Waldport gets a jump on Independence Day celebration with Monday night fireworks

June 29, 2023

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews WALDPORT – It takes a team to put on Waldport’s fireworks display Monday night. And the leader of that team, says preparation, timing and safety is everything. So when 320 fireworks go off for 25 minutes without a hitch starting at 10 p.m. Monday, Rick Booth and his team of seven helpers will be pleased.

Under new rate structure, Dahl Disposal customers this fall will be able to recycle food waste with their yard debris

June 29, 2023

By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews Customers of Dahl Disposal Service will have the option to recycle food-waste with yard debris this fall — but rates will increase starting next week. The Toledo-based company, which has 7,500 customers in Yachats, Waldport, Siletz, Toledo and unincorporated Lincoln County, joins the two other county sanitation companies that already offer curbside-collection of food scraps with

Lincoln County Fair begins its three-day run Friday promising rodeo, music, food and fun for all

June 29, 2023

By ANDREA McCABE/Oregon Coast TODAY NEWPORT — Food, fun, family, friends, the fair. A staple summer event that carries memories of warm summer days with children licking dripping ice cream off their sticky hands while parents haphazardly apply sunscreen. Music floats from the main stage across the fairgrounds and wafts of sweet funnel cake rises up from food vendors,

Longtime Lincoln County sheriff’s employee who left last year for DA’s detective position returning as patrol deputy

June 29, 2023

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews A former Lincoln County sheriff’s detective who moved into a similar position with the district attorney’s office last year under great controversy is returning to the sheriff’s office July 1 as a patrol deputy. Abby Dorsey worked in the sheriff’s office for 23 years as a corrections deputy, patrol deputy, sergeant and as a detective before resigning

Newport Farmer’s Market celebrates its 45th anniversary Saturday with extra attractions

June 29, 2023

By ANDREA McCABE/Oregon Coast TODAY NEWPORT — The Newport Farmers Market is celebrating its 45th anniversary on Saturday, July 1. Since 1978, the market has exemplified the authenticity and culture along the Oregon coast. Market board vice president Anja Chavez believes the anniversary will showcase the market’s diverse array of stands and vendors. From crafts to cravings there is

Kotek appoints former Portland city auditor as next secretary of state

June 28, 2023

By GARY A. WARNER/Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — Gov. Tina Kotek on Wednesday appointed former Portland city auditor LaVonne Griffin-Valade as the Secretary of State. LaVonne Griffin-Valade will be sworn in on June 30. She will fill out the term of Shemia Fagan, who resigned May 8 amid reports she was moonlighting as a consultant to a marijuana firm licensed by

Adobe’s owner adds Ester Lee Motel in Lincoln City to its portfolio

June 28, 2023

The company that purchased the Adobe motel and restaurant last year in Yachats has completed the purchase of the iconic Ester Lee Motel overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Lincoln City. Fusion Lodging of Portland paid $6.05 million for the 53-room motel, according to Lincoln County property records. Its owners were Jason Love and Gina and Mark Baete. Built in 1941,

Despite late start and low prices, Oregon’s Dungeness crab fleet will end 2022-23 season with a near-record catch

June 28, 2023

By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews Oregon’s Dungeness crab fleet is winding down a banner year – one nearly for the record books in fact. With little more than a month to go before the close of the season it is doubtful this season’s catch, just north of 31 million pounds, will break the record of 33.7 million pounds landed during the

OSU study of whales off central Oregon coast finds they’re eating millions of microplastics and fibers each day

June 27, 2023

By SEAN NEALON/OSU News Service NEWPORT — Oregon State University researchers estimate that gray whales feeding off the Oregon coast consume up to 21 million microparticles per day, a finding informed in part by poop from the whales. Microparticle pollution includes microplastics and other human-sourced materials, including fibers from clothing. The finding, just published in the journal Frontiers in Marine

‘It’s crazy out there’: The reasons behind Oregon’s deepening drug crisis. An OPB special report

June 27, 2023

Some of the drugs, guns and cash confiscated by law enforcement in Oregon and Western Washington in a single month – April 2023. Drugs, especially fentanyl, are coming into the state in unprecedented quantities. Story by CONRAD WILSON photos by KRISTYNA WENTZ-GRAFF/Oregon Public Broadcasting For years, Oregonians have reported some of the highest rates of substance use disorder in