5 Questions and a Secret: Roger Harris’ magnificent garden in the Bayshore community

July 17, 2024

By KATHLEEN O’CONNOR/YachatsNews Vacationers and locals alike cannot help but take a closer look at Roger Harris’s flower garden at 205 Alsea Bay Drive in the Bayshore community on the north edge of Alsea Bay. Often a driver will stop and back up to admire the beauty that Harris has created, a surprise in the middle of what is

Oregon’s transportation system is due for an overhaul next year. But no one is sure what to do

July 16, 2024

By DIRK VANDERHART/Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon’s highway officials say they’re tapped out — and that’s about to mean big problems from Portland to Madras to Medford. As inflation has sent road costs soaring in recent years, gas taxes are sputtering like an overworked Geo Metro. The funding pinch has grown so troublesome that the Oregon Department of Transportation warned

Work begins this week on final construction phase of first U.S. wave energy test site north of Waldport

July 16, 2024

By DANA TIMS/YachatsNews Building the nation’s first wave-energy testing facility just off the central Oregon coast has been a project decades in the making. Now, engineers, researchers and ocean-wave specialists, aided by three vessels working up to 24 hours a day, this week will begin to tackle the final phase of installing the undersea cables needed to link the

Coast choral group holds big fundraiser Saturday in Newport

July 15, 2024

Shine up your sequins and dust off your best suit for some Broadway magic, a gala fundraiser presented by Coastal Voices, Lincoln County’s vocal ensemble, at the Newport Performing Arts Center on Saturday, July 20. The glitz and glamor of the black tie-optional event begins at 5:30 p.m. with a silent auction and raffle games in the lobby, followed by

Benton County landfill operator makes second attempt to expand regional facility

July 15, 2024

By NATHAN WILK/KLCC News CORVALLIS — The owner of the Coffin Butte landfill in Benton County is once again trying to expand the site. Republic Services says it needs more space, or its landfill will be full within around 13 years. The site accepts garbage from across Oregon and Washington, with the majority coming from Benton, Lincoln and other nearby

Transfer of Ocean View Drive to city of Yachats slowing work on proposed estuary boardwalk

July 15, 2024

By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews YACHATS – Anyone holding their breath in anticipation of construction beginning on the estuary boardwalk can exhale. It’s going to be awhile. The walkway with a bump-out viewing platform, benches and lights along Ocean View Drive between Beach Street and U.S. Highway 101 has been talked about for years. But while progress is being made, best

Seven Oregon residents file fifth lawsuit challenging new federal financial regulations

July 15, 2024

By DON JENKINS/Oregon Capital Press Seven Oregonians have filed the fifth federal lawsuit challenging the Corporate Transparency Act, alleging the financial reporting law invades their privacy and positions the government to chill political speech. The lead plaintiffs are former hazelnut processor Mike Firestone and his wife, Lindsay Berschauer, a Yamhill County commissioner. Other plaintiffs include small business owners and a

We need to protest Weyerhaeuser spraying near Eckman Lake

July 14, 2024

To the editor: How in the world can it possibly be true? Weyerhaeuser has been granted a permit to pray herbicide “as near as 10 feeet” from the Waldport municipal water source at Weist and Eckman creeks above Eckman Lake? The permit gives permission to begin spraying for invasive species as soon as July 16. Citizens, arise in protest. What

Weyerhaeuser should have to pay for water tests after spraying

July 14, 2024

To the editor: I am writing to express my concern as a Waldport resident regarding the spraying of pesticides close to the Waldport watershed and adjacent to the public spring water faucet on Highway 34. We know that pesticides are applied without precision especially if they are sprayed aerially due to the ever-present effects of wind and rain. In 2016 Lincoln

Demolition of Yachats library should take place this month as summer programs ramp up in temporary quarters

July 14, 2024

By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews YACHATS — The original Yachats Library building may be only a memory by late July when demolition is expected to make way for a new, bigger structure. Meanwhile, it’s business almost-as-usual for the library in its temporary quarters and time for a full slate of kids’ summer programs. Before the teardown of the structure on West