Oregon’s congressional Democrats ask federal agency for salmon disaster aid

April 25, 2023

Plummeting numbers of returning salmon have prompted seven of eight members of Oregon’s congressional delegation to urge the Department of Commerce to issue an expedited declaration of a fishery resource emergency for the state. If approved, the declaration would trigger immediate federal aid to help respond to the ongoing losses from low salmon populations and provide economic support to distressed

Lincoln City police arrest former gas station employee on burglary, theft charges

April 25, 2023

On Monday, April 24, 2023, Lincoln City Police Detectives arrested 38-year-old Christopher Shayne Hoffman of Lincoln City, charging him with Second Degree Burglary, First Degree Theft and First Degree Criminal Mischief in connection with a recent burglary of the Space Age Fuel / US Market business. On Wednesday April 12, 2023, at about 2:25 AM, Lincoln City Police Officers responded to the

Waldport High School’s forestry students win fourth consecutive championship in Oregon natural resources competition

April 25, 2023

WALDPORT — For the fourth time in as many years, Waldport High School’s forestry program took home the Oregon Future Natural Resource Leaders state championship during two days of competition last week. Fifteen teams from across Oregon took place in the competition held Friday at Oregon State University and Saturday at the Brooks Historical Society. Waldport took first place

City of Waldport completes purchase of old school property for $475,000 — and now comes the hard part

April 25, 2023

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews WALDPORT – Coming up with $475,000 to buy the 2.8-acre Lincoln County School District property in downtown may be the easiest part of the city of Waldport’s latest property acquisition. Now the city needs to mobilize the community to help clean it up, fix it up and get it ready for use. The city signed papers

Legislature poised for conflict over gun-control legislation as Democrats back bills on waiting periods, serial numbers on guns, and minimum age for purchases

April 24, 2023

By BEN BOTKIN/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Oregon lawmakers are debating firearms legislation this session, setting the stage for legislative battles and courtroom fights that could go to the U.S. Supreme Court. The proposals, all backed by Democratic lawmakers, would ban ghost guns that lack a serial number, put a permit system in place for purchasing firearms and establish

U.S. appeals court upholds expansion of Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument

April 24, 2023

From the Rogue Valley Times The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Monday upheld the expansion of the biologically diverse Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in Southern Oregon and Northern California. Originally created in 2000 by President Bill Clinton, the monument was expanded in 2017 by President Barack Obama to 114,000 acres. The monument is a mix of forest, meadow and oak grasslands

Yachats council begins trying to work out transition plan with departing city manager, search for interim

April 24, 2023

By KENNETH LIPP/YachatsNews YACHATS — During a crowded meeting Wednesday, the Yachats City Council began plotting a course to keep municipal projects moving as well as maintaining basic services with the upcoming departure of its city manager and several key city hall staff. Most of Wednesday’s agenda was prompted by the April 6 bombshell that city manager Heide Lambert

Eugene’s climate activists and natural gas industry ready to square off this fall over gas stove ballot measure

April 23, 2023

By ANNA PHILLIPS/The Washington Post EUGENE — The liberal stronghold of Eugene might seem like an unlikely place for the fossil fuel industry to flex its muscles. But in the months ahead, the gas industry is preparing to pour millions of dollars into a campaign to overturn Eugene’s ban on gas hookups in new homes, turning the city into a

Staffing issues forces PeaceHealth to close beds at two Eugene-area hospitals

April 23, 2023

By the Eugene Register-Guard PeaceHealth will close dozens of hospital beds at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart RiverBend in Springfield and PeaceHealth Sacred Heart University District in Eugene. The hospital group also plans to shut down an entire medical unit at Riverbend. This brings the total closed beds at both hospitals to about 87 out of the 455 the area hospitals are

Jurors in $1.6 billion class action lawsuit against PacifiCorp hear opening arguments about blame, cause of 2020 wildfires

April 23, 2023

By TED SICKINGER/The Oregonian/OregonLive PacifiCorp’s reckoning over its alleged culpability for Oregon’s catastrophic Labor Day 2020 wildfires arrived Tuesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Opening arguments began in a $1.6 billion class action lawsuit against the utility, with victims of four fires accusing PacifiCorp of being responsible for much of what they’ve called the largest man-made disaster in