Federal appeals court stops proposed old growth logging in Elliott State Forest near Coos Bay

June 27, 2024

By MICHAEL GENNARO/Courthouse News Service In a landmark decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld a lower court’s ruling that prevents a private logging company from clearcutting old growth trees within Oregon’s Elliott State Forest. The ruling protects the marbled murrelet, a seabird species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species

View the Future hires Yachats resident as its first executive director

June 26, 2024

YACHATS – The board of a 20-year-old Yachats-based land conservation group has hired Gretchen Dubie of Yachats as its executive director and the organization’s first paid employee. View the Future announced Dubie’s hiring on Tuesday; she starts her job Aug. 5. The conservation group decided last year it needed to hire a director to provide day-to-day leadership, enhance long-term sustainability,

Historic hotels, military school once occupied area that is now Agate Beach Wayside

June 26, 2024

Hundreds of thousands of people visit the Agate Beach Wayside on the north side of Newport each year. But did you know it used to be the site of two large hotels and a military school? More than 130 years ago a grand hotel, named the Monterey, sat on the east end of where the parking lot is today.

Arnold Mindell, Yachats

June 25, 2024

Dr. Arnold Mindell, Yachats Jan. 1, 1940 – June 10, 2024 Arnold Mindell, beloved husband, father, author, physicist and founder of Process Oriented Psychology, passed away June 10, 2024, at his home in Yachats. He was 84. Born on Jan. 1, 1940, in Schenectady, N.Y., Arny was the first baby born in New York state that year. In 1964 he

County’s unemployment rate stays at 4.6 percent for third month

June 25, 2024

For the third straight month Lincoln County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stayed the same – 4.6 percent May – the ideentical rate as in March and April, the Oregon Employment Department announced Tuesday. The county’s unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in May 2023. Oregon’s statewide unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in May, and the national rate was 4 percent. Regional

Despite mild fire season forecast, agencies tell Oregon leaders they need to invest in workforce

June 25, 2024

By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle Oregon is likely to face fewer big wildfires this summer than in previous years, but a lack of rural housing, coupled with unstable and often low pay, continues to create firefighter workforce challenges across the state and region. That was a big part of the message from state and federal fire and emergency response officials,

High schoolers part of training program to help turn the tide on coastal Oregon’s seafood workforce

June 25, 2024

By ALEJANDRO FIGUEROA/Oregon Public Broadcasting SILETZ — Patrick Clarke is outside, setting up a big pot of broth with Cajun spices over a propane flame. He’s already got a grill running and has set out the corn, potatoes, sausage and pink shrimp. He leans down to a chest cooler filled with ice and pulls out a live Dungeness crab. “This

Forest Service proposes protections for old-growth trees, but without an outright logging ban

June 24, 2024

By APRIL ERHLICH/Oregon Public Broadcasting The Biden administration has published its proposed plan for preserving old-growth trees in national forests across the country, opening another opportunity for public input on conserving ancient trees. The proposal, presented in a draft environmental analysis on Friday, outlines ways national forests should prioritize preserving old-growth trees, but it falls short of an outright ban on

Proposed Forest Service mountain biking system sparks tension in south Tillamook County

June 24, 2024

By BRYCE DOYLE/Oregon Public Broadcasting Tillamook County has long been known as Oregon’s dairy capital. More than a million people visit the local creamery each year. Its products can be found in grocery stores nationwide. Within the next decade, however, something else could bring people here in droves — mountain biking. The U.S. Forest Service is in the final stages of approving

Northeast Oregon city bans chain stores amid dollar store backlash

June 24, 2024

By ANTONIA SIERRA/Oregon Public Broadcasting An organized campaign to prevent the spread of chain dollar stores in Wallowa County scored a significant victory this month. The Joseph City Council passed an ordinance banning “formula” businesses from operating within city limits. While the law doesn’t identify any chain stores by name, it arrived amid community concern over the spread of dollar stores