Oregon settles forest lawsuit by agreeing to logging changes in Tillamook and Clatsop state forests

March 26, 2023

By ALANNA MADDEN/Courthouse News After five years of litigation, conservation groups and the Oregon Department of Forestry reached an agreement last week to expand stream buffers within the Tillamook and Clatsop state forests to improve habitats for Oregon’s threatened coho salmon species. The Center for Biological Diversity announced the settlement agreement Thursday. It had filed the original lawsuit against department officials alongside

Judge in Labor Day 2020 wildfires rules that PacifiCorp can face punitive damages in class action lawsuit

March 25, 2023

By ZACH URNESS/Salem Statesman Journal Victims in four of Oregon’s Labor Day fires could get additional compensation from PacifiCorp following a ruling Thursday from Multnomah County judge Steffan Alexander. The circuit court judge ruled PacifiCorp can face punitive damages — in addition to compensatory damages — in a class action lawsuit that blames the utility for igniting wildfires that

Skeleton of massive blue whale hits the road to Canada for final restoration before going on display in Newport

March 23, 2023

By KENNETH LIPP/YachatsNews Newport will soon be the home of one of the largest animals to ever roam the Earth — a near-complete skeleton of a 70-foot long blue whale. Speaking to reporters Thursday in a South Beach marine storage facility holding the whale’s skeleton, dinosaur reconstruction expert Frank Hadfield said sauropod-type dinosaurs were longer than whales, but none

Housing crisis forces Presbyterian church to gently evict Yachats Community Garden for pastor’s new home

March 23, 2023

By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews An activist pastor, a treasured garden and a thorny housing crisis — these are the elements of a bittersweet solution to a problem in Yachats. The problem: The pastor of the Yachats Community Presbyterian Church and his family were running out of housing options this winter, after his landlord announced other plans for the house he’d

It’s snowy plover nesting season on the Oregon coast as threatened shorebirds rebound with help of beach restrictions

March 23, 2023

By ZACH URNESS/Salem Statesman Journal Oregon’s cutest shorebird has made a big rally over the past two decades, from the verge of extinction to expanding its range. Western snowy plovers, which nest in beach sand on the Oregon coast and resemble a palm-sized cotton ball with legs, reached an estimated population of 483 in the most recent count, up

Eugene’s ban on natural gas hookups in new homes will now go to the ballot

March 23, 2023

The EUGENE REGISTER-GUARD EUGENE — A measure that would ban natural gas and other fossil fuel uses in some new residential construction in Eugene will appear on a future ballot. Eugene Residents for Energy Choice submitted about 12,000 signatures for a referendum petition earlier this month. The Lane County Clerk’s Office verified at least 6,460 of those matched signatures from

With Covid cash running out, Oregon legislative budget writers propose more spending on housing, health care while keeping state positions vacant

March 23, 2023

By JULIA SHUMWAY/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Legislative budget writers plan to trim many state agency budgets while increasing overall spending in the next two years. Co-chairs of the legislative budget-writing committee on Thursday shared the broad strokes of their $31.6 billion spending plan for the two years beginning July 1. It starts with 2.5% reductions to current agency spending, cuts that

Three days of craft or book sales begin Friday in Yachats

March 23, 2023

YACHATS — The first spring weekend in Yachats is blooming with two popular arts and crafts fairs, plus a big book sale to benefit the Yachats Library. In all, beginning Friday there will be 38 hours of browsing and shopping fun. Yachats Ladies Club Spring Crafts Bazaar, 286 W. Third St., 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Find

The big divide over guns and violence plays out in the Oregon Legislature on Wednesday

March 22, 2023

People with the gun violence prevention group Moms Demand Action listen to testimony about firearms legislation Wednesday in the Oregon House Judiciary Committee. (Ben Botkin/Oregon Capital Chronicle) By BEN BOTKIN/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Oregon lawmakers heard civil but sometimes emotional testimony Wednesday about firearms legislation to prevent gun violence and ban untraceable or detectable guns. Dozens testified, including Attorney

Interagency training exercise planned April 1 for Lincoln County emergency responders

March 22, 2023

News Release from Lincoln City Police Posted on FlashAlert: March 22nd, 2023 5:45 PM Public safety agencies from all over Lincoln County will be taking part in an interagency training exercise for emergency response to a large-scale critical event on Saturday, April 1, 2023. This training event will be a day-long event that will allow emergency responders from Lincoln County to