A Yachats woman discovers the support of a community with the death of her husband and search for beloved cat

June 26, 2023

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews YACHATS – Yes, it can appear trivial. Even Marty Woodruff agrees. But not when you learn about her past two years. After that, please be on the lookout for her cat, Charles. Most of all, Woodruff says, relish the community where you live. Let’s start at the beginning. Marty and Nathan Woodruff married in 2006, moved

2023 session of the Oregon Legislature ends Sunday, with lots of new laws, lots of money — and lots of acrimony

June 25, 2023

By DIRK VANDERHART and LAUREN DRAKE/Oregon Public Broadcasting SALEM — The Capitol this year felt like a tale of two legislative sessions. It was the best of times: In the first three months, lawmakers quickly and smoothly passed bipartisan bills to pave the way for more housing and attract new semiconductor activity. It was the worst of times: Fractured over

Federal agency considering sea otter re-introduction on the Oregon coast wraps up eight public open houses

June 23, 2023

By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews Federal wildlife officials floating the idea of returning sea otters to the Oregon coast in an effort to re-establish their historic range are also hoping they might help combat the devastation sea urchins are reaping on the underwater ecosystem. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notes there is currently a 900 mile gap in sea otter

The first — and smallest — of four Klamath River dams started coming down this week

June 23, 2023

By LEE JUILLERAT for the Rogue Valley Times The first step in the removal of four Klamath River dams is underway. Deconstruction of Copco No. 2, the smallest of the four hydroelectric dams being removed from the Klamath River, started this week with the removal of gates, a walkway and two of the five bays down to the spillway. “While

Oregon lawmakers approve $40 million toward Port of Coos Bay development

June 23, 2023

A video still from the Port of Coos Bay’s YouTube channel shows the coastal area where developers want to facilitate traffic for large container ships. By BRIAN BULL/KLCC SALEM — Efforts to make the Port of Coos Bay a major shipping facility got help from the Oregon Legislature this week. Lawmakers in both chambers approved the allocation of $40 million

Week No. 4 of YachatsNews’ local fundraising campaign: With your donations we want to do more and better

June 22, 2023

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews This week on YachatsNews you can read about the long-awaited work by Yachats volunteers and the city to finally get two small “pocket parks” underway. Or about actions taken by city councils in Waldport and Yachats, or scenes from Waldport’s big Beachcomber Days event. There are also stories about Lincoln County government – an email phishing scheme

Lincoln County loses more than $100,000 in scam that used fake invoices for OSU work; FBI investigating

June 22, 2023

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews The FBI is investigating a computer fraud that cost Lincoln County more than $100,000 after an employee paid invoices thought to be for Oregon State University but instead ended up in a scammer’s bank account somewhere else. The fake OSU invoices were paid Jan. 27, but the fraud was not discovered until April when OSU asked

In an effort to “touch the moon” a non-technical novice discovers the growing community of amateur ham radio operators

June 22, 2023

By SUSAN PALMER/YachatsNews I want to touch the moon. OK, not actually. Not a hand-print-in-moon-dust kind of touch. I want to use the moon to bounce a radio signal from me to someone in Switzerland. Up until a year ago, I didn’t know this was a thing that could be done, and I had no idea that I would

Lincoln County commissioners approve higher vacation rental license fees saying they need to cover administrative costs

June 22, 2023

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews Lincoln County commissioners Wednesday approved a significant jump in yearly fees for vacation rental licenses, defending the increase as needed to cover costs of administering the county’s new regulations and oversight. The proposed increase to renew a rental license from the current $125 a year to $500 received some pushback from license holders, and just as

Yachats city manager search firm seeks comments from residents

June 22, 2023

YACHATS — Yachats residents are invited to share the attributes and experience they would like to see in the next city manager during an upcoming virtual meeting. The online session via Zoom is at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 29 and will be facilitated by Jensen Strategies, a municipal government recruitment firm based in Portland. The firm was chosen by the