Three Otis men die Monday in Highway 101 crash near Salishan

August 16, 2022

GLENEDEN BEACH – Three men from Otis were killed Monday when a small SUV collided with a dump truck on U.S. Highway 101 just south of Salishan. Oregon State Police said Matthew Phillips, 31, of Otis was southbound about 10:40 a.m. in his Chevrolet S-10 Blazer when it crossed into the northbound lane and struck a dump truck being driven

Lincoln County needs to calculate cost of vacation rentals, not just income

August 15, 2022

To the editor: Short term rentals create and destroy value. Those affected include permanent residents, long term tenants, and the county. The accounting is not simple, but the issues are clear. I look at the issues from several decades as a real estate appraiser, a frequent expert witness on values, and instructor on valuation for the World Bank. Using a

Insurance rates will not rise due to new Oregon wildfire risk map, state regulators now say

August 15, 2022

By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle Concerns that a new map showing wildfire risks across Oregon will lead to property insurance hikes are unfounded, state financial regulators said Friday. Insurers have not filed the paperwork to raise rates for high-risk properties and have told officials at the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, which regulates property insurance, they do not

With many Oregon hospitals in crisis, state will seek ‘significant’ funds for stopgap measures

August 15, 2022

Many emergency rooms, like the one at Oregon Health & Science University, are packed. (Christine Torres Hicks/OHSU) By LYNNE TERRY/Oregon Capital Chronicle The hospital crisis in Oregon is playing out in emergency rooms around the state. Patients in pain wait in lobbies for hours. Some end up on gurneys in hallways while waiting for a room. After they’re treated and

Waldport council gives city manager initial OK to pursue ideas to possibly help housing crunch

August 15, 2022

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com WALDPORT – The Waldport City Council has given its city manager the OK to begin gathering information on two ideas to potentially help ease the city’s housing crunch – allow people to live in recreational vehicles alongside someone’s home and going to a single zoning system for all residential areas. The RV idea would be an

Unaffiliated gubernatorial candidate Betsy Johnson spent $200,000 to help gather signatures for Oregon governor race

August 13, 2022

Initiative & Referendum Campaign Management Services used Craigslist to hire petition circulators for Betsy Johnson’s campaign for governor. By JULIA SHUMWAY/Oregon Capital Chronicle Betsy Johnson has counted on her “Betsy Brigades,” groups of volunteers circulating petitions, to gather the nearly 24,000 signatures she needs as a nonaffiliated gubernatorial candidate to make it on the November ballot. But she also paid

Lincoln County should look at other areas to find vacation rental solution

August 13, 2022

To the editor: I recently retired as a realtor in Waldport after 54 years. I think the vacation rental phase out under Ballot Measure 21-203 was not only poorly written but defeats the purpose of our coastal communities. LUBA’s decision was just a small technicality. The bigger issue is property rights and this hasn’t been addressed and I won’t get into

Solutions to affordable housing crisis in Lincoln County will benefit everyone

August 12, 2022

To the editor: It’s been a busy summer in Lincoln County, with lots of visitors returning to the Oregon Coast and supporting so many of our locally owned small businesses while they vacation. My colleagues and I in the vacation rental industry take pride in helping families and groups of friends enjoy their precious vacation days and make happy memories on

Four authors will sign their works this weekend at Toad Hall in Yachats

August 12, 2022

YACHATS — Yachats resident David Rivinus will be among a quartet of Oregonians authors who will be signing books from 1-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 20-21 at the Toad Hall gift shop, 237 W. Third St. “This book signing is a celebration of these local authors who represent different genres and is an opportunity to meet and chat with

Focus of vacation rental fight returns to Lincoln County courthouse after LUBA overturns voter-approved ballot measure phasing them out

August 11, 2022

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com A ruling this week by the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals that overturned a citizen-approved ballot measure phasing out vacation rentals in unincorporated Lincoln County returns the issue’s focus from Salem back to the courthouse in Newport. On Thursday, there is a circuit court hearing whether to consolidate challenges to a separate county vacation rental