As school year begins, Oregon districts hope to overcome staff shortages with millions in wage, bonus incentives

August 28, 2022

As students prepare to return to school, districts are offering bonuses and pay raises to attract and retain much needed teachers and school staff. By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle Districts plan on spending millions of dollars in state and federal funds to pay teachers higher salaries and offer hiring and retention bonuses to fully staff schools by Sept. 1. Nearly

OSU Sea Grant names new coastal hazards specialist

August 28, 2022

Felicia Olmeta-Schult, a marine and social scientist, is the new coastal hazards specialist with Oregon Sea Grant and the Oregon State University Extension Service. Olmeta-Schult succeeds Patrick Corcoran, who retired in 2020 after 32 years with Sea Grant. Olmeta-Schult previously served as a Sea Grant-funded “resilience fellow” during which she created an online collection of case studies of how Oregon’s

Lincoln County commissioners plan to proceed with their vacation rental ordinance, will extend license moratorium again

August 28, 2022

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com Lincoln County commissioners plan to extend their moratorium on issuing new vacation rental licenses for at least another six months as they prepare to implement a county ordinance that places tighter restrictions — but no ban — on such rentals. This comes two weeks after the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals declared a more restrictive

State agencies seek nearly $40 million for staff in hospitals, long-term care facilities

August 28, 2022

By LYNNE TERRY/Oregon Capital Chronicle Oregon officials have stepped into the fray of the state’s hospital crisis with a request for nearly $40 million from the Legislature. The Oregon Health Authority and state Department of Human Services sent requests to the two Democratic leaders of the state House and Senate – Sen. Peter Courtney, D-Salem and Rep. Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis

Lincoln County unemployment rate stays at 4.7 percent in July

August 28, 2022

The unemployment rate in Lincoln County stayed at 4.7 percent in July, according to the Oregon Employment Department’s regional economist, and remains significantly above the rates across Oregon and the United States. The county adjusted unemployment rate was 4.7 percent in July, unchanged from 4.7 percent in June, according to economist Erik Knoder. It was 6.7 percent in July 2021.

Residents of Oregon 57 cities and 26 counties will vote Nov. 8 to ban or delay psilocybin treatment centers

August 28, 2022

By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle Oregonians in 57 cities and 26 of the state’s 36 counties will vote in November on banning or postponing psilocybin treatment centers in their areas. The centers were first approved by state voters in 2020 with almost 56% of the vote supporting Measure 109. The vote made Oregon the first state in the nation to

Florence man dies Saturday in Highway 126 crash near Walton

August 27, 2022

FLORENCE – A 39-year-old Florence man was killed early Saturday when his car went off Oregon Highway 126 four miles west of Walton and struck a tree. It was the seventh fatality on the highway in the Walton area in the past 11 months. Oregon State Police said Chad Colborn of Florence was westbound in his truck about 6:19 a.m.

Oregon joins states offering free and reduced college tuition for Native American students this year

August 27, 2022

BY ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle Members of Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes can attend the state’s public universities and community colleges practically free this school year, and members of federally recognized tribes from around the country will be eligible for in-state tuition at the school’s two largest universities. In May, the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission rolled out a grant

Following California’s lead, Oregon is exploring ban on sale of gas-powered vehicles after 2035

August 26, 2022

By MONICA SAMAOYA/Oregon Public Broadcasting As California adopts the nation’s strictest law to transition to zero-emissions vehicles in the next decade, Oregon officials say they’re set to follow suit. The California law bans the sale of new gasoline-powered cars, trucks and SUVs in the state by 2035 as a way to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions. It also requires car manufacturers to

Patients from Idaho, Texas and elsewhere are now seeking abortion care in Oregon

August 26, 2022

By LYNNE TERRY/Oregon Capital Chronicle Abortion providers in Oregon have seen a recent rise in demand for abortions from women from states that have adopted bans or are in the process of doing so, officials said at a news conference Thursday. “We are seeing people from almost every red state in the country right now – Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Idaho,