Many Oregonians will vote again on psilocybin treatment as cities and counties propose bans and moratoriums on 2020’s Measure 109

August 11, 2022

By MIKE McINALLY/Oregon Capital Chronicle On a recent Monday evening, as a heat wave broiled Philomath, elected officials debated what’s been a hot topic this summer throughout Oregon cities and counties — should they opt out of Measure 109, the initiative legalizing limited use of the hallucinogen psilocybin, before it goes into effect next year? Measure 109, which was

ODOT and Yachats agree on delineators for U.S. Highway 101 on south edge of town — and sidewalk may be in future

August 11, 2022

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com YACHATS – A stretch of U.S. Highway 101 on the south edge of Yachats may become a bit safer later this year for pedestrians and bicyclists. The city of Yachats and the Oregon Department of Transportation have signed an agreement to install “delineators” along the west side of the highway from the south edge of downtown

Yachats city council OKs new 2-year contract for union workers, gets 12 months to figure out city hall jobs

August 11, 2022

YACHATS – The Yachats City Council on Tuesday approved a new two-year contract with its unionized employees, agreeing to a 6 percent salary increase but also giving the city a year’s time to determine jobs in city hall. The contract replaces a five-year agreement that expired July 1. Most city employees not working under temporary contracts through an employment agency

Covid-caused staff shortages led some Oregon school districts to turn to new state-authorized emergency teaching licenses

August 11, 2022

By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle Struggling with staffing shortages exacerbated by the pandemic, Oregon schools leaned heavily last year on teachers who received emergency licenses from the state. During the 2021-22 school year, districts employed 438 emergency licensed teachers, up from 181 the year prior and a low of 134 five years ago, according to data from the Teacher Standards

Oregon State Police/Newport activity report Aug. 9

August 10, 2022

SP22206388 08/09/2022 06:45 Officer #50607 TUCKER, BRIAN Crash – Hit and Run Location 18 HWY, Mile post 10 10, LINCOLN Narrative Summary ***E-CRASH*** On 08/09/22 at approximately 6:45 AM while en route to training, Oregon State Police encountered a cold crash on SR-18 around milepost 10. Scene evidence indicated Vehicle #1 (white Cherokee) was eastbound when it crossed the centerline and westbound lane of

Rep. David Gomberg deserves support and vote, not his GOP opponent

August 10, 2022

To the editor: A few days ago, I received an unsolicited single page request for money from Celeste McEntee of Newport, the Republican nominee for Oregon House District 10, with the misleading title “State Representative” under the name. The return address – and the place to which I was to send funds – is a post office box in Bend,

Congress’ $700 billion “Inflation Reduction Act” seen as a big win for Oregon energy projects, emission reductions

August 10, 2022

People who invest in solar panels for their homes would get a bigger rebate on their income taxes under the new Inflation Reduction Act. By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle Clean energy developers, farmers, ranchers, forest and home owners in Oregon are slated to get hundreds of millions of dollars in grants, tax credits and incentives from legislation that passed the

Lincoln County ballot measure phasing out short-term rentals struck down by Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals

August 9, 2022

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com The Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals ruled late Monday that a citizen-approved ballot measure that phased out vacation rentals in unincorporated Lincoln County violates Oregon law and is invalid. County commissioners and the group that put Measure 21-203 on the November 2021 ballot must also decide within 21 days whether to appeal LUBA’s ruling or

Recreational crabbers can now catch triple the number of invasive green crabs, but problems will persist until ocean cools

August 9, 2022

By DANA TIMS/YachatsNews.com Despite new state regulations allowing a tripling of the number of European green crabs that can be caught, the invasive specie isn’t likely to be eliminated anytime soon from Oregon’s coastal marshes, bays and inlets. Unless, that is, the type of cooler ocean waters more prevalent before about 2015 return. “I’m actually pretty hopeful that will be

Feds allocate more than $20 million to 11 Oregon airports for renovations to accommodate more traffic, lure commercial carriers

August 8, 2022

The Federal Aviation Administration allocated nearly $10 million to the airport in Klamath Falls for runway repairs. By LYNNE TERRY/Oregon Capital Chronicle The Federal Aviation Administration has allocated more than $20 million for repairs at 11 rural airports in Oregon and to help attract new flights from Salem to California, Nevada and Arizona. Most of the money – $17.5