality resigned from the job this week, three months before his scheduled retirement. Richard Whitman, who has led the agency since 2016, had announced in June that he would retire at the end of the year. Department spokesperson Harry Esteve said Whitman is resigning early due to personal reasons. In

Electric and hybrid vehicles on display during Saturday event in Florence

September 22, 2022

FLORENCE – Plug-in electric vehicles from at least 11 manufacturers will be on display from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday during an electric vehicle show sponsored by Central Lincoln Peoples Utility District and U.S. Bank. The vehicles will be on display and their owners available to talk about them in the lot adjacent to Johnson Ford on U.S. Highway

Three governor candidates will hold live, televised debate Tuesday in Bend

September 22, 2022

BEND — Oregon’s candidates for governor will participate in a televised debate from the Oregon State University-Cascades campus on Tuesday, Sept. 27. The debate among Democrat Tina Kotek, Republican Christine Drazan and nonaffiliated candidate Betsy Johnson will be the second time the three candidates take the stage together, following a July forum in front of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association.

Experts tell Oregon lawmakers the state’s novel approach to drug addiction has holes, needs stronger law enforcement element

September 21, 2022

The state Senate Interim Committee On Judiciary and Ballot Measure 110 Implementation held an informational hearing on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. By LYNNE TERRY/Oregon Capital Chronicle A day after the Oregon Health Authority declared a new era in the state’s approach to drug addiction had begun, experts warned legislators that the state’s drug epidemic is worsening while its new approach

Declining attendance prompts Oregon Shakespeare Festival to revamp 2023 plans with fewer plays in a shorter season

September 21, 2022

James Ryen as Caliban, left, and Kevin Kenerly as Prospero share a dramatic moment in an early production of 2022’s “The Tempest” by William Shakespeare at the Allen Elizabethan Theatre. OSF will shorten its season in 2023. (Jenny Graham photo) By JIM FLINT/Ashland.news ASHLAND — In a cost-cutting measure to cope with declining attendance in 2022, the Oregon Shakespeare

It’s the fall political season, so some reminders and tips on letter writing, story commenting from YachatsNews

September 21, 2022

To YachatsNews readers: It’s that time of year – political season and the fall when people may be paying more attention to news – when I need to take the opportunity to remind some folks of some letters and commenting guidelines and practices at YachatsNews. We started offering time and space two years ago for “letters to the editor”

Lincoln County’s unemployment rate rises slightly in August

September 20, 2022

Just like the statewide unemployment rate, Lincoln County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose slightly in August for the first time in almost two years. Lincoln County’s unemployment rate was 4.9 percent in August, the Oregon Employment Department said Tuesday, an increase from 4.7 in July. The rate was 6.3 percent the year before. Oregon’s unemployment rate ticked up from 3.5

Seal Rock and Central Coast fire departments may not have intergovernmental agreement, but will talk about “automatic” aid

September 20, 2022

By JORDAN ESSOE/YachatsNews.com SEAL ROCK — As one cooperative agreement goes up in smoke between Seal Rock Rural Fire Protection District and Central Oregon Coast Fire & Rescue, will another take its place to ensure fire safety for both communities? Maybe. There are actually three separate agreements between the neighboring fire districts — mutual aid, automatic aid and an

Two renown OSU marine biologists inducted into prestigious academies

September 19, 2022

Bruce Menge, the Distinguished University Professor of Integrative Biology and the Wayne and Gladys Valley Chair of Marine Biology at Oregon State University, was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences on Sept. 10, in Cambridge, Mass. The same day as Menge’s induction ceremony, his wife, OSU distinguished professor Jane Lubchenco, was inducted by Pope Francis into the Pontifical Academy of