Could a tourist trolley work in Yachats? Chamber — and then maybe city — pursuing feedback on the idea

August 3, 2023

By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews YACHATS – A lightbulb went on for Bobbi Price when she was visiting Pacific City and saw a free and quaint trolley shuttling people around town. The Yachats Area Chamber of Commerce executive director thought if it can be successful there – why not in Yachats? And what better way to ease traffic and parking woes

Toledo’s “First Weekend” takes a moment to dedicate new mural of local artist Michael Gibbons

August 3, 2023

By Oregon Coast TODAY TOLEDO — Spend even a moment in the mill town of Toledo and it becomes obvious why it is regarded as the place where art and industry meet. The twin pursuits weave together throughout town in the form of murals, galleries and public sculptures set against vistas of the Georgia-Pacific paper mill, train cars and

Motorists need signs to protect them from “Darwin Tree” on Highway 101

August 2, 2023

To the editor: ODOT has long refused to acknowledge and remedy a dangerous U.S. Highway 101 road hazard just south of Seal Rock, a few miles north of me, seeming to view that hazard not as a cause for concern but rather as an opportunity for cynical humor called “Darwin’s tree.” The hazard is a long, sweeping, unmarked curve, speed

New data breach affects 1.7 million Oregonians, mostly current or past members of the Oregon Health Plan

August 2, 2023

By BEN BOTKIN/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Hackers have gained access to the personal information of 1.7 million current and former Medicaid members in Oregon. The breach dates to May 30. Hackers exploited a vulnerability in a file transfer program, MOVEit, to obtain the personal and medical information of members of the Oregon Health Plan, the state’s Medicaid system. The

Oregon governor signs measures to increase funding for schools, including $140 million to improve literacy

August 2, 2023

Gov. Tina Kotek was joined by members of the Oregon Pacific Islander Coalition when she signed House Bill 3144 on Wednesday. The bill directs $2 million to creating a student success plan for the state’s more than 12,000 Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students. By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Oregon’s 197 school districts will have record funding this

With months of little rain and none on horizon, Lincoln County asks governor to declare drought emergency

August 2, 2023

By QUINTON SMITH and GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews After three months of almost no rain and the likelihood of little more until October, Lincoln County commissioners Wednesday asked Gov. Tina Kotek to declare a drought emergency for all of the county. The last time such a declaration was made was in 2021. The central coast has had record-low rainfall in May,

ODFW commissioners will consider extending rules Friday to limit crab gear to lessen impact on whales and turtles

August 2, 2023

By DANA TIMS/YachatsNews Oregon Fish and Wildlife commissioners are expected Friday to indefinitely extend regulations aimed at reducing whale entanglements with commercial crabbing gear. Commissioners, meeting in Salem, are on track to adopt staff recommendations that have been in effect for the past three years. Their vote to adopt the proposed rules indefinitely is needed because expiration dates

Carl Miller, Yachats

August 1, 2023

Carl F. Miller, Yachats Dec. 4, 1939 – July 24, 2023 Carl F. Miller, a longtime Yachats resident who led a local theater group, was chair of a museum nonprofit and grad marshal of the 2022 La de da Parade, died July 24, 2023 after a short illness. He was 83. Carl Foster Miller was born Dec. 4, 1939 in

Signups for commercial matsutake mushroom permits on Siuslaw Forest now open

August 1, 2023

WALDPORT — Applications for matsutake mushroom collection permits for the Central Coast ranger district of the Siuslaw National Forest are now open. Every year, 100 commercial-use permits are available on a first come, first served basis. Any person wishing to obtain a commercial matsutake collection permit should complete a request form by Aug. 21. A commercial use permit costs $250

Oregonians can start applying for paid family and medical leave from work beginning Aug. 14

August 1, 2023

By BEN BOTKIN/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Oregon workers can apply for benefits through the state’s new paid leave program starting Aug. 14. The program, Paid Leave Oregon, covers family leave, medical leave and safe leave for Oregonians with jobs. Oregon is the 12th state in the nation with paid family and medical leave for workers, due to a bill the