Child luring sting leads to Eugene man’s arrest in Yachats

December 16, 2024

A 40-year-old Eugene man is in the Lincoln County jail on $200,000 bond after his arrest Thursday, Dec. 12 at Smelt Sands Beach State Park in Yachats during an online child luring sting by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. Jose L. Sanchez Morales is accused of first-degree online sexual corruption of a child and two counts of child luring. His

Financial review finds no Beachcomber fraud, but Waldport will give documents to state, deny grant

December 16, 2024

By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews WALDPORT – When Waldport Beachcomber Days volunteers and supporters showed up at the city council meeting Thursday with a clean bill of health from an independent financial review it seemed the dust might finally settle in a months-long fight. It was a fleeting feeling that quickly gave way to yet another dust up – with expletives

Yachats winter solstice celebration is Saturday

December 16, 2024

YACHATS — Winter’s shortest day gets a fiery sendoff Saturday, Dec. 21, at Yachats’ annual winter solstice celebration. A traditional bonfire is the anchor of the event, running from 4-7 p.m. or until the bonfire goes out near the Pavilion behind the Yachats Commons. Food, music and dancing are on the agenda, with free treats including three types of chili

Last wooden lighthouse on the Oregon coast will close in January for $1.6 million restoration

December 16, 2024

By TIFFANY ECKERT/KLCC News NEWPORT — Sitting atop the northern bluff at the mouth of the Yaquina Bay is a small wooden 153-year-old lighthouse in need of repair. Soon, the piece of Oregon coast history will undergo restorations meant to last for generations. The Yaquina Bay lighthouse, which sits 161 feet above sea level, is believed to be the

ODFW adopts summer five-fish recreational limit for groundfish

December 15, 2024

SALEM — The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted 2025 recreational and commercial groundfish regulations at its meeting Friday that continues a five-fish recreational bag limit during the popular summer months. Nearshore groundfish species — approximately a dozen species of rockfish, cabezon, greenlings, and lingcod — are subject to joint state and federal management. The 2023 stock assessment for both

Financially troubled Coos Bay hospital begins talk with private equity firm to operate facility

December 15, 2024

By KRISTINE DeLEON/TheOregonian/OregonLive Mired in deep financial woes, executives at Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay are courting a private equity-owned health company to “assume operations” of the facility. The 172-bed public, nonprofit hospital — the largest on Oregon’s coast — said this week it has signed a non-binding letter of intent to negotiate a deal with Quorum Health,

Oregon regulators iron out details of recycling overhaul that launches next year

December 15, 2024

By APRIL ERHLICH/Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon is on track to become the first state to launch a recycling program that holds businesses financially accountable for the packaging waste they produce. Environmental regulators have completed administrative rules behind the program that rolls out in July, including what materials will be accepted in recycling bins across the state and how much producers

Increasing number of Oregon nurses not enough to ease shortages, expert warns lawmakers

December 15, 2024

By JAKE THOMAS/The Lund Report After years of pandemic-induced health care worker shortages, Oregon is adding more licensed nurses than ever and is on track for more. But hospitals and other employers will continue to see shortages even so. That’s the takeaway from research presented to Oregon lawmakers last week by Jana Bitton, executive director Oregon Center for Nursing. In recent

After statewide tour, health authority director outlines plans to improve Oregon’s health care system

December 14, 2024

By BEN BOTKIN/Oregon Capital Chronicle Oregon Health Authority Director Sejal Hathi wants to improve Oregon’s health care system, including keeping rural hospitals open and supporting homeless people and testing children for lead poisoning. This week she released a report outlining 16 wide-ranging goals that stem from her meetings with health care leaders in more than a dozen cities across the

Fatal drug overdoses in Oregon reached record levels in 2023 when more than 1,800 died

December 13, 2024

By BEN BOTKIN/Oregon Capital Chronicle More than 1,800 Oregonians died of drug overdoses in 2023, a rising trend that state leaders want to reverse with new programs to combat addiction. Oregon’s annual death toll from drug overdoses has increased every year since 2019, when 626 people died, according to data the Oregon Health Authority released Thursday. With overdoses on the rise,