Oregon health officials now rely on wastewater testing to get a better picture of Covid spread

June 27, 2022

By AMELIA TEMPLETON/Oregon Public Broadcasting Last month, a new COVID-19 variant from the omicron family spread across Oregon, causing a seventh wave of infections. On paper, this seventh wave hasn’t looked particularly impressive, peaking in late May at about 1,500 new cases reported per day. But data from sewage samples collected at wastewater treatment plants across the state suggests that

Oregon tribe and ODFW agree to historic management agreement to help save salmon in Coquille River watershed

June 27, 2022

By CHRIS AADLAND/‍Underscore News and Indian Country Today An Oregon tribe and state leaders have agreed to co-manage fish and wildlife across a large swath of southwest Oregon, in what they say is a monumental arrangement and the first of potentially more comprehensive management partnerships between the state’s wildlife agency and tribal nations. The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission on June 17 unanimously agreed

Report on Lincoln County income shows it keeping up with increases across Oregon, but remains far behind state’s overall wages

June 27, 2022

By DANA TIMS/YachatsNews.com A new state economic report provides both good and bad news for Lincoln County, as well as four other northwest Oregon coastal counties. The upside of the report, compiled by regional economist Erik Knoder of the Oregon Employment Department, is that average wages in Lincoln County increased nearly 50 percent from 2011 through 2021. That figure

Planned Parenthood of Oregon says it will increase staffing in eastern Oregon clinics following Supreme Court ruling

June 26, 2022

By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle Planned Parenthood is increasing staff at Oregon clinics, boosting telemedicine programs across the state and opening a clinic in Ontario in eastern Oregon, the organization has announced. Anne Udall, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette in Portland, said the measures respond to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Friday to overturn Roe V.

Central Lincoln PUD manager warns customers of supply chain issues

June 26, 2022

To the editor: Like utilities nationwide, Central Lincoln Peoples Utility District is being greatly challenged by supply chain delays, material shortages, and massive cost increases for delivered materials. Demand for electrical supplies is robust, while transportation bottlenecks and raw material constraints are causing us significant concern over our ability to meet construction timelines. As we address these issues, Central Lincoln

After Supreme Court ruling Friday, governors of Oregon, Washington and California pledge to maintain access to abortions

June 24, 2022

By GARY A. WARNER/Oregon Capital Bureau The governors of California, Oregon, and Washington on Friday pledged to maintain access to abortions and other reproductive health care following the U.S. Supreme Court decision radically revising the Roe v. Wade ruling. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said the 6-3 decision handed down Friday by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Dobbs

Developers of proposed motel say they will re-think plans after Yachats commission unanimously rejects conditional use permit

June 23, 2022

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com YACHATS – In the end, there were too many unresolved issues. Some 11 months after an original application and eight months after a previously scheduled hearing, the Yachats Planning Commission voted unanimously Tuesday evening to turn down a conditional use permit to allow a hotly debated motel project along Yachats Ocean Road. There was little debate

Doug Sestrich and fellow Oregon coast beach rangers are “eyes and ears and the boots on the ground” for Oregon State Parks

June 23, 2022

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com Doug Sestrich’s job often depends on the ocean’s tide — and sometimes the weather. Two or three days a week, he drives miles of shoreline from Yaquina Bay to Carl Washburne State Park in an Oregon State Parks off-road vehicle looking for everything from trash, to snowy plovers to illegal activity. “My goal is to be

Skyrocking cost to rebuild 540 foot section of East Second Street in Yachats puts project on hold — again

June 23, 2022

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com YACHATS – It’s back to the drawing board for a long-awaiting project to rebuild a 540-foot long portion of East Second Street. The project, which has been advocated by neighbors along the steep narrow city street for years, has been delayed again because construction bids came in 62 percent higher than expected. The main impetus for

Oregon starts sending $600 checks to 136,000 low-income taxpayers

June 23, 2022

By Oregon Capital Chronicle More than 236,000 Oregon families will each start receiving a $600 payment this week under a new state law that aimed to aid low-income workers. Direct deposits or paper checks are going to people who lived in Oregon for the last six months of 2020 and claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit, a tax break for low-income