5 Questions and a Secret: David “Shep” Shepard started early to become everyone’s favorite mechanic

July 29, 2025

David Shepard -- Shep to everyone who knows him -- has owned Shepard Performance Automotive in Waldport since 2007 but has been working on cars since he was 13. He's a longtime favorite of car owners needing to fix their vehicles.

Federal appeals court rules that Oregon’s LGBTQ foster care safeguards violate free speech

July 28, 2025

A federal appeals court has granted a Malheur County woman’s request to halt Oregon’s policy requiring adoptive parents embrace their child’s sexual or gender identity, urging the state to implement a less prescriptive approach to protecting some of the foster care system’s most vulnerable youth.

Newport asks its 4,600 water customers to conserve as the central coast gets drier and with no rain in sight

July 28, 2025

Lincoln County’s largest city asked its residents and businesses on Monday to begin conserving water in the face of deepening drought conditions and the little likelihood of rain until late September.

Wednesday morning update: National Weather Service cancels tsunami alert; little effect on the central coast

July 28, 2025

A strong earthquake in eastern Russia triggered tsunami alerts 4,000 miles away on the Oregon coast Tuesday night, sending waves of concern among many residents but little fear of anything significant from a small surge expected to arrive between 11:40 p.m. and midnight.

Leader of Lincoln County’s largest department is retiring this week

July 27, 2025

The head of Lincoln County’s largest department is retiring Friday. Jayne Romero was hired as the county’s health and human services director at the height of the pandemic in 2021 when most employees were working from home. “When we emerged from the pandemic, we were a divided department with a 30 percent vacancy rate,” Romero said in an exit interview

The U.S. government sold off its aging ships — leaving Washington and Oregon to pay the price

July 27, 2025

Abandoned and derelict vessels are quietly piling up in Washington and Oregon waterways, posing a threat to fragile marine ecosystems. Vessel removal programs in Washington and Oregon are calling on the federal government to destroy its own decrepit vessels and to prevent them from getting into the public’s hands.

Fewer than half of ICE arrests under Trump are convicted criminals; in Oregon the numbers are even smaller

July 27, 2025

Despite Trump administration rhetoric accusing Democrats of protecting violent criminals and drug-dealing immigrants, the administration’s arrests have been catching a smaller share of criminals overall, and a smaller share of people convicted of violent and drug crimes, than the Biden administration did in the same time frame.

State agency puts proposed farm stand rules on hold after outcry and intervention from governor

July 27, 2025

An Oregon agency is putting proposed changes to farm stand rules on hold after owners of small farms across Oregon stormed to social media and got the attention of Gov. Tina Kotek.

Oregon governor signs legislation to create a $205 million statewide homeless shelter system

July 26, 2025

With her ceremonial signature on House Bill 3644, Gov. Tina Kotek has codified the creation of a new, permanent statewide homeless shelter system.

Trump administration opens civil rights investigation into Oregon over transgender athletes in schools

July 26, 2025

The Oregon Department of Education is the latest institution in the state to be targeted by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. This time it’s over alleged violations of Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools.