Housing Authority of Lincoln County selects new leader

September 19, 2022

NEWPORT – The executive director of Benton County Habitat for Humanity has been hired to lead the Housing Authority of Lincoln County. Karen Rockwell replaces Kathy Kowtko, who joined the Housing Authority in 1983, and was named executive director in 2018. Kowtko is retiring. Rockwell had been executive director of the Benton County organization since 2013. She has a master’s

Kevin Greenwood of Waldport hired as Port of Hood River director

September 18, 2022

WALDPORT – Kevin Greenwood of Waldport has been named executive director of the Port of Hood River, the port’s board announced last week. Greenwood has been serving as director of the port’s effort to replace its toll bridge across the Columbia River for the past five years, a project estimated to cost $400 million to $500 million. Greenwood was the

Lincoln County and others lose again — Oregon Supreme Court won’t hear appeal of $1 billion timber verdict

September 17, 2022

Logging trucks roll down Santiam Highway in front of the Detroit Ranger Station in this April 15, 2021, photo. By BRADLEY W. PARKS/Oregon Public Broadcasting The Oregon Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from timber counties seeking to maximize logging revenue on 700,000 acres of state forestland. The state’s highest court denied the counties’ appeal without issuing an opinion

Frustrated with lack of code enforcement, Yachats planning commission asks city manager to address staffing “as soon as possible”

September 15, 2022

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com YACHATS – For at least the fourth year, an abandoned house on West Second Street in downtown Yachats is overgrown with weeds and blackberries. On the south side of town, a property owner has set up living quarters in a small travel trailer, surrounded it with a tall fence and posted “No Trespassing” signs. A steep

City of Waldport wins $750,000 state grant to begin developing 12-acre Southworth Park in the middle of town

September 15, 2022

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com WALDPORT – The city of Waldport has been awarded $750,000 from Oregon State Parks and Recreation to launch the first phase of development of the 12-acre Louis Southworth Park at the intersection of Crestline Drive and Highway 34. The grant will allow the city to move forward with building a playground, sports court and fields, restrooms,

Dominated by single-family homes, Yachats’ land-use consultants begin to outline ways the city can help diversify its housing

September 15, 2022

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com YACHATS – The city’s housing stock is dominated by second homes and vacation rentals, there is adequate land for new construction but most of it is restricted to single-family houses, according to an evolving study of housing in Yachats. The city’s biggest housing need is to encourage more duplexes, townhomes and multi-family projects – but that

Biden administration announces plans to develop floating wind platforms in the Atlantic and off Oregon and California coasts

September 15, 2022

By JACOB FISCHLER/States News Service WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will seek to add deep-water offshore wind energy, a developing technology that isn’t yet widely used, to its mix of renewable energy sources, administration leaders said Thursday — including a site off Coos Bay in southern Oregon. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland told reporters on a

Oregon’s unemployment rate increases slightly in August, but statewide jobs recovery is complete — except in hospitality industry

September 15, 2022

By PETER WONG/Oregon Capital Bureau Oregon’s unemployment rate ticked up from 3.5% to 3.7% in August — the first increase since the big jump at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in spring 2020 — but Oregon has also regained all of the jobs lost during that sharp downturn. The 3.7% rate matched the national average. It’s still low by

Waldport-area Meals on Wheels “desperately” needs volunteers to help in kitchen or deliver food to homebound residents

September 15, 2022

By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews.com WALDPORT — More than 60 people from Yachats to Seal Rock and up Oregon Highway 34 depend on Meals on Wheels to provide warm mid-day meals three times a week. But a shortage of volunteers has spurred an urgent call for more helpers – and possibly put the viability of the operation into question. Based at

Thieves ruin newlyweds’ honeymoon after car clout at Seal Rock State Park

September 15, 2022

SEAL ROCK — What was supposed to be a beautiful honeymoon along the Oregon Coast turned into a devastating experience for one newlywed couple when someone broke into their truck and stole all their belongings. Last Saturday, Carli and Joe Ghiorso took a vow to spend the rest of their lives together, KGW-TV reported Wednesday. “It was the most wonderful,