New owner of Yachats’ largest motel has big plans for upgrades and creating more rooms, shops and housing

January 26, 2023

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews YACHATS – The new owner of the Adobe motel has big plans. A full remodel of 110 rooms. A full remodel of the lobby. Sprucing up the exterior with new landscaping. And that’s just this year. After the motel is remodeled, Fushion Lodging owner and chief executive Sazzadur Rahman plans to tackle the large open area

Have an extra octopus hanging around? The folks at the Hatfield Marine Science Center are looking for a new one

January 26, 2023

By DANA TIMS/YachatsNews NEWPORT – Does anyone have an octopus? The visitors center at the Hatfield Marine Science Center needs a new one and is asking the public – especially the hundreds of boats out scouring coastal waters for Dungeness crab – to help. “This is the way we have typically received octopus donations in the past,” said Renee

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek outlines how she wants to allocate $130 million in emergency aid for homeless programs

January 26, 2023

By JULIA SHUMWAY/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek is asking the 2023 Legislature to quickly allocate $130 million to build 600 shelter beds, keep 9,000 families housed and help 1,200 homeless people find shelter. Kotek released the details of her plan, which she first announced during her Jan. 9 inaugural address, in a statement late Thursday afternoon.

Waldport resident gets OK to begin collecting signatures for potential recall of four Port of Alsea board members

January 26, 2023

WALDPORT – A Waldport resident can start circulating petitions to see if he can gather enough signatures to force a recall election of four Port of Alsea commissioners. A recall of commissioners was first threatened during a meeting last July. Kurt Saindon asked the board to fire port manager Roxie Cuellar because she would not change locations for crabbers

Oregon high school graduation rates increase in 2021-22; five of six Lincoln County high schools beat state average

January 26, 2023

By NATALIE PATE/Oregon Capital Chronicle and YachatsNews Oregon’s high school graduation rate edged up slightly last year to the second highest in state history. The main high schools in the Lincoln County School District also showed big increases when compared with the last non-pandemic school year of 2018-19 and five of those six high schools had better graduation rates

Electrician returning this week for final work on Yachats homeless shelter

January 26, 2023

YACHATS — The five small homeless shelters in a local church’s parking lot aren’t yet fully operational, but organizers hope to have them open soon. A Eugene electrician who worked on the units earlier this winter will return this week for another adjustment. Central Lincoln Peoples Utility District requires a separate pole in order to run electricity to the

Open Yachats sidewalk grate leads to $250,000 lawsuit against city

January 26, 2023

YACHATS — A 78-year-old Yachats resident is suing the city for more than $250,000 over injuries she received last year stepping into a hole in a steel sidewalk grate. The incident occurred July 18 on the sidewalk along U.S. Highway 101 near Leroy’s Blue Whale restaurant. Court records indicate the city has not yet been served with the lawsuit. According

After 7 years, Lincoln County commissioners approve new limits on vacation rental licenses that drastically lowers number from 500 to 181

January 25, 2023

By KENNETH LIPP/YachatsNews After seven years of workshops, public comment, deliberations, ballot measures and lawsuits, Lincoln County commissioners Wednesday established drastically lower limits for the number of vacation rentals allowed in unincorporated areas. Commissioners voted unanimously for a license cap that would drop the number of vacation rental licenses from 500 to 181 in unincorporated areas of the county.

Oregon mayors, city officials lobby legislators Wednesday for more money for homelessness

January 25, 2023

Local government officials participate in the League of Oregon Cities’ City Day at the Capitol event at the Salem Convention Center. By JULIA SHUMWAY/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Hundreds of mayors, city councilors and city employees from around Oregon descended on Salem on Wednesday to lobby lawmakers for hundreds of millions of dollars for homelessness and housing shortages. Local leaders

Unemployment rate in Lincoln County continues to increase

January 25, 2023

Lincoln County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate continues to rise, reaching 5.8 percent in December – up more than a full percentage point since July. The Oregon Employment Department said Tuesday that Oregon’s statewide unemployment rate for December was 4.5 percent, the fifth consecutive month it has risen from its low of 3.5 percent last July. The national average was 3.5