Yachats commission will ask city council to raze library and instead plan for new $1.46 million building

November 16, 2023

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews YACHATS – The Yachats Library Commission voted unanimously Thursday to ask the city council if it can proceed with plans to tear down the library on West Seventh Street and work on a slightly revised design for an entirely new structure. That’s a departure of 18 months of planning to remodel and expand the 2,400-square foot

5 Questions and A Secret: Karen Chalmers and Spinning Sands at Seal Rock beach

November 16, 2023

By KATHLEEN O’CONNOR/YachatsNews At any time during the year drivers along U.S. Highway 101 can suddenly find themselves turning their cars to see what is going on at low tide on the beach at Little Creek Cove Scenic Point, just south of Seal Rock State Park. From the roadside vantage point, they can look down to see a woman

Oregon State walks away from Elliot State Forest research plan, but backers say forest in good hands

November 16, 2023

By APRIL EHRLICH and MONICA SAMAYOA/Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon State University is stepping back from a years-long effort to turn the Elliott State Forest into the country’s largest research forest, but state leaders and longtime advocates say they aren’t concerned about the long-term designs to rehabilitate the forest. The announcement marks another twist in a lengthy story involving the 82,000-acre Elliott

Cast of 27 children and adults brings “Maltida: the Musical” to the Newport Performing Arts Center sage

November 16, 2023

By BARBARA B. COVELL/Oregon Coast TODAY NEWPORT — It’s an age-old story with a modern-day twist. “Matilda: the Musical,” running each weekend through Dec. 3 at the Newport Performing Arts Center, is a story about an extraordinary little girl who overcomes multiple obstacles to instill hope and confidence in her classmates as well as the kind adults in her

Lincoln City Cultural Center hosts coming out party for its plaza on Saturday

November 16, 2023

By Oregon Coast TODAY For the past eight months, drivers taking U.S. Highway 101 through Lincoln City have been the curious audience for a creative work in progress, a steadily evolving construction site that wrapped around the historic Delake School. The project is the long-awaited Lincoln City Cultural Plaza, an exterior improvement designed to provide accessibility and safety along

Oregon’s first large-scale solar park and farm near Harrisburg hinges on 50-year-old land use laws

November 16, 2023

By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle HARRISBURG — John Langdon and his brother have experimented with all kinds of crops and techniques on their multigenerational farm in Harrisburg in the Willamette Valley. Nothing has been as controversial as their attempt to add solar panels to 1,100 acres where they currently grow ryegrass. For more than two years, the brothers –

Oregon lawmakers get updated revenue forecast, poised to address crises with increased funds next year

November 15, 2023

By DIRK VANDERHART/Oregon Public Broadcasting With an addiction and drug crisis top of mind for many, homelessness and housing programs clamoring for money, and looming unrest in the state’s K-12 schools, Oregon lawmakers suddenly have another $335 million to spend. But that news comes with a caveat: Lower revenues are now expected in coming budget cycles, tempering the long-term ambitions

Waldport Meals on Wheels site seeks more kitchen volunteers

November 15, 2023

WALDPORT — Kitchen volunteers are needed to help Meals on Wheels bring warm mid-day food to some 60 people from Seal Rock to Yachats. “Because of our regular volunteers’ holiday plans, or our ‘snowbirds’ being away, we really need a couple of people to help in the kitchen,” said Nicole Person, manager of the site based in the Waldport Community

Oregon House Republicans ask state Democratic leaders for Measure 110 changes

November 15, 2023

By LYNNE TERRY/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Oregon House Republicans called for the state’s Democratic leaders to make several changes to Measure 110, the state’s drug decriminalization law. In a letter Tuesday to Gov. Tina Kotek, Senate President Rob Wagner and House Speaker Dan Rayfield, all House Republicans but one called the measure an “abysmal failure” that needs to be

The mystery of a $1,866 monthly Yachats water bill is solved. (Hint: Is your toilet running?)

November 15, 2023

BY GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews YACHATS – The mystery of the Yachats water bill run amuck is solved. Stephen Issac, who lives alone and whose monthly water bill averages $130, was stunned when he saw two massive and intermittent spikes this year — $876 in May and $1,866 in August. Isaac called the city after his May bill and explained that