County commission extends moratorium on vacation rental licenses as it waits for court rulings

February 24, 2022

Lincoln County commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to extended their moratorium on issuing new vacation rental licenses for another six months as challenges to its new ordinance and a voter-passed initiative make their way through the court system. Vacation rental owners and an umbrella organization are challenging both a county measure that tightened regulations and cut back on the number of

Oregon governor and health officials announce Thursday that indoor and school mask mandates will end March 19 as Covid-19 cases recede

February 24, 2022

By LYNNE TERRY/Oregon Capital Chronicle The last of the pandemic limits Oregonians have endured for two years are ending, with state authorities lifting mask requirements by Friday, March 19, and the state of emergency ending April 1, state officials announced Thursday. That means that this spring, life in Oregon will officially be back to normal though the virus is

Construction has finished on the Amanda Trail suspension bridge, which is now open to hikers

February 24, 2022

YACHATS – It’s a little high. It’s a little bouncy. And it may make some hikers a little nervous. But the 142-foot, $434,000 suspension bridge on the Amanda Trail opened to hikers this week. There’s still a lot of smaller detail work around the north and south ends and near the Amanda Grotto, but construction workers are gone and

With Gomberg’s help, projects on Oregon coast could get $20 million under “olive branch” agreement between Democrat and GOP legislators

February 24, 2022

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com Jurisdictions along the Oregon coast could see an influx of up to $20 million to help with infrastructure projects under a unique and unusual plan shaping up in the current short session of the Oregon Legislature. It all started last week when new House Speaker Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, alerted Republican legislators – and lone Democrat Rep.

In tiny south coast community of Gardiner, the Oregon Coast School of Art takes shape in long abandoned middle school

February 24, 2022

By DANITA CAHILL/Oregon ArtsWatch GARDINER — On a hike along the Oregon coast, Emily Free Wilson and her husband, Matt Wilson, looked up a hillside scattered with houses and saw the old Gardiner middle school. The school, built in the 1950s north of Reedsport, was abandoned, spacious, and perfect – for its location and its rows of windows looking

Yachats City Hall fully closes to public except for appointments through March

February 23, 2022

YACHATS – Yachats City Hall has been closed this week and will remain closed except for appointments or via the drive-up window during March as new city manager Heide Lambert scrambles to untangle issues that have built up over the past year. Originally announced only to be open from 2-4 p.m. daily, Lambert with the support of the mayor and

Alsea School District superintendent resigns Tuesday to focus on run for governor

February 23, 2022

By The ASSOCIATED PRESS ALSEA — Oregon gubernatorial candidate Marc Thielman, a conservative Republican and outspoken critic of COVID-19 public health mandates, resigned on Tuesday from his job as superintendent of Alsea School District. Thielman announced his resignation as superintendent during an emergency meeting of the school board. Sixteen Republicans have filed to run in the May primary for governor.

Coast Guard helicopter rescues crabbers stuck on an Alsea Bay sandbar Tuesday night

February 23, 2022

WALDPORT – Jeff Hood of Albany and a friend got an unexpected and unwanted helicopter ride Tuesday night. Hood was crabbing Tuesday afternoon in Alsea Bay when the motor in his 21-foot Starcraft conked out and wouldn’t restart. He drifted under the Alsea Bay bridge and then became stuck on a sandbar just east of it. Central Oregon Coast Fire

Oregon State Police/Newport activity log for Feb. 19-21

February 23, 2022

OREGON STATE POLICE DAILY MEDIA/DESK LOG SP22042596 02/19/2022 11:02 Officer #53141 SEVERSON, SCOTT DUII Location 101, Mile post 140 140 NB, LINCOLN OR Narrative Summary On 2/19/22 at approximately 11AM a northbound vehicle on US Highway 101 in Newport, Oregon failed to yield to a Newport Police patrol vehicle with emergency lights. I attempted to stop the subject vehicle. Subject vehicle failed to yield

Although help is on the way, a lack of deputies forces Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office to experiment with patrol schedules

February 23, 2022

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office has started a six-month experiment for scheduling patrol deputies because it has been too short-staffed to cover some shifts or duties. Although it has just hired three more deputies and has others in state-required training, the department is putting just half of the 18 patrol deputies it is authorized on the