New state-required climate report says Oregon will become warmer, drier with more rain than snow

January 8, 2025

By MICHELLE KLAMPE/OSU News Service CORVALLIS – Oregon is becoming warmer and more prone to drought and will see less snow due to climate change, but people and businesses are also adapting to the challenges of a warming planet, the latest Oregon Climate Assessment indicates. The assessment, released Wednesday by the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute at Oregon State University, shows

State finishes second attempt of wildfire hazard maps, prepares new rules for high-risk properties

January 8, 2025

By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Oregon fire experts have finished their redo of state maps showing wildfire hazard areas, showing that about 1,600 tax lots are in high-risk spots that could be subject to new building and landscape codes. Those property owners, who hold about 6 percent of the nearly 2 million tax lots in the state, could

CCF&R and three other Lincoln County fire departments join Oregon strike force heading to LA wildfires

January 8, 2025

By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews WALDPORT – Two Central Oregon Coast Fire & Rescue firefighters deployed Wednesday to help fight wildfires in Southern California. Central Coast firefighters John Townley and Shi Bucher are driving the district’s Type 3 brush truck, known as the workhorse of wildland firefighting, to the scene of wildfires that have engulfed thousands of acres, destroyed thousands of

Local Styrofoam to-go container ban now in effect statewide

January 7, 2025

It’s a new year and that means the end of Styrofoam to-go containers in Oregon – although many cities including some on the central Oregon coast already prohibit them. A state law took effect Jan. 1 that bans restaurants and food carts from using polystyrene foam, commonly known by the trademarked product name Styrofoam. Senate Bill 543 passed 20-9 in 2023,

“Bad Reputation” band takes audience on a musical journey Saturday night

January 7, 2025

By Oregon Coast TODAY If you have a hard time pinning down a particular genre of music as your favorite, you’ll love the mix of hits performed by Bad Reputation, coming to the Newport Performing Arts Center on Saturday, Jan. 11. Described as “a musical journey,” the group has, ironically enough, earned a good reputation for its pleasing and

Three GOP Oregon lawmakers propose pause on rate hikes from utilities embroiled in wildfire lawsuits

January 7, 2025

By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle Three Republican Oregon lawmakers want to stop utility companies from raising rates on customers while those companies are still resolving years-long lawsuits over wildfire culpability and costs. Reps. Jami Cate of Lebanon, Virgle Osborne of Roseburg and Ed Diehl of Stayton announced their proposal in a news release in late December, just days after the

Adam Shanks sworn in as Lincoln County’s 17th sheriff, following 37-year path of Curtis Landers

January 6, 2025

By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews NEWPORT – There’s a new sheriff in town. Adam Shanks was sworn in as Lincoln County’s 17th sheriff Monday by presiding circuit court judge Sheryl Bachart, two months after he ran unopposed for election. In a courtroom packed with Shanks’ family, law enforcement professionals and county staff, Bachart first praised outgoing Sheriff Curtis Landers for his

2024 rainfall on central Oregon coast one of the highest in years — and more dramatic just inland

January 6, 2025

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews Bob Williams has been measuring the rain for decades, starting when he lived in Napa, Calif. and continuing after moving farther south to Carlsbad. “I started just out of curiosity,” said Williams, a former high school special needs teacher and California State Hospital employee with a longtime interest in nature and science. But he’s not seen

Yachats Lions Club lowers price and returns to all-you-can-eat format for annual crab feed

January 5, 2025

By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews YACHATS — The Yachats Lions Club has cracking good news for crab lovers — its popular annual feed is returning with a lower price and a generous “all-you-can-eat” format. On Saturday, Jan. 25, diners can enjoy Dungeness crab plus sides and beverages for $45 at three different seatings — 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. at the

Hypothermia leads to a record number of sea turtles washing ashore on Oregon beaches

January 5, 2025

By APRIL ERHLICH/Oregon Public Broadcasting Two sea turtles washed up along Oregon’s beaches in the final days of 2024 due to hypothermic shock, bringing the number of sea turtles that appeared on the state’s shores last year to 17. That’s the highest number of sea turtle strandings the state has seen in any given year, and twice what the