Unemployment rate in Lincoln County up 10 percent over last June

July 23, 2025

Lincoln County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 5.5 percent in June, the Oregon Employment Department announced this week, up from 5.3 percent in May and 10 percent higher than the 5 percent of 12 months earlier.

Benton County planning commission unanimously rejects proposed Coffin Butte landfill expansion

July 23, 2025

By NATHAN WIK/KLCC News CORVALLIS — An effort to expand the Coffin Butte landfill in rural Benton County experienced a major setback Tuesday night, as the county’s Planning Commission voted unanimously to reject the proposal. The landfill is located about 10 miles north of Corvallis near the town of Adair Village. Its owner, Republic Services, wants to expand southward, in

Oregon State Police news release on Highway 18 fatality near Grand Ronde

July 23, 2025

TILLAMOOK COUNTY, Ore. 23 July 2025 On Saturday, July 12, 2025, at approximately 3:15 a.m., the Oregon State Police responded to a two-vehicle hit-and-run fatal crash on Highway 18 in Tillamook County near Grand Ronde. The preliminary investigation indicated that a white Honda Civic, operated by Alejandro Christopher Velazquez Lopez (34) of Tillamook, was traveling eastbound on Highway 18 near

Volunteer diver says Deschutes County officials threatened him with arrest during Dillon Falls recovery effort

July 23, 2025

A volunteer diver who this year helped recover a child’s body in the Siletz River said Deschutes County authorities threatened to arrest him Tuesday if he entered the water to help search for a man who went over Dillon Falls last weekend.

Oregon governor lays out special session details on ODOT funding: increases in gas, payroll taxes and registration fees

July 23, 2025

Gov. Tina Kotek said Wednesday she has a recipe to successfully divert mass layoffs at the state’s transportation agency — and it doesn’t look too different from a plan lawmakers failed to pass last month.

Cascade Head Biosphere stages sand art competition Saturday to help bring attention to its work

July 23, 2025

By Oregon Coast TODAY Feeling rakish? Test your temporary art skills and vie for great prizes when the Cascade Head Biosphere Collaborative presents the Sand Art Competition at Roads End State Recreation Site on Saturday, July 26. Teams from one to four people will each get a 20- by 20-foot square in which to rake. The event runs from

Lincoln Chronicle’s annual fundraising campaign raises $39,000 — which will double via matching challenge

July 22, 2025

This June readers donated just over $39,000 to help cover our operating expenses and expand our work. And because those donations were being matched by a longtime donor, that will turn into nearly $80,000.

Three principals in Newport treatment center file counter suit seeking $2 million from former partner

July 22, 2025

By SHAYLA ESCUDERO/Lincoln Chronicle Three founders of a prominent Newport-based addiction treatment center have filed a $2 million counter lawsuit against a fourth former business partner. Phoenix Wellness Center opened in 2020 when four members of the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians – Ashliegh Ramirez, Wylie Stokes, and siblings Zebuli Payne and Danielle Payne – had a shared goal

Trump administration wants Oregon agencies to hand over personal food stamp data

July 22, 2025

The Trump administration wants Oregon to hand over personal information from people receiving food stamps by as soon as Thursday. Officials with the Trump administration say they’re collecting the information to rein in fraud and government waste, but anti-hunger groups and some elected officials say fraud is rare, and that the government has a more ulterior motive.

Gov. Tina Kotek delays impeding ODOT layoffs and announces August special session to fund roads

July 22, 2025

By DIRK VANDERHART/Oregon Public Broadcasting Gov. Tina Kotek will call lawmakers into a special session in late August to take another crack at finding millions — or billions — of dollars to pay for road funding in the state. In the meantime, Kotek announced Tuesday she will delay nearly 500 layoffs at the Oregon Department of Transportation, ensuring 12 maintenance facilities throughout