Thousands gather in Keizer on Friday and Saturday for Reawaken America rally, protests

April 3, 2022

By WHITNEY WOODWORTH/Salem Statesman-Journal KEIZER — Thousands of people filled standing-room-only tents at the Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer Friday and Saturday to hear from election and COVID-19 conspiracy theorists, Christian leaders and prominent figures pardoned by former President Donald Trump. The sold-out Reawaken America Tour rally drew about 4,000 attendees. Among the top-billed speakers were Trump’s son Eric Trump and former

Legislative tweak to community college scholarship program designs to help more low-income students

April 2, 2022

By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — A scholarship to help Oregon high school seniors pay for community college that had unintentionally been sending the largest grants to students with the least need will now give more money to low-income students. That change and other fixes to the program are part of an education bill passed by legislators during the

With the help of $73,000 in grants, Yachats Planning Commission and consultant begin work gathering data on city’s housing issues

March 31, 2022

By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews.com YACHATS — Call it a shortage. Call it a crisis. Call it even “not my problem” if you like. But like it or not, Yachats has a housing issue that affects almost everyone. Now, thanks to two state grants totaling $73,000, work has started to see exactly where and how the city might help boost the

Health workers, paramedics and sheriff’s deputies warn about significant increase in Lincoln County fentanyl-related overdoses and deaths

March 31, 2022

By BREEANA LAUGHLIN/YachatsNews.com Lincoln County health officials and law enforcement are raising the alarm about a spike in overdoses they believe are caused by a highly potent narcotic used in counterfeit prescription pills. While the recent deaths of two Portland high schoolers and the overdoses of five West Point cadets on spring break in Florida has grabbed headlines, the

Newport-based researchers return from 38 days of gathering data on salmon and ocean conditions in the North Pacific

March 31, 2022

By JOSHUA PARTLOW/The Washington Post During a typical fall, almost a million chum salmon pour into Alaska’s Yukon River, a torrent of wild fish that has sustained the economy and Indigenous culture in the far north for generations. Last year, that run collapsed, with salmon trickling upstream at a 10th of normal levels, forcing the state to airlift frozen fish from

Oregon conservation organizations now adding to state police fund for reporting poachers

March 31, 2022

By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle A new fund will reward tipsters for information on poached or stolen non-game animals, such as raptors, which can’t be hunted. Up until now, callers to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Turn-In-Poachers line, or TIP line, could receive a cash award only if they called with information on a game species, such as

Yachats Planning Commission seeks seventh member to assure meeting quorums

March 31, 2022

YACHATS – The Yachats Planning Commission needs your help – to join it. The seven-member commission has been one member short for months, and that came into play twice in March when it had scheduled meetings but not a quorum to conduct business. On March 15 and again Tuesday, three members of the commission were either traveling or working and

Oregon Transportation Commission approves outline of how it will spend $412 million in “flexible” federal funds

March 31, 2022

By PETER WONG/Oregon Capital Bureau The Oregon Transportation Commission has approved how it should spend $412 million in federal flexible funds to help people and goods move around safely and with less damage to the environment. In its vote Wednesday, the commission added a new pilot project to help people without cars get around — particularly in low-income and minority

Auditors: Oregon ranks high for domestic terrorism, Legislature should do more

March 31, 2022

By JUILA SHUMWAY/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — After a decade that included the occupation of a federal wildlife refuge, clashes between groups of protesters in Portland and a mob forcing its way into the locked Capitol, Oregon ranks sixth in the nation for violent extremist attacks, according to a new state report. The Secretary of State’s Audits Division called on

Oregon allocates $4.5 million to set up 29 more cameras for growing statewide wildfire alert system

March 30, 2022

By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle Oregon will soon have nearly 60 cameras across the state perched on cell phone towers, old fire towers and mountaintops, watching for potential forest fires across the state. The cameras, part of the ALERTWildfire network, help fire departments and state agencies spot wildfires early, predict their movements and slow their spread. They also allow